Dave007

First you should read this http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189315-Ten-Reasons-Not-to-Buy-a-Bird Because you're very new at owning parrots, you should realize that african greys are one of the more difficult parrots to deal with. It's even more difficult when a person who hasn't dealt with large parrots decides to take in a pre owned parrot who is usually an adolescent or adult bird. That type of bird already has a partially developed personality that won't change and the person taking in a pre owned parrot has gotta be ready for those ups and downs. An experienced person who deals with parrots usually understands the pitfall and good point of having a pre owned parrot. Greys are very intelligent as far as personality goes, that'll constantly change as the bird gets older. They're a very independent type of bird and they're not cuddly when they're older. You're right about clipping. There's a very large section here about that subject which explains clipping in detail. Besides owning one, there's vet bills. They can only be taken care of by Vets who only deal with birds. Then the cage---it needs to be large enough for a medium to large sized parrot. A grey can't live in a small cage. They need to be out of a cage a minimum of 2 hrs a day--more is better. There's many other things to say but start off by thinking about things that have been mentioned. You may need reading material that only deals with greys and I don't know how available they are in your country. This is not to insult you but many people buy greys for the wrong reason and the birds wind up in shelters which isn't good for the bird. You should also have a choice of greys to choose frm.

Having a tree around is fine. If you had no lighting, or ornaments on the tree, it would even be alright for the bird to perch on it periodically. Some people let their birds on the tree but they're always positive that their bird isn't the type that likes wires or ornaments. So, to answer your question Yes, it's safe

Nothing can be predicted here. All birds are different, especially the same species. What happened to the parrotlet may be totally different with a grey or any other type of parrot. All birds have individual personalities. If a person has 3 greys in a house, I can guarantee you that those 3 will be completely different from each other. I can tell you that in general, parrotlets aren't aggressive type birds. Putting biting and flying or lack of flying and agression into one catagory as far as what the bird will do is wrong. A bird with wings will or won't bite. A bird without wings will or won't bite or it's totally visa versa.

"""""" and that if we clip him/her ourselves, they can hold a grudge??? """""" Probably no grudge but you can inhibit it's confidence as it grows up. It's aa sad thing when a person gets a bird and one of the first things that are thought about is doing something to the bird which isn't natural. A bird was meant to have wings. Of course, I'm totally against clipping but I have many valid reasons for feeling that way Anyway, a bird can't be clipped until it's about 6 to 8 mts old. By that time, muscle strength, coordination, manueverabily will start to develop. Anything younger than that will cause the bird to depend upon the owner which isn't a good idea especially as the bird gets older. A wrong type of clip and when the baby tries to fly, instead it bounces off the floor possibly injuring itself. Read those stickys. They cover any possible thing you would wanna know.

Tamara Go the GREY LOUNGE There's 4 stickys towards the top about wing clipping

You would need to find out if your bird is an acute or chronic plucker. Most of the time a previous owner can tell you. Acute plucking---A bird will periodically pluck when things are not quite right or nervous. The plucking will eventually stop and as time goes on, those bouts of plucking decrease dramatically. Chronic plucking---That's a bird that will pluck all the time no matter what's going on. It's a built in habit. Medicines don't normally do anything to curb the problem. Basically, the bird will create bald spots on the body and many times, feathers won't grow back. So if you can't find out about the bird's past, he needs a complete exam. He may be lacking many essential vitamins or calcium levels may be off. The most important thing that the vet can tell you is whether he's an acute or chronic plucker. Do these things before giving anything internally.

Personally, I wouldn't mess around with alternative types of things unless a vet gave a complete in depth exam to determine what problems there may be. In the past, it's been proven that many people who decided to try out holistic medications just because they could be purchased without a prescription had very bad reactions to it. If you wanna know some basic facts, there's specific info which you should know about concerning the condition of a bird you may have. I tried to give you some information but other than saying that you were reading about holistic medicines, you still haven't answered any of my questions. So---""""What do you think? :confused: """" I think it's a bad idea.

If your bird is gonna be in the general area where people, action, TV are going on, the cover is best. As time goes on, if you see a big change in the bird's natural attitude towards everything, you can try to remove the cover. You may have to put it back on in a few days if you see that the bird doesn't like being uncovered. Some birds have a serious desire for a cover; others don't.. What you don't wanna do is cover and uncover and cover and uncover in short amounts of time. Either put it on through the night or don't. Especially if you have other animals around.

It won't go bad. You can just leave it there. It'll just become softer and soggier and mushy. That's the same exact consistancy that the oil is in the wild. There's no refrigeration in the wild.

How old is your bird? How long has he been plucking? Where did you hear about holistic medications used on birds? Many birds who pluck aren't nervous or high wired. There's 2 types of plucking 1---chronic 2---acute

It's simply not a good idea to bring a grey into stores that have large akmounts of people ( even less amounts of people). Greys can get very spooked very easily and accidents canhappen frequently. You may keep an eye on your bird but you can't stop others from doing what they're doing. The grey's basic personality should be studied before any venture like that take place. Greys are very leery and very nervous birds. Then, after something happens, your bird may not forget and take it out on you. If you wanna build up trust with your bird, leave him home in the safety of his own abode.

It would be better to put your post in the area which is BIRD FOOD.. More people would see it and more will probably respond. This is just a Welcome area

Having two together will hamper the full personalities and capabilities and talents of each bird. A person never sees or knows about that until the birds are actually separated. Many people don't even know that those things exist. I've seen it hundreds of times. Having two together doesn't allow each bird to design it's own *home* which is different than the next bird. Some people are into talking birds and that too will get hampered. There's no way to tell if two birds will or won't bond with each other when together. There's no way to tell if bonding with the owner will be hampered. There's much more chance of all these good things happening if the birds are in their own cage which is actually their custom designed *home*. There's plenty of time for two birds to be together outside of the cage. The two baby birds that are put together will definitely be different birds as they grow older and may not tolerate each other or on the other hand, may tolerate each other but not tolerate the owner. The owner has a much better chance of dealing with each one alone. AND, telling a novice to greys that it's ok but who doesn't have any experience with greys is a dangerous thing .

Because the holiday is just around the corner, you won't be able to get any cages shipped to you in time. There's not many cages made for medium sized parrots that are collapsible. Right now, you would only be able to purchase a collapsible cage from a pet store but more than likely, the cage wouldn't even be for a bird maybe for a dog. Besides traveling cages, most people purchase a smaller version of a standard cage made for medium sized parrots. Then, they put them away. Then they unscrew them, put them away and when the time comes they put the cage in the car, put it together again at their destination and then unscrew when it's time to come home. The walmart cage is very over priced and not well made. If you're willing to spend good money for another cage, you have 2 choices 1--immediately go to a pet store like Petsmart and purchase a smaller version of your present cage or 2--order one online from EBAY. They have a great variety of well made cages, prices which are great and pictures and descriptions of each one. Doing that will help in the future but not in time for this holiday. Look a EBAY anyway and see what they have for sale that you may use in the future. The walmart cage that you show has very thin wiring, the wrong bar spacing and no protective coating on the metal.

Yes, many people own 2 or more greys, babies and adults. No, it's not ok to put 2 together no matter what their age. They'll grow up and lose their attention for you. No, it doesn't matter what gender they are but if male and female are together, they will try to breed. No one can answer whether any 2 parrots will get along with each other whether they're together from the time theuy're very young. All parrots get older and their personalities change. No, they're very quiet birds. I would advise to get lots of literature concerning african grey parrots. You'll need to first know lots of basic information about african grey species.

As far as me, I don't drink. They usually ask me to be the designated driver.

Martini-- shaken, not stirred

The problems that you think will be existing really aren't as long as you know what applies to what you're thinking about. Clicker training has nothing to do with potty training. A bird goes when he has to go. Birds don't hold in droppings if they have to go. You can do that with a kid but only for so long. You have a kid--you're going to visit Aunt mary--you tell the kid to take a leak before you all get in the car--the kid can't take a leak because he did 1/2 hr ago---you get in the car and 1/2 hr later, the kid has to take a leak--you tell the kid to be patient because there's a gas station 2 miles away--the kid can hold it in. Birds don't have that ability. They go when nature calls. People say that their bird is potty trained because it was taught to do it. What those people don't say is that if the bird isn't rushed over to an area that he goes in, the bird will immediately let go of his load no matter where he is. Clicker training doesn't make a bird go. Greys are wild animals and nature controls that function. Clicker training is used to trin birds to go from one place to another and land on specific areas and a few other things that have nothing to do with dropping a load. """what re-homed stress will I expect to see? The bird is only 2 yrs old. You really shouldn't see much stress unless you don't leave the bird alone. The bird has to get used to all the visuals, all the sounds, all the movements, all the people's new faces, the people's daily habits. other pets if there are any, the new cage if one is being used. A bird gets used to most of these things from the safety of it's cage. That amount of time varies according to the bird's interest in things. Nice to your wife?? That can happen with a process called *socializing*. All the people who live there deal with the bird on an equal basis. Feeding, talking, treat giving, cleaning up. Will the bird like your wife after that? No one here can answer that question because all greys and other parrots have different mentalities. All are individual. My grey is different than your grey who is different with the next grey which is different than the next grey etc etc. So, start off by leaning these basic things before thinking about doing things that are gonna possibly bad for the bird. Then ask more questions

January to November----exactly right.--10 mts--should molt. """(this spring) flight feather get launched through the air."" Just a coinicidence.You'll see flight feathers dropping all year long without any other feathers and that dead flight or tail feather doesn't show any signs of being dead except when you examine the base of the feather and it looks whitish and a bit hollow. That means the blood supply is gone from the feather. My TAG just finished up a big one and it normally happens with him because he does a big one the same time every year because many of his flight, tail and covert feathers die at the same time Day 1--2 flight feathers Day 2--1 flight feather, 2 tail feathers Day 3--1 flight feather and 3 covert feathers Day 4--3 tail feathers and 1 flight feather and 2 covert feathers And then he was finished, preened the new feathers from his oil gland and continued eating.

I agree with Spinner. I just think it's odd that both would have the same problem. That's why you should press the vet for more conclusive answers. That's what I would do.

"""""that if it got worse she may actually have to cut the preening gland to release the dry, crusty oil """""" He means the area would have to be enlarged ( slightly stretched, not cut open) PBFD is also known as a wasting disease which affects Macaws more than other species and more than likely, there were no symptoms that he could see which more than likely is the reason it wasn't mentioned. And yes, it can be diagnosed. The only reason I suggested other testing was because both birds have the same problem at the same time. Only a vet can test for different problems. As far as the bio hazard thing, you've got me there. You really should call and ask about what that means. It's definitely not a test for PBFD. You should also ask if what she found was connected to any other possible problems. Ask her opinion about how the gland problem happened. I can't diagnose. I'm not a vet and I wouldn't wanna unecessarily frighten you.

That shouldn't lose it's strength for at least a year, maybe even longer. I doubt you're gonna have that container for a whole year especially if your bird likes it and you're feeding it frequently.

Can't ever accuse you of being nippy. Only your bird is allowed that right of passage.

Where in the world did you ever hear that iron, whether it be in baby food, cereal, parrot food, is not good?? It's in all nuts that a parrot eats be it raw or human grade. Parrot pellets have iron. It's in veggies that a parrot or human eats. It's in cheese. It's in all meats that humans eat. It's in all poultry that humans eat. It's in all of the bread that people eat. It's in all the baby food/formula that's sold to infants. The iron is the base of all vitamins. People with HIV and Diabetes are given extra iron supplements because of all of the natural vitamins that have been depleted. Every bottle of vitamin tablets sold on the market has iron in it. Do you really think that anyone would publish bird recipes in which those recipes have toxic materials in it? And, as far as various birdie bread recipes on this board, you'll find that the large amount of ingredients in those recipes also have iron in it.

You may have a slight bronchial condition or a sore throat and you may need some medication for it. I say this because you've had that problem once in a while before you got your bird. ""what are the reactions to feather dust would it give u sore throat or sore chest??"" Usually it'a breathing problem that occurs. Shortness of breath, Fast heart rate. Some people who have asythma need a doctor to give them an inhaler but from what you describe, it sounds like you have a bronchial congestion which you should go to the doctor. The problems above don't cause sneezing. If it's just recently started, you should go to the doctor. You may also have a mild case of the flu. In any case, you need to keep your grey's area relatively clean and that won't be hard if you just keep up with it. BUT I would go to a doctor to get a checkup.