Dave007

dejavu022597 Many times, people will respond in a way that may be taken the wrong way. Usually, it's not an attack. People feel very strongly about their own birds and other people's birds and they only wanna help. Sometimes, people run into situations that they've never dealt with and it causes a strong response. So, if you can understand what I'm saying, you and others won't have any problems.

Many people are actually happy when their bird doesn't use the cage. Many people wish their birds would do it but a bird can't be trained to do that type of thing. A bird will eventually do that in the cage if it needs to. Nature dictates that. Having someone come to a house to let the bird out is like taking a dog out to move it's bowels. A dog can easily be trained to do that. A parrot which is and always will be a wild animal ( even pet birds) can't be trained to do that so if you want your bird to go in the cage, simply leave him in the cage and he'll eventually defecate. Having people come in the house to let the bird go defeats that purpose.

Most of the time I don't say much concerning all the methods used ( crazy or not) by people to achieve different things concerning their birds. Some methods may or not work but in my eyes, it's best to let the owner find that out. BUT in the post above mine here --*170 , there's a piece of information which has a high rate of injury to parrots of all species and I need to say something important here. **life was easier and quicker and hassle free by buying a small dog leash and attaching it to my birds leg ring*** Doing such a thing can cause fractures, broken legs, broken feet, broken keel bones and even death. If anybody here is having trouble with any type of harness, simply come here and people will try to give different methods. There's a lot more to deal with concerning a harness, namely, the older age of the bird. An older bird is set in it's ways and may refuse to change it's attitude towards new things. Some people will never be successful with a harness but to revert back to ways of containing a bird isn't the answer. Pay attention to my reply here. A person is playing with fire when using the above method.

Some people use it and others don't. Greys seem to do well with either. Hi-energy mix isn't available all over the place. What's rice food?? As far as plucking, this isn't something you've tried`~~~~~~~~~` Type in AVITEC.COM On their main page on the left, look for PLUCKING/SCREAMING---click on it Third picture from left ( spray and jar in picture) click on it there's 3 choices 1---premixed bottle 2--small jar, powder in it (8 oz) 3--large jar, powder in it (16 oz) ------- Get either 8 oz or 16 oz jar with powder in it. Stay away from premixed bottle 1 rounded teaspoon powder to 8 oz room temp water in a sprayer. Heavily soak your bird down once a day. If any remains in the sprayer, use it on any other birds sitting around. Discard what remains at the end of the day.

On the board here we rarely have people who are looking to sell or give away their greys and that includes older birds. If by chance there is a person here that wants to do that, it usually has to do with allergies or not being able to take care of the bird on a daily basis.. Your best bets are contacting vets who may know of people who want to do that. Many times, there's ads posted in the vet's office concerning the parrots. The other thing to do is to seek out adoption/rescue centers that have birds for sale. In those places about 95% of the birds are older and have come from other homes. The price of these birds is usually 1/2 of what they would normally sell for. As far as comparisons, that's not a good idea because all parrots have individual personalities. Some people would say to check out Craigslist but that's a bad idea. They have a bad reputation concerning the quality of the birds. You may need to travel a bit to find these adoption centers but it may be worth the trouble to do that. This also applies to most other parrot boards.

Congratulations. Finally, a meeting of the minds. Peace and solice will now kick in.

If the problem is actually from the ferret, there would be irritation an obvious mark especially if he was scratched. There was no blood? If not, the mark will eventually heal but in his situation, (molting, dry area) it's gonna take longer than usual because when a bird molts they srratch intensely, all over the place. More than likely the vet will put a small amount of salve on it and depending upon how irritated it is, he may give you a little ointment to bring home. Usually, it's a problem that's not serious. Parrots scratch themselves all over the place and they do it frequently.

Hmmm, food for thought. Our thought processes are definitely in tune concerning the general mindset of the masses that exist in the surroundings of our ideals.

I knew you'd understand the complexity here

Just taking a little break these days. You've heard about writer's block?

Maybe this is a proclamation to the world or perhaps simply to the self. A diary? An editorial? Will it be read by the masses or will we just discard it as so much rubbish? Perhaps another tortured soul will be able to comprehend the discourse or maybe someone with an inkling of understanding will come and rescue the world from ignorance. In any event, I am sure that it is in the writing of this that we are to locate the time frame of the germs. A glacial palace is on the horizon. To view the outside world through a minute pane of Plexiglas is necessary. Peer to the inside through the stained glass window of the soul. The distortion of either is variable. Our expulsion from paradise appears to have been a capital sentence. Maybe we are the ones who have failed the main path towards enlightenment and they are jaded with malice and forthought. The white noise of the mind is all but deafening. Rambling, changing, screaming. Constantly changing the burden of the pulse. Stop!! No peace, changing, changing, screaming, ranting . . . Please stop!!!

Welcome to our perch. Looking forward to seeing Tikki ( pictures). If you've got stories, share away.

Hi and welcome. No need to be nervous. Lots of new people here and they're all new grey owners. We also have a specialist that deals with nervousness but he's having a nervous breakdown right about now. Anyway, come around and ask, ask, ask. Everyone will help out to make your experience a good one.. Also, check out our The Nursery room

***tempting promotion*** Patience, patience. High quality secret ingreidents need to be formulated to form a proper consistancy.You're the first one to respond?? Well as a special gift for you it's 1 bag, get 2 free.

Ok, so sorry for giving out wrong information but I will say that I find it amazing that people actually spend loads of time thinking about the oddest things ( human foods included)to give a grey or other parrot, especially since parrots are scavengers. I only say no apples because it's a known fact that the seeds aren't good for birds. Better safe than sorry. If a person wants to feed apples, so be it. I didn't invent that fact. If the subject was about cherries then I would have to say that the pits are toxic but I didn't invent that fact either but it's true. I will say that the healthiest greys and other parrots are the ones in the wild that eat natural and scavenged items. ---These iterms can't be purchased. Besides other things, they will eat other animals" feces and birds' feces because it has nutritional value. I didn't invent that fact either. All wild birds do that. SO, because it's not sold on the market yet, I'm in the process of concocting a specially balanced parrot diet which will contain about 75% feces. It'll be multicolored and no refridgeration will be neccessary. Special mixtures and blends will also be available. These blends are for the Discriminating Grey I'll announce the approx date when they will go on sale. I 'm still awaiting the patent. For the new customers, it'll be ------Buy 2 get, 1 Free. Online orders can be paid through Paypal. The name of the product will be called Organic Splatters To people in this thread who are gonna say that they're frustrated because their cute fussy grey simply bypases the actual fruit to get to the seeds, do yourself a favor. Just cut off a slice of apple and give it to him/her. Stay away from the seeds. It's much better than trying to argue about the validity and value of seeds, especially since he's gonna shit them out. If your bird doesn't like that slice, don't feed it to him again. Get some of my special blend mixture-----all problems will be solved

****Other people don't agree because there's no one to stop them from eating them in the wild. So, it's the parront's choice to make a well informed decision, here.**** Well, simply put, they don't eat apples in the wild where they come from. There are no apples in their natural area to eat.

It's very common because any bird that likes to talk will revert back to when it was owned by someone else. That's what happened there and now you. Right now, he's hearing new voices, new words and is doing what most greys which is to constantly repeat new words/phrases until it's part of the other voculary that he has. Expect it to happen for a while and expect it to happen whenever new words/phrases are listened to by your bird.

He's trying to tell you that he's just a KFC kinda guy.

T A G Timneh African Grey C A G Congo African Grey

Male or female----the guaranteed way to find out is by having a DNA test which is done at a vet's office or a tiny bit of blood can be sent to a special labratory that does the testing and you receive a certificate of the sex. Since you're new with birds I would go with vet. Almost all parrots like to come out of the cage frequently and they like to stay out for a while. Thinking that a parrot should be in a cage all the time only creates a cage bound bird which isn't good. You need to watch out when he tries to fly. The wings being clipped means he may land straight down on the floor. Let the wings grow out. That makes for a more confident bird. Many birds feel very comfortable on people's shoulders. That's not unusual. But that day will come that if you start to see your bird biting at the face, neck, jewelry, clothing, hair, the bird should not be allowed to be a *shoulder bird* anymore. It happens with some birds and doesn't happen with others. He'll need more time to adjust to your hands when you're trying to touch him. He's new in your home and there's many things he has to get used to before he becomes confident about being touched. He's still a baby and you need to let him go at his own pace.

Variety is the spice of life

You're getting a lot of mixed up information. Most people who own pet birds don't try to turn those birds into breeders simply because a pet bird/birds have formed attachments ( bonding) with their human owners and bonding with a another bird is extremely difficult as well as being cruel. Breeder birds have no attachments to people. They've only bonded with each other and human bonding is extremely difficult. ****can a bird that has been kept for breeding for some time be kept as a pet or turned into a pet bird. im sure that there are people that have pet birds that at some point in time breed.**** This question has already been answered above. I'll repeat--no they can't be made into pet birds. *Dirty breeder birds*-----I haven't the slihtest idea what you're talking about.Birds that are breeders aren't dirty birds. I have 3 pairs of grey breeders and all are excellent birds that've been together and deeply bonded for ages. I have 3 pet greys and the breeder birds and my pet birds don't mix together. My pet greys are bonded to me and my breeders are bonded to each other. My breeders have never bonded with humans. **are there certain types of bird that can be turned into pets and others that cant?** Rarely. Not cuddly pet birds People who are selling pairs of breeders don't need to supply info about how successful the pairs were in the past. Most of the time, that's why they're being sold/authioned. ****i have heard so many people call breeder birds,dirty breeder birds*** I don't know what kind of people you're hearing this type of information from. You said that you've heard this plenty of times so I'll assume that the people you're hearing it from are simply shit heads. Bird boards rarely say these things about breeders. You're the first to come out with the description ****dirty birds*** and I've been to many, many boards. Many birds that are auctioned at bird fairs usually have health issues which the owners won't tll you about and they don't need to tell you about. ***im thinking at some point in time the birds decide to stop breeding or just get to old to breed or one of them for some reason or another cant breed.**** They simply stop breeding because they're too old or a vet says they aren't capable anymore. Can they be pets?--They can live in a human environment but any type of close bonding won't happen with people beccause they had bonded with another bird in the past. PS---a breeder bird that's put in with a pet bird will most likely maim the pet bird. Another PS---if any person/people ever came into my home and said that my breeders were dirty birds wouldn't be in my house for very long and I'd make very sure that they would be very sorry that they ever said such a thing.

The night time temp should be no lower than 63/65 degrees. Day time temp can be 69 to 71/72 degrees. Higher than that can cause itch dry skin. If your area where you live is extremely dry and your windows will always be closed, a humidifier is a good idea. Very dry air isn't good for greys. They don't come from very dry areas. Very dry air causes dry skin and itchiness and can instigate mild feather plucking. Cold drafty airs should be avoided. Also, as far as constant dry areas in the warm months in the bird's area, a humudifier should also be used. If you need a humidifier, most pharmacies sell them for people who need humid air to breathe. They're inexpensive. $35 to $60/ As far as a cage cover, they won't make any difference as far as what the temp is in the room.

This is concerning 2 things that you talked about. 1---Breeders can't fluctuate a grey's weight for selling purposes when selling the bird. It's impossible to do. The bird's weight is what it is. When a breeder says he keeps or makes them a little heavier in case there's weight fluctuation isn't being truthful. There's no way to increase a grey's weight before selling the bird. There's no way to lessen a healthy bird's weight either. A bird thats sold that suffers from malnutrition will weight less than normal. 2--Greys aren't prone to getting overweight. Weight wise, the biggest problem is weight loss, not weight gain. Weight loss happens when a bird is sick or not given enough food to eat. Other species of parrots are prone to weight gain and others such as greys aren't. It's very hard to put poundage on a grey. It takes a long time to do that. The weight of a grey is judged by by the original size and bone structure of the parent birds. There's small, medium and large greys and all will have different standard weights. The same applies to TAGs. This is Smokey and he weighs 564 grams and his parents weigh even more. All the chicks that come from his parents have weighed between 550 to 575 grams. That's because the parents are large greys. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/DaveVP/P1010024-.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BHoH0RyAlI&feature=related Too bad you don't live nearby. I could give you about 8 lbs of them.