spookyhurst

I remember reading a post from a member here that said he was thinking about adopting his neighbor's grey (she was dying and the birdie needed a new home ). If I recall, the bird was at least 50. Does anyone remember who that was?

Wow! Now my karma went up by 8! Thanks for the support guys!

Wow, someone didn't like my response about PBFD, because my karma went down. Let this be a lesson to you all: don't share depressing information :pinch:. Anyhoo, Kerri have you posted a picture of Ajax anywhere? He sounds like a cutie! I'd like to see his red freckles (I think red factors are adorable :kiss:)

I hate to be a downer here, and sure don't want to frighten anyone, however, pink feathers on an African Grey can be a symptom of PBFD. At this site ( http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/psittacine-beak-feather-disease.shtml ), it says: Acute – mostly in nestlings or very young birds during their first phase of feather growth. There is usually a loss of powder down, with resulting shiny black beak in those birds whose beaks are usually dusty grey. There may be abnormally coloured feathers (e.g white in the normally black Vasa parrot, pink in the African Grey). Affected birds become quiet and depressed, and with a generally ‘grubby’ appearance. Many have diarrhoea, and all will succumb quickly to secondary infections. The classic manifestation of this type of PBFD is the young, recently purchased African grey parrot, showing depression, abdominal pain, bunching spasms of the legs and feet, with a post-mortem examination revealing Aspergillosis infection. This fungal invader is a common secondary problem in such an immuno-compromised bird. Here's an awful picture of a poor guy in an advanced stage of the disease: http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/pbfd1.shtml

Nychsa, karma for you for such a kind offer (I actually gave it to you yesterday, but thought you might want to know where it came from . LMG, if you are still considering renaming Indy, I have a suggestion: Trooper. It describes the poor fellow well.<br><br>Post edited by: spookyhurst, at: 2007/12/11 02:56

Nikko has gotten a couple little nicks on her face in the last couple of weeks. I think it's probably from her scratching herself with her too-long toe nails. They were very minor, so I didn't do anything about it. However, in the future, I'll remember to use aloe gel. If I can her in the head for some head tickles, I can sneak it on without her even knowing B).

He's so gorgeous! It's a wonder he hasn't plucked his feathers out with such a dull life. Little does he know that his life is about to make a big change for the better . Can't wait to hear updates on this fellow!

Brian sounds like such a sweetie :kiss:. I don't know about teeth, but Nikko likes tongues. Sometimes she'll stick her tongue out the side of her beak, and I imitate her. The look on her face is, "Wow! What's that thing in your mouth? I gotta get a closer look at this!" She'd probably give me a nice tongue piercing if I let her get close :ohmy:!

It's the time of year for horny greys. Nikko goes through this every winter. Yesterday was day one of regurgitating and wind dropping. It's my mom that brings this out in her. Nikko will rub her head all over my mom's hand and then start trying to regurgitate. Any other time of year, we can pet her back with no problem, but she's going to have to settle for head and neck scratches for a month or two.

briansmum wrote: I think it means feathered kids.

Nikko had yams, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (the good homemade stuff), dressing, and pie crust (she didn't like the pumpkin and threw it on the floor). She really liked the cranberries:

Nikko is so-so about sweet potatoes, but loves butternut squash. If you want avoid a big mess, hand feed little bits of it with your fingers. Nikko enjoys that little big of extra attention . We also cook the squash seeds. They have a rather pungent odor, but Nikko considers them a delicacy.

I read the article a couple nights ago. He sure had a sense of humor! What a special bird Alex was!

If I don't bathe Nikko at least once a week, she gets too dusty. When you tickle her, you end up with a big mess of dust and dander all over your clothes or couch, the air purifiers need cleaned more often, and her feathers get to looking drab. After a nice shower, her feathers look shiny and feel soft, plus I think she seems happier. Sometimes she says, "wanna shower," but I don't know if she knows what she's saying. The most important time to bathe your bird is during a molt. They get itchy with the pin feathers coming in, and a bath can make they feel better and help the pins open up.

A tv station did a short story on Tucson Avian Rescue & Adoption (TARA) today. A week ago they had what sounded like a wonderful 2 year old CAG, but I don't know if he's still available. However, they are supposed to be getting 1 or 2 CAGs in as soon as some room is available. Here's a link to the video. Currently, it is the third item down in the menu and is called "TARA helps unwanted and abused exotic birds." http://www.kvoa.com/Global/category.asp?C=109704&nav=menu216_4 I adopted Nikko from TARA 2 years ago .

I have something called a Misty Mate. You pump it up, turn it on, and a fine mist comes out. You can control how powerful the mist is by how much air you pump into it. Since the little hose could be startling at first, you can point the nozzle in the air (not at the bird like the picture shows) and the mist will fall lightly on her body. Here is a link: http://www.mistymate.com/birdmist.html Also, to keep Nikko's skin from getting too dry in the winter, I run a humidifier. I put Grapefruit Seed Extract in the water to kill any yucky organisms that may be in it. Since Sweetheart let the breeder bathe her, she must not have a water phobia like some birds have it. It's probably just another one of those things that will take time.

There's also a funny one about wrapping Christmas presents with your bird :laugh:. I can't remember where I saw it though. Maybe Dave has that one too, because there are many lines that say, "Remove bird from box."

Does anyone play on XBox Live? If so, post your Gamertag here. I'm spookyhurst. I just got my 360 yesterday though, so it will be awhile before I become worthy of competition.

That's pretty cool! I looked up what kind of birds are lost in my area, just on the off chance that I should find one. Someone in the area has lost and B&G. Wouldn't that be something to spot one of those guys up in a tree?

Pryde wrote: I have one like that for overnighters. I also have the Adventure Pack for trips to the park and stuff. http://www.flyingsouth.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=27

Nikko talks...or at least she used to. She used to be a huge chatterbox, but now only really talks if she is trying to get people back in the room, or if she feels she is being ignored. The only things she is now guaranteed to say everyday is Good Morning (when she wants uncovered), Good Night (when she wants to go to bed) and Hello (when she is alone in the room and wants someone to come get her). The other day, my mom, dad, me, and my dog were on the front porch to visit with our neighbor and her new puppy. Nikko could hear us out there and was upset that she wasn't with us, so she was chattering up a storm trying to get our attention. She hadn't talked that much in a long time. Don't know the age she started talking though. I adopted her when she was 4, and she already was chatty.

Have you thought about clicker training? I've read success stories of using this technique with shy birds or cage bound birds. First, you have to teach her that a click means yummy treats. So when she's at her cage, do a few sessions of clicking and immediately following it with a favorite treat, like a sunflower seed or pine nut. You can break them in half to make them go further. Once she has learned that click = good things, it's time to start the training. You can do some trick training, like teaching her how to wave, as well as more practical things, like letting you trim her nails and stuff. It's a good bonding exercise that could bring you two closer together.

:laugh: Nikko is a serious beak wiper. When she eats, she continuously wipes her beak against her stainless steal dish. She follows it up by wiping at it with her foot. Then she rubs it against the grass rope on her pinata for the final buffing process. I guess she is a clean beaky kind of gal :silly:.

When Nikko was at the vet last April, he shaped her beak a bit. He didn't use a dremel, but some tool thay looked like he was shaving off pieces to even it out. Her beak looked beautiful for quite awhile, but in the last few days, it's started to flake off again. So she'll just have to have a flaky beak until her next vet visit.

I tried playing with Nikko on the floor when I first got her, and she hated it. Two years later, she still hates the floor. Instead, we play on kitchen counter or on the coffee table. Have you thought about trimming her wings? Sometimes that helps settle them down, and she won't be able to fly away from you. After she bonds with the family, you could let them grow out again.