dblhelix

When Kip was learning to fly she did lots of practice flapping and we would encourage this. Now she is a proficient flier and still sometimes just hangs on tight and flaps away!. I too like the wind generated and am amazed at how much air they push. I think sometimes they do it for fun/exercise, sometimes if they are mad or a bit spooked etc. Really depends. All species I have interated with/owned from Amazons, budgies, cockatiels, Toos and Macaws hold on and flap pretty regularly! Its a great way for non-flighted birds to get some needed exercise on the flight muscles.

most make pretty good amounts of noise. You will find they may do it more in the early morning or a certain time in the evening, then of course they will use calls to get attention etc and sometimes just practice various noises they have heard. If you respond (even to an "annoying" noise) they get attention and its all the more reason for them to make it! Most are definitely not "quiet" at all, but compared to some other species they are generally not as loud. Of course if varies from individual bird to bird w/in the species as well.. :woohoo:

Just a oouple pics of Kip...

Kip does not have "night frights" but we have had a few earthquakes at night that have woken her and scared the heck out of her. Similar to what tarnold described...she woke us up flipping/fluttering around, trembling etc and we had to sit with her for a while to calm her down. In each case there was a fairly small earthquake (between 2.5 and and 3.5) at the exact time she went nuts. I wonder (with the recent quake in Los Angeles) if perhaps there was something like this that happened the night Hershey got spooked or something you can find in the environment that may have set this off?<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/07/31 07:26

That is exactly my point. In the wild, they do not come upon opportunities for high protein sources all the often. Hence their natural diet seeks out palm nuts and other non-animal sources of protein. However, I believe most will instinctively go after high protien sources (like meat if we offer it) when its available in a manner they consider "safe". Certainly they are omnivores and opportunists. This may explain why many people observe that their captive birds seem to favor meat etc when offered over veggies.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/07/31 09:10

Just a hunch, but its likely that in the wild they do not come upon opportunities to eat meat all that often...maybe if they happen upon a carcass or something that has not been picked apart by other predators or opportunists. In any case, most animals instinctively go after high sources of protein (like meat) when available since statistically those opportunities are low out in nature for non predatory species. They may sort of be pre-programmed to choose and guzzle high protein sources if given the choice since, again, in the wild they probably do not have all that many opportunities to stock up on such a rich protein source....or, maybe they just like the taste!! or a bit of both... :laugh:

Yeah, the one in the pic has no sharp parts. The bottom end is blunt and threaded so the bell piece unscrews. Since its blunt it does not push through items you "skewer" quite as cleanly as if it were pointed, but I have not had any problems getting anything I want on there! B)

Greetings carlosrugby!! We look forward to your participation here! B)

Great pics of Gandalf! I would seriously caution anyone from allowing their bird out uncaged or w/o harness, ever. All it takes is once. One time the bird gets spooked, one time the wind is just right, one time they just decide to give it a try and they are gone. I have heard too many a heartbreaking story of this happening. Clipped or not under the right conditions and determination (like fear) they are off. This is arguably even worse in the case of a bird w/o flying skills. They cannot control where they go once airborn since flying is a learned skill and they will keep flapping away simply out of fear. Everyone has to make their own decisions on the matter but I felt compelled to make this cautionary post to owners, particularly new ones. It is highly unadvised comming from many bird owners with decades of experience. Peace.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/07/28 05:11

Here is a pic of a skewer I hang for Kip from time to time...bought it a Petco. <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/07/28 04:56

I am going with female too! Its really not possible to tell the sex based on any of the physical theories that some people believe. They come in all shapes and sizes and can vary significantly based on their genetic lineage and the part of Africa their ancestors came from... http://www.africanature.com/Project%20Africa/wildgreys.htm

More and more scientific data support that using anti-microbial products for day to day disinfection is not only useless, its dangerous. Using these products regularly introduces an element driving natural selection for the bacterial strains that are RESISTANT to the antimocrobial ingredient. Effectively over time you kill off all the strains that actually die from the antibiotic component leaving those behind that have a resistance to thrive, reproduce and become the dominant strain. Its dangerous. We are seeing the same thing in the medical community with the over prescription of "antibiotics" to people that go to see the Dr with the common cold...antibiotics/antivirals etc are powerful and important drugs but they are easy to misuse and the resultant prodigy are very dangerous. Case in point, multiple drug resistant tuberculosis ( MDRTB ). this is a much under publicised but deadly from of TB that is on the rise and there is almost no cure for it. This is directly a result of the mis-use of anti TB drugs over the years....oK, enough blabbing from me for now. My vote, DO NOT USE ANTIBACTERIAL soaps etc around the house. Dont'g get caught up in the marketing hype the companies that sell these products are drumming up. They want to make a buck, but the products actually do more harm than good over time.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/07/27 20:48

donste2287, How old is your grey and how long have you had her? Are you aware if she ate anything recently out of the ordinary? Have her droppings changed? How about weight? Depending on where you live an average vet visit is somewhere between $35 - $ 100 US. Can go up significantly if additional treatment is needed. Maybe others will have additional advice. Keep us posted.

Nothing is 100%, but in general the viruses that infect humans do not infect our avian friends and vice versa. Some viruses mutate over time and can cross infect species to species but the incidence of this is extremely low and when it has happened has not been a strong communicability rate (thank goodness). Bacteria on the other hand are less species specific. In either case if you have a viral or bacterial infection your contact with your pets exposes them to this. Again, if you have a cold (human rhino virus) or the flu (human influenza virus) you will not infect your bird as the virus/bird to not have compatible cellular receptors to allow the virus to infect. All in all, practice good hygiene in any case and it will only be beneficial. Wash your hands, dont go out of your way to cough on your bird etc, but also dont worry about it too much...

Welcome Boomersmom! {Communicate-00020121}

Greetings remedy, The claws should not be cut unless they are too long and most birds do not ever need them cut. In general you can tell if the nail is truly too long by observing the bird when standing on a flat surface (like a table). If when standing on a flat surface the front foot pad touches the table then the nails ar not too long. If the foot pad is lifted off the table then there may be a length issue. As others have suggested, nail sharpness can be mitigated by providing cement and special rough perches as an option in the cage to help dull the tips. However, do not mistake "sharp" nails for nails needing a trim. The nails are supposed to be pretty sharp and a certain length so the birds can properly grip perches and climb around. Certainly do not go for nail trimming just to make the bird more comfortable for you to hold. Trimming when not necessary can make the bird unstable, distrustful and insecure. I would hold off and investigate the need more, particularly since it sounds like this is a new bird for you that you are trying to bond with.

That is a great video. I agree, it is concerning that Alex was so badly plucked and Griffin appears to have similar issues going on. It may just be that they were/are "pluckers", but makes you question whether something about the way they have been kept is contributing.

Greetings Martix, I am sorry to hear that your grey is ill and/or weak. It is difficult to provide advice w/o more information. The findings from the vet do not sound conclusive and calcium just a bit under normal is not necessarily indicative of a problem. What kind of diet is your grey on? what does he/she eat regularly? How do the droppings look? Has there been a weight change? Perhaps other members can provide suggestions. You may need to have another vet visit, perhaps with a different vet for a 2nd opinion. Is the vet you went to an avian specialist? I hope this improves.

This looks very normal to me. As M2MM indicated, just some natural feather dander/dust in the beak striations. Nice picture. Another thing to be aware of, the beak itself will "molt" from time to time. The beak is a living thing (like our finger nails) and at times an outer layer will flake off, exposing new beak material beneath. As this happens the area that will flake off becomes much lighter in color (almost looking like the bone colored beak of a TAG). Does not look like that is in any way happening at this time with your bird, but thinking about beaks brought this up in my thoughts.

Dry food and water should be available all the time. Fresh foods perhaps offered once or twice per day to reduce chance of spoiling. Kip always has a see mix available (Leach's hook bill mix) with some Harrisons pellets mixed in that I change or top off daily. In the AM she gets an additional bowl with some bean supreme, fresh carrots, fresh broccoli, fresh corn, 2 grapes, 5 pine nuts, 2 almonds, dried fig cut in 1/2 and usually a fresh snap pea. She eats some and flings a lot around! In the evening she is offered a bit of whatever we may be eating...

Greetings, I think Greys would be 'OK' as apartment birds. In general you are correct that they are not screamers like some species, of course it can be an individual bird thing as well as a socialization thing. There are no guarantees about the noise possibility so you need to think about "what if" in the event its an issue once you have your bird home. As you know, all birds can and will be noisy at some times. Socialization...should not really be a problem if you approach this in a well balanced fashion from the beginning. The "one person bird" is more a matter of conditioning and exposure to other people, places things etc than anything else. Of course they will likely have favorite people for certain things (cuddling, playing etc) but there is no reason you should not be able to have your bird comfortable with many people, stepping up, interacting, playing. Clumsy grey? That is a myth if your bird is fully fledged at the natural time in their life. Balance skills, motor skills and brain neural development all take place at this time and it is rather important this developmental stage be allowed to occur. Optimally birds should be fully fledged, that means they become completely flight proficient able to hover, bank, fly up, down and land exactly where they intend. If after that you decide to keep your bird clipped this may be an option, but that is a subject covered on this forum extensively and for a different post! Great on the harness plan. Sounds like you already have experience there. I would say the sooner you begin exposing your grey to the harness the better. Obviously start slow, introduce the harness, get the bird used to it and progress at their pace. But I see no reason not to start from day 1! I also do not see any problem keeping the birds in the same room. As you already pointed out they probably should not play together, but once they both have confirmed bills of health they can be caged/kept in the same room. I also think they can play on the same stands/trees/swings etc, just probably not a good idea to do this at the same time. Sounds like you are off to a great start to being a grey owner with you current experience keeping Griffin and gathering additional info about greys. Let us know how else we can help and keep us posted!!

Greetings Envie and welcome B) Great to hear you are really interested in a good breeder, taking your time and wanting to ensure things like abundance weaning, good socialization etc. The attached breeder really seems to believe in all these things. I was going to purchase from them, but then found ours searching around local breeders/pet stores. I cannot speak from any real personal experience, but simply from doing a lot of prior research I thought that this breeder/aviary had a very good approach. Again, since you are thinking 6 os to a year out, this type of breeder may be what you are interested in. Read up on them, and others. Keep us updated, search other posts for information and dont be afraid to ask questions!! http://www.pamperedpeeps.com/index.htm

Any nut can suffer from fungi and the aflatoxin byproduct it produces, Almonds included. The bottom line is if you choose to feed your bird nuts in the shell you need to exercise common sense, buy human grade products and store them appropriately to reduce the potential for health issues. I choose to feed a few peanuts in shell per week. I also offer almonds (Kip loves them). However, I crack the shells and peer inside/inspect for any signs of mold. Its very easy to spot if moldy to a level likely to be of concern. Make no mistake other fresh fruits and vegetables can suffer from asperilligus fungi and the same aflatoxins. Nuts may be more prone to the issue based on how they are collected and stored, but you need to evaluate any foods offered. I for one dont believe in extremes on this issue, particularly since if one takes that approach logically you would need to cut out many other foods as well. Nuts in moderation are nutritious and enjoyed by birds so I provide them in a controlled manner.

Welcome! We look forward to your participation here!

Dont worry. While you should not go out of your way to let the bird eat from your mouth due to bacteria we have in there, if they get a little off your fork or something its not anything to panic about. Relax!