judygram

Congrats Kim on one of the babies being yours, now the wait begins until this little one is weaned and ready to come home to begin the rest of his/her life, I look forward to hearing all about it and pictures when you do get some, wow I am excited for you.

Hello Dawn and welcome to our family, we are so glad you could join us. Thats wonderful you want to learn all you can before you make the final committment to own one of these magnificient creatures, as long as you know what you are getting into it will go much more smoothly. Just take your time and read thru as many of the threads as you can as you will learn from firsthand experience from our members and do ask questions if you have any and we will help you in any way we can.

I meant that if this works to get her to eat her veggies then by all means do it, plain and simple.

Doug, try this site, its where one of our members got it for her birds. http://www.persnicketyparrot.com/Medium-Fantastic-Foraging-Block-by-Kris-Porter--ParrotEnrichmentcom_p_2896.html

Keep offering it Sarah for sometimes it takes a few tries for them to finally take to it, maybe try offering it raw.

Whatever works Doug and it seems to work for Ellie.

Tui will probably give you the cold shoulder when you come back but she should come around soon, some greys are like this when their chosen one goes away for a few days and some are so glad to see you they cling for a while on return but we need to get away from time to time and they will adjust. Sounds like Tui is going to be well taken care of.

I have no advice for you for gratefully I have never been cursed with kidney stones but know from someone else's experience that the pain is a bring you to your knees kind so if I never know I will be eternally grateful. I hope the procedure you are undergoing will bring to an end your pain and suffering so let us know how it goes and good luck to you.

Oh they are the cautious breed, so leery of anything new or any change but with some time he finally came around and now enjoys it, thanks for sharing the pic with us.

Jill is so right in her advice, you need to give this grey some time to settle into his new home. Do you know any of his past, former owners? It would help to know what the circumstances were at his previous home and whether he was already plucking. Do you know his age? Just imagine yourself in an all new environment, new people, new home and new surroundings, you might feel somewhat frightened and nervous, well greys are notorious for being nervous so just give him time, don't push him to do something he doesn't want to do right now and let him decide when he wants any interaction with you. You have to earn a grey's trust and that takes time and lots of patience. Did the vet do any tests or bloodwork to see if there was any medical reason for the plucking? He is probably just stressed right now and it may stop in the near future or he may have developed a habit of it and if so there is not much you can do about it but love him the way he is, after all he is the same on the inside even if he is oven ready looking.

Thanks Dave for your very much appreciated advice here concerning putting a grey into a plexiglass cage, if this enclosure is followed thru it is a disaster waiting to happen and the bird will suffer the consequences.

Those roasted unsalted peanuts in the shell are perfectly ok for our birds, I buy them in the grocery store and they are the "human grade" variety that Dave was talking about, roasting makes them safe. Unsafe ones that I would not feed my birds are those that may come in seed mixes, I don't know if they have been roasted so I throw them away just to be on the safe side.

Some greys do not like a lot of hands on interaction, maybe some head or neck scratching is about all they will allow and if that is the way she wants it then you have to respect her wishes also you have not had Gracie a long time and it does take a while but be prepared to accept her as she is.

He is a handsome fella that Festus, at least he doesn't have a limp as the character did in the show "Gunsmoke", thanks for sharing the pics of him with us.

OMG my heart was in my throat until I read that you got him back quickly enough, I hate reading these stories of birds flying away but so glad it ended happily, he knew he had it better at your home.

I still feel very uneasy about putting a grey into an enclosed container like you all are talking about, I would not like having to say I told you so but it seems to me you could not put enough holes in it to compensate for the lack of air and being dependent on an electrical source to keep the air flowing is playing with fire and we all know playing with fire usually means we get burnt. My opinion of course but just had to voice it, now I feel better having said it.

Do you know anything of this bird's background? It may be that during the day something or someone traumatized him and he is very fearful of people and by the evening when no one was messing with him he is more like he should be. You have only had this bird for a short time so he needs more time to accept his new home and to bond with you and come to trust you so please give him lots more time and be very patient with him as he gets more comfortable.

Greys do not eat at certain times of the day like we do, they are foragers so they eat throughout the day therefore pellets should be available at all times, I see my grey eat pellets at different times of the day whenever she gets hungry. Always provide some food for them to have any time during the day and even at night.

Then Festus knew she was afraid of him and they know that so he used it to his advantage. I am sorry the biting has continued even after the circumstances that caused it has ended but you will just have to gain his trust again and you have to earn that and it takes time so be patient with him until he comes around again. Be consistent and confident with him as he tests you in the coming weeks and months.

Thats great, she probably had something in her eye that was irritating her and it came out on its own, alls well that ends well, thanks for letting us know.

Yes please update us on Kazoo.

My grey will be 6 years old next month and they can live for 50 or more years especially if they have the proper diet and their needs are taken care of, probably longer than they would live in the wild where they have to deal with predators and would not get any medical treatment.

Hello Tandra and welcome to our family, so glad you could join us. I love your grey's name, Festus reminds me of that old show Gunsmoke, man them were the good ole days when it and Rawhide were on. Do you know much of Festus's background, his former homes and owners? It helps to know a lot about what he was like before he came to you. I look forward to seeing some pictures of Festus when you can get some posted.

Please do browse the forum for you will find lots of useful information that may help to answer some of the questions you may be having and I look forward to seeing some pictures of Fergie when you get the chance to post them. Yes birds can be jealous, my sun conure is jealous of my other two birds especially the tiel and she will run her off when she gets the chance, they jockey for the attention and affections.

You just basically need to regain his trust again for he felt like you let him down when the visitor mistreated him the way he did. Just do what you did at the beginning of the relationship and with some time and lots of patience he will come around again and by all means read thru that thread on learning to recognize grey body language as it will serve you well.