dblhelix

Greetings and Welcome! I gotta say, Skyler looks like such a sweet little guy! Look forward to your participation here.

I think people have provided good info from various experiences here on the talking timing! On a different note, the eyes look normal to me for being outside in sunlight. Is Goober actually outside in the picture? No harness?

Hi, The first question I would start with is the obvious...is there is ANYTHING new in the room where Rascal's cage is? Anything, plants, lights, computers, chairs, pictures, etc. Anything that emits a high frequency noise or IR light? It sounds like you are doing the right things, showing Rascal there is nothing to be afraid of etc. Some are just more phobic, but from your description I am suspicious that something in the envt it producing this effect.

Hi, When we brought Kip home she weighed 364g. She dropped as low as 352g and has now clocked in at a record 404g. Yes, it sounds like Kip is much smaller framed than Bella. But, the relative weight changes I noted for Kip "may" be a proportional representation of what one can expect. Of course, w/o more data from other birds to compare its really tough to make any true conclusions with such a small sample size. One thing I can say is that I believe Kips weight fluctuations are a pretty good example of what may be seen in a healthy bird as they mature, put on muscle etc. B)<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/06/22 22:06

Attached is a graph of Kip's weight progression from when we got her at around 7 months age (1/26/07). The "flat" data pretty much represent intervals where I did not record, so I just repeated the last measurment until the next, making the data not 100% accurate but still a pretty good representation of the overall trends. Weighings are consistent morning recordings, after the "bomb"! You can see a weight drop when we brought her home, probaly fairly typical of the stress with a new home, owners etc. She is a petite girl and seems to have currently stabilized around 400 Grams. All her flights were regrown (she was clipped when we got her) at around 16 months (so around 10/26/07 date). She really started flying a lot then too and her weight also started a pretty steady and singnificant inrease around the same time. She's about 14" long, tail to head but that is tough to measure exactly since it depends how tall they stand! She eats corn, broccoli, carrots, almonds, pine nuts, bean supreme, figs and grapes every day in the "fresh food" offering. She also always has a seed mix and some pellets available... <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/06/22 20:17

Agreed Sameera. Keep up the good work. Also going forward, don't let anyone trim Zahzu's beak or nails unless they are truly overgrown. An unecessarily trimmed beak can make it difficult for them to eat, climb and preen. Trimmed nails may make them unsteady on perch as they cannot grip properly. As a general rule, the beak is at a normal length when the tip of the upper beak is about even with the lower beak "jaw line". It can be a bit longer than that and most birds will keep them at this length on their own through filing, chewing, griding etc. Nails may get sharp (and this is good, allows them to have good grip). Dont confuse sharp nails with nails that must be trimmed. If they feel sharp to you, you may just need to get used to that...Nails are too long if when standing on a flat surface the front foot pad is lifted off the surface. Otherwise, nail length is fine. Again, most birds will keep these at proper length on their own. Beak or nails that are too short can lead to plucking. I am not suggesting you did not know these things, just wanted to put them out there in case it helps you or others. Oh yeah, I agree, no foilage. This may lead to other proplems. Keep up with the chew toys (approved woods etc) as these can help diminish plucking by giving them an outlet for energy, plus its greyyyt beak excercise! Keep up the good work. Sounds like Zahzu has been through a rough period, but will pull through and plucking will be eliminated with all your efforts! B)<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/06/22 18:36

If she is getting in flights and flying more, the muscle build up will definitely add "healthy" weight. In addition, the addition of full flights adds some weight as well. Granted each feather is light, but cumulatively they add up a bit. The biggest factor is the muscle build up, not doubt. I would not worry!

Link explaining more about where the different subspecies and "street names" are from, the effect on general "size" and geographical location etc. B) http://www.africanature.com/Project%20Africa/wildgreys.htm<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/06/22 18:04

They are all different. This may be completely normal for your bird based on body type. At the more extreme ends, AG can range from ~350 grams (some even less) to over 700! Kip is quite petite at 400 grams, but totally healthy and a happy girl! B) Keel bone is a pretty good way to check if your bird is in the normal range for their body size. If you are really concerned you can of course see a vet, but my guess is you just have a big boy (or girl)...is your bird sexed?

Hi all, I want to be sure people do not misunderstand as I repeatedly see in this thread "birds do not excrete salt". This information is wrong. The biology of a bird absolutely provides a mechanism to excrete salt. No doubt about it. Its simply that they do not excrete it as efficiently as humans. Salt is required for birds to live, just like you and me. If they are low on salt there are all kinds of health problems. Too much salt also equals health problems. Again, its all about balance and yes, we do need to condisder a birds physical size to be sure we do not equate amounts OK for us humans as OK for the much smaller bird body. The bottom line is if you do not want to feed your birds salty junk food then dont! But there is no need to panic if they eat a few salty chips once in a while and some people choose to offer them as treats in a controlled manner, which is probably just fine! I do, and we have for our Amazon now for over 40 years. B)<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/06/18 17:06

Salt is not much worse for birds than it is for you and me (humans). Anything in excess is potentially bad, salt included. It is true that birds kidneys are not as efficient at removing salt as our system, but salt is not toxic to birds in moderation. They certainly can and do process it. No need for panic here. Below is a link to a fairly good article, with some scientific info but not too technical. http://thetameparrot.com/blog/2007/12/09/salt-in-bird-diet/<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/06/18 08:52

We are teaching Kip to recite her "chip" ID and an email address. As long as we keep the chip data updated that would always have our current info. I am concerned about phone# or home address since those things change more regularly through life. Her Chip ID should never change and I have never had a need to change my personal email, yet.

Welcome eckylover! We look forward to your participation here!! B)

Good stuff. Lots of info. Thanks for taking the time to pull this together! <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/06/10 16:54

Looks normal to me from the pics. Love the grey tipped tail feathers on the babies! Was any fledging allowed? Quite young to be clipped. How many flights are clipped off? Very pretty bird.

Kipusa is Swahili for "pretty girl". We call her Kip for short and sometimes Ruby for the pretty red tail and just to confuse her! She says her name all the time "Kip", "Kipusa", "Good girl Kip", "Whats your name?....Kip!".

Glad to hear Obi seems to be improving! Regarding the sound...could be something she picked up and just simply likes to make. For example, Kip heard our smoke detector go off several months ago. Now she sometimes goes into smoke detector mode...super loud "PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP!!!". ACK, we hate it! We just try and ignore it. So, I think what I am saying is, good luck with the noise issue. If the bird finds something it likes to make, it can be tough to break!

Great advice in this thread. I would absolutely make it a priority to see an avian vet and rule out/address any specific health related issues. A blood work up should be performed. Dave has some of the best advice around. His length of experience is vast and willingness to share is invaluable. B) I hope you can make some steps towards improvement and think with some of these suggestions you have great odds! I am sure you love your grey as is, but hopefully some of these things will prove to be easy changes that can make a difference.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/05/18 15:50

Kip gets up and makes some noise (calls, whistles etc) almost every day once the sun is up. Since that time varies throughout the year her exact time varies. If we get up she immediately starts saying "good morning Kip!", "How are you?" If we "sleep in" (eg do not respond to her) she will usually quiet down after 1/2 - 1 hr and go back to sleep. Sometimes she is persistent and really makes a racket! We do not cover the cage, but if we do more to keep the morning sunlight from reaching her she will stay quiet longer. I think she enjoys the sunrise and dont plan to take that away from her!! B)<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/05/16 16:29

Welcome Sevi and Edison! B)

Welcome vacationv! We have a great site with an outstanding group of members. We look forward to hearing more from you and sharing/helping as we can. Do poke around, read through posts etc and feel free to ask away!!

Welcome Joel!

Awesome pics! Very cute. Have the grey and dog(s) been freinds for years? Was the dog introduced as a pup to the grey? Curious how you got them so comfortable/trusted with each other. Very cool! B) Well, my question is already answered in the thread below! Read before you ask! <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/05/03 23:24

VOTED!

The true "PostCard" virus is real and has been a known issue since 2007, almost a year ago. The text listed in the beginning of this thread is an example of the text that would be included in the "hoax" messages and is simply harmless SPAM. The Snopes page indicates as much in the explanation. I fully agree people in general need to be aware and cautious, and perhaps this thread can help with that. But the way this thread begins, while well intended, is propagating concern for the hoax in my opinion.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2008/05/02 07:18