danmcq

Thanks for posting these. I totally enjoyed the photos and video's. Huckleberry, is well a Huckleberry! I really enjoyed reading his story and seeing him in action. Seems to be the life of the party! Just a word of caution I'm pretty sure you know, even clipped birds should either be harnessed or in a cage when outside. I watched my clipped conure fly away 3 years ago when startled, much to my horror. I did find and retrieve him, but it was a nightmare. Again, thanks for sharing all these.

This Cockatoo is hilarious!

We must never forget.......

Budweiser only ran this one time and stopped due to not wanting to make a profit off this beautiful tribute (I think) they produced in response to the loss suffered on 9/11/2001.

I thought he would be dizzzzyyyy tooo, but I guess they do not have fluid in the ears as we do?

Caution, if trying to duplicate this Grey gone crazy maneuver....Have a nice landing pad understand for one dizzzzzyyyyyyy birdy.

Awww, what a sweetheart and she's "Blushing" for the camera. Thanks for posting this!

I agree with Jay that it should not be carried to the extreme of them only Pooping when told to do so. I have "Heard" bad stories about them not going Poop if not told and then suffer health issues from it, but I do not know for certain they are true. I have not even tried to train Dayo to go poop on command. However, I do try to pay attention and move him to a stand or somewhere else when I know he is going to go. He hates to poop in his cage, but from what I have observed, if he is not let out until say 9 or so in the morning, he will usually just let the big load rip in his cage, I assume because once it reaches a certain point, they can't hold it even if they wanted to due to the body saying thats it "Bombs Away". Again, as I said, I just don't know if they would actually hold it forever until told to poop if they reach a point that it either hurts too bad to do so or the sphincter just can't hold the pressure any longer.... which of course would not be good to have them doing all the time while waiting for the command.

They do molt out according to the normal functions and order of a molt. Dayo molted some un-clipped primaries as well before we started seeing a clipped one here and there over a year. The goods news, is as the clipped primaries start coming in, the flying abilities increase proportionally.

Thanks for the more detailed info. Then you have basically had her 7 years the, Jay is right on the money. At 7 she is certainly fully mature and ready for mating. She sounds like a real sweetheart and smart in not expending energy when she just just call a cab. It is good though to hear she is flying more and learning to come when asked as in recalls. You are right in training for this does normally need to be down away from a cage, but it actually sounds like she is doing it regardless of being in that room. So as long as that continues as such, why worry about it? Has she recently been caged more over the last months than previously? The reason I ask is how you describe her actions and not really wanting to fly much. Although I do understand as they get older (Mine presently 3 yrs old) they are just as content to sit and preen or kick back and enjoy watching all the flock activity from where they decide to perch. Looking forward to hearing a lot more from you and seeing all the photos and videos you may have of her as well. LOL @ Tickling herself if no ones offers to!!!!

Can't wait to see this!

Unfortunately it's not just that they are captured to export. The people in Africa and some other countries value certain parts of the Greys as a magical elixir....... Africa as a whole is full of poachers that do it for the money and have been for decade upon decade. If they do not hesitate to kill a human trying to stop them, they certainly have no qualms about the plight of the critter they are killing. For the most part, these people are not civilized as us "New World" countries that have gotten to where just the thought of having to kill a chicken for dinner upsets some..... Most these outer tribes are starving and do whatever it takes to take care of their families just to survive day to day.

Judy is right and most Greys do not start talking until around a year old. Also, they normally never practice in the prescence of a person as they calibrate in a very low voice which just sounds like mumbling if you are fortunate enough to even hear that.

Welcome Daryl and Tia! Have you had Tia since a baby for the last 7 years? If you just got her, at 7 years old it is going to take weeks for her to settle in and get used to the new surroundings and people. Just go slow and easy, if thats the case. It sounds like other family members may have a stronger bond with her than you, which is normal for a Grey. They always have a favorite. Looking forward to hearing more specifics from you so we can all get to know you and also help as we can when you need it.

Welcome Pampered Parrot and flock! It's GreYt having you here and thanks for posting the photo of your baby Grey.

Sounds like you are having a great time over there. Thanks for the update, but no photos yet? Just kidding, use every second you have over there and enjoy, as you are.

Jay - Thanks for the links and article on Vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. This is certainly the preferable natural way to clean normal items in the house without the toxic fumes of bleach or other commercial cleaners. I use it as well for cleaning surfaces and all veggies. I will say though, when dealing with cleaning cages that other birds or critters lived in, I pull out the stops. There is no better germ killer than Chlorine bleach at a 99.9 percent kill rate of not only Bacteria, but all viruses as well. Vinegar does a fair job at around a 90 percent kill rate. I would not risk that 10 percent when I have the cage outside and never to enter my house before complete sanitizing to ensure any deadly disease is eliminated. There is no worries about the chlorine gas inside a home as it is all happening outdoors. Just call me a "Germ Fanatic" when it comes to a used cage. I will say though, this is totally personal preference and I use Vinegar and other natural cleaning products for everything in the house since these highly sensitive birds came into our lives several decades ago. Again, thanks for the great information you posted here and I hope all heed it in their daily cleaning activities in the house.

Congratulations!!! Next up, the pterodactyl moves. You will know them the first time you experience it..... no explanation needed

It sounds like you did the right thing in using a bleach solution. That will clean any bacterial or viral bugs that may have resided in the cage or on the stands. As others said, rinse thoroughly, let them sun dry, which the UVA and UVB by the way also kill nasty germs and you will be good to good. Too bad the previous owner suffered such a heartbreaking loss.

What a wonderful and perfect place for Yoshi to have stayed. It's sounds like Yoshi and the store owners enjoyed each others company. Thanks for posting this update.

Hahahahahahahahahaha, thank for the laugh! Oops, I accidentally tossed one of those dry thingies to the floor, seems to be a perfect use for them.

DrTak - That is a perfect example of the obvious cognitive abilities these Greys and other Parrots have.

Those are my thoughts as well in regards the word "No". It has so many subtle meanings, even the tonal inflictions we place on it like NO! NOOOooooo, no etc. I know Dayo has mastered those as he uses them for example if Jake the conure starts to get something Dayo wants he will say "NOOOooooooo!", if he is telling the dogs "It's Ok" when they bark, if the continue he will say "Bentley, NO! Whats interesting to me in studying this, are the numerous forms of "No" we humans use versus the simple "Yes". I think I will try the modeling approach using my wife, which I know Dayo hears us use "Yes" when we are just conversing, but we are not intentionally ensuring he is engaged as well. Thanks for that thought!

Wonderful UPdate! Issac is doing great and kudos to you both for the out time with family. It seems he just enjoyed a larger flock, soaked it in and probably at some pointed decided all were "Ok". To do that sort of flying and landing on that door frame certainly exhibits the great flying skills he has already mastered and more importantly the landing skills of where to grab on to what. Thanks for this wonderful update. Good luck on finding the right mesh pattern you wish to use at the hardware store. No doubt you will find the right one for you. Just make sure the gauge is thick enough that he cannot bite through it, as I'm sure you already know.

Sorry we missed this and didn't answer. I suppose it was probably due to the long weekend and most of of being gone for most of it.