danmcq

Thats a wonderful update on Dixie. The ability to gain altitude shows she is already building muscle mass. It is a pain sometimes when they fly into forbidden territory, but you dealt with it perfectly. :-) I would love to see a video of her new upside down antics. :-)

I believe the abstract from the scientific study is the best and most conclusive study found to date. It did indeed find the clay absorbed toxins..... The others are not based on actual in-depth studies as the one performed by UC Davis. A side note - Harrisons pellets and some other manufacturers also provide clay in there pellets based upon data they have that indicates it removes toxins.....

They are completely reliant upon you during those first months. In the natural, they spend upto to 2 years tagging along with their parents and learning. Thus, due to this dependency, we all saw the same behaviors you are at the very young age. You can read my book-journal entries regarding Dayo from start to....how far Ive written at: http://www.greyforums.net/forums/the-grey-lounge/160392-dayo-writing-a-book-for-his-future.html#160392

Loved this video of Emma! She obviously enjoys flapping and spinning around on that chain with bong suspended. My grey loves to do that as well. Thanks for posting this. :-)

There have been studies performed on the clay Parrots around the world, not just in the Amazon that have in fact resulted in the data that clay does remove toxins: James D. Gilardi1, 2 , Sean S. Duffey2, Charles A. Munn3 and Lisa A. Tell4 (1) Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California, 95616. (2) Oceanic Society, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, California, 95616 (3) Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York, 10460 (4) School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, 95616 Abstract- This study tests hypotheses on the biochemical functions of geophagy in parrots: mechanical enhancement of digestion, acid buffering capacity, mineral supplementation, adsorption of dietary toxins, and gastrointestinal cytoprotection. Parrots showed clear preferences for specific soil horizons. Comparisons of preferred and nonpreferred soils from several sites suggest that soils have little ability to enhance grinding and no measurable ability to buffer gastric pH. Soils offered insignificant mineral supplementation since most minerals occurred at similar levels in samples regardless of preference, and the minerals were generally more plentiful in the birds' diets. Sodium was available in moderate levels at some sites (>1000 ppm), but was well below sodium detection thresholds of parrots. X-ray diffraction, cation exchange capacity, and in vitro adsorptive trials showed that the preferred soils are capable of exchanging substantial quantities of cations and are capable of adsorbing low-molecular-weight secondary compounds. In captive Amazona parrots, orally administered clay reduced the bioavailability of the alkaloid quinidine by roughly 60%, demonstrating that in vivo adsorption of potentially toxic compounds may be a biologically important function of geophagy. Labeled clay remained in the lower gastrointestinal tract of captive parrots for >12 hr, which along with high adsorptive capacities, further suggests a potential role in protecting the gastrointestinal lining from various biological and chemical insults. Detoxification and cytoprotection are the most likely functions of geophagy for parrots and herbivores with similar ecologies. Given the variety of chemically defended seeds consumed by these herbivores, geophagy likely protects consumers from dietary toxins, allowing increased diet breadth and/or enhancing digestibility. Parrot - macaw - geophagy - clay - mineral - detoxification - secondary compounds - dietary ecology - cytoprotection

Jayd wrote: That is wonderful news on the weight staying consistent!!! Spock, since your not absorbing a 100 percent of the food, the good news is you can eat all you want and not get fat right now!!!! So chow down and eat like a pig!!!! It's great to hear things are seemingly level and I have read data that indicates that the antibiotics can and do of course have side effects while they are necessary for killing any possible infection. Continued prayers and good energy coming to you. Love long and prosper Spock!!<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2010/02/10 15:14

The being home on vacation and then returning to your normal working schedule could cause an attitude as well. I was working at home the last 3 weeks and Dayo became VERY used to being out of the cage 16 hours a day and having lots of interaction with me. I went back to work in the office this Monday out of town. When my wife uncovered Dayo Monday morning, she said he looked at the Computer Monitor...OFF, looked all over the family room, kitchen, living room then started cheeping and chirping his I miss somebody calls and some contact calls he uses for me only. When my wife came home Monday evening from work. Dayo again checked out all he rooms. Now understand, my wife is Dayos cuddle muffin and rarely gets a nip. Dayo would not stop nipping her and chirping as if something was wrong for the first hour or so. He was not his normal cuddle muffin self at all that evening. Tuesday morning, same scenario. Tuesday evening he got to talk to me on the phone which seemed to calm him down. I suppose atleast that let him know I was still alive...... somewhere. We just never know how things will sometimes affect these very intelligent Greys.<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2010/02/10 15:05

Completely understand and kudos to you both for giving so much of your time to rearing chicks, taking in rescues and finding them all good loving homes. It is rare to find people like you that get involved and help like you have. I'll bet your FIDs will appreciate all the extra time and love you will be able to provide. We'll appreciate your great posts here too. :-)

I would leave the "Familiar in place and see what Harvey does. It took Dayo 3 weeks to get on his new Tree Stand. Jake the conure...... flew to it as soon as I rolled it in. Big difference between old world and new world parrots personalitie.

California Almonds: The Almond Board of California, which oversees virtually 100 percent of the almonds grown and consumed in the United States and Canada, is now implementing plans to pasteurize all almonds at temperatures up to 158 degrees (F) and yet have them intentionally and falsely labeled as "raw." The decision was made following the 2001 and 2004 outbreaks of salmonella in almonds, and is based on the intention of the Almond Board of California to provide a "safe, nutritious product to consumers" but not, it seems, an accurately labeled food product to consumers. Although it seems unthinkable to anyone familiar with the fundamentals of nutrition, the Almond Board fails to recognize any distinction between raw almonds and cooked almonds. In statements received by NaturalNews, the Almond Board explained that, "raw almonds that have been pasteurized do not differ in any significant way from untreated raw almonds." Except, of course, for the fact that they are dead. Stating that live, raw almonds are the same as dead, cooked almonds is equivalent to stating that a living human being is the same as a corpse. Raw foods are widely understood by virtually the entire food community to mean food items kept below 108 degrees (F), beyond which the living enzymes in foods are destroyed. Pasteurization, in contrast, exposes foods to temperatures of up to 158 degrees for durations up to 30 minutes. (Faster "flash" pasteurization can involve much higher temperatures for shorter durations: 280 degrees (F) for two seconds, for example.) NaturalNews does not know the precise temperature that will be used for pasteurizing almonds, but it will without question be a temperature higher than 108 degrees (F), which means the almonds can no longer be considered raw by any reasonable person familiar with the definition of raw.

A note on aspergillus. How do birds catch aspergillus? Birds catch aspergillus when they consume moldy feed or sift through moldy litter and vegetation with their beaks and bills, inhaling the spores. Pet birds and domestic birds are at risk if their feed or litter has been stored in a warm damp place where the fungus can begin to grow. Wild birds sometimes die in huge numbers when flocks feed on moldy grain, particularly corn, or on other damp and moldy food sources in the wild. Water birds and scavengers are often victims of the disease. Eggs laid in moldy litter can become infected when the fungus penetrates the eggshell and begins to grow on the inner membrane. Some chicks hatch with fungal infections already established. Others pick up the fungus as they break out of the egg. Birds that are very old, very young, or suffering from other health problems are more susceptible to aspergillosis than most birds. Stressed birds are also at greater risk—birds that are having difficulty in the wild, birds that have recently been caged, and pet birds that are not well cared for and kept in poor conditions. The disease is not passed from bird to bird. Peanuts are a "Possible" source, but unlikey if human grade and cooked in the shell. Then kept in dry storage, low humdity once you open the package. Shelled Peanuts of course that have been roasted are fine as well. I give Dayo Peanuts in the shell and shelled.

Ramsabi - I didn't take any offense. Just stated facts. :-) Yes, birds in the wild will eat poisonous plants an items. What they have going for them, that our house birds do not, is the daily ingestion of "Clay" that coats their digestive system and absorbs these poisons and basically lets the "healthy" portion of the food item get digested. Their is no scientific data on X number of apple seeds would kill a human, bird etc. It is proportional to body weight. All the scientific data states it would take a lot of apple seeds ingested at once to reach toxic levels. They also state before ever reaching that level, critters and people would start experiencing bloat and other stomach issues which would stop them from eating so much the cyanide would kill them. I doubt anyone on his forum or any where else can state their grey ate X number of seeds then died.

Almonds - Do you feed this Cyanide poison laden item to your FID or eat them yourself? Well, we all know we do. You can rest in peace knowing science solved this problem. Most countries outlawed the sale of "Raw" Almonds. Almonds are not actually a "Nut", but a seed from a Pit. All Almonds you purchase whether in the shell or not are "Heat Treated". This process removes the Cyanide from the seed. People purchasing Almonds in countries that have not outlawed the sale of uncooked Almonds must ensure they have been heat treated before eating them their selves or giving them to your birds.

Ramsabi, Answer to question 1 - Yes, any critter will eat something they think tastes great, even if it is poisonous. They of course do not know it is poison Answer to #2 - I am not certain what you call "facts", but I have posted several from scientific sources. If you mean actual data like how many apple seeds would it take to kill a Grey, well they would need to kill a Grey to test this. Which I hope no scientific lab does so. In regards apple seeds. Of all the seed or pit fruits. The apple seed actually has the least amount of cyanide it.

Hey, you and me will take any type of close up and personal head rubbing we can get from our Greys as the "Other" non-cuddle muffins of the flock. Even if it is just that they are using us as a rubbing board. Forget the hands for typing. Get a microphone and use the speech recognition on your pc to type! It actually works very well once you have calibrated it to your voice. :-)

Not sure about a one year old CAG displaying this behavior change due to horniness. But, I would think he is going through a molt and may have several pin feathers irritating him and probably very dry skin on top of that. Maybe the Tofu will sooth other things besides hormones? It worth a shot and a good tip from Ecodweeb. One other question. Since this just came on suddenly, has anything changed in the room, cage or home environment? It's good to hear he received a clean bill of halth and is eating. :-)

So sorry Spock is not well yet. :-( Prayers and good thoughts still coming his way. Did the vet say anything after moving the appointment further out? Do they know the underlying cause for certain yet? You know we fret over him with you and wish we could all just come over and give you all big hugs and lots of positive energy. :-)

No Problem Jay. :-) Thanks for clarifying that to all. I think we already know most people do not feed their greys whole apples, avocados, garlic, onions etc. I believe some even view feeding seed mixes as near "Poison" to birds and feed only pellets due tho the "Pellet Companies" advertising and getting vets to buy into it and resell them at a profit....I know, may maybe that will get some REAL data coming in. ;-) You put it very short and sweet, "why" needs to be answered. That should be answered with concrete data, not hear-say. I believe that was the intent of your starting this thread. :-)

I have no clue "When" Dayo recognised his name. That would be a tough one to truly answer with 100 percent certainty. It doesn't matter if I ask a question, whistle or just make some sound. If he's not looking at me before hand, he immediately looks at me no matter what I say.

Bingo Julie! Yes, Grape Seeds are fine and healthy for humans and FIDs! We humans have actually done ourselves a disservice by choosing "Seedless" Grapes. The seeds are packed with healthful "Stuff" for us and our Fids. Here is a link to an article if anyone is interested: http://www.nutritionresearchcenter.org/healthnews/do-eat-grape-seeds/

Now I posit another question to all and want data, not feelings. The question is: Are Grape Seeds "Ok"?

I personally do not view this as a "Debate". I view this as an informative thread with "Truths" established by scientific data generated by qualified doctors and professionals in the associate field. If this was a "Debate", it would not be "Fact Finding", it would just be a respectful argument from different views. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2010/02/08 16:14

Your Grey is very young and not sure of "Safe and Stable" perching areas and that includes your finger. It is also very uncoordinated at that age. Every bird will "Test" a perch for stability. The more it moves, the more it will beak and test. Also, they beak and tongue everything they come in contact with at the age. It is how they learn textures, tastes and rigidity of an item. Your grey is not "Biting" and should never be punished or reacted to as if it did something wrong. Your finger is not a good perch for such a young grey. As others have stated, use your whole hand or arm for it to perch as it is a more stable and larger platform for it to stand on.

Ok, back to the question of apple seeds.... I have done many hours of research on this and find no medical supporting data what so ever on any type of critter becoming Ill from just the seeds. Perhaps the confusion of non-medical people creating these lists all over the internet of poisonous items are missing important facts like what type of "Apple"? The normal apples people eat are ok, there are MANY fruits described as "Apples" that will make humans and critters sick, like crab apples and May apples. The May apple for example is poisonous and here is a scientific description of it: GENUS: Podophyllum Podophyllum peltatum L. —May apple; mandrake FAMILY: Berberidaceae—the Barberry Family (see Caulophyllum) PHENOLOGY: Mandrake flowers in mid-spring, often during May. DISTRIBUTION: Podophyllum is found in open clearings in moist woods and along road banks as a migrant from adjacent wood lots. It is also encountered in wet or damp meadows, open fields, and pastures. PLANT CHARACTERISTICS: Podophyllum can be recognized by sepals: 6, falling early; petals: 6-9, white, 1-2 cm long; stamens: twice as many as the petals; ovary: oval, with a large sessile stigma; fruit: yellow when ripe, 4-5 cm, fleshy pulp edible, many-seeded; plants: in colonies; perennial from a rhizome; the flowering stem with two, umbrella-shaped leaves and a short-peduncled, solitary flower in the axil. POISONOUS PARTS: The herbage, rootstock, and seeds are poisonous. SYMPTOMS: In humans and livestock symptoms vary and generally involve severe gastroenteritis, diarrhea, vomiting, and violent catharsis. POISONOUS PRINCIPLES: Podophyllin, a resinoid toxin, is a very complex mixture of lignins (including podophylloxin, alpha- and beta- peltatins) and flavonols Sixteen physiologically active, well-characterized compounds have been isolated in podophyllin. Chemical analysis reveals 3-6% resin and 0.2 – 1.0% podophyllotoxin, picropodophyllin, quercetin, and peltatins. CONFUSED TAXA: May apples are well known elements of our spring flora. No other plant has umbrellalike leaves and white flowers measuring 5 cm in diameter. It is not readily confused with any other plant. SPECIES OF ANIMALS AFFECTED: Humans, especially adults, have been poisoned from the misuse of medicinal preparations. The fruits, the least toxic part of the plant, have caused poisoning in children. The principal effect is violent diarrhea and vomiting. Where rhizomes are dried and processed at commercial operations, the handlers often show severe conjunctivitis, keratitis, and ulcerative lesions. As little as 5 grains of podophyllotoxin resin can cause death in humans. A cow is known to have been poisoned in Ontario. The animal displayed diarrhea, salivation, anorexia, lacrimation, and excitement; regions of the face and mouth were swollen and the mucosa congested. Other livestock reported poisoned from May apple or mandrake are hogs and sheep.

Great response Jay. :-) Here is a link to a study performed supporting what Jay is doing to clean all those veggies and fruits. Simple, quick and effective with sometips as well such as cutting off the ends of fruit and removing any obvious bruised areas: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14540742