Dave007

They all do

""""9 week old, they looked fine and the breader said they are in exelent health """"""" No grey can be certified as being in perfect health until a vet checks the bird after purchase. If there's a problem, the person is usually given an exchange. That check up can't be done completely until the baby bird has reached weaning age. At 9 weeks, organs aren't fully developed so the vet can't check those undeveloped organs. """"Two days latter ithought it was time for a bathe for the birds so i put one in the sink wet it nice and easy which the baby enjoyed and put out to dry.""" Greys that are at that age shouldn't be bathed. Any fecal matter or facial matter such as dried up food or dirt should be wiped off with a damp rag. That breeder should have never sold you unweaned chicks. One of the major reasons has to do with what I mentioned above. You would need to get a vet to give you the *well check*. The baby should be old enough to be completely examined. A breeder usually offers a certain amount of time to get that done. In your case, the breeder is telling you that you're stuck with the bird whether it be in good health or not.

If you have aloe gel, put a tiny bit on finger tip. Sprinkle a tiny bit of talcum powder on the gel. Mix it as best as you can. It should feel slightly sandy. Lightly pack or *cork* the tip of the beak with the mixture. Leave on for about 20 minutes and then wipe off. Your bird won't try to lick it off. More than likely, he will try to rub it off if he notices it. If you have no gel, use VIT E liquid. Only put it on the tip of the beak, not the sides or side edges of the beak. The corking will stop any further bleeding and promote quick healing. PS--that's also a very common thing to do when a person files down the tip of the beak and goes a little too far.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/06/09 20:30

Hi there. Welcome to our tree. We hope you enjoy yourself on our various branches.

Greys will get upset from new toys, new bowls, new cages, new locations of those cages. It takes different amounts of time for a grey to finally accept the new changes. He's 13 yrs old. How do you think he reached that age? By not eating? Eventually, hunger will bring that bird back to it's food/ water area. Right now, there's a double whammy going on--a new cage--a new apartment which also means a new location which also means new surroundings. If you think he's so traumatised by that new cage, then also realize that he wouldn't be sitting on it if he was so fearful. No grey ever starves themselves. It's not in their nature. In the wild, when there's none of their usual food around, they will scavenge all over the place. Just prepare yourself for a very stubborn, leery bird that will take a while to accept things. A bird can study many new things from a safe distance until it decides to venture out and get brave. In his case that safe distance is the top of the cage. You need patience with an congo grey. Everything is a big deal and they take quite a while to build the interior of their new *home* which is their cage. Believe me, he'll eventually eat and drink.

""""Problem is, he isn't tapering off or slowing down at all""""" He's simply doing what he's supposed to do until his body tells him to decrease. He's not making the rules. Why is that a problem? You should be extremely happy that he wants that formula. That will supply basic nutrients that any young chick should always have until the bird's internal system says it's time for less. Let your bird tell you when he wants to cut back on the formula feedings. That's what eventually happens. Either the bird will refuse the feeding or spit it back up when eaten. I never knew that giving a bird all the food it wanted had an actual label (abundance), especially formula. The problem with formula feeding lies with the people/breeders. They decide that they should go by some so called established time line as far as when to decrease a feeding. Some birds will require 3 feedings a day and others will require 2 or 4 etc. Those birds can be the exact same age, can be brothers and sisters and all come from the same clutch. You decided to take up the hand feeding chore, so now it must be done properly. You simply give him all of the other food that he's getting along with his formula until he doesn't want that particular feeding. Then stay with the lesser amount of feedings until he wants to decrease that. By the way, you say that you wait for the bird to beg for formula. Well, formula can't be given to a chick that isn't hungry unless it's force fed. The *begging* you talk about is simply a natural response to having an empty crop. One other thing you should know--a bird that has been allowed to wean naturally with no time rules involved usually winds up being much calmer into adulthood.

"""""' people who kept him in a small cage without toys and he was afraid of them. """""" So he knows what fear is like. Everything isn't the same. In your eyes it might be but you can't tell with a bird. He broke blood feathers and never did that before so that's different. Understandably, you acted very frantically so that too is different. He's not used to such a drastic sudden change in how you reacted. In your situation, it would be best for you to lose that cage cover even if there's activity and sound around him. That's the time he's gonna see you and the family but none of you are gonna be paying attention to him. There's TV and whatever activities you and family do. He's gonna be watching and finally when he relaxes he'll nod off. He's gonna see you coming in the morning. He's gotta see a consistent relaxed atmosphere for a while. """ really hope that in some time, he will become as tame as before, and that he will trust me again.""" Of course he's gonna trust you again. He trusts you right now but it takes time for him to totally feel at ease and comfortable again. This is the time that you should show relaxation around him and don't pay attention to his every move. Carry on all day as if nothing has happened. You know something, believe it or not, your bird knows things aren't right with you. Common signs of that are loss of verbal actions, retaliating or being stubborn when you want him to step up, screaming or growling, extrenme quietness, staying in a corner of the cage, watching your every move. """"The only things he allows me to do are: to touch his beak with my finger or to kiss his beak. And it is not the same every day, sometimes he escapes from me, sometimes he takes nuts from me..."""" Stop the beak kissing, not so much as he might bite you for no reason but for the fact that your bird is much older now. He's into that stage where he will bite and it won't take much for him to do it. It's the same thing as a person who lets their bird on their shoulder..for quite a while, everything is cool and then one day the bird bites the neck or the cheek or the ear. The person has a knee jerk reaction and because of that , the bird bites again before the person can get him. The bird is pissed off, the bird is nervous and aggressive and unpredictable. For the person who owns such a bird and has that experience, the days of the shoulder are over. You're thinking that by you uncovering him made him fall but it's not as drastic as you think. Greys are very clumsy and many fall off perches while doing other things in a cage or simply relaxing. More than likely, that was a coincidence but you made a big deal out of the. I understand why you did but he doesn't. It's always a big deal to the bird. Just the other day, the people here were discussing what happened when their bird fell in a cage. Mine did that while getting aggressive with a toy. He landed flat on his back and I didn't approach him. I looked at him and laughed and turned away and watched him climb up the cage and continue the rough play with the toy. """And it is not the same every day, sometimes he escapes from me, sometimes he takes nuts from me..."" This is about the beak again--he escapes you--sooner or later he'll find out that the way to actually *escape* you is to bite you on the mouth. That can cause severe lipitis. """""I used to take him to a vet to shorten claws and to do other procedures. But then I decided to do it myself. He was angry with me for 1 day, didnt let me approach him and didnt talk. """""" I don't think there's one person here that hasn't had that happen to them. Some greys even stay pissed off for more than just one day. It's gonna take time and practice for you to learn the art of nail clipping. That should always be done with two people. """""I talked to him from the distance, i didnt make fast moves, I tried to clean his cage as quickly as possible..."""" From now on, have him out of the cage when you have to do any physical work there. A grey will except this things happening when they watch from a safe distance. That's nothing new for greys. Many people will tell you that things were pretty cool when it came time to do the cleaning and feeding but that one day came --BANG. Why?--As greys get older, their natural, well known instinct of jealousy emerges and many greys get to the point of having bad reactions to people when they're doing things in and around the cage. Maybe you're asking yourself * gee, why did'nt any of this go on in the past?* Your bird is getting older and is trying to lay down some rules that are natural for a grey. A cockatoo will have other rules as well as many other species. """It has been almost 3 months since then. He doesnt scream anymore when i approach him, but still doesnt step up to my hand.""""" That's gonna happen with time and when it does, the atmosphere is gonna be different. You'll partially want him to and he'll partially want to and when it does happen the problem is finished. Instead of calling it *shaking hands and forgiving*, call it *shaking claws and forgiving* *Claws* is used because you're a woman. Neither of you will even know that it's about to happen. I could say other things but you've got enough on your plate---The biggest thing you've gotta do is stop thinking that some permanent trust is now gone. He's gonna pick up on the fact that you're being different. Remember that he's still young and can be very obstinent similar to kids that are 3, 4, 5 yrs old. All you wanna do is trade them in for a better, more stable version. Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/06/09 00:28<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/06/09 03:50

That's really amazing, exciting and fantastic!!! If you need anymore, just email me and I'll send you a load of custom made toilet cardboard rolls with matching french paper towel rolls. All of them have the famous crimped edge that makes them stand out from all the others Anything for you honey pie.

Post a picture. What's white to one person might be beige/tan/ straw color to others. All TAGs have a lighter upper beak.

Almost every picture you've got there is of the bird standing on something and grabbing to keep balance. Just looking at those eyes tells me that the bird is extremely young and the bird shouldn't have been clipped yet. That's a common stance for any bird that's just starting to learn balance. Any time a grey is clipped when that young causes the covert feathers to hang lower because all the flight feathers as they reach the tip aim upward thereby causing a natural lifting of the covert feathers. Those covert feathers will eventually regain their proper place on the bird but only after a long length of muscular build up. There is no exact amount of droop between birds. Some have more, some less. Concerning your bird, it's on the less side. Don't clip anymore until the bird's wings grow in so he can build up strength and muscle and coordination. That'll take about 6 mts. PS--you notice that droop cause there's no long flight feathers there. In other words, the bird's wings make it look top heavy--Flight feathers evenly spread that upward.

I know this won't be important to most of you but something happened today that fascinated me. It never happened before.. I was sitting in my backyard at an umbrella table. About 15 ft. away, I have a hummingbird feeder hanging off the edge of the roof. A green throated hummingbird came over to the feeder and started drinking but she was doing something very weird. As a matter of fact, I thought she was sick. Usually hummingbirds drink and stay at a feeder for about 30 seconds before taking off. This bird was taking in fluid and then turned her beak straight up to the sky while sitting there and started doing some gulping down movements. She did this about 9 times. She spent more time doing that gulping than actually drinking. She stood at the feeder for about 25 to 30 minutes doing this. Drinking and gulping. Finally, she finished and flew to a branch and immediately came back about 10 ft away from the feeder and landed on the top edge of our bedroom windows. All of a sudden she started poking up and down for about 15 minutes into the top of window frame. Finally, she took off. I couldn't understand what I saw so I got a ladder and clmbed up and looked in the inner edge of the window frame. Guess what---a hummingbird nest with 2 chicks in it. What she was doing was feeding them when she went over there. I never even saw her come around and build that nest. Instead of the nest being round, it's rectangular and fits in the window frame.

There's never a winner of a round or a full bout. Both parties insist they're better and will be even better. They both believe that tomorrow will be the day. Smokey is the one with the facial iritations though. He wears them as a badge of honor. He has no defense and doesn't feel that he needs any. He would feel insulted if he had to use a defence. He's strictly a fast forward puncher,squawker and a bell bully. He's also a dirty fighter. Talk about low blows. He hits that bell from all angles and he does it cause there's no ref around. Ever get hit below the belt and wind up having your clanger moaning instead of ringing? Even the 2 buddies in the duffle bag can't help out. They're in soprano mode. He's intent upon destroying that bell's *special purpose* area.

Good thing that you used that towel or else it would have been you that would be suffering from some serious bites. That towel probably helped you to take your time when trying to get her free. Sometimes greys can get into the strangest positions which then can cause them to get stuck. They really don't pay attention to how close they are from injury. They just focus on what they're doing. I once had one of my greys upside down in the cage. He was holding onto the roof bars and having an intense fight with his cow bell. He was getting wild with this bell. All of a sudden he made the wrong move and fell straight down to the bottom and landed on his back. I walked over to him and whlie on his back,he had the strangest look on his face something like* did this actually happen to me?* All I could do was start laughing. He straightened up and went right up to where he was before and the fight between him and the bell got even more intense. He looked like he was blaming the bell for what just happened.

Well, it sounds like everything is great. Many people don't have that kind of luck. But, as far as the talking ---it's gonna take quite a while before he starts imitating words. Maybe months. Another thing is that you're bird might be saying certain things right now that he learned elsewhere. He has to get used to many things around your house such as surroundings, household habits, new people, your voices etc. That also takes time and none of these things happen in 3 weeks time even if you think it is. You need to learn about his personality which doesn't show itself in just 3 weeks. As far as what you've read on boards about talking-----There's at least 1000 members here and I guarantee you that at least 90% of them will tell you that it took quite a while before they ever heard their bird start to talk, and when the3y finally did hear it, it was totally unexpected.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/06/06 06:04

""""""I read all the time other people saying their birds will repeat words after hearing it one time. """""" That's a falsehood. If that happens it's totally by accident and also rare. Most greys take quite a long time to pick up on human talking be it a word or a string of words. A lot of repetition is needed and there's a certain way of doing that so that in the future your bird doesn't sound like a broken record. They will pick up on non talking sounds that are always around much quicker than human words. """"Am I expecting to much to fast?"""" Basically, yes you are. You need to relax and let things happen naturally. If your bird is in good feather, give 1/4 teaspoon 3x a week. Everyday isn't necessary. """'So far though, he has not tried anything that I have tried to teach him."""" I don't know how long you've had him and you haven't said what you mean concerning what you've tried.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/06/06 04:26

You shouldn't be whistling around or at him. That's their most famous natural sound and in the future, you're gonna be sorry you did that. Expect loads and loads of whistles in the future. Just don't egg him on.

That's the backyard which is totally woods. It's winter in that picture. 2500 sq ft and totally useless. The only good thing about it is the various types of wildlife that appear depending upon the season--deer, wild turkeys, small bears, skunks, chipmonks, sometims, foxes, lots of hummingbirds and various beautiful small birds that are migrating. They stop off for about 2 to 3 wks and then continue going to wherever it is that they go.

He doesn't know how to land at a specific place. One of the favorite areas for a bird to land is on the head. Sometimes, the bird will pull on a person's ear or bite an ear lobe when the person is trying to get the bird off. Never let a bird get behind you until you know what will probably happen. The owner usually has a knee jerk reaction, tries to get the bird off and many times that results in a bite. You need to watch him when he has ideas about flying around . When he gets more adept at flying, the next spot is the shoulder but that doesn't guarantee that he won't bite. Some birds are okay to land on the human body but mant aren't. Start putting your arm and hand out now that he realizes that he can go from point A to point B. Get into making your arm a good target. None of these things can happen overnight. You've had him for a month and he's pulled off his first surprise. It's simply a wake up call that at this stage of the game, you're gonna have to start learning his new habits because he's getting more assured in what he can do.

<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/07/31 07:58

If you're gettin the TAG in about 1 to 1 1/2 month old, I assume that the bird is about 1 month old right now. That means that it's too late for the solid unclipped band to be put on. That can only be done approx within the first 10 days after hatching. The most important band is the closed band. Breeders don't usually ask potential customers if they wanna put a band on. Either it's the breeder's standard practice or it isn't. A clipped band can be put on at any time in the bird's life and actually means little in the way of true information. If you sold your bird to me and I intended to sell it to someone else, I could remove the band you have and put my own on to make the bird seem younger, so forget about the band and get your official certificate of birth. Chipping is most effective with 4 legged animals. If you chip your bird and he escapes and I find him, instead of trying to find a vet who can read the chip, I would simply keep your bird. I'm out there and why should I care about you? I don't even know you. Avian Vets cost money and they charge to check chips. Rarely do you hear about people getting their lost bird back because of chipping. The bird flies away and it's hard enough to just retrieve it. Even if the wings are clipped, they can still fly away. So remember that there's unscrupulous people just like me out there and if I find your bird, it's definitely mine, especially if it's a somewhat friendly bird. Get the point????<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/06/03 22:06

He won't hate you when you come back. Birds don't get to the point of hating anyone who's been nice to them. Yes, he'll be pissed for 1 or 2 days and after that he'll show how happy he is to have yoy home. You've spoiled him with love and he's gonna let you know that you better not do that again cause the next time your a*ss is grass. Believe me, he'll take a dump in the cage. Birds can't hold it in cause it's involuntary--Also called nature. He can live without being cuddled for a week. greys aren't needy people. Your bird will have time to contemplate the universe when he stares out into the sky. They even do that when owners are home. Do you really think he cares about how many times you clean his cage?? People get away with cleaning cages every 3 to 4 days depending on the style of the cage. Maybe other threads you've read have told you different so you gotta make up your own mind cause youi're going. He'll have visitors every day. If you're so worried, have those neighbors spend 15 to 20 minutes talking to him when coming over.

You've had your grey for 4 weeks. He's been friendly but is now starting to bite others except his family. Put yourself in his position. You've been introduced to other people and at the beginning but as some time has passed, you're starting to dislike certain people because you can see that they don't really appeal to you. you've become a little colder towards those people( although you don't bite them). When a grey comes into a new home, the most important thing that's discussed on boards is that the owner should get that bird used to only the other family members. Rarely is getting the bird to be friendly towards everyone discussed. When a person has socialized that bird into the family, a major task has been successfully completed. Some people aren't successful and that bird is then known a one person bird which is bad. Greys aren't known to love lots of people. As the grey gets more familar with the owners and the house, outside people become less important. Greys are known to be nippy with casual visitors especially children. As long as your grey is affectionate with you and other family members in the house, you shouldn't worry that he/she is getting nippy with others. A grey has a very diverse personality and he will change in many, many ways as time goes on. I say this because 4 wks can't tell even 1% of how the grey will be. Continue working with your grey and don't worry about other people who only want to hold him. Greys have lots of up and down moods and as time goes on, you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. You should try and learn all about your new family member and not worry about others. You've got a lot of learning to do so expect the unexpected.

No, the bird has enough feathers and frills of it's own. I doubt that mom's clothing would be appealing. Probably too worn out and wrinkled plus people would think that he's a drag queen. You wouldn't want that for your little birdy, right? He simply wants to come out of the closet and be a free spirit in all of his/her gay splender. He wants to be accepted. He wants people to think there's nothing odd if he decides to go to a club where most of the people are wearing leathers and spiked collars.

Nychsa I see that you've got something there! Need some quick money?? There's are a job opening at the Arthur Murray School of Ballroom Dancing. They're always looking for unique types that can do things that haven't been done before. Yeah, you'll be a big hit with the old farts that hang out there that're all dressed in their tuxedos and the women with their salt and pepper upswept French Twists.

Yeah. Also called a very gay lighthearted bird who is shy and is always waiting to come out of the closet but only when the general population will finally accept him or her. Does a lot of talking when alone cause it's practicing what it's gonna say when that lovely coming out party finally arrives.