dblhelix

Hi RobertsKitty, Soap, Lotion, detergents, bubble bath all can be toxic if ingested, just like to you and me. Of course since the birds are so small a much smaller amount can be bad for them. Candles, some matches, incense, burning wood etc all produce smoke and fumes. It is the smoke and anything with fumes (like detergents, bleach, floor cleaners) that smell really strongly are often clues that its probbably bad for the birds. If you can smell a chemical etc then its in the air and can affect the birds sensitive cardiovascular system.

Greetings Noely! Congratulations on the new addition to your family and welcome to the family here!! Please ask questions, browse the site, search posts to find information and have fun!! Judygram provided some great basic tips. You need patience, repetition and a steady dose of love to build a relationship of trust with the bird. This must be an approach you adopt and commit to for the entire long life of the animal. If you do so, you will be rewarded with an amazing friend that is intelligent, funny, beautiful and just amazing! B) The first few weeks are often spent with the bird just getting comfortable in new surroundings. They have been taken from what they knew (pet shop, breeder, parents, other birds, cage mates etc) and are now in an entirely new place, new cage etc with a new care taker. Some birds take about a month to adjust, though many feel at home sooner. During this period just talk to the bird, handle it as you can and get it comfortable with you. As this happens, start to show it around the new home. Take it into different rooms etc. If the bird is afraid, dont push too much too fast, but also dont let a little aprehension stop you from exposing it to new things. Bit by bit everything will come together as you learn to read each others body language and bond. Provided you take the approach of making your best attemtp to make interactions positive the bonding process will be natural. There will be challeneges along the way, but if you have this mentality you will be fine and the bond will happen! We look forward to hearing from you! <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/09 04:14

wow, very cool photos! I would think balsa wood is a bit soft for them to get any real exercise going?!? Granted I have never really messed around with a piece as big as you have, so I don't know how dense such a large piece really is, but my experience with balsa is I could more or less pick it apart with my finger nails. No? Kip tears through some pretty hard woods. Often gets small pieces of 2x4 type wood and I am amazed how she turns it into tiny wood chips in short time...B)

OK, little more detail on my initial post! For whatever reason I thought it would be fun if Kip could respond appropriately if I ask "Whats a duck say?" I started saying that to her followed by "Quack Quack Quack". At some point she started to say "Quack Quack Quack" and I would always then say "Whats a duck say". I then started just randomly asking her what a duck says and everytime she responds appropriately give her lots of praise, good girl, sometimes a treat etc. Now she responds with "Quack quack quack" almost everytime I ask her the question! She also will now take a dump on command. If I tell her "go poo", she assumes the squat position and tries, even if she does not have to go! Sometimes she produces, sometimes not! She still has accidents for sure, but if I remind her to go where I want every 20 mins or so (for now) I can pretty well control the bombs! I started by saying "go poo" every time I saw her go in a place I liked, and acting all happy etc. I would then put her on the prefered poo place and say "go poo". If she did, lots of praise. I continue to do that and as I said, now if I say "go poo" etc, she will try no matter where I have place her! Its an ongoing process to re-inforce, reward, condition etc the tricks/behaviors you want!! B)

Sorry to hear about your experience Makena. I agree with what others have posted...you mention rusted/sharp parts. I would not accept this and either demand a refund or a replacement. Dont settle for less. CD is correct, you can simply deny the charges if the company will not make this right. I purchased an Avian Adventures cage on line earlier this year from Everything Birds, at this website (and cage model). I have been very happy with the product, service and price...However it is true that they cages can leave the shipper in fine shape and get banged up during shipping. The folks at the airports etc may not treat the boxes all that gently (unfortunately). http://www.bird-cage.com/avian-adventures-mediana-playtop.htm

Hello Noely and welcome! There is a wealth of information available on this forum and family members that will help provide you information on your new Grey. Bonding and training, in general, is an ongoing process between you and the bird throughout its long life. These creatures have average life expectancy of 50+ years, so it really is a life long commitment. As I am currently not clear how much research/information about owning a grey you may already have, I will make this initial response rather brief. The focus for bonding/training is building a relationship based on trust and love and will come along surely enough with patience and steady ensurance of positive interactions between you and the animal. Welcome to the family! There truly is a wealth of information here and members willing to share. You should also familiarize yourself with using the search options on the forum and read older posts that will likely already provide much information you may be after! We look forward to sharing with you! B)

Yeah, Kip loves collard greens as well! B) Definitely need a quiver of shirts available to match the most recent dietary input!!

awww! Sounds like he'll be OK, but had a bad wake up They can certainly be sensitive to changes in their environment and I guess that is understandable since they are prey animals in teh wild. The more we can expose them to new things and changes the more balanced and accepting they will be. However, they will always be acutely aware of their environment and things that would not bother us may scare them quite badly. :ohmy: But overall, they do just fine and can get over a lot of their fears!!

Yeah, sounds like normal play to me!

Hi Loviechick - Have you had all your birds vaccinated for polyoma virus? If so, what is the booster interval? Is it yearly for the rest of the birds life, or some other interval? Thanks!

sherricougan - glad to hear that all sounds well! greylover - it is normal for greys to "sneeze" from time to time throughout the day. That is one way they keep their nares clear. All parrots do this quite often. The concern is if the nares visibly have crud on them and or if they are sneezing profusely and actually flushing out liquid etc.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/07 04:44

Greetings mpr86 and welcome to the family here! The baby in your picture looks super cute. They are precious at that age (and as adults as well of course!). Regarding the health screening, it is recommended that you have a vet perform a standard health check including blood work up. Most sellers/breeders will guarantee the health and allow the buyer some number of days to get the checke done after purchase. Of course many people buy babies w/o any health check and do just fine, but it is certainly recommended to get an exam. Polyoma is of primary concern for young birds 14-56 days old. After that the severity of this disease, should they acquire it, drops significantly. There is a vaccine available, but again its value is questionable for birds beyond the age range specified. See link below. http://www.avianbiotech.com/Diseases/Polyoma.htm<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/07 04:00

Hi boswell2k1 and welcome to the family! You have rec'd some outstanding information above that only real life experience can bring. Thanks and Karma to Loviechick for sharing her excellent knowledge! Regarding the eyes, they really do look odd. I was hoping that maybe it was just a funky picture, but the eyes do not look normal in the 2 pictures posted. I would definitely arrange for a vet visit in any event and hope everything checks out well. :ohmy: Kudos to you for investigating and planning to rehome a bird. There are many many birds out there that desperately need homes.

I think you will find a full spectrum here. Every bird is an individual and will have their own preferences for whatever reasons. From an evolutionary standpiont it stands to reason that females may bond better w/males and vice versa, but we are not the same species so that trend really cannot be applied. I know of many owners that are female with female birds or male owners with male birds and they are completely bonded with each other. Since every bird is different, it seems the best guidline when choosing is to find the bird that you have the best connection with. There are many stories of the birds "choosing" the owner. For that matter, there are many cases of owners finding out years after having the bird that its the opposite sex of what they thought...yet they are completely bonded! So, in summary I think sex should not be a determining factor, but rather the bird that you bond with the most...

Hello and welcome Timbo! I agree, the environment should be evaluated. Assuming there is nothing out of the norm with the cage, bar spacing (as Monique noted) etc, then it could just be that your bird is a rough player at this stage and damaging the tail feathers. As Lidia asked, how old is the bird and has it been through its first molt? Keep us posted! B)

Hmmm, well currently if you ask Kip "Whats a duck say?" She responds with "Quack Quack Quack!" about 98% of the time. I did work with her on that one for a little while... B) Does that qualify as a trick?

Great post eve! Most greys sleep standing up and many will never lay down. In fact their legs are designed specifically for perching and sort of lock into place for stability. What may seem uncomfortable to us is totally natural and comfy to them. A sure sign is if you see your bird on one foot. That almost always means they are content and relaxed. Certainly is important to provide different perching options, different woods, varying thicknesses, textures etc!

Awesome! So smart!! Well done with the training!! Kip is learning her ABC's song...she can get to D, and sometimes just says "A...I". She like "I" for some reason!

Hi and welcome, I agree, if there is acute onset of the signs you mention get to a vet. Can you describe more the spitting up issue? Also how old is the bird and how long have you had her? The dung coloration can be a direct result of the recent diet change. Did you make a 100% switch or are you still offering the other foods the bird was used to? Generally a diet change should be gradually introduced otherswise the stress involved and adjustment can result in health issues. Keep us posted. Again from what you have described so far it sure sounds like you should get her to a vet.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/04 21:00

Hi Sampson and welcome. Sorry to hear of your current challenges. There is some good information in this thread. These things can be difficult, so the more information about the situation the better chance we can help identify of corrective action plan. I am a bit confused in reading this thread about the age of the birds involved. Initially you mention a 3 1/2 male, but then later in the post you indicate having one bird for 4 yrs and another for 7. Is it both birds you are having trouble with? I would be careful putting a bird "under". This should only be performed by a very competent avian specialist vet. The entire vet visits, anesthesia etc can be very traumatic to the animals and make the situation worse. That is not to say this is not ever warranted, but you need to be very confident its the right thing to do and that other likely causes/steps have been thoroughly investigated. Again, is there anything you can think of that has happened in the last few months that could be correlated to the onset of these behaviors? In addition, do you have more information on the giardia issue? Were they given soem contaminated water I take it or how did they come to get that? I hope we can help you get to the bottom of this an see some improvement. You are certainly doing the right thing in researching and asking for others help. There may be more respondents to this with helpful suggestions. Keep us posted. All the best.

Very Cute! Little devil!! Caught in the act!!!

Welcome back Greylover! Chico will forgive you, as stated just give it a little time...B)

hmmm, well, the pine nuts I have are from a store called Trader Joes. I do not believe this store is around all over the US. It started in CA and has moved to some eastern states, but not all. The bag I have says "raw pine nuts" on it. I can tell they are shelled and probably dried somewhat, but that could still qualify as "raw" if they are not cooked, I believe...this link has some pics and info. I can say the ones I have are shelled for sure B) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_nut<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/04 18:05

Newspaper works great and is cheap! I find training treat of raw pine nuts works really well. These have turned out to be a great replacement for peanuts and you do not need to worry about the aflatoxin issue. Compared to other parrots, Greys are "relatively" quiet (at least compared to most south american parrots). But make no mistake, they have their moments at certain times on certain days! B)

Super Cute! Congratulations, she's beautiful! Now the fun really begins!!! B)