Dave007

If you're talking about wooden toys to give a bird you can use the coloring material that's used to put on eggs at Easter. It's put on the wood and soaks in. If you're talking about a metal cage then there's really no safe paint to use but if the area is in a place that the bird can't EVER get to {ABSOLUTELY SURE}, paint can be used after all rust has been scraped away.

I apologise. The word I used wasn't meant to have anything to do concerning your sexual preferences. It was simply a short version for your username. Personally, I have no interest in a person's preferences.

Please, please give me a break

My apologies---it seems that some paragraphs were repeated . I'll straighten it out now-----I'm gonna EDIT it There ya go--I EDITED it Hmmm, well, not truly corrected but I'm very tired concerning all of this EDITING so I'll let it go

WOW---all this craziness. It sounds so GOOD!!!. I'm getting off just reading it. It's like a good TV series that's being made for next year. COME ON---more episodes PLEASE!!! First off Tranny, lots of people are gonna get pissed but that won't get you banned from the board if YOU decide you edit something that's months old SO others who do that are coming up with new info much later in the future and that's a good thing. Lots of people do that.As far as banning, the admin and the moderators get together once a month and break out some super duper wine and get wasted. The admin lets us use her house. She has the choice of wine although we all like red but people better get theirs quickly when she's around. She buys a second bottle to use when we all leave. Dan is the big drinker. he's Irish. Judy is used to the wine cause where she comes, they drink all year long. I sip and savor. Some others never show up cause they're Mormons. So we sit around and play cards and when it's time to go, everyone gets in their car and takes a chance driving home. If someone doesn't make it home, they're banned. After all, they're injured or dead so they would be useless here. Oh shit, we forgot to talk about banning other members. Well, there's always next time. As Dan said we share opinions and if people decide to leave because of the way the opinions were presented[and they're many] and decide to leave, well, screw them. We get enough people who come here, ask one question, get multiple answers to that one subject and they're gone in the wind. Well, screw them too. Not everyone has the talent to type out emotions. It would be cool if they did but then things like this new book coming out wouldn't be printed. Tranny, just one piece of advice----stop using so many other pieces of info from established articles. Not to cruel but Why do I say that? Well, lets name off persons numbered 1,2 ,3. An established website can have lots of info in it and it contradicts another established website which in turn contradicts another website. These established authors swear that what they're saying is the truth and ONLY the truth. People 1,2,3 read these established authors, use it on their birds and BOOM, there's trouble. Then they come here to try and get help. Some of the help is blunt. Some don't like it. I'm blunt with people and if they don't like it, they complain but don't leave BUT on the other hand, they do leave.,It doesn't stop me from drinking my wine. ASk Dan about that famous ad on the PC called BIRDTRICKS. Don't ask me. My answer won't be too civil. A couple of questions for the original poster 1--whos the person at the club that can tell how old the bird is? Especially an adult bird. 2---please desribe thr actual band on the bird---not the numbers or letters, or colors. Just describe to me whether it has a very tiny slit in the band. Now,does this look like a 17 yr old TAG in his 3rd home that liked to attack men, women, babies in cribs, dogs and cats. WOW---all this craziness. It sounds so GOOD!!!. I'm getting off just reading it. It's like a good TV series that's being made for next year. COME ON---more episodes PLEASE!!! First off Tranny, lots of people are gonna get pissed but that won't get you banned from the board if YOU decide you edit something that's months old SO others who do that are coming up with new info much later in the future and that's a good thing. Lots of people do that.As far as banning, the admin and the moderators get together once a month and break out some super duper wine and get wasted. The admin lets us use her house. She has the choice of wine although we all like red but people better get theirs quickly when she's around. She buys a second bottle to use when we all leave. Dan is the big drinker. he's Irish. Judy is used to the wine cause where she comes, they drink all year long. I sip and savor. Some others never show up cause they're Mormons. So we sit around and play cards and when it's time to go, everyone gets in their car and takes a chance driving home. If someone doesn't make it home, they're banned. After all, they're injured or dead so they would be useless here. Oh shit, we forgot to talk about banning other members. Well, there's always next time. ASk Dan about that famous ad on the PC called BIRDTRICKS. Don't ask me. My answer won't be too civil. A couple of questions for the original poster 1--whos the person at the club that can tell how old the bird is? Especially an adult bird. 2---please desribe thr actual band on the bird---not the numbers or letters, or colors. Just describe to me whether it has a very tiny slit in the band. Now,does this look like a 17 yr old TAG in his 3rd home that liked to attack men, women, babies in cribs, dogs and cats with regularity?

First off this is concerning that plucking problem--there's no guarantee that he's gonn completely stop that habit if nothing is done about it. You should get a gel/salve and coat that area frequently. The best item to use is aloe vera gel. It can be purchased in pharmacies and places that sell huge amounts of medical supplies like Walmart, K Mart, Target etc. It's inexpensive and will last a long time. That area is raw even if feathers are growing back in.' Second, you need to find out if the bird was a cage bird meaning that was he brought up in a cage with no playtime outside. A cage bird can get used to being in a cage and become quite happy. A cage bird is gonna take quite a while to come out to investigate things and when it does, he'll quickly go back in for no apparent reason. A bird who tries out the new world should be left alone and be allowed to start investigating what he wants in his own time. Just because he comes out doesn't mean that he's ready to start the normal process of stepping up and other usual things that new birds do. You're new to him and visa versa. Clicker training means nothing to a bird that doesn't trust the person using the clicker. Cockatiel doesn't have all the necessary seed elements that larger birds need. Regular sized parrot mix made for larger birds such as greys, amazons should be used. Don't expect him to gobble up the new type of seed quickly. It takes time for changeovers. Becoming hand tame can only happen when he feels totally comfortable with you. Give him trats and expect nothing in return. Use nuts, try some oatmeal, try ome small pieces of bread, try diferent types of pasta. Et etc. These things don't hurt a bird internally. Pretty soon, you'll be thinking about getting red palm oil which will supply the concentrated types of vitamons tht greys need. There's different ways of giving that oil and others here will tell you how improved their birds have become. Geys are inqustive and eventually wanna be in the mix of things. Let the bird show you he's interested, no the other way around. Some people move the bird's cage around and don't have as much luck as you did. Your grey has set habits and feelings about adult people and need time to accept new people. Having the bird since Nov isn't a very long tome when it concerns adult birds.. ONE THING----NO GLOVES. Any thing positive done with the bird will go out the window. Don't even go near him with gloves. Some birds are afraid of large cardboard boxes. You'll need to find this out for yourself. To sum it up, training isn't as important than total trust in you--he's an adult and so are you.

Since you've obviously never done this before, you would need to go to a vet who'll do it or a vet tech do it and possibly show you how to do it. Doing it the wrong way can possibly cause bleeding from the claws and the beak. PS---beaks aren't usually done unless there's a problem with the bird not filing it down naturally or there is a problem with uneven growth.

All types of cookware that have any type of bird-- harmful ingredients in them need to be heavily heated in order for those ingredients to be released. The most common is all types of dish/pot ware. Internal items such as stoves don't have the type of ingredients that you're referring to because those ingredients are also harmful to people. As far as cooking-- a bird should always be removed from areas where any type of cooking is going on. If you have a new oven, it probably came with an ehaust fan above the burners. Keep them on while you're cooking in order to give you an idea about what I'm talking about, you mention a few itms in your post. Well, did you know that your hairdryer has teflon in it ? Ever hear about any birds that die from being blow drieded? ++++ So I read warnings about toasters, coffee makers, toaster ovens, cappichino makers++++ I really hope you didn't remove the items above.

The cages you're looking at aren't truly flight cages for medium sized parrots. The sizes posted on their ads are ust the same average home sized cage for greys or amazons. If you truly want a flight cage where the bird can truly fly around in it, you would need to go to a store that specializes in actual flight cages. This is a homemade flight cage [/url

The best ones to get are called Aviator Flight Harness--you would need one for medium sized parrots and one for large sized parrots. The pictures on the package tells you which one to get. I will say that you should be very careful about the ones you walk. You really don't know what is or was on the ground before you walk your bird. They can easily pick up bacteria.

Typt in the word hyphema and look for sites that describe and show pictures and possible solutions

It's one of the most common sounds that greys make throughout their lives and thy need very stimulation to do it. You could be in another room and whistling something else and a grey will respond with any whistle that happens to be on his mind. Greys are the best whistlers in the parrot kingdom.

There's' smany times that a grey will get very aggressive with hard toys such as bells. It looks violent but they're only playing even though it may scare people. They hit the toys, the toy swings back and hits the face, eyes, beak. Many times, there are red marks left on the eyes, the face but not the whole iris. The picture you posted shows that the iris is totally bloodshot. It could be a broken blood vessel, in which case an avian vet is needed. They have the tools to look behind the iris and see if there's damage. I don't know who the people are that you're referring to but I think an immediate exam of that eye is necessary. The eye may be damaged or weak especially since you've said something similar happned in the past. The red in that iris looks too unlform to be done with a bang from a toy. Have it looked at it immediately.

Not to insult you but all of your pictures concerning what's happened to the harness is your fault. Any harness no matter what it is shouldn't be in a situation that allows a bird to pick on it. Every picture shows the harness laying around with the bird very curious. This can happe with many items that have nothing to do with harnesses. Anyone will tell you that their birds find things that a person doesn't even know are there until the bird finds them and chew them. A flight harness should be ued in a certain way--- 1---the harness is put on the bird and whatever you wanna do is done and after finishing, the harness is completely removed from the body and put away. 2---the harness is put on and whatever a person wants to do is finished and again the harness is put away. The bird shouldn't be seeing something it enjoys chewing on if the person doesn't want it chewed on. 3---I don't know what you're using the harness for but even if it's for being used in the house, it needs to be removed. Hands, arms, fingers, playstands, learning to fly around the house don't need a harness. If you are using it for #3, you're dealing with the symptom not the cause. Most people use a flight harness when taking the bird outside. If the bird is outside, the last thing it wants to do is bite at the harness. BTY---the problem and shape your harness is in the pictures can be easily fixed. PS--when a dog is walked on a leash and then brought in the house, it the leash left on the dog?

Thanks very much for the info. You're a wonderfully good woman, Judygram!!

Serious chronic plucking is involved. A diagnosis is made. A possible solution is given. A bird collar. For so many birds A collar isn't going to fix the problem unless you plan for him to wear it for the rest of his life. His plucking is something that was a formed habit prior to you getting him. A physical block will not fix it, because it's not a physical problem - it is an emotional one. This is how he has learned to deal with his feelings. Its not YOUR fault. You took on a known plucker. Even when you provide the best environment possible, he still may pluck (and will more than likely continue to do so for the rest of his life). When I first dealt with my friend's TAG, Romeo (who was a known shredder prior to him getting her) I thought that as long as I temporarily provided the best environment it would stop immediately. This was a common but FALSE way of thinking. He went 8 weeks without touching his feathers, then one day I came home and he had completely shredded her chest and tail feathers. I cant even begin to tell you what you what it was like to call my buddy about it. At my friend's house he was in a perfect environment (he was beyond spoiled - He ruled the roost). I was devastated and thought I did something wrong because I had worked with other pluckers with good results. In actuality there was NOTHING I could do to really do to fix the problem. He was probably leaving his feathers alone because he was in a new home with very new distractions - He then settled in a bit and had decided to be himself. Over time, as long as you keep providing the most stable best environment possible, his plucking will curb some but NEVER truly go away. Look at it like an ADDICTION, he did not get to this state overnight - it cannot be cured overnight either. This is a life long problem, just when you think he is done - he will relapse. You are living with an addict (in a bird form) and don't take what he does personal, just love him and help him through it. One of my vet's first words to me were 'you will never fix this, either be prepared to live with this problem for the rest of the birds life or walk away now' -This was told to my friend with me visiting the vet at the same time. His love for this bird and his connection with him,He could never leave him just because was not perfect. His bird will eventually get to a point where he may go weeks without incident, then a few months, then a few years, then out of no where when he looks absolutely perfect he does it again. Ignore the problem and act like its not there, don't give any attention when he does it. If you come home and he's plucked himself bald don't treat him any different than normal - act as if you don't even notice it. Put soothing liquids and gels on him but enjoy him for him and forget the feathers. This is an emotionally unstable bird and its going to take TIME, LOTS OF IT. Go in with the mindset that he's yours for the rest of his life and if he wants to be naked then so be it. Trying to physically block the problem (collar) is going to cause him to become even more emotionally upset as he has no outlet for his pent up feelings, plucking is his way to cope. Worse would be if he tries to find a different outlet - then you will have two behavioral problems instead of one. Provide the perfect environment, accept his condition, and you will be surprised at the results. Its a very long hard road but remember that this is what you signed up for. You saw he needed help and you came to his aid. You could of easily bought a baby from a breeder and never had to deal with this problem. What you did do though is take on a wonderful bird that most would of walked away from, due to his problem, and are giving him the chance to really enjoy life. Rescuing is not easy, but extremely rewarding in ways you would never had known had he been perfect from the start. Stay strong and you will eventually get through this. This also applies to female birds.

You've only had this bird for one week? Well, you're being told to do too many things in a very short amount of time. How about learning all about your bird with things that he's already used to. He didn't die before you got him and he won't die now either. As far as what happened in NJ, remember Katrina? My sister in law who is a RN who lives in NY made the trip down there to help people and wound up helping Animal Control capture a Macaw and a Cockatoo from a destroyed house. They didn't know how to handle these birds and since she had experience doing that in NY with her brother, she was successful. They never found the owners and the birds were fed dog pellets for 5 weeks until they were put into an adoption center. They did pretty well. Learn about your bird first. Trust and security is a lot more important than feeding the right foods. You'll get better results with what you wanna do.

Yeah, you are. Your bird had a new experience which he didn't think was too pleasent. Tomorrw, he'll be back to his old self. t'sa normal thing that birds do when they crash into things.

All harnesses no matter what material are used is chewable. The main reason for the type of material that's used has to do with the weight of the harness on the bird's body. It has to be somewhat light weight. The best harness to use is The Aviator Harness.

I answered that question above to another prson that has a similar problem.

Depending on how the fether/featheres were plucked/pulled, there's chance that not only was the feather plucked but the follicle was also plucked out. If that's the case thn most of the time another feather won't grow back in that area. A feather needs to have a follicle to grow from. Another possibility is how the feathers are growing in. A new feather might be growing in and rub or mix in the the clipped feathers and will cause iritability because the clipped feather is being jammed into the skin. The bird's first reaction is to either pull out the irritated feather or pull out the new feather in order to ease that iribility. So, many times, feathers aren't growing in with other feathers that have been damaged. It's a matter of luck when all the feathers are growing in right and no discomfort is happening and that process may take a long time. After a while, a bird may be used to pulling out feathers and become what's called a chronic plucker which means that the bird is used to pulling out featehrs on a regular basis and becomes a habit. Only time will tell. the only thing that can be done is to use aloe type gels on the bare patches to ease the irritation.

If you've been leaving it on your bird for longer than needed ( before or after) then yes, they will pick at the harness. The harness isn't a natural item on a bird even if some birds won't pick on it. it should immediately be put on before going out and immediately taken off when it's not needed. There's no way to stop a bir from picking at an alien product on the body that may be uncomfortable.

Voting is impossible when the whole board is totally ruled by a infamous dictator who has an iron fist. Talon's word is the last word and she has cohorts who will follow her extreme cruel methods. She puts fear into the hearts and minds of many people and laughs at the reactions of her slaves while drinking the blood of her foes.

Other things to realize is that we're not the only board that does this. Many boards do this even though they may have nothing to do with birds. The administrator controls the wording. In the past, instead of THANKS, the word that was used was KUDOS but the administrator finally found out that many people who were seeing this word actually thought it was a new brand of chocolate chip cookies so she decided to change the word to THANKS because she knew that most people had eperience with THANKS Give the administrator a pat on the back because she thought long and hard how to solve this very complex problem.

Best of luck. See, we actually do care about your bird.