Dave007

lovethatgrey Not to worry. As time goes on, you'll be making lots of things because greys really don't need such fancy things. They're chewers. They're very destructive. They'll chew anything that they find attractive. People here will give good ideas. Stores make simple things, the person brings it home and the bird destroys it. Greys don't need such fancy things. They really don't care. Do you really think greys care what about what damn color an item is? I'm glad you didn't taken offence to my posts and photos. It wasn't meant to make you out to be a non thinking person. Cage perches--I take all new uniform round perches from new cages and take them out of cage and go outside in backyard and find dead branches and simply clean them and cut them to fit. Greys love those types of perches and they're good for the feet. Those pictures are a small T Bar I made for a friend who was teaching his amazon to step up when it was very young. At the time, the bird was clumsy. There's certain items that can be made and the item will wind up be using for a multitude of things. Just remember that in the future you'll be saving lots of money. Pet stores love to rip people off and take advantage of people. Plus, that also goes for places online that sell bird products.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/30 20:02

Judy you only have to use 1 nail from the cross piece into the handle. Not too hard, right? Hood--just take a small plastic cup, put a hole in the bottom and slip it on the handle. Price--the effort you'll need to slip the cup on the handle but knowing you, I think you can handle it with little problems. Just have a cup of coffee before starting out on this venture. PS--you can use any size cup. it can be higher, shorter, widerm more narrow. Go for it gal. <br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/30 19:13

That type of item can be made by hammering 2 scrap pieces of wood together any size or length a person desires. Price is about 50 cents.

Well for one thing, a parrot who has one leg can't be a breeder but if put into that type of situation, it's very possible that a female will still lay eggs. Of course, the eggs will definitely be infertile but whan a female is doing this type of thing, her internal system weakens. So, forget that idea. Right now, it's very important that you remove that box. It serves no purpose other than to allow the birds to stay frightened and you're supplying a hiding spot. """SOME MAY THINK IT WAS A VET JOB IMMEADIATLY,""" Exactly true. There are no vets here and a vet is recommended for most illnesses especially when blood, cracked beaks, tongue problems are spotted. I'm not being cruel here but you may want to use lower case typing because some people may feel that you're yelling. Upper case letters usually signify that. This mistake happens quite frequently with loads of people.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/30 17:34

Conversations ( 4 or 5) have been going on for the last 7 days concerning safe and unsafe chemicals/ safe cleaners/ unsafe cleaners that are being used for a variety of things. Please check the few boards that are speaking about it.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/30 18:15

"""""She is the best bird ever and has never tried to bite me. I cant say the same for my wife,"""" I'm really sorry to hear that. You must feel terrible. Was there any refund or exchange clause offered when you got your wife?

"""""Any ideas on what this loud rasp is attempting to communicate? Oh and in case sex has any bearing, she IS female determined via DNA sexing. """""" What the bird is trying to communicate is impossible to say. The important thing here is that you know it has to do with communication between you and her. She's probably been doing that for a long time in the past. The first thing that a person may think is that the bird is ill because of the rasping but you already said that it instantly stops when you immediately respond to her. A bird who is ill and the illness is causing rasping, well that rasping would last much longer than 5/7/8 seconds. The bird if sick wouldn't be active and would be extremely quiet and would stay fluffed up in a corner all the time, especially if it resortory or digestive problems going on. More than Parrots do strange things and make strange noises to communicate. Much too many to list. They do it physically, verbally. Some are extremely annoying when they yell or squawk for attention. At least that's what some people say.

redafricangrey So you sent me a PM asking me to read your post about this subject. I did and I'll give you my opinion concerning it especially when uninformed people look at this and the first thing that comes into their head is * I want one* I'm totally against hybridization of any type of parrot because it's done intentionally. Many other aspects of the complete natural bird are put aside. The natural coloring of any parrot is beautiful in the eyes of the beholder. If a person doesn't like that color, they can simply find another parrot who's color suits them. These Greys are not mutations. Mutations and Hybrids are totally different. Hybridization is an intentional interference with the balance and percentage of genes that all parrots naturally have. Many birds have an accidental excess of a certain color which may or may not disappear. Most of the time that excess isn't uniform on a grey's body. People who decide to do this type of thing are inspired to do it when they first see that excess. They wouldn't try doing it if they never saw that excess. There's so many absolutely beautiful parrots in the world today. More than you can imagine and when people try to interfere with their natural beauty color wise, I think it's irresponsible. So what do I think of those red birds posted here and in those videos? Not too much. Those hybrids, in the wild wouldn't be accepted by their own species concerning breeding. This type of thing can only be done artifically---Indoors This same type of thing has been done with macaws simply because of color. Fortunately, there are other species of parrots in the wild that never get excesses of a cetain color because if some of those species did have genes that affected color, there definitely would be people out there that would exploit them and be proud of it.

To start off and put one thing aside, if your adult bird was abused and has also been a serious plucker before you had him, more than likely that plucking is partially chronic and there'll be less times of plucking and more times of plucking. The chances of changing that behavior by changing your circumstances has already been done. Because of the bird's present age, permanent feelings and attitudes about your woman and the females she's dealt with in the past, abusive things from the past, it'll be very difficult to change your adult bird into one that will accept your lady very well. A little, yes. A lot, no-- but things can get better but in your special situation it's gonna take much more time. Your bird can be truly classified as a *one person bird* because of past situations. He obviously takes to you. His behavior with her is totally different. Greys are naturally jealous and in your situation with you and your woman hugging and kissing, it sets the bird off big time probably when you're not yet actually touching each other.. I know you wanna the bird to be a family bird but because of the past history here and the age of your bird, it's gonna take a long time and it will take even longer if your lady doesn't live there. Constant verbal communication with her and the bird can help calm the bird down, but trust?? That'a a way down the road right now. The *one bird* connection is very well known where greys are concerned. People are often told to never let that type of situation start off when they first get a young bird. That's easier to accomplish with a young bird. You simply have to take it real slow knowing in the back of your mind that your bird isn't female friendly. The good part here is that your bird is taking food from her. Everything will happen in baby steps. The diet you mention doesn't sound bad at all especially if she's eating veggies and the other items you name off. As far as plucked areas and general feather condition, you should bathe or mist the bird frequently so that the skin becomes softer and less dry and itchier. You can also purchase a product called ALOE VERA JUICE from Walmart or a pharmacy and spray her with that. Most people here use it and there's an article on this board about it. It's inexpensive--$9 a gallon. It's best to keep asking questions about different things concerning your bird's attitude and behavior and progress. Many people here can chip in and give suggestions. Many people here own birds that have more serious issues going on in the household.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/29 06:52

Since you're looking for good reputation breeders or personal recomendations, you'll have to add your city and state. If anyone here knows anyone in that area or nearby states, they'll tell you. Long distance traveling may be involved.

No, that color is actually grey which sometimes comes across as slightly blue/grey. The eyes will change according to age. They'll get lighter and lighter with that grey iris finally being white. The color in the picture is approx the proper color of a 5 to 6 my old grey. Not all are exactly the same but the color in the picture is correct as far as age goes. There is no infection. Adult Eye color----bird is 5 yrs old <br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/28 18:33

It' possible that she may never get used to it and it's possible that she may. It's not something that can really be solved. Either they like it or they don't. Many people go out and buy extremely expensive toys or playstands or other expensive items and the bird will totally ignore it or be afraid of it or love it. Just because it says that the product is made for birds doesn't mean that the bird will like it. Take your rope and put it in the bird's environment but not next to him. It may take a long time for she to show interest or she may not show interest. Most CAGs are very leery of new things--that goes for new cages, new toys, new bowls, new perches, new swings and other items. It may take weeks for a grey to approach it with bravery. First, the bird has to completely check out the item to see if it bites back and then slow interest starts to develop----Maybe.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/28 02:31

Red factor birds are no different than greys who don't have that color red. It's simply an excess color gene that comes from either the parents, grandparents or even older relative birds in the past. There's nothing scientific about. There might be a clutch that has one chik with excess genes and the others don't. The next clutch may have no greys with that excess gene or all the chicks may have it. Many people are excited when their bird has that extra red coloring. There's loads of red factor greys out there and some of them actually lose those red feathers and well as their other feathers during the first full molt, which disappoints people simply because it was temporary. Other greys keep the red feathers permanently. Health wise, they're exactly the same as greys that don't have any excess carotoid coloring.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/27 20:29

I would strongly advise you to not let the breeder clip the wings when the bird is fully weaned. Fledging is the age when a bird has the wings necessary to start learning how to fly and learn that it's a bird. Fledging doesn't mean that the wings are ready to clip. The next step for a bird is exercise, coordination, muscle strength.If you deny a bird from doing that, the bird will never develop strong muscles that are needed in order to have coordination and proper balance and flying ability. A bird shouldn't be clipped until it's at least 7 mts or older if it needs to be clipped at all which I don't agree with. Clipping is done by many breeders before the bird is fully developed just so the customer can go home with a bird that has no abilities to learn how to be a bird. There's sad stories here and on other boards concerniong bad clips, short clips, lack of muscle strength, inability to stay level, falling off a cage or playstand, seriously injuring breast bones. Clipping may not allow a bird to develop a good strong independent attitude which is important for greys because of their natural personality. The bird needs to know it's a bird and needs to learn it's abililities even if it's an inconvenience to the owner. Breeders won't clip wings if a customer doesn't want it done. An african grey parrot as well as other species of parrots are wild animals and will always remain wild animals even if they're kept as pets. They're totally different then domestic animals.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/27 18:36

Just like any cleaner that has an odor, it needs to completely dry and you've gotta wait until the smell goes away. Even people who use straight vinegar find that the smell is too strong so they wait until the odor leaves. Bleach will take much longer as far as odor disappearing. If it was me, I wouldn't put bleach diluted or undiluted on or in a cage. Wasghing a floor with bleach and water is fine as long as your bird doesn't smell it and it's in an area where he won't be able to smell it. Personally, I believe it's extremely unsafe and I wouldn't do it. Bleach is extremely harsh. I'm a better safe than sorry kinda guy.

Most pharmacies sell it. They will also order some for you if they're out.---100% Aloe Vera Gel.

"""""If I have my Grey on the other side of my house, three rooms away, and I clean my bathroom and have the window open, will it still be harmful to him?""""" No because bathroom cleaners dissapate pretty quickly. The only thing you need to do is close the door, turn on the exhaust and that'll pull the odor away ( and you don't have to have your grey on the other side of the house). """"If I just painted the inside of my house and stained concrete floors, how long does that need to air out before I bring the bird home? If it is a few weeks before he moves in and I open the windows a lot when I can, should that be okay? """"" On the average, one or two rooms painted with latex paint will take approx 1 week for the odor to leave. Latex paint is water based. Using oil paint is a whole different thing. It'll take weeks before a house can have birds in it. The odor will linger because it's oil based. When any painting is going on,there should be 1 or 2 exhaust fans working 24 hr a day. They should be positioned against open windows. If you have no exhaust fans, simply take a strong fan, put it against a window with the air blowing out. That'll make it act like an exhaust fan. I know nothing about stained concrete but if it's oiled based in any way, lots of time is needed for the smell to go away.

""" My in laws used to have his wings clipped, and I notice his wings seem to be longer on one side. Is this normal? """"" Yes it is if the wings were cut unevenly. It'll take quite a while before the old feathers fall out and are replaced with new ones. That's a normal situation with uneven or bad clips. He bites you when you try to pick him up off the floor? Start using a 10 inch hand perch and get him used to being picked up that way. he'll bite the stick instead. After you see him getting calm with the stick, use a shorter one and do the same thing. Your hand will be getting closer and closer and he'll eventually accept it. I don't feel that it's a good idea to reclip him though. Either you want the bird to have wing feathers or you don't and if you clip him again, it'll take that much longer to grow back and there's no guarantee that they'll grow in evenly. If he can fly to the floor that means his present wings are allowing him to fly without bouncing off the floor which cause an injury.

I really didn't know what problems creatine would cause in parrots so I called my vet and he finally got back to me. I asked him about high counts and he told me that it usually happens with young birds and he also said that it could be stress related or metabilism of foods. He said that in some situations hypertension can be present. I diidn't ask him whether a long trip could cause it. I didn't ask him if extreme activity could cause it. He already knows that very young birds play to excess. He also said that different vets have different opinions about it. He did say that most of it had to do with muscle tone. He said that vets are concerned about high counts of creatine in 4 legged animals because it causes lots of problems in dogs and cats and it's a serious problem that concerns kidneys. He said that dogs and cats are closely monitored when the problem shows itself but they're also immediately treated too. He said the usual treatment for high levels of creatine was monitoring a bird but he also said that it's a problem that's not serious with birds the way it is with 4 legged domestic animals. He didn't give me details concerning high or low counts. . """Help! I don't know if I should be worried, particularly about the creatinine level..."" Only your vet can tell you whether you should be worried or not. There are no vets here so giving a medical opinion isn't a good idea. I'm sure your vet told you what he intends to do concerning the problem and if he didn't, you should call him for that info. You should also ask him about those internal parasites that were discovered and what he intends to do. We also can't answer questions like that. Vets are the ones who deal with those types of problems. If you walked away with no medications or specific procedures that you need to do, I'll assume he wasn't that worried but only he can tell you about that. Many problems that arise from well checks are not even discussed here because many people don't bring them up in a conversation but if they were, the most basic info that can be given is to stay close to your vet especially since my vet told me that different vets treat different problems in different ways. I'm gonna assume that he was referring to the seriousness or advancement of any problems.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/25 18:59

I wouldn't worry about her not eating when she's out ogf the cage. When she's hungry, she'll go right over to the food. She doesn't need to be put in the area where the food is. And, the weight is now normal.

That's impossible to answer. She's a talker and may yet learn new things but on the other hand she may just repeating what she learned a while ago. The bird went from the owner to the vet and finally to you. So, you'll have to just wait and see,. Start talking to her on a regular basis and see what happens.

Everything is going well with the bird's transistion to your house. The only 2 things you're really worried about are 1---lack of talking lately 2---not wanting to step up The bird obviously isn't afraid of you if he's paying attention and imitating things you say. To reestablish that stepping up process, just use a small perch for a while instead of your hand. If he eventually takes to the perch, he'll eventually take to your hand as long as you make that perch shorter and shorter. Start off with 10 inches and work it down to 5 inches. It will take some time to reestablish the stepping up habit. Don't rush things. Hold the bird on the stick for a bit before returning to the cage. Do it regularly. Talking--no one can tell if a bird will start talking again as they did before especially if only 2 mts has passed. Physical contact, trust, calmness, not being forced to do things and carry on the way it used to be are the things that help a bird to get back to known routines although they may not be as strong as they were. Don't get upset about the talking. He's paying attention to you and that's what counts. You're taking it personally concerning his lack of talking to you but that's only a small thing to worry about when behavior is involved. he may be talking around others siply because they're not trainers. That toweling was a bad idea from the beginning. Items like that should be used in very special occasions and the one you mentioned wasn't special. Hitting a bird can cause a long period of distrust. The bird doesn't know it's being punished. If a person has a bird that may do things like that, the solution is to simply put the bird elsewhere. People have to sometimes do that when feeding. """"Should I force him to come to me then hold him close to me to show him love or will this terrify him further. I don't want to harm him anymore than he has been in the past. """ No, don't hold on to him and cudle him when you're trying to get used to a perch. He's already nervous about your hand. Dont complicate the situation by having him also nervous about your other body parts. PS---don't give your phone# out to strangers. Bad idea. You never can tell who's reading that #.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/23 00:49

I know you're excited about your bird talking and about it's amount of things it can possible say, I would rethink the decision to teach a bird a personal piece of info such as a phone#. First off, if your lost bird is actually found, it won't talk to strangers. The bird may have a traumatic experience occur before being captured making it more upset to people making it not want to talk even more. The bird may give out numbers but in a different order if it gives them out at all. You may change your # in the future but the bird won't forget those digits even though the # means nothing. You may have heard horror stories about escaped birds but even the most popular device used is which is chipping doesn't have a high success rate unless a lost bird is actually brought to a place that can read a chip. The main thing to focus on right now is escape proofing your bird area to relieve your mind. Finally, the owners of the extremely few birds that were actually recovered by repeating a phone # usually got a small article written about them in Birdtalk because it's rare that it works.

That depends on what your bird weighed before it was weaned and whether it should have been allowed to formula feed for a longer time. Every grey loses weight when they're weaned and start regular food, so if your bird was a small sized bird from the very beginning and was heavier, the present weight would be lower. There's small, medium and large boned greys. You definitely have a small bodied grey. Many people do. The minimum weight for a small boned grey should be at least 385 gms up to 400 gms. If a vet told you about the weight, you should ask about what can be done. If it wasn't a vet that told you then visiting one may to find out if there's actually no problem or just a minor problem. Let the vet be the judge of this type of situation. Should you be concerned? I would be because your bird may have been forced weaned instead of abundance weaned which is why I would visit a vet. A different type type diet may be needed especially since your bird is extremely young.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/22 04:47

Don't worry about a double post. it periodically happens and the admin or global mod can do it but like I said, it happens all the time and is usually left alone. Or click on edit at bottom of the post you wanna delete. Your message will reappear. Hilite your whole mwssage and press edit or delete( forgot the word). then press submit and your whole message will be gone into the far reaching space beyond the earth.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/21 23:06