Dave007

My take on this situation is different. You won'yt be there but another person who the bird is familiar with will be there. Your bird may not like this person but I doubt plucking will be an issue unless your bird is very high strung and a very nervous bird who is already used to plucking when problems arise. Right now, you have a general schedule with your bird and all you have to tell your boyfriend is to stick to that schedule throughout the day or evening or both. If you let your bird out of the cage and he always goes back to his cage when he feels like it whether your boyfriend is there or not, just tell your boyfriend to let the bird out the same way you do. If you have the type of bird that has to be constantly chased in order to go back into the cage, then your boyfriend can't let the bird out. If you have special trats that you give, tell your boyfriend to give those treats in the bird's bowl except that he should give extra treats. I've also seen the same situation with one person birds and a litytle extra attention made to the bird works many times. If your bird lets you take food and water bowls out of the cage when your hand goes in while the bird is in the cage, fine but if the bird gets nippy if your boyfriend tries to do the same thing, then tell your boyfriend to use the bowl doors to feed and water him. You need to think about all the birds that get rehomed all the time and are with new people. Very few start plucking because there's new owners.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/13 22:54

""""I totally miss taking a bath with toys. I think, in my next life, I would like to come back as Alfie """" I'm really sorry to hear that. You must have treasured your toys. Try not to let those memories from the past affect your future. I sure you can find some new toys to play with. Make a fresh start.

I also heard about bitter apple a few years ago. It was supposed to be used on different items that a bird wasn't supposed to chew on. Never worked.Matter of fact, the way the bird acted, it seemed like he never knew it was sprayed on. I would imagine that you would haveto protect the bird's face when spraying it on. PS--just read the original start of thread. I was using it on wood, not wiring. The wood absorbed it quickly. I don't think it would absorb wiring but it's still a scary thing to think that a bird might be getting ideas about chewing on different types of wiring.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/13 05:21

Welcome to the board. Hope to hear about Sammie and some pictures too. I'm from PA too. The weather is now changing. The hummingbirds are starting to leave. Have a nice time here.

She cracked the feather and that's what is causing the pain. Unless you have intentions of taking the feather out ( which you can't do cause you're new to this). For the next few days, she's gonna try to put the feather in it's normal place and if that can't happen, she'll try to remove the feather herself.( that may take a few days for her to do it) In the meantie, don't mess around with that area and let her take care of the problem herself. These types of things do happen periodically. Don't try to pull or cut the feather off.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/13 03:24

www.macawboard.com/forum/archive/index.php/f-16.html macawforum.com<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/13 02:34

All feathers no matter what feathers are being talked about fall out a blood feather is a feather that has to have the ability to grow and bend according to where it's being used. It also has to have the ability to fall out when it's use is finally ended. A new one is just behind it ready to take over. Each blood feather which is actally flight feathers is immediately replaced by a new one that is pushing the old one out. The reason it's being replaced is because the blood supply has dried up inside. It serves no more purpose. The same thing applies to tail feathers which are actually the rudder of a flying creature. If a blood feather breaks, the blood supply comes out and that area needs to be clotted. Your vet says to crush it. I say pull out the whole feather from it's base because the area where the base of the feather was is easier to clot and then the middle of a broben feather. All feathers on a bird's body fall out and are also immedeiately replaced by another feather pushing it out. Those feathers being pushed out are dead and the new ones are alive. Plucking and broken blood gfeathers have nothing to do with each other. The same applies to the tail feathers. You ask if a blood feather will fall out--yes but it won't fall out just because it's damaged and bleeding. That's the reason for stopping the blood from flowing out.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/13 00:01

Well, good for you. They;re the same age and there shouldn't be problems. Try to put the cage together as soon as possible so that he's in a familiar area.

Really doesn't matter whether your bird is on your finger or wrist. Insted of holding your arm in a straight horozontal position, aim your arm upward. Birds don't like to climb downward.

Greys aren't prone toward obesity. Rarely does a grey get overweight. I really don't understand what you mean by fruit and nut mix. You mix fruit in with a nut mix? Fresh fruit and vggies have to be removed after a couple of hours because it goes bad. I don't think you should worry about pellets though. If she was eating fresh veggies in the past, you'll just have to give them to her alone for a while and then put the nut mix in another bowl afterward. By the way, what's a nut mix?

There are scams but on the other hand, some people are more interested in finding good homes and aren't interested in the money. You would need to have a mopre detailed converstion concerning her intentions. There's other birds on sale in pet stores but it's a well known fact that many pet stores sell inferior stock and the owners don't even know the condition of the bird's parents. You can compare it to a puppy mill. That's why the best choice is a private breeder who supplies all information, guarantees, vet checks, weaned birds. I can think of 3 different places on the net that sell birds and there should be a law stopping them from doing that.

******What's the difference between CAGs and TAGs**** It's been asked over and over and over and most of these differences become very obvious as the two types of greys mature. There aren't many chicks of any species that will show their permanent personalities until they're much older and more independent. There are many differences in personalities of the two. Some of those personalities strictly belong to a CAG and some of these personalities strictly belong to a TAG. The main reason this question has been asked so many times is because there are only 2 types of greys. Lets talk about amazons----there's at least 15 or more different types. About 10 can be easily purchased. On amazon boards, the question of different personalities doesn't come up very often because people have so many types and it's extremely obvious that they have a huge amount of different personalities. Not only do they have a huge amount of different personalities but they also have a huge amount of different health questions--example--DYH are the type that is extremely prone to obesity and must be dealt with differently than an green winged amazon or a yellow naped amazon and aggressiveness is an issue with blue winged amazons and different amazons have totally different personalities as far as being outgoing and curious as opposed to yellow crowned that's totally different in personality.A blue wing amazon doesn't like kids much and will bite. An orange wing amazon is totally the opposite. Some amazons will eagerly accept another species of bird as a friend. Others won't. Some amazon hens will accept another species of chick as their own if a situation arises. That also applies to some grey hens. I own one of those hens and others will become very aggressive when mixed with another species of chicks. A yellow headed amazon may not get along with a yellow naped amazon but all of these classifications are not absolutes because all of these amazons have very different individual personalities just like those 2 types of greys. So, rather than rattling off all the differences between CAGs and TAGs, I'll only say that it's too bad that there aren't at least 10 to 15 types of African greys to choose from. Differences in personalities really wouldn't make much of a difference. In the wild CAG flocks won't associate with TAG flocks. In the wild CAGs won't breed with TAGs.

Right now, her type of biting is actually one of the ways she's talking to you in a language you don't agree with and yes it will subside as some more time passes. Not all of it but lots of it. But you're both new to each other and you'll have to learn her body language. In the TRAINING ROOM section, there's an area that describes body language. """"""Also, a lot of the time I get her to step up she immediately goes for my shoulder, which I don't mind, but it feels like it's impossible to get her down without losing a finger.""""" Well, you should mind if you're worried about getting nipped and bitten and pulled at The one thing you shouldn't allow her to do is the shoulder routine. If she's nipped you already when up there, it'll definitely happen again and if you have anything that she finds enticing, she'll bite that too. There's greys that won't bite when on shoulders and there's greys that will and there's no way to break that habit. A sign of bad things to come in that area is the slight difficulty you're having trying to get her off. As a bird becomes more adept on a shoulder and develops the ability to avoid a finger or hand the, the first thing that happens is to go across the back to the other shoulder. That means you'll have to exert more trickery in getting her and that's when the more serious biting occurs. You can't see a bird on your shoulder but the bird can defnitely see you and everything you're doing. Many people will say that they have a nice shoulder bird and many will say that shoulders are off limits. From what you're saying, you've just arrived at that point of not allowing your bird up there. Many greys don't like bathing and unfortunately, you'll have to continue the misting and put up with the squawking until she calms down and accepts it just as an annoyance. You can try bringing your bird into the bathtub and spraying her there or put her in the sink and spray her there or put a large bowl in the bottom of the cage so that she can bathe but that's no guarantee that she'll bathe in it. No matter how you bathe her, any tool you use should be on the misting mode. No squirting modes at all.

""""""If I reach in the cage, he climbs away and may try to bite. """""""" Very common in african greys. Many do that because when they're in their cage they fell like they're in their private protective area which is called cage aka his home.Everything else you say about your bird sounds superb and you shoulsn't worry about what he is doing concerning his cage. He may remain like that for the rest of his life or he may stop doing that in a few months after getting used to your hand going in and out.

You should move your bird somewhere else when any types of cleaning is being done--ESPECIALLY BLEACH ON THE FLOOR. Birds can smell things we can't and it can damage their nasal passages. You'll need to keep a bird in another place until the odor of the bleach is gone. Yes, bleach is extremely toxic but window cleaner is only dangerous if the bird's cage is being cleaned with window cleaner while the bird is still in the cage. There are other products sold for cleaning tables besides window cleaners.

Approx 4 to 6 ft distance depending upon size of bird for approx 1 to 1 1/2 hrs a day. Only special flourscent bulbs can be UVB and yes, they're expensive. That's the only kind of bulb capable of having the 4th spectrum of ray that ordinary flourscent bulbs can't have. UVB bulbs last about 7000 to 9000 hrs and then need to be replaced. The bulb that gets replaced can then be used in any other area where a regular flourscent is needed or desired. Exactly how and what UVB light does can be seen in the sticky above. ADD ON--misread question """""Dave - how close can heat lamps be when trying to keep baby parrots warms?""""" Those types of bulbs are NEVER used to keep birds warm. That's not their purpose. In the wild, it's the temperature of the day or night which determines how warm or cold a bird is. Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/06 19:52<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/06 19:56

UVB lighting isn't a marketing gimmick. It's benefits were first discovered by different animal medical establishments and it's heavily used in zoos because many animals benefit from it besides birds. Although expensive, it's definitely not a waste of money. What natural sunlight causes us sunburns is the same natural sunlight that gives diffent wild animal various vitamins --Vitamin D3. Our windows are specially made to filter out the ingredients from natural sunlight which can cause us sunburn. PS---and because this type of lighting has to be kept at a certain distance from the bird, it provides no heat or warmth.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/06 05:21

UVB is a necessary part of the process in which vitamin D3 is produced in the skin of humans and animals, and also what causes sunburn in humans. The vitamin D3 that is produced is responsible for regulating calcium metabolism. A lack of UVB and vitamin D3 can ultimately result in metabolic bone disease in reptiles, and rickets In humans. Nearly all animals that are active during the day are exposed to UVB. This includes birds living in heavily shaded tropical forests, and birds in open areas with direct sunlight exposure. Even though birds are exposed to UVB in their natural habitat, UVB has been traditionally ignored for pet birds. We know from science and experience that UVB is beneficial, if not absolutely necessary for humans and most reptiles. We now know that birds also benefit from UVB. There was a good article in the journal .Exotic DVM. Recently on .The Effect of UV-B Lighting Supplementation in African Grey Parrots.. This study determined that exposure to UVB with African Grey Parrots resulted in higher blood levels of vitamin D3 as compared to Parrots without exposure to UVB lighting, with and without vitamin D3 In their diet. The author found that the parrots were able to meet their vitamin D3 requirements through UVB. Alone, rather than through the presence of Vitamin D3 in their diet. The author states in his article that .it would appear prudent to supply both an adequate diet and UV-B lighting to grey parrots in order to prevent clinical manifestations of hypocalcemia in this species. And .the author now routinely recommends provision of UV-B Lighting to African species.. An article explaining one method that birds use to synthesize UVB that involves the preen (Uropygial) gland. In this process, Vitamin D3 precursors are secreted by the preen gland. These precursors are spread over the birds feathers when the bird preens. These precursors and then exposed to UVB and converted to active vitamin D3, and then ingested upon future preening. As some birds lack ( any Amazona Species) A preen gland, birds are also able to produce vitamin D3 through the exposure of the skin on their legs and near their beak to UVB. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, too much dietary vitamin D can result in an overdose. This is actually how many rodent poisons work. With UVB induced photosynthesis of vitamin D3, the risk of overdose is potentially reduced since his has been discovered to be a biologically regulated process. UVB is necessary for the physiological health of pet birds.

Vitamin D drops are totally different than the lamps. The lamps give out vitamin D3 which imitates the natural light of the outdoors. An excess of these added vitamins and minerals in an African Grey's diet can lead to health problems. If your grey is eating a balanced diet, it's getting all the vitamin D that it needs.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/05 22:38

I think you're making a wise decision. It doesn't have to be a final decision. You should wait until all your activities kick in and see what happens. There's plenty of greys that can be purchased at any time. A grey does need company and you're correct about the feather plucking. Greys will pluck their feathers constantly if things aren't quite good. Yes, people work but usually they have a set schudule that a bird can get used to. Hold off for a while. Be absolutely sure that you can give your bird at least 4 hrs of your time. Resting up after work may take away part of those four hrs. It's good that you're thinking of the future.

Whenever I go into my bird's aviary room, they start squawking loudly if I'm carrying any cardboard boxes around. I hate it when they do that. What they're doing is *Y noise* because it's extremely annoying. Of course, they're in their cages and usually sitting on their perch. So that takes care of the *like being set down and left alone for a little bit* Maybe they're doing it cause they wanna be *Y* birds. I don't really know. They could act like *X* birds if they wanted to but as you must know, birds will be birds. Then the time comes for cleaning---It really doesn't matter whether I use a low sounding or high sounding vaccuum. All of them start squawking--of course I take them out of the room and put them in a distant area when I'm doing this but they still continue to be *Y* birds. Then when I put them back, I may give them *X* rewards but some may not accept *X* rewards and flip them away. Yes, I understand that I shouldn't give them *X* rewards because they were acting like *Y* birds. Maybe they're just being spiteful. Now for my TAG--He loves to fly over to one of my quaker's cages and run around the top and sides of the cage. It causes the quaker to run around and follow him and squawk at him because he's annoying her. I hate to see her annoyed but she's acting very defensively *Y* because of her noise. He's also acting very offensively *Y* cause he's the one that starts the whole thing. In my eyes, he's showing negative *Y* behavior. Now for one of my other greys---of course cages need to be cleaned so a tray is pulled out and cleaned but the gratings also needs to be pulled out to be cleaned but as I'm pulling it out this grey's grating from his cage he grabs one of the bars and tries to stop me from pulling it out. As a matter of fact, he actually has the audicity of coming down from his perch to do this. Actually it looks like a tug of war. This is extremely annoying to me cause he's interupting my time schedule. Obviously he's acting very *Y*. I know he's acting very *Y* because when it comes time to put the grating back in, He acts very *X*. So please tell me what *Y* rewards I can give them so they'll start acting like *X* birds. Thank god for Dan saying what happened when he growled at his bird when it growled. Who would have know that the growling would escalate instead of diminishing and sadly, who would have known that his bird had the nerve to fluff up!!!! PS--- personally, I think Dan's situation disn't get too crazy. JUST Imagine if they both started barking at each other. I personally believe a bird can bark louder and then there would have been a very serious double *Y* situation going on yet it would have been difficult to judge who was more *Y*!!!!! Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/04 00:59<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/04 20:21

JillyBeanz Please don't stop using the words that you normally use in your country. It's a learning lesson for the rest of us. Many people here from different countries and they always bring their language with them. Ciao Bambina

Sorry about that info. I didn't know. I never did a business with them.

JillyBeanz That is a bit cold. If you can't move the cage to another area in the house that may be warmer, you can 1--do as you suggest or 2--get a double cover. Just make sure that the area in the bedroom isn't extremely dry. They do need a little humidity and if the upstairs bedroom is very warm ( 77 to 81) , don't use any cover on the bird at all.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/09/03 00:27

They have a phone #. Don't know if it'll help though. 1-888-84-BIRDS