Dave007

Luckily for you, you have a vet who didn't take advantage of the fact that you were upset afterward. Many would. I agree about not clipping and I wanna add one more thing-----when flight feathers are clipped, they all don't grow back in at the same time. A couple have been ready to come out because they were dead and others probably were just coming in with a fresh blood supply. So, the old ones will fall out and the newer ones won't so don't be surprised if your bird can't coordinate itself for a while because more than likely new and old feathers were clipped so they will grow back unevenly. Flight and tail feathers die out and fall out at different times all year long. Flight feathers and tail feathers don't molt out like other feathers but when a bird does lose a couple of feathers in the wing or tail area, the only way that you would know that is by seeing those dead feathers in cage tray. Rarely do you see a drastic reduction in wing or tail feathers because there's always one that's just behind it taking the place of the dead feather. It's possible that there will be unevenness for quite a while.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/02/20 21:02

That's just red palm oil. It should be semi solid in the jar. Put the jar in hot water for about 5 minutes or until the contents have turned into a liquid. Then take a 1/4 teaspoon full and either feed it directly to the bird ( if he likes it) or just spread it around his other food or toast or a treat etc. Do it 2x each week. Store the bottle on any shelf. It doesn't need to be refrigerated.

You finally found your bird. She was injured and the vet repaired the damage. Then you had her wings clipped and this all happened before you even got home. Obviously, your bird is still a little off kilter. Your bird has only been gone for 8 to 12 hrs. Your bird needs to rest, be left alone, not made to eat anything because food wasn't the problem in the first place ( especially something as heavy as peanut butter) nor will it make her any better if she's actually got a temporary problem which the vet will check in the morning. Let the vet decide the course of action if any is needed.

GPS isn't available for birds but some people have their birds microchipped so that if a bird is found, the only thing necessary is for the person to take the bird to a vet who will check out the chip ID and notify the owner. Brittany Best of luck in finding your bird. Put posters up, tell neighbors, put a poster in the vet's office.

<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/02/19 18:31

Well, I really don't believe that *comparison* of 2 or more different species is legitimate. I believe that the word *comparison* should be only used within each individual species. Greys are at a great disadvantage here simply because there's only two to pick from, CAG or TAG. So, it's very easy to have people pick one over the other. Their personalities, habits are different. I think that a more legitimate *comparison* would be if there were at least 7 or 8 different types of greys. Comparisons would be more legitimate in that bunch. I believe that because there's so many different types of ZONs, comparisons of those types in the ZON world would be more accurate. The same thing applies to Macaws. There's many different types of macaws so comparisons within the Macaw world would be more legitimate. The same thing applies to conures. There's many types so people could compare all of those conures strictly in the conure world. The same thing applies to Cockatoos. There's many types that exist to compare with each other. The same thing applies to Ringneck parakeets. There's many types to pick from so comparisons can be accurately made in their world. The same thing applies to Lovebirds. Many types so lots of comparisons. Believe it or not, they have different personalities. No one can tell me that all conures are the same within their world and the same holds true for amazons and Macaws or conures, ringnecks, all of which are not the same within each species. I don't own all of these species but I've worked with all of them through the years as well as some of my friends. Just about all of these different species have differences within the species. I base all of this on the fact that 2 or more of the same species can be totally different and I can gurantee you that I've seen this close up. As far as cockatoos----In the cockatoo world there's the most beautiful of TOO----the Leadbetter. Yes, beautiful, but also the most aggressive and most untameable and most untrustworthy. As far as Macaws, the Scarlet macaw--some say it's the most beautiful but it's also the hardest to handle and has a very short fuse and will quickly bite with evil intentions. All of what I speak of can be easily varified on bird boards that deal with all species of parrots, not just one.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/02/17 19:07

More than likely from what you just said, it appears that you've never tried to bathe or mist your bird. For the first few times the bird will screech or squawk or race around a cage when being misted. It has nothing to do with trust nor will you useit. Many people here will tell you that it took quite a bit of time for their bird to get misted or bathed BUT it needs to be done. As a matter of fact, even in the future a bird may make a little noise when being sprayed but if you look at them afterward, you'll see that they are glad that they're wet. Stand farther away when misting or stand closer. Change the nozzle to fine mist setting. Spray from top downward. Spray from the side. Use 1/2 squirts. Practice makes perfect and this is also gonna apply to many other things you'll eventually be doing in the future that have nothing to do with bathing. Stop worrying about trust just because your bird acts a little defensive or offensive when doing things in the future. When they're that young they can come off like little spoiled pains in the ass but you have to do what you have to do because you're the boss.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/02/16 19:16

It's too bad that the US doesn't institute that type of law that exists in the UK. Anyway, many times when a person buys an unweaned bird and decides to do it themselves, that can nullify the guarantee/warranty/exchange if a problem happens because a guaranteed thorough *well check* needs to be done on a fully weaned bird by a vet in order to get accurate results. If there's a problem, the breeder is responsible.

Well, there could be some minor things that will cause it but in general, it's a habit that some high strung birds have. Basically, nervousness or doing it when changes are going on or new things being introduced around the bird ( small and large things, new people, new toys etc.) ""no matter if he is hanging upside down"" Yes, that's a very common position when birds are chewing and plucking BUT they also use that exact same position for playing. Right now, the best thing you can do is keeping him pretty wet about 2x a week. Never dry him off. Let him stay soaked down to the skin. Within an hr or so, he'll start preening himself and dead feathers and left over dander will come out. I'm not guaranteeing perfect results but it can help. Molting is different. Almost all body feathers are shed all at once excluding the wings and tail. Those fall out all year long with no regularity. At 4 mts old, your bird is much too young to be having it's first major molt. Another thing you can do if you haven't done it yet is to go to a pet store and buy a large Cow Bell ( about 2 inches in diameter. Many birds will take their frustration out on that type of item. They yell, fight and knock it around. for long periods of time and then act like they're best buddies. A good thing you do have going for you is his age. He truly might be going through a phase because of his living with people. He's extremely young. There's a slight chance that he was taken off of formula prematurely and many times, a bird will become a nervous type of bird. This has nothing to do with you and I'm not saying you did anything wrong. So, try out a few things--get him basically distracted. More time out of a cage deters a bird from doing that. That also applies to being on a playstand.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/02/16 01:23

About your photo in Flicker----------- It indicates that if your bird constantly does this to many of the feathers on a regular basis then he has to be classified as a chewer. Other birds do the same thing by pulling out the feathers at the base. They're know as pluckers. The difference is that pluckers have a better chance of creating areas where feathers will never grow back. That takes a lot of regular plucking for that to happen. In the case of chewers, what's left of the feathers still attached to the body will look ragged, will die quicker and will fall out to be replaced by another feather which will be chewed again if your bird has a chronic habit. Some birds stop doing that. Some birds don't. It's just something that has to be watched. If it's only a few feathers once in a while then chewing those feathers was caused by irritation.

<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/02/15 19:31

That's not a subject that can be outdated because it only has to do with a bird's individual personality. Some birds can be shoulder birds because they won't do anything physicaly negative but will sit there and do nothing. But if he's not that type of bird, no matter how sweet, kind, loveable, cute and adorable your grey is, if he gets the idea that he can go on your shoulder, I guarantee you that in the future, he will give you an absolutely free-of-charge lobe piercing for your next set of new earrings that you buy. If you wear a chain on your neck, they're able to snap and break it without even trying hard. They love shiny jewelry. This goes for your husband too because as far as ear lobes go, there is no sexual preference. Another reason for not doing the shoulder thing is that if you use some sort of hair grooming item in your hair, they will get to it because they love to preen hair. If they do get to that cosmetic, they will swallow it and that's a no no. Another thing about the shoulder is that when it comes time that you don't want him there, they will give you a struggle when you try to catch him. They'll race over to the other shoulder and they might bite if you persist. They like heights. All of this only pertains to birds who like to bite when they're on shoulders and there's no way to train them to stop being attracted to all of the above. So, bird's personalities never change so information about shoulders is always the same. It can never get outdated. There's loads of people here who have wonderful, sweet, loving, cuddly birds that can't be allowed on shoulders and then there's those birds that can be allowed on shoulders with no problems.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/02/15 09:17

It usually takes more than a few days for it to happen. The feather is probably cracked and is slowly dying which will make it fall off or pulled out by your bird.

Leave it alone. It'll eventually fall off or your bird will pull it out. Happens to many birds

rbpittman You should put some olive oil on his beak, and definitely on the walls if the lower mandible. For his age, that area is a bit to dry. You can also use aloe gel but use the olive oil if he's Italian.

This video plus other similar ones of greys and other parrots can be used as an information source when the subject of food is brought up ( high quality food )which people worry about. Notice that they're scavengers similar to many other parrots?

Visually calculate how much veggies you give in one feeding and after a few hours or after you've seen him eating them for a while, check the bottom of the cage. Some birds will discard certain veggies and eat others. Parrots will never eat the wjole variety that you give and when they flip it it's a good way to find out what they dislike.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/02/13 20:12

I don't think that you're boring people but you're talking about a bird which many people don't own or have experience with. Second, there's a section here called TRAINING and that'll be more specific to what you're looking for. Right now, people don't even know what kind of bird you're talking about since many don't visit OTHER BIRDS because they don't have other birds. That's the place where people can tell you about similar birds. TRAINING ROOM isn't only for greys. If there's other birds that people own then they too can go to that room and ask anything they want. But, you wanna know about an older Hahn's macaw. Well, if that type of older bird has been cage bound for quite a while, it'll get very used to being cage bound and show little interest in coming out. So, the main thing to work on is trust. Only you know the bird's past and you are obviously working on the trust issue and making headway. So, step one is good but step one will have to continue for a while longer until it's a routine. So, that time comes when you wanna let him out and feed him treats. First off, have the type of treats that he can't refuse nearby. When he's out of the cage, instead of giving a trat immediately while he's out, make sure he sees the treat and slowly put it back in the cage. He'll go and get it. After a while, you graduate to giving that treat when he's out. That whole process takes a while with a hand shy bird. Hahn's, Severe and yellow Crowned Macaws ( all in the mini macaw class) aren't into flying alot until they can see a specific place to fly to. So after a while take a simple play stand and put it right next to the cage. He'll eventually step off the cage and onto the stand. This also takes a while to succeed. All birds have different amounts of time to go from step to step. As time goes on you'll get closer to the bird when outside and start giving the treats. Again it takes a while. I won't tell how long it's gonna take for him to get used to stepping up on your hand. You'll have to supply information at a later date, speak of your progress and success and then a method can be suggested in order to accomplish that action. Mini macaws are different then greys as far as accepting things. Your bird is approx 3 yrs old so it'll take longer to accomplish things. If you had a yellow crowned macaw, he would bite more and get loud. Hahns and severes aren't that loud until they're trained and relaxed in a house. So, this whole thing is a basic start. As you can see, I wasn't being bored nor was I resting on the couch with a beer and watching TV.

All birds will lose their feathers at any age. Dead and scaly feathers are what causes molting. As long as those old feathers are being replaced, there's no problem. If you don't feel the shafts, that's also no problem.

The most commonly used coating on a parrot cage is what's called powder coating. It lasts a very long time and it's very durable. These types of cages can be purchased through pet stores but the best place to buy them is on EBAY. There's hundreds of cages there. In order to redo your cage with powder coating, everything has to be removed down to the bare metal before it can be done. The most expensive cage that's sold is made of stainless steel. Also, recoating your cage will cost quite a bit of money. Mant times, the price of a new cage is actually less than the recoating of a cage.

The fumes from PTFE have killed thousands of parrots. PTFE can be found in old stoves, oil heaters, old hair dryers, curling irons, some dishwashers and other everyday household appliances. I don't think it would be a good idea.

Xtreme575 Praise be! You have also made your confession. For your penance say 3 Hail Marys and 3 Our Fathers Thou art forgiven.

Whoa, slow down, 2 hrs and you're already in overdrive. One step at a time. He's quiet in his cage right because he doesn't know the cage, the environment, you and any other family members, habits and everyday household sights. The cage will become the home so let him figure it out. Let him investigate the cage and everything in it. Let him take in the sights from the cage. He has to get used to where he eats, the toys he plays with etc. Eventually, he'll know that the cage is the safest place because it's become his home and he'll be receptive to many things. Of course he didn't step up. He needs to be trained to do that and it takes a while. Never bring in a brand new bird into a house and allow him to take off. You don't even know what his flying ability is right now. He doesn't even know where he's flying to. It will take quite a while and this is the opportunity to study the bird without scaring him. None of this only applies to a TAG. It applies to CAGs and to all parrots in general.

You've made your confession Say 4 Hail Marys and 2 Our Fathers .

That's possibly an injury that happened when you weren't looking or it could be overpreening which can sometimes happen when the shaft of the feather is stuck in dry skin or it could be just a coincedence that a few feathers have died and are falling out. I assume you're talking about flight feathers? Any other molting involrs lots of feather loss all over the body. I don't really understand what you mean be *hole in the back* Maybe you're seeing raw areas that have no feathers coming out? A picture or two would be helpful but if you feel that something is seriously wrong, go to a vet and have that area looked at. In the meantime, go to your druggist and buy an item call aloe vera gel and put some dabs on that area. It will moisten the skin and relive dryness. You didn't say haw much you bathe him but frequent bathing is necessary for a grey.