Dave007

You need to find an airline that transports pets in a special cargo area made just for pets. Most airlines won't allow pets in the sitting area except for service dogs.

Not to make you feel bad but at the age of 8 yrs, the odds of your bird starting to talk as you would like is small. Any words he may know now were more than likely picked up when he was very young. This doesn't apply to every bird but out of 100 greys, maybe 10 to 15 will revert to talking and not many words will be taken in. Many people talk about the rehomed greys they've gotten but they also say that the bird doesn't talk and they refuse to pick up on words. Many of those birds are expert in sounds though. Most greys are experts in sounds. PS--if he was a talker, he would've already picked up words from past homes that he lived in. Most greys don't need to be taught to imitate words that they accidentally hear frequently.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/24 23:12

You can't *flip it around* because it's two entirely different things. If you wanna say those words to your bird when no other sounds are being made, fine. Any words you wanna choose can also be used but won't work as a substitute for anything else. Over the years, I've told countless people who are buying young birds to NEVER start whistling around or to an CAG on a steady basis because in the parrot world they're probably the most natural whistlers around with a big variety of whistles, some being very melodic. That's one reason why so many people start to hear a grey do a wolf whistle with no lessons. They need no stimulation and as they get older, the whistling will be heard more and more. They will start whistling when they hear it on a TV or radio or from other people etc.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/24 22:52

Well, that's really up to you. You can start working with him in any area you like but if he's gonna simply fly off, then my suggestion is to work with him in an area where even though he'll fly off, he'll be in an area where he can't fly far away. If that were to happen it's basically you chasing him. That's why I suggested an enclosed room. There aren't too many methods to stop a bird from flying away. I used this method on 1 grey that was semi-tame. First I had to train him to stop being aggressive. That grey belongs to a friend of mine and the bird was older than yours and had bad habits ( biting)and he didn't know how to cope with the bird. The other grey which is mine was tame and 4 yrs old and completely bald. He never knew how to fly cause he had no feathers to fly with so the first thing was to get the feathers back and then teach stepping up, general handling, lessening his fear. The last bird was my Timneh who was 9 yrs old at the time--probably the worst of all of them. He knew how to fly, was never perch trained or hand trained. His only purpose in life was to attack the owners including their baby. It took over a year to change his attitude and accept my wife and I. Many, many, many serious bites there. All of them were trained in a quiet room away from other people and familiar areas. As far as your bird nipping at you, I'd bet there's loads of people that went through this after getting a bird who started to develop it's own attitude. It's part of owning a young parrot. The scratching and then biting is a common thing they do. """"Shud I just start again?"""" The whole process is repeating the training over and over and over but a young bird gets the message faster than an adult bird but it still takes time. Obviously, he steps up and immediately flies away all around familiar areas. That's why I suggest a place that he can fly in but can't go anywhere. Young birds are easy to train but you need to know that they are stubborn and will try to get away from anything that bothers them such as training. PS--all this training has to be done with rewards ( treats) even if you think they shouldn't have those types of treats. It's not as bad as you think and you can't hurt your bird by giving him these types of treats.

Greys make all sorts of sounds. So many are strange to us but if you're in an area where they can constantly be heard as I am, you'd see what I'm talking about and most have nothing to do with human words. I personally believe that's what's happening but it's just my opinion. You can begin by locating a spare perch or training stick which you can teach the bird to step up onto If the parrot is tame, you can begin training with the perch. In the case of a tame parrot, it is better to perform training while the parrot is away from its cage. My suggestion is to find a room that's enclosed and can't escape by flying away. I also believe that the stepping up routine should start with the bird being on the fl;oor. This method is for training a bird that is not comfortable stepping onto a human hand. Begin by getting the parrot’s attention, bring him to that quiet training room and let the parrot see the training stick while you speak the command “step up”, “up” or whatever words you wish to use to mean the action you are teaching. If the parrot moves toward the stick, even a single step, provide a reward and lots of verbal praises. Repeat this process through the first training session. Any movement toward the stick, or in the case where the parrot tries to back away, even learning to not move away, should be rewarded. The next day, again get the training stick and rewards. Allow the parrot to see that you have these items. Talk in a soothing, calm voice to the parrot to let it know you are not going to hurt it in any way. Again, be sure the parrot knows you have the reward and the training stick. On this second day, as you speak the command, the parrot should have to come a bit further toward the stick in order to get the reward. Once it has made progress toward the stick, only reward behavior that is as good as or better than past behavior. Do not provide rewards for doing less than it has done before. Parrots are smart and it will not take long for the parrot to get the idea! Each day, request the parrot to do a bit more in the parrot training session than the day before. If it took one step toward the stick yesterday, reward it today for taking two steps toward the training stick. Or, if it came near the stick yesterday, then today it should be rewarded only for lifting a foot toward the stick or stepping onto it. After some days of regular training using food rewards as well as verbal praise, the parrot will move closer and closer to the stick, eventually stepping onto the stick. When the bird takes to the stick, hold him there and talk to him for a while and put him back on the floor After that goal is reached in the parrot’s training, you can begin shortening the distance from your hand to the end of the stick, eventually getting the parrot to step onto a very short stick. Soon after, the parrot will be stepping directly only your hand! If you are performing parrot training with a tame bird, this whole process may take as little as two or three days but will take longer if the bird is extremely frightened of you. However, continue to reinforce the training until it is ingrained in the parrot’s mind that each time you give the command, it should perform the behavior. After the parrot learns the behavior, verbal praise is all that is required. Continue to provide food treats during training for a new manners command. You’ll be so proud of your parrot when it becomes well trained. The stick should be about 10 inches long , about 3/4 inch thick. Patience is the trick It does take timeEventually walk around with the bird on the perch. When he eventually accepts your hand, do the same thing. No sudden jerky movements. Talk in a soothing voice. Let him see those treats. Again, this is just one method that has worked for me when working with skittish, nervous birds who in general are tame. If a bird is untame, many other things have to be done before any hand training can start. Hope this helps.

Marauder Lucky for you that you were able to meet Irene. I went to 3 seminars but never got the chance to meet her. It would have been nice to congratulate her. She put a lot of time in with Alex. I just wanna say something else concerning the earlier accusation that her bird was mistreated either physically or mentally---No parrot, no matter what species of parrot, can't be taught anything by anyone who does these things to a bird. If there were a number of people working with the bird ( which there was) the parrot has to trust and feel comfortable with that person/persons.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/24 01:58

That periodically happens when a bird is biting something that's supposed to have even breaking power such as a shell of a nut or something similar. Use a nut as an example--part of the nut is harder to crack even though it's not supposed to be harder. The bird bites harder and sometimes a little chip appears. Lower mandibles are constantly being shed even though it can't be seen. It's more noticeable on the upper mandible because that area can be seen much more easily. I doubt you have any problem. Another thing--you have a very young bird who's upper and lower mandibles haven't yet reached the normal hardness that adult birds have. The older the bird, the easier it is to break through things. My birds, even though they're all adults always chip off little pieces of their beaks and they've been doing it for years.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/23 19:56

You've had him only one week and he'll need much more time to get used to both of you. Next week, the whole picture may be in reverse. Besides both of you, he needs time to adjust to his new home..daily routines, environments. All of that takes time. Be grateful that he's taken to you so well in such a short time. Many people aren't that lucky. That's a lot of progress and if he is taking to your husband so quickly, consider that a blessing. Your new bird needs time with both of you. Individually and as a group. Be patient because more than likely after your bird gets settled in he'll relax some more. Getting settled in takes much more time than one week even if you think that because he's socializing with you, he's settled in. He's not. When your bird is with your husband let them have their time together. Eventually work your way into the picture as a group. Your bird will be familar with many more things as time passes. It does take time but what's going on with you and your bird isn't unusual at all.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/23 05:48

""" its like a haircut"""" Good guess because that's exactly what he's doing. It's called *barbering*. They'll bite off 1/2 the feather and leave the rest. The tail and flight feathers are the favorite first places to hit on. Considering how old your bird is, I would he's doing that because he's close to molting out the rest of his body feathers. It's take a while before you see a complete new feather there because they fall out in their own time, not the same time as other feathers. Usually after molting, a very young bird will stop doing that unless he/she is becoming a chronic plucker but understand that a chronic plucker goes after all the other feathers too and continues doing that long after molting. Your bird is going through a temporary case of acute plucking.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/22 19:52

well, just by looking at your picture, it's pretty easy to see who's got the upper hand and who's spoiling who. Faces tell it all. It's in the eyes. Plain and simple--He's saying * you better not stop*

Did he bite you or was it a claw?

"""""I really love my fingers so I did this one in the cage."""""""" How long have you had this condition?

Mimicing the mockingbird is only a temporary thing. Normally, a grey will stop mimicing softbills after the thrill is gone. I have wild bird feeders imn the back and at least 5 different softbills come there for the majority of the day. 2 of my greys picked up on some of the different chirps and whistles and calls of different softbills but it faded away even though the birds still come to the feeders.

Stop using the second cage. What happened should tell you what can happen when a bird is in a strange place especially a different cage that she's not used to. As she gets older, she'll get used to her main cage and many times, it gets harder for a grey to accept changes like that. Luckily, after her thrashing about, you're lucky she didn't crack any flight feathers. There would have been blood and you don't know how to handle something like that. Those feathers are totally different than others. Your bird is a baby and you may have to sacrifice some of those 2 day trips until your bird is able to stay home with another person. No, there's no way to stop him from picking if he intends to but most of the time they don't do that again unless there's a specific irritation there or an ingrown feather. it'll take a while for her feathers to grow back in and any feathers that have blood in them take even longer. """""ripped through half of a new flight feather then started to take the tail feather shaft out little by little. Now the bleeding! What can I do? """" She did that because half of it was already gone and she wanted to complete the job. Broken blood feathers are sometimes painful and uncomfortable to birds. Before you leave for work, put Quik Stop or corn starch ( preferablely Quik Stop) on that area idf if it isn't bleeding. Birds don't like the taste of Quik Stop and will avoid the area--within 3 to 4 days things will be normal.

Almonds, large sprigs of millet spray, hard yellow cheddar, ice cream, sherbet, yogurt, chicken bones, pasta, a little milk once in a while, flavored oatmeal<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/21 20:19

You're not a worry wart. If you don't ask, you won't know. I'm sure that when the vet saw the problem, he didn't get too disturbed. It does happen periodically for different reasons. A vet will focus on the tip to make sure it's the narrowest part of the beak. he'll also file down or trim down the sides of the beak if he spots very jagged areas. Now, there would have been a problem if your bird had a scissor beak, The beak grows down and the tip points to the left or right. The tip of the bottom beak grows up and points to the opposite direction. hence, the scissor effect. That's a vitamin deficiency usually from birth and the bird has to be brought to a vet for regular visits for trimming but the problem will always be there. Cockatoos have this problem more than other species. I saw your bird's picture and it didn't look serious to me and I knew what your vet was gonna do.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/21 18:57

Beaks grow at different rates. Some birds always file them down so the beak always looks the same. Others sometimes file them down and sometimes don't file them down so sometimes the beak looks longer than last month. The same goes for nails. There's no exact rate. The only thing you should know is that the beak was evened out and only the thicker distorted tip was removed making the whole beak uniform again. Some people go in for regular beak and nail trims. Some don't do that cause it's not necessary. Of course, some vets may never tell you whether the beak actually needs a trim. After all, if he or she keeps turning away customers, how's he gonna pay the rent?<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/21 18:31

That can sometimes happen when the consistancy of formula is thinner than normal. Skip the next night formula feeding. Make sure that his other food is available at all times. After doing that watch the droppings for the next 2 days Check for odors and solidity of the droppings during the day. If all goes back to normal, stop the last feeding because it may be interfering with your bird's ability to digest the bird food. Look for bubbles in the droppings. First deposit in the morning should be large and have a similar color to the color of the pellets he's eating. Check each deposit and check for smell. If it stops, it was the formula or the thickness of the formula. You can replace that formula with a small amount of warm oatmeal--1 or 2 tablespoons. He may or may not like it. If the problem persists for more than 2 days, you'll need to visit a vet and you need to bring a sample of the droppings to him.

Birds don't need much--believe me, trust your vet

Your vet is right on target--30 min each day --5 ft away.

Jamalbirdbiz There is a very common phrase we use here in the US-- *If you have nothing to say, don't say it* Making remarks about someone or something you know nothing about isn't looked upon very well on this and many other boards. As far as You Tube goes, anyone can put anything concerning any subject on there and that doesn't necessarily make it true. Concerning Irene, I've been to 3 seminars of hers in 3 different places. People here have told you to go and read a few things but I'll give you the short story in case reading that material will be difficult for you to comprehend. Irene is a behavioral scientist who's only goal is to study potential intelligence levels of animals. Her specialty is birds. Lets set the record straight about the plucking issue.----she got Alex when he was approx 2 yrs old and at the time he was a chronic plucker in only a few areas of his body. He always remained that way. As many people here will tell you, they also own chronic pluckers and know that the bird will always be a plucker and it has nothing to do with cruelty. In any picture of Alex, there are no bald spots. Besides Irene, there were 8 people associated with her that were there all the time. All of these people including Irene spoiled the bird all the time. He wanted for nothing. His diet was excellent and varied. He was not fond of some fruits nor every single vegetable that was fed to him. The training sessions were 30 minutes long --4 to 5 sessions a day. The reason they were only 30 minutes long was because after 30 minutes, a grey or other parrot loses interest in what's going on. Training sessions were done 5 days a week. Alex was not caged during the day. He slept in an oversized cage during the night. There were other birds present. Alex died at the age of 31 from hardening of the arteries which can't be diagnosed ahead of time. One day he was perfectly fine, the next day he was found dead in the bottom of the cage. A complete necropsy was done. Information concerning his death wasn't released to the public until the results of that necropsy was released. Few people can say that they've had their grey for 31 yrs. That figure is high. Alex was well known on many boards as well as many conservation groups. Today more training is going on with 2 other greys plus a Double Headed Amazon. So to wind this up, get your facts straight before rushing over with some incorrect You Tube information. Check lots of things out. You may actually learn something constructive about creatures that you deal with. That's what the people on this board do in case you're not aware of that.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/20 23:50

All greys give off dander, all year long. Some give off more dander than others but it has absolutely nothing to do with any type of health problems. Most of the time it may increase because of the amount of humidity in the air or the actual temperature in the air or nearness to sunlight which can slightly dry out the skin. A lower temperature, a higher humidity helps the skin but it won't affect dander at all. Your bird may have what you think is a steady amount of dander being put into the air but it can increase at any time. I've never seen a *constant, regulated* amount of dander come off of any grey because it goes on all year long. Yes, you can wash, spray or bathe your bird but it won't lessen the amount of dander that grey or cockatoo will throw off. Bathing, spraying only saturates the dander, making it extremely heavy and what happens is that the dander is shaken off and drops downward instead of flying through the air but that's only temporary unless the bird is wet 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. Dander is a natural protective coating which protects and waterproofs feathers. People are affected and annoyed at the dander much more than a bird is. Actually, this is the first time I've ever heard of a vet recommend something that he/she thinks will help lessen the the dander situation in birds. It's nature's way of protecting a bird. Some birds need it and some don't.

The Bird Room Grand Island , NY 14072 (716) 773-7150 Private breeder of African Greys, Timneh Greys, Lovebirds, Cockatiels, Quaker Parrots

well, let me just say this about mites-----recently, we went through a big crazy thread concerning mites. It's something that birds rarely get and situations have to be in an extreme certain way in order for that to happen. The whole thing started off with seeing a black bug one day even though mites aren't easily visible and the thread eventually got into an area where lots of guess work was being offered. Then, different kinds of mites were talked about. The problem could have been solved by simply going to another vet which eventually was done and the vet said no mites were present nor had they ever been present. Plus he named off the problem quickly. Little did we know that the original vet didn't know much about birds. So, to get back to what you asked, I doubt he has mites. He may have some dry areas which are irritating him because of surrounding weather, the possible time when molting is just around the corner. etc. All parrots do what your parrot is doing and they do it all year long. As far as the sound----- Clicking is a body language sound when a bird has intentions of biting for it's own reasons. Clucking is the sound that has to do with comfort, calm reactions to things, possible petting or a warning sign that a bird is walking over to be with you and just wanna sit on your knee or arm. There is a difference between the two sound wise, but it's not vey different from each other so when your bird is making that sound and affection on his part follows, he's not clicking. he's clucking.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/19 23:22

Well, from what you say now, it doesn't sound as bad as you said. Grieving means that they wanna be totally alone, they get moody, they cease most of their habits. They get unusually ni[ppy when disturbed Your bird is already playing, wants to be petted, laughing, going through an action that has to do with him being sexually stimulated ( wings opened--dipping down)Clicking, another petting sound. I doubt that there's anything wrong with your bird at all. Especially since he's doing all these things a day after the other one died.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/19 21:41