Greytness

Thank you everyone. After 12 worrisome days Maalik is finally flying to me and chatting up a storm. I truly believe that he had been badly bruised, and am ecstatic that I have by beautiful brat bird back! And he's still cuddly, too!

So fun! Will this room get a lot of natural light in for your baby? We're about to get started on our outdoor aviary.

It could, but he's still quiet. He's not chatting up a storm anymore. Come to think of it, I don't think he's said very much since being struck by that mug. Still eating, drinking and pooping fine, but continues to be quiet. He did take a very short flight from my arm and onto a cage, but other than that he's not wanted to fly. Plus he's more cuddly and wanting more scritches than before.

Dave, I don't know if he's in pain or not. The vet thought the heavy mug dropping from a height of 7 feet onto his back could have caused some deep bruising, so they sent me home with some metacam to try. I haven't given him any of it yet. He's not talking at all. This is not my Maalik.

Thanks everyone. This has been a week and he's still not right. We had a lot going on around here: cages moved out of the dining room so that we could get our cabinets lacquered, minor fumes from that project, and the cup falling onto his back. Now that I look back, it seems that he's been quiet the entire week our cabinet project had been underway. I actually took him in last night. The vet focused on the cup incident rather than suspecting it could be an underlying illness brewing. He checked out fine. Weighed in at 493 grams. He's still eating and pooping okay, but continues to be quiet. I have some pain meds for him, and will take him back into the vet if he doesn't improve over the next couple of days.

Something's off with Maalik. I'm beginning to suspect that he may have been injured by that cup falling on him last week after all. He's eating, drinking and pooping okay, but he's QUIET. No vocalizations and he doesn't want to fly around. That is so not my Maaliky boy. I have an appointment with a new avian vet for tomorrow morning. Hoping that he's going to okay.

welcome! Looking forward to hearing about your adventures with Charlie!

Great close up pics of your baby! I especially like the third one.

Maalik dodged a huge bullet yesterday, scaring the heck out of me while I watched helplessly from across the room. We are in the process of having our kitchen cabinets refinished, so all the bird cages have been pushed into various rooms while they stain and lacquer everything. The cabinet refinishers had removed all the kitchen cabinet doors, so all the shelves are wide open. Last night Maalik was hanging out on my shoulder. He's not used to being out while in this particular room, so when I opened the curtains leading into the kitchen, Maalik immediately flew into his usual flight room. I think he may have been disoriented, seeing everything open on the shelves. Not sure. But Maalik made several laps around the room before deciding to perch onto the handle of a cocoa mug on the top shelf. The mug fell forward, knocking Maalik to the ground, followed by the mug striking Maalik squarely on his back. I immediately scooped him up, repeatedly asking him if he was alright. He could definitely sense that I was concerned about him. He laid his head down on my shoulder for scritches, and he kept asking for more scritches. I couldn't decide if he was hiding a potential injury or simply enjoying all the attention. I know how well they mask their injuries. Kept looking for signs, but he seemed fine last night. This morning I was so afraid to uncover his cage, but there he was, greeting me with his usual 'Good morning'. And 'I'm a cute bird'. In a blink of an eye this could have been fatal, especially if that heavy mug had hit his head. So grateful that he's okay. Phew!

Yes, I'm interested! If you could PM me your FB info, that will be great! Thanks!

Thanks for all the info! The smallest bird that I'd have out there is a pineapple GCC, so I'm thinking the 1x2 might be too big for him. I'm having a contractor create our aviary, so as much detail as I can have as to what's needed, the better! Would I have to prep the GAW to make it safe, or will this material be good to go? We have a macaw as well, so the wiring will need to be good for the small as well as the extra large birds.

Then what wire shall I use that will be completely bird safe?

We are FINALLY planning out our outdoor aviary! We've been struggling with how to make one that didn't require us to carry them out in kennels. Looks like we're going to build a passageway from our bedroom window directly into the aviary. It will also have a double door outside. Pricing out stainless steel wiring. Trying now to agree on how tall it should be, as I want to be able to get them down when it's time for them to come back inside. Here we go! :-)

I think we need to contact animal control! Give this poor baby some peanuts and fries!

So cute! My Maalik also loves to swing on anything. It's so entertaining to watch!

Awwww, what a little cutie pie! We must plan to have a Maalik and Isaac get together one day! :-)

That was fun to watch. Isaac really loves playing fetch!

I looked up AE to see more about it and the first thing that popped up was a huge negative thread regarding their cages. Hope what was said is not the case.

I don't have another grey, but will attest to the fact that Maalik has a few favorite fids from our flock, and a few that he loves to harass mercilessly. It's a crap shoot as to which bird might connect with another. It's great that you can give it a test run, but even then they might start out interacting harmoniously, and then have things evolve into something less desirous over time. Guess you'll have to keep an open mind and see how things go.

I think that Toby wants everyone to know that he lives in a rough neighborhood!

Who had the pleasure of picking up all those beads?

That's great! So silly that he wants to bathe in private!

Looking forward to a great 2016!

The air has been super dry in our area, so it could be related to that. He could have very itchy skin from the low humidity. How often do you give him baths or a spritzing during the winter?

What!? You're plucking your hairs out? Oh, this I've gotta see.