zandische

Brian, aww, happy hatch day to Dorothy! Not to worry, Dorothy will get there! My birds were slow at first, but now (3 years) they pick up new words very quickly, sometimes even after just hearing it once. I agree that lots of socialization is helpful for talking, but it also depends on the bird...my girl, Seraph, is super outgoing and has yet to meet a person she doesn't like, but she was the slowest to talk - she just loves chirping and whistling more than talking. Gryph was first to talk and usually picks up new words faster, but is anti-social. Who knows? I think a lot of who they are and will be is formed in their early years, and babies learn a lot of behavior from their people parronts, so if you are patient and talkative and endeavor to show them lots of experiences and give words and names to everything they experience, then I think they have a lot better chance of learning human language. But again, still up to the bird :-) Also, just wanted to add that my birds don't speak in context a whole lot yet and it would be so exciting to be greeted with a "hello" in the morning! But they do make certain noises for certain situations, like a soft "hoooo" is a special greeting which means ‘I love you and missed you while you were away‘ and is different from 'click' which is just a standard greeting. So 'speaking' and 'language' includes their bird sounds too, and we try our best to mimic them, because it's obvious their bird sounds have a meaning they want to communicate to us :-) Zulusmom, I am so excited for you! I can't wait for Zulu to come home to his very large, well-loved flock :-)

Also, I don't know if this us in the avian first aid kit thread, but I'm going to get a lot of the things you all suggested and just try to have them on hand for the future, because I didn't have a lot of them in my pantry. I'm a big believer in holistic nutrition and the suggestions here could be useful for other kinds of traumatic/stressful situations to provide highly nutritious, electrolyte rich foods. Thank you!

so, things are looking up! We took him to the vet today and they said there's no infection and he's got a healthy scab on his tongue that is healing well. He has also been eating normal food today and gained back the weight he lost (he was down 15 grams this morning.) The vet gave him a pain killer and he really perked up. So it seems like he's going to be fine! The best part though is that he has been totally awesome today. As soon as we got home from the vet he wanted scratches all over. Then he did something he's never done - he stretched his neck out and rubbed his cheek against mine. After all we've been through recently in our relationship and then all the stress of the last few days, feeling like my bird was purposely saying he loved me is just the best feeling in the world! Thank you all for your advice and thoughts...I really hope we never have to go through this again!

quick update: things are not looking better. This morning he couldn't eat anything, even mash, but after a little coaxing he ate a lot of peanut butter. A lot. I thought this was a good sign! Unfortunately he would not drink, and I had hoped he would do better as the day progressed. His weight and droppings were normal this morning and he was a bit more active and vocalizing. The vet also thought he was likely to improve and said to watch him for now and call them back if he didn't improve. But tonight he seems worse. He wants to eat but now can't even get the peanut butter down. I tried orange juice, baby food, yogurt etc...all his favorite foods, and he seems very interested but just can't do it. He seems to want to drink but tries and gives up. He tore up a couple of grapes, but I'm not sure he swallowed anything. He has lost 10 grams today (he weighs 450 usually and was 449 this morning) and while I can't see any wound, his tongue looks very swollen. Right now he is sitting on me and sleeping, and he is tucking one foot at least, none of which he was doing last night. He gave me a kiss tonight but doesn't want me to touch his beak. He has a thermo perch to help keep his body temp up too. I thjnk tomorrow I am going to be at the vet's when they open and hope they can get him in relatively quickly. Ugh, I am trying not to panic and freak but I am really worried :-(. I do not want to take any chances!

Nancy, thank you so much. I know G and I have a lot of work ahead of us as we do in any friendship, but you are so right.. When it's good, it feels like all of Heaven is shining on you! I love my bird! :-) And Sarasota...you sound like you are already well on your way. Please keep us posted on your progress!

thanks, birdhouse! LOL, I think Gryph went to an advanced bird school then, because he definitely has all the Grey rules down and then some! :-P. I am officially pwned by a 1 pound bird!

Tonight has been horrible.. Last night I had a bout of insomnia and barely got 3 jours sleep. Tonight I came home exhausted, was greeted by my happy Gryph, and after making dinner, I decided to go to bed. My hubby was up and wanted to give the birds a couple more hours up, so I said goodnight and turned in. 10 minutes after I lay down, I hear the most bone chilling, painful scream I've heard come from the living room. I rush out to find my husband holding my bird while he flings blood everywhere! Apparently Gryph and his sister were beak wrestling through the bars of his cage (the door was open) and somehow Seraph sliced open her brother's tongue. Gryph bled profusely for a good 5 minutes, and it's been an hour now and he's hiding in the dark in the back of his cage. Of course bad things always happen afterhours...the emergency vet said no one there is really trained with birds, and that our best bet is just to keep him calm, give him plenty of fluids, and hope the bleeding stops. She said bringing him in would just stress him more. GAH! I can tell he is in so much pain. Thank God the bleeding has stopped, but I'm so worried he lost too much blood. It was everywhere, dripping like a faucet. I had to use three paper towels to wipe up the couch, a towel for me, and there's still drops all over the floor and cage. I am not a blood person! He's making eye contact with me and gives me the blinky eyes, but other than that he isn't moving or making a sound. He just sits in the back against the side of his cage. I'm trying to stay calm for him, but between exhaustion and this, I'm ready to pass out. Seraph is also stressed. She knows something bad has happened to G, but she doesn't understand what. Please keep us in your thoughts!

Well, it's time for me to join. I feel like such a dummy these days, and I swear, just when I think I understand my birds they kick me in the rear I'm hoping this story has a happy ending for good, but just in case, I'm logging my entry to the club Gryph just turned 3 and boy does he have a wild streak. I've never had a bird that was a biter! At first he would nip when he was angry and then occasionally he would bite if he didn't want to do something, like step up. Then, about six months ago it was like all hell broke loose! I thought it was hormones or the terrible twos stage or something crazy!!! Any time I tried to get him to step up he'd lunge at me. I attributed this to the fact that I am short and all of his perches are tall, so I'd get a step ladder. At first, this worked, but then as time went on he started biting even when I was taller than him. If he didn't want to do something he wouldn't just give a warning nip, he'd bite the crap out of me. Then it morphed into suckering me for a kiss and trying his best to pierce my lower lip (which was successful, coulda hung a stud in it.) Finally, it transitioned into randomly biting my face with no warning, and when he finally landed a piercing bite a mere 2mm from my eye, I was fed up. I had scabs and scars all over my hands and face! EEEK! I tried everything to get him to stop, but in the end I was just so tired and scared of being bit or losing an eye that I didn't even want to interact with him. I started to think the best option might be finding him another home. But I told my husband...I've got to be doing something wrong, he wasn't always like this! And who wants a face-biting bird anyway? And even though his aggression was every day, there were still good points to our relationship - he only wanted to be with me and he got jealous if I paid any attention to his sister. He also never bit my husband or anyone else, only me. During feeding times, he always wanted to share my food and would in fact bring me food to eat. I seriously felt like a battered bird-wife! After a lot of reflection, I decided there were a few big problems. First and foremost, my approach to the whole situation had degenerated into yelling at him, leaving him caged and trying to dominate him, all of which were only making his aggression worse. Secondly, I decided he probably had some insecurity about his place in the flock because everyone had strong happy bonds except him, so he was always being excluded due to his aggression. Lastly, I decided that it was my fault he had learned these behaviors, so it was my job to help him unlearn them. While I never praised him for biting me, I realized I had inadvertently reinforced his biting by giving him no other kinds of interaction. My husband pointed out that while I wasn't a "bad person" or "abusive" in the ways we traditionally think about those things, it had become very apparent that if I was aggressive toward Gryph (by yelling or towering over him or demanding him to step up), he was aggressive right back, and now he was just aggressive all the time because that's what he'd come to expect from me. I decided I had to remove all forms of aggression from our interactions, even if that meant we didn't interact at all sometimes. The first thing I did was start using Sally Blanchard's principles of "Nurturing guidance" through regular step-ups and step downs, and after about 3 weeks of practice, we were starting to have entire "good days" where I didn't get bit. Every morning and evening we would do a quick step up session, and then again any time he displayed aggression. Sally's idea here is that by enforcing the step ups, you are enforcing your role as the dominant part of the relationship in a positive way, and over time the bird learns to trust your leadership. The second thing I did was immediately cease yelling or showing any kind of dominating behavior. If Gryph lunged at me, I would quietly chide him in the same tone I would use as if I was just talking to him, with no anger or frustration, and then walk away. If he bit, I did the same thing. Sometimes I'd come back five minutes later and he'd still be mad, so I'd walk away again without interacting with him. When he was being good though, I got super animated. I'd praise him with huge, over-pronounced sounds and lots of kisses, whistles and noise. I'd play catch with him - his favorite game - and tease him and give him toys so that he was the center of attention. I'd also praise him for the smallest things. If he was running around on the couch, I'd normally just ignore him...now I started telling him how awesome he was. It was really starting to have a good effect! There was still one little problem though. He still got aggressive when he was on a perch higher than me. I would talk to him gently and eventually he'd step up, although sometimes it was not without a few lunges. Then one day he didn't want to come down because he knew I was going out and that meant he was going in his home. We had been doing so good that day, but every time I tried to get him to step up he lunged to bite. Finally, after 15 minutes of frustration and trying to get him to step up, I'd had enough. I looked up at him and in a calm but resigned tone, said, "Come on, buddy. Do you want an almond? Just step-up-" I had just gotten the word "almond" out when he raised his foot and leaned forward to step up! No biting, no aggression, just pure willingness to do what I said! OH JOY!! Another two days went by and each time I tried to get him to step up off his high perch and he lunged, I'd offer an almond. I didn't hold it up to him - I'd ask him if he wanted to go get an almond, and then when he stepped up I'd take him over to the jar and let him pick out his own. He even started to give me a kiss after he got his almond. EVERY time it worked, and pretty soon he was lifting his foot without being offered a reward at all. It has been three weeks now and in that time he has not bitten me once. He steps up most of the time without hesitation, and only sometimes needs a little gentle coaxing. I no longer try to dominate him - what a huge learning experience that was! Now I just talk quietly and positively with him. He responds so well when I just ask him nicely to do things with me. I praise him for every good action, telling him how wonderful he is. It feels so foreign to not get angry when he acts out, but he is so much more responsive to gentle chiding than anything else. What I have realized is that he doesn't know he is being "bad." It's my problem if I don't like his behavior - as far as he is concerned he is just being a bird - so if he does something I don't like, getting mad at him is just confusing and hurtful, whereas gently chiding him and distracting him is actually constructive. There have been a couple of times he didn't want to do something, and rather than savagely bite me like before, he has grabbed my finger in his beak and just pushed it away. Then I talk to him softly and tell him how good he is and how I need him to help me out, and he responds right away. I cannot even believe the change that has happened in the last two and a half months! It's like I have a whole new bird! Anyhow, keeping my fingers crossed that our new relationship keeps getting better! And I am reminded every day of how much our birds have to teach us. I just wish it hadn't taken me six months to get the message on this one!

I love this idea! We're planning to build a bird room in our next house and I really wanted to add trees to give them more variety than pvc can provide. This is great and I will so borrow the idea! Right now we have a pvc stand that is about 6 ft tall, and I had a big problem with height induced aggression (I'm five feet tall) - until both my bird and I realized that he knows what "do you want an almond? Ok, step up..." means, LOL! I'm not too proud to admit that bribing my bird really works, and now I just make sure he gets an almond every few step ups to remind him why he does it! No more bites and no more having to get a step ladder = everyone is happy

How lucky for you, my greys were 14 MONTHS before they ever uttered a word! I was sure they were never going to talk, and now they won't shut up!

I signed it too...and posted it on FB!

Also, feathers can take awhile to grow back, especially if they are getting broken due to play. If he is breaking feathers playing in his cage, I would suggest lowering his perches until the flights grow back in. It won't prevent him from climbing, but will hopefully prevent losing his balance on a high perch. Another thing I did for my bird was line the bottom of her cage with folded up towels and put newspaper over top. That way if my bird fell she fell into a soft towel and not the hard metal bottom.

You might check out this thread I wrote about my bird's experience with a traumatic clipping and how we taught her to fly. Also, we had to protect the feathers that were growing in as breaking off a growing blood feather can be a potentially lethal injury. It is a sticky in the Training Room. Seraph is a very accomplished flyer now and I am happy to say she has all her feathers back and is healthy and happy http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?191047-Flying-again-after-traumatic-wing-clip!

My birds LOVE their thermo-perches. Just fyi though, the perch can be a little slippery for a bird with a foot handicap (Seraph has nerve damage in one foot, and has trouble gripping with it sometimes) so intervals of vet wrap might help if you have any issues with your bird. Kind of like putting down sticky rubber pieces in the bathtub! Seraph's foot aches sometimes and I can always tell because she gets a little nippy if you try to make her step up with it and she is never nippy any other time. But when she's hurting, she goes in and sits on her warm perch and it really seems to make her feel better.

Just as an fyi, I have gone through this a lot. This happens to my girl about once every 6 months or so as her beak starts to grow out. I feel so horrible for her when it happens. She has learned to eat out of the side of her beak and will eat soft foods, but she usually just wants to sit on us and sleep and doesn't usually eat a lot. Their beaks are very sensitive and a broken tip causes a lot of pain. We do our best to keep her warm, let her sleep on our shoulder, and not jostle her around too much. After about a day or two, the tip usually breaks off and she immediately perks up afterward. The experience seems a lot like a loose tooth that is just really really sore until it falls out. We have discussed with our avian vet, who ran tests and said everything looks normal, but told us that this happens to some birds and is generally not a super critical problem other than the fact that it can bleed and does cause pain. The vet said that some birds are just "accident prone" and the tip breaks sometimes because of a heavy impact, which is fairly consistent with Seraph's playing style. Our vet recommended that we can bring Seraph in to have them remove the beak tip safely and control any bleeding, but she said the best option is to just let the tip fall off on its own if possible, as it causes less overall stress and trauma to the bird. The bleeding has never been much and is usually just seen with the initial break...given a few days the beak "cauterizes" itself and then breaks below that point. There's actually a lot you can do to help your bird. Based on my experience, if you don't have a "thermo perch" I would highly recommend buying one, as it provides a nice, warm perch and when your bird is even remotely stressed, helping them keep their body temp regulated is very helpful. Plus, it's like curling up with a soft, warm blanket - it makes them feel safe and good. I also do all the normal things like weigh my girl daily, provide soft foods like Volkman's 15 min soak & serve, soaked pellets and soaked almonds. I also feed my birds sprouts (which are soft) and red palm oil daily, both of which support a healthy immune system. Red palm oil is high in Vitamin E and beta-carotines which helps fight infection (to prove this, try smearing red palm oil on a cut on your finger and watch how quickly it heals - the stuff is amazing), so all of these things help my bird reduce her stress and stay healthy while she heals. Finally, I try to make the house a peaceful, quiet place where she can rest until her beak tip falls off.

I originally wanted to give our birds African names, and then for awhile I was dead set on Hunin and Munin, after Odin's ravens. But nothing we picked really felt right. Then we actually met our birds. Seraph got her name because she was (and still is) a little "Angel", so we decided to name her "Seraph" after God's angelic host, the Seraphim. It has proven a most apt name as she is truly the sweetest bird we've ever met and when we lost her and got her back in such miraculous fashion, there was no doubt in our minds that she must have some angels on her side as well! Gryphon on the other hand... Gryph looks just like his dad, a huge Grey named Mustafa. When we first met Mustafa, he came out of his nest like a lion, with his head feathers all fluffed up in a huge mane, ready to chomp on us for daring to invade his privacy. He was so intimidating and looked for all the world like a grey lion-bird. Mustafa's size and mane effect are something Gryph inherited, his bearing is as regal and reserved as a king, and he also has a very wild, fierce spirit at times just like his dad. Hence, he became Gryphon, after the mythological half-lion, half-eagle creature

luvparrots, I almost got a bird from that Colton couple They are very selective about their "parronts" which I liked a lot. I ended up going with a breeder out of Silverton called Whitewind Farms. We met Nancy at a bird show in Oregon and she just had the most amazingly sweet greys. Nancy was great to work with - she let us visit multiple times, walked us through her entire process of hatching and raising baby birds, let us handle all the birds and let them choose us, and just spent a ton of time talking and getting to know us. We feel like Nancy is our friend, not our breeder! We only wanted one grey at the time but we ended up with two when Gryphon's sister, Seraph, picked my husband and made it known. We almost came home with all three of Nancy's babies because they were all so adorable and sweet! I was always nervous about a rehome and having the experience to adequately work with a rehomed parrot who might come with issues, but now I feel pretty confident I could do well with a rehomed bird. I get all the listings for african grey rehomes in the area on Craigslist and I want to adopt every single one, but a small house and a job and a grey who loves me with, um, a lot of beaky zest at times - encourage me to be more practical My husband tells me I would be "that crazy bird lady" if he didn't stop me, and I think he might be right!

Magical, I would encourage you not to give up. I lost my grey awhile back and it was devestating for us, but we recovered her. She was clipped and flew under her own steam with as much power as any other bird out there, which was completely unreal. We were devestated, but the thing is, these birds CAN and WILL survive way past the point where you think they can't. A very knowledgable bird rescuer who helped us said most parrots are capable of surviving for weeks and longer before they succumb to the elements, and generally they will seek out a person before then. Even though this may be your sweet baby, these parrots are designed for survival and have all their instincts. Our bird survived hawks, crow attacks, lack of food and water, rain and 30 degree temperatures with not even a blink. She was on her own for three days and we were able to track her and stay with her until we lost sight of her on the third day, and she only came down after she got hungry enough. To give you an idea of what we observed, she was extremely well camoflauged and would not fly if she saw any bird bigger than her in the sky. She wouldn't even make a sound, even though we were calling to her and she had been returning our contact calls. We observed crows attacking her because she was a strange presence in the neighborhood; she dodged them too and hid deep in the trees until they got tired of waiting for her and went away. We saw her drinking water off the leaves. We recorded how far she flew and calculated how long she would generally rest. At night she got deep down in the trees next to the trunk and stayed there, which was huge protection from the rain, wind, cold and predators. She always stayed high in the trees so ground predators weren't even an issue. Trust me, these guys know what to do to take care of themselves. So don't give up hope. The liklihood that she flew or will fly down to someone is high, given the climate and how long she's been gone and the fact that these birds are ultimately extremely intelligent survivors who know that people are a safety net. What you need to do is keep your posters fresh and make sure they are not just up around the neighborhood - put them in the parking lots at grocery stores, pet stores, fast food places and major locations where most people go on a daily basis. Get an add on Craigslist and keep it at the top of the lost & found/african grey/parrot postings every day. Check with the animal shelters, pet stores, vets (not just avian ones) every day. My bird flew over eight miles total and ended up 3 miles line of sight from our house. We got her back because someone else who had lost their grey 15 miles away saw our post on Craigslist and told the guy who found our bird to call us too just in case. We then helped rescue that guy's grey when someone who had seen our poster called to tell us he had a grey in his backyard. We didn't even have posters in the area where that grey was lost - the man had seen our poster because he just happened to stop at a grocery store in our neighborhood on the way home. That bird had been missing for 4 1/2 days and was found sitting on a fence only one street over from his owner's house, but by mere cooincidence the two were reunited because of a poster someone saw 15 MILES away on the way home from work! So you've got to get the word out beyond your neighborhood and in places where people are likely to go and most importantly you must not give up!

Seraph likes to roll over on her back and after seeing this picture: we decided to add "Time for tickles" to her game routine. We also started saying "Tickle Tickle Tickle" in a high-pitched voice when we did it, and now when we say "Time for Tickles" Seraph rolls over and Gryphon will usually say the "Tickle Tickle Tickle" routine. We've laughed so hard about it the birds think it's the best game ever invented

Ha, CAGRico! Yes, I am sure I will have something to say about the heat after a time. My DH is from the Death Valley area and we visit there quite often, so I do have some experience with intense heat in the summer, but I've never lived in it. I look like a true Oregonian, pale and sickly, and part of the reason for us to head south is for my health, so I'll not knock it till I've tried it. DH grew up out in the middle of nowhere and says the scorps, spiders and snakes were just part of life. Whenever we go visit home they all tease me about the spiders but I have seen nasty things every time I've been there, and nearly been eaten twice! (Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating just a tad...but wolf spiders are no chump spider, let me tell ya ) I can deal with them as long as they're not on me...eew. I just don't want to worry about something crawling up into a bird cage at night and eating my bird! We haven't bought a house yet and are just in the planning stages, but I'll definitely make sure to talk to neighbors and yes, I think we're definitely planning on sticking to populated areas. Thanks!

Ok, so I too love candles but I love my birds more J Here’s what I’ve found in my research on this subject: I believe the primary danger to a bird's respiratory system stems from the way their lungs operate at a higher efficiency that normal mammalian lungs, making the exchange of oxygen to blood ratio much higher. Therefore, any chemical that gets included in the gas exchange that takes place in the lungs is potentially harmful, and on an exponentially larger scale (despite their smaller size) than it is for us. So basically, birds breathe more efficiently than we do because they need greater quantities of oxygen for flight, and when you introduce harmful chemicals to that process, that means they absorb those chemicals into their systems better than we do too. Some birds may tolerate certain chemicals better than others, just as some humans have different levels of sensitivity to these things, but ultimately I think there is a pretty solid body of evidence out there that long term exposure to airborne pollutants is a bad thing for anyone, human or avian. In the wild, birds are much better equipped to handle poor air quality due to lack of movement restriction and the fact that any air pollution is distributed over a larger area. That doesn't mean that poor air quality hasn't been documented to affect the health of birds – google “air quality and avian death” to find articles on this. In a home though, even a flighted bird’s movement is severely restricted, and generally, air circulation in a home is usually poor at best. So logically, any reduction of air quality – due to stale air, chemicals, smoke, vapors, scents, etc - can be potentially harmful or fatal to a bird even if no human, dog, cat or mouse shows a response to it. So, rather than look at statistics on bird deaths in relation to specific devices like candles, Teflon, etc, I’d point you to the physiology as proof that birds have much more sensitive respiratory systems. Taking it one step further, if you apply the science behind how human lungs are affected by specific chemicals (like ammonia) or chemicals over a long period of time (like cigarette smoke or smog), it stands to reason you can draw logical conclusions about what airborne pollutants are going to be harmful to a bird. I used to be a fish nut and shopped at an awesome fishstore downtown, who had higher prices but treated every fish in their store like a prized rare specimen (even the guppies.) I dropped in one day and noted two immediate things – a yankee candle burning near the cash register (to cover up the damp mold smell most fish stores have as a result of so much water in an enclosed space) and a gorgeous white cockatiel half-covered up a few feet away. I immediately sought out the owner and explained the analogy of a fish tank that builds up toxic ammonia because it isn’t kept clean. Fish die in dirty fish tanks because they “breathe” the ammonia in, which builds up in their blood and their system to toxic levels and eventually causes organ failure and death. Some fish handle it better than others and can live a long time in poor water quality, and some are so sensitive that any ammonia at all is lethal. So put that into perspective for your birds – if you reduce air quality through an artificial environment (your home) and then pollute that air quality with harmful chemicals (candles, air fresheners, ammonia/bleach cleaners, etc) you are raising the toxicity in your bird’s system regardless of whether they show visible signs. Maybe your bird won’t die today, but what about tomorrow? A week from now? A year from now? Obviously, most of us have lives that are filled with some kind of airborne pollutants such as cleaning solutions, cooking vapors, smoking, candles etc, so I think the key is to do your best to eliminate as many chemicals as possible and improve air quality through fresh air, air purifiers and better air circulation. It’s hard to not use chemicals when you clean your bathroom, but could you move your birds to another room and open some windows or use an air purifier to reduce exposure when you do clean? That’s totally within your control. Same thing with candles. Maybe you don’t have to get rid of the candles, but could your wife restrict their use to the bathroom (which has a fan for circulating steamy air into the attic) or room where your birds are not hanging out? How about look at ways to circulate polluted air out of your house instead of through your house, e.g., using the "fan" setting on your heating/cooling system to draw in fresh air from the outside with a fan set up facing out an open window to pull that fresh air through the room and out the other side? That being said I have simmered cinnamon & apples, or strawberries in my crockpot for a pleasant scent, but mostly if I want my house to smell “good” I either bake something or open the windows!

Hey guys, well, it looks like we may be taking the plunge and heading to the Phoenix area (Chandler/Gilbert/Queen Creek area) relatively soon. Now I love the desert and do not mind the climate or the landscape, but the creepy crawly things seriously creep me out. I am ok with keeping an exterminator on the payroll though, and I'm also ok with doing in any creepy crawly thing that comes into my house. What I'm worried about most are my birds! Is there anyone on the board from the Phoenix area? Do you have any experience protecting your birds from scorpions and spiders? My guess is that a bite/sting from one of these guys would be lethal to a parrot. I've read a lot of hooplah on controlling the creepy crawly things in the desert and there seems to be one common theme - keep a clean house, exterminate regularly, and remove items from the yard (such as lots of brush or rocks) that give bugs a place to hide. But as you know, even the cleanest parrot is still messy. Obviously, spraying pesticides in the house is not an option so what do you use to keep your parrots safe? Diotomaceous earth sounds eco-friendly, but in the desert? Wouldn't it get blown away in a couple of days? Do you ever worry about spiders or scorpions getting to your birds or is this a non-issue as long as you take normal precautions (exterminating food sources and keeping the house/floors clean)? I've read some of the spiders down there ARE bird hunters! Eeek! Just trying to not freak out this time, like I do about EVERYTHING that could potentially harm my birdies Thanks!

I've used all the Beak Appetit products though I tend to like Volkman's Soak and Serve blend better in terms of nutrition. My birds really like Cinnamon Sunrise, Nuts for Alfredo and Cheese Teaser though. I have to admit I think they taste pretty good myself I like the Cinnamon sunrise the best because after my birds are done chowing down, their breath smells like cinnamon and makes them very kissable! I don't know if I'd use a cooked mix specifically as a "weight gainer" for underweight birds. Being underweight is usually a sign of sickness or malnutrition so if you haven't talked to your vet, you should do that first. Sometimes birds can lose a little weight if they are molting or stressed in their environment too. Providing a balanced, healthy diet is really the key. We tend to think of birds in terms of people - if they are too skinny, we should stuff them full of food to fatten them up - but in reality, a parrot generally will eat all that it needs to support its metabolism throughout the day, and it's only when outside factors encroach - lack of balanced diet, overabundance of fatty seeds/human junk food, or an illness/injury - that the parrot's metabolism fails to keep up. A lot of people say "my bird refuses to eat x____x" but I believe that in most situations, the bird just doesn't realize that x is a source of nutrition. I've changed my birds' diet half a dozen times over trying to achieve that perfect, healthy balance and the key to doing it was to be patient, introduce new foods in moderation, and get creative with the introduction. Some sure fire ways of success for me are: 1) Always feed the birds in one location. Put the tasty food in the same bowl as the untasty/untried food. This helps the parrot realize that what's in the bowl is food, regardless of what it looks like, smells like or tastes like. 2) EAT your parrot's food. Take a spoon and eat a bite out of their bowl. Show them that YOU think it's just SOOOO tasty! (This may sound crazy but I can assure you this method wins every time with my birds ;P ) 3) Layer the stuff they like at the bottom beneath the stuff they haven't tried or don't normally eat. Let them see you doing this. 4) Mix everything up with baby food or red palm oil so there is a consistent taste to everything. Texture, shape and color are big indicators to a parrot about whether something will taste good (ie, the more bling, the tastier it's got to be.) So if everything looks roughly the same, they can focus more on what their body needs. 5) If you're trying to switch the parrot's diet, don't just eliminate the "bad" food cold turkey. When I switched my parrots from a daily seed intake to daily sprouts, I put a heaping tablespoon of sprouts in their bowl and sprinkled just a few seeds on top. This had the effect of convincing them that they still had seed in their bowl - but now it was tastier, juicier seed! Food and nutrition can sometimes be an act of extreme patience with parrots. Most of the time if I try the food and share with them they will eat it, and after that it's just a matter of adding it regularly to their meals to get them in the habit of eating it whenever its offered. I usually do a 2 week period with new foods where that's the major staple of what they get fed. They still get their normal stuff, but I'll add the same new food at every meal for around 2 weeks to establish a habit of seeing it, and then usually they get used to eating it. Sometimes it takes less time and sometimes it takes a LOT longer. Unfortunately, there is no exact science with these guys and some things do take convincing! Consider adding some extra treats in the form of healthier nuts (almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts) and maybe a little more protein to the diet - egg is ok, but instead of animal proteins - which greys don't normally eat in the wild and can be hard on their kidneys - consider sprouting quinoa or legumes for a much healthier, more natural protein. Quinoa is a complete protein and extremely easy to sprout. Also, in my experience birds can take a long time to gain back weight they've lost due to illness, injury or malnutrition. One of my birds lost over 20 grams during a 3 day outdoor adventure (we estimate she flew over 8 miles on clipped wings), and it took her roughly a month to gain that back. Another one of my birds lost about 15 grams after bruising her breast bone (she flew into a wall, the dingbat!) and it took her almost 3 months to gain that back on a normal, balanced diet. Today, I feed my birds a varying mix that usually falls in the range of 20% cooked grains(beak appetit, volkman's or other), 40% sprouts, 5% dry seed, 25% fruits & veggies and 10% other (like people foods or treats.) I try to change the mix up on occasion so sometimes they get more veggies and less sprouts, etc. I try not to make a mash of it but instead just mix it up with a half teaspoon or so of organic babyfood, and they get all the fun of eating different textures but the taste is relatively the same. A lot of birds really seem to like cooked mixes, and if you can convince your bird to eat even a little, then you are making progress. Keep it up and eventually your patience will pay off! Good luck!

My birds love their red palm oil. At first they weren't too keen on it, but I just mixed in with every meal for about two weeks and now they go nuts for it. I can get them to eat anything when the palm oil is mixed in. I use only enough to coat their food - about 1/4 teaspoon and give it to them with dinner every other day or so. I am also convinced that it has huge health benefits for them, especially because it's part of their natural diet. When they get it regularly they are much less moody and their feathers are always silvery bright and deep red, and their feet have nice shiny black scales. I just have to be good and make them wipe their beaks after dinner or else my clothes will have stains!

My little bugger got into the almond jar this weekend behind my back! It was my fault though - I didn't screw the lid on tightly and he got it off and then helped himself! I felt so bad when I took him back to his perch - you'd have thought I broke his heart! He had his fill of almonds for the day though, that's for sure.