danmcq

Congratulations! What a wonderful choice you made of giving this adult 8 year old grey a good and loving home. Coconut meat and water are fine. My grey loves coconut and lavishes every bite when he gets it. He also drinks the coconut water which I give to him when I empty it out. I may be mistaken, but perhaps the sugar listed on the ingredients is actually the natural "Sugars" contained in most all fruits? You could ask the manufacturer by looking their website up. I am looking forward to hearing a lot more about him and seeing some photos when you get a chance.

It sounds like she is on the mend and doing great. I am so happy for you and her. Thanks for the photos, she is a fine looking grey. I would love to see some videos of her once things settle down a little and you all have time to return to a normal modus operandi.

Wonderful update on Issac and the photos were very much appreciated. You two have been here since you first got Issac and your like family members to us. I really look forward to seeing videos of him. The love you feel for Issac is unimaginable by non-parrot people. I think we all feel that deep parental love for our avian friends. Thanks for sharing all this. Issac is one highly intelligent grey and beautiful grey.

Your medical education and background just may be what has saved her and been the underlying reason for her health improvement. Dehydration can cause a plethora of symptoms in a bird. It is possible the Metacam exacerbated the symptoms. A fungal infection could only be diagnosed with a scrape or biopsy. I completely understand your frustration with the clinics all wanting Money up front before helping at all. You would think after spending so much at that one place, they would have perhaps considered a payment knowing how much you care about your bird and the amount you were already willing to spend. The most disturbing event you mentioned that alarmed me, was a vet in the middle of a 911 saying "It's Closing Time" and pushing you out the door! I cannot imagine such an attitude from a doctor of veterinarian medicine. Many are of the "Cut of Cloth" that will get up at 2 am from an emergency call and stay with it until the patient critter is at least stabilized and a reasonable amount of certainty that being kept in the environment they are in will be sufficient for some number of hours. I must say though, from a clinics/vets point of view, people probably walk in the door many times a day with a 911 seriously hurt or ill critter and ask to make payments due to not having any money at all. I suppose after you have tried to help people and be kind following your conscience, that they would become calloused and wish to no longer suffer the loss of time and money they have spent being "A good Guy" after helping out several people that received the emergency treatment and just disappeared never paying back a cent. You have set a standard in doing all you can to get your grey treated that all here I hope would follow in such an event. The only thing I might suggest, is establishing a regular visit once or twice a year to a vet you trust and feel confident in. After the relationship is established and they know you and your critters, when emergencies or serious illnesses happen, many time they would be open to payments. I experienced this when one of our Dobies had cancer that needed to be removed and treated which became enormously expensive. Once my resources ran out, they did indeed allow me to have a "Tab" and make payments, which I did so in very short order to keep the relationship strong and the impression that I/We are responsible people they can trust.

Jesus, so sorry to hear of this. What you describe of labored breathing and no appetite or desire for water is extremely serious. It may or may not be related to the "Bird Safe" carpet cleaner. That could be coincidental. The person that can possibly diagnose and treat your grey is a certified avian vet that knows what to test for and how to keep her alive until a correct diagnosis is established. It may be a 3 or 4 hour trip to see an avian vet, but I personally believe the sooner you get there the better. Your grey will not live much longer if you don't in my opinion. Also, as sick as he is, there is no doubt they will want to keep and treat him over night at least.

You bet he "Knows That". What a brilliant Grey Marcus is! It's great to hear he is really opening up and participating in the flock dynamics within the household now. It all sounds like huge tons of enjoyment.

Nice photo, they certainnly love the outdoors and the warm sunshine on their bodies. Thanks for sharing this.

Uh Oh and LOL at the same time to Daves post. We are and have always been very routine oriented since we got marrid just a few years ago, like 40.... We do and say the same thing to all our pets in the mroning waking time and the evening go to bed time. Jake the conure just flies to his cage and climbs in it whenever he wishes, which is usually right as the sun sets. Dayo however, will not even think about going to bed for the evening until we do, whether early or late, he wants to be with us until the night gremlin sings. Our dobies go to their respective beds as well when we go to bed.

Looking forward to hearing what the avian vet finds.

The more time you can spend with Mikko, introducing him to new things like travel, people, other homes, businesses, views of the out doors etc. the better. As others said, placing just a couple of toys that will keep him busy and happy would be good for him and he does need wood items and other items to chew and shred on, especially when you are absent. Otherwise he is a very bored birdy.

I'm with Judy, I had Dayo DNA tested when he was 12 weeks old. It is the only true way to know (other than them laing an egg after mature) which sex they are. It was important to us to know. Some really don't care and thus never have them DNA tested.

What a great update on Marcus and his accomplishments. I always enjoy reading them. It does seem they will only use their favorite persons name most the time. I am in the same boat, Dayo will call for "Mommy", but never calls for me or than "Come Here".... Thanks for sharing this and looking forward to the video.

Dave is always spot on with his extensive knowledge and decades of experience. A thought on this morons claim. If that were true, there would be tens of thousands of plucked greys around the world, even in the wild.

Thats good news. It sounds like the things are now developing in a positive way for all.

If possible, perhaps you could at least leave Dayo flighted for a few more months. Just ensure no one taking care of him while your at the wedding lets him out. Then he would gain the muscle, coordination, confidence and neural synapses all birds are meant to have from very early months of development. BTW - It's hard referring to any other bird as Dayo, other than my own pride an joy.

Thats just sick Paul! People like that get what they deserve sooner or later. It's wonderful that you had another positve sighting just 10 hours ago. With the number of eye's you have out there, it's only a matter of time.

Congrats, jesus I just saw this thread and am loving!

Welcome to the forum Drea!!! I love hearing a rescue story such as this showing how much can be done in just a couple of weeks with lots of love and patience. You have done a GreYt job and it's good to hear the Aloe misting is doing the trick on letting those new pin feathers actually have a chance. I look forward to hearing a ton more and seeing photos as well.

Looking forward to that video. You are just starting to really get top know her and vice-versa.

Welcome to our forum! Right now Ziggy is very young and in a new home with surroundings and items not familiar to her and has only been there a couple of days. You are her security blanket and thank god she has obviously found you as such. Thus, on your shoulder equals safe and off your shoulder equals in danger and scary. Greys are very high anxiety parrots that are most times fearful of anything new. Just be very patient and slow in introducing news things to her. The playstand as you mentioned seems to be where you try to place her and get her to stay. She is a litle afraid of it and immediately flys to the safety of your shoulder. That would be expected. The only place I can think of right now that she may practice step-up with you would be from with in her cage on a perch. You could also just sit and after a while she will start exploring by climbing down off your shoulder. As she explores, have some litle foot toy that she likes to play with and try offering a step-up a few minutes into it, praise her if she does and she place her back down where she was exploring. Anytime you are going to work with a bird on some new behavior you wish them to learn, they must be in a spot they feel very comfortable in with no distractions. Use a favorite treat like a peanut or almond etc. as a lure to get them to perform that behavior. They have very short attention spans so only make the sessions a minute or two then do something else with them they enjoy, which in your case is letting her back on your shoulder probably. The most important thing you are building right now is trust and a bond with her. Your doing great for a new grey owner and only a few days doing so. Just remember all things must be done very slowly and patiently until you have the complete trust of Ziggy and also she is comfortable in her new surroundings.

Thast wonderful news Paul! It clearly indicates Murphy is thrving and also that your tremendous efforts in getting the word out are paying off. With that kind of "Aware" audience you have built up, it drastically improves your missions success of retrieving Murphy. I have no doubt this has been a great big shot in the arm for you of HOPE, knowing that he is still well and active.

I love baby photos. Thanks for sharing these.

Very scary indeed! It is possible that there was just enough pressure on Marcus's chest that he could not breath. It does not take much pressure at all due to a bird not having a diaphragm like us humans. I can totally relate to the mind racing, heart pounding and adrenaline pumping moments you went through. I have been through a few of those myself with Dayo. Your quick response and perfect series of actions very possibly could have saved his life. From all that I have personally seen, heard and read, a limp reaction while being cornered or physically trapped by a creature or toy results in frantic actions trying to free itself via flapping, bitting at whatever has it trapped etc. An example would be if trapped by a toy, they will literally chewed their foot off if they cannot free it. They will also sit and growl feathers fluffed and ready to bite if cornered by a dog for example. I am so happy this ended so well and especially in how your dog reacted so calmly to it. As you stated, we always must be prepared for the unexpected because it can and will happen.

Wow, now that is Marcus displaying his underlying cognitive and speech abilities. Talk about no doubt that he uses our language and does so accurately in real-time! What a perfect example of just how "Aware" our greys are. It seems the flood gates are starting to open. Thanks for sharing this.

Very cool, would love to see a photo and description log of this as it progresses. Even some video would be great as well.