Dave007

Since we don't know you, the advice or help that's given may not be what you're looking for so---- Why don't you make up a list ( long or short) of things that are concerning you and I'm sure you'll get feed back concerning those things.

Great videos!!!! Soon I'm gonna get a camcorder. Much better than the video that's on digital cameras.

They will scratch at the bottom because nature is making them do something which is common in the wild. They dig up things in the wild. They're scavengers. It's not something that they just do when they feel like it. Look at your bird's face. he's totally oblivious to what's going on when he's doing that. It can be compared to a dog who stays in one spot and constantly walks in a circle before finally laying down to sleep. There may be a dog bed there or no bed there but he still goes in corcles and tries to make an area to lay down in. That's also nature at work.

In case you don't know it, the reason that he's constantly flapping without flying is because nature is tell ing the bird that he/she doesn't have what it takes to fly yet. A reverse uplift has to happen and only the bird will feel it. When it happens it will actually be difficult for the bird to hang on. It will fly. It will feel like a bird who's using everything that nature has supplied. That will be the time to fell complete. There will be little coordination because of not flying but only time will correct that problem.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/24 19:34

I'll say it again. Guess work and amateur diagnosis is the wrong way to go. Many other problems can be dealt with by oneself especially if many other people on a board have the exact same problems and a common solution was arrived at. This isn't one of those common situations. True, it may be minor, it may be major but a vet is the one that should tell an owner about what's there. Some others have seen the problem on their birds and they never knew that it was there until this thread was started. By the way, as this thread progressed I looked at all of my birds yesterday in the same areas ( actually in more areas than just that area) and none of them had any bumps, cysts, tumors anywhere but if they did, I would go to the vet. Even one of my birds that originally had serious feather/skin problems from the past also didn't have anything that was visible.

Have that checked by a vet. It could be a tumor or cyst or an injury caused by your bird when scratching or an injury to the follicles. A photo can't be diagnosed.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/23 20:05

To be realistic here, you really can't do anything about it. You can't stop a grey from whistling or imitating microwaves or drips or commands to a dog or imitating birds that he/she hears on the TV or imitating the sounds of other outside birds etc etc. Most things are pleasent to the human ear. Many other things aren't pleasent to the human ear. A grey doesn't find it unpleasent to screech. It's just imitation be it loud or soft. It's simply imitating a sound and they're well known to imitate the sound perfectly. You can try to keep them separate so that one doesn't hear the other but even then, if a grey hears another bird's pitch or sound from far away, it's possible for that grey to imitate that sound. The difference is that the imitation of sound will be lower and more distant. They don't forget past sounds. It's possible for your grey to imitate that sound again because the sound is in the grey's memory bank. You can also try to distract him when he's doing that but it's very hard to stop their natural abilities of imitation. Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/21 18:07<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/21 18:09

Seriously speaking, there's no official classification because they've never been considered as a subspecies of any type. A TAG is classified much more closely related to a CAG than a red congo african grey. That's because the TAG is a subspecies.Everything was done by artificially manipulating genes. It's the exact same bird. It can be considered a red factor grey but than again, red factor greys are still not classified a subspecies.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/20 20:35

"""I would like to know what they call these red AGs."" Uh, lets see. Hmmm, oh boy. Not to worry, I'm thinking. AHHH --I got it!!!!! It's because they're red. Man, gotta get a cup of joe after all of that.

I didn't diss anyone. I didn't point this person out individually. I said that many statements can be blanket statements concerning specific questions and I spoke of how good it is to get other people's opinions who have actually dealt with certain subjects, especially when all of those people are part of one congregation. That's a guarantee that many people can feel good about. Lots of pros and cons can be seen and learned about. I think that learning with that method can be very constructive and informative. Sorry if you think I dissed anyone.

Palm oil/nuts are what they eat in the wild. They also stop eating them when they've had enough. In captivity you can't force feed or over feed anything that a bird needs/wants including his/her favorite treats. That also includes the natural foods that they eat when in the wild. At one point the bird turns around and walks away until it's system requires those things. Many greys don't care for palm nuts but do enjoy the oil that surrouds the nuts and visa versa. Aloe Vera Spray------Normally, people are the ones that use the product for digestive problems. They drink it. When that product is used on a parrot, it goes on the skin. The best success is if the bird's skin is saturated. The skin doesn't ingest the fluid. It reacts on the skin surface making it softer and more supple making the skin lest dry. It really doesn't do much for the outer feathers even though people say their bird's feathers look better. I personally don't believe in online questionaires. The person hasn't seen or dealt with the bird which causes that person to give a blanket answer. The people on boards who talk about are relaying their success or complete lack of success with it. The people who have no success with aloespray never complain that their bird suffered from it because there's no harm in using it in the first place. It simply didn't work. The people who do have success are simply relaying the productive success that happened when using it. When people are discussing their individual experiences, it can be compared to a heart to heart conversation and that type of communication always produces much better results. Heart---a grey's biggest problem concerning the heart is hardening of the arteries which doesn't come from food. A good example is Alex. He was fed the finest most healthy foods that were available. Overnight he died from that disease. He was 31 yrs old. In captivity, a parrot is allowed to reach their maximum life span simply because they don't have to endure living in the wild. In the wild, the most common life span of a grey is about 30 yrs. PS--Any parrot with very short blunt tail feathers such as greys, amazons, eckletus rarely travel 500 miles a day. Those types of birds are basically perching birds and only fly when they have to. Thats why they're the easiest to capture. Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/19 18:41<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/19 18:52

Oh, I thought you already had a bird that you wanted to deal with. First of all, forget the macaw. They wouldn't hesiate to destroy medical items that are around. They can't help themselves plus they need lots of time out of a cage, are extremely loud and can be moody. As far as greys, especially congo greys, they don't take to new things very well. They're naturally leery of most things, can be quickly frightened of many things. This doesn't apply to every single grey but that's in the minority. You lucked out with your other grey. Even though this may disappoint you, my opinion is to get a very young amazon, preferably a yellow nape or a yellow crowned or a green wing or orange wing. All of those amazons are friendly, like a family situation, aren't as fussy as greys. Their needs are less than greys. Basically, they need a decent playstand and decent food and a proper sized cage. They like to stay on stands, are much less likely to pluck --( greys will pluck at the slightest problem ). Will take to items such as wheelchairs or breathing devices without showing obvious destructive tendencies. It's easy for them to take to a couple of people. They can talk. They like to play. In general, they're not screechers although that doesn't apply to every single bird above. They too have individual personalities. We have a room here called AMAZON ROOM. It was put in because loads of people here also own amazons and you can read all about them.

This is just another one of those situations showing the bad side of clipping. They may eventually fly after all of their muscles are strong and they start to feel resistance when flapping while sitting. Coordination is something the bird develops on it's own so that's the reason for so many crashes in the beginning. Many birds won't show any interest in flying if they've gotten used to everything around them that didn't require flying. It really doesn't matter whether other flyers are around. An aviary might help as far as enjoying it but if the bird doesn't wanna fly, an aviary won't change her mind. Regrowing flight feathers doesn't mean that a bird may change it's mind. Maybe yes, maybe no. You need to be prepared for all of that and remember that it's really you that's more worried about the flying than her. If she's happy the way things are she may not have the desire to do extra things. PS--this doesn't only apply to greys. Many other species clipped and wind up in the same situation. Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/18 21:34<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/18 21:36

You never did say how old your bird is. Whether he was with other owners in the past and how long you've had him. That type of info is necessary in order to have your question answered.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/18 21:20

Also, don't worry about how he is now. The best thing you can do is spoil him. Bird quarantine is not a good experience and afterward many birds don't try to reconnect with owners. Yours did. Expect him to act differently. He'll calm down after he senses permanent stability at home. Going from one country to another is unusual and straining for any bird. Top that off with quarantine and it makes for a nervous bird. Follow Dan's directions. You should have no problems. He may show a little difficulty because you're searching for jobs but as long as he's in his new home permanently, he'll adjust.

It's my age. As time goes on, the memory clouds up. I get more and more worried about the 2010 style canes. It's confusing. I can't keep track. I've been checking the newest motorized wheelchairs. I'm looking for something with speed 0 to 2 in 10 seconds.

Oh, ok. I didn't know you were talking about that wound. I didn't know that you had many things already checked. The wound----no vet is necessary at all. That also happens to birds who are normally molting and they get over zealous with all the pulling, digging and strong preening. That's one of the reasons for the ge. It's good for sore, irritated feet, legs that have minor cuts in them, small injuries to the vent area, minor cuts or irritations to the parts of the head that get messed up. The gel is good for legs which have dry scaly skin which doesn't fall off. Think of yourself using different ointments for your hands or legs or arms or your face to smooth the wrinkles away and other creams to soften the heels of your feet or first aid cream to put on minor cuts or insect bites etc. basically, aloe gel does those things not only for birds but humans too. After all, we all wanna be pretty or handsome or both.

He's a plucker. You could go to the vet if you like to relieve your mind. That's up to you. You need to feel good about things. Me telling you what I would do isn't a good idea. I'm not there with your bird and telling you what to do over a PC board would be very irresponible on my part. I hope you can understand that. Certain types of advice and suggestions can be given on a board with no problems. Other things concerning medical issues or unseen injuries that need to be diagnosed should be done by a vet if you think it's warranted. I'm sure you don't want the wrong advice.

Very good. Keep an eye out. Your bird may go back to that area because it's probably a little painful and obviously raw. Keep that area clean. Think about that gel. The product you ordered won't burn the skin or irritate open wounds. Keep your bird in an undrafty area when using it. No towel drying or blow drying. Let it absorb into the body.You should have no problem soaking him down since he doesn't have any more waterproof feathers left.

Everything is natural in it. It contains no seditives. I wouldn't ever recommend any product that has that type of chemical in it. You can use the aloe but for now, use the product everyday. Aloe isn't gonna give the same results right now. You need to get the gel for that wound. This is a picture of my friend's macaw. His wife is holding the bird. To her left is the same bird in the photo. Big difference. The bird was very messed up and had a short fuse because of the constant irritations all over the place. He also used it on 2 TOOs. The results were good. The only feathers missing were the ones that will never be there because the follicles were destroyed. Don't be sorry--apologies aren't necessary.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/17 20:35

No, not necessary. Just use that product. Don't worry about any of the other items. Use the most important product right now. If your bird is a nervous type, the product will also calm him down a bit.

You gotta regular Johnny Cash there. No guitar?

One other thing----------that bloody area should now be considered a wound so go to the pharmacy and get some ALOE VERA GEL and put a few dabs on it. The gel is good for a number of situations that may happen to birds.

Yes I do think it'll work. I and frinds of mine have used it with good results. The only aeas you'll never see feathers in are the areas where the bird not only plucked the feathers but also plucked out the follicle. It's not a quick fix. It takes time and the other reason that you need a strong product is because you got this bird as a plucker so you really have no idea about his plucking habits. I don't know if anyone remembersbut I posted 4 pictured of a grey that I received who didn't have any feathers at all other than his head. He looked like a plucked chicken that was ready for KFC. Besides other things I did with that bird, I also used this product. It's up to you. I don't normally recommend products but I've seen good results with it. PLUCK NO MORE is a total waste of money. At least think about unless you know of another method to stop that type of plucking. 2008 3 yrs later Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/17 19:24<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/17 20:07

That's a bloody area and you should wipe that off with warm water before it gets too caked up. Your bird may be molying but it's obvious to me that he's also plucking. You'll need to go one step further concerning his feathers and skin. You'll need a certain product other than aloe vera spray. ----------------------------------------------- Type in AVITEC.COM On the left, look for PLUCKING/SCREAMING---click on it Third picture from left ( spray and jar in picture) click on it there's 3 choices 1---premixed bottle 2--small jar, powder in it (8 oz) 3--large jar, powder in it (16 oz) Check out description of product ------- Get either 8 oz or 16 oz jar with powder in it. Stay away from premixed bottle 1 rounded teaspoon powder to 8 oz room temp water in a sprayer. Heavily soak your bird down once a day. If any remains in the sprayer, use it on any other birds sitting around. Discard what remains at the end of the day. DO NOT order from AVITEC.COM because they don't ship by United States Postal Service. They only ship by UPS which costs much more S/H. Go to ALLBIRDPRODUCTS.COM Order the exact same product from them because they do ship by USPS. The S/H withh be half the amount. I've worked with the product and it does work very well. I've also done a lot of business with All Bird and you can also order by phone.