Dave007

NAMES ( MALE & FEMALE ) Sunny--- Vergil ---Paco---- Floyd--- Skye ---- Poncho--- Taz --- Sparky --- Ozzie--- Buffy --- Roxy---Joey --Maxi ----Dusty ----Sammy---- Gumby ---- Cisco ----Paddy -----Romeo--- Buster---- Sunshine---- Scooter---- Moonshine ----Sugar---- Sweetie ---- Tazzy------ Petey---- Juan ----- Tiger -----Tweets ----Keiko---Cody---- Okie -----Rexxy----- Chipper -----Minnie ----- Bart----- Ricki ----Kiwi ----- Sunny -----Reba ----Tino----- Buddy---- Angel ------Yuska -------Zelda ----Tookie -----Harley ------ Buster -----Zoey -----Jax----- Ricky------ Princie ---- Mokie-----Coco -----Penny----- Molly ------ Peaches -----Candy -----Ozzy------ Bandit -- Oscar ------Tango------ Sweet Pea ------ Hogan ------Harry------ Sophie----- Rosa ----Robbie ----- Casper ----- Elvis ------ Chipper--- Sweet Pea -----Nibbles----- Sparky------Mickey----Suger ----- Dusty------ Rocky------ Belle

This is a parrot board Any weight loss programs or advice concerning this subject can be put into our OFF TOPIC section. Please refrain from doing this in the parrot sections. PS---I just read your weight loss post so if this post was aimed at peope instead of birds, what I said in the other post also applies here. In this post I thought you were referring to parrots. People here know what fruit and foods to eat so post about birds, not people!

Theres plenty of decent fruits out there. The only one that a person has to watch out for is Cherries and the only reason is that it has a pit that must be removed before feeding. Healthy--------Just about every fruit that can be given has no nutritional value. Most fruits are acidic. Fruits can be given but just remember that you're not giving an item that's gonna supply them with various vitamins if that's what you're thinking. Those vitamins come from green veggies---the darker the better. No harm can come from feeding fruits but that shouldn't be everyday. Some fruits cause extremely soft droppings.

Good luck. Lots of people do it with very few problems.

Finding out if parrots will like each other before bringing one home is extremely difficult. If 2 are put together in one home, the visitor will be uncomfortable. Birds can't concentrate on each other except for long periods of time in which all the birds are in a permanent home. That's when a parrot can show off it's personality and in your situation, it would be difficult because the bird is a 15 yr old adult. Most of the time, people simply get the bird because they want to. Them getting along isn't that important in the beginning. There's loads of things available to make sure that no problems occur. There's loads of people here that have multiple birds and many of those people will tell you that one bird doesn't get along with the other. On the other hand, it could be love at first sight. I will tell you this----There's a bigger chance of 2 birds ( greys)disliking each other because they're the same species as opposed to 2 different species and that goes for all the outside wild birds too. Who are the biggest sinners, the species which is the most aggressive towards each other????? Hummingbirds

They're good people--glad it happened. If you want, tell that bird club that if they go to an animal feeds business, they can get 50lb bags of decent parrot mix for about $25. A place like that sells food for all sorts of animals----horses, cows, goats, sheep, alpacas, parrots of all sizes, reptiles, rodents. I'm sure those birds won't mind it not being Zupreem.

One visit isn't gonna tell you anything as far as them liking or disliking each other. That takes a while and both parrots need to be in the same place on a permanent basis. They need plenty of time to get used to each other and 1 or 2 visits isn't gonna cut it.

That's totally common for all baby parrots. The bird is reacting to you as if you were the hen. The *puking* is called regurgitation. Holding your finger is a common thing--he/she want to be touched (snuggled) as if you were the hen who's gonna cover him with warm feathers. All of the rest of the behavior--crys, moans, circling all have to do with the above. Expect it to happen often. Pet or scratch but no touching vent area, under the wings against the body, lower part of the back near the tail and the breast area, especially the lower breast area. Oh I see, you were referring to an adult parrot. It sounded like a baby parrot until I saw what you said in bird food area. in another area. SO----if that's the case, since the bird is an adult it's best to remember to follow those rules as far as touching. Constantly petting or rubbing those areas will eventually lead to the bird seriously biting you when stopping that action. The bird likes to be sexually stimulated and doesn't like it to stop and he will eventually bite you when you're stopping and you'll never see it coming.

There is a test for that disease. It's basically aimed at carriers and the only end result is that if any birds prove to be carriers, they need to be completely to be totally from other birds permanently. That's all that can be done. There is no cure. What's so confusing about the answers?

Another good idea. Again, better safe than sorry.

Sounds to me klike you did the good job, especially with the bleach.That can act like a very heavy duty disinfectant and germ killer. It'll kill anything. If you've just used more bleach on some things, let the items dry thoroughly and then wash with any dish washer liquid, rinse thoroughly and let dry thoroughly. Then repeat with plain water. Let dry thoroughly. That should do it. You really didn't have to get rid of the cage but you would have had to follow the same procedure on it as above. Everyday we live a little but learn alot. Remember, IT WASN"T YOUR FAULT. Vinegar is good but it won't kill off air borne diseases. It's basically used for regular cleaning of a cage.

It's hard to say. It may have been at the breeder's home. He may have gotten it indirectly. He may have gotten it from others in a clutch. It's a disease in which some birds can be carriers and never suffer from it.Normally, when a vet diagnoses it they can't give a reason why it happened. Don't know why necropsy results took so long. It can be spotted easily because the first area it hits is the liver but anyway, it more than likely had nothing to do with anything you did. Sorry about what happened.

That disease starts off as Pacheco's Disease and quickly graduates to Herpes Virus. The most common causes are contaminated food or water or contact with contaminated feces. Unfortunately, the prognosis is bad. If you decide to get another bird, make sure the living quarters that he lived are disinfected thoroughly. Get new bowls, new toys, new perches. Disinfect your other bird's quarters. It's possible that they can get it. You won't see it happening. The airborne particles can remain for a while. I knew a woman who lost 5 birds because she did nothing after the first 2 birds died. She just didn't know the procedure. Use Neo as a learning experience. Better safe than sorry.

Disliking children is not an unusual thing. Many greys don't like kids because kids are moving around too quickly and get greys nervous. It doesn't apply to every grey though. Nipping your wife's ear. That can only happen when a bird is on the shoulder or when a person intentionally puts the ear near the bird. There's shoulder birds and non shoulder birds. Shoulder birds will stay on a shoulder and not do anything but sit there. A non shoulder bird is one that will bite ears, neck, cheeks, nose, hair, eyeglasses, jewelry and clothing. All of these things are attractive to some greys and even other parrots. There's nothing that can be done to change that nipping bird other than to keep it off the shoulder. Many people will tell you about experiences they've had with a non shoulder bird. PS--simply watch your kid very carefully and keep the child away the bird ( not close). The problem will eventually ease up.

Forgive me but I don't quite know what you're saying ****if you have a powder coated painted cage and it is not Stainless Steel -- then get it tested**** Are you saying that there's powder coated cages out there that have a stainless steel base and powder coated cages that don't have a stainless steel base? If a cage is stainless steel, it's not powder coated. A powder coated cage is wrought iron which is the reason it's powder coated. PS--- All very large sized birds such as macaws should be in stainless steel cages. There's no other bird that can be as destructive as they are. Powder coating to them is like a banana skin.

**he had a small "tick" in his lungs which she gave some antibiotics *** That's something that only your vet can diagnose and treat. Weight---The most weight a bird will have is when it's unweaned. As he/she gets older, the weight lessens and the approx final weight takes over. A bird who is weaned weighs alot less. It has nothing to do with the desire to take flight. The final weight depends upon whether the bird is a small or medium or large framed bird. As a bird nears weaning age, it'll want less formula and more solids. If he's eating what you're giving, then there's no problem. ***But now he has gotten to where he shuts that beak and refuses to eat any of it. *** That's simply a sign that the bird is slowly weaning off the formula and long as it's being replaced with food, there's no problem. Don't completely stop the formula feedings. Give less and let your bird tell you it doesn't want any more. Antibiotics/Medicine---that's hard to answer but usually, medication doesn't deter a bird's appetite for long. A sick bird will lose it's appetite and that's when a vet visit is needed. You've already done that. Your bird simply has an appetite for more solid foods. ***Do you think it could be the meds that make him mad at me and not wanting to eat??? He dislikes the meds to no end. I have to really be patient to get him to take them. **** Do you like swallowing bitter tasting medicines? Ever get mad at mom when she did that? She had to be patient with you and put up with your lousy attitude, right? ***he weighs about 435g*** That's the approx weight for a small boned bird. It could go up ( i doubt it) or remain the same ( likely)

The worst thing that you can do is getting into any routine with a grey or other wild bird. They already have a built in routine that was obtained from nature. Your routine is the one that counts. If a birds yells or nips, walk away. He'll learn that it doesn't do any good. As far as feeding something, they eat all day and don't need a bedtime snack. There's gonna be those days when a person doesn't have that *special* peanut around. Im my opinion, you're doing the right thing. You're the boss. Contrary to public opinion, you're the one that owns the bird, not the other way around. I'll change my mind about who's the boss when 1--the bird pays the mortgage 2--the bird brings home the best food from the supermarket 3--makes the car payments 4--provides me with my toys. 5--makes sure the taxes are filed properly. 6--makes sure the AC temp is right. Etc Etc As far as light, greys are clumbsy and sometimes fall off their perches when sleeping. They sometimes fall off their perch while sleeping and a big crack of thunder explodes so a tiny light helps them climb up to the perch again. Happens sometimes. I've seen bad things in the past with birds who've been allowed to get into rigid routines including people who've changed things around so that the bird is happy.

Night time routine? They decide when to fly back to their respective cages in the early evening when they feel like it. I shut off the main ceiling light approx about 8 PM or so ( that's when it starts getting dark outside and they see it in the window) As it gets darker more quickly depending upon the season, I still shut the main light off only when it gets darker ( they see that in the window too.). I then put on a 15 or 25 watt bulb for the night so they can have a bit of light in case they wake up during the night and sometimes fall off their perches. I sometimes give them almonds depending on how busy I am. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I would never get into set routines with any of them. Since they're wild animals,the only* routine* they go by is what the outdoor wild birds do as evening approaches. They've got plenty of things to do during the day. I would be basically spoiling them if I got into routines with them. They always have decent water in their bowls so it's not necessary for me to bring them anywhere to get any water before sleeping. So, that's the routine. I rule the roost.

Greys sense everything, especially mood changes. If your script has made you more cranky, more hyper, faster moving, more erractic, made you change routines, then things can happen. Their change of temperment doesn't have to be 24/7. Does she like your wife? Well, for many birds that takes a long time for a bird to accept another individual into an area which they consider their home. For many birds it doesn't. Some get jealous, or short tempered, or nervous. Many will nip. Maybe in the bird's mind, it's a competition for your attention. It's hard to say what the problem isbecause all of what you're talking about has to do with behavior and lack of or too much attention that didn't exist a while back. You have a new wife now. That in itself is a task. What you wanna do to get things back to normal is to establish a routine that includes the whole family. Again, that takes time.,

Hmmm, quite the clientele she's got there. She always picked the expensive ones. Past and present.

Your situation definitely calls for a vet visit. There's a number of problems that need to be ruled out only by a vet. You would need to give the vet specifics about your bird. obstuction--growth--infection. It's not wise for us to give out advice or opinions concerning your bird's condition. We can't rule those things out.

In my part of the country, night crawlers are large worms ( 4 to 6 in) that fishermen constantly use. So, if you're talking about that then it's no good to give. As far as insects, what's so important or exciting about giving bugs? Bugs are good for lizards and other reptiles. That's their staple food. Greys may eat insects ( not many) in the wild but they don't eat worms.

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Greys ( male and female) don't mature until they're about 5 to 6 yrs old so any breeding before that age is impossible and at that breeding age, there's even a very good chance that the first and possibly the second clutch will be infertile. More importantly, the guy is lying to you. Greys ( male and female) don't pluck because of the lack of a mate. 90 % of breeder greys aren't pets at all. They have never been pets. They bond with each other and exclude people from their lives. They only associate with the immediate owners. A grey who's a pet bird won't make a good breeder because that pet bird has already set up a bond with the owner. A breeder bird doesn't. The bond is strictly between the male and female. Put a pet bird in with a breeder bird and there's a good chance that the breeder bird may seriously maim or even kill the pet bird. Put 2 pet birds together and more than likely, they won't know what to do. They may even not like each other. If you wanna keep a pet grey than no breeding should ever take place. Don't try it. Don't even think about it. You should watch out for people like that. They have other motives that they won't talk about. Let him do the cable work and leave it like that.