Dave007

Exactly why are your reasons for putting in this post about literature that you received from him? What's your point here? Besides the idiotic things he's saying about his quick fix methods, he's also gone one more step out of bounds. He advocates giving no food, no water until the rules are obeyed. That in itself is cruel but it's even more cruel to watch a person actually do things like that. It shows me that the person has absolutely no confidence in her/himself in dealing with animals. People who do these things shouldn't be animal owners. These incompetent people buy an animal and then expect everyone else to do the grunge work. No homework is done. Hopefully, they'll get the right answer that's appealing. He brings in how to do the proper thing with teenagers, other animals, obedience training. I've said alot in this whole thread and as I see and hear about the bad things that he says and the actual bad experiences people have gone through, I start to lose my fervor and desire to rehash things that have been spoken about with so many people. This letter you posted is so wide open for getting bombarded with negative responses that it's not worth it for me to continue talking about other than one thing...... Dogs----When I was born, there was a 3 yr old dog already living there. I've never not had a dog to this very day. When my son was born there was a 1 yr old dog already there. It was like having two children. My son has never not had a dog until 3 yrs ago when he moved away and in the places he moved into they didn't allow animals. He's been a lonely guy without a dog even though he's got plenty of girlfriends, male friends. 6mts ago, that all changed. He's living in a great spacious apartment that allows animals and he's had his eye on one particular type of dog for months. He's visited that litter of puppies 3 times since they were born and last week I got the magic call--Mom,dad, please meet at xxxxx house. I wanna let you see what the puppy looks like. I,m taking him home. I had to drive 3 hrs to see that dog but it was worth it when I saw the gleam in his eyes as he held that puppy. My son already knows how to housebreak and train any dog to do the simple basics that the above post talks about but if I ever found out that he's strayed from that knowledge and decides to not feed or give water to that puppy in order to achieve something, I would be all over him like white on rice. Luckily, I know my son wouldn't even think about that because it would seem cruel and alien to put an animal through that. So, that's it for me. Let the others here make chop suey out of the latest and newest enlightening statements in that letter that comes from the all knowing guru.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/20 03:49

Believe me, he wouldn't be doing what he's doing if he suffered pain each time he did. If that were to happen, he wouldn't attempt it because of the pain and fear. Yesw, they can hurt their keel bone seriously but that happens when a bird has be terribly clipped and has no coordination. The bird tries to fly and immediately falls straight down onto the floor. The bird usually is no farther away from his cage than one 15 inches. That's when bones get hurt. Not only bones, but cracked tail feathers occur, beaks get hurt and legs get hurt. From what you said in your post, your bird takes off, goes a short distance and lands. That's different than a bird who falls straight down. The bird that falls straight down is the one who has to be watched carefully and also kept in a cage more.

I don't think you're spoiling your bird by letting him stay out. Eventually a bird get used to a hard landing and those hard landings also teach a bird how to soften those hard landings. By doing that his muscles develop although the best way for muscles to strengthen is for it to happen before getting a bird clipped for the first time but that's past history concerning your bird and today is what you focus on. On the contrary, you shouldn't worry about carpet landings and if possible, enlarge the carpet area that you see him consistly land on. The stronger he gets and the more coordinated he gets, the farther he'll fly. I personally think that your bird has a great oppotunity to grow back wings because even without full feathers he's showing no fear of what he's doing. Basically, he's practicing. The best thing to do when he makes those landings is to casually pick him up and put him on top of the cage or playstand. I bet that your bird has a more surprised look on his face when he lands as opposed to a hurt or frightened look when he lands. More than likely, you're the one who's more frightened which is normal.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/19 22:36

Moving breeders around from one place to another while the hen is sitting can cause all sorts of problems. Plucking feathers, being aggressive to the mate, sometimes eating eggs if they're still around in the nest. I get the feeling that you put them in that enclosure and you didn't put any nesting material in the enclosure. And if I;m reading your post correctly, you took away the pair from eggs that she was sitting on. That in itself can cause many problems. Eggs should be left with a female for a full cycle before being removed. There's a lot of confusion going on with those birds and you'll just have to wait until they calm down. A week isn't long enough for breeders to calm down. Even if they're disturbed and moved around in their own house it can cause problems. Continue feeding all types of food but don't think that vegetables or other foods will make that calming down period any quicker. As a matter of fact, stop feedin the rice. Rice is part of whole grains that breeders are fed in order to feed each other during differents feeding times. Don't do thing right now that will cause more confusion. Let them both calm down and get used to their surroundings and visit them more often dso theyu get used to seeing a new face.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. What you've all been waiting for!!!! Here she is... The sister of Annie Oakley. May I now present the famous VIRGINIA VIXEN MS. JUDY OAKLEY <br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/20 00:24

"""""" For one, his father is almost equivilent to a normal vet, and he doesn't see the immedient danger Merlin is in! Two, he didn't listen to my advice through my boyfriend, urging him to go to the vet now. But all his father does is try and blame my boyfriend for his illness! Which is entirely not true."""""" Please understand this---as many people here will tell you, a person who is a licensed regular vet or a person who is almost a licensed regular vet isn't the same thing as an avian vet. Many people here can tell you about terrible things that have happened to their birds when they went to a regular vet. Most of the time, these people didn't know about avian vets yet. Regular vets don't deal with birds and in your case it's obvious that the father knows even less by what he suggested not to do. Have little money?? Many vets set up a payment plan according the amount of funds you have.

When a seizure occurs, a bird may vocalize, lose consciousness, fall off its perch, flap its wings uncontrollably and stiffen its body. Fortunately, many birds will recover from a seizure and slowly regain their ability to control their movements and perch but that doesn't mean that the bird won't have more seizures. Some greys have seizures caused by hypocalcemia. This condition is sometimes seen in adult African Grey parrots fed a seed diet. This type of diet is deficient in calcium and vitamin D3. Although it's not clearly understood, it appears as though these birds are unable to mobilize there body calcium stores. Sometimes seizures occur from something that has to do with an external problem. As everyone else has said, you have to get to a vet quickly in case there's temporary brain damage or loss of balance. Because there's a variety of situations that cause seizures only the vet can search for the problem through specific tests. A vet has a variety of treatments available and some may include certain drugs that the bird might need. It's impossible for us to give out reasons about why it happened because there are so many reasons that can lead to seizures. All seizuring birds should be provided with good watchful care which includes a warm, quiet, safe environment, fluids, nutritional support, antibiotics (whenever appropriate) and anticonvulsants. Sometimes, Diozepam (valium) is used to temporarily stop the seizures. Any drugs will have to come from a vet check. As far as the stiffening, bent position of the head, that's normal. They tense different muscles and it usually subsides after the seizure abates. That's also common in people who have Gran Mal and Petit Mal epilepsy. Usually, a person who has a seizure will be very warm and friendly towards other people who are surronding them. It all has to do with confusion. They're weak, confused and have hardly no strength left. Their true personality returns after a few days depending upon the length of the seiozure. Don't worry about being rude. Sometimes, a heavy snowfall is less important than the health of any living creature. If you can't get to a vet, make a phone call and ask the vet exactly what you should do until you can make a visit. If all of this has to be done by your b/f explain that his bird may die without treatment if his brain seizes up. There is no more we can do for you other than the different pieces of advice you've gotten here.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/19 20:06

When they do that with their pellets, it's not soup they're creating. It's fruit juice and they like the taste.

The cage should be approx 32 x 28 x 55 in. A rectangular cage is good and comes with a built in play top, usually 5 cups, seed guard, slide out tray on top and bottom of cage. This particular cage can be gotten on EBAY, brand new for approx $225 including s/h. The next smaller size can be used for a Timneh but a TAG will also like a bigger cage if possible and the price difference is not that much.

Please remove the blanket. If a bird can't fall in his cage without hurting himself, there's something wrong with the bird. Blankets are removed at the latest when birds are approx 6 mts old and some are even removed before that. 7 to 10 yrs old and he's being possessive. It doesn't surprise me and I know that he was that way before you got him. Don't interfere with his attitude. It doesn't mean he has less feelings for you. He just wants things to be the way he wants them. At at age you better watch out for bites. They can be serious and multiple at times plus they're very good at doing that when they're adults.

How old is he? When they're agile and can get around easily enough a blanket is removed. Blankets are only used when a bird is a baby and has no idea about manuevering in a cage and anyway, if you have a slide out, use it as it was made to be used. That's why it's a slide out tray.

Doesn't your tray have a slide out tray in the bottom? Many greys as they get older, don't like people including owners to put their hands in a cage. That's just another phase of the grey's personality starting to show through. Some greys don't do that but if your grey does, well, he does. They especially don't like people touching their toys. I'll take the time to explain it even though it's been explained in the past. A grey goes into a new cage as a baby and really doesn't know what to do except check things out. As time passes, that grey becomes extremely familar with everything in that cage in many ways that you don't even know about. Basically, the bird is building and designing it's own home. Every grey builds it's home to his own specifications. After that, many greys don't like any interference in their cage no matter what the interference is because they're extremely possessive. Sometimes, that extends to food/water bowls. If your bird continues this, he'll come into the catagory of a bird that has to be out of the cage when anything needs to be done--cleaning/ feeding/moving things around etc and there are many greys that have that attitude and it doesn't just apply to greys. You may not know why he bit you but in his eyes you were disturbing a function which comes naturally to them. Ripping up newspaper may not seem like a big deal to you but if your bird could have a conversation with you, you'd soon find out how important it is to him/her.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/18 18:49

Carolyn You're serious? He's such a mild mannered man. I've heard about his work with kids. I have some old tapes of him and Wayne when he was about 6 or 7 yrs old. He never flaunts the fact that he's Wayne's dad. I've seen interviews with him. I remember the look on his face when Wayne broke Bobby Orr's record for most goals in a season. Wayne's records will never be surpassed. The best thing to watch back then when Edmonton was on a roll??? Wayne and Mark Messier delieving an unbelieveable one, two punch. Imagine being a goalie and seeing both of them racing down on you! Pass to the left, pass to the right, Grettz goes behind the net, sneaks out, short pass to Mark, shot off Wayne's skate. BANG, all over, end of story, back to the dressing room----Best goalie ever? Patrick Roy

That's my only true sport. I love all the teams. I'm what yiou would call an avid fan to say the least. I thought the Calgary Flames were good. To bad they disolved the franchise. I've got all the games of Grettzky on tape when he was with Edmonton and won 4 cups in a row. Those were the days. Am I a hockey fan? Well the start of my Email address is Grettz@

Carolyn Yes, it was lovely what you just said. BUT you're very inconsiderate because since you're in Ontario, the least you could have done for me is to tell me what your favorite hockey team is. Ever see the right winger skating around on the perimeter with 2 defensemen crowding the goalie so he can hardly see> Then the winger gets the puck and puts in a short chip shot that caroms off the goal post, hits the goalie in the mask and then bounces in right behind him. It's even more exciting when it happens in overtime. BANG, game over.

Yes, maybe it's a small town and everyone may know everyone including the vet but again whether it's a free reading or not, you're talking about 4 legged animals which I already referred to. How about a flying bird like a nice looking parrot? AND, a bird doesn't have any type of tag on it that directly pertains to it's owner. Only the breeder's code ID initials, the state, and if you're lucky, the date of birth is on that ring around the bird's leg AND only if it's a closed ring. Or unfortunately it doesn't have any ring at all. There's a world of difference between a wild flying bird and domestic cat and dogs and all parrots are wild animals whether they're pets or not.

That was a hypothetical. I wasn't referring to myself, only referring to how a large majority of people would react. Yes sad, but unfortunately it's a reality and many birds who've been chipped have flown into the wind never to be seen again. Whether they were found or just disappeared is anyone's guess.

A grey,he squawks? Very unusual for a grey. Describe *squawks*. People who live in apartments buy greys because they're very quiet birds. They whistle, make pleasent sounds all day long, have low conversations with themsselves all day and some others talk in the human language.

Another side to look at I was traveling around and I spotted a parrot that was in a low branched tree ( would never see the parrot if it was very high in upper branches). I never scan the tops of trees when I'm walking around. So, I approached and the bird didn't seem frightened. I talked to the bird and eventually he decided to come down and over to me but he was cautious. I looked at him and thought that he was real good looking and seemed to be getting over his fear of me. He came closer and closer and I offered my hand and he slowly hopped on. Slowly, I turned around and walked back to my car, put him in the back and drove home. I managed to get the bird into my house and gave him some bread and he took and ate it. I was happy and he seemed happy. I figured he would be nice to own. I have a friend who has a chip implanted in his dog and if the dog ever got loose and captured, the dog would get very sad with that person and the person would go over to the vet and have the dog checked out. Of course the vet would charge money for his services. The dog is a domestic animal and can relay it's feelings to anyone who has him. The bird is a wild animal and already showed me that he liked me. There's lots of vets around that care for 4 legged animals but the nearest avian vet is about 30 miles away and actually, I don't even know what an avian vet is. I'm a person who only thinks of myself and believe in finders keepers. Do you really think I'm gonna make any kind of effort to find a vet that will check for a chip that might not even be in the bird AND pay for it too? How many lost birds do you know about that have been returned to the original owner because of a chip that was implanted? Matter of fact, how many birds do you know of that have taken off and been found? When it does happen and the person happens to be a member of a bird board it's the top post of the week because it's rare that it happens. Chips for birds are just another sales gimmick.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/17 22:19

It's nice to be a bird watcher. Lots of bird clubs around but you won't see parrots flying around in the wild so the first major thing here is... do you have any experience with any type of hookbill parrots? You never mentioned anything about that. If not, you'll have to do plenty of work studying hookbills before you take on the responsibility of owning any type of hookbill. All parrots are hookbills. Most bird watchers and bird clubs are looking for softbills. 2 totally different types of catagories and personalities and totally different makeup.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/12/17 20:11

Oh yeah,Judy has almost all of it. A coon skin cap with bushy tail ,leather moccasins , a single shot buffalo/bear rifle and the picture is complete.

What do you mean by *splitting* ? Describe what you're seeing and also let us know where this splitting is occuring and what direction the splitting is on the feather/feathers. Tip of feather to the base of the feather or is it left to right on the feather? If you can take a picture that would also help.

Again, Dan and I are thinking along the same lines. When people are giving out instructions concerning animals and possible fear, injury, aggressiveness, loss of bonding and other things are possible, those people better MAKE SURE THEIR METHODS COVER THOSE VERY IMPORTANT THINGS and Chetsky and brother are irisponsible people. I shouldn't be so harsh with them? Don't hold your breath. I dare that SOB to come here and deny what Kaedon and I said about that apology and also the fact about not sending the product out. I would chop him up into mince meat. Watch out for people that say they're the ones with the secret solution. Bullshit abounds.

I have 3 greys and when all three are out, one of them will go into each of the others' cages and eat their food, play with their toys and even decide to stay in there at times and either sleep or just contemplate but heaven forbid if either of the other 2 decide to go into his cage when they're all out. He'll come out of another's cage and race over to his cage and usually, the bird who decided to go in is sorry that he thought about it. After that's all finished, he leaves the cage and decides to go into the cage of the bird he's just had a tangle with. Then he repeats what he always does in their cages.

Well Kaedyn I'm glad that someone else knows about that apology. I had a feeling that people here wouldn't actually believe what I said and yes, I also remember that stuff about withholding food. Let me tell you something, I was pissed off big time and the other people were actually thinking about bringing him up on fraud charges. Thanks for your post.