danmcq

Thanks for the update Penny. It's good to hear Rikki is ok and acting normal other than perhaps a little soreness in that foot.

Shaun - Please try to see him as the sweet baby he still is. He is just 19 weeks old. He loves you unconditionally. :-( That is not an issue he can not overcome with yoyur help. I wish I lived over there, I would take him in a heartbeat. I am positive someone that lives close to you will be commenting here on the forum.

Spock, your Vulcan heritage is coming through. I know you desire to a logic, uniformity and tanquilitiy. But, the aliens your are living with is a motley bunch of Yahoos. CAUTION: Do not mind meld with the other aliens they call birds. It will jeopardize your logic and reason. Tap Jay for all he's got, but leave the rest alone. Headquarters out......

Oh poor Harvey and all the rest of the Greys in the world (Captive) that will be cage bound today for the first time in a week or so. The vacations and holidays are over and now us "Slaves" must get to cracking so the $$$$ come in for more toys, toys, toys!! PS: Don't ever wake your master like that again. How rude.....

GreYt photos. Tweak is a very venturous baby grey with a wonderful play area. Thanks for sharing these photos. :-)

Good morning Penny. How is Rikki's foot looking today? I hope it is just superficial and perhaps a little Aloe Gel will sooth it. :-)

OMG Penny, what a scare!!! Your quick thinking and fast reflexes saved Rikki from a serious burn. Very good lesson for us all. I know how watchful you are over your flock. This just goes to show. Even though we think "It will never happen", BAM! It happens. Thanks for sharing this.

Welcome Toria and Tweak!! It's GreYt having you hear. Looking forward to hearing more and seeing some photos when you get a chance. :-)

As has already been recommended and Judy pointed out again, an avian vet visit, check etc. should be done to ensure all is well with him If it is, the get good wood chew toys and give almonds in the shell, as I previously mentioned. It sounds like you are going to do a GreYt job of taking care of him. :-)

Cool video. Aj has even been on Martha Stewart show! 17 years old and obviously the owner has spent a lot of quality time with him. :-)

Entertaining videos of Cocoa swinging. :-) How is that finger doing after having half of it removed? Thanks for sharing these. I always enjoy your photos and videos.

Wow, what a good description of your new greys past and present. From the sounds of it, he may have been pretty much "caged" the last 5 years. That is a lot of homes to have gone through in such a relatively short beginning of his very long life to come. It sounds as though you have a bird room, if I am reading this correctly. If so, how much out of cage and one on one time does each of the birds get? From the jealously aspect. He perhaps has not shared a home with other birds before and resents them as you indicate. Greys are not normally social with other birds, other than Greys and sometimes not with them either. Introducing anything new to a grey is sometimes a challenge even with a grey that is well adjusted, socialized and still in it's original home. It seems "Archie" has not had a good past with owners that knew anything about parrots and the care they require. At 5 years old he is either fully mature now or very close to it. He could have some hormones going on right now, it is molting season with prickly pins and then add another new home, many birds and you've got a very challenging environment for him to learn the "flock" dynamics and sort out how he fits in to all this. To get him settled in is going to take a lot more one on one time with him, than with the other birds. He needs to be "Out" with you guys where you are in the house or at least his cage moved out there where he can start feeling like he is a loved member of the flock. He will learn somethings on "Bird Alley" by observance and seeing how they interact with each other, you and play with toys. But, the most important thing you need to establish is trust, a relationship and get him to feeling secure in your home and flock. From the size and number of your existing flock. I am sure you and family already know most of this about parrots and are doing the best you can with the time you have to devote to him. One thing on the ripping out of feathers as you describe. That is obviously from jealousy and frustration, not a plucking habit. That is the first thing you need to analyze and determine what you can change in his life right now, so it does not become a plucking habit that is very hard to break once established. I would not recommend clipping the wings. Just keep him in smaller bird safe rooms where he can learn flight control when you have him out of the cage. His beak can be trimmed naturally by him with good wood chew blocks etc. that are made of a soft enough wood like pine for him to tear apart with his beak. Almonds in the shell will also keep him busy and his beak in good repair. One note on your comment about possibly finding another home for him. It may be true that you don't have the amount of time this grey needs to learn to establish trust with you and flock. If this is true, then the next home should be one with someone experienced with greys, does not already have a fairly large flock and has all the time necessary each day to bring out the real underlying Grey that is presently locked away in fear and distrust in this pour soul. I commend you for taking in a grey in need and trying your best to bring him around. Only you and family can make the critical decisions needed to get "Archie" to the Grey he was meant to be. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2010/01/03 14:17

Welcome Christina!! It's GreYt having you and your flock here. :-) Will go read your other post regarding issues with new Grey.

Tango is such a sweet heart. I can not imagine why people were afraid of her and thus left her cage bound. She is so lucky to have been given the opportunity to join your flock and thrive, as she already doing. Karma to you. :-)

Accapella gave good comments and questions. All birds lose primary flight feathers on and off. It has nothing to do with bi-annual molting. However, as Accapella stated, most all parrots are molting right now to some extent losing the small downy and normal feathers. It would be interesting to hear, if you know, more about how he was actually treated. :-)

Whew!!! Didn't want the Forum "Godfather" upset with me. :lol:

Rikki knows she got it right the first time. Very cute story Penny. They are both a hoot! :-)

I am very sorry to hear that. You tried all avenues in your reach to help him. Prayers and best wishes for you in this time of sorrow.

I am always looking for scientific research to increase knowledge of birds history. In June 2008, an article titled “A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History”, featured in Science magazine, brought new light to the ways bird species are related to one another. By looking at the DNA, a group of scientist redrew the avian family tree. One of their most interesting discoveries was that falcons are a sister group to the parrots and songbirds. It turns out that falcons are not closely related to eagles, hawks and osprey (Accipitridae), as previously thought. They are actually quite closely related to parrots. I am hoping they continue to perform these studies and see if my suspicions of being related to Pterodactyls is correct. You can read the entire DNA study online by joining: http://www.sciencemag.org

Morning laugh....You'll be humming it all day.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p023YD3DDPg

GreYt video. Your grey would sure like to get a "Piece" of one of those children taunting him. Next time give about 10 feet more slack on the line. The children will quickly stop the arm flapping and teasing one the blood starts spurting. Thanks for sharing these. :-)

The side of the toe is an odd place for bumblefoot to occur. It is normally found on the bottom of their feet. Did the vet mention or ask what the perching areas are like to try and find what is causing this in that spot of the foot? There are various ointments that the vet may recommend. The normal treatment is antibiotics, changing perches, covering bottom grates and sometime lancing the infected lump to let it drain. Has the vet told you what the plan of action is? I assume since they are going to put her to sleep they are lancing it.

What a wonderful story of just a "Glimpse" of your past Jay. Back then there was no internet and hardly any books what so ever on parrots. You and family are such loving and giving people to do all the work you have done to save and protect Parrots. A good example for all to listen to and follow.

OH, Harvey knows exactly what it means by listening and watching you.... MICHAEL! Take the trash out. MICHAEL! Bring me a glass of wine. MICHAEL! Stop that. MICHAEL...NO! MICHAEL...YES_YES_OH_YES!!!

The others have given good advice and comments. One caution on anything that is a non-food item a bird may eat or consume even a small quantity of. It can cause compaction of the crop if it gets stuck. This can lead to life threatening problems for any bird. I know you did not "Give it to your grey. But, it is a good example of keeping things picked up to protect or birds from harms way. I have left an ink pen for example very early on and before I knew it there was ink everywhere and Dayo had a black tongue for a while....VERY SCARY event. Anyway, I hope all is well with your Grey today. :-)