dblhelix

Greetings Tina and Welcome! There are a lot of good people here, good exchanges of ideas/experiences and also (hopefully) some fun along that way. There is a wealth of info in previous posts you can search and of course feel free to ask questions, share thoughts etc. We look forward to your participation and are glad you joined!!<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/10/05 04:37

Clipping should have nothing to do with whether or not your bird is allowed out of the cage. Whether your bird is clipped or not they can still fly under some circumstances (like fear). Therefore the same precautions must be in place (doors/windows closed etc) when the bird is out of the cage in either case. To keep a bird you must understand their natural state is flighted. Anything other than that is not natural to them and therefore arguably less safe for them. Some people evaluate their living situation and make the decision that it is better for the bird to be kept clipped. In any case, if you can allow full fledging you should. It is pretty clear that this is best for the birds develpment. Whether you decide to clip or not can be decided after the bird has become flight proficient. Here are a couple if interesting (though long) threads on the topic with arguments for and against clipping. Its worth reading so you can be exposed to people's experiences and thoughts to help you make your own decision. There are other threads in the forum on this topic as well if you search. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/32365-flawed-logic-used-against-wing-clipping.html#32839 http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/8152-wing-clipping.html#8152 http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/13844-wing-clipping.html#14574

Greetings Tourafri and welcome. Congrats on the new Grey. They are amazing animals, pets and friends for life. Regarding your clipping question, you may get a lot of responses on that. I would encourage you to at minimum ensure Enzo is allowed to become fully flight proficient before you even consider clipping. Flight proficient means the bird can land exactly where it wants to, fly, hover and bank with complete control. Learning flight before clipping has been directly linked with playing a crucial role in the birds developent, nervous system, brain, emotional state etc. There are some really good threads on this forum regarding clipping, which is often a topic people feel strongly about one way or the other. I would encourage you to use reason on this topic, get as much info as you can so you can make an informed decision. We look forward to your participation here.

Butzi1, My condolences to you for your loss. This is unexpected, but we know that many things happen in life are beyond our control and exceptions to what is considered "normal". As others have said, we are here for you and understand the love you had for your grey. This is like losing a family member and a friend. I hope that with some time you will be at peace with this. It sounds like there was nothing you could have done. Hopefully in the future you will find the drive to bring another one of these amazing animals into your life. There are many out there that need loving/caring homes. All the best to you.

Nice pics Frank! That must have been a blast! I bet in a few more weeks all those trees changing to fall colors would be amazing sight from the air. When I was in college I had a buddy that went on to be a commercial pilot. This guy had his pilot's license before his drivers license..his father was a commercial pilot as well...I went on many a flight with him out of Santa Barbara (where we went to school) as he needed to rack up flight hrs. It sure was expensive but his family paid for it all. He was on some plan where he could go to the airport any time and "rent" a plane etc. Anyways, couple college kids flying around like fools in the VW of the sky...Those 2-4 seater Cesnas are scary, not nearly as nice as the plane you were in! But lemme tell ya, girls dig that stuff!! Oh I have stories...OK off topic. NICE PICTURES!!

Congrats Judy...Keep em coming, I am sure you will! You got the fastest fingers round here, hands down! But more important than that, you contribute and bring so much value to this place.

Very nice pics!

Gretings Sandy and welcome! We look forward to hearing more about you and Snoopy. There is indeed a wealth of info here and lots of people willing to help, share and have fun! Congrats on the new addition to your family.

As Mr Spock indicates, the greys play a part in the food chain. One of the biggest roles many birds play is to propagate plants. They accomplish this by being what we see as "messy" and "wasteful" in their eating habits as they throw and fling around at least half the food they eat...Plus they sure do "sh#t" a lot! In the wild these actions spread the seeds/pollen of the plants they are eating. Not only does this help ensure they have a continuous food supply, but it of course ensures the plants, seeds, fruits etc they eat continue to thrive for other animals and insects that depend on them as well.

Awww, Shucks! Thanks...All the photos entered were contenders. I am honored! I have been proud of that photo (and a small handful of others I have) as they were a bit of a challenge to get. I will say those budgie and ostrich pics are just sooo darn cute that they are winners no matter what!

They do start mumbling and making sounds before they start to "talk", or use words we can understand. Much like human children they babble a lot at first as they learn to produce the various sounds. What you are describing sounds pretty normal to me. Most greys really start to talk at 1yr+, though many will start saying a few words even before 6 months. Most info indicates those that talk really take off around 1-2 years and then they start to use words in context at 2+ years. These are averages and there are exceptions on either side of these time intervals. Some never talk at all, but we love them just the same! Kip followed this progression fairly close to the averages. She was saying "hello" and a few words around 6 months. Now at 15 months she says more than I can count and uses some words properly.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/09/28 05:56

Very nice pics. There have been other threads here about red factor. Its an interesting topic and I too am curious whether there could be health issues related to birds exhibiting this trait. I have not seen and do not believe there has been much if any research/correlation studies on this issue. Selective breeding may result in different colors etc that in the bird world are referred to as mutations, because they are mutant colors from what is seen in the wild type. Animals that are subject to this process do often have health issues since they may lack the genetic diversity seen in the wild and therefore be prone to health problems. Genetically speaking, a true "mutation" is in fact a random event that happens during cellular replication where the polymerase enzyme makes a mistake when copying DNA sequences, resulting in a mutated sequence (eg changed). Genetic mutations can result in many different effects, one of which could be a mutation to a gene or genes related to feather color/production. Therefore a red factor bird that is overproducing a certain gene is likely a result of a genetic mutation. Sometimes these mistakes result in an advantage to certain animals and this can affect evolution in the animal characteristics over time. However, more often than not the mistake has a negative affect on the animal. Humans could propagate such "mistakes" by selectively breeding the animals that demonstrate the characteristic associated with the mistake. Since the genetic mistakes are rare events the chances in the wild that 2 birds with the mistake would breed is low. So if people do the selective breeding it is not what would happen in nature and can result in unhealthy animals. Sorry if that is information overload.... :blink: <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/09/28 05:30

My story is similar to Dan's. Most of the time I log on at work and usually leave the site up most of the day. However, I am really only checking in from time to time when there is time...I try to stay on top of most of the traffic and note the posts that I want to directly contribute to if I feel I have something valuable to add.

Super cute and nice pics too! They sure look healthy and chances are good that they will get the "all clear" soon enough to come out of quarantine. The budgie that "adopted" us (we named her Macaroni) is also still in quarantine until Oct 10! We too are looking forward to a clean bill of health and letting her have more free reign over the house! heheh.

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You. Haaaapppppy Biiiiirthday dear Melisssssaaaa....Happy Birthday to YOU!!! Though its a day late now eh??

Here is a related discussion if you want to review! Maybe others will have additional experiences! http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/32734-greys-eye-coloring.html#32871

Do you have enough weight readings to get a reasonable average? You need to weigh at least every other day, at the same time each day for about a month to get a decent average. Once you have that established then a variance of up to 10% is normal, more than 10% in a short time is reason for concern. The fluctuation you mention is well w/in 10% of 374 as 10% would be +- 37 grams. But again having a good average and adjusting this average over time is important. With a young bird this may change as they mature, exercise more (lose weight), put on muscle (gain weight) balance their eating etc. Sometimes they drop weight for a period, other times they gain. Again, the numbers you list are not reason for concern, but I would certainly keep watching and establish a routine to get a good number of data points for an average. To give you an idea, Kip (femal CAG) was 355 g when we got her at 7 months. She went as low as 345, but overall has been increasing in weight. Her average now is around 375 g and she is currently 15 mos old. She is on the smaller side for a CAG, but well w/in normal range and healthy.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/09/25 04:36

um, looks like me and Judy posted at the same time, so dont forget to read and comment on my response too!

Thanks Joe! Thing is with this dish, there is no sauce! The only thing useful to toss this mix is the little bit of oil from the sundried tomatoes and the bit of water left over. I think the rinse works well with this one, but thats useful info for just about all other pasta dishes!!

I'll tell ya, one of my favorite dishes(besides "Q ing it up") and its easy to make, is angel hair pasta with sundried tomatoes, feta cheese and cilantro. Its a great summer dish (winter works too!). 1 package angel hair pasta (cook al dente!) 1 bushell cilantro (chopped) 1 block feta cheese 1 jar sun dried tomatoes in oil Chop cilantro. Drain oil from tomatoes, cut into 1/2 or 1/4 (as you like). Cook pasta, drain and run luke warm water over to cool. Add cilantro and tomatoes to pasta, toss. Crumble feta into dish, toss...serve warm but NOT HOT!! Tossing the whole mix is the challenge. Also, if its too hot the cheese melts (not good). This dish is best served "warm" and can even be cool...its really good though.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/09/25 02:55

I do. I like to cook. BBQ is by far my favorite...followed by breakfast (bacon, eggs, omlettes, pancakes, french toast) but I have been known to enjoy baking, frying, cooking etc and like to think I'm good enough at it!

Honestly, stainless cookware (with various alloys sandwiched in between for even heat distribution) is the best. There is a little getting used to it, but in the end its not that much more difficult to clean once you get the hang of cooking properly with it. I swear, food comes out better on it and you really have no (known) health worries!!!

Hello and welcome. We are here to help and look forward to your contributions. Given the history you wrote above, one thing I would strongly recommend is that you carefully consider before committing to another bird. These are life long pets and it can be quite distressing to them if they are passed from home to home. Obviously life circumstances may change in an unpredictable way, but it is in both the birds and your best interest to be 100% certain you are committed. If you need to move, you need to find a place that allows pets, etc. Please dont take this the wrong way, its just something to carefully think about. If you decide to commit, they are amazing friends and great contributions to our lives.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/09/24 22:44

It really sounds to me like you were sold an unweaned very young bird. It is possible the bird had an illness, but from what you described I think its more likely you had a very young animal. So sorry for your loss. Hopefully this can be a lesson to all on the necessity to ensure that birds are properly weaned before purchase. This should inlude more than a sellers verbal assurance, but a physical observation/verification of the fact. All the best to you fils and the little one that was in your life for so short a time. This was not your fault.

Fils - so sorry about this. Do what you can with the means you have available. Some things are beyond our control for a variety of reasons. Just do the best you can and be strong in knowing you did so. If the inevitable is already set in motion, give the little one as much comfort as you can to help him on his way to another place. My thoughts are with you and the little one. Best, Mark