Dave007

You're going to the vet in a couple of weeks so I'm gonna assume that there's really nothing specific or urgent concerning the visit. Just a general visit? There really aren't too many choices as far as taking a bird out of a cage.It sounds like he goes in and out when he wants to. No one puts him in or out of the cage cause he won't step up.You can put your hands in the cage and try to coax him onto your hand but I get a strong feeling he's gonna bite if he's afraid of your hand. You can get some favorite treats outside the cage and try to tempt him out of the cage. You can try using a wood perch and put it in the cage for him to go on. My opinion is that if you're having a great problem getting near him as far as handling him when it's necessary, I would advise postponing that vet visit until you can establish some type of control because no matter how you cut it any method you use will cause a problem for you and the bird. I wouldn't want the bird to freak out and fly into a wall and injure himself. Sorry I can't be more helpful but it's important that you start simple physical contact--( basically, the steping up process).

<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/17 02:10

Lots of people have asked the same thing here in the past because their birds have the same reaction to towels and sometimes to carrying cases but the answer is basically the same. You need to to get him to a vet and sometimes you're gonna have to do things that may really scare you more than the bird even though the bird is making all the noise including screeching. You need to have the carrying case nearby on a table with the door open. Put the bird on the floor. Have a towel right there that's already been unfolded. You may need help from another person to do this. Take towel and quickly lay it down on bird and wrap ends around your bird and quickly put the bird in head first. The bird will screech but will more than likely stop within 1 to 2 minutes. Go to the vet and let them take him out and when finished, let them put him back in. Go home, open cage door and let your bird go in. The bird will be nervous and will avoid you for a while but he/she will eventually relax. Throw a few peanuts or his/her favorite treat in his bowl and walk away. PS---I've yet to see a bird have or die from a heart attack and as far as trust, the bird will have an attitude for a couple of days. I HAVE seen people come home and because they were so nervous concerning the visit, they'll drink a 1/2 bottle of scotch to calm down. In the mean time the bird is eating his/her treat.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/16 19:10

The distance is pretty good ( approx 3 to 4 ft ) although positioning it a bit higher so that the light is aimed slightly downward would be good. Time----about one hour a day between 10am to 2pm

As a mate? I doubt it. She's much too old to mate. As a friend? Possibly but the other bird you're talking about couldn't mate anyway. He's much too young. Your bird may be good with you but putting another bird in with her may cause her to inflict serious damage. Separate cages is the best way to go. That will provide her with company. Because she's vocal doesn't necessarily mean that she's lonely. It may mean that she's just making sounds that she never did while being with another bird in the same cage.

Well, maybe after 20 yrs she just doesn't feel that training to step up is appealing and a person has to accept that cause it's all a part of *history*, *baggage* that a bird comes with. This doesn't apply to you but if an adult bird is gonna bite someone because they put their hands in the cage to feed it and the bird is gonna serious damage because that's the way it always was then the bird is gonna continue doing that and the owner has to adjust to that, not the other way around. The bird has to be let out of a cage in order to be fed This doesn't apply to you but if an adult bird goes on an owner's shoulder and continually bites and hurts as it's been doing for years then the owner has to accept that the bird won't be a shoulder bird and has to adjust to that, not the other way around. The lifestyle and training and rules and regulations or lack of that the bird has ingrained in it's mind it has to be accepted by the owner. Of course changes can be tried but baggage is rarely forgotten. Taking on a pre owned much older bird is totally different that a baby bird. Not that this necessarily applies to your bird's situation but there's loads of adult pre owned birds that are friendly, loving, sociabil, who love all people in a family BUT they've been heavy duty chronic pluckers for most of their lives and will remain that way for good no matter what a person does. The plucking bothers the owners more than it does the bird. Concerning the food, my opinion is to only work on the veggies. Fruit isn't that important, shoulsn't be given all the time because of acidity and about 90% of the fruits that people offer aren't even eaten by greys in the wild. Pellets aren't all they're cracked up to be plus many birds who have never touched them many not ever wanna touch them. Pellets are processed and will go bad if they're not eaten within a certain time. A bird who is accepting of many human foods is getting a good diet. Human food has many things that a bird benefits from.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/14 21:46

Have someone hold your bird. Get a sharp scisser and hold feather in same position. Cut the wing at the yellow line. The arrow is telling you what side of yellow line to cut. Cut the feather in a curved line as seen. The cut will increase the amount of time that the rest of the feather will die and it'll fall out quicker. Then take the remainder of feather and try to tuck it in with the rest of the feathers. ===============================================

Regurgitating That's an affection habit which you should ignore and don't give treats while she's doing that. Walk away for a while until she stops. Then stay away for a while until she's doing other things. Buying Toys Many people make their own with everyday items that are in their house. We have a section here on toys and how they're made. Switching cages It depends upon the bird. The most popular way is to have the new cage next to the old cage so that the bird can get used to having it around. Others simply take the bird and put him in the new cage. Only your bird's temperament can tell you what to do. Trimming Nails Many people take their birds to a vet or to an experienced vet tech that can do that. Others can go to a pet store where it's done. Others do it themselves but that usually applies to people who are experienced with that kind of thing. Claws can be easily damaged. Dry Skin Your bird room is much too hot. It shouldn't be any higher then approx 70 degrees. The low end can be approx 64 degrees. 75 to 80 causes extreme dry, scaly, itchy skin and nasal problems which are no good for a grey. """""she like snuggles into my hand and almost feels like she is rubbing her belly area on my hand. She snuggles down to a point her wings are surrounding my hand, her tail is down and rubbing against my hand etc. Like she is almost cupping my hand with her body. What the heck is she doing or trying to tell me?""""""" Put the bird down or in a different position. What she's doing is purely sexual. She's masturbating on you inner hand and the longer she does it the more excited she'll get and when she gets no satisfaction from you, she'll get a bit irritated and eventually will bite when you try to stop that behavior in the future. More than likely she's also making a low huffing sound while in your hand. That's excitement building up. Nose, Face, Ears, Neck, Hair Some birds will give no problems when on or near those areas. Others will bite, nip or pull, all of witch cause pain. As far as shoulders, you'll have to test the waters and put her there a few different times. If she likes or wants to bite those areas above, remove her and don't put her on shoulders again. That means she's not a *shoulder bird*. As far as kissing on the mouth, stay away from that. There's no way to teach a parrot to not bite lips or a person's tongue and sometimes it can lead to health problems for the bird.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/14 03:24

About Buddy =========== First you need to evaluate cage placement. Modifying or moving it may be necessary to get your bird out of *being in charge* mode. That also includes playstands. If he's biting you out of fear, you'll have to start letting him alone for a while. Normally. Senes are a friendly type of all around bird but some can settle into a temporary aggressive mode and from what you're describing, it sounds like it is temporary. Start having Nick sit next to the cage and watching TV or reading without making any motions to disturb the bird. Simply allow your bird to adjust to being near you and/or Nick without being handled. Once Nick feels that your parrot is comfortable with him near his cage have Nick start to talk softly without making eye contact. Start feeding him favorite foods through the safety of the bars while talking to him. Don't touch him. Tell Nick to always work with the bird when he's calm and not stressed. Continue over the course of several weeks making no attempts to handle the bird. Once you see the parrot responding , attempt to pet or scratch him through the bars of the cage. Never forcing yourself upon the bird at anytime. You are taking small steps to ensure your parrot feels safe being handled again. The following week you may have the parrot step up, praise, step down, praise, and step up again, praise. At this point if the parrot seems relaxed you may attempt to have them sit with you on a T stand or play gym in another room near you. Praising and talking softly the whole time you are working with the parrot. After a short period ask the bird to step up again and return him to his cage, praise. Continue these small baby steps until your parrot is showing interest in things other than biting.. When he does allow you to pet him showing no fear or aggression, move slowly and stop the affection before he asks you to stop. Remember you can never praise a wanted behavior enough. Parrots don't understand discipline therefore you should always only praise wanted behavior and redirect unwanted behaviors which in this case only has to do with biting Nick.. This is basically a temporary * starting all over again* situation. Also, senes go through some aggression when they're hormonal. It lasts for a month or so and if that's the case, all the more reason to stay away. Have Nick do some of the nice things you normally do. Let your bird see that nice things happen when associating with Nick. It's time for you to make yourself scarce when it has to do with nice things going on. If this problem with your bird was being aimed at you, Nick would have to step back. This is the time to over indulge the bird with extra treats. Those treats should be the kind that are guaranteed to be accepted by your bird. Let Nick do these things. Why parrots get into these modes? There's really no absolute guaranteed right answer so sometimes, starting over again is necessary. Try it out and see if any changes happen and make sure you put no time limits concerning when * you think a problem should be solved*. That's the bird's decision.

Some greys become very reclusive and bitchy in that situation and take on the characteristics of a nun. In general, nuns do intensely dislike men, hmmm, I mean most men although they do have a thing for that very, very special guy. I think his name is Pope. SO, the reason is probably that your grey is simply waiting for that special guy to swoop in after dark. Lets see.. How bout *Waiting for that special grey in knightly armor* Oooh la la.:kiss:<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/13 23:14

Well after getting those reassurances from the people here, it's now time to break the ice and ask those questions. The people here don't bite.

"""""but had pushed this one to the corner,""""" One thing you should start doing is putting the bird amongst others so that he'll get used to everything that's going on. That'll take some time. Many birds develop different types of problems when they're left alone away from people. Greys need visible interaction with others all the time.

Very impressive videos. It can be described as the ideal situation for parrots. Unfortunately, that type of thing isn't really done here in the US because there are very few trainers that deal with free flight. Most parrot owners worry much more about losing their birds than having their birds trained for free flight. There are few if any bird clubs that deal with free flight. Most bird clubs that deal with parrots specify that the safest method of dealing with a flying bird is by using different flight harnesses. Most people know that it doesn't take much for a bird to fly away because of unexpected reasons. Many here have lost birds and they've never been retrieved. Basically in the US, it's felt by most people that it isn't a good idea to participate in any type of free flight. Here in the US, bird organizations such as Phoenix Landing, World Parrot Trust and other major parrot rescue sites don't approve of free flight. I do know that free flight is practiced much more so in Europe than in the US. Germany is one major country that does that.

Hi é agradável tê-lo em nossa placa. Os lotes dos povos têm pássaros muito novos e você e podem compartilhar do info e das histórias. Nós somos todos aqui a ajudar.

Good luck. What you're seeing right now is one being nice to the other and then nipping occurs shortly afterward. Expect to see that often. It's just one of those things that quakers are known for. Just keep an eye out for what they're doing.

Quakers have a unique personality. First off, they are naturally and extremely territorial concerning their cage, toys. The more quakers are in one cage, the more territorial they'll get and much less bonding will take place with the owner. They're a totally different bird when out of a cage and much easier to handle. It really doesn't matter if they're from the same clutch. At one point, they'll develop competion with each other which will lead to aggression with each other. When quakers are aggressive with their owners, they'll bite with evil intentions. They bite and hold on and can cause bleeding. Many people have to have their quakers out of a cage when feeding time comes. Many quakers don't like a person taking a empty food bowl out and also don't like a full food bowl being put in. That also applies to water bowls and also includes giving treats at times. That has to do with their territorial personalities. Quakers are extremely loud and will get even louder and will screech more often if more than one is in a cage. The loudness can't be lessened. It's not unusual for female quakers to bite males because both indulge in frequent and extreme masturbastion and when one interupts the other, biting occurs. They will try to pluck out feathers from each other. If there are other birds in the house ( especially larger ones) it's not unusual for a quaker to try to bite those larger, slower birds if they can get close enough and don't like each other. 95% of the time, quakers win the battle. The larger the quantity of quakers in one cage, the harder it is to train them. Most of these things start happening when the quakers become older. If a quaker starts to become a plucker, it's very hard to curb that habit. So, this is the basic personality of the quaker species although some of these specific things don't apply to every quaker. It's a trial and error situation so you need to be prepared to separate them if any of these things happen. The only way things like this can be lessened is by dealing with each bird individually and if successful, they need to be kept separate permanently because anything you've been successful with will go out the window as soon as they're together again. ""looks like they are kissing but I get the feeling that this is some form of aggression."" You're right. Concerning the beaks, that is aggression and it'll get worse. Quakers don't show affection by locking their beaks together. Affection happens when one is preening the other's head and the one getting preened accepts it.

I sent you a PM concerning The New York Bird Club.

""""In fact there is not complete agreement on what constitutes a domestic animal, and some definitions would already encompass our Greys."""" Unlike the family dog or cat, parrots ( greys as well as other species of parrots) are not domesticated creatures. It takes thousands of generations of breeding to domesticate an animal, and parrots are, at most, only two generations removed from their wild ancestors. This means that our domestically bred greys still have their wild instincts in-tact which is why a parrot who accidentally escapes from a house can't be given any command to return even if it's spotted nearby. We as the owners of parrots, can't domesticate them. We can only make them dependent on us and the way they react to that dependence fools many people into thinking that they're probably domesticated.

""""""they are just taking select birds that have natural mutations and breeding them and from what I gathered there was no inbreeding in this case the bird is a genuine natural mutation."""""" Absolutely wrong. Any and all greys that have any extra red feathering in areas other than the tail simply have that red because of an excess of the genes that produce color. There's greys that have that color when they're babies and many times, after the first major molt they lose those feathers permanently. Other greys have that overproductive red gene which remains forever and it has nothing to do with mutation. The bird becomes a mutation if the red genes are artifically enhanced and are made to produce and increase more red feathers. Only a manipulator can do that. It can't happen in the wild. That man went through many pairs of greys slowly increasing the red genes. Pictures of the many pairs as they grew more red feathers can be seen at other sites. Many greys didn't grow the red feathers in the right places. Many of those partially and unevenly red birds are now for sale. There's loads and loads of naturally beautiful parrots of all species in this world and besides personality that's where the focus should be. That guy is just another person who's thinking about money and what he's doing is simply going against nature and as most people know, the types of animals that shouldn't be messed with as far as changing goes are wild animals and all parrots are wild animals and will be wild animals no matter how long they're owned by human beings. The guy wasn't thinking about nature when he was doing that.

Yes

That particular bone runs downward on the breast. It shouldn't be sticking out from the breast. It can be felt but it shouldn't be prominent. Somewhat like a human leg bone. The bone can be obviosly felt down the leg but shouldn't be stuck out visually. They is no ideal weight for a female or male grey. There's many differenly sized greys --small, medium and large framed. All have different weights. There is no food that fattens up the grey species. If you're unsure about your bird's weight and size, you'll have to go to a vet to get the information even if it costs a certain amount of money. There's greys that can weigh about 380 to 610 gms<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/07 20:16

Amazon parrots a typically good at mimicking human speech. Most amuse themselves destroying toys (at times while rolling on their backs), talking, singing, and playing with their companions. These parrots have big strong beaks. It is important for those who plan to handle an Amazon take the time to learn each bird's specific personality before picking one up. Raised head feathers, flared tail feathers or eye pinning might result in a trip to the hospital for stitches for the human who ignores the bird's attempt to communicate. Amazon parrots may go from quiet and cuddly to loud and aggressive in an instant. It's important to provide toys that they can fight and destroy so they can work out some of their natural aggression. Hand raised Amazon parrots especially crave the attention and interaction with their human companions. If you aren't ready to give quality time to raising an Amazon and have the patience to deal with their hormones when they mature, then I would suggest you look for a different bird. There are several common species that vary in both size and temperament. All Amazons are considered head strong and on the moody side. All Amazon Parrots are loud at some time. Most are loud at sunrise and sunset, and when you aren’t giving them the attention or item they want. If you provide lots of toys for them to destruct and play with, and change them out often it will help. Also, you must spend quality time with your Amazon Parrot. Proper nutrition is also essential. Some Amazon parrots are cuddlier than others. Most of it depends on how they are raised as a baby and how they've been treated since then. Amazon Parrots will often have a favorite person, and that will be the person they will cuddle with. Experts suggest that you socialize your Amazon Parrot when you bring it home so that it will be comfortable with many people handling them. Even still, that is no guarantee that your Amazon Parrot will like other people. Some birds just pick one person to like. You can’t make a parrot like anyone, but you can help it tolerate them and accept them. Often a bird will not "like" someone because they feel that person's apprehension. Encourage people to relax when they handle your parrots. If they are really nervous, it might be best for them to wait until they have more confidence. There is not a hard and fast rule for Amazon Parrots. Each species has different personality traits as listed above and each parrot will have a different personality, just like a child. Amazon Parrots have a reputation for becoming extremely aggressive and/or vocal when they become sexually mature. You'll have to spend some extra time and have extra patience to maintain a companion relationship during this time.

First get a paper towel and grab the hardened droppings and pull them off wherever they are and dump them. Then get a spray bottle and fill it with 50% vinegar and 50% water. Spray on the areas where the droppings were. Leave alone for about 15 minutes. Then take a paper towel and wipe that area off. Many people clean their whole cage off with that solution whether there's droppings or not. The bird can handle the smell but if you feel uncomfortable, put the bird somewhere else. It'll dry pretty quickly. Vinegar is safest. Commercial cleaners are the worst and also toxic.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/06 19:00

Don't put them in one cage. They should have never been kept in one cage. You're already seeing how they are because they were in one cage. It doesn't matter if the box was never in the cage. They didn't try to bond with each other just because there was a box on the cage. They were doing that simply because they were in one cage. Don't worry about their crying. As long as they can see each other the *crying* will subside.

Juices and fruits are fine as long as they're given in moderation. Fruits aren't as important to a parrot as much as vegetables are. Basically, most fruit is acidic and serves no real purpose other than variety so once or twice a week is fine. As a fluid? Usually, solid pieces of fruit are not as messy but a small amount of juice is okay. Remember that most pure *natural* juices are missing certain things during processing such as the pulp from an orange,the skin from a grape etc.