Dave007

There's 3 pages of information and opinions about microchipping located on this link http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189237-Hmm..-microchip&highlight=microchip

Go here and there's lots of videos concerning the feeding of lovebirds.

No they don't do it everytime unless they're looking for special problems that may exist. With other problems, they examine the stool. They'll clip a nail when doing DNA tests. or they'll remove a feather for a DNA test. Nail clipping is a very simple procedure and it's been used for many years. It's not painful. It's whatever method the vet uses. Now a days, many people do the procedure themselves at home and send it out to Avian Biotech. You're going in for a regular checkup so there shouldn't be any major exam. Maybe the vet will take a sample of stool to have it examined. You should let the vet and the asst do all the work and you shouldn't be around when they're working with the bird. If there's any biting involved, let the vet and asst get bitten. They're very used to that happening. If any anger builds up, it'll be towards the vet. I'll also go with Judy as far as not clipping wings. Sometimes a clipping can be done wrong and there's a possibility that a very short clipped feather could be damaged making the feather bleed at home.

Azzie Avian Biotech is the most popular company for DNA testing. You can get a kit from them by Email.Theres two ways you can do the at * home* tests. The feather or the blood test. Feather test requires you to pull several feathers from the chest area. Blood test method---, you clip the nail a little shorter than usual and dab the blood into a small circle on the card. These 2 tests are the most popular. They can email you the results and they mail you a DNA certificate. Results usually take about 7 days. If I remember correctly, the price is $15 If you live in an area that doesn't have this type of DNA facility, a vet will then do it. The vet doesn't draw blood from veins. He usually uses the claw method or removes one of the wing blood feathers.

****She looks good, but im afraid to keep giving her more food.She cant possibly still be hungry all the time, its well more than 2x what she used to eat. ***** You can't be giving * too much food* Your bird is a big boned bird and the larger parrots eat lots more than smaller birds. It may not start that way but it does happen. I don't know if you give the food a certain amount of times ( 3 meals a day) but if you are, it's not a good method. A parrot needs food all day long in it's cage. They don't eat like people. They eat constantly throughout the day. If you need to give more food, then give it. What you really need to worry about is when a grey starts not eating food. That's a sign of illness. A grey won't get obese from too much food. Obesity isn't something that happens with greys. Loss of weight can happen. Your grey isn't showing any signs of problems. I have greys that eat much more than the others and there's never been a problem with either my greys or other people who have greys that eat alot. They simply have a bigger appetite.

jessdecutie18 You speak about possible adoption( remote idea)) or the remote possibility of getting another home in case things don't work out. There's times when a person needs to understand the time line jargon in the bird world. The same time line is much shorter concerning other animals, especially domestic animals. I already mentioned * quite a while* to you. In the bird world the problems you're having may take as long as 6,7 mts to correct. In the domestic animal world * quite a while* may be referring to 6,7 weeks. Approx 65 to 70% of the family having the type of problems you're having plus other problems take * quite a while* to get rectified. Maybe you've already tried some suggestions given to you and they didn't do a good job, but it's possible that the *quite a while* phrase wasn't applied long enough because you're dealing with a wild animal who is totally different than a domestic animal. It takes a long time because they have instinctive personalites that don't show themselves quickly. Many people are surprised when a bird gets older and changes it's personality. Sometimes a grey's older, more permanent personality which SOON appears doesn't appeal to some people. It's possible that the older bird will start accepting a certain person in the family for certain things but not other things. The other person may go through the same thing. That even happens to older birds in a house when there's no problems. I have greys that WON'T do certain things with me but will with my wife. The same holds true for my wife. I'm the only one the birds will deal with for other things. When they don't get their way, they often bite if their routine is interfered with. In the mornings, when all of them are jumping and climbing around in their cages listening to me as my hand goes through bags of different nuts, I will go to them, give out almonds and walnuts and hazel nuts but one of them goes to the farthest place in the cage until my wife comes over to give him his portion. Why? Who knows? One of my greys will fly over to me in the evening when we're watching TV and want to be scratched in cetain areas but will nip if I try other areas. That same bird will fly to my wife and only she can scratch those other areas but he will nip if she touches the other areas. Why? Who knows? Now to you, these things may seen minor but I and my wife have to accept the fact that the birds are set in their ways and will not change. I learned a long time ago that some wild animals won't change. So my point here is that * quite a while* can very possibly be a different time line. A parrot often does this when the art and act of flying becomes routine. As a matter of fact, it's these things that cause other people to start thinking about wing clips. This may not apply to you but people will do many things in order to curtail a bird's certain habits. Many people aren't aware of time lines where birds are concerned and it isn't their fault.

""I think the saddest thing for Mike is that she used to be just fine with him"" If there really isn't anything wrong other than what you said that goes on, more than likely he'll eventually come around with your husband but it takes a while. If he was extremely afraid of your husband he would be staying away from your husband in the evenings too so half the battle is already won.

With many young greys, it's a phase that they go through. They'll turn away from one person, act very nervous, jittery or may bite or screech or just try to run away and avoid that person but the bond with the regular person (you) may even get more intense. Many times, it's temporary. In the future it's even possible that you'll eventually be the unfavored person for a while. Greys often switch allegiance. Yes, it's a good idea that your husband is partaking in many things with Yoshi but try to sit back and really think about the most important things you're actually doing with her all the time 24/7. Things that are ultra important and that only you do with the bird. It's those things that your hubby may need to start doing. You may have to temporarily disappear while certain things are being done and that even applies to the minor chores of cleaning a cage or feeding a treat etc. Your husband may be doing some of those everyday chores but if you're around and your bird can see you, it may lessen what you and he are trying to accomplish. Many people who have this problem can't be near or seen by the bird while things are being done with another person. Eventually, a bird can finally get used to that *other* person doing some important things and will somewhat relax but like all things with greys, it can take quite a while. Many times, a bird goes back to being a 2 person bird. What also causes your problem is when a bird reaches early adolesence. As they grow, their personality changes The same things apply to training. It's very hard to train a bird to do simple things if another person is around and distracting him/her.

All palm oil I've ever seen, no matter who's brand it is, has been thick, orange, sticky. I know that it duplicates what surrounds the palm nut. The consistancy and color is exactly the same. The bird cracks the shell, eats the thick, orange oil and eats the nut. I don't how his oil was thinned ( and stays thin) for sale but if he's got a secret and doesn't wish to share it, I would stay with the 100% pure palm oil. Plus, now a days, palm oil is very inexpensive. It's inconvient to thin it out for use but hot water or a microwave solves that problem.

Does your bird scrape it's beak on or between the cage bars alot? How long has he had that discoloration?

Yep, that's the one. Pictures above show how to melt it down from it's orange gooey, thick consistency to very thin red oil which can be dripped on things or spread on things. It involves using the micro. Very easy. After finishing using it, it's put away and it goes back to it's orange gooey, thick consistency. Yes, it does smell a little but the greys don't seem to mind. Also has Vit E besides Vit A in it. If you have only one bird, that jar will last at least 8mts, possibly a yr.

""""The owner said it was a clip that damaged the wing and feathers. """"" That's possible. As a matter of fact it happens often but that still won't stop the bird from growing back feathers.

A good or bad clip won't necessarily end up with the bird starting to chew or pluck feathers. A good clip is one that allows a bird to fly straight ahead for about 6 to 8 ft before gliding down to the floor. A good clip doesn't allow the bird altitude, just horozontil flifht. A bad clip is when the feathers are cut too short and doesn't allow the bird to do the above. Instead, the bird may go a short distance and basically fall. A very bad clip is when the bird's feathers are cut so short that the bird simply falls to the floor when trying to fly. The bird can bounce off the floor and seriously injure itself. Any feathers that are clipped whether they be improper or proper will eventually grow back unless the follicle was also removed. Then feathers won't grow back anymore in that area..

Have you had african greys before?

Molting is the time when old feathers fall out and are replaced with feathers that have lots of thickness and are generally fresh. It's a seasonal thing. Flight and tail feathers have a blood supply in them and when that blood supply dries up, the flight or tail feather falls out and a new one is right behind it to take it's place. Flight and tail feathers fall out periodically all year long. One or two here or there, maybe one, maybe three. There's no way to predict when they will fall out. They're falling out because their blood supply is gone which leaves the base of the feather brittle. So molting is a guaranteed thing which can happen once or twice a year depending upon the surrounding dryness and the amount of humidity and the constant temperature levels where the bird lives. Also concerning clipped feathers------clipped feathers aren't dead. Their blood supply also has to dry up before they fall off. Feathers that molt out are dead. Feathers that fall out due to a lack of blood supply are dead.

No molt looks even nor can a time limit be figured out. Feathers fall here and there. Some fallout is heavy and some is light. some feathers are heavier than others. Some fluffy feathers stay there for a longer amount of time but eventually they fall out. What you're seeing is totally normal. Actually, your bird's feathers look great but molting can be an eye sore at times. The feathers that are clipped and falling out aren't molting out. They're now dead and are simply falling out. It's a coincidence. Long after your bird is finished molting, flight feathers will fall out periodically all year long and it won't matter if they're clipped or not and that includes tail feathers.

Why was Einstein mentioned? It's because another poster in this thread brought up the well known Einstein. That Einstein is a professionally trained grey who tours and is shown as a talented bird who's able to do unusual things. The woman shown with Einstein isn't even the owner. She's a professional bird handler. The other Einstein isn't trained to do these types of things. The owner of that bird isn't a trainer. The bird is constantly put on You Tube because of it's amazing talking abilities. Never tricks, just talking. I've been on her subscription list for 3 years. But just to be confrontational, you just couldn't resist the opportunity to ask her about how she treats the bird. No accusing remarks were aimed at any private owners. What was said was----- Dan's words """"I don't and hopefully no other parrot or other critter owner would practice limiting food to get a "Pet" to do what they want it to and when they want it to."""" """""all people don't treat there trained parrots that way. Sorry, Jayd """"" No one said that they did. The woman said """"""She does know 5 things on Que and may perform them if she "feels like it", empty crop or not."""""" I told the person here the same thing before you contacted that woman. What I said was--""""""the many intricate *tricks* they do are usually done when they wanna do them and usually it's them that decides when they wanna do it and where they wanna do it and most of the time they're doing them alone.""""" On to other things A person here who wants to know about healing agents is told by me to use Aloe Vera Gel which has been proven to be totally safe. I also spoke about not using aloe gel from aloe plants unless they knew what they were doing. I even supplied a photo of a medicinal aloe plant so that if the person went looking for one, they would recognise it. But just to be confrontational, you just had to tell this person that they should purchase a different type of plant of which you named off. To make things worse, you mentioned that your vet told you that this plant is highly nutritional. You also spoke about chemicals in store bought pure gel. Store bought gel has been used by people for years as well as on birds for years. Vets have constantly recommended it for years. They use it in their offices. They don't recommend plants because they're not ready to give a crash course on how to use one.. Store bought gel won't hurt a bird if accidently ingested. Aloe Gel from plants is thicker and stays on top of the skin for a much longer period of time allowing the bird to scrape at it and possibly swallow some. Listen, I'll give you some information about aloe plants which is known as a succulent and is directly related to the family of cacti plants. I've been cultivating aloe plants for 15 yrs. I have 10 exotic hybrid species and 6 pure strain species and that doesn't include the aloe picture I put in. Every single aloe plant no matter what species has a gel in it. Without that gel, aloe plants couldn't survive nor could they hibernate during the cold seasons. All of those gels are poisonous. All of the inner substances of cacti are extremely toxic. If some were to leak out of the cactus, the substance would burn the outer skin of the cactus. All aloe plants contain an inner latex bonding in the plant skin that keeps the aloe gel from drying up. Telling people that aloe plants, ANY ALOE PLANTS are nutritional is a very irrisponsible thing to do because novices might actually get the idea that it's all right to feed it to a bird. Treats----The person here wants to know what to give the bird as far as treats go because this person has difficulty with sunflower seeds. I stay on the safe side and tell the person to feed nuts which are good for the bird, can be eaten quite often with no ill effects. I make sure that I don't mention sunflower seeds but to be confrontational, you tell the person to go and buy hulled sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds, no matter if they're organic or not do the same thing when given in high quantities----possible liver problems . You have no idea how many are gonna be given and more than likely, too many will be given because they're so easy to now feed. Remember, you're one of the people telling others to avoid them as much as possible. That's called contradiction. People absorb infoirmation be it good or bad, especially new bird owners. And as a final statement-----you still don't know how professional bird training is accomplished.

There are a number of home remedies to kill fleas.,. The favorite haunt of fleas in your home are your pet’s furnishings. So, wash your dog’s bedding regularly by adding eucalyptus essential oil to the final rinse. This oil is so effective it kills 99% of the house dust mites too! Also, by vacuuming the home thoroughly and sprinkling a fine layer of ordinary table salt over the upholstery and carpets, you can get rid of fleas. Another way to get rid of fleas is made by adding lavender and cedarwood essential oils to pure almond carrier oil as the base. This is then shaken well and spread over the pet’s skin to keep the fleas away. Some people make effective flea collars by rubbing an essential oil of eucalyptus , tea tree , lavender or geranium on webbing, rope collars or even a doggy bandanna if you use that kind of thing . Another way to keep fleas off your dog is garlic. It's extreme but when fed to your dog it works wonders. This is because its smell is excreted through the skin making it ‘inhospitable’ for the fleas. Brewer’s yeast tablets also help in controlling fleas. Another good alternative is natural apple cider vinegar that makes the skin more acidic and unpleasant to fleas and ticks. None of the above items can hurt a bird the way sprays or foggers can. All of these things are used on your dog, not sprayed. Before using any of the above, I would suggest that you give the dog a thorough disinfectant bath first.

Because the area that you get the flys is small, you can go to Home Depot and go into the garden supply area and look for the item called Bug Zapper. They come in many sizes--very small to the ones used for out doors. This item is meant to kill flies, mosquitos, small moths and other tiny flying insects. It's a device that has a small bulb in it and the bulb is surrounded by an electric grid. The insect is attracted to the light, flies to it, touches the grid and is electrocuted and falls straight down.. You would only need the tiny size and it has to be put in an area where your bird can't get to it. There's not a lot of ways to get rid of fruit flies because most fruit flies are usually involved where people put their food trash. The most common way of getting rid of them is pesticides which aren't good near a bird. With the Zapper, you would only have to sweep them up periodically. They cost about $15 for the small one up to $75 for the large outdoor models. Other very large dept stores also have them.

Commands are totally different than tricks and you have a much better chance at success. You can train a grey to fly to you. You can train a grey to ask for treats or food. You can train a grey to say *good bye* when you're leaving and * how ya doing or hi there sweetie * when you come home. There's other logical things that you can do but the many intricate *tricks* they do are usually done when they wanna do them and usually it's them that decides when they wanna do it and where they wanna do it and most of the time they're doing them alone. In general, greys are very obstinent birds as they get older. The difference between baby greys and adolescent greys to adults greys is huge. Favorite treat--greys and other parrots like different nuts. They're natural, taste good and they definitely keep the bird's attention focused on who's giving them. Nuts can be broken up into tiny bits. They can be eaten quicker than sunflower seeds which require the bird to split it open before the contents can be eaten.

What kind of tricks are you talking about? Are you comparing what you've seen some other species of parrot do? Some species of parrots like being taught to do tricks such as ringneck parakeets. Other species don't. Greys aren't known to take to different tricks or performing very well especially on que. As they get older they'll do things on their own which you'll find quite amusing and you'll be amazed at their talent. Aloof type birds aren't very trainable as far as tricks go. Cockatoos which aren't aloof take to doing tricks much more so than greys. It all depends on the species.

It's totally normal. Sometimes, they mouthe the feathers for hours before dropping them. With wing and tail feathers, they hold them and scratch their heads with them.

Judy, Dan, thanks for the nice words.

I wish you the best. You've given good care throughout the time you've had him. I'm glad he's in good hands. Good luck.

You're welcome.