Talon

Oh my! What a horrific story. Thank god you kept a cool smart head and knew what to do. Many others wouldn't have. I can only I imagine the terror you felt inside. I am so happy for a happy ending, I was afraid to finish reading what I thought would bring me to tears of sadness. I actually never realized that that was a dangerous product for our fids. I havent given the "air" a second thought, although I dont use it. I do have a can in my bedroom....thank you for the warning. And go have a bubble bath, light some candles, and have a much needed glass of wine!

That is adorable!!! Loved it!!

I have 2 greys and they are very different. One LOVES to cuddle up next to you, rest her belly on the couch and insists on constant rubbing, patting, beak rubbing, soft gentle little pats as she naps. If I dare stop, she will beak my fingers or lightly nip them and put her head under them to get me to continue. My other one will occasionally when she allows it, will want the top of her head lightly petted with only one finger in about 3/4 inch strokes for about 4 times, then she peeps loudly and nips you letting me know STOP! She will do this for a few and then she's done.

I agree with Ray. Nilah will pin her eyes really fast when shes excited, she will fan her tail and puff her chest out with her wings open a bit to show her pretty colors. She also will pace back and forth as well. I don't see eye pinning when she is mad. She keeps her temper inside so you can't see it. She will just fly, attack, or bite and fly off before you ever knew what was going to happen. She shows no signs when she's mad.... She does have an attack mode when she's in her cage, don't EVER put your finger near her cage, or she will BITE! She is very protective over her cage. It's HER domain, and we are to stay clear. She will r each thru the bars just to let you know, it's HER home. Quite funny to see, I'm usually giggling when she tried to assert herself like that.

I will look into it

I have a tag, cag, amazon, cockatiel and parakeets, not to mention 3 cats (1 is completely blind) 2 dogs and my daughter has 2 horses. I also am working full time as previously was vey part time, and hold 3 jobs total. ATTENTION is the hardest part individually to each. When I come home, I let them all out of their cages, try to sit and watch a little tv to relax before I cook dinner, and most nights, they are so lonely from the day, I have2 dogs cuddles with me, a cat or two, and always 2 birds on me. It tells me how much they miss me... I always include them in everything I do when I am home and talk a lot to them hopefully to,make up for the time I am gone. I wish I had MORE time to spend with that many birds, but I do the best I can and on the weekends, they are out all day, plus they get about an hour and a half each morning with me.

Please make sure ALL your folders are cleane doubt in the pm system. There's a limit and it will clog and prevent it from working. As for the other problems, there is hacker software in place for iPads and mobile devices so the forum doesn't work quite as well with those devices ..

Love that last one!

I found this very informative. This was sent to me in an email as a subscriber to WindyCityParrot.com. newsletter. I found it a must read as a reminder to us all. And YES for those who have a problem with it, it IS a copy & paste... Captive Birds don’t always understand the concept of safe, so it’s up to you to keep them out of harms way. For this discussion we’re going to focus on toxins that can work quickly, or take their time killing your birds. Look under any kitchen sink or bathroom cabinet and you’ll find it filled with lots of household dangers. If the name on the can or the bottle ends in “Sol” think Pine-Sol or Lysol - don’t use it around your bird, it’s a phenol derivative. You may want to save money by cleaning your bird cage with bleach (find a suitable bird cage disinfectant here) but bleach gives off chlorine gas which can be deadly (Remember Canaries in Coal Mines?). Spray deodorant, hair spray and scented candles are bad for bird’s respiratory systems. Even hand lotions have killed birds as well. Hand sanitizer is full of alcohol. Plug-in air fresheners, Febreeze. Ammonia, rubbing alcohol or even perfume can be deadly. Treated wood and new carpet, and even the cleaner Endust can negatively impact your bird. That’s a pretty straight forward list of the usual suspects but let’s look at some subtle items that could be mighty interesting to your bird - file under simple sugars. The discarded sweet roll Danish or donut. Anything with the glazing, even high sugar fruit cocktail. The simple sugar problem is when a bird ingests simple sugars these items ferment in the lower bowel and change from an aerobic (something with oxygen) environment to an anaerobic (something without oxygen) environment. Most birds have a certain bacteria that is in the small intestines and the bacteria tends to grow quite well under anaerobic conditions which then creates a toxin which causes an illness that can kill your bird in 24 hours unless antibiotics and fluids are administered rapidly. Speaking of food, let’s look at foods with low pH, low pH means the food is acidic like oranges, raspberries, pineapple and tomatoes that all can produce symptoms similar to sugar toxicity. It’s thought that when these highly acidic foods are added to the bird’s crop they lower the pH which slows or stops the crops normal function as a passageway to further down the gastrointestinal tract. So what happens is, toxic food byproducts are absorbed into the system which can cause dehydration, regurgitation, depression and sometimes even death. This also explains why we are telling people with plucking parrots not to give your bird any citrus/acidic foods or fruit. Overall birds need more calories than humans relative to their body weight but a third to half of these calories should be made up of high quality carbohydrates. Excess fat in birds gets stored in the liver cells or goes back to the bloodstream. If too many fats enter the birds body that can’t be utilized the fat gets stored in the birds liver. If a birds liver is overloaded it will gradually degenerate which can cause weakness, paralysis, seizures and even death. And although it might be cute for your birds take a sip of beer it’s important to remember birds have the ability to ingest more volume compared to their body weight than humans which means liver failure occurs very quickly. You’d think that avoiding tobacco arround birds would be a no-brainer but even chewing tobacco and marijuana can cause things like lung disease, feather picking and heart disease. A smoker who has tobacco residue on his hands or body can transfer that residue to a birds feathers during petting which then gets ingested when the bird begins to preen. Zinc can be a problem for birds, especially big birds like Moluccan Cockatoos because they are capable of chipping off pieces of metal. You have to be careful with cages that are pre -1995. The brass or bronze coating on metals can be harmful. Anything galvanized, and remember, brighter galvanized metal means there’s more zinc in it. The zinc could be found in costume jewelry and sequins, metal zippers especially the zipper key, loose screws, nuts & bolts. Speaking of heavy metal, things like tin which is in aluminum foil, gum wrappers and tin cans can be fatal AND there’s no antidote. Copper - think extension cords, pennies made after 1982 which have almost a pure copper coating. Exposed copper water pipes. Iron is certainly bad, which your bird can find in anything like the rust on an old bird cage. Culprits from curtain weights to costume jewelry, ceramics, stained-glass windows, Tiffany lamps, glitter from fancy clothing and even Christmas ornaments and foils. Celebrating with some wine? The foil top of wine bottles can contain lead. Miniscule amounts of lead can kill your bird especially those from South America like Amazons because they are very sensitive to lead poisoning which cause death in as little as 48 hours. Oh those Swarovski crystals that look so good around your neck contain a good amount of lead. These crystals don’t release lead in the bloodstream so testing won’t detect the lead but your bird can die quickly from internal hemorrhaging and the only way to fix this would be to surgically remove them once they’re identified via x-ray If you think you have a green thumb and have a bird you’ll not want to have a Japanese Yew, Philodendron, Oleander, Poinsettia, Dumb Cane, Redwood, Bird of Paradise, Mistletoe, Nightshade or Around-Sherry in pots around your home. The seeds and/or the pits of apples apricots. peaches and cherries are all toxic. Speaking of pits, in 1989 it was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that avocados are toxic to birds and they can die within a couple of days after just one drop from avocado paste diluted in water. Avocados will cause kidney failure in birds so it’s just best not to have any avocados in your house if your bird is out of its cage and roams. Birds are lactose intolerant so theoretically you should never feed a bird cheese but birds don’t know they are lactose intolerant. Even if your bird’s system is strong and can handle small amounts of milk products let’s remember a lot of cheeses have certain kinds of gums that give it shape and texture which are non-digestible which can lead to gastrointestinal inflammation and possible obstructions. Coffee, caffeinated tea, soda pop, cocoa, chocolate can all affect your birds body muscles and may induce vomiting or make your bird appear tired or cause muscle tremors, seizures and possibly even death by heart attack or respiratory failure. Keep your bird away from all of these foods. Most seasoned bird owners are aware of the issues caused by no stick cookware but for those of you just researching a parrot as a pet please take note. Teflon or Silverstone that’s been heated to temperatures above 530° create vapors that are emitted from this cookery which accumulate in the lungs which cause fluid production and then anoxia or the lack of oxygen necessary for a bird, so it dies in literally minutes. I never understood growing up why I wasn’t allowed to play with fire or sharp objects unless of course I was in the kitchen. Kitchens are a bad place for a bird if you're doing cooking of any sort.

I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS OF OUR HOLIDAY PHOTO CONTEST!!!! 1ST PLACE: TALONSIS 2ND PLACE: LUVPARROTS & BIRDMANB 3RD PLACE: JEFFNOK 4TH PLACE: WINGY & SASSY We had some great entries. Thanks to all who participated, and for those that voted! The winners can now show off their New Titles each & every time they post!! :cool:

Greymom, your story is exactly what I went thru with my Rikki. She was 2 1/2 years old when I adopted her, I was her third and final home. She too had been clipped her entire life and couldn't fly at all when I got her. After about a year or so, she was able to fly. As Luvparrots, I was home most of the time and my 3 parrots were always out. My house is filled with boings, tree stands, perches, hanging swings everywhere. My birds wanted to be everywhere I was. I have dogs, cats and 2 smaller birds as well at that time. Rikki couldn't control herself, she would fly anywhere she wanted wherever she wanted. Her favorite thing to do was t fly to the top of the doors every when they were closed and chew bits of the woodwork off in a blink of the eye. It got so out of hand, I had such frustration after months of this. Ths went on for a long period of time, i was at my wits end so much, that I considered clipping her, or rehoming her.....an absolute NO NO in my believes, but I would cry with frustration it was so bad......I didn't know what to do with her, I tried everything that was suggested here. I lavished her with attention and things to do, but It didn't make much of a difference. In desperation, I went to the craft store one day and bought a variety of feathered fake birds that they sell to put in flower arrangements, they were medium in size. I taped them over all the doors of my house. It was quite the sight for decorating!!! My visitors thought I was a bit weird, but I didn't care. Rikki was so scared of them that she stopped flying to the doors and chewing the wood work. I also put empty cardboard boxes above my cabinets for her to go up and chew. After several moths, she stopped her behaviour and calmed down. I eventually took down the birds,kept the boxes and she rarely flies to the doors, and when she does, I yell at her by name and she flies off, she knows it's a no no cause when she did it in the beginning, nothing worked except my screaming at her...she didn't Like me upset. Fast forward, she is 7 years old now. She is an angel, a loving well behaved bird, and very happy. In hindsight, I realize now, she was a very angry bird when I got her, I didn't know that at the time. She was very close and bonded to her second home family, her bonded owner,, the husband died, and the wife eventually gave her away. Rikki never got over that and I didn't know those facts until I looked back, saw the moodiness she had, one day, happy, the next angry, not having been allowed to fly, given to 2 more homes, she was a very angry confused bird, I wished now I had known that, I would have treated her differently and with much more patience than I did... She finally after 2 years adjusted to us, got over her mourning, her anger towards not being allowed to fly early on, her 4th home, her moodiness. She is now the sweetest most loving adorable grey ever! I am so proud of her, I admire her strength, she had a difficult beginning with us not understanding her situation , but NOW I do, too little too late. I adore her. So I guess I am sharing my story so you can understand when they aren't allowed to fly, I believe when they finally can, they have anger and frustration to work thru. They will act out and as Rikki did, she seemed to get out of control. I did find that putting her in her cage for about 3 hours every day in the afternoon, calmed her down. She needed a routine, n a free for all which was what it was in my house when I was home. It really seemed to help her adjust.

Welcome to our family. Your doing a greyt job understanding and bonding. Look forward to hearing more

My birds don't beg......I DO!! With 3, they eat everything off my plate, And I have to beg for my share or eat fast so I get some!!

Welcome back.. I am sorry to hear of Phoebe.. but I look forward to this new chapter...please stay, dont be a stranger . YOu have lots to share!

Hi Claire, Welcome to our Greyt family!! I am very happy you chose Bird of Paradise for your grey. I live about 3 1/2 hours away, and make the trip there once a year to stock up on bird toys for my flock. I also bought my amazon from them. They are FANTASTIC people there. I use their auto-ship program for their fresh ultimate blend which I am sure you will feed your baby when he or she comes home. Cant wait to hear more, keep us updated! Visit our nursery, start a thread and keep those pics coming so we can watch your baby grow!!

Yes, I am a from believer as Jay is on the first member of the flock, first, the next one second, etc. I NEVER stray from that and I believe it made the transition of a new flock member easier. As for bed time, I put my second bird to bed first usually cause she's the easiest, then sometimes, one or third next. Depends on the night....my third is a feisty amazon and she gives me the most trouble in putting her to bed..usually I save that fun for last depending her attitude for that particular night. If you checkout the amazon room, you will see the trouble I was having at bedtime with her. She goes thru bedtime ritual stages, her latest one is to sit on the top shelve of her cage and try like an attack Doberman to bite me as input Rikki to bed...she fluffs her feathers, fans her tail, hisses at me and reaches out almost falling off to bite me!! I have to dodge and duck when input my grey to bed and get the cages ready. It's quite comical, I'm much faster and quickens at ducking than her. Lol

I just want to say.... Imo......when my birds first learned to fly (after having their wings clipped since before they came to me) they had no stamina, were panting and had shortness of breath after a very short flight. It took quite a while to build that up. . Im not saying this is the case with your bird as i dont know the history since you've only posted here 7 other times, i am just throwing that out there. But by all means, I agree with Luvparrots, quality is most important. Please get another opinion, work out a budget plan., this is what happens when you have pets etc. they all tend to have health issues at the same time when you are strapped tightly..please keep us posted andnletnusnknow what you find out. You don't want something to happen and your bird suffers in any way.

Yay! Can't wait! I am so excited for you. This will open up a whole world that you never knew existed! There is nothing like an amazon to know and love. Very different from a grey relationship. Can't wait to follow this new addition, Nilah says....yippee!!!!!!!!!!!

Nilah says, thank you.....and happy new year back at ya ! But don't tell the others, this is an amazon secret only,,

Well Dan, we all know Dayo is the exception. He's been incredibly raised by two wonderful parronts who have gone above and beyond to turn him into a more human like grey due to the love, and patience you shower him with, whola allowing him to be his trueself. He is a one of a kind celebrity here..... I love following his life.

That's a greyt video. Always love it when Dayo comes to show us how smart he is! Especially love when he talks in your voice Dan! Thanks for sharing!!!

Don't thnk a grey wil love the window. I have lots of windows in my house. My amazon will spend hours on the windowsill watching the outside. My greys get scared and fly off me if I try to show them the outside thru the window or front door. They also don't enjoy sitting in the sunshine, but my amazon can't get enough! Just use the avian light and it will be fine. Be careful tho, Talon got a severe sunburn on her right face and eye frm one. It took 2 vet visits, antibiotics and none of it worked. Took me 2 weeks to figure out it was the new avian bulb, threw it,it and bought a different one. Sunburn went away right after.

I don't believe an amazon male of female will have much interaction with a grey so I wouldn't worry about at. I could be wrong as imhave a house full off females except for a male cockatoo. Doesn't seem to,make any difference to my girls.

Don't do it! If he is used to being allowed to fly, then this will be dry detrimental to him physiologically. He will have enough to deal with in adjusting to,a new home, new surroundings, new people, new routine. Many amazons don't care to fly as much a greys do. He should be allowed to if he desires. I seriously doubt he will just go flying off thru your house on his own when he doesn't know it. Amazons prefer to stay in the same room as people. They don't want to go exploring on their own.

It's a DEFINATELY buy! Very nice and spacious. what a great price! Don't worry about it being a forever cage. My 3 have had 3 different cages each over the last 4-7 years. once you fill it like they are used to, and allow them to explore. They will be fine if you decide to buy a different cage.