Dave007

UVB LIGHTING--IT'S IMPORTANCE Sticky #34------ Any light shouldn't be placed on the side where a bird can't help but to look at it. It's possible that a bird can get cataracts or vision loss. Some people are able to get a refund or exchange it for a different style. What I've told people in the past who haven't been able to exchange a light or just can't afford one is just to forget about putting a light on at all. I've told 100s of people that and most have never had any problems OH and one other thing concerning that crossbar on the playstand---there's a possibility that your bird may decide to not even bother to go up to the playstand area if you hook something on it but that shouldn't be a problem because there's loads of playstands that can be purchased or even homemade. Many people like to make their own.

Go to the GREY LOUNGE sticky and look for ----- So you want to be owned by a parrot Go to the GREY LOUNGE sticky and look for ---- The African grey--have I done my homework?????

There's many times where a bird living with 2 or more people it won't be as friendly with one person but be very friendly with another in a house. Obviously, the bird isn't reacting to you the way he reacts to your friend. People in situations like that are usually told to stop the friendly touching and petting of that bird. The bird is showing you a different type of connection. If he wasn't doing that he wouldn't come over unless you're the one bringing him there which you shouldn't do. You need to let that bird establish his own relationship with you but don't be surprised if it isn't the same kind of relationship like your friend has with the bird. The bird may just want to be around you but not being touched. A bird needs to show interest in something or some person when it wants to do that. Right now, you're comparing every reaction with your friend and you're expecting the same reaction to you. That's not the way it works especially with rehomed birds. I don't know how long you've had this bird but the bird is an adult and he has set ways of coming around. You should prepare yourself to not see the exact same reaction in the future. If you've only had the bird a very short time, then you need to prepare yourself for this process to happen for a while. Stop trying to pet him even though he's nearby. Forget about his relationship with your friend. You're the one having the problem not your friend. Share chores concerning the bird. You clean the cage and you're friend cleans the cage. You put food in his bowl and then your friend puts food in. As far as how his body language, check our BODY LANGUAGE link/sticky. It's either in the GREY FORUM room, the HEALTH room or the TRAINING room. It's in the TRAINING ROOM The name of the link --- Body language most frequently seen

In this room, both daily all food and treats are discussed. This post about graham crackers is referring to an item that's used as a treat which isn't given everyday.

You're really doing all the right things at this time:cool:. Look forward to having great experience. Make sure to send pics. People here just love em. Enjoy and :DGood luck

Graham crackers are probably one of the oldest types of cookies ever made. The taste is bland and because of all the new types of cookies made, it's been not as appealing especially to kids. The cookie itself is healthy--high protein. You can compare it to the original simple plain Corn flakes that have been around for ages and ages. People don't get excited about them. For example, check Birdhouse's post--- "First time in 27 yrs I might actually have gotten my very own whole, un-nibbled upon treat & it has to be something I don't even like." I can give you the brand name but I doubt that it won't be necessary because the same honey graham crackers are made by so many companies and they're all the same. Most supermarkets and local grocery stores have them. My wife picked them up at Walmart or Weis because she was doing a heavy duty food shopping that day. She checked them out, saw that the light honey coating was the same as the honey on nutiberries, she bought them. That brand happened to be Great Brands. She knows what foods are safe for birds as well as I do . They're extremely inexpencive. She was the first to give them to the birds when she got home and now when they hear her going in and out of the pantry they get excited. I give my 2 CAGs and 1 TAG a one inch square piece. I give my 2 quakers 1/2 the amount. I'm sure you'll find they're popular in all countries. There's one drawback---Your bird won't give them back to you.

There's a product sold in the cookie/ cake section in supermarkets which is Honey Graham Crackers. The cracker is lightly coated with natural honey. It's the same honey used in Nutriberries with one major difference. The crackers are much cheaper. The cracker is about 2 in. square. Break pieces and feed as much as you want. They can be used for all types of parrots. Now if your husband, wife, partner, children will allow it, you can be given one if you politely ask.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/their-son-was-killed-they-believe-his-parrot-is-telling-people-who-pulled-the-trigger/ar-BBtSTYf?li=BBnbfcL

I don't think any vet visit is necessary. Understand that greys go into quiet times and that's nothing unusual. As long as she's following her normal routine, the talking and sounds will return when she feels like it. As greys get older, they become a bit more quiet. They're very selective. Your bird is very young and you're not used to all the phases of grey ownership. One thing you're doing which is very wrong is giving sunflower seed when she starts making sounds. Making sounds is a natural thing and birds shouldn't be rewarded when they're doing natural things.

Good observation

Hey Nancy, how about taking a little time to start answering all the questions that people have been asking for a couple of days concerning your bird. People are been showing concern. An answer would be appreciatred.

Pain meds? How do you know he's in pain? What's gonna give you a sign to give meds? The vet said he's ok. Think twice about using meds especially if they're not necessary. Sounds like your bird has simply had a rough week because of all the different things going on and what he's doing is nothing unusual when lots of action and commotion and moving around all over the place is occurring.

Well its been 3 days now and so far no more eggs. that's not unusual. I didn't think there would be any more. I should have mentioned that she had nothing to do with the egg from the start That's also a good sign that it was all hormonal which is not unusual. Now she does absolutely nothing when I pick her up, she almost seems like she's someone else, not the same bird I'm used to having. In a way it's great that we're so close, but dang she doesn't want me out of her sight and when I am she's constantly making that high pitched sound that greys are known for. I'm hoping this is something that will pass in time. :-) there's nothing wrong with being close and friendly with her. Just don't pet those areas that I mentioned. making that high pitched sound that greys are known for. I'm hoping this is something that will pass in time Making noise is something that no one can tell you about although yhings should go back to normal after some time has passed. Maybe a few weeks. maybe a few days. That has to do with your bird.

It's not a common occurrence with greys but if it does happen, the grey will more than likely be an adult bird who's an adult bird. Greys very rarely get eggbound General procedure is---The egg needs to be left alone with the female for a full incubation cycle which is 31 to 33 days or until she shows no interest in the egg. No nesting material should be put in. Eggs shouldn't be disturbed. If the egg is on the bottom of the cage, just leave it there.Extra attention shouldn't be given because the female may bite.The female will stat ignoring the eggs as she nears the end of her cycle. Only then should the eggs be removed one by one(if there's more than one egg) 1 every other day until they're gone. Remove any nesting material or what could possibly look like nesting material away from the cage, inside and out after the egg/eggs have been removed. **mating dance and trying to feed me.** stop touching her or petting sensitive areas--upper and lower breast, near the tail. No special attention should be given. Don't change diet. There's a few other species of parrots where egg binding can happen frequently. Watch the general behavior all the time. It shouldn't change other than possibly some interest in the egg. Removing the egg right now will only cause her to produce another egg. This was posted in 2007 My African Grey Just Laid An Egg!! Someone else here just had had this happen to their grey only a few days ago. The person was equally in the dark about what was going on and what to do about it. I can tell you that periodically this will happen to a mature female grey who has never mated before. Normally, there's nothing to worry about. To much over attention to this situation will make the bird edgy and uncomfortable. More than likely, she will lay some more eggs and that's not unusual. A congo grey's incubation period is 28 to 32 days. Anyeggs that are there should be left alone until that amount of time has passed. Nature will her that the eggs are infertile and she'll spend much less time with them to the point of ignoring them. That'll be the time to take out the eggs and discard them. If the eggs are taken out immediately, it will only cause the grey to create new ones which you don't wanna do. More than likely it won't happen again or it might happen again in the future. The cause of this to happen is an over abundent hormonal period. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. Continue with the same foods. Don't start moving things around in the cage and most importantly, don't make a big fuss over what she's doing. Peeks here and there will tell you everything you want to know. Get a calendar and mark off the day you saw the first egg. Let 30 days go by or when your grey shows no interest in the eggs. Your biird might start eating less and then eat a lot. Not to worry, it's normal. The bird won't starve itself. The only time to really worry is when a person has a DNAd guaranteed male and he lays an egg. That type of bird is classified as one who has an identity problem and psychiatrics are then implemented.

Very nice aviary

VERY ABUSED GREY--SO SAD Hi all, my name is Pepper and I am an extremely abused African Grey Parrot. I am looking for a new home where I can live my life the way I was meant to. In an attempt to convey to you the level of abuse, let me give you some examples: My day does not start off well. I wake up with the sun around 6:00am. I then start whistling for dad. Often, dad ignores me and does not come right away. Sometime it is not until 7:30am before dad comes to get me out of my cage. Every other day or so, I get a shower. Dad gets me all wet and then I am patted by an evil towel. I am not sure what type of torture this is supposed to be, but he pats me all over and then he lets me sit and drip. When dad is shaving, he does not let me play with the shaving cream. What is with that? He's such an SOB!!!! After playing with me for a measly hour, dad makes my breakfast. I like to take things out of my bowl and throw them while dad is preparing things, but he doesn't let me do that anymore. Now he makes me WATCH while is getting things ready. I feel like I am going to have a breakdown at these times. I hate his cruelty. BREAKFAST SUCKS!!! Dad puts all this crap in my bowl. Pellets, Dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and other things. I think he is trying to starve me to death. All I need are peanuts. And French fries. Just fill my bowl with peanuts and French fries and I'll be fine. I've tried to tell him this but he won't listen. He just doesn't care how I feel. When dad leaves for work he puts me in my huge cage. Or should I say the torture chamber. There are things hanging all over the place. Bells, ropes, plastic things, wood things, all sorts of things. I tried attacking these things and ripping them to shreds, but new ones keep showing up. It'a a never ending uphill battle. Once a week, dad takes me to work. This is not fun. He puts me in a plastic box and then puts me in the car. I can't see where I am going!! I dig and dig and finally he lets me out so I can see, but it takes him FOREVER!! Just think about it--1/2 hr IS FOREVER!! At work, there are a whole bunch of evil people. They all try to touch Me, and play with me. I just bite them all. Except for one guy. I like him. Dinner time is teasing time. Dad eats his dinner and does not give it all to me. Sometimes, he gives me a piece of his dinner, but I just throw it on the floor to point out my displeasure. There are times I prefer take out, plain and simple but he just shrugs. Finally, I can't even start to tell you about all the things that I can't do. I can't chew on the paper towels that dad used to clean up my poop. I Can't chew on dad's mail. I can't chew on dad's notebook computer. I can't chew on the remote control. I can't chew on the telephone cable. Anyway, you get the point. I'm a parrot and simply wanna try the unknown. You think he cares?? So, please, please, If you know of a home that can satisfy my needs, let me know immediately. Thank you all, for your help and understanding. Bless you

Your bird is approx. 5 mts old. At that age, the nails are still soft and a bit pointy. This especially applies to baby birds who've been clipped. A bird needs to be able to grab things and sink or press the claws in to develop strength and balance. Putting a 8 to 10 inch concrete perch in the cage which will keep the claws slightly blunted. Later on, as Sterling has suggested, a dremel tool should be used because hitting the quik is greatly diminished. Using these types of methods helps to keep the claws blunted as the bird ages.It's an great method to use for a person who has little experience when using clippers. As time goes on, the claws don't need to have the claws clipped very often. In the wild, greys use those sharp claws to grab onto different sized branches.

When you first posted, I wasn't paying attention to dates. Your first post was 3-29-16. You said that you had your bird 7 days before that. So that means you've had your bird since 3-22-16. Today it's 4-2-16. That means that as of now you've had your bird for 11 days. It seems like no one has told you including myself that you need to let your bird get used to everything around it which is usually much longer than 11 days. So, leaving your bird alone and letting him digest everything around him would be the best thing for him and that also includes grouling, screaming, lunging at people. His cage is his new home and that home is now on new property where he has to get used to the grocery stores, shopping malls, nearby schools, the local police dept., favorite pubs. These things are usually done by him/herself and assistance is usually asked for by the bird when the bird gets more comfortable and brave with his new surroundings. Understand what I mean? Your bird needs time, lots of time. Alone time.

Flight feathers, tail feathers, covert features are different from the huge amount of feathers that are discarded once or twice a year. That's what's called *molting* Flight feathers, tail feathers, covert feathers have blood lines in them. Periodically, that blood dries up which makes those feathers start to dry out and die. Those feathers then fall out any time they start to die. It can happen at any time of the year and most of the time only a few will fall out when they die. Sometimes 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 yeathers will die and the bird helps the feathers to fall out by pulling at them. Then those feathers are replaced with new ones. This whole process is not molting. It happens when those feathers die and it happens all year long and there's no predicting when it'll happen. That's what's happening to your bird.

This can be a starting point---------when your bird is in his cage, calmly go over to him without sticking your face in the cage. Start talking to him as if you were talking to another person ( of course, don't expect him respond:)) You'll notice that he'll bend his head to the side and start at you. His head will probably stay in that position while you're talking. Talk about the weather, what you watched on TV, your wife or girlfriend, what you bought at the grocery store. Have a wristwatch or clock nearby. As time goes on, he'll straighten his head and not really pay attention. Check out the amount of time he paid attention. Example, 10 min. Next time you do it stop at 9 min while he's still paying attention. Walk away and repeat this about 2 to 3 times a day. Always stop while the bird is still interested in your talking. What you're doing is building trust. The bird will not dislike you as much. He'll be curious. AGAIN, it will take time to gain a bird's confidence and this whole thing also applies to other types of parrots.

Hi--- as for the gender of the bird, the only way to find out about the sex of the bird is to have an avian vet run a DNA test on your bird or have a certain company that will do the same thing if a small drip of blood or a flight feather is sent so that DNA can be found. As far as age, it's very difficult to tell how old a grey is when the grey is older than 6 yrs old. Your best bet is to locate the person you got the bird from to get a rough idea about the age. As far as behavior, that could have developed in a few ways--it's common for a grey who was preowned to act that way with new people. On the other hand, there's greys that will act in the opposite way. Your bird is in a new place with a new environment, with new people showing everyday habits. The bird should be be situated amongst the family members so it gts use to different people and different family habits. Of course, more can be iscussed in future posts. Just remember that what your bird is doing is being caused by FEAR or being used to only living in a cage. Your bird may have been mistreated and finds that the cage is his safe place. Just remember that it will take time.

Hi If your bird is 32 yrs old, I doubt that your bird has any type of permanent chronic barbering problem and barbering isn't plucking. When a bird is barbering feathers he's cracking longer feathers in half. Plucking feathers is plucking the whole feather from the skin. It's extremely hard for any bird to *barber* chest feathers. The feathers are too small. Your bird may be developing a dry, itchy area which causes a bird to pluck those areas. Another scenario may be a change in the surrounding humidity in his living area. Another problem may be the adding of new toys or items to his area. Another problem is movement of a cage to another area which may be strange. In any case, spraying that area with cool water may stop a bird from plucking. In your situation, a vet visit is a good idea because your vet may suggest what specific items to use on the irritated area. If your bird was doing this for a very long time ( 6 mts to a 1 yr ) there's other items that can be used on the bird but your vet will probably recognize the problem and guide you from there. Good luck.

A very comforting bedtime lullaby

Yes, mice, gerbils, guinny pigs, hamsters can cause odor. You say that you're constantly vacuuming up seed and other foods that your bird throws out of the cage. Well, it might be worth your while to pick up one of those mini hand vacs. They're quick, strong, extremely light weight,pick up most of everything, has no odor. Almost all vacuum companies make their own version but usually most of them work the same way. As years have passed, they actually make them with a rechargeable battery pack just like other electric tools---drills, chain saws, garden trimmers etc. Usually, they're inexpensive. I have 2 of them. Both are very old models ( about 15 yrs old). One works and the other is now broken. Both were made by Hoover. My wife uses it in the bird room as well as a million other areas. Because of where I live, dust lingers around. They cost about $25 to $35 (American). Think about it. They're very popular and you'll find loads of areas where the item will help. ***Would reed diffusers/pot pourri *** Sorry but I'm not familiar with those items. Maybe someone else can answer that.

Not all *chemical products * are bad. In your case you should use FABRESE cleaner. It's a spot remover. The poo is allowed to dry and then picked up. Spray a little Fabrese on that spot, let it sit on the spot for about 5 min. and then use a paper towel and blot it up. Voila, the stain is gone. It doesn't change the color of the rug. People also use it when a dog or cat throws up. The Fabrese has a nice mild odor that disapeers within 3 min. It has no effect on the birds. Most of the time, it's better than using water because using water requires rubbing it in. When using Fabrese, a slight foam appears. As far as your second part of your post, I have no idea what yor're referring to. Are the birds causing the odor? Is that area just naturally smelly? Sometimes constant cleaning especially with a vacuum can cause odors. That's why people are told to remove birds when a rug is getting steamed. It's only water but that process causes odor. Birds have to be kept away until the odor disapates. Remember that Fabrese has a nice odor that goes away quickly. Hope this helps.