dblhelix

Welcome! We look forward to your participation. I am sure you have a lot of valuable experience to share with us. The members of this forum like to have as much info as possible and continually learn from each other! B) Plus we like to have fun here, so welcome aboard!!

Very nice! Outdoor lighting makes such a difference! I need to get some shots of Kip outside. However, I really need to get her more used to the harness first now that her flights are growing back in...B)

They do go naturally about every 20 mins or so, that is normal. However, they can be "taught" to hold it until the appropriate place/time. It sounds like you are doing the right things, read her body language, take her to the desired place when she has to go and positively re-inforce when she goes on command. I am also working on this with Kip. She more or less goes on command, but has accidents. I too am working on this and not sure how else to proceed other than positive re-inforcement for the good behavior. B)

That pickly quote is funny! Kip is 1yr 2 months and this is what she has down well so far: Hi Hello Good girl Good girl Kippy! I love you Kip Kip Kip Kip.... Kipusa Hi Kip Fly! Come here Come on You're OK Its OK What a good girl Watcha doing? Go poo! Peekaboo! A, B, C, I !!! Gimme a kiss Step up, good girl No bite! Bye Bye!! Quack Quack Quack! Want water "Phone ring", Hello? heheh haha heheh!! (laugh) fart noise Cat call Bomb drop (eeeeeeeew, splat!!) various whistles<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/22 06:34

Well, my budgie used to say a bunch of stuff. I can't remember them all just now, but below were a few of his favorites(watch out, some were nasty, he was around me and roommates in college years!!): Hello Good boy! Gimme a kiss! I'm Lucky! Good Baby! Come here Lucky, Come here! Hey Baby! I love you I love you Baby I'm Luck you Lucky baby! F#*$ you! F#*$ me! F#*$ me baby! F#*$ y No! Ha Ha Ha (funny laugh) Cat call whistle all kinds of other whistles It was amazing as his pronunciation was completely clear. There is more I may remeber with some thought. He lived 13 yrs. ps, if anyone thinks some of the things I wrote above are inappropriate for the site let me know and I'll remove them. I won't be offended and hope I am not offending anyone else. I think that way I presented it is OK, but just let me know. My grey has not learned one profanity (yet). I won't be the one to teach her, but she is learning so fast now all it may take is her hearing something once that she likes!!

Welcome bridtown. I am sorry to hear you are having this challenge. As Tari indicated, there are many people with asthma that have found ways to live with and enjoy their greys. However, each case is different and you will need to decide what is best for you and your bird. Regarding price, my suggestion would be not to focus too much on that. The important thing should be finding an owner you feel confident about their commitment to proper care for the bird. That being said, a young bird as you describe is probably worth about what you paid for it. To me personally I would not really be to concerned with the price, but I do realize money does not grow on trees so it must be a consideration.

OK, I just like this photo and wanted to share! <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/21 21:58

Greetings and welcome. No doubt there are many knowledgable members here that will be willing to share. My guess is that as you continue to bond with Beckett, read her and she read you that the talking will become more and more frequent. I am curious if you can share more on your experience with the egg binding. You mention you have had her now for 1.5 yrs. Do you know how old she is? Obviously reached sexual maturity. What were some of the symptoms you observed relating to the egg binding issue? Would be useful for other members to know some signs to look for as many have young birds and do not yet need to worry about this...but the time will come! B) We look forward to your participation.

Congrats to Nooey and Mojo! Keep us updated and post some pics! Love those baby pics, they are sooo cute!!! B)

Greetings Beckymac and Welcome! Ask the breeder how they wean. The response should be abundance weaning. Ask the breeder how they fledge. The best approach is if they allow complete fledging so the bird is completely flight proficient before (or if) they clip the wings. Ask the breeder their policy on health guarantee. Ask the breeder what kind of diet they currently offer their birds once weaned. This will help you get a feel for how much the bird is exposed to. Ask the breeder if they do any work with flight harnessess. The sooner the young birds get used to that the better in the long run. There are lots of other things to look out for.. I think these are a few good ones to start!

Greetings Pompous, Welcome back and dont stay away so long! Can you provide more info or remind me...how old is Kenworth? Did he have a pattern of feather plucking? Are his wings clipped? What were his previous living conditions like? Some of these things must be understood to help provide valuable suggestions for addressing the issue(s). Sounds like you are making good progress with him in any event with stepping up etc. Keep us posted.

Congrats to the new talker! The fun is just beginning...and you do need to watch what you say as they really start to master speech! :ohmy:

I have recently read articles about Eclectus and some "misoconcieved stereo types" about them. Not having any personal experience myself, the articles indicated that Eclectus were often percieved as quiet reserved birds, easily spooked, shy, prone to feather picking, one person birds not good with children. However in reality they really are no more or less prone to these things than many other species, like the grey. Surely each bird is an individual that may be neurotic, but a lot has to do the environment they are surrounded by/brought up in that influences their sensitiviy to these things. Again, I have not owned one and am just forwarding on some info I recently read that happened to address some of these things about Eclectus. I agree in general children and birds must be carefully managed.

I understand. My take on the intent of CDs post here is an FYI to people so they are not shocked if posts are moved or deleted. This is not an all or nothing situation, surely we all want people to have fun here and encourage the use of this forum to do just that. The information/communication exchange of valuable info happens through posting, we understand that. However, we do have a responsibility to try and maintain the site with some level of order so that it is useful to current and future members. The resources of the site are not limitless and we want to do our best to keep things organized. Threads that go on and on off topic are fun as they happen, but the future value is limited and difficult to sift through if/when members want to search for info. We will not be perfect, and people may get offended from time to time, but please do not take it personally. Our intent here is to make the site BETTER for all. In pursuit of that goal, some people may not always agree with the actions taken. Just keep in mind the goal and realize that posts are not being moved or ultimately cleaned up/deleted for any personal reasons. Thanks everyone, and please keep posting/discussing/sharing and having fun!!B) Thats what this is really all about. :laugh:

The initial products shown look great...If Joe can make similar (or even better) he may have struck a new precious metal to mine! I have a ceiling swing thing I made that Kip loves to "hang" out on. I have yet to have a problem with her getting at the ceiling, though I could see that some birds may be intrigued with this possibility! Here is a photo, the bungee cord thing is bendy so I can easily change the shape from time to time for variety! <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/19 20:20

Congrats! Looks/sounds like the beginning of a great relationship for all! Keep us posted on how things go with the vet and in general.

He's still pretty young, but its a good question to get vet feedback on. They are all such individuals...some are really finicky with eating and some will eat non-stop! I think in general most of them will regulate intake reasonably well, however, if you have a really good eater you probably need to watch more carefully what is offered and how much as they can become perch potatoes! B) If his weight stays pretty even I would not worry much. Do you always weigh at the same time of day? If not, the weight can vary quite a bit if they just ate, drank or took a good dump! :ohmy:

We have a red lored Amazon in the family now for 37 years. I have met a yellow headed Amazon that was allegedly over 70 years...

Hello and welcome back! Glad to hear it sounds like things are going well with your little girl! B) I think you will find the thread below of interest as it seems to cover the issue you are inquiring about quite well. Please dont stay away so long! We want our community members to be active here, enjoy and learn! http://www.greyforums.net/component/option,com_joomlaboard/Itemid,27/func,view/catid,5/id,25836/<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/19 09:05

Hi everyone B) Looking at this thread "Uncertain about Greys" it seems that a lot of valuable information has been exchanged here. However, the thread really wanders around a lot and would be quite difficult for current/future members to search through and find information. In the effort of site maintenance and attempt to provide/retain posts that will be reasonbalby simple for future users to search, I am locking this thread. Everyone is enouraged to post new threads on topics as they come up. I hope no one takes this the wrong way...as indicated there is a ton of good discussions going on here, I just want to encourage breaking them out into other threads more specific to the topics of discussion. B) Thanks everyone. Please PM me if you feel additional discussion is warranted.

Don't know if anyone saw this...horrible. The video shows so many cute birds...Somewhere these theives are out there with over ~ 60K worth of stolen birds. I hope if nothing else the birds end up in good homes, somehow...Be on the lookout :ohmy: I hope the theives have something really bad happen to them. http://www.yahoo.com/s/653639

Congratulations! I love budgies. You all will have a blast with him, no doubt he's a boy! Attached is a picture of Lucky when he was 13 yrs old...he had over a 100 word vocab, flew to me on command. Mightly little beings they are! B) enjoy him, I am sure you will!! http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1397/539477755_d20655e866_b.jpg <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/16 23:50

Sounds like you just need to decrease the amount of hand feeding. Dont stop cold turkey, but truly decrease it. Maybe set aside foods each day that will be the only "hand fed" volume and stop at that. Find other ways besides feeding to spend time and play/interact with your bird since he no doubt associates eating as play time. You'll be fine. B) It will be a gradual process, but if you commit to it you will succeed!! <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/16 23:35

Greetings Nellie, If you concern is that your routine with your grey has made him/you inflexible then you need to focus on gradually changing the routine. When you say "you cant stop feeding him" do you mean you are hand feeding him, or are you just offering food to him in bowls throughout the day? If the latter is the case its really not much of a concern as you really want to always have some food available to them. Please provide some more info. It sounds to me like one way or another this is not an emergency and if you identify the areas you have concerns about its just a matter of putting together a game plan to address those concerns in a step wise manner. B) Certainly discipline is required as you move to shape routines, behaviors etc. You should be fine, just study the issue, decide on a plan and go about executing it. Make it fun!!

I dont think you are missing anything. Its all about balance, common sense and staying away from the few true no no's (like avocado). Pellets are a good way to attain balance (based on current, but changing data) that most people from the "old" school would never achieve by a seed only diet. However, if seeds are supplemented with nuts, rice, grains, veggies, fruit etc then you not only get a good balance, but arguably better than any one pellet alone could ever be. Birds do not find "pellets" in the wild. Natural unprocessed foods no doubt contain components that may well be missing in a pellet, simply due to the procesing involved. I think that pellets are great for many owners, but they are not a requirement and I agree...look at the ingredients in there...if peanuts are bad, then pellets are bad! I say feed em fresh, in moderation with reasonable measure to ensure they have no fungus, just like you need to do for about everything else fed to them and us!!