danmcq

Now this is an interesting study! How are the results being quantified? Are the vets participating taking blood samples to establish the results of these various combined foods and logging it for each Parrot type? I really look forward to following this as the results come in on a per species, mix, quantity basis. Thanks for sharing this.

Good investigative work and thanks for sharing this story. We certainly cannot be careful enough in ensuring the food we provide or birds is still "Good". I believe the lesson learned here, is if in doubt, toss it.

The quickest answer is to block your grey from climbing up your arm to the shoulder, if you do not want it there. The problem is then resolved. A Grey (Or other bird) that will not step up from the shoulder, has not been trained properly or is of such a strong will, that it will bite to stay there. ONly you can decide if you wish to allow your grey on your shoulder or not and trust him/her.

Welcome and congratulations Autte! How exciting! The photo shows a beautiful baby grey, thanks for posting it. Now is definitely the time to be asking asking all the questions and reading all the different topics covered in the rooms here on the forum. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

Welcome 1gray! It's always good to hear of someone opening their home to a rescue. Please get a digital scale if you don't have one. Check weight first thing in the morning after the first big bomb. This will give you a weight baseline. Switching to pellets over night is not recommended, as you know. You do not want your grey to start losing weight. Pellets by themselves are not a complete diet and were never intended to be so. Also give fruit like apples, grapes etc, 2x a week and vegetables everyday. Nuts like almonds and walnuts are healthy for them. Go to our food room and check it out. It is full of great advice. A Grey never stops learning. Six years old is a very young grey considering they can live to 50 or 60 if kept in good health. I would also recommend a check up at an avian certified vet office to ensure all is well with your grey. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

This is tough for you and Dorian. Plucking is such a difficult issue, that even vets have a hard time finding the root of the problem. Hopefully between all that you do for Dorian and with the vet visit you will get some answers or possibilities to try and narrow it down. It could be diet, such as an allergy developing to nuts, wheat or other underlying issues blood tests and a scrape of the affected areas to rule out a skin infection. Please keep us updated on the outcome of the visit. Everyone hear is pulling for you and Dorian.

That was awesome Jan! Tobie was 100 percent correct in this test. Now that is proven cognition in my book. Thanks for sharing this.

The others have given good responses. There are just so many things it could be. It's great that you have an appointment scheduled with an avian vet that will do tests and know what to look for. As Ranaz said, please check for any recent changes in your Greys living area, including perhaps anything new you placed close to it or even in it like a new toy. IT could be allergy related to some food items like nuts, an illness etc. The vet will certainly be able to help immensely. Please update this thread when you have some news.

Hello Jamie. Well the address you gave is not a website but is an email address. I did look up her website and found it severely lacking. There is no mention of parrots anywhere, so there is no way of viewing photos, statements by her, housing environment etc. This thread is over a year and a half old. It died on it's on after just a few posts, so I am uncertain why you are addressing it and pulling it up now. The problem with online sites or websites of any type. Is you do not really know who is posting, if they are what they say they are etc. So my advice is always take things with a grain of salt. The other thing is, I do not know if your truly a vet, a friend of this person, a lurker etc. So again, I take your post with a grain of salt as well. You did not identify yourself, your practice and office location, your website if you have one etc. So I would suggest anyone else reading this post, to just ignore it and let it die once again........Thanks.

Nice!!! I am certain many fond memories well be had on this trip and visit. I am looking forward to hearing all about it and seeing photos when you get back.

Hi Shanlung, it's great to see you post again!!! I always enjoy reading your blogs, thoughts and viewing your photos. They are truly inspirational and based upon years worth of experience. There are many new members here that I am sure have never read or viewed your massive libraries and seen your photos or watched you videos. I am certain this will be a real treat for them all.

He is a good looking grey. It's good to hear the trip home and venturing out went so well.

Looking forward to hearing how the homecoming went and lots of photos when you get a chance amid all the excitement.

What a mental picture I can see of Loco Loki embracing her natural instinct to fly everywhere she desires with this newly aquired capability. You will be amazed each day as the skills grow and grow. You will need to start training her where she can and cannot go though. It's a pain and you will walk/run 20 miles a day doing it. So you will both be in tip-top shape.

Those are great training techniques! When Cocoa is older and experienced, you'll probably be able to take him unharnessed anywhere you wish, if you desired. I have a friend with a grey he has had 17 years. He works construction and his greys rides on his shoulder everywhere he goes. When the grey wishes it will just fly to a good roosting spot like a tree, awning telephone wire etc. and kick back and watch as his owner works. It is an amazing thing to see such a well trained and laid back grey like this. Your well on your way to that point when your grey is older and used to loud noises and surprises. From what my friend said, his grey is not alarmed by anything....

Others may not agree with me, but from what I have learned both from my breeder over the years and reading, beans are "Ok", when prepared properly. My breeder has been making a huge pot of mash with 7 bean types and grains in it for years and feeds it to the weaning baby birds and flock she and her husband raised for many years. So, I've been using that one recipe for 3+ years now and the birds love it. Large raw beans, such as Anasazi, Black, Fava, Kidney, Lima, Navy, Pinto, and Soy - can cause toxicities when fed raw, causing digestive upsets for people and potentially for birds. Some experts recommend that large beans should be cooked to make them safe and digestible. Others counter that soaking beans for 24 hours starts the germinating process and that soaking makes the beans safe and digestible. For those who do not want to take any risks, it's best to cook large beans thoroughly before feeding to your birds. These beans are not recommended for general sprouting purposes. Certain uncooked dried beans contain enzyme inhibitors as Lokismom (Lisa) indicated, are indigestible , and may cause visceral gout in birds. These enzyme inhibitors may prevent or decrease the utilization in the body of substances, such as trypsin and chymotrypsin, to produce nutritional deficiencies. Beans that can interfere with proteolytic enzymes are lima, kidney and soybeans. Cooking these beans for at least 2 hours destroys these enzyme inhibitors. Other dried beans do not appear to contain these enzyme inhibitors or, if present, are in low concentrations. To be on the safe side, it's best to cook ALL varieties of beans, which I do.

What a great overview of the past 4 weeks of Milo with you. She is beautiful and yes they grwo so fast you can literally see the change daily. Her diet sounds very good and you have done a very good job in raising her these 4 weeks. She certainly looks happy and eager to interact with the entire flock of humans. Your doing all things right, that I can read and the socialization is a great way to start a young greys life out. They will normally welcome company and be as excited to see them as you. But, some of your guests may be a little leery. Thanks for sharing this update and photos. It was a very enjoyable read first thing in the morning, rather than a newspaper filled with just more tragic and bad news.

You did a GreYt job baby sitting this chick! The photos are wonderful and the baby grey is cute as a button.

As Reggiero said, I feel it is more stressful for them while they are still dependent upon their parents by nature until 2 years old in the wild. This does not mean it's a no-no to go off for a few days and have someone watch your grey. But, every Grey will react differently. Another factor that plays into the mix and how they react, is whither they are watched over in their home or at another. My personal feelings, are that in the home and cage they know is the optimum place for them to remain. They have the security of nothing changing except your absence and hopefully someone they know being with them or at least a person that is familiar and comfortable with parrots and their expectations. We chose not to go anywhere the first 2 years that Dayo could not go with us. This meant, any relative that wanted us to come up for a few days, but declined letting us bring Dayo, was scratched off the list politely...errrr sorry, we just can't make it, something came up. We are fortunate enough, that now if we wish to leave town for a few days, we have family that Dayo is very familiar with and will come and just stay at our house. The only thing that changes in Dayos routine is no out of cage time. None of our family is willing to take a chance on a bite while trying to get him back in the cage and we do not want anyone chasing him around trying to towel him. So he stays in his cage, gets talked to all day, offered treats now and then and also keeps them rolling on the floor with his verbal antics. Each bird and situation is different. The best anyone can do for their bird, if possible. Is to have someone they know and trust bird sit at home. Then next best scenario would be having someone your bird knows and has been to their home watch them. Third would be as Tweedle described of a vet professional watch over them that knows critters, how to handle them and care for them. I'm sure many others will have great things to contribute here as well.

What a cute story of this interaction between Jay and Spock. There is no doubt in my mind it is understood by Spock to be an endearing and affectionate moment. Thanks for sharing this.

Congratulations! Isn't it wonderful to watch them start to fledge and the excitement of them?

Each Grey is different. They are not by any means mature at 2. Many start the terrible 2's around 18 months, some earlier,some later than 2 and some people report never noticing any change in personality at all, other than just becoming more and more independent, but not a crazy out of control child. They become sexually mature on average, around 5 years old. You will probably notice a difference between your two greys during this time as well, since each has their own personality. I will say, so far my wife is still Dayo's cuddle muffin....... I was hoping he would switch to me, but thats a no-go. I'm just a buddy he loves to play rough house games with and his favorite is "See if I can Nail Daddy unexpectedly" when we are playing a game together.

Congratulations! It is a wonderful feeling when you experience these milestones.

Well lets all have a video press conference with Yoshi then to let her know.

Oh Jan, I feel so sorry for you and Tobie. He is such a joy and love in your life, as well as a favorite of us here on the forum. I know your dilemma, Tobie has done nothing wrong, yet must be confined for his own well being to heal properly. Then, the second issue of once healed, how to you keep it from being burst open again, without restraining Tobie to the cage (Which I know you wouldn't do). The only answer I can think of, is to place throw rugs down and cover any tile or linolium areas you have that he could possibly crash down to. It is the only way to protect him. I know it is covering beautiful flooring, but maybe you can find throw rugs or area rugs that are nice and you can live with.