Dave007

Noise wise, greys can be in that catagory. rarely are they loud. placing the grey in a bedroom away from the flow of traffic, the daily goings on in the house, inability to see other people isn't good for a grey AT ALL. greys need to be in the middle of everything. That's the way trust, confidence and the awareness that a grey needs is developed.

This is Baby who is a 15 yr old Quaker This is Jazz, a former plucker who was afraid of other birds and who is now sitting away from his cage with Baby for the first time. Jazz is showing some interest in Baby, checking him out This is Jazz finally showing some offensive attitudes towards Baby, standing up for his rights I know these pictures don't seen unusual but I can guarantee you that a big breakthrough has occurred in these photos concerning personality which at first didn't think would ever occur. PS--sorry that there's a pic of a grey here. I know this section is for Other Birds. Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/27 02:03<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/27 07:13

Most breeders will bite if they're disturbed.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/26 23:02

You can also try removing the food and giving it back 3 times a day when he seems hungry. Let him eat and when he decides that he's had enough and it's time to flip the food, remove the bowl. That's similar to what people do when feeding vegetables and because veggies go bad after a few hrs, people either remove the veggies or the whole bowl. The reason some people remove the bowl is because it's an item that a bird relates to as far as veggies are concerned.

Are you really sure you know what you're doing? Do you have lots of basic information concerning dander producing parrots, heaviness of the dander, size of the bad particles in the air, actual amounts of dander any purifier pulls in? The power and strength of any purififier to pull in dust from places that are farther away from it? The actual job the purifier is doing in a dander filled room? The size of the dirt in the air that a purifier can pull in? What the dirt has to be doing in order for the purifier to do it's job properly? All purifiers work best if they're in an enclosed room and when buying a purifier, it states the size of that room in which it will be most effective. Any purifier that's in an area where air is constantly going through that area lessens the effects of the purifier. Many purifiers come with an automatic shut off when the room has been cleaned. An open area where outside air is constantly mixing with the area where the birds are in will prevent that shut off from working because there's constantly.new air in the bird area. All purifiers will only pull in air that's near them. The vacuum system is weak and that pertains to all brands expensive or otherwise. The types of dust that's pulled in is dust that constantly floats in the air .The size of the dust is .003 microns. A purifier has absolutely no power to recirculate heavier dust that's fallen to the ground. All purifiers that are put in a bird area are simply acting as vacuums. A large percentage of grey dust is heavy. That dust is called dander is it can be seen on all parts of the outer bars and seed guards located on a cage. That dust was thrown by the bird and immediately dropped down on the cage and on the floor surrounding the cage. It never entered the air and can't float in the air. The best type of air purifier to get is one that has an electrostatic grid that will hold any dust that it comes in contact with. That type of filter can be removed from the machine, heavily rinsed in water and allowed to drip dry before reusing. Look at most advertising photos for purifiers and you will see a perfectly beautiful room with mommy, daddy and children standing around with big smiles on their face. What you don't see is any pictures of dander producing birds in cages or on playstands in those photos. The people are happy because the machine pulled in .003 micron dust that was floating in the air and finally made it's way to the machine. Any filter, especially disposable one will get filthy 3 times faster which is why I recommend one that has an electrostatic filter. They never have to be replaced. That type of filter is the most expensive part of a purifier. My point here is that buying extremely expensive air purifiers isn't necessary because all of the functions that you want to happen won't happen if used in a room that contains dander producing birds. Actually, the best filter/vacuum item that will be the most successful is an exhaust fan which is powerful and is inserted in a window like an air conditioner is put in. Most exhaust fans are powerful. Exhaust fans are also extremely effective when removing the odor of a freshly painted room/rooms. But even exhaust fans can't pull up dust that's fallen to the ground. Unfortunately, using exhaust fans can't be used by the majority of people because of cold weather conditions I just took these pictures to give a visual. The internals with the filter taken out What a dirty electrostatic filter looks like when dirty I have 2 of these machines because when one is dirty I put another one in because the electrostatic filter takes about 3 hrs to drip dry . Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/26 20:04<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/26 20:22

All feathers will grow back unless the follicle which is partially located on the external and internal parts of the skin is pulled out. There is no way to replace the follicle. So that area won't have a feathers growing from it anymore. Very serious pluckers often do this to themselves but if and when the habit of plucking finally subsides and loads of feathers finally grow back, they'll often be little areas that feathers will never grow back. Concerning pluckers vs chewers----The chewer has a much better chance of having all of the feathers returning because the bird's main focus is chewing the actual feather in different areas, not the follicles. Most of the time they leave the area alone where the feathers grows in . What may happen is that the bird is classified as a chronic feather chewer and that has to be dealt with differently then if the problem is temporary and the only way to judge that is over a long period of time. There are no quick fixes and there's no way to make the feather grow in quickly. They grow in at the same rate as any other feathers be it tail or flight feathers and new feather coming in can be just as irritating whether it be a plucker or chewer which many times causes more chewing/plucking. This situation concerning follicles frequently happen to men who are diagnosed with male pattern baldness. Treatment for the problem is the removal of the whole follicle/follicles (plugs) from a inconspicous part of the head and implanted into the bald area where that healthy hair still has a chance to continue growing.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/26 18:57

It's only 9 days. The bird will stay very uncomfortable for a while. how long is hard to say but you needn't worry about future mobility. The day will come when neigher you nor your bird will realize the toes are gone. Greys and other parrots have an amazing ability to adapt. There's been cases where birds actually have no feet whatsoever and they too adapted. Your bird's injury will eventually be taken over by doing everything that any other bird does. Did you know that there are breeder birds ( mostly hens) that actually bite the toes off of the chicks' feet? Your bird's problem is not as uncommon as you may think.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/24 22:55

My pleasure. While molting, you'll see lots of preening because he's helping the dead feathers to fall out quicker because those dead feathers that take a while to fall out sometimes irritate the bird. Spray your bird with water while he's going through this. Yes, the skin is drier than normal and also itchy. The water will relieve the itching. Ps--the reason that some birds scratch their heads with the solid feathers is because the head is also itchy.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/24 02:39

Everything you describe and I mean EVERYTHNG points towards a bird who is having a major molt. If your bird has molted before but never this much, consider this molt as the one that's referred to as the *first major molt*. Your bird will molt less from now on but each one will be heavy like this one. Yes, it's extremely common for them to chew on both the solid feathers and the fluff feathers. Many birds will not only chew on the solid feathers but will afterward hold them and start scratching their heads with them. Some birds take the white fluffy feathers in their mouthes and roll them around between their tongues and upper beak somewhat like a person who does that when gum has lost all of it's taste and texture. The *millions* of white feathers that you see are all the soft breast feathers that fall off quickly and make a mess because of their weight because they can easily float around. Want a tip concerning the mess---after he drops all those white feathers in the cage botton get a mister and very lightly dampen them so they won't float. Just a few spritzes are necessary. So, I'll use you words * everything is absolutely *kosher*<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/24 01:58

I just wanna thank everyone who replied. I really appreciate it and I'm glad I asked. I'm gonna leave everything as it is. Dan has such a precise way of scaring the hell out of a person which I truly appreciate. Thanks again everyone. You all helped me very much and I'm grateful that you took the time to respond.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/23 22:35

If your parrotlet had a problem, it would've shown itself during that quarantine. Dyoxocline as well as other over the counter bird medications aren't FDA approved. It would have been best to contact the vet by phone, explain what you know about the death and get his opinion and ask about that medication. Explain lack of funds. What you can do right now is to remove the cage, food bowls and all toys and any type of playstand that the bird frequented. The only thing you can do is wait and watch since you have no idea why the bird passed away. How old was the parrotlet? Was the bird overweight? Parrotlets don't have a long life span.

Hi, I have a favor to ask. If there's anyone here that has Vista, I would appreciate it if you could EMAIL me because I have a few basic questions concerning the quality and advantages of Vista. My EMAIL address is grettz@hotmail.com Thanks

<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/23 20:52

Almost everyone has a bird that goes through this situation. I don't call it a problem though. Your husband has nothing to do with this situation. As a bird gets older and more hormonal, masturbation occurs at certain times ( hormonal times of the year). it's usually twice a year. Young birds go through a masturbation period or frequently and it has nothing to do with hormones. Many times, it's the owner who stimulates the bird to do this. It isn't fair to the bird. Birds shouldn't be touched in certain areas but let me say that many times, it has nothing to do with the owners. During the time that a grey will do this, it's best to leave the bird alone and let him/her carry on with what'sit's doing. It soon passes. The difference between adult males and females can be obvious. Males are not as aggressive when hormonal. Females on the other hand are quite aggressive, cranky, short tempered, more quiet, more alert and quicker to bite. Different parrots do different things concerning this situation If this conversation were to be about quakers, the major topics would be 1--the aggressive, possessive attitude of the bird while in the cage as opposed to the same bird out of the cage who is loving and friendly. 2--screeching constantly which is their way of communicating. 3--constant masturbation all year long involving toys and anything else it can rub against. This applies equally to males and females. On the other hand there are other species parrots ( such as conures )that need stimulation from a mate in order to show sexual tendencies. So basically, let him dowhat nature is telling him to do and be extra alert for possible aggravation from your bird. Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/23 19:31<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/23 20:22

The only thing you can do right now is to keep the area moist. Sometimes, a bird will chew the ends of feathers as they die off. Others will tug at them frequently and eventually they fall out. It's impossible to tell you why he's chewing right now because it's only two feathers right now. Birds periodically chew feathers on all parts of their bodies, not just tails. It happens more frequently in young birds as opposed to adults but I don't know how old your bird is. There's nothing that you can specifically do that will immediately stop him from doing that. You'll need to see whether it's a steady habit that's beginning and normally, birds who are feather chewers spend a large part of the day constantly chewing on their feathers.

I hope everyone has a good holiday. Now's the time to look back on all the insanity you went through this past year and you need to make a New Year's Resolution------ Hope the insanity continues into 2009. Merry Xmas and Happy Hannukkah to all. Lets hope Santa isn't stingy this year.{Holidays-00020138}<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/22 23:54

That's because you're moving the follicles around and he's scratching them back into place. Then he immediately wants you to start all over again until he's ready to scratch them into place. Over and over and over again.

You shouldn't be worrying about your karma ratings. You did what you feel you had to do without cruelty. If someone didn't like what you did, that person can step forward and say so. This isn't grade school where gold stars are handed out for kissing the teacher's you know what. The only bad thing that occurred was that you almost had a heart attack and almost missed out on your Xmas dinner. Luckily, you recovered. Merry Xmas.

Very pretty bird and the shots are fine but always add when you want to. Merry Xmas

I'm glad to hear that it was nothing that would ruin your holiday. People here have been planning some great meals that involve the specialized cooking of their greys in order to make the day a tasty one. Cooking injured birds makes them squawk to much. AND, I;m glad that you're finally going with those throw rugs. Just remember that they be gotten for a very inexpensive price. Have a good meal.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/22 18:22

No Spooky The one you just put in isn't my work but I'll add it to the festivities . Nothing like the complete package Merry Xmas

If the chip was on the tip, yes it'll grow back just like any other beak that constantly grows. It'll grow back and as all parrots do, she'll be filing it as usual. Eventually, you won't see the chip. if the chip was on the side of the beak, it may not look perfect for quite a while but it'll smooth itself out unless you're bird has had a permanent inperfection of the beak like the lower mandible growing upward and covering the tip of the upper mandible. That's a problem that starts at birth.

Erika Just a quick correction Juice is made for spraying the skin/feathers. Gel is made for spot irritations and cuts or other minor skin injuries. It's not supposed to be diluted and used as a spray. Basically, you should have both in the house. basically, think of it as a first aid cream.

First of all, you shouldn't have your bird in the kitchen. That's an unsafe place for any bird. Second, your bird shouldn't be in any area where it's favorite food is being prepared. A bird belongs in a cage or an area that's far away from it's favorite food until it's time to feed that favorite food. So, biting is something that I can see happening. From what you said, I assume that your bird will go in the cage with very little trouble except for now when you had him in the kitchen with him watching that favorite food. Don't allow him to be in an area ( especially a kitchen) when you're cooking things whether he likes the items or not.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/20 20:10

I read the material on the website you posted. As a matter of fact, Iread many more sections than you were curious about. I found that much of it is true and much of it is untrue. The major problem concerning what the author puts out and what the reader checks through is that the whole website pertains to *parrots*. All different types of parrots but nothing that pertains to one particular species. What's printed there is generalized information. The reader needs to try different things and those different things may not work with your type of bird which will give you a false feeling of failure. What will work with a conure or quaker may not work for an amazon or grey or ecklectus. There's many websites that are similar to this one but their main focus is to get people to learn about generalized ownership of parrots because they may be novices. My opinion is that since you belong to a grey board where many members have had the same problem, you'd probably get much more specific information from other grey owners. Other grey owners can tell you different personalized methods to use in case you fail when trying out specific things. If a person were to purchase a Rosella and read the information concerning food, they wouldn't find anything applicable to a rosella's diet yet a rosella is a parrot. Another thing that they talk about, which I totally disagree with is the place to teach a bird how to step up which is the bathroom but stop and think about that for a minute. Think about the material that walls are made of in a bathroom, the ceiling of a bathroom, the floor of a bathroom, the tub in a bathroom, the glass mirror in a bathroom, the toilet bowl in a bathroom and to add to the confusion, the soft bendable shower curtail that a bird cant grab hold of which will cause the bird to slide down and bounce off the edge of the tub. Think about the faucets both in the sink and the tub which will also contain shower heads. Do you really want your bird crashing into areas where serious injury can occur? It's just my opinion but I feel you'd do better on a grey board because you're talking a TAG that is simply more nervous and less behaved and less trained .There's loads of people here that have that exact same problem and have tried different things because they were given different things to try. PS--Although you didn't use these words, I'll simply say that there's a huge difference between * wild caught* greys and untamed greys. many untamed greys have been mistakenly called * wild caught* Wild caught birds are the ones that have been caught in the wild and eventually make their way into a person's home. In the US, there's a strict ban concerning the importation of parrots into this country and that ban was put into effect in 1992.That's almost 17 yrs ago ago. Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/20 19:17<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/20 19:26