aunali9

You are right inara. I do need to start adding weight. I haven't been doing that actually. Its the one thing that kept slipping my mind. I did weigh him at a friends place every week till he was feathered. I do have many photos and videos of him. When I get some time I'll organize it all and share them with you guys. I'm starting to realize all this katana. I make daily discoveries like pink toys turn him into a homing missile where as blue toys mean perch-aim-poop. Things that move are more attractive than anything that makes noise. And lying on his back in my palm = nap time he is frightened of books. If he sees a book miles away he starts growling at it. So I put one of the books acceptable to him far away but in sight where it doesn't affect him. I'll bring it a little closer after some time to see if he reacts. I hope he doesn't because the whole house is full of them. News papers he loves. And thank you all for the warm welcome ^^

I've made a mental note to let you know if I find one myself even. I'll definitely put it up over here also. With so many apps out there I'm sure there must be a good one for birds!

Yeah that's what my girl friend thought too. He's huge also. He looks bigger than my friends adult male grey and even the one at the pet store I get my supplies from!

Thank you katana! It really has been a roller coaster ride! I've driven quite a few people up the wall recently. I'm happy things turned out for the best!

Oh yeah. I'm feeding formula both morning and evening. When I leave for the hospital in the morning I leave the drier food for him and when I return at about 3pm I try out different veggies or fruits. Then I feed formula again before or after I'm having dinner myself he makes this sound that I can't quite figure out. He does it all day. If I make eye contact with him he starts no matter what. Whether he is full or hungry, in the cage or out, it doesn't matter. It's like a begging sound. If he I'd hungry it gets different. But it changes only in quality. I can clearly tell the difference. Which just makes me wonder what it could be

So I was wondering, does anyone know any good cell phone apps that might be dedicated towards taking care of a pet parrot? I've come across many for cats and dogs. Haven't found one that works with birds of any sort. Any suggestions?

Thank you all ^^ I hope I can contribute to the knowledge and assistance available on the forum as much as I'm benefitting from it!

i think im a month late to the welcome room, but just wanted to say hello to all of you here who i havent met yet, and a big thanks to those i already have. im a 4th year MBBS med student in pakistan (meaning im a year away from becoming a doctor). im also one of those people spoken of all over the internet who made the erroneous choice of purchasing an unweaned parrot, and though i dont regret it one bit, i must say i might have done a lot wrong without the help ive gotten here. on the 13th of may i got my bird at 4 and a half weeks of age. honestly feeding it the first few times was like inserting a naso gastric tube in an infant for the first time. and i almost wet myself the first time i saw it cleaning its beak out with its tongue after a feeding thinking it was choking or something. Dave of course corrected me in this and many other things along with other members. i'll put up some pictures of Echo and how he has grown over the month and a half he/she has been with me (gotta dna sex soon). i'm in the process of weaning my parrot and discovering what kind of food it prefers, how it wants it etc etc. its too much fun playing ball and watching the shock on its face when it rolls away every time it knocks it with its beak. step up lessons daily and all. and the chattering after meals and before preening ritual is hilarious! i dont know where it learned to make the farting noises but im sure it wasnt me! here is a link to follow for pictures of him in order according to age:

oooookay, i think ive solved the mystery, he eats about anything as long as its crunchy! with the exception of bananas, HE LOVES BANANAS. and if its warm he wont even taste it. there is a cage soon to be made for him also. 3x3x4. i think hes trying to lift off but he runs at my desk and crashes into it wings flapping looking morose haha.

thanks nancy its reassuring when some one tells me that haha

Also he is more likely to eat the food if I place the beans/pulses in a bowl with just a tiny amount of formula as well. Is that harmful? I think he does have water when he wants to.

Alright guys. More questions headed your way My parrot is eating well, playful makes funny noises and is quite cuddly. I think he's doing well. I'm feeding him softened pulses and beans which he eats but generally only if I give them to him in a spoon. Formula is turned down in reduced amounts at lunch. I want to know if it's okay to feed him the food from the spoon? The adult food that is. Or should I just leave it around till he starts eating it himself?

Haha i remember my little guy looking like that, only much more grey! im the only one among my friends who didn't describe him as a grey flesh pin cushion. Looked about as cute as my nieces and nephews to me And i totally forgot to mention that DNA sexing takes place in a different city here. a good vet can send samples but they insist i wait a few weeks! i should listen to them i guess. I'll call him Marcus or her Cleo

Of course its a third world country but I'm sure even ten years ago we wouldn't have advanced enough to find people like me fussing this much, but progress is great either way. I'd hate for people to think badly of Pakistan by what I'm saying but I see it as an improvement that through awareness (which has been brutal to me but apparent nonetheless) we can and will eventually correct such inadequacies.

The problem here in Pakistan is that the seller you can trust is in 99% cases the people who have the accidental increase in number of family members. They keep rings on them just in case if they are enthusiasts with a large number of birds to distinguish their birds from smuggled ones as they are brought in too old to be banded correctly. Not even "breeders" by the definition really. Its almost always breeding season also because of the weather and climate apparently and I don't know about surgical procedures for animal contraception as far as African greys or birds go but I wouldn't trust the expertise available. No one would I think. Even my vet agrees on that. There is a massive number of birds that are sold weaned but caught wild and sick. They sell cheap cost the sellers nothing but the price of smuggling a 500 gram bundle of feathers. Its even worse than actual breeders selling them young. Over here its just the only way to get a healthy bird. Since the seller isn't a breeder he will only give you what advice he can offer which isn't at all times the best. He might just have 2 birds. And it could be his first time dealing with his bird laying eggs himself. But at the very least the baby will be healthy. The guy I got the baby from wasn't really a bad person. But he was leaving the country when this guy was born and couldn't care for it himself. Apparently the parents were hostile to it. He didn't have much reason to lie because my birds siblings are still with the parents. He actually wanted to keep the baby. As a result the complications after buying are just blanketed by the actual purchase. There is a serious need for more awareness in this regard. Dogs and cats being popular aren't much of a problem and these issues don't exist in that department.

Yeah I waited it out after reading it up a little. Scared me again recently haha. The feathers that emerged late did open eventually but a little twisted kind off. Like they didn't sit flush with his body like the other wing. As of yesterday he is completely symmetrical however and happy as ever. I watched him comb them straight. I guess he just didn't cut the casing right the first time. His latest interest is in attempting to climb up the side of the cage. And eats bananas like they are Scooby snacks or something. Still no to the lentils. And he also doesn't like green peas or spinach. I'm afraid he might get less food because he even started refusing formula at smaller volumes and even an entire feeding in the morning today. I'm not holding back on the bananas or the formula. Its always available. I try to feed him every 3 hours and not let his crop empty for longer than an hour at the most.

Thank you for the advice Muse. I had the tailbob checked out. Apparently they ARE the use of accessory muscles but not a tail Bob as you would see in respiratory conditions. Its because of the earlier mentioned feeding insecurity. He used to make the begging sound very loud and forcefully and sorta whisper it at the sight of me. It wasn't his breathing causing it but the under-his-breath begging he was doing as he still pressurized air for vocalization but didn't when I was close or touching him. He didn't do it when the vet was over and I was out of sight. Since his begging problem has gone and he has started making proper sounds, I haven't seen it again.

Oh yeah. I really don't care if he doesn't talk. Its his thinking process that amazes me. He knows that round objects roll for example. That the transformers waist can turn. That his food bowl is emptying. Things like that. Its amazing and they are definitely amazing companions from what I'm seeing and experiencing. He even reacts to things on TV! He's just eight and a half weeks old or a few days more!

haha yeah ive noticed that. if i want to tempt him to try something i have to play with it myself first. thats why im trying to give him very chopped up veggies and soaked lentils/pulses that wont make me gag. i eat a tiny bit first then he takes a lick of it, shakes his head and spits it out like it tastes like crap. speaking of which he doesnt mind tasting his own poo as much as he hates any sort of solid food except bananas! im thinking he is trying to make new sounds all the time these days. he just wants nothing better than to croak or whistle or something in my lap. its amazing watching a personality develop out of a lump of greying flesh! im glad i didnt get a dog. and i really do need to decide on a name now. any ideas on how to get him to recognize his own name?

thanks 2birds. he is doing great. i think im in for a tough time though. he is quite the devil even at his age. i might be being silly but i seriously think he has started to show some intellect. he only poops on newspaper for one. whether its the new one at my door step or the old ones i use to cover the floor of his tub or the ground around it. he will waddle as fast he can to it, poop, then waddle back to his toys haha. i will be getting him a cage about 3x3x3 temporarily from my friend. its pointless putting him in the tub. he has learned to use his weight to tip it over and after the first time i thought it could be dangerous. i can tell he is a transformers fan. he wants nothing but my transformers collectibles. im glad they are single piece plastic and unpainted. he is losing the fuzz and getting fully feathered but doesnt show any interest in solid food and treats water like poison

Yes I did look into that Nancy. But other forums just end up flooding you with worst case scenarios and just mess with your head more. I'm actually glad only one person is advising me here. On a very pleasant note, I saw the vet again and he was nice enough to take out the time for me to actually get to know my bird and spend some time with him. He said he has a problem that in his experience happens to one or two out of ever 20 or 30 parrots that he looks over. In the wild an African grey ends up feeding one or more baby more out of a clutch of 3 or 4. This is because of resource constraints as a result of which some babies eventually don't make it. The babies reaction is to beg for food incessantly. In captivity when this happens, at times even to well fed young ones, their begging ends up leading to care givers to over feed them waiting for them to show signs that they are now full. Its an insecurity issue. His solution was that when I'm feeding him, I should pause after every 5 or 10 ml or so for a few days and just play around and cuddle with him for a few minutes. And then resume feeding him and he showed me himself, visually and by touch, a point at which I should stop when the crop is full. The added love and affection is reassuring for the baby and he realises he isn't being neglected for whatever reason. One other issue was also a not toooo uncommon one, that since he is begging all day and his anxiety was relieved by a syringe, he developed a conditioning towards becoming relieved by it. Sort of addicted to it. He proved this in two ways, one was to present him with a spoon full of formula and an empty syringe. He turned away the spoon even after tasting the formula to tug at the syringe which was a) placed away from him b) obviously not able to feed him as it was empty. The second proof was that after feeding him with a spoon, he turned his head from it and wouldn't open his mouth even if I rubbed the sides of the base of his beak or nudged his beak with the spoon. But if I brought the empty syringe even in sight, he would start bobbing his head and begging for food. Since I've basically been just spending more interactive time with him and using a spoon, he has gone back to eating 45 to 55 ml instead of the 100ml+ over feeding. Over feeding: after feeding the 80-90ml+ his voice was hoarse, his breathing strained, he could hardly move, stopped preening or playing. He was sleeping only 4 or 5 hours a night but very inactive and lethargic awake he wasn't even preening or exercising his wings. His poop was less in amount and he was dehydrating. Basically if you think about it he was a very thin person fed a 2kg fatty beef steak. He couldn't digest it, it was pulling water OUT of his system, and he was showing respiratory difficulty because his abdomen was over burdened. He was also bringing up food. Which he hasn't aspirated thankfully BUT EASILY COULD HAVE which is why he was all hoarse. Just like in people the chemicals in the crop are irritant for the birds throat. He wasn't playing with toys or my nose which he loves to do. The biggest problem was I could have given him crop stasis because he was still begging for the reasons above. Since new ways and routine (last 2 days): he is now eating exactly like Dave said he should. He is turning away from the spoon after 45 to 60ml depending on whether its the morning feed or the ones later in the day. After feeding though he's full, he preens himself, stretches, exercises his wings a whole lot, and stops begging completely. I can't tempt him into a single more drop of formula. Best of all he scratches at the side of the tub ive been keeping him in that I've realised means he wants out. Once out he's nibbling at everything in sight, finds my key chain and my phone a blast to mess with, and has been ripping into his toys with a vengeance. He wants to cuddle, and loves being rubbed and scratched around the neck. He responds to my voice and is very active he's pooping every 30 or so minutes. The morning dump is huge, the rest smaller. Took a nibble out of my banana and seemed to like it a lot. I'll be sure to add some to the softened pulses and veggies I leave with him now. His voice isn't hoarse and he even whistled at me today haha. Hope he keeps doing that. I hope this is an end to this episode of problems. But its good to see him being his nutty self again. And many thanks to the grey forums family here, all of you, and Dave especially. I thought this might add to the library of knowledge on this forum. It has been very stressful for me and my pet. Taken a toll on my studies and work. I've had to take 3 valuable days off which were worth it, but NEVER BUY AN UNWEANED BIRD. I came close to giving my baby bird the following problems: Crop stasis resulting in infections, malnourishment, dehydration, and vomiting. Vomiting resulting in aspiration and pneumonia and other infections. Psychological problems that he might live with for the rest of his life. Death because of all of the above.

Haha yeah he is! And really likes to cuddle also. And really annoys me when my girlfriend is over because I get no attention from either of them then Internet in Pakistan is extremely slow so when I have time I will make a thread for him here with videos and all. And to really let people know what all can go wrong with your unweaned parrot OR even the owner. If I think some thing is off about him I'm up all night watching him sleep.

I really hope I haven't been abandoned here heh...

African grey vocalization after feeding 2: That's another one. Its longer and you'll hear the voice better I think.

Dave I'm uploading some videos of my parrot right after a feeding. His voice changes though he doesn't vomit or regurgitate. Today he ate 95ml. His crop looks like a tennis ball not like a golf ball... Just wanted to know what you think. Also I started using a spoon. I feel like its going much easier on him. African grey vocalization after feeding: