Muse

Here's the latest video. You can clearly see a major change in BOTH personalities, but it's most evident in Ife. She was actually taken back to the vet for an eye exam because I thought at one point she was blind because she wouldn't leave the cage. It's clear now that she definitely can see. She's very obsessed with Megan. She doesn't appear to be aggressive to me, but I wasn't taking any chances and you can hear the panic in my voice near the end as I get Megan to step up for evacuation.

After this portion of video, he ventured out of the cage for a while and was a lot more relaxed. He's very wary and definitely not as outgoing and trusting as Ife is. Marden was like a puppy. He never knew a stranger. He'd go to anyone. It's very clear he got all his looks from his father but all his personality (and appetite) from his mother.

Happy hatchday to Inara!

I edited and posted a video of them (and Megan) in the playroom yesterday to our Facebook page. For those who aren't on Facebook, we've also posted to our YouTube channel: No zoom was used in making his video. I am that close to them. Adom still doesn't quite know what to think. Ife is beginning to let her curiosity nudge her closer to trusting me. They've come a long way. I can't believe how much I love these two!

Awwwwww!!! That's so sweet!

He's so smart! What a gorgeous boy!

So sorry for your loss.

I personally think it's always good for a bird to have someone of their own kind in the flock. Mar and Meg were handfed together and were very bonded. When he died, I knew we'd get another Grey. Along came Peck and Megan tolerated him while I fell in love with him. I compare them to bratty siblings. They didn't really fight, as in trying to harm each other, but they squabbled. Peck spent an inordinate amount of time trying to "bomb" Megan (and me, until he got me once). It was a game to him, and one he was very good at! Megan, however, only had eyes for Rasa. And Rasa for her. They are a strange pair - the big, DYH Amazon and the tiny Grey diva. But who can question love? Heck, I'd go for the macaw, too. You can never have too much birdie chaos, right? Seriously, though, they do choose their own friendships. I have found Greys are often tolerant of new Greys if they aren't forced to interact. Megan is curious but cautious around Ife and Adom. Ife is curious, Adom is afraid. That's just their personalities. Megan stares at him a lot. I think she's trying to figure out why he looks like Mar - EXACTLY like Mar. I am sure that confuses her. Of course, they all interact at a distance, right now. Ife and Adom are wild ex-breeders, so they aren't handled at all. Whenever Megan is playing with her daddy, Ife watches very intently. I think she's trying to figure out what is going on and reconcile that with her previous (not so good) interactions with humans. But none of them have ever shown any aggression.

On his back? I'd be careful, that sounds like an aspiration risk to me. We hold ours (in a towel) upright and administer from the side of the beak. You can tilt the head to the side but I don't believe I'd give any liquid to a parrot on their back. The Parrot Wizard has some videos on YouTube about how to train a bird to take medication. When Megan was taking a supplement daily, we drew up pomegranate juice in a 1mL syringe and administered it mixed with that. She loves the "pommie" and would beg for it. Especially if Daddy acted like he was having some (we'd often give him some of the juice without medicine). Do you have, as Judy suggested, a food or drink your Grey loves? Just remember, though, you must get the entire dose in so put the medicine in only a tiny amount of food or beverage so that they don't get full or decide to stop eating/drinking before they've gotten the full dose. Good luck!

Love the jams, lol. Is that a baby blanket?

I've not seen plexiglas attached to the wall yet, but we've had several birds come in with it attached to 2 to 3 sides of their cages. This was done in each case by drilling holes and using different fasteners - some used washers and bolts (preferred IMHO) and some used twist ties and wire (those came off immediately). We actually eventually removed all of it because it was harder for me to steam the mess from inside the cage than it was for me to just hit the walls with the steamer. Megan makes, without a doubt, the second biggest mess here - oddly Ife and Adom are the worst! Jungle manners, I suppose. No one out there in the wilds of Africa to urge them not to throw food everywhere, LOL. I hit the wall with the steam cleaner, knock of the chunks and sanitize it, but if the paint peels or stains remain, well, it's part of the decor - right along with Romeo's carvings in the French door, lol. I do wipe the pink sticky off the walls (constantly) during pomegranate season. The main bird room is a HORRID dark maroon color any way. I'd love to be able to paint (or in my fantasy world, TILE) it, but there are so many more pressing priorities (generator, finishing the aviary, enclosing the porch for outdoor flights, building a flight onto the back where the deck is.... ) that any aesthetics are still way out there in fantasy land. Appearance? Not so important, as long as it's sanitary. I think if it were just us and our birds and I was trying to keep a nice looking home, I'd go with either whiteboard behind the cages or a tiled wall. Maybe that faux tile board stuff they line showers with?

I've seen the same thing done with whiteboard-type panels. They wipe off pretty easy. My fantasy is a tile-covered room with a drain in the floor. This will happen. Someday.

Ours loves her mommy... as a CHEW toy, lol.

Megan does this high-pitched screech - it's an amplified version of the sound her cage door makes. She does it whenever she thinks she's going back in her cage. She also does the "woo" sound. That often precedes a bite if I am not quick enough. LOL

Eight months is a very short time. Megan plucked for well over a year after Marden died and it took a lot of money and many attempts to "fix" the problem before I finally just gave up. Then I found a 'calming' tea made especially for birds and that did the trick. She still plucks on occasion but it's rare and not very noticeable. She bites me when she wants to let me know she's unhappy with something I am doing (90% of the time it's putting her in her cage). She used to bite me all the time. Often several times a day. It took a LOT of time, love, patience and band-aids to work through our relationship but it's been worth it. A bite is a form of communication to a parrot. You just have to figure out what they are trying to tell you. Sometimes it's "I'm scared" or "that bothers me" or even "I just don't want to do that right now!" Figuring out what it is and finding a way to react appropriately to their communication will eliminate most bites. Like with Megan, I often have to explain "I need you to go back right now," and give her a reason or a promise that I am coming back for her and she complies with out a bite. Build a good relationship and the behaviors will all begin to resolve. I work with 75 parrots every single day, from wild-caught ex-breeder birds to clingy hand-raised pets and I rarely get bit any more. It really is all about the relationship and at only eight months, that's not much time to build one. With Greys, sometimes building that relationship can take years but it is OH so worth it when that moment of them giving you their trust happens.

Megan's not so crazy about toys either. But surprisingly, Ife and Adom, Marden's parents who were breeders all their lives and probably never even saw a toy before coming home to me can go through a toy a day. I made a 'stuffed' paper towel roll (full of rolled up paper) last night and within 15 minutes Ife had it half gone. But I am happy to see them enjoying themselves. Megan's favorite toy is Daddy. I am just a target for her when she wants to express her frustration with a good bite. LOL

The new tea formulation is on the way, and I will let you know how it goes over with her majesty. If it goes over well and she continues to avoid plucking, I will be happy to send you some since I ordered two of the largest bags. Just PM me your mailing address.

EDIT: I have just heard that this website (wingingitaviary) has been very slow filling orders and is not very responsive with customer service inquiries. It's been a while since I ordered, so this may be a recent change. I have another source for a very similar product and am going to order now. It has some of the ingredients (chamomile and calendula) but not the red clover, and adds lemon grass and lavender (which sounds DELICIOUS to me!) so I am going to try it with Megan since it's time to order more of her tea. I will let you know how the new mix works and can send you some if you'd like to PM me your mailing address. http://www.wingingitaviary.com/avianpro-teaks-tea4beaks/ but grab it now! It's my understanding that the person who developed this is no longer with TEA4Beaks and is developing other teas, but not are identical to this one. I may start looking for the ingredients and mixing my own. Our vet (a certified veterinary herbalist) did say that the red clover could exacerbate hormonal episodes and to pick it out if Megan acted broody. I don't know if this would apply to a male as well, I can ask her.

Just one thing to add, it's best not to use a squirt of water as punishment. It may cause them to develop a fear of being sprayed. We have one in foster that bit the foster mom just from hearing the sound of water being sprayed in the kitchen. She's terrified of spray bottles. I have had the best luck with redirection, when the screeching starts. I say "inside voices, please" and begin to sing or talk in a soft voice and they naturally follow. Of course there are times they just need to cut loose. We put on loud music and all screech together for about an hour or so each night while I clean cages. (We live in the country so we don't have issues with neighbors). After that they are all ready to settle down.

Happy New Year to everyone!

ROFL!!! That is HILARIOUS!

See my previous reply re: shampoos. I did mix the aloe juice about 50/50 with warm chamomile tea as chamomile has both calming and skin soothing properties. I think the main problem with Megan was that she *HATES* showers unless SHE initiates bathing. So I believe any benefit of calming or skin soothing from either aloe or chamomile was lost to the huge stress reaction of being showered. I finally gave up and now I let her tell me when she wants a shower and that works for us. Edit: Clicked the link to see what was in the shampoo and this: "... as well as famous TV celebrity Marc Morrone (Parrots of the World) " was enough to make me never buy it. That man is a shill for Kaytee as well, and a serious animal abuser. Go to YouTube and watch some of his gimmicky videos and see what he does to the poor animals he uses. He's like a clumsy version of the Sham Wow guy but with animals involved. He mixes predators and prey animals, drops them off tables, handles them COMPLETELY inappropriately, all while showboating like some carny or snake oil saleman. This guy is SUCH a joke. I call him Marc Moron.

I would be careful with shampoos. Nearly all contain some type of surfactant designed to loosen dirt and oils and it may actually exacerbate the dryness by releasing natural oils from the skin and feathers. Have you tried the tea from TEAKS? (Used to be "Calming Skin and Feather", I think now it is called "Skin and Feather Tonic"?). We use it for Megan and she LOVES it. She's nearly fully feathered now. We tried so many other things including showers with a mix of aloe juice and chamomile tea, adding humidity, Soother spray, Rescue Remedy, Shen Calmer, Sock Buddy, a vest ... and a few other things I can't recall. She had full blood workups on more than one occasion with totally normal results. The only thing that has helped her so far has been the tea. At least Isaac leaves the fuzz, Megan picked that off as well. Megan with mostly bare chest Megan taken 12/5/15

Megan would eat my fingers off if I ever tried to "push" her on a swing, lol. Go GreycieMae!

Our most low-prey-drive pup is Riley, a Yorkshire terrier mix. I accidentally left the baby budgie's cage door open years ago, and we came home to find Riley "guarding" her while she hid beside the bookcase. Not one feather harmed. He used to let the roof-rats eat from his outside food dish, patiently waiting for them to finish before sampling any of the food himself (this is where we fed him "messy" treats). The ONLY animal I have ever seen aggression from him towards was a possum that used to steal his bones. LOL. Now, our poodle-mix pound pup? She was very high prey drive in the beginning but has slowly learned from Riley. I still would never trust her alone with a bird. She's far more sneaky.