dblhelix

I agree, a sip from time to time not gonna harm them. Mine goes for coffee too and I generally dont let her have any. I divert her and get her some juice etc. Caffeine increases the heart rate and constrics blood vessels. Birds already have a higher heart rate than we due to their advanced and efficient circulatory system designed for the tremendous stress of flight. Since they are so small (compared to us) a little caffeine represents a much higher dosage than for us. If they get too much they can have heart failure. I'm not sure how much would be too much....like I said, mine certainly has managed to steal a sip now and then and I dont stress about it, but be careful to ensure they dont down a whole cup!

For those that have not seen...this was Lucky. He passed in '06 after 13 wonderful years. He had a 100+ word vocab and would fly to your hand with the "come here" command. Great little birds they are!

Very good and useful post! Thanks for the link and info. B)

Sure, try different things to see what works. B) Just make sure there is plenty of stuff you know he eats offered throughout the day. He'll come to learn that some of the stuff you are offering is yummy!

If your grey is not yet familiar with fresh foods this can take some time. Show him/her its fun and good. Eat some yourself (they usually want what you have). Personally I would not take away the food they eat since you do not want them to lose weight. Give it some time, dont give up. Keep offering a variety of fresh stuff every day and lead by example. I dont take the skin of fruits/veggies but of course be sure they are washed! I have heard of some birds refusing fresh foods for over a year, but once they finally try some and develop a liking for certain things they will be happier/healthier. One thing to always remember is that you really need patience. They live so long that often change just does not happen overnite! :laugh:<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/06/14 04:18

Hi Carlylu - I would be interested in some recall pointers, though I had my parakeet fly to me on command all the time when I gave a cue (mine was simply "Come here"...) so I imagine its all about repetition, reward, conditioning etc. BTW - the Grey the thread was started about HAS been safely found!!! Reread all the posts!! Hooray

Absolutely Awesome! If they are properly trained for flight recall I think my biggest fear would be the possibility of them getting picked off by a predatory bird like a hawk/falcon/eagle etc...:ohmy: In any case Very Very cool!! B) They are meant to fly!!!

Kip gets up when we do...often around 0800, but on weekends may be after 1000! She is flexible and may babble in the morning if we are not up yet but shes usually not to loud or needy. Once we are up she comes out for ~1 hr in the morning on her kitchen play stand as we make breakfast, prepare for work. We will share toast, cereal, fruit etc for breakfast. Her cage paper gets changed in the AM and we will ensure her pellet/seed mix bowl is topped off, fresh water and fresh food bowl is added in addition to fresh veggie skewer before leaving to work. Fresh food bowl usually has small scoop Gondenobles bean supreme, 1 tsp pine nuts, 2 grapes, 2 almonds, carrot slices, fresh sugar peas (in the pod), 1 dried fig, 1 tsp sunflower seeds, 1 or 2 broccoli flowers, slice of orange or apple or watermelon etc. Skewer is almost always 1/3 fresh corn on the cob, a broccoli flouret, 1/4 carrot and some leafy greens (red leaf lettuce or collard greens are favs). Radio left on low during the day. Then she is alone for ~ 8-10 hrs until we get home, usually around 8PM. Once we are home she comes out, during dinner, hangs out on play area in living room while we watch TV, gets treats, sits with us, sings, talks, whisltes, plays, gets scratches etc etc etc. Shes currently learning her A B C's song! She then puts up strong protest when its time for bed. Bedtime is usually around 11:30PM-1:30AM depending. So, she is usually out of the cage for ~ 4 hrs per day. We do not cover her at night. Showers with spray bottle about 1X/week and sometimes does her own bath in water bowl! I am taking her into the shower gradually to get used to it, but she's still a bit unsure. I have taken her on some car rides to parents place, pet store etc. Shes getting comfortbable with it. I also plan to get a flight harness so she can go outside safely. Currently outside things only happen in her travel cage. We try and get her outside for some time at least once per week. She's a good girl! Here is a shot of her right around 6 months old, now shes 1 yr and talking up a storm!

All the above is true. They are both great birds and make very good pets/companions. There are some physical differences (size, coloration) but other than that more similarities than differences. Most (if not all) personality differences are based on the individual animal...the whole range is present in both TAGs and CAGs. If you do not have your heart set on one or the other for any reason then I agree...visit many birds (both kinds) and go with the one you connect with best! Keep us posted!!

Yes Guests...come join the family and fun!

Nice Shot! B)

Greetings and welcome! I dont have much to add...very good advice above. Give her some time, be kind, consistent and patient. Great to hear you are giving an adult bird a new home. 12-14 years is adult, but still young for greys. She can learn a lot yet and will be a friend for life if you are committed!

Great news! Hooray!! B) You and Poncho are lucky!!! Of course realize that Poncho has no lesson to learn. We, the unnatural keepers of these birds in captivity, are responsible for their welfare and proper management. We should all take this example seriously as many people do permanently lose their beloved birds and inadvertent escape is a real possibility for us all. Often when they get out they fly too far too fast and get lost, another real issue is that when out they can easily get picked off by a larger predatory bird like a hawk or eagle. In any event so glad to hear this one ended well!

one more try! Whew! :blink: Thanks all! BTW, Lucky was about 12 yrs old in this pic...old man! <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/06/11 02:58

heheh... B) grrr...still having some trouble, bear with me...I will try and edit previous post!

I can down size the embedded pic of Lucky on my flickr embed... Thanks! BTW - I am still not clear on the embedding...but will try it out here again... [img http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1397/539477755_d20655e866.jpg/img]<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/06/11 02:32

nice, so what was the trick to embedding? B) my guess is its pretty simple once you know the steps. I messed with some of the options/buttons in the "reply" menus like "Img" and "URL" but gave up after a few unseccessful tries...<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/06/11 02:10

washed strawberries should be fine in moderation. I have fed Kip watermelon as well.

hmmm, not sure how to embed the pic. Here is a one is my late beloved little budgie Lucky... http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1397/539477755_d20655e866_b.jpg<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/06/11 00:20

I am so sorry to hear this. My positive thoughts go out to you in hopes of a successful retreival. Keep calling and looking. Sounds like the ideas above are great. Since you have been hearing him call I would keep up the search as aggressively as possible. They will recognize your voice so keep calling...I sincerely wish you the best for a safe return. Please keep us posted.

Good info in the above posts. Lots of fresh stuff is key. I have Kip on a pellet mix/plus some seeds. Also offer all kinds of fresh veggies/fruit daily. She loves fresh corn on the cob that I skewer. I always have the pellet/seed mix available and then daily offer: Skewer with: 1/4 fresh corn on the cob, carrots, broccoli and some leafy stuff (usually spinach, collard greesn or red leaf lettuce) fresh food bowl with: dried figs, goldenobles bean supreme, apple slices, grapes, carrot slices, 2 almonds, some pine nuts, broccoli flowers and a bit of anything else fresh around like strawberries, blue berries, watermelon, orange slices, blackberries etc. I find with all the fresh foods she often will not even need much of the pellet/seed mix. Her weight has gone up a bit since we've had her and her feathers look very nice and shiny! I also often share toast in the morning soaked with a bit of red palm oil. The palm oil is something they naturally get in the wild Congo rain forest where they are from and is supposed to be quite good for them...we can eat the palm oil too! Anyways, spice it up as they like variety and everything in moderation. A few chips from time to time as treats are fine. Like others have said, definite no no's are: avocado, caffeine, alcohol etc. They can eat just about anything else in moderation just like you and me!

Some love the water like fish, some hate it...they are all so different! B) I would keep trying since one way or another some showering on a regular basis is good for them. Outside in their natural environment they live in a rain forest! However, there has been research showing that often baby greys must be taught by their parents how to bathe, how to act in the "rain" etc. Makes some sense that this is a learned behavior. As others have indicated try your best to show her its fun! Sing, laugh etc. Lead by example and just dont give up. She may never "like" it, but with some time ya never know! :silly:

Check out Avian Adventure cages as well at: www.avianadventures.com The famous grey "Alex" of Dr. Irene Pepperberg is housed in one. We got the "Mediana" playtop model for Kip and are quite happy with it for around $500.00 US.

We just started clicker training with Kip. My wife bought some book that is very useful. I will provide the name of the book etc later on (when I get home) as it seems really good...definitely think of tricks etc as a way for you to interact/play/stimulate your bird. Most of them really like the time spent "training" once they realize whats going on...B)

I'm with you there Frank. Back in the day hunting was a way of life to survive and provide food, these days its usually just a way of taking life...There are some cases where hunting/herd thinning by man is warranted today and that is generally only due to the fact that we (humans) have killed off or removed the natural top predators (like wolves) in many ecosystems. I know there are hunters out there with justification. I am sure people genuinely like this activity and are proud of the animals they have hunted. Please, I mean no offence to anyone but personally I dont get it. Get yourself in a good spot (maybe hike there) then sit and "hide" with your high powered rifle and then shoot a beautiful animal from 1 or 2 hundred yards away?? Wrestle them down with a spear and that would be trophy material maybe...ok, nough from me for now. To each their own. B)<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/06/08 03:05