danmcq

Loved these videos! She has certainly become quite a chatter box. Thanks for sharing these videos.

Dave is spot on and gave me and Kim help when Dayo was going through a similar stage and "All of a sudden" he became this crazy attack bird flying like a bat out of hell. This occurred about 2 years ago when Dayo was around 1 year old. It actually started around 10 months old and kept escalating until one day he flew straight to my wifes shoulder and BAM bit her cheek. You need to understand the significance of this because my wife is his cuddle muffin. What instigated these episodes were a few things: 1. Not paying enough attention to him, when HE thought you should be. 2. Taking something away from him that was taboo, yet his cherished treasure he just stole. 3. Trying to remove him from something like a smoke detector he just flew to and wanted to disassemble it. 4. Basically anything he "Thought" was a reason to let you know he was not accepting what you are doing or just did. 5. Play flying and screaming like a pterodactyl, then out of nowhere decides it would be great fun to land in the middle of your back and pinch the middle back of your neck, then fly away before you could even react. The bottom line of Dave’s advice was "Pay attention to where he is and when he starts flying at ALL times". Then when you know he's coming, shoo him away or try to have him target your arm. We employed this and it took weeks for change, but after remaining consistent it began gradually slowing down to only being a very rare event. Trying to cage him, would have resulted in terrible bites and if we were successful, it just pissed him off more. Once released, the flying attack took place almost immediately. So it did not work for our grey. Each grey is different and will respond differently to various ways you can try to discipline them. The "Hard Time" for Dayo is simply ignoring him. Cage time is a piece of cake, he will just go beat and tear his toys to hell until let out. Anyone experiencing these childish and I suspect "Normal" behavioral stages will need to find what type of negative feedback (NOT Punishment or hitting) gets the message across in a way that your bird will not wish that type of response to their play or test antics any longer.

Welcome Trainurdogs and Tristan! It's Greyt having you here and looking forward to hearing more.

My Grey cracks Almonds with very little effort, except on the hardest and largest ones Dave mentioned. He could not do this until around one and a half years old. Until he was able to, I partially cracked them as Daves photos show. Walnuts, hazelunts forget it unless you have a Macaw or crack them as Dave illustrated.

We also were on and off on getting a B&G Macaw. Fortunately, we were able to interact wit all types of Macaws at our breeder friends on a constant basis. The decision not to get one was simple, after considering that our Grey takes all the time and attention we have. We do have a conure, but he is fine just flying around getting snacks and watching the action without much need of attention. Dave was spot on in all counts.

Dog gone little grey geniuses! Always have to try and stay 3 or 4 moves a head of them, just like playing chess against a pro. Thanks for sharing this.

Always disturbing to hear of a lost loved one. I hope that grey is found and returned.

I would be interested to hear how you think there are some parallels. Setting aside the fact that we humans do keep several different types of critters. The exception with us all is we have creatures that are basically wild, which the monkeys are as well. However, my thoughts on Mokeys, are the become VERY dangerous once reaching adulthood and cannot normally be kept with the family they grew up with and are then placed in a cage for the rest of lives. An overiview of this show: My Child is a Monkey Americans have long had a love affair with their pets, and millions of Americans own cats and dogs. However, a growing segment of society is choosing exotic pets including primates. It is estimated that there are 15,000 primate owners in the U.S., and while these pets are highly intelligent, they can also be very dangerous, violently attacking their owners. The dangers of primate ownership is such a concern that a bill went before the Senate that would ban the sale of primates as pets. Capuchin monkeys are the most common breed of monkey owned in Europe and the US. Capuchin monkeys weigh only three to nine pounds, but they can jump up to nine feet! In the wild they use their long jumps to move from tree to tree. 84.2 percent of human DNA is identical to that of a capuchin Monkey. In an attempt to establish dominance, monkeys may attack their human family members. The U.S. Center for Disease Control banned the importation of monkeys for the pet trade in 1975. INTERPOL estimates that the illegal wildlife trade is a $five-billion-a-year business, second only to drugs as a worldwide black market. Capuchins are in fact one of only a few animals – and the only monkey – known to both manufacture and use tools in the wild; a trait that was once attributed solely to humans. Many viral diseases, such as hepatitis or herpes B, can be transmitted from animal to man. Baby monkeys are pulled from their mothers as early as three days old and given an inanimate object, such as a stuffed animal or blanket as a surrogate mother. Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/my-child-is-a-monkey-4703/facts#tab-facts#ixzz0wKA7IlNk

Good update on Sully. As Tweedle said, maybe check with your vet on room clean up between patients.

That is not good news Spock. Why can't the vet prescribe something to control that metabolic rate? Your weight seems good and you've been frolicking all over the kingdom like an old prehistoric Vulcan pre-logical enlightenment. So whats wrong with that? The second part of not being good news, is why this would be your last update? Your posts are always looked forward to and enjoyed. The high command frowns upon longs periods of non-communication.

LOL Dave! Loved the "Concealment Theory". You hit on something I see Dayo do all the time. After he has finished eating something that I assume left some residual matter in the beaks upper cavity like a soft food. He will rip a piece of paper plate off if I have one, chew on it until it fits in that beak area as a little ball and I suppose after the "Matter" has been dislodged, I see him at some point let that little paper ball drop. I thought he was eating the paper plate at first until watching long enough a few times to see that little ball drop. If that didn't clean it, I also watch him use a talon and jam it up into that cavity and flick at it. I can only imagine what it feels like to them, to have something stuck in that cavity. Probably similar to something stuck in our teeth. I know...... always anthropomorphizing .....

Great post Dave and makes total sense! It's a sticky.

Issac is looking good! Thanks for sharing these.

Yoshi looks cute, even with the damage around the eye. The macaroni stain adds character. Thanks for posting this.

Just watch this cute B&G

Awww, I love baby photos. Thanks for sharing these.

Birdnut is spot on. It is normal baby behavior. There is no need to try and control it. It is not a behavior issue at all. If you think about it being a natural behavior, the driver behind it, is they are in the nest that young, they poop in the nest etc. Scratching moves the yucky stuf out of the way so they can sit back down on a nice clean spot.

They did a news story last ight on Molly the Owl, her nestbox providers and some video clips of her nestbox. You can read about Molly and see photos on the blog page: http://mollysbox.wordpress.com/blog/ You can view streaming video at: http://www.sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Live_Owl_Nest_Box_Cam.html I just love nature stories like this and it being of an Avian species makes it even more interesting to me, so thought I would share this.

Dave - I have never heard this put simpler or truer! LOL - Spinner is a Hoot!!!

Good ones Dave! Dayo loves: 1. Pine Nuts 2. Walnuts 3. Almonds 4. Peanuts (shelled) 5. Grape 6. Apple 7. Mango 8. Coconut Different days equal different cravings. They seem to switch up, much like us humans when we have a sudden chocolate attack.

Awww, poor Yoshi getting a little banged up in her endeavors to "Cage" herself. She'll be fine, just a little shook up from the crash. They all go through this as they learn flying skills and coordination. It's good to hear the stay at the breeders went well and Yoshi was so accepting of that stay.

Dayo continued enoying his formula in the venings until around 35 weks, then stopped. As others have said, yours may just enjoy the formula the rest of his life. It is a special mooment, isn't it?

Loved the video. Alfie would pull a mile of leather to get to that phone.

The others have all given good comments. Your grey is about 13 weeks old now. That is an infant and is acting as such with the lap sitting, fluffing up and probably even laying down and sleeping. They do explore a little and check out small foot toys like lyn suggested. Just lay a small toy on the chair arm or cushion where your baby can see it. If you see it become uncomfortable remove it, if not leave it and he or she will probably get curious and check it out. Your interactions seem very normal at this young age. Believe me, the hellion child in to everything will soon emerge as it starts exploring all the fun items to go check out and tear apart.

This is a paradox that will never be solved and eludes to the simple question of " Do you want to rescue this bird?". If you do, then there are not "conditions" as you are saying you have. Whether you pay money for this bird or not, the thought you put forth is "IF you rescue this bird, it will leave an empty cage" and thus another spot to be filled once again. You rescue dogs, well they leave empty cages behind as well, just waiting to be filled once again, yes even in the SPCA. In my opinion, if the breeder took the bird back (which MANY would not) they have my utmost respect. That is a sign of a very good breeder that cares about the well being of their babies even after the sale. So, knowing this person is a breeder with tons of experience. It begs the question of WHY this grey needs to be "Rescued?". The reality is, the breeder will either need to keep the grey and get it straightened out or find a very experienced parrot person willing to pay "Some" money for a bird they are willing to help and love unconditionally. Bottom line: There is only one solution to your paradox. Leave the bird so the cage remains filled...............Just walk away........ That is not my view of rescue at all and believe me, I know rescue!