danmcq

Do you mean Thyroid Hyperplasia (Goiter) in Birds? Greys have a Preen Gland that is sometimes swollen and non-functional located at the bottom - center of their back which secretes oil that they get off the wick when preening and it coats the feathers with the precursors for D3. If breathing becomes more stressed, you really need to get your grey to a vet 911!!!

This is deathly serious. Did your vet also give vitamin D3 so the calcium will be absorbed in to the body,bones etc.? I would get your grey back to the vet immediately from the symptoms you are describing which are life threatening. Next week will not be soon enough if your grey is presently at the point of gasping for air!!!

Trance, you should add another answer to your poll - "Limited taste and smell". If you asked a dog if humans could smell, they would laugh and say "Well yes, but they are severely handicapped at it".

LOL Dave!!! Parrots do have limited taste buds and limited smell.

LOL @ these stories of what some think is crazy behavior for a grey. A bird is afraid of a towel if it was and has been only used to towel them. WE have played with towels with our grey and conure since bring them home. They love to drag them around, wrap up in them and toss them on the floor just to watch us pick them up. We also use the towels to wrap them while trimming Talons or at the vet for an exam. They are not fearful of the towels in the latter cases, they are fearful of talon trimming (getting better though) and the vet while wrapped in their security blanket.. the towel. It is all about how they were raised and taught.

Thanks for posting this Ray. Many of us here do have parrots other than Grey's and other birds sharing our homes with us.

LOL Nancy, how true about them worrying about what your worried about! These greys are just too intelligent sometimes!!!

Bravo on rescuing him! I am surprised he comes out of his cage after the life he lead hidden away by himself in the cage. God, what are people thinking when they do that!! Now that you know this can happen, wtach for the bote before it happens as others recommended. Are you able to get him step-up with out getting bit?

Awww, congrats!!

As the others have said, the breeder is probably not handling the chicks yet. Normally until they are 5 or 6 weeks old, you are not going to have any interaction with them.

All the others gave good comments. A couple of things you mentioned in regards making sounds etc. Since you moved him to the living room, he is now in a new room and does not feel comfortable to do any chattering. He will, unless he is actually afraid of something in there right now. The doorbell sound when corner, I suspect is because he knows that sound equal open the door and he could get out of the corner. He is very intelligent and trying his best to communicate at times that previously worked for him, but he does not realize you do not know those indications... yet. It's all about studying and coming to know what he is telling you and making him feel comfortable and safe. Believe me, even different chirps and whistles mean something.

Hi Nancy, sorry this is long in coming. I just saw this. Wow, now that is a completely different problem that I cannot remember ever having to address here. I have had this happen early when trimming dayos nails and he grasped on to my fingers while I was trying to hold his Talon to trim. Jesus, talk about "put a hurt on you"! It is a grip of death and you cannot get them to release it and is very painful. Thanks to Dave on this forum, he suggested using a short 4 inch piece of perch that I had dayo clamp his talons on and it worked perfectly in letting me trim his nails. I know this is not your issue that your dealing though. I only have a Talon clamp like you describe if Dayo does not want to release for example when I take him to his cage at night which he hates. I do not use my hand, rather I use my fore arm for this. I will say though, sometimes if I don't keep the sharp tips dulled on his talons, I will end up with puncture holes in my arm. The problem with Talons clamped, they are mechanically "Locked" until the bird mentally/mechanically "Unlocks" them (keeps them from falling out of trees while sleeping) and keeps them glued to us. The big problem, is you can not of course pulled them off you without ripping your flesh and/or hurting the bird, so that's not an option. I am uncertain where you may be wanting Sopie to down to, but perhaps her favorite treat could be used as an enticement to step down for? Is this a particular place you always have problems getting to step down? What is so alluring about the floor, is it her favorite place to spend time?

Yes, they are safe. There are several online retailers that offer safe freeze dried fruits, veggies and even nuts for parrots. Here are a couple of examples: http://www.aviannaturals.com/parrotfood_af.html http://www.parrotsparrotsparrots.com/gfras.html

Looks like you have a scrapper there that loves to get aggressive with toys.

I have no doubt this is a scam, you all right. There is no contact information, who they really are or where they are located. Just a link to send money to a shadow person out there somewhere in la-la land...

Oh no, how devastating. I am so sorry this happened.

Brutus is certainly impressive at constructing sentences with the additional "Go Ahead". Isn't it amazing to watch them experiment like that? Thanks for sharing this. It is another prime example of just how intelligent these greys are and the are not "just parroting". I would really love to see any video's you could share with us of Brutus.

LOL Steve, this thread is becoming HILARIOUS!!!

Hi Maggie, tell Jay I said hi back.

He has been bonding with you and trusts you. That will develop much more slower with your other family members. If you spend time with him and say your wife and get him used to allowing her to get a step up while you are present it will help expedite the process of DJ trusting her enough to at the least step-up. But I will say, if he does not want to at that time, he won't. This is going to be a work in process, meaning time and patience working with DJ on the step. The same hold true for others in the household like your daughter and maid in working on the trust with him.

That's good news, your on the right path.

Judy tells it tells it like it is. Greywings gave good comments as well. The guy working at that pet store, sure does not know much about parrots....

There is not a specific chart such as exists for us humans and a daily intake recommendation. However you can find a good composite of information by doing a search as Maggie posted. Daves post on Red Palm Oil is very essential as they frequent the Red Palm Oil trees native to Africa Daily and consume them. Here is a video link of them in the wild feeding on them: http://www.arkive.org/african-grey-parrot/psittacus-erithacus/video-08.html Here is a very good article by Pamela Clark on African Grey Diet: http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-diet-and-health/bird-nutrition/food-for-african-greys.aspx

I feed my Grey Kaytee Fiesta Max seed mix.: http://www.kaytee.com/products/fiesta-max-parrot.php I also give him Harrison's High Potency coarse mixed in with it: http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/High-Potency-Coarse/products/12/ I also give him a little daily Harrisons birdy bread, Original and Hot Pepper: http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/Harrisons-Bird-Bread-Mix/products/38/

He is certainly happy and wanting to share some food with you.