danmcq

Ok Dave. I am going to share this like I always do at this time of year. Your wisdom and wit has always been appreciated on this forum. Dave007 Thanksgiving with a parrot I always repost this each year. Our much loved Dave007 posted this on this site about 4 years ago and thus I am posting it again this year for all to enjoy. Only Dave could write something like this. Ingredients: One turkey Corn pudding Green beans Stuffing Sweet potatoes Mashed potatoes with gravy Cranberry sauce Hot rolls Relish tray Pumpkin pie Whipped cream Hot coffee Get up early in the morning & have a cup of coffee. It's going to be a long day, so place your Parrot on a perch nearby to keep you company while you prepare the meal. Remove Parrot from kitchen counter and return him to perch. Prepare stuffing, and remove Parrot from edge of stuffing bowl and return him to perch. Stuff turkey & place it in the roasting pan, and remove Parrot from edge of pan and return him to perch. Have another cup of coffee to steady your nerves. Remove Parrot's head from turkey cavity and return him to perch, and restuff the turkey. Prepare relish tray, and remember to make twice as much so that you'll have a regular size serving after the Parrot has eaten his fill. Remove Parrot from kitchen counter and return him to perch. Prepare cranberry sauce, discard berries accidentally flung to the floor by Parrot. Peel potatoes, remove Parrot from edge of potato bowl and return him to perch. Arrange sweet potatoes in a pan & cover with brown sugar & mini marshmallows. Remove Parrot from edge of pan and return him to perch. Replace missing marshmallows. Brew another pot of coffee. While it is brewing, clean up the torn filter. Pry coffee bean from Parrot's beak. Have another cup of coffee & remove Parrot from kitchen counter and return him to perch. When time to serve the meal: Place roasted turkey on a large platter, and cover beak marks with strategically placed sprigs of parsley. Put mashed potatoes into serving bowl, rewhip at last minute to conceal beak marks and claw prints. Place pan of sweet potatoes on sideboard, forget presentation as there's no way to hide the areas of missing marshmallows. Put rolls in decorative basket, remove Parrot from side of basket and return him to perch. Remove beaked rolls, serve what's left. Set a stick of butter out on the counter to soften -- think better and return it to the refrigerator. Wipe down counter to remove mashed potato claw tracks. Remove Parrot from kitchen counter and return him to perch. Cut the pie into serving slices. Wipe whipped cream off Parrot's beak and place large dollops of remaining whipped cream on pie slices. Whole slices are then served to guests, beaked-out portions should be reserved for host & hostess. Place Parrot inside cage & lock the door. Sit down to a nice relaxing dinner with your family -- accompanied by plaintive cries of "WANT DINNER!" from the other room. Happy Holidays!! --------- Dave

Oh no, not the "Stink Eye". Thats the worst.

LOL Nancy, I love your story. The phrase "Sophie is not stinky!" is perfect! How can you bathe her with such a logical response???

Absolutely it can.

Your friend is basically right. It won't hurt your grey, but it has zero nutritional value. Dark green leafy veggies are good for them such as mustard, collard greens etc. Better for you too!

Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=MrqqD_Tsy4Q

Nice update! She is doing great. They certainly do become very jealous. It's nice that the two of them get along and tolerate each other.

Wanted to push this great thread back up in view.. Well I have a few just off the cuff. Start hearing my car alarm go off while watching a movie, look down and Dayo is biting the remote entry through my pants.. My Son and family came down for a few days. My son comes from the kitchen to the living room asking if we possibly know where his cell phone went. Asked if dayo had been in the kitchen with him. He got big eyes and ran back in there to find Dayo in on the floor beak dialing.... My wife can't find her car keys one morning, looking all around, she heard a key jingle coming from the family room. Dayo was on the tree stand chewing on the key chain... I have had to send some mail back to companies with a beak hole or two in them.... I am sure others will have tons of stories to tell as well.

LOL, totally enjoyed it.

Oh, we don't judge. We just gossip, sneer and take jabs at you. Just kidding. How are the flights going?

LOL! They do think you are killing them. I agree with Birdhouse, try offering a nice 12 inch pie pan or the like. They are more "Do it yourself" most the time.

I am looking forward to updates if you have a chance during that prolonged holiday visit.

I could take some time for the pin feathers to start growing out. In the one photo, the area looks a little red. Perhaps get some 100 percent aloe gel and rub it on to that area to sooth it. That should help with the scratching that is further irritating it. If that area has been plucked for a prolonged period of time. It could be that the actual feather follicles have been damaged and will never produce another feather. Only time will tell. In regards diet keep rpoviding a well rounded diet of seed/nut mixes, pellets, veggies etc. Others well chime in here as well with helpful advice.

Welcome Merideth and Flock. It's GreYt having you here. With the number and types of parrots you have, I can imagine the chorus you come home to as all welcome you home. We love hearing about others parrots and also seeing photos and videos of them. I look forward to hearing more.

Your right, a grey is not like any other parrot. Of course each parrot species have their own traits. You hit the nail on the head in letting her call the shots, to a certain extent. She does need misting whether she likes it or not 2 or 3 times a week. The most important thing now is just trying to avoid non necessary reasons for her to be fearful. It's all about building trust and learning the limits of what she will allow. The vital things like baths, feeding, caging cleaning etc. are things you do whether she likes it or not. The other remaining 99 percent of the day should be focused on just carrying on interaction with her that are not threatening to her or invading her space she decides are the limits. Each grey will choose whom the favored is and then the rest are flock members they socialize with, but not at same up close and personal level. That will evolve and expand over time.

The eventual end to this book will be a new beginning, not an end. It really is a celebration of Dayo's life. The joy of him being in our lives and honoring us with the privilege of being able to share our lives with such an amazing, intelligent sentient being. The name we gave him after sharing those weeks at the breeders before coming to our home was carefully selected. When we researched and found the name Dayo, meaning "Joy has arrived", it was the perfect description of what he brought with him coming in to our lives.

Thanks for sharing this jeff. It was bitter sweet. What a joy it is though, to see a family that embraced the event and found ways to still provide a disabled bird friendly environment. You can tell both bird and humans are still enjoying each other and are deeply in love. I enjoy videos and stories like this because they demonstrate a disabled critter need not be put to sleep and forgotten like a throw away device. It demonstrates an example for owners of all types of creatures to follow.

I personally would not buy an un-weaned bird. I would also never encourage anyone to do so. It is just for the breeders convenience to get rid of the work sooner and pass it on to the buyer. Taking home an un-weaned bird does not make them anymore likely to be your cuddle muffin than if you get them once properly weaned. If the breeder demands you pick up a bird before being fully weaned you should decline. Also, a grey properly weaned is not really ready until 16 to 18 weeks old. Does this breeder socialize the greys. spend lots of time with them out of cage once they are out of the brooder etc? You really want a grey from a breeder that treats them as their own and would look forward to spending the rest of their lives with. They should not be treated as a hurry up and get them out the door as soon as possible for those $$$ and no more responsibility. In regards the certificate. They are really nothing more than a form many breeders design themselves, put the band number on them and the date of birth and sign. They are not regulated such as dogs or cats that are going to be akc registered for example and a lineage history is maintained. Some people prefer not to have their birds banded for fear of them becoming ensnared on a toy or string for example. Banding is a personal called. My grey was banned before I met him at 6 weeks old. The breeders used them for there on tracking purposes of their greys. Of course, I used it as well to see which grey kept coming over to me and wife wife when we visited multiple days a week as they were growing.

The others gave good thoughts. One warning, do not think you need to keep bathing your bird until the feathers are no longer waterproof. It is critical to their health that they remain waterproof. What your really trying to accomplish when bathing your bird is for them to "open" their feathers up so the skin gets soaked to remove some of that dander and make the skin supple with the aloe juice you mist with.

Welcome to the forum. What a story. It's really great that you have done your research, knew what type of breeder you were looking for and researched over and over. Your gut is normally the best thing to go by, even when your mind keeps "reasoning" on how much you want it and it may be gone if you don't buy right now. A very wise person I have known for a long time told me one day when I was discussing something I was considering. He said "Dan, the mind can come up with a reason for anything you desire. Be careful of your thoughts and question them." I wish I would have heard that many years early before I made some really bad decisions. Your on the right path.

Einstein is always fun to watch. Thanks for sharing this.

In my opinion, your vet cannot possible know Gilda's flight abilities until she works at it (which she is) and through her efforts, building strength and sheer will power can make that vet eat their words. Just by reading of Gilda's determination to move forward, overcome and embrace the world outside her cage. Her limits are only those she chooses, not anyone elses. Her control and preciseness of exactly how the scratches must take place is amazing. It would take me a gazillion bites and years to figure out that combination of Gilda's idea of the perfect scratch.

"I dont want to get her to obey my every order" Oh don't worry, she won't! Especially as she hits 6 months old and onwards. It sounds like her flying is going very well. It's always nice when there is another bird the can watch and learn the good spots form. But, the head needs to be a no fly zone. You can do that by nodding your head as they try to land on it. They will learn quickly it is not a good landing spot. The weight will start picking up again soon.

Awww, Hahns macaw's are great feathered friends. Since the post is 20 days old, it could already have a new home.

Wonderful progress with Gilda on those scratches and taking pine nuts with cage open. One thought on the "lighter bite" while giving scratches. Dayo will do that as well sometimes if I happen to hit a pin feather the wrong way. So it could be that Gilda was just in a more gentle way letting you know to be a little more careful. I love hearing the constant steps forward in her peeling those fear layers away.