SFsailor

The talon came completely off and now she just has an exposed quib (I believe that is the right word) Is there any reason why the talon would NOT grow back? Is there anything I can do to assure it DOES grow back?

My CAG broke off her talon today. Its was a clean 'break' (not really a break - it ran over by a chair, and the talon 'cleanly' came off). Obviously there was blood, and I put some clotting gel on the bloody quib(?) Next I disinfected her cage with water and bleach. Currently I am letting that all dry out before I put her back into it What else should I do? How should I keep an eye out for an infection? Should I be applying anything to the bloody quib?

My Grey stays within 1000'-2000' of the house when she gets loose and gets outside. If you lose a bird, keep looking.

It is cheaper and easier to fly with the bird in the cabin, but it sounds like you are not going to even be on the flight, and therefor this is not a option.

Hang in there buddy

I was under the impression that a well adjusted AG likes to be touched. Since it is a social expression and all. Mine, while not always wanting petted, will ALWAYS give me a "kiss" by letting me touch her beak, while she give a light nibble to my finger.

I am reading the book "Alex and Me" by Irene Pepperberg, and it in she say that birds have trouble pronouncing some words because they do not have lips to make certain phenomenons. For instance they can not say paper because the "pa" in paper requires putting ones lips together. So my question is what words can you bird say clearly? On a side note... my bird says I love you by saying "Wuu Wuu Wuu" hehehe She can pronounce many words like "god dam it" "get outta here" "poncho" "doggy" "foodies" to name a few.<br><br>Post edited by: SFsailor, at: 2010/01/04 01:54

What I was trying to say is that calling is your best hope, in my opinion and experience. BUT, because you have to work ( i assume) it would the best use of your time to only be looking for him during the times that you know that he is vocal (normally morning for my CAG) FURTHERMORE, when you do find him... go gently to him so as not to scare him into flight... get close to him and then GRAB him... he might bite, but it won't be hard. Assuming you don't have a cage with you... make sure he can not get out of your grip, do not let him free until you are safe in your car or home. Good luck.

Ok then when you are looking for him call out "Boussah" These are smart creatures. He will recognize your voice. All you can do is hope that he will take action and respond in some manner. He will definitely want to get back to you. He just doesn't know how. I definitely feel calling for him is a lot better than looking for him with a pair of binoculars. Good Luck, and I really expect you will get him back. You've done everything right... posting flyers, posting on Craigslist, and calling the pounds, walking around looking for him. It might take awhile but do not give up. Also, I would maybe call the pounds back every couple of days to see if he's turned up. Someone else could be working there and have different info than the last person you talked to.<br><br>Post edited by: SFsailor, at: 2009/12/31 06:51

Sindbad: I am answer the ?'s you posted... The replies are at the end of each question. 1. Sindbad never responded to me when I talked to him while he was silent. He only looked at me. Would he respond to my calls now? Should focus only on my vision to find him? Personally, I could not imagine you ever finding him just by vision. After all he will likely be in a tree or bush and hard to spot. Furthermore, my parrot flew by me once and I did not recognize it. (that being said parrots DO look different than other birds when they are flying, they (at least to me) have a more "circular" wing pattern. Birds have a call and response nature to their communication. Therefore, whatever you called him before and he responded to use that call. (if you guys did have this type of communication, uses the word that you called him by) If you THINK you hear his call investigate that area. My bird sounds like an actual person, and that confused me a lot when I was looking for him. 2. What kind of trees would you think he would be on? Palm trees that are 4 or 5 story high? Or think threes that are full of leaves to cover him? or trees that have bare branches that resemble his perches so that he can stand comfortably and scratch his beak? I really doubt a palm tree, to high and no good landing. Bushes and trees are more likely because they are easy to land on regardless of how good the bird can fly. I would also think a more leafy tree because he is scared and would use the leaves for cover (thats only my opinion) 3. When I first got Sindbad, he made minimal sounds until he got used to us and the new environment. When I lost him he was making sounds most of the time whenever we were around unless we have him with us on the couch. He stopped making any noise when covered his cage and started the minute we uncovered it and took him out. Would you think he would be making noises nowadays in the wild, or would that be minimal too? What would be the best time you think he would be vocalizing? YES he will be making sounds. YOU know when he vocalizes (probably 1st thing in the morning) look for him at these times. I wish I could help you more. If you have any more questions or if I was not clear on anything please ask again.

Strangely, at least to me, my CAG likes her bathing/showering water rather cold. Today she got in the dog's water dish and attempted to take a bath. BAD BIRD! hehehe

Sindbad...Good to hear you have not given up. Take heart your bird will be found. I know what you are going through. And from what I have read I REALLY think you are going to find the bird. Eventually the bird will get hungry, and go to a person, if you do not find her/him first However, one thing... I checked Craigslist.org in LA for a Lost listing for your bird and did not see one. You really need to put a ad on Craigslist, since it is widely used in CA

I just moved back to our old house after living with her on a sailboat for 2 years.... Birdie is mad at me... Its only been 2 days..., but she doesn't want to come to me... I can tell she is a little confused... I too could use some suggestions on how to make this easier for both of us...

My .02 cents Use a cat carrier lined with window screen to transport the bird in the cabin. Tell the security RIGHT away that you have a bird and request/demand that you be taken into a closed room for them to take the bird out of the cage so that they can then go an scan the cage. I've done the above and had a uneventful trip.

Sindbad: I read all the posts ppl posted and the info you gave. My further advice is to offer a reward on the posters. You do not need to say how much, and probably shouldn't. But because you said this was a "bad" neighborhood, and the economy is terrible in California right now, a reward will help. ALSO you are lucky this happened in LB. The weather is fine and the bird can live outside forever in that climate. That being said the bird is either in a tree or a bush, or has been captured by someone. AGAIN.... listen for the bird at the times it sings at normally. Use a bike to help you cover more terrain than walking.... ~J

SINDBAD READ THIS Yes there is LOTS of hope of you finding your bird. I have had mine fly away 6 times. I have recovered her every time. I have not read the other replies here but let me tell you how to find your bird. These are listed in order of importance. 1. Keep looking. The bird is likely within a 1/4 mile of the place she flew away from. 2. Look in trees & bushes, this is where she/he will be. (I have always found my bird here, except for the ONE time she found me.) 3. LISTEN for her/his song/call. If you think you hear it go investigate. ALSO, if you have only limited time and can not devote 100% of your time looking for her, go look for her when she normally sings (i.e. early morning) 4. Post COLOR flyers of the bird stating where and when it was lost, and your contact info 5. Put a cage, on a white sheet (helps the bird see it) out with food and water in it. 5. Tell your neighbors that the bird is missing and to keep an eye out for it. 6. Call the local animal control to see if she.he turns up there. leave your contact info with them. If you have employees, send them out to look for the bird. If I think of anything else I will post it here. The longest lost my bird for was 3 days. She was fine. DON'T give up easily. ~J

What are GREAT thread! The WORST thing about having birds flying in the house is.... when they take off they sure stir up dust and their dander, causing it also to go flying every where My CAG was a bad flyer when she first started to fly. She couldn't turn and would go into walls. NOW she can hover and turn, make real tight turns, and has much better control all around.

Transporting animal to Hawaii is very hard. I checked into it back in March. gbdb_kcb: As for what carrier you should pick... STRICTLY depends on its size. Airlines have different sizes but they GENERALLY can only be 8" tall for a hardside carrier and 10" tall for a softside carrier. Therefore its better to get a softsided carrier. The cheapest softside carrier that will work for airplane trips are CAT CARRIERS. Yes, you normally put cats in these I got my cat carrier from the clearance shelf at Petsmart for $7.50 (very cheap), I then lined the carrier with window screen so the bird would be able to quickly chew its way out. I had no problems at any point with this set up. Petsmart also has nicer softside carriers that meets the height requirements and these can range from $30-100.

The same trick works with my CAG. If I see that see is getting into her water dish I can put out a big pan of water and she will get into it. If I put of the water when she is not in her bathing mood she shows absolutly no interest in taking a bath. On a the same note, my CAG likes to take a bath about every 2 - 3 weeks. N2Fisher: It looks like you have a nice sized sink there. Next time fill that up with 2-4" (or so) of water. That baking pan just looks like you are teasing her.

It will be ok. My bird was in the same "training" state that yours is in right now. She definitely would not get into a harness, and generally she was not enthusiastic about being handled. And this was definitely demonstrated in the screening room when I had to get her out of the carrier while they ran it though the Xray or whatever. I can report to you though that the trip/ move DID cause my bird to bond with me WAY faster then I imagined. I guess she really liked our new place and to show her appreciation she came over to me and "put out her leg" for me to put out my hand to. It was really funny because she was acting "drunk" when she was doing this the first time or two. I initially thought something was wrong with her until I posted a new post on this forum and asked what her behavior was telling me. Now I can play with her freely. She will 'dance' with my hand, put my fingers in her beak, and even allow me to hold her on her back upside down...<br><br>Post edited by: SFsailor, at: 2008/08/14 21:13

Telegirl: The problem is that not very many birds go through security. (this is what they told be at Denver International Airport). So I really doubt you would have to hold the bird while going through the metal detector. Just tell the 1st TSA person you see that you have a bird in the carrier and you would like to go to a closed room to take out the bird so it won't fly away. Then they can take the carrier and run that through the Xray or metal detector while you wait with the bird in the closed room

Of course YOU can change his/her name. My bird 10 yo CAG was calling herself "poncho" when I got her, but I found out "He" was a "she" so I never said "Poncho" back to her. I now just call her "Birdie" and now she uses this word a lot.

HEHE.... Isn't your Grey your alarm clock??? Personally I hate the days around June 22nd because my CAG starts singing before the sun comes out... Thus being my alarm clock On a side note... one of the first sounds of me that my CAG mimicked was the waking / yawning sound I make when I get up... I think the next sound she mimicked was a fart <exact sound>... which is how I realized that they could indeed mimic any sound they hear, and right away at that. :laugh: With my cage free bird... One of the biggest messes I have to deal with is created because she will sleep in a lot of different places (though she definitely has her favorite spots) and because of this the area she chooses may not have any paper under it to catch her droppings. :sick:

One note: CAG's can fly away even when their feathers are completely soaked from a bath/shower. They may not be able to get much lift, but they can definitely go places.

Currently I am on vacation and I arranged to have my next door neighbor take care of my CAG. He goes over there and changes the food and water daily and plays with him. I of course am worried because I have never done anything like this before. But the advantages are that the bird is in a familiar place and all of the dangers are taken care of. Another option you should check into is board the bird at your local bird pet shop. Lots of people do this in the SF Bay Area.