Dave007

Whether the dog belongs to you or not, it's a very bad idea to have them together. Many people here have dogs and cats and other animals and will say that they don't trust the animals together. You can have another person come over to bird sit but the dog has to be left home. Actually, that also applies to other species of birds. A person may have a grey and an amazon but would have to take their time in finding out if the two birds will get along. Many people here will tell you that they need to keep their birds apart. Each gets it's own playtime AND that also applies to greys--a person may have 2 greys and it's not uncommon that the 2 birds will dislike each other intensely. That's why it's very important that greys have their own cage. As far as your time schedule, a bird can get used to that as long as the time you're with the bird is totally devoted to the bird. Interaction, physical handling by both people, treat giving, time out of the cage. If it was me, I would wanna give more to the bird but there's loads of opinions. Mine shouldn't be the only one to go with. I'll say it again---leave the dog out of the equation. There's no guarantees that the dog or bird will change it's attitude towards the other. Remember, NO GUARANTEE.

Well, that sounds better and more clearer than before but you'll still need a lot of knowledge to pick up. Many of the boards deal with that--Nursery, Grey Lounge, etc. Check out threads, read as much as you can. See the different opinions. And most importantly, ask questions. The only stupid or bad questions are the ones that aren't mentioned

Well, it's always good to write out everything that's on your mind. Most people are very happy with that. It helps alot concerning answers. On this board you'll get a lot answers and suggestions concerning grey ownership. First is to understand the grey mentality and needs. They do need time out of the cage --as much as a person can give. Other birds can stay in a cage all day, every day but not a grey. Hours---this isn't meant to insult you but I feel that your work hours plus your wife's work hours would hamper a grey from developing. They need a lot of interaction with people--at least 4 hrs a day. The whole family needs to interact with the bird because it's important that a grey become a family bird. They're well known to pick favorites and that's not good. There's not really anything a person can do to help a grey cope with lonliness. Also, with greys, plucking can be a problem. The slightest thing going wrong and plucking can occur. Greys are well known for plucking. A radio--high or low volume won't do any good because a grey soon tunes it out as if it wasn't there. Toys won't do anything because greys get bored easily and require attention besides toys. Then you have the attitude with a grey---a grey who's been left alone for a large part of the day all the time will become defensive and aggressive or very withdrawn. Greys are flock birds and need to be in a flock situation. You, hubby, children would be that flock. As far as sleeping adjustments, that's easy to handle. Some people cover, others don't. The color means nothing. Some people have their grey within listening distance from a TV and others don't but the bird shouldn't be in the same room as the TV. People's movements, chatting etc will not let the grey have a sound sleep. Then there's the Vet. You must be able to have contact with Avian Vets. They only treat birds. That's an absolute. I feel that you should put more thought into getting a parrot who has a high intelligence rating. Greys are extremely complex and many new owners cant cope with those complexities. Greys do need alot more than what you'll be able to give right now. They also must be trained to become family birds.

You can always use the juice. It's good for them. It should be used full strength BUT that product I put on is for damaged skin that will make the skin softer and not as itchy. Sorry, it needs to be used and you'll have to get another person to help you. A towel can be used to wrap around the bird. One wing should be exposed. The gel is put on and do the other side. Expect squawking, screeching, growling and nippiness. One trick to lessen the biting is to put a pencil across in his beak so that he'll bite the pencil instead of you. Look, if you went to a vet and he prescribed a special ointment to put on, you'd need to do it, right?

That's a case of chewing and plucking. Your bird has gotten down to the skin. Now that he's gotten down to the skin, any new feather growth may be plucked or pulled because the growing feathers on the bald areas may start hurting/irritating the skin and that's a common cause of replucking. This also happens to many birds that are clipped. As new feathers grow in, the ends of the clipped feathers pinch into the skin causing the bird to pull on them. It'll take some time before those areas will have decent feathers. In the meantime, you'll need to put a product sold over the counter called aloe Vera gel. Those bad areas need to have a softening product on them to lessen the irritation on the skin. The product can be gotten in pharmacies or large dept stores. A pharmacy can also order it if they have none. Many people use it to soften their skin especially women who are very aware of their dry skin. With them, beauty always comes first. http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/DavidDVP/DSCN0113.jpg

There's countless reasons why your bird may be plucking. Some are major and some are minor. 1--nervousness 2---boredom 3---being caged too much 4---not having enough room to maneuver in the cage. 5---illness 6---lack of humidity and surrounding temp too high. 7---maturing 8---new discovery of feathers to pull on or chew. 9---a wrong diet or change in diet 10--not being given enough time to be by itself. 11--improper toys 12--too many toys causing little room to stretch it's wings 13--improper type of baths. 14--dry skin 15--not ruling out a medical problem 16--improper clipping 17--not having the permission to fly 18--not having items in and around the bird where he can be extremely aggressive such as heavy duty bells There's other reasons too. These are just some of them. Somewhere, your bird fits into one of these catagories. THE FIRST MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IS TO HAVE A VET WHO DEALS WITH BIRDS RULE OUT MEDICAL PROBLEMS. As far as your description of what's going on, you need to know about the most common areas that greys pluck. It starts with 1--wings or breast 2--covert feathers on the back 3--areas around the tail or the actual tail itself. 4--areas around the lower legs 5--neck areas 6--vent areas Also as far as your description, it may not be as drastic you say. That happens loads of times with people here. We ask them to post pictures and it turns out that it's not as bad as they say. When that happens, many suggestions are given to deal with things. Only vets should prescribe medication. Many vets will prescribe ointments or other specialized things. Also, your bird may be having a bout with plucking that'll subside when it's finished pulling out the feathers--(acute plucking) PS-----be grateful that you see him chewing up the wooden perches. That in itself tells me that there's a lack of something that only greys require---hard and soft wood. Not fancy--just plain pieces of wood.

right now, once evey 3 weeks after 7,8,9 mts, once every 1 to 2 weeks. You can't always believe that greys need as many baths as is said. Bathing keeps them clean but frequent bathing can cause skin to lose moisturizing oils. That's one of the reasons greys get dry skin so much. The outer feathers get the most dirty and that's because of the dander that covers the feathers. Expect your bird to despise baths. many greys do.

What kind of treats have you offered?

he first molt happens between 8 ms to 11 mts old. What you saw wasn't the feathers that molt out semi or yearly. Thhose feathers were probably dead feathers ready to fall out. If there was a problem they would still be falling out. Morer than likely they were covert feathers. If she thashes around when misting her, take her somewhere where her feathers won't flap into the cage bars. Accidental breaking or cracking of feathers can happen there. At that age she needs very little bathing. Her permanent feathers aren't in yet. That won't happen until the first molt occurs. If she thrashes about in the shower, put her on the floor of the tub. *****Please tell me I am just panicking.****** Well, if that's what you really want------You're just panicking. Now that you've gotten your wish, feel better?

No one said that you shouldn't train him--it was clearly said that some birds like it and others don't and what the possible results are when they're overworked. Another thing is stating what you mean by training. People can only guess what you're talking about if you're not specific. Stepping up can be done all day long--2 minutes here, 3 minutes there, 5 minutes at another time etc.

I won't argue with what you said because it's true. Some greys take to heavy duty rigerous training with no problems. Others don't. The reason is that personalities of birds aren't taken into consideration. It's a matter of what a bird will accept and if too much pressure is put on them, a very easy relaxer to calm down the bird is to pluck. It's only one of a load of situations that can lead to plucking. The same thing applies to many TOOs except that with them, it's worse than greys.

For now, use a mister. He'll yell, squawk, growl, screech but that eventually lessens. He doesn't know you and visa versa. These things don't have to done immediately. Let the bird get used to the surroundings, you, others in the house, your habits. Keep him in an area where he can see everything. Talk to him alot. Give some nuts such as almonds, walnuts--if he won't take them directly from you, put it in his dish. The basic things he has to experience right now is your kindness to him. It takes a while. Make sure he has a couple of toys around. If he's been the type to come in and out of his cage, continue that. If he's a biter that will lessen when you eventually learn about him---example---some birds get angry when a person puts their hand in a cage to feed but that same bird won't mind at all if he's outside looking in. Basically, that's learning about him and visa versa. Right now him seeing your kindness should be high up on your to do list.

Budgie seed has absolutely no nutritional value. That was a very bad idea. It's like eating millet. As far as other foods that are good for parrots, that can take a while to get him on a decent diet. Some take to parrot seed quickly, others don't. The same thing applies to veggies and fruits. Fruit isn't necessary as far as nutrition goes. It's a hit and miss situation. Others in your situation usually have to spend some money experimenting with different veggies. They may also have experiment concerning how the bird will accept it---warm--cold--cooked--raw--steamed etc. Don't expect the bird to take to all veggies. Try feeding dark green veggies. Those contain calcium as well as other vitamins. We can give you lists of foods to try. Giving the budgie seed wasn't a good idea because it depleted vitamin balance. As far as the plucking, that can't be answered yet because there be areas that are bald which will stay like that. It's hard to say until you have the bird for a while. Bathe the bird frequently. Soak the skin so that it becomes less dry and less itchy. There's a product that can be purchased in Walmart or other pharmacies. It's call 100% aloe vera juice. It should be sprayed on the bird frequently. It's inexpensive. For now, keep all tiny seed such as budgie mix, canary mix, finch mix away from him. Stay with the parrot mix. Make sure it's a decent brand. Any decent brand right now will be better than budgie mix. The plucking can come in different catagories but only time will tell before a name to his particular type can be given.

How old is he?

I like my chickens BBQed. I prefer the wings but other parts will suffice. Corn on the cob as a side dish will be good. Some cole slaw will make a nice salad. Please use hot and spicy coating.

You're doing so many things correctly. Your limited knowledge of this grey is fantastic. Your ideas about what you feel is the right thing to do is great. You've been blessed with a bird that in my eyes will make a great transition to your home. Getting a new cage was great. That'll make his transition easier if he accepts the cage. Consider this situation as pure luck. Many people aren't so fortunate with adult birds who are being rehomed. Yes, get him with family. Not to worry about being out of the cage. That's good. Putting him back in---if you're having trouble there, work on it. If he goes in and out by himself, great. If he doesn't like your hand in the cage when changing food and water bowls, go along with that. Believe me, you lucked out. The only shock in your house will be your shock as he's fitting in more and more. Good luck

I prefer to think of a bird sanctuary totally different than a personalized family home. Bird sanctuaries weren't brought in this thread. The closest that was mentioned rescue centers which are basically for birds who are injured, unwanted, many unadoptable.

The bird must be thought about in this situation. Actually, your bird won't remember you after a year. The bird will resettle within a new surrounding, with new people, new family life. After a certain amount of time, the bird will easily fall in that new family lifestyle especially at that young age. People always worry that their bird will be happy in a new home if they have to be adopted. A standard rule for the bird going to a new home is that the previous owner have no contact with the bird after it's gone. If you're gone for a year, transistion will be easy for the bird. Hooking up with the bird after a year is cruel to the bird is he/she is pulled out of a new environment. Think hard and long before doing this. Your bird's happiness and stability is most important. Sorry about this reply but you need to know the risks and believe me, I've seen it before. I'll say it even though others won't--You may wanna think about rehoming the bird.

You're worried about socializing your bird so that people can come over and the bird won't be afraid of them if they get too close or try to give treats. This type of question has been asked many times and the only way to answer that is by understanding the grey species as well as others. You shouldn't put importance on your bird socializing with people who don't live there. The most important thing to achieveis is socializing with the family or others who are around the bird all the time. A grey won't take to strangers or once in a while visitors because that particular species is naturally cautious. When you have people over, the proper place to keep a bird is in it's cage in an area where it can see everything going on. The cage is it's home and provides security. Another reason to do this is because personalities are different and what happens could be very harsh to the bird. With other birds the person or even the owner may get bitten because the bird thinks that the owner has put it in a very uncomfortable situation. This can happen to young and older birds. I'll give you an example-----One day many years ago I had one of my greys on my arm and relatives came by. He was staring at them intently. They weren't close by--maybe 12/13 ft away. My bird started shivering and tucked himself close to my arm pit. I looked at him, saw that he was startled and decided to pet him on the head to relax him. BOOM, he bit me hard. Why did he do that? Well, it's because I had blocked his view of potential danger and he let me know it. I took my hand away and he relaxed. Many people here will tell you that they simply put their bird in the cage when people came over.

******Or does it not really matter on the color, because I wanted to get her a red one.****** It really doesn't matter but if you go out often, you may wanna get the same type color because fashion colors change every year but the same color harness will never go out of style. Sit down and have a chat with her. See what she likes. Women are very finicky. Kidding aside----get her whatever color you want.

AS long as you realize that your new bird will like you for certain things and that applies to your fiance. To the human eye, it may seem that the bird likes one person more than the other but that's not neccessarily true. One of my birds loves it when I scratch his head but he gets nippy when I try that on his back. On the other hand, he loves it when my wife rubs his back but gets nippy when she tries the head. So why does this happen? Who knows. This same type of attitude can cover a million things in your house. Your first job is to make sure you and the fiance are both involved with the bird from day 1 in all things major or minor. It's called socializing and is probably the most important thing you can do to have an even tempered bird.

I agree with Maggie/Jayd. Being a medical person doesn't teach that medical person how to deal with wild animals. Respecting what a vet says just because he'/she's a vet means nothing. There's other reasons why he/she should be respected. Chewing/ plucking may be wrong but there's many reasons that it happens and being a medical person doesn't mean that a vet has warranted the respect concerning what he says. There's loads of people here that are extremely sorry that what was told to them by the vet was wrong. Other vets had to be used by those people. In my posts i stay away from talking about meds. I don't believe I've ever done or said anything that should allow me to give a person/people opinions concerning the way they think about vets. I leave that up to them. I bypass drugs. I don't tell people to follow orders without checking things first. I don't tell people to give tranquilazers or anti anxiety meds. I don't give instructions on how to feed drugs. I've been asked but that's a no no. That's between them and the vets. I wouldn't tell people to follow a vet's advice even if I was a medical person because if the bird dies, I wouldn't feel good if the person followed my advice. So much for being a medical person. So in a situation like this, it's not a good idea to side with what a vet says simply because a person says that they're a medical person and what that person says is the only way. I dealt with part of OP's problem---a possible skin problem, maybe a personality problem that causes plucking, what types of pluckers there are and I proceeded to recommend a product that in no way is gonna be swallowed by the bird. Why? Because I'm not a medical person. ****I respect what the vet as prescribed, and we all must do so. They know better! **** Really?? Come on, wake up and smell the coffee!

No, the slightest bit of dilution will negatively affect the aloe making it useless. The internal material in leafs of the aloe plant are used as a salve/gel to put on cuts, bruises, bald spots, irritated skin etc. It stays thick and remains on the bird for a short amount of time allowing it to do it's job. Only a small amount is needed and it isn't toxic. Small pieces are broken off the leafs but the plant won't die. It's always a good idea to have some around but that same gel can be purchased in pharmacies.

******I would rather see an oven ready looking bird ********* having all the fixin too?

First, you simply have to make friends with the baby bird. Feeding, talking, being near the bird, letting the bird know it's surroundings, not forcing the bird to do things you want him to do especially when bringing home a bird that more than likely was weaned too quickly. You should make sure that your bird becomes a family bird. Bonding with just one person in a house is a very bad idea. The family should be involved with the baby from day 1. Bonding takes many, many months and there's no guarantee that the bond will remain just with you. That's why a bird should be a family bird.