Dave007

I was just testing a certain feature on my new laptop. The test failed but there's no problem with my laptop.

More than likely, in your part of the country right now, it's cold outside so go to your grandma's house and look around for all the branches that are dead and laying on the ground. They're hard and brittle and dry. As far as what kind of wood to use, most any will do except maple because the branches always stay soft. More than likely if the branches you're talking about at grandma, will generally be oak. It's the most common. Use different thicknesses and lengths. Don't worry about being esthetic because the birds really don't care what they look like. Dead wood is the best and easiest to get to. Believe it or not, the items in those pictures would cost a fortune in a pet store. It only cost me the price of some screws and nails. PS, it's a good idea to have a screwdriver, hammer around plus a couple of small clamps to hold wood together while you're screwing/hammering.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

First, you would need to take off the outer bark, clean it by wetting it and using some liquid soap. Rinse thoroughly and put it in the bathtub until it dries. It'll dry quickly because the bark has ben removed. Then cut up different sized lengths of wood and use screws or nails to attach to each other. Make any design you want. Use your imagination. The same goes for the swing. Cut 3 pieces of wood any length you want and nail or scre them together. These are 2 tht I made for 3 greys a while back. The wood under the bark is extremely hard so don't worry about the bird chewing and destroying it. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/DaveVP/playgym-style_zpsc64ce5ef.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/DaveVP/anothergymmodel_zpsd2ef66d8.jpg

I've made a few swings out of tree bark from my backyard. It's the same wood that I used as perches for cages and playstands. That way, the swings can be all different thicknesses.

I totally agree. Sometimes I'm amazed concerning all the different crazy things that people think up to feed parrots that are definitely wild and definitely scavengers.

well, that sounds quite different than before. They probably didn't know the sex of the bird before putting it up for sale and laying eggs will settle that question. Many buyers wanna know if the bird is either male or female and they just proved it to you. You should ask about how many eggs You should ask if the bird was around any other bird which may have stimulated her You should ask her if the bird has been doing this frequently and if they say yes, ask about the amount of clutches she's had. The bird may be one that's overproductive or easily stimulated. There are birds that do lay eggs during mating season even if there's no male around and that applies to all species. Believe it or not, even males have been known to lay eggs. Most of them are older than the age of 18 yrs old and it doesn't happen often. If the bird has been doing this all the time, I can only say that you should read my original answer to you. You need to make up your own mind. Others don't know you and neither do I. Don't be swayed into changing your mind one way or another. Make yourself happy.

A google wasn't really necessay but it's one of the most common items that many people with digestive problems drink. It's found in pharmacies , large supermarkets. It's been used for years. No script is needed although gastroenterologists recommend that some patients may get help from it. Before, I was referring to aloe being given to birds, not people. Giving it to birds isn't a good idea and make them sick.

What does Aloe Vera have to do with this thread? You're letting your bird drink it? That's not good. It isn't meant to be indigested.

That type of question has a couple of answers. First off, I assume that the bird was doing this with the former owner. The reason that birds will lay mltiple amounts of clutches is that when a bird does this, the owner immediately removes the eggs as they come out. That's no good because it only causes the hen to start the process all over again (quickly) and eventually a new clutch appears. When bird does lays eggs like yours does, the bird must be given an area where she can incubate the eggs even though the eggs aren't any good. Approximately 25 to 30 days later the hen will tire of sitting/incubating on the infertile eggs and will either puh them sway or ignore them. That's a process that slows down the urge to lay eggs in the future. Usually breeding season passes and the bird knows this and the desire to mate goes away. The other situation is about birds who constantly lay eggs all the time. That type of behavior is known as chronic. That type of behavior weakens a bird and can possibly lead to egg binding and a large loss of calcium which greys need. If the bird is doing that, a vet is neded and an exam is needed and the vet determines what the problem is. What you didn't say was what catagory this bird falls into and the only way to find out is by speaking to the previous owners. If you've never had a grey before, think hard about what you wanna do. Many people will tell you that they own birds with many problems and haven't had any problems but those people aren't you. PS---the pevious owners may have been constantly rubbing and petting the bird's sexual areas and that can cause egg laying especially with an adult bird which a 7 yr old bird is--an adult. 6yrs and older is when a bird becomes sexually mature. Chronic egg laying definitely requires a vet visit.

Room temp, warn temp, chilly temp --all good. Depends on what kind of a connisure he is. Expect a lot of dust at the bottom of the cage. They demolish those bones. . Not to worry. They don't swallow bone, just chew on them until they get to the marrow. The bigger the bone, the larger amount of marrow.

You can give as many as you like. Boiled, baked, no gristle left on bones. Fried chicken is bad. The best one to use are the bones in the wings that have a knuckle at either end. PS---you can also use turkey wings.

This is in case you or others you know may be using these products http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/14/13865945-pet-jerky-treat-death-toll-360-dogs-1-cat-fda-says?lite

Comparing what happens in an egg and having diabetes is like comparing apples and oranges. Some say that biabetes is genetic but diabetes can also occur when a person becomes overweight. Many MDs also concur that it's also a blood disease. What type you have and what causes it and what classification is comes under is only something you or any other person can find out about from their MD. I'm not gonna get into diabetes. That's a health issue can happen with people from many things. What i will get into is deformaties that occur in the egg. A splayed foot can happen in the egg. Actually, it does happen in the egg. Having one wing happens in the egg. They're both malformations. Having a splayed foot is a bone which has grown with a deformity which is in the egg and can happen when eggs are placed in wrong areas by the parents or the egg isn't incubated properly. It's accidental and that bone deformity can be corected if treated quickly----VERY QUICKLY and that doesn't happen very often. Deformed body parts concerning birds happens all the time with all types of birds. Indoor and outdoor birds go through this all the time. People who have sick breeders wouldn't be breeding those birds because many constantly cause health issues would cause those people a lot of money be it exchanges, refunds, guarantees. Compare diabetes to schizophrenia. Not all the offspring will have that problem but some in the family will. Anyway, this isn't the place to be discussing your human health issues such as your diabetes.

A bird who's been born with a wing missing or a wing that refuses to grow feathers has nothing to do with genetics. It's the same thing when a bird is born and has a splayed foot--nothing to do with genetics.

The aloe plants you have contain a thick gel which is only used on cuts, scrapes, bruises, minor irritations and very dry scaly skin such as a bird's legs and feet. It can be compared to first aid cream that is sold for people although some people use it for the same reasons as above.

Palm nut are fantastic but sadly, they're hard to get and they're very expensive but if you have the money, go for it. Greys love that stuff. In another post here in this thread, Dan showed a video of a bunch of greys eating those things. Here's Dan's video----- http://www.arkive.org/african-grey-p.../video-08.html

I really don't know why I forgot this info. Probably the age, probably the arthritis, probably a lack of love but anyway, one very simple fact about palm oil---- 1--When buying red palm oil, it'll say red palm oil which is good for your birds. No other words are used except Virgin Red Palm Oil which is identical to Red Palm OIl. Some companies like to throw that word in. 2 What you need to avoid is another palm oil called Queen Palm Oil. It's a big no no for birds.. Here's a link about it. Comes with pics and info but if you look at the other sites concerning Queen Palm Oil, you'll see what I mean. Remember, a big no no. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=queen+palm+oil&qpvt=queen+palm+oil&FORM=IGRE

Think about olive oil. That's the consistancy that palm oil looks like when it's hot. As it get cooler it gets an orange color. Where palm oil is concerned, the word fruit is just another word for the flesh that surrounds the nut. It's all one thing.

No. Poop comes out the same. No color change, no change in consistancy. No change in shape. No diarhea. No constipation. Just good olf fashioned poopies

You know, it's sometimes get so thrown out of proportion when the subject of palm oil comes up. People start breaking down the ingredients and chemical components, naming things that many others don't understand. And they do this to make themselves seem like experts. I'm no expert concerning RPO. I simply know that birds benefit from it cause they eat it in the wild so I made it a point to tell people about it. I learned about this info from Vets. Loads of different species of parrots can eat the oil. I hate the taste or smell of it but that's alright. I'm not a bird. Hmmm--who knows, maybe the birds know something we don't. Years ago, I went through the trouble to tell loads of people about palm oil. I made a sticky about it. It was appreciated. Hundreds walked away and were happy cause they never knew about it. Loads of people were happy for their birds and started buying it and became inventive when using it. Some started shopping around to see if there were other places to buy it and they found those places which was great. Price was never an issue. But periodically when I read all the hoopla from people concerning the oil and it's chemical breakdown and it's additives and it's ingredients and which ones are better than others and people start believing that their bird is doing better with one brand as opposed to another it starts to sound funny because I realize that with all the so called heavy duty investigating, the one most important thing that people aren't aware of because of a lack of investigating, is this-------- All the information that people find and read concerning that product has to do with people who are or about to use it, not birds. So all the judgements and decisions you're making about the product should be aimed at yourself, not birds. That's why all that info is listed . That link above has to do with people, not birds. Birds aren't people. It's only for you to read the ingredients and make the decision to use it in your own body. Thousands of people use palm oil in their own bodies. That's why it's sold. That's what all the info on the bottle is for. You, not birds.

So You got your answers and some opinions, some side thoughts, a couple of food recipes, some printed articles, allergies that people have, new insight concerning others. That's what supposed to happen here and sometimes it does, even concerning small subjects. Bird food isn't a small subject though. Black and white answers with no opinions many times amount to absolutely nothing.

I really appreciate the menu. I can see that you really care. Anything tio make them happy. You and I will meet soon and have some great expresso with a side of macaroon tarts and cannolis. Just remember, it's my grandma's recipe when she was in the old country. You're so sweet.

As Tony Soprano would say --Fa ged about it---The drasticaly possible side effect from peppers are minimal to my birds because my birds eat italian food from Sicily with Rottelle al dente with homemade garlic bread topped off with some red wine. Excuse me for a minute, I gotta belch.

My pleasure. Also try out some chicken bones from the wing. Make sure that chicken is only baked or boilled. Use the bones that have knuckles of either side. Just rinse the bones in warm water. Lots of calcium and most birds love the marrow inside. Some birds ( like my 3) willl also eat the bone.