Dave007

Aloe vera Gel, not juice. Put some of the gel right on the wound. It'll sink in. What do you mean by *busted his breast bone open * If you think the bone was damaged or fractured or broken,you need to get to a vet quickly.

No one's gonna go crazy on you unless they're absolutely perfect and unable to commit a boo boo. Well I hope you don't have to go thru the hell of talking to an automated recording again especially when there's stream music playing in the background. In the past I've hung up strictly out of frustration and anger besides being close to punching the wall. Ever tried calling up a satellite company when the TV loses it's signal? There are no live people answering phones anymore thanks to our wonderful digital world. it's possible that if you're living alone, you make a small moveable playstand that you can keep near you while you're talking to a machine about serious problems especially when you know there's a chance that you'll be stuck there whether you want to or not. Many times, just the placement of the bird nearer to a person who can't possibly leave a situation will calm the bird down and more than likely the bird will shut up. In other situations there's another person around who can distract the bird. In your caseyou're alone. The bird can't dictate everything you do to it's own specifications. So you yelled. You lost your temper. Everyone does that especially when that person is being egged on by a phone with no real people on the line. If you were actually talking to someone, you could have said * hold it a minute* to that person. You can't do that to a machine that's saying * press 1 for this, press 2 for that.* You didn't hit her. Fine. That would have caused a problem. You doubt that it will happen again. Fine. You realize it was an unusual situation that caused this whole thing to happen. Probably the only thing that was done that could have caused a problem would have been what you said to the bird in the loud voice-- What is you're ******* deal? I ******* told you NO!" Yes, it could have scared her but even worse, she could have enjoyed that volume and the lovely words in that sentence. You really don't want her repeating it but that'll only happen if you use those words to her on a constant basis which you don't do. We all make mistakes and the last thing you need right now is a slap on the tushy. You learned from the whole incident. You've already explained that what you did was wrong and you also said that you're sorry and will not try to let it happen again. Think about that little stand. She'll shut up while you're petting her head and you can continue to talk to the non person in the phone

Nothing will happen because your beard is gonna take quite a long time to grow especially if it's a full beard. Gradual hair growth is different because a woman can change her hair color or style of hair within a few hours. The same thing applies to nail polish and a totally different change in the color of clothing or quickly using sunglasses. I've had a full beard for 40 yrs but because of a couple of specific procedures I went through medically through the years I had to shave it off and then I grew it back.

From my experience, birds bite for generally one of two reasons: survival or control. In most homes survival is rarely the reason that biting occurs unless something horrific is happening in the house.Usually, when that's going on, the animal winds up in a rescue/shelter area. A bird like that will rarely stop that biting habit. 99% of this doesn't happen with birds that are pets. Since biting in parrots is a displacement, not an instinctive behavior, it is logical to assume that the behavior must be reinforced in some way or it would not continue. In other words, if it did not accomplish something positive in the parrot's experience, then the parrot would not continue to do it. This is important to understand: parrots in captivity are actually rewarded for biting -- by humans that simply do not understand how differently parrots can perceive things. You had 2 incidents. In your eyes and your hubbie's eyes, it was extreme but more importantly it was temporary. Now your bird is back to stepping up but there's one difference in the stepping up process--he's holding on and won't let go. No biting, just holding on tightly. It might be unfortable especially if he has ver pointed claws but in general, it's no big deal because what it is that's really bothering you--the biting has stopped. So you put up with the holding on that he's doing. There is a lot of outdated and incorrect advice being given about biting parrots. People are often told to grab the bird's beak and shake it and yell NO!! This doesn't work for two reasons. First, people in the know have now realized that grabbing a parrot's beak [what experts call "Beak Wrestling"], is considered to be play behavior between parrots. Secondly, as mentioned before, parrots love the drama of a person yelling. So once again, in our effort to give negative feed-back to parrots, we have only succeeded in rewarding them. It also doesn't usually work to punish by putting the bird in its cage, because by the time you get him there he's probably completely forgotten the connection between biting you and being locked up. Putting the bird on a cage works better because you're simply putting him in an area where the contact has stopped for a while. Obviously, he can't bite you again because you've removed him from your vicinity, but you haven't taught him anything about NOT BITING. Their memory is very short when it comes to dissapline. In situations like that you should simply put the bird down and walk away and ignore the bird for a longer amount of time then is usual. He won't do it again or maybe he will the next day. You have 2 birds and you don't know if one said something to the other in parrotese. One is pissed off and decides to bite the first thing that annoys him. Did you or hubbie ever wake up in the morning and for no reason he says * how come the coffee isn't made already? You turn around with annoyed look and say * because I was busy with something* Both of you are pissed off, not at each other but just because that';S the way things started off that morning. An hour passes, things are back to normal and either you or hubbie says * sorry about before. I didn't sleep well. Lets just forget about it and you both smile because it was really no big deal. Then hubbie has to go to work and both of you kiss each other goodbye but that kiss is just a tiny bit longer. The whole bad experience is gone. The day continues as usual. Birds have those same kinds of days. It may not happen in the morning but it simply happens for no reason. If you know that your bird isn't normally a constant aggressive attack animal then what happened is just one of those things that have no reason to happen. There is no exact carved in stone answer to what happened. Parrots bite and it will happen periodically. They're not perfect and that applies even more so with an older bird. It's one of those things that's temporary and I believe that you shouldn't be wringing your hands and worrying that something drastic happened.

Anyone who gets a baby bird should never allow that behavior to develop and it can be curbed. It should be high on the list of things to do. It's called socializing the bird into the whole family lifestyle. All the family should be involved on a constant basis in all phases of bird care and communication. If that bad behavior is nipped in the bud, the bird and the family will all benefit. The bird will probably choose a certain person/persons for certain things and other people for other things. A person who doesn't try to stop that is only asking for trouble. The only exception is a person who lives by themselves.

If you haven't tried this before, just you and him should go into a room that has a door. Close the door, put him on the floor and proceed to try the step up training. Have a small hand perch( 6 to 8 in) with you. Make sure there's no distractions. Do this constantly until he gets used to the idea of being with you in that room. At 20 yrs of age, it'll take some time. Patience and perseverance are needed.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/10/05 18:44

Yes, they all have oversized feet and claws from the time they're little babies

Iloveanimals Listen, I never said anything to you about sanatizing any cage. I wasn't questioning your experience with birds.I only told you where you might wanna go to post pictures.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/10/04 21:20

Also get some clear aloe gel and put some on each irritated and/or bald areas. Many parrots overdo the scratching when they're itchy and feathers are annoying them. Put some on and spread it across bald or irritated areas. It'll be absorbed by the skin within 10 minutes. Don't dilute it.

What is it that you're feeding him to fill his crop, formula? Does he want want more in between feedings or are you just asking in case he does want it? If he wants more, give it to him. You can't overfeed a baby grey or any other parrot. If he wants more food in between feedings it's because he is growing and is more active. Usually, a parrot will tell you when he doesn't want a formula feeding because he'll spit it up and that tells you that one less formula feeding is correct. He'll eat more of the other things in his bowl. That's all part of the weaning process which takes different amounts of time to happen because greys are all different from each other.

The facts about Teflon have been on most bird boards for many years. As far as your camera---if you don't have an online storage area for your pictures, you won't be able to post them. Type PHOTOBUCKET.COM It's a free online storage area which copies any picture you put there. When the time comes when you wanna post a pic, simply go to your storage area, copy the IMG link and paste it in with your post. Only you have access to your storage area. Most of the people here and on other boards use Photobucket. There are other storage places but this one is the easiest to work with. PS--Photobucket allows you to choose the size of the picture you want to post<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/10/03 05:47

What eggs? Where?

The Holiday Parrot =================== One day, a man is walking past a pet shop. He stops and looks in and sees this parrot sitting near the counter. He goes in and asks the owner if the parrot can say anything. The owner says "sure, just put a match under his right foot and listen". The man lights a match, puts it under the right foot and the parrots starts singing****Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells Jingle all the way****** The man is amazed . So the owner says " put the match under the left foot and see what happens ". So the man does that and the parrot starts singing****Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose**** The man really is impressed so he asks the owner what will happen if he puts the match between his feet. The owner shrugs and says " oh, I don't know . Never tried it but you can if you feel like it". The man lights another match and puts it between the parrot's feet and the parrot looks down at the match and starts singing***Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire**** Dave

Now, This a Real Man ====================== A woman meets a man in a bar. They talk; they connect; they end up leaving together. They get back to his place, and as he shows her around his apartment, She notices that one wall of his Bedroom is Completely filled with soft, sweet, cuddly teddy bears. There are three shelves in the bedroom, With hundreds and hundreds of cute, cuddly teddy bears carefully placed In rows, covering the entire wall! It was obvious that he had taken Quite some time to lovingly arrange them and she was immediately touched By the amount of thought he had put into organizing the display. There were small bears all along The bottom shelf, medium-sized bears covering the length of the middle shelf, And huge, enormous bears running all the way along the top shelf. She found it strange for an obviously masculine guy To have such a large collection of Teddy Bears. She is quite impressed by his sensitive side. But doesn't mention this to him. They share a bottle of wine and continue talking and, after awhile, she finds herself thinking, 'Oh my God! Maybe, this guy Could be the one?? Maybe he could be the future Father of my children?' She turns to him and kisses him Lightly on the lips. He responds warmly. They continue to kiss, the passion builds and he romantically lifts her in his arms and carries her into his bedroom where they rip off each other's clothes and make hot, steamy love. She is so overwhelmed that she responds with more passion, More creativity, more heat than she has ever known. After an intense, explosive night Of raw passion with this sensitive guy, They are lying there together in the afterglow. The woman rolls over, gently strokes his chest and asks coyly, 'Well,how was it?' The guy gently smiles at her, strokes her cheek, Looks deeply into her eyes, And then says: """"'Help yourself to any prize From the middle shelf"""""

Thanks for the picture The picture describes a bird who is partially molting, partially finished some molting and who also has barbered some feathers on the back. Most greys when they have finished molting, never grow all the feathers back at the same time. The reason is that the molting doesn't stop at one time. More than likely, dry skin is involved in this molt. That problem can be solved by frequent( daily) misting with coolish water and with the aloe juice when you obtain it. Make sure you try to saturate the skin as much as possible. Don't towel dry. Don't use any hair dryer. Let the skin benefit from the soaking he's just received. The longer he's wet, the better.

Maybe, you can post a regular sized pic of your bird cause it doeesn't seem like there's anything unusual about the bird in that avatar picture.

Instead of my suggestion, go with Judy--it's better to feed the cheese that a bird that loves that way as long as you don't overdo it. My birds get nervous when they hear the package opening. One once flew onto the fridge and just WATCHED me INTENTLY and waited until the knife came out and the slice was completed-----then he clucked.

hard brick cheese--cheddar, medium, sharp, extra sharp. 1/4 in. thick x 1 in. square once a week.

Well, some of the reasons you just gave explain some of your problems and luckily, many can be solved by 1--patience 2--letting the bird settle in with you 3 days isn't long enough to make any judgments. Even if the bird knew you at your grandmother's house, he's now in a new environment, new surroundings, surrounded by new situations and everyday habits that are both visible and audible. he's also in a new cage--That's part of the whole picture of newness. Most of these things will cause a bird to bite, definitely not to be affectionate. Constant caging needs to be gradually lessened. Your bird should be in an enclosed area so that running away won't be an ordeal for you. Treats should be given frequently. Try to find favorite nuts. Give a variety of different foods. Add different interesting toys that he can destroy. He needs to aim that aggression to other things A playstand should be available. Don't force yourself on him. greys are curious and don't like being ignored so they eventually come around in different degrees. Constantly have one way conversations with him. Put the cage in an area where the traffic is constant. If people come over, don't let them intimidate him. When you're brave enough to try to have him step up on your hand and he shows resistance, nervousness or aggressive behavior, simply turn around and walk away. Eventually, a bird will start to trust that person who's giving fantastic things to eat. Don't make him work for his treats. he's an older bird. Accept that ot all things won't be successful because your bird has a bit of permanent history. Most importantly, resign yourself to the fact that all of this will take time and we at the board will expect you to report in and ask questions, major or minor. many people here have different methods and opinions concerning what could be possibly done.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/09/29 19:51

What can I say, reality rules. Luckily, there's no residual after effects. Birds are nice like that. Great creatures.

A little more history--- How long have you had him? Is he still in his previous cage? Are you the second or third owner? Was he constantly caged all day will minimal human contact? Was he left alone all day at previous home? How long did previous owner have him? Is he high strung? Does he pick at or pluck feathers/ Does he bite only in cage or bite in and out of cage?<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/09/29 19:21

You forgot dripping water, the car alarm, the noise of dishes being put away, the swallowing/ gurgling of drinks, the microwave, the beeping of a car, the opening of tin cans, police sirens, sounds of misting bottle, farting ( all styles, all types). There are others but I'll not mention them. Gotta leave some things that'll surprise and tickle you to the bone. PS--the toilet flushing<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/09/29 18:02

That must be really cool. Thanks for explaining it. It's pretty interesting.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/09/29 02:14

the cage size should be about 28in deep x 33in across x 55in high ( from floor). What's an african grey hybrid?

""whats in a name"" Letters