Dave007

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Your bird is definitely a CAG. 1----weight---TAGs are about 320 gms as an adult. CAGs are between 425 to 575 gms as adults 2----TAGs have a much more darker feather color through the whole body ( like light charcoal). Your bird has the standard CAG lighter grey color. The tail of a TAG has very little bright red feathers in the tail. Basically, dark marroon. CAGs have very bright red tail feathers. 3---Beak-----CAGs have solid black color in upper and lower beak. TAGs have a straw colored upper beak. Weight #s can vary a little bit but the color can't. CAG on the left is 565 gms TAG at right is 325 gms http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/DaveVP/1jpg---cropped-1.jpg

The base of the cookware is aluminum but it's also coated with ceramic which normally is fine but concerning that item, the most important description on it says that it's NON-STICK which means that it's coated with Teflon which is the main product that's very bad for birds. You can try heavy duty aluminum, cast iron, stainless steel. There's other types that arent\'t NON-STICK.

Getting a gray sold by a reputable breeder for between $850-$950 can be considered a very good bargain. Plus, prices are going up. Just about every species of bird that sold by a breeder is expensive. They're even more expensive in pet stores. Buying an animal for a certain price isn't the same as buying a product that will pop up the next day at half the price. You can try bird shelters where the prices are lower but the bird is usually an adult which has been pre-owned by others. Those types of birds have a personality that is permanent. Reconsider getting a rehomed bird. There's lots of them out there and they need a forever home just to be happy in. I doubt very much that you're gonna find a baby grey in the price range that you mention.

The way your pet shop does it is completely wrong and dangerous. That was stopped many years ago. The only thing that that method does is make the bird fly around in a circle anf fall in bad angles. That kind of practice is definitely dangerous for any bird. We have lots of articles here concerning Wing clipping and that method isn't really talked about because it was stopped so long ago. It really doesn't matter if your birds are house birds or outdoor birds. They should have the ability to fly in a straight line. Properly done wing clippings will allow a bird to fly from left to right but the bird won't be able to go upward. It doesn't matter which species of bird that the one wing method is used on. It's dangerous. You should concentrate on letting those wings become even. It'll take a while. I would also advise that you stop getting any work done at that pet shop. There are veterinarians and veterinary techs that do that type of thing. It's probably the second worst thing that can be done to a bird. The first thing that used to be was when birds were chained on one leg to a play stand in order for the bird not to fly away. Many times when that was done, the bird would try and fly away and would break it's leg. Like I said this method was stopped about 20 years ago.

*********There was one question I had asked when i first made the thread nobody answered that I am very curious about. Are these little 'heat cycles' permanent or temporary? Do they go through a phase like cats then get normal again or will she exhibit these bahaviors for as long as she is in love with me (which is probably life since she cant go 5 sec without me).****** Well lets see--What you're talking about has nothing to do with heat cycles. If someone was tickling your johnson in April, You'd get that thrillllll. If someone was tickling your johnson in May, you'd get that thrilllllll. If someone was tickling it everyday, you'd get that thrillllll alot more and you'd be in heaven. . So, you're actually confusing what's going on when a bird has a hormonal cycle which for some birds comes once or twice a year. A bird doesn't need to be rubbed when that time comes. Actually, when those cycles happen, many birds will get extremely aggressive if a person decides to start touching them all over the place, especially female greys. Only the mate will be doing that in breeding season. That'll last for about 1 to 2 mts. It's called their breeding season. Like every other species of bird, they only breed at certain times of the year. So, what you're doing is stimulating a bird into a situation that will only get worse the more you do it. At one point, the bird will bite a person if a persopn decides to stop doing it after months of touching/stimulating certain areas. It feels really good to the bird. This can happen to very young birds up to adult birds. Sorta like when you're 11 yrs old and the girl finally says no but you still wanna keep going. So, what's the cure? You simply don't ever touch your bird in those places no matter what age the bird is. *******I wish i could take her to a bed shop and rent her a parrot hotel and give her a pack of condoms and let her get it out of her system ****** None of these things are necessary and very impractical. Simply stop teasing her. You're definitely the one that's causing these reactions. Birds don't do these types of things when they're alone and not being touched. This applies to both male and female birds. So, I hope you're getting the answer to your touchy, feely diilema.

Thanks very much for that link. I watched the whole thing and I'm gonna mix up a batch because I have many birds. I know that they'll like most of those ingredients because they've eaten things like them before.Also, besides my greys, my quakers will benefit. Thanks again.

They can be handled but they prefer that you don't. They basically like the company of another bird. As I said, they're really not out-of-cage type birds. They're fun to watch as far as how they do things in a cage. In that cage I described, they get plenty of excerse. They require one or two perches, basically the twig type for the feet( thin perches). They need room to fly back and forth. They need very few toys--if gotten, they should be very small. They like eating hanging sweet seed sticks( like nutiberries). As far as buying from a breeder----usually, the private breeders are into breeding fancy budgies. The price is extremely high ( like people who breed fancy canmaries. And as opposed to buying a parrot from a private breeder, budgies are one type of bird that can successfully be purchased in a pet store. There's very few things that a person needs to look for as far as getting a nice budgie. Basically, the vent should be made visible so that no loose droppings are there and the color of the cere should be certain colors for a male and female. The proper color is what tells the person that the bird is very young which is what a person should want. I can show you pics in the future if you need them.

You may be thinking about the 2 species being housed together. In that case, they won't get along at all.

Budgies are usually kept in a cage most of the time. They're very hard to train to come back to a cage and also very hard to retrieve. They require a cage that's about 18 x 18 inches square. That size can also hold two budgies. The cage doesn't have to be the best because they won't try to chew the bars. Plastic/vinyl are the usual. They're extremely active and don't stand still unless they're sleeping. They won't go after larger birds but will make larger birds uncomfortable if the budgies are flying all over the place. Many times, people get 2 budgies to keep each other company. They enjoy interacting with their own kind. most of the time when people go to buy them, a large amount are in a large cage. Price varies according to color. They have a life span of about 8 yrs. A pair will easily breed. As far as getting along with another type of species, it's possible that you're thinking about another species that is a bit aggressive? They get regular budgie seed and they can be fed some veggies periodically. A decent budgie mix has the average requiement of vitamins needed. All of the above applies to finches too.

This isn't true at all. Healthy droppings will take on the color of the food being eaten and it has nothing to do with any type of health problems. Give a grey a nice fresh cherry or some red chili peppers and the droppings will be red. Give a nice fresh piece of banana and the dripping will be a very bland yellow color. Give a grey nice fresh dark veggies and the droppings will be green. Give a grey some pasta in tomato sauce and the droppings will be red. As far as picking out favorite things, well, fill a bowl with a variety of mixed veggies, and more than likely, the bird will pick out it's favorites and flip or ignore the rest. The same applies to pellets. That doesn't mean that the bird isn't getting a good veggie diet or pellet diet. It may be true that more money is spent but loads of grey owners are told that learning what a grey will eat is an expensive trial and error period until the bird finally settles on something. Hundreds of greys won't eat veggies. Hundres of greys won't eat pellets. Hundreds of greys won't eat parrot mix. Hundreds of greys will eat all those items. Not eating or eating those things won't cause a grey to be ill or stressed. What a bird eats or doesn't eat doesn't cause stress or illness. What WILL cause stress or illness is not feeding a bird anything--In other words, starving to death. The only thing that a person needs to worry about is how the urates and feces are separated.

They're all dead feathers. Tips of shafts are all dried out. Irritation and a short fuse on the bird's part can happen when they undergo their first major molt since infancy. They looked like they fell out which is normal. He probably won't be as aggitated when his next molt comes.

Ficus Benjamina/Bush----Ficus Pumila----Ficus Carica----- Ficus Lyrata are all safe.

If you went to an avian vet, he'll probably ask these kinds of questions---- When did the problem begin? Did sneezing and nasal discharge occur together? Has the appearance of the discharge changed? Has it changed in color or consistency? Is the discharge in one nostril or both nostrils? Did it begin this way? ( that's if there was or is any discharge.) Is your bird rubbing or shaking its head, or yawning excessively? Did the discharge begin when the household heat was turned on? Is the bird kept in a dusty room or with birds that produce a lot of feather dust (cockatiels, cockatoos, African grey parrots)? I think you can rule out greys because you have a TAG and they don't produce as much dander as a CAG. Plus I think you only have 1 bird. Right? Is the bird on a complete, balanced diet, such as a commercial pelleted diet? He'll ask about drafts. He'll ask about the amount of humidity that's around your bird .More than likely, he'll try to find out if your bird is VIT A deficient. True, some of these tests are somewhat expensive. The price is up to the vet. So, maybe you wanna ask your present vet about these things.

$20? that's way too high. The going rate is $5 to $7. Sometimes it's even cheaper when more than 3 birds are involved.

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You originally wanted areas that speak about your problem so go to your browser and type this in. Immunosuppressive Steroids For Use on Respiratory Distress in Afican Greys. No official link has to be used. There's loads of articles from various Vets that talk about treatment plus different drugs but all the drugs are prescription drugs. You can get info there. Naming off druigs that were used by others here isn't a good idea because what's good for one bird may not be good for another bird with the exact same problem. Compare it to people. Penicilian may do the trick for some people and may be dangerous to other people who have the same problem. It's not a good idea to be blowing Albuteral into the bird's beak/mouth even if you think he's getting some relief. That's temporary and can be dangerous.. The Albuteral that's in those puffers has doses that provide instant relief for people. The albuteral in those puffers contains between 90 to 108 mcgs which is extremely strong. Human mouth to bird mouth can cause infections. Tell your vet that you're doing that and see what he/she says.

You aren't being censored. It's called re-directing people to the proper areas for posting certain things. Go there and look at the section. Very few things are cenceored here but many times, people frequently do post in the wrong areas .

It may help but there's other things you can do for the problem. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?193474-Feather-plucking&highlight=feather+plucking

Originally this thread was started when a person came here and wanted to discuss coconut milk and how good it was for his bird. The person got his answer and Lactose intolerance and the lack of calcium were mentioned in that post. It was a health issue concerning birds. Now, in this same thread the conversation seems to have veered off to the effects of coconut milk on a person's body. One person talks about getting the runs if they drank coconut milk. Another person talks about a specific obesity problem.when the coconut milk is used. Other products are mentioned to combat these obesity problems. What's bad about doing this is that another person who's never been here before might come along asking the same type of question, reading all about these different products and thinking that they all apply to birds because they're all in this one specific thread. The person might not be able to understand that the conversation was about other things besides birds. We can't possibly expect to know how people react or what they know when reading certain things. There's another section on this board which is called off-topic discussions and all of these different types of things including diahrea and obesity that don't have anything to do with birds can be talked about freely on that board. Theres many other subjects there that have nothing to do with birds and hundreds and hundreds of people have visited and posted there for many years.

. Humidifiers contain no Teflon. The warming feature in humifiers works on the same principle that's used on electric ranges or heating pads etc. Humidifiers are also used in babies rooms or with people who have serious breathing problems.

You really should take the time out to read the stickys here. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?115338-ASPERGILLOSIS

Well, first off you won't be able to tell if she's gonna have another one and as far as egg bound, that rarely happens to a grey. So trying to take pictures is a waste of time. Letting her stay on rugs is like giving nesting material and you should stop that practice. If you feel that she has to go to the bathroom with you, provide a stand for her, not the bathroom rug. That applies to other rugs in the house. If your other bird is really strong pals with the bird and is stimulating her, they need to be kept apart for a while. If she lays another egg, it should be left there until she shows no interest in it. That may take up to 16 days.