Dave007

All I can say is that you're pretty much right on target. The magic word here is inbreeding which is a no no. As you said if it was natural, greys would be doing it. Another example are amazons---there's approx 20 types. Of them, about 8/9 can be pets. The others can't live in any type of captivity. None of these amazon pets will try to mate with another kind. A yellow naped Zon will not mate with a yellow crowned Zon. Blue fronted Zon will not mate with green winged Zon. Nature doesn't allow that. They all look alike but that's as far as it goes.-- etc---etc. And I'm totally correct concerning those macaws which is sad because each type of macaw has it's own particular personality. A blue and gold is the friendliest. The scarlett is the hardest to keep and totally aggressive. They can all be made to mate but what comes out is a very sad picture. In the wild, none of these macaws will not show any interest in each other.

You didn't offend me. You're gonna see a big difference in your bird's abilities once you set up that project. He may have gotten that scared attitude by being in a cage that was too small. A cage that size can injure a bird's wings when they flap in it. Of course this isn't your fault. Because of their personality, if they get hurt like that they immediately decide not to try it again in a small area. At 30 yrs old, you may not get the optimum results you're looking for. Instilled habits die hard but there will be bravery soon enough. It'll start off small but will increase. He'll also get braver with you. Just watch and see. Yes, his muscles are weak but that large area yoyu're talking about is gonna help with those muscles. If his wings are clipped just let them grow back. In my avatar I've had that bird ( Smokey) since he was in the egg because I own his parents so he's been flying since he first discovered that he could. He's 13 yrs old.

I looked at your site and found many beautiful birds but here in the US, most very experienced grey owners on many grey boards would frown on what you're doing with those greys. Many inexperienced first time owners ( of which there are many here) would look at those greys and think they're beautiful and unusual and wish they had one but they have no idea how those greys came to be that color. You're breeding birds for color and changing their color genetics. None of those birds are legitimite red factor greys. Eventually some will become sterile. You'll never be able to duplicate the specific areas that are red. It's not possible because altered color genetics can't be passed on from bird to bird in an exact fashion. Massive breeding will eventually create solid red or splotched red color. A genetically altered red grey doesn't have to be a healthy bird. It simply has to have an abundance of altered genes. It's one thing to have a bird who is naturally mutated. That's nature. Those greys aren't mutations. The color was gotten by breeding for color. Years ago this same thing was done with macaws. 7 true color macaws were inter bred with other different true color macaws and the chicks came out having very unusual colors. Many were beatuful. They didn't look like either male and female parents. 2 Examples----Ruby Macaws ( color atifically produced) and Camalot Macaws.(color artificially produced) If a person takes 2 Ruby Macaws and mates them to each other, I guarantee that the chicks will have no resemblance to the parents. The same holds true for Camalot Macaws and mixing Military macaws with Blue and Gold macaws and mixing other macaws. So, a person can't really get the same colored baby macaw that attracted them in the first place. So why am I saying these things that will upset people here concerning color bred greys? It's only to tell you that beauty is only skin deep and what's being done is in no way natural.

Well, just trying to help. I posted first before you spoke about balcony. Anyway, good luck.

Great looking bird. Nice that you adopted him. He looks happy BUT concerning that cage---it's much to small and isn't made for medium sized parrots who do fly up and down. If you really wanna make him more happy with you, get another bigger cage that's square or rectangular. In our cage section you can see a variety of different cages made for greys. Plus, if you ca get another cage, change all the perches inside to the same type you put on the stand. Those types of perchws are good for the feet and muscles. Small dome cages are made for canaries, finches, budgies.

Many greys don't like bathing, misting or showers. As far as their reaction to misting/spraying, most of the time, the grey will act like you're killing him...growling. squawking, screeching. A person should try not to pay a lot of attention to that or at least don't let it slow you down the when misting. As far as what you're doing, it's possible that you weren't doing it properly. Spraying a bird who's not close will cause the above reactions. Please read this link. There's a part that tells you how to mist. The feather he pulled out may have been one that was ready to fall out. Now if you said that every single time you misted him and he pulled out a feather each time, then I would say that you should stop misting him. There's some areas on a bird that will benefit and help. Those areas are the skin--breast, under wings, base of the tail ( underneath). There's some areas where the aloe won't do good at all---top of the body, top of the wings, top of the tail. All of those outer feathers are waterproof and any fluid simply rolls off the feathers. No penetration at all. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189967-100-natural-aloe-vera-juice

That's an affection action. Sometimes, they'll rub their beaks on a person. Most very young birds do that but older ones also do it. Just about every grey owner has a bird that does that. Sometimes a little, sometimes alot. They'll do that in the nest with the parents. Some will puff up, others won't. Nothing to worry about. Prt him on the head when he does that. No where else though. Whenan adult bird does that it has to do with sexual excitement.

I'm glad you understand what I'm saying.

Oh really:(?? Well, I don't think so. At least not me. My birds do things the way I want them done, not visa versa. Not to insult anyone in particular, but I think that the vast majority of women as opposed to men think along those lines. There's a big difference between wild animals and domestic animals and too many people treat their wild animals the same way they treat their domestic animals. How come these wild animals who excape never try to go back home when they're finally free? Domestic animals will try to get back because with domestic animals we are truly their their caretakers and providers. ( food, shelter). When getting these wild birds, how come many people immediately alter theitr natural abilities so they can't get away--for example wing clipping?

Just get a variety of nuts--almonds--walnuts--hazel nuts. Break them up in small pieces and whenever your bird does what you want him to do, give a small piece. Nuts are much better that all the junk treats on the market. Nuts are natural and parrots like them. You can give as many as you want.

You may wanna revise the above to a solid bottom and top. A bird can get seriously spooked in the above model when walking around in the city.

******Yes they will. But I disagree with what you're implying. Any living creature with the ability to learn establishes neural pathways early in life that effect their development and I think those first first two years matter. One clip will effect a large part of that time.****** Well, after dealing with greys for 27 yrs I can definitely tell you that no major problems develop in the few months that a bird is being reared unless some extreme bad event happens. It's the people who buy those birds and don't do the right thing during the first 2/3 years that cause problems to develop. They let the birds rule the roost. And they're quite a few people who aren't savvy in the ways of dealing with medium to large parrot species that have the most difficulty. I'm not implying anything. I'm just telling you the real facts. I assume you came here for facts? It's a free country so believe what you want. Oh by the way, I've been breeding greys for 21 yrs and I know hundreds of other breeders throuigh the years, some who clip and some who don't. I wouldn't associate with any of them if I knew that they were creating future bad situations for any birds they're selling---nor would they associate themselves with me.

****I believe after talking to a lot of people, reading accounts over the past 2-3 years that much of the issues greys have relate to how they're reared in the first 2-3 years.***** That's referring to you, not any breeder. They only get them ready for sale after being weaned. You'll be the one dealing witth issues and it'll have nothing to do with the breeder. ****or compromise and get a clipped bird from someone who I strongly disagree with there techniques in rearing.**** A bird will grow back feathers.

There's no guarantee that some of the things you're hoping for will work because of the sex of the bird. You've given a long history about your senegal, the behavior, likes, dislikes, temperment, attitude towards people etc. None of this has anything to do with owning a grey. They're 2 species with 2 naturally different temperments which nature has bestowed on them. You're comparing apples and oranges. There's no guarantee that either will or wont like each other. It has nothing to do with the sex of either bird. Your senegal isn't responding visually to the grey in your video. He's responding to the sound it hears. BUT there's one very important thing you mention here which isn't good---- ~~~~~We'd like the a grey (cross our fingers) to bond with me, being male~~~~~ That's an extremely bad idea concerning grey ownership. So many people write in crying about how their grey likes the other person in the house but not them. They have no idea what to do. Well, they didn't do one very important thing when they first got the bird which was socializing the bird so that the bird would accept all family members to a greater or lesser extent. That usually starts off when the grey is very young and isn't given the chance to develop favoritism. It may look nice right now but they'll be a price to pay in the future as the bird gets older. That price isn't refundable. Sex and hormones and rivalry. ~~~~~My girlfriend has also read that by having two females, one could set the other off hormonally and or cause them to see the other as a rival.~~~~ A long time ago, what first got you sexually excited and got your hormones going, another guy or a girl?

Greys can have their first major molt anywhere from 6/7/8 mts. For many birds it starts earlier. The fluff you refer to always procedes the actually molting of the surface, visible feathers. During pre molting time there's an extreme amount of fluff but greys will lose off small amounts of fluff all year long on a constant basis. That's because the visible feathers are dying all year long. Throwing off fluff are the basic signs that feathers are always dying. This will happen for the rest of its life. This is nature's way because they get a fresh set of feathers. As far as dust-----The dust you speak of is actually called dander. Certain species have much more than other species. It's always on the body and serves as a skin protectant. Greys need baths once in a while to lessen the amount of dander on a grey's body. In the wild, nature takes care of that. The fluff and the dander are totally different from each other. The fluff you see is spread when the bird is flapping. The dander you see is spread all year long when they're flapping. Greys and cockatoos have the largest amount of dander. Cockatoos are #1 concerning the largest amount.

You can ask that question to 100 people and get back 100 different answers about length of times and methods. The usual standard method when introducing birds to each other is both birds being far apart and the distance gradually getting shorter and shorter distance wise. At one point, you'll see if they tolerate each other. Just putting them together immediately causes problems. You also need to go by species. There's a big chance that 2 greys won't tolerate each other as opposed to 1 grey and 1 amazon. You also need to go by the type of personality of a species.

!9 degree c is equal to 66 F---The safe temp for grey is 70 to 72 F depending upon humidity. If there's no humidity, the temp can't be high. More humidity, the temp can be a little lower. Anything above 73 F causes dry skin which can become itchy. If you can raise your celsius to almost 20, it's a better temp. No, you shouldn't bathe your bird right now until the weather steadys itself out. Your baby bird really doesn't need lots of baths---pure falacy. Maybe other Ukers can tell you about the lighting availavle in the UK.

Really don't know about that. The next time I see some people with broken feathers, I'll check it out and let you know the results.

Sometimes it is but most of the time it's the actual fall that quiets a bird down for a while. It could last a couple of days. Broken feathers don't make a bird tired.

Grits serve a wonderful purpose. Grits is a great product to use when sitting in the old wild west tiny diner in the middle of nowhere that has a barn next to it with your horse tied outside waiting for a bale of hay for the cows back yonder. Revolvers are usually kept holstered. It was a favorite place for Clint Eastwood in The Good the Bad The Ugly. Grits is a sure fire way to belch hard and fart harder.

Aloe juice won't help with an open wound/sore. You need a topical to use on that area. Go to the pharmacy and cover the wound with this gel. It's not toxic and is very soothing and helps wounds. It won't hurt if accidently swallowed. Use 1x a day

That all depends on what attracted you to the purifier. It works on the same principle that most other well known machines work. Just about every brand of purifier is made for working with dust that floats in the air. All of these machines have a vacumm strength of about 4 to 5 ft. Anything that the machine will take in has to be in that range in order for the machine to pull it in. The types of dust that it pulls in is the type of dust that stays airborne and moves around all day in different rooms. The dust is measures in microns. **********Unit traps tobacco smoke, pollen, dust, pet dander and other harmful airborne particles****** Now if the reason you like this machine is because of the above features, you should understand that parrot dander ( especially grey and cockatoo dander) doesn't stay airborne. It's too heavy and the first place it heads to is anything it can land on. It never floats around. Just about every purifier never advertises that their machine can take in parrot dander, just pet dander. So, if you like this machine your whole family will benefit but it won't decrease parrot dander. Basically, the parrot area will be dustier than other rooms and will need to be cleaned more often than other parts of the house.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsmC0auHbAA

When most greys pluck, the area your bird is starting with is the most common place they pick first. it's also the easiest place to start from. The skin shows up as pinkish which is absolutely normal. When a bird starts to grow those feathers back, the skin is very iritated from the previous plucking. That irritation causes the bird to pull out the new growth. How many times that happens is anyone's guess. That whole area should be kept moist because that lessens the itchiness/dryness of the skin. Eventually, new feathers pass that stage of irritation and grow back in but it may take time. Personally, I don't think a vet visit is necessary yet. He's only picking out the closest feathers. If he continues the next area will be the lower breast area. Again, it's normal and must be treated in the same way. A common product to use when spraying is full strength aloe vera juice that can be purchased in Walmart, other large drug area outlets and pharmacies.

It happens occasionally. It may be a certain combination of bird food or some human food added to bird food. It may be certain types of fruits. It may come from certain ingredients of stale parrot food. It may come from undigested food . Basically, there's many reasons why it can happen but the important thing here is whether the feces stays smelly day after day after day. Then a trip to the vet is necessary so that the digestive system can be checked. If that should happen, take a small sample of your bird's fecal mattar, put it in a jar and he'll check it.