Dave007

I can guarantee you that if you have no button, switch or lever to turn on a self cleaning oven, then you don't have a self cleaning oven. Coioking features and cleaning features are 2 separate functions. We've had self cleaning ovens for years and I can tell that the self cleaning odor is horrible. The terrrible smell takes it's time to go away. We haven't used that feature for years. If my grandmother was alive, she'd throw the whole stove away.

All self cleaning ovens emit gasious chemicals that are used by the oven to clean it out. the oven is heated to a high temperature and the chemicals proceed to clean off the grease in the oven. Even people find that self cleaning odors are hard to handle. ****Isn't it the simple fact of using it to bake food, heat a pizza, etc?**** I'm referring to the cleaning mechanics. The oven cleaning process doesn't kick in while a person cooks. A button must be used after cooking to start the cleaning process and no food is present in the oven. There's separate elements in a self cleaning oven. One applies to cooking and the other applies to cleaning. 2 different operations.

Scented and unscented oil candles are a no no. It's not the smell that's dangerous. It's the chemicals that are used to actually make the candle Can you use those candles? Yes, as long as you're very far away from birds in another enclosed room with a door on it and you have an adequate exhaust machine that will take in the fumes. Perfume is fine as long as you don't insist that your bird smell it closely and often. Perfume disapates quickly only leaving the scent on the skin. Deodorants can be used, including spray or rollons and aren't harmful unless you make your bird smell your arm pits closeup for a long period of time. The average person applies deodorant in the bathroom. The average person who doesn't use deodorant has a better chance of making other people displeased. A biird really doesn't care.

All self cleaning ovens can be cleaned by hand. Many people who have self cleaning ovens aren't impressed with the feature so they use the guaranteed method---by hand

Hi This board is basically for people who have greys and other parrots which are PETS. There's a large variety of info in all areas here about greys but none of that info has to do with breeding. We don't give information concerning breeding of african greys especially when a person is very new concerning breeding large complex birds such as african greys and we don't give out that info on computers. There are breeders here who share information with other people about their pet greys but there's no lessons that's given out to the people here who are thinking about breeding which is very difficult, expensive and concerns dealing with special types of greys. ****Also please suggest some good diet(fruit/vegetables) so my GP can breed successfully.*** These foods you wanna know about are simply natural diets for greys. It has nothing to do with breeding.

Those lists of fruit and veggies are safe for birds. Fruit has much less nutritional value than veggies. Fruits can be given but only in small amounts AND NOT EVERY DAY. Parrots like fruits soimply because they're sweet. Sometimes, fruits give parrots the shits. Concentrate on regular parrot foods and don't worry about fruits so much. In the wild, fruits are not a part of their normal everyday diet. One other thing about fruits---if any have pits in them they need to be removed because some are toxic to parrots-----example----cherries.

***So stainless steel pots and pans are good, right**** So is cast iron cookware. Don't worry about all the letters Simply don't use any type of non stick cookware whether it's teflon or not. AND any type of non stick cookware states that it's non stick. Chemicals are used to make non stick cookware. That's what all the letters above are about.

Lead----Copper-----Zinc----Brass All toxic to birds -------------------------------------------------------- Tin (not galvanized), steel and iron (not treated with antirust paints) Not toxic to birds.

It starts changing color at approx 10mts to 16 mts but it can vary.

Don't really know why you would think that you're maybe lossing her. Greys are tempermental and have those times when they'll do what she's doing. As far as reasons, she could be going through a hormonal stage at this time of the year. Males and females both do this but it's the female who can get really aggressive and need to be left alone. Evemn if this has never happened before, there's alway a chance that it will. Secondly, when you're holding the bird, are you rubbing her in certain areas that can sexually excite her? Near the under part of the tail, the lower breast area, the skin between the wings and body? If so, and she's in a hormonal state, that's asking for trouble. Actualy no bird should ever be rubbed in those areas throughout the year. A bird can get sexually excited and when you stop, the bird doesn't want you to and they'll bite. As far as feet and toes, you'll just have to prevent that from happening especially if she's sneaking up on you. As far as cooking, eating, most people put their birds in the cage until dinner is finished because many do bite. Don't be surprised if all of your present problems go away within 1 to 2 mts.

Congrats The growling and possibly some squaking is normal. The bird has just been taken from other birds in a flock. They feel secure in that situation. Now, you have him and the process now begins for him and you to get to know each other. He's also gotta get used to the new place, new visuals, new people, new cage etc. This takes time so don't force yourself on him. Wait for curiosity to kick in and take it real slow. Right now, he feels safest in his cage which he'll also have to get used to. The color of the eye at that age should be white. The yellow tinge comes in at an older age but remember that the coloring can vary. PS--Judy beat me to it.

The top of this thread is about OTHER VERA GEL which I wrote so what you need to do is read about the ALOE VERA JUICE. The article that I wrote there should tell you all about the juice. Whether you wanna usethe juice is up to you. There's pictures of the items. GEL is for irritations, cuts, bruises, rashes. The juice is used for certain species of parrots but you can read all about it if you look at the original thread concerning juice. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189967-100-natural-aloe-vera-juice

No bird is better at handling noise. I don't know where you heard or saw that comparison. You're the first person to ever say that concerning noise. You simply put the bird in another area where he can't see construction workers. They get nervous from seeing all the equipment and strangers moving around. He may be nervous but loads of parrots can be nervous and it's no big deal.

*****So, the question: if I am the only to handle him, train him, clean his cage, rotate his toys and give him fresh water and food, will he bond with me, or is there still a big chance he'll decided to bond with the mate or the girl? ***** That's not an easy question to answer because all parrots are different. Put 2 Timnehs together in one room and the only similarity will be the color of the feathers. They're all individuals with individual personalities. That also applies to Congos. Most people who buy a grey hope that the bird will be happy with everyone in the house. Many times, that doesn't happen. Basically, your bird is going into a large family setting and all should be involved with the feeding, cleaning, playing. Indivdual bonding with one person in a large family setting isn't a good idea. Basically, you're thinking about excluding the other people from interacting with the bird. The only time that should happen is when a particular person wants nothing to do with the bird. It's the person's choice, not the bird's choice. *****people say guys bond better with girls and girls better with guys. Please, if you answer this question, I'll love you for life!! ****** Yes, that's a total falsehood. many times, a person has no idea what the sex of the bird they buy is until they have DNA test done. Some breeders sex them, others don't. Males get along with males, females get along with females, males get along females, females get along with males. PS----You needn't love me for life. I won't mind. Yes, many people take a bird to a vet as soon as the bird is purchased. It's called a "well check". If there's a problem, the contracts of the sale concerning refunds and warranties goes into effect. Yes, many breeders have this done before a sale. Breeders aren't required to do this. Pet shops aren't required to do this. It's in the contract upon sale of the bird. *****If I don't go, can you please give me every single hint of an unhealthy baby (just weaned, probably, maybe a bit older), Timneh African Grey? So I can check him by myself a bit?***** There's no way to do this. Internal exams are done. Swabs are done. Only vets do these types of things. In order to get an accurate reading, the bird must be totally weaned for the vet tests. If you're thinking about getting an unweaned bird, DON'T. You're a novice and you're asking for big trouble

New socialization happens in one place. Undivided attention must be given. That can't happen when you're working and also that means lots of time out of the cage. In the case of a 2 yr old bird, I'm gonna assume that it came from a previous owner. It had to be living somewhere in those 2 yrs. A 2 yr old bird needs extra time to get used to new owners and environment and habits and new cage space and a connection with new people. It already has habits that must be dealt with. Here in the US, a 2 yr old bird being sold usually means the bird has been owned by someone else. Pet stores don't sell adolescent birds here in the US. Breeders don't sell older birds unless the buyer can be given a history of the bird's background. Then it's up to the person to buy or not to buy. The bird needs lots of attention and that can only be given on a constant basis in one place. If you take the bird back and forth, more than likely it'll need to stay in a cage and for a grey, that's no good. So, it's up to you to make up your mind. 1---taking the bird back and forth and taking the chance that nothing will happen or 2---leaving the bird in one place so that it feels like it's living in a secure and permanent area all the time. If you've never had a grey before, you'll find that lots of attention must be given on a constant basis and others here will tell you that too.

There's 2 types of harnesses---one is the type that has metal clips on different areas of the item. It comes with a 7 ft leash and some people use it to walk around with the bird on it's shoulder or to have the bird walk in the street as a person would do with a dog. Personally, I don't like the idea of walking around a bird on the street. Too many things can come in contact with the bird. The other harness is called a aviator harness. It allows a person to teach the bird how to fly without hurting itself. It comes with a leash that's specially made as far a letting the bird fly without hurting itself. Add ons can be used to lengthen that leash. The first one is kinda passe. many people have had trouble with it and birds don't like all the metal attachments on it or the weight of it. The price difference between the 2 is first one I mentioned is about $10 second one is between $29 to $35 Look up the one called FLIGHT AVIATOR HARNESS and you'll see the advantages it has.

There's no reason to be taking your bird back and forth all week long since they'll people in the country house all the time. When getting a new baby grey, the most important thing that should be done is something called *socilization*. That involves getting all family members involved with the bird. It's best that the bird stay at one location now. Moving a bird around usually happens when the bird is much older and is very familar with the owners and has lost it's fear of different things. Bouncing the bird back and forth isn't a good way to start off a relationship. Very bad idea. It can create a very nervous high strung bird. It needs to learn all about it's permanent home, people, habits etc.

There are no %s that are known. It's nature that dictates that ability. All parrots talk naturally in their own natural languge which starts at a very young age and is known as parrotese. That natural language can't be taught to them. They're birds and talk like birds. Human talking is a mimicing of human and other outside things that greys pick up. The sound of a microwave, door closing or opening, gurgling of water is simply mimicing sounds that they won't do in the wild. Some of those things are attractive to greys and many times, none are attractive to a grey. For the person who owns a grey that doesn't mimic human language, the next step is to try to understand what the bird is saying to you when they're using their own natural language and many times, it takes quite a while to do that. I have 3 greys. All of them are adults. One of them will immitate all types of words and sounds besides it's own natural language. The other 2 won't say a human word and they never have. Both of them naturally talk in their own language and I can understand what each and everyone of them are saying to me in their own parrotese language. They're always talking to you about everything.

Many times a grey will pick up or discover certain sounds that it can make. Most of the time those sounds or words are repeated constantly for quite a while until the bird tires of it. Then it's put in a bag of noise/sound/word storage area. Basically, a bird is practicing that noise/sound/word over and over again. Many times, it can be very irritating to a person but it's a bird's natural sound. Most of the time a person can't stop it. A person has to wait until the bird tires of it. It's the noise that's bothering you, not the bird who's doing it. Look at it this way-------if your bird picked up a word or two and repeated it over and over and over again, would you get upset? More than likely, you wouldn't because it's a human sound that doesn't sound foreign to you. Birds repeat things over and over and over again until something new gets it's attention. Birds DO do this when learning human words. Ya just have to grin and bear it.

Some friends of mine got a cat about 2 weeks ago and the cat is constantly scratching at things in different places in the house. They purchased cat scratching posts. It's very annoying to them but they love the cat. Hmmm, do you think that it would help if they had the cat declawed?

Just about. Better description----thick pea soup ( pureed)

There's absolutely no possible way that any type of water coming out from anywhere is gonna remove the oil from a grey's feathers. Dander/dust collects on the outer surface of the areas that are waterproof and that's why more bathing is better. The water removes the dander/dust. Bathe during the day so the bird has some time to dry off. No hair driers, no towels. The bird needs to drip dry so the water has the proper effect on dry skin.

Welcome to our family. Congrats on getting your new grey. Everyone is helpful here and many also have new birds. Ask questions and you'll get a variety of answers from many. The people here love pictures too. Enjoy and have a good time.

Greys are known to do that. It's very heavy during molting season but some greys do it constantly because their skin is on the dry side. If your bird is in a cage and you see lots of those feathers fall to the bottom, take a water mister and slightly spray that area where the feathers are in the tray. That'll make them slightly damp and they won't fly all over the place when your bird is flapping. Just pick up the bedding with the feathers on it and dump it. ****Even when I see them on the floor and try to sweep them away they start flying all over the place!!!!!**** The above applies to that too. There are no machines that will suck in the feathers unless the machine is right next to the feathers. That's because the feathers are too heavy and won't float far to a machine that's not nearby. You can spray your bird often and the damp feathers will fall down because they wet. During warm seasons, a grey must be sprayed often because of excess dead feathers and dry skin which causes the feathers to molt alot. Basically, molting is a messy situation for all that own greys and many p[eople deal with it in different ways.