dblhelix

I had a budgie named Lucky who passed last year. I had him for 13 yrs. Great birds they are. Amazing talkers and such personalities if you are willing to spend the time and work with them. Lucky easily had a 100+ word vocab and would fly to my hand on command. Generally an underrated bird and a total steal at ~ $15.00 US!!! B)

How important is the resizing? What is the standard .jpg sizing that the camera just spits out? I plan to make a DVD for the bride/groom and family so should I just go with standard 4x6 sizing? What would you recommend?

Agreed, those photos are great! Good job!! Frank - do you have a simple RAW workflow you follow that you can share? I took a bunch of wedding photos in Hawaii last weekend and took them all in RAW. I have not done much work in the RAW format, but will probably use the Canon RAW converter software provided with the camera for starters...any general pointers for this?? Thanks

Greys are long lived animals and can absolutely continue learning things throughout their lives, if they want to! You (the owner) can help influence their desire to learn new words/tricks etc by the interaction and environment you maintain. Much like humans, 8 years old for a grey is still quite young...definitely has potential to learn all kinds of new stuff B)

We have sprouted several different beans for Kip. It is really VERY simple. We have a "sprouting jar" that can be had at most any organic type food store (around here that would be like Whole Foods or Rainbow acres). Its a glass jar with a screen lid that screws on top. You can also just buy the lids for other glass jars. The basic instructions are to rinse the dried seeds, let soak for ~ 8 hrs, then drain/rinse. You could then feed the soaked sprouts before you even see signs of "sprouting". The seeds are very nutritious as soon as they have been soaked overnight as the actual "sprouting process" and life of the seed has begun. You can then store the sprouts for several days as the tails start to grow and continue to feed. However, you should not feed the sprouts if the tails are more than 1 inch long as they then take on a bitter flavor. We have sprouted lentils, mung beans, corn, whole peas, adzuki beans and many others are easy to do Here is a good link with some simple sprouting instructions: http://www.parrothouse.com/sprouting.html Enjoy!

There are certain veggies and nuts that have pretty high calcium. You should try and offer some of these daily. Some examples of foods with relatively high calcium include: collard greens dried figs spinach almonds to name a few. There are many other healthy options to ensure enough calcium is provided through a "normal" diet. There are lists available in many books that list the amount of calcium, phosphorus, vitamins etc contained in different foods. I offer Kip several pieces one of these items every day in her fresh food bowl and she usually nibbles away at some of it. I figure the more I can get her to eat raw/natural veggies/fruits the better...

Palm nuts/fruit and the palm oil are things they naturally eat in the wild/congo. This link has some info on this particular item: http://www.safarimkt.com/red%20palm%20oil.html I have the palm oil and put some on toast for Kip to share in the mornings (instead of butter)! Yes, humans can eat palm oil too... Its supposed to be very good for their feathers. I have not been able to purchase the actual palm nuts, yet... B)

If she's acting normal the most likely thing is its something she ate. The "normal" color of droppings will vary quite a bit depending on what they have been eating. I would watch for a few days and see how it goes, provided she otherwise appears normal. No need to panic at this point. Keep us posted. Lead poisoning would be a worst case scenario and is unlikely.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/05/29 00:10

Agreed, never a silly question. Mine eats strawberries from time to time. I always eat some myself then offer to her and she will pretty much go for (or at least try) anything that I am eating... :laugh: Yesterday she had her first blackberry. Boy did she make a mess with that!

Are you sure that all the babies you are looking at are from the same clutch (eg same parents/egg laying session)? Are they CAGs or TAGs? Certainly even w/in one clutch there can be pretty significant variation, just like with litters of puppies! So long as the bird is eating well and not underweight for its size it could just be that she/he is a smaller (cuter??) one Also the issue of male/female. Gernerally the females are smaller than males (though this is not a 100% rule), but it could be that you are looking at the one female in the clutch. At some point early on you should do the DNA sexing. This is generally recommended as it can be important information to know about the animal as it matures for health issues etc.

Hi Blidner, Any update on the status with Kira's damaged blood feather? Hope it continues to improve.

Kip is a pretty good eater. Her usual morning offerings include: fresh corn on the cob, broccoli, carrots, fresh green beans, dried figs, grapes, tomato, dried red peppers, collard greens. She goes "nuts" for pine nuts. She also always has a bowl of a dry Goldenobles Bean Supreme available and some Zupreem pellets. She will eat pasta, salmon, chicken and really likes fresh popcorn. Of course anything we are eating she wants a piece of, even if as soon as she gets it she triumphantly tosses it onto the floor/all over the place. In the morning she likes to share my cereal and I will give her some of my toast lightly soaked with palm oil. The palm oil is supposed to be really good for them and makes their feathers nice and shiny. In the wild, Africa Congo, they eat palm nuts and get plenty of the palm oil.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/05/25 08:55

I need to get one for Kip. Currently I only get her outside in her travel cage and she certainly loves being out in the sun, fresh air, listening to the sounds et!

I like Macaroni! :laugh:

Hello and welcome! Realize that "training" does not happen over night. You need to identify areas you want to work on, then be calm, consistent and kind. They are intelligent animals and will come to trust and amaze you as they become tame and trained. I would suggest getting some books on the topic in general and using this type of forum to get as much information as you can. How old is she? It sounds like you will be providing a very nice home for her and much improved from her previous environment. However, it will take some time to adjust to her new surroundings/owners etc before you should expect significant change. Generally you should anticipate at least 1 month for the bird to acclimate to its new surroundings before they show their true personality. Remember, these are long lived animals (50+ years on average) so they are more like humans with respect to how they learn to interact etc. They remember every interaction and this shapes them going forward. The first step is to build trust, and you truly will need patience. Be consitent and as you build a relationship you will be greatly rewarded. Regarding the wing clipping, there are some good posts you can search this forum for on the topic. If she is truly "falling like a rock" to the floor she may have a severe clip and/or may not have learned to properly fledge. If this is the case, try to minimize situations where she can injure herself. The flight feathers will grow back in the next molt, but this could be 6-12 months off depending on when the last molt was. You do want to try and avoid injury as they can develop emotional problems if they associate injury and fear with flying. Keep us posted on how it goes! Things should work out fine with a little time. <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/05/25 07:13

Have a safe trip from the land of pineapples to the land of slot machines!

I have certainly heard of birds that love to chew anything wood, but eating it is odd. How long have you had this little wood worker? Do you know how old he is? Otherwise he eats normally and his weight is stable/good? Droppings look normal? It just seems so unusual that I have to ask what you already indicated...Are you absolutely 100% sure he is injestig the wood and not just splintering it down to small bits and dropping them? If he must eat the wood, continue to research to be sure the wood "offered" is minimally toxic. It will be interesting to see if others here have experience with this, but so far looks like you may be a pretty rare case. At least it sounds like the bird is healthy/happy otherwise... :blink: I will see if I can find anything else out about this that may help.

The more adversity you expose your baby to the better. In fact, try not to set up too rigid a routine so that they will be more accepting to change and less prone to emotional problems when something invariably will need to change. The more people, places, foods, sounds, smells, toys (you name it) they experience the more well rounded they will be. Of course dont overload a baby at once, just like a human baby..It can be tough, but they very much key off your energy. If you fuss and fret about something as simple as "oh my, I hope moving her cage does not spook her"...then moving her cage will spook her! None of us are perfect, but the more we can educate ourselves to control our own behavior the better! If you make things fun, they will have fun!! Sounds like you are off to a good start. Be flexible and your feathered friend will happily follow! B) Keep up posted on how things progress.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/05/24 22:08

Glad to hear things are improving currently. Please do keep us updated. Its nice for everyone to have feedback on these experiences so we can all learn/see examples on how something like this progresses.

Hi Blidner, How old is Kira and how long have you had her? I hope the blood feather issue gets resolved. Also, what have you been able to do to deal with the plucking issue mentioned? Keep us updated on the status.

I did a little research and it seems several people that have owned greys for many years have found a slightly broken blood feather will either heal on its own or the bird will take care of it on its own. If the bleeding has stopped I would watch and wait. From what I gather, more often than not the bird can handle it if not bleeding a lot, particularly if you got the bleeding to stop. This does happen to them in the wild and they are able to deal. However, you need to watch it and be prepared to take her to a vet if needed. Maybe you should call and put together a plan just in case. However, I think there's a good chance it will be OK w/o much additional action. Monitor and keep us posted. I hope other members will provide additional suggestions based upon experience. I have not yet had to deal with this for Kip, but certainly want to be prepared.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/05/24 04:48

I am not sure about the damage and affect it may have on the shaft remaining. I believe unless it is badly damaged the feather can still come in. I will do some more research and try to get back with you. If the damaged blood feather results in the scenario Judygram suggests I agree it would need to be pulled. Watch it closely. If the bleeding has stopped and you can keep it stopped you may be OK. Try to avoid situations that may result in further injury. If the bleeding starts up again and cannot be stopped they may need to be pulled. However, if you can avoid it I would delay pulling them. This is painful to the birds and can make them associate pain with their feathers/flight. :ohmy: Did she crash into something or bang her wings? Only flying 2 feet does not seem like it should result in broken blood feathers.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/05/24 03:07

I agree with ZoesDad's suggestion and it sounds like you'll give that a try. The truth is plucking is often a complex behaviour and may require several rounds of different mitigation steps. I hope the test of moving the birds together helps. Keep up posted! B)

I second all the aforementioned! This place rocks!! It really seems to be about the "community" and is a great place to share, learn and have fun B)

I can see how that is distressing for you. Poor baby, I hope we can get her to stop. From what you've indicated, jealousy is a high probability given the timing of the new birds arrival and plucking start. However it still could be something else. I have to say from what you provided so far the jealousy seems like a likely thing, particularly since you indiate she is "VERY spoiled". If she was THE center of attention and now she's not that can be a significant change for them to go through. If plucking now brings your attention back to her, she may be inclined to keep doing it. These situations can be tough. Since the medical relation has more or less been ruled out we can assume its a mental/emotional thing. Remember they have the mental capacity of a 4 yr old human with the emotional capacity of a 2 yr old! Your best bet may be to focus on balance, get her to accept the new addition (bird) and really really try not to pay attention to the plucking. Its a tough call and there may be no true "right or wrong" way to deal with this. Judygram mentioned dry skin which certainly can be an irritant they pluck for. Does she bathe regularly and get moisture on her skin? Some have found a mist sprayer with some aloe can help reduce plucking by decreasing irritation. However, be careful because if its not a skin thing and you start a special misting ritual around the whole thing the could reinforce the plucking...I hope others can post some additional thoughts from experience. Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/05/23 03:36<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/05/23 03:37