danmcq

Awwwww, too cute!!!! Thanks for sharing this and congratulations.

Since they reside in tree holes in the wild while nesting and raising young. A small protected area is probably instinctual for them to be drawn to. Our grey loves to go into boxes, scratch and hang out at different times throughout the day. he does the same with various toys dragging them into the boxes either in his cage or one we have on the counter for him as well. It's cgreat that he likes going into his travel cage.

High fives to all on this forum. It's the community as a whole that makes this forum a cut above the rest.

It's always good to see the work these organizations due in capturing illegal poachers and sending these greys back to the wild where they belong.

Toweling is normally used to restrain a bird to 1) capture 2) hold in while doing nails, wings, an exam etc. It is not a pleasant or natural experience they will enjoy for the most part. As wild creature, being "Captured" normally means certain death and terrifies them. It takes a long time to get an older bird to ever accept toweling. First they need to just learn the feel and texture of it, plat with it etc. Some will never accept a toweling willing due to it always being associated with a terrifying experience. Yes, they get hot inside the towel especially due to them fighting to get the heck out of it. Some have actually died of a heart attack if toweled for too long during a procedure. Greys are VERY anxious to begin with and startle at the slightest odd thing most the time. We have to towel our grey to trim his nails. He becomes very hot from struggling while we do so. He is not terrified of a towel though because we have played with towels with him since he was very young and he will roll himself up in one playing with it. Also, the towel does not need to be thick. You just need to learn to hold your thumb and index finger lightly around his neck with the towel and gently hold his wings to his body too much. With your thumb and index finger around and under his beak, he cannot bite you at all. Lastly, which is the hardest, is you must remain calm yourself. I would imagine you are stressed and afraid of the bird and it can sense that instantly. So his anxiety escalates, yours escalates etc. continuing to build until you both need a break due to it becoming to much to handle. This experience is going to seriously make the trust level a longer wait. Your trying your best, but just know know is not the time to stress this grey in any way. You need to build trust foremost in the beginning. I have a conure that I have had for 5 years. It took 3 to get a marginal step-up and 4.5 to have him do so willing 90 percent of the time. That little lion heart will still bite if I miss read his body language of "NO".

You deserved each other Dee! I love reading the updates.

You will need to leave the diffuser off because UV will not penetrate it.

Hi Brett, You can find electronic ballast fixtures T8 36 inch at home depot, orchard etc type stores. It is more difficult to find 36 inch fixtures rated at higher wattages. I went with dual 24' inch fixture. You could go to a 48 inch fixture and find many more wattage options. 20 inches above the perch is fine.

Our Grey is fully flighted, so trying to throw him off balance has not affect. If we need to get him in the cage during normal daylight hours, I get some apple and grapes cut up for him take the bowl and him riding on my arm together and place them in the cage. He loves apples and grapes. Perhaps if you use something your grey loves (As Talon mentioned) it will go along with the caging. At nighttime, we turn off the lights, have him step up on one of our arms then pull him in against the belly and cup his back very gently as we carry him to the other room his cage is in. Most times he just gives us kissing sounds and nobbles softly on our hand as we go. The place we have to be careful, is when the cage door is open and we are having him step on to the perch. He has made a few fast get aways and getting slapped furiously in the face as he whooshes by is a rather unpleasant feeling. But, 98 percent of the time, he goes in with out a break away flight attempt. Our conure just flies over to his cage, climbs in and starts screaming for us to come and close the door and cover him if we don't get there fast enough. Totally different than a grey.

Love this story and it is a great example of how to keep our parrots actively foraging. Thanks for sharing this Robin.

Awwwww!

Dayo taps on things to 1) To see how they sound respective to what they are. 2) Testing for density 3) If I or Someone is outside, he will tap on the window and say hello loudly to get attention. He will also stick his head down in cans, bowls etc. and talk while listening to the sound effects. He does the same thing with remotes. I must hide them from him and also change channels very quickly or he will fly and try to snatch it out of my hands or land on my hand and grab it. He does the regurg dance for his life long love, my wife.

I think at times they enjoy the fall and sound. Sometimes our parrots do this and other times they don't. There is no reason for it I have ever figured out other than entertainment. Sometimes, one or the other will toss one piece, then watch for a dog to go for it. Once eaten, another piece will be dropped.....ever listen to a dog crunch almonds in their shell? It also makes a heck of a mess. The dogs seem to like harrisons

Awwww, congratulations! YOur love and patience has made the first of many break throughs.

Yes, everyday and different times of the day. I always pay attention to his body language. As you experienced, when I open the door to let him out I ask "Want Out" and if that foot does not lift as I move my arm into the cage I go slowly and before striking range I ask again. If the foot still is not up I just leave the door open and walk away. He will then mosey out on his own in a minute or two. The same is true during the day. If he is sitting somewhere and I ask or tell him where we are going to like the office, if I see any body language other than the foot left I just tell him am going and as I walk away 50 percent of the time he will just fly to my shoulder as I walk or he will make this chirp that means he wants to come and I go back and the foot goes up instantly as I approach. I leave it up tp him whether he wants to do something I ask. Unless of course it's a must go and then I will force a step up on to the back of my clench fist in case he decides to bite which does no damage and he steps up as I force it under his belly.

It's the highest honor a bird can bestow to another. This means you are greatly loved!

Hmmm, that is odd Robin. Primaries are lost one on one side and then the corresponding primary on the other side to maintain balanced flight. Perhaps Dixie somehow damaged those feathers which caused them to come out prematurely?

You must introduce and harness and the placing of it on them very slowly so it is not a bad experience. If they are freaked out by it the first few times, you will be lucky if you can ever get close to them with a harness again for a long time, with a ton of patience to get them to trust the harness or you again. They must become used to having their wings lifted and touched, a hoop laced over their head etc. It is not a pleasant experience for them and they will normal fight like crazy the way you describe this for go at it went. Just go slow and easy. You may even go through a harness or two just letting them chew on it as you get them used to it and trusting of you and it. The aviator harness has a great video included with it on being successful at getting your bird to accept it.

Some, as mine did, believe they are doing you and the bird a favor that will make them reliant upon you and safe from flying away. We argued with our breeder (WE still love them and visit often) over NOT wanting Dayo clipped. However, they were so convinced of their beliefs, they refused to let us take him home without a clip, though they did do a "Light clip" and he could get about 20 feet before having to land.

It's not too late and it can take up to 2 years for all the primaries to molt out and growing. As they slowly do so, the lift will increase and farther fights will be attained. Your baby is not too old at all learn flight as the lift increases over time. Just hang in there.

MMMMmmmmm, sounds good. Gonna make some for me and Dayo!

Yep, they just like to chill on their own at times and do not wish to be bothered. You will learn that body language quickly.

Judy's spot on.

I hope the owner see's this in the news over there and retrieves their Grey.... poor baby just looking for a familiar face or cage...

I haven't updated many things in Dayo's cognitive abilities in a long time. So I will just share what I have been working on recently. The hard part for me, is evaluating what Dayo may truly mean when he states things. Some are very obvious like his breakfast menu always including apples and grapes and mango's and sweet potatoes etc. to ensure we don’t forget those. However, I will say he does not get fruit everyday. However, The last 2 weeks I have been concentrating on arrivals, departures etc. in sentences when in the house. He quickly picked up in three days, “Here I come”, Here I go” and Here I am”. I repeated these each time I was Leaving , on my way to him or once I was in sight. I just introduced “I hear You” two days ago and know every time I am in another room, he will say “I hear you”. I have also been working on “Here WE go”, but he has yet to repeat it, perhaps due to him figuring I already know we are going as we head same place. I am certain it is too early to tell if he is using them all correctly in terms of what they all mean, but so far it seems very promising that he does. He is already using "Here I come" in several ways in regards himself. One is cute.... when he is locked in his cage during the morning, he will say "Here I come" and the "open the door". Obviously we must open the door for him to come. But of course it doesn't work so then he will revert back to "Want Out". He does this while I am working in my office. He will also yell "I hear you!", at which point I tell him I am busy, but I hear him also.