danmcq

Judy and Ranaz are spot on. Most Greys right now are going through varying degrees of a molt, as are other Parrot species. Sneezing is normal too,as long as no discharge is present.They get dander and perhaps some dust particles in their nares like from food your feeding them as they nuzzle their beaks through the food trying to find the one little morsel they want. :-) It's GreYt to see you asking questions related to your greys health. Your a good Parront!!

Welcome CatSnack!! It's GreYt having you here. Judy gave some very good advice and comments. Greys do not learn from treatment like yours received from that lady trimming her nails. That is not training, it verges on abuse and was scary for your Grey. I am surprised that lady did not receive a severe bite from her actions. Any Grey that becomes upset like that takes a while to calm down, as you observed from her actions. You can not train a Grey NOT to bite. The beak is their only defense and they use it to varying degrees of pressure to let you know they like something, are uncomfortable and leave me the heck a lone. You Grey is at an age that it knows what it likes and how to communicate to humans if it likes or dislikes something or just wants to be left alone. You will learn to read her body language like feathers fluffed, eyes pinning etc. so you know she is warning you that she is going to bite if you continue. Just recognize the body language and avoid the bite. Looking forward to hearing more from you and seeing some photos when you get a chance to post them. :-)

Wow, whadda 1st Hatch Day, Happy Hatch Day Ana!!!:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

OMG - Tears ....Too funny...Thanks for that ...

Hey, they could be beautiful bookends!! Love these photos, thanks for sharing them.

No fair, I need full tail shots and eye shots using the same lighting, thats the only way I could tell them a part, by age. :-) Well, if one had say an eye patch, another a "Spot" of purple and the other just normal, I might have a chance. I know though, if you live with them everyday, it would be much easier. :-) GteYt photos!!

Happy Hatchday to you, Happy Hatchday to you, Happy Hatchday Dear Ana, Happy Hatchday to you!!!!

Welcome Shanir!! It's GreYt having you here. TAGs are simply harder to find due to there being less breeders. Many people prefer a CAG simply due to the larger size and bright red tail. TAGs and CAGs are both African Greys and have the same intelligence and mannerisms for the most part. Some say a TAG is not as timid as a CAG. This is simply not true. Perhaps a higher percentage of TAGs are more outgoing than CAGs, but a true study has not been performed on this. They are both wonderful birds and either is a GreYt choice. :-) You get the bird you prefer. If smaller is more appealing to you, then get a TAG.

Congratulations, your Grey is starting to fledge!!! :-) When they are trying to fledge, they instinctively lessen their food intake to reduce body weight and make flight easier. Offer him the normal foods your keeping out during the day and give him his night time formula. Keep offering the morning formula as well. If he gets to where he completely ignores the morning, then stop it and only keep up the night time feeding. Please do monitor your greys weight daily though to ensure he is not losing too much weight. It should not drop more than 20 percent when the fledging food intake reduction starts. He will gain weight back once the fledging is done. Just watch it closely and keep a daily log. :-)

It is doubtful they would get a long. Also, Macaws Health is affected in different degrees by the dander coming off in volumes from your grey. It is recommended that they are not kept in the same room. They would probably not be "Buddies" or entertain and keep each other company. If you did get one, it should only be because you want it, have the time and energy to spread around between all your critters etc.

Your doing the right things. Patience and time are the two things that will overcome the fear. The new cage, maybe toys not familiar, household items and of course people are all new and fear inducing. Plus, the background and how your Grey was treated has a lot to do with trust also. The step up is probably already known to your 4 year old grey, so there's not any teaching required there. Your right, offering your finger for a step-up is just asking to have a wound inflicted. Watch the Greys body language and eyes closely. That tells you way before hand if there is any chance of a step-up. You might also want to pay attention to the Eyes and see what items may be inducing fear. You will see them look at them and perhaps fluff their feathers a little, move away a step or two etc. This would give you an idea of any offending toys, other cage items, items close to the cage, items on you, like a crazy hawaiian shirt, necklace, finger nail color, hat etc. Sit next to the cage and read, watch TV, talk to your grey etc. and leave cage door open so it can come out when it desires to.

It's GreYt to hear you have recovered from the Klingon laser blast that made you delusional Jim. You never had telepathy and it's good to hear you talking again. Everyone wondered why you were looking at them like they just ignored a direct order More words will come back as the brain swelling lessens. Oh and you used to love those exotic foods and you claimed they boosted your sexual powers, so eat up!! ;-) Why do you think the Tribbles multiply so fast? They eat that stuff!!

Oh Man, you know that hurts. The nail will grow back. She of course is going to favor that foot for a while. It sounds like she is doing fine with all considered. The only thing to watch for is additional bleeding. But, since you took the corrective actions last night and the bleeding stopped. It would seem it has coagulated nicely and all should be well unless she rough houses and nicks it. So sorry to hear of this painful wound.<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/08/06 14:51

Awww Harvey is such a love muffin. I thought he was going to gurge for you there for a minute in that video. :-) Harvey is a wonderful addition to your home and is obviously loving every minute of it!!

Thanks for adding Dixie to this Robin. :-) She is one smart Grey from your videos. Could you please add her age, approximate number of words in her vocabulary etc. by editing your post? I modified my original post requesting all commentators include these facts in their posts so we can ll get a good idea of the age ranges and Greys abilities. :-)

We are all very well aware of the intelligence level of our African Greys and their speech skills in both speech (saying words) and understanding (applying words properly and in context). Reviewing various sources for the normal development period of Human children and having raised two human children of our own. We have a good grasp of what the "norm" is. From various "expert sources" on Human speech development: "We know that children don't start to put together 2-word utterances until they've amassed a productive vocabulary of around 50 words, and as that vocabulary continues to expand, a child's utterance length grows as well. Some children start to put together 2-word utterances between ages 1 and 2 years, and others closer to the 2-year range, and either is fine. (And some children are slower to get started and even some of these children will catch up). That a baby is between 2 and 3-years of age and is starting to produce some 3-word combinations with personal pronoun ('I') and adjective forms ('sleepy') reveals their developing competence with language. Those of us with Greys that have just begun their true and proper use of speech at 1 - 3 years of age. I believe, see a similar age and speech ability to humans, in them. With that said, I wanted to see what others here on the forum are finding with their Greys at 0-3 years. I am hoping we will also get some input from those with Greys beyond the 3 year olds to see how this speech ability continues to progress as the age well into the 30's and 40's. When you enter information on your Grey. Please include your Greys age, approximate number of words in their vocabulary and if and how the correctly apply or change sentences. This will help us all learn at what age others Greys are speaking, how much and how well. It would be GreYt if this could turn into a source many others would reference. :-) Dayo: At 2 yrs 3mos old has a vocabulary of ~ 150 single words. He has at least 50 phrases he uses and has started "Creating" his own just over the last 3 months or so that are "Correct" usage of the English language, meaning "He gets it". Examples: He knows.... I love you, I love you Dayo. - He has come up with: I love...mommy, I love dan, I love Peekaboo He knows..... I like - He has come up with: I like coconut, I like coffee, I like Cereal, I like Almond etc. You get the point, he differentiates between "Love" and "Like". He also uses the language in correct context. He knows ... Lets make coffee - He came up with: Lets make cereal, Make a Baby (Kim almost fainted) WE DON"T THINK SO . However, to him a "Baby" is the tiny furry porcupine toy he has loved bashing around for a year now, just to clarify, he thinks a new one is needed. :-) So with that said and the few examples I have given, I would like to have others give their examples of their Greys speech development. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/08/06 16:57

They are so precious in shots like this. Thanks for posting it. :-)

I Thawt I thaw a puddy tat... :-) Don't know, never had a cat around my birds. One note, their claws are dangerous to your birdy also. They bury their poop and have many nasties in those claws.

Congratulations, that sounds like a steal! :-)

she wrote: Hi! My Names Dan..... ;-)

Thats GreYt news Caroline. Sorry Keeko has a sprained wing, but he certainly received good treatment. It sounds like there's going to be lots of cuddling and special attention the next few days. :-)

Ummmmm sounds good, we love PB in our home. Especially the super-chunky. Thats for the brand of PB, now I must see if I can find it in stores or online. Karma to you!! :-)

Right on Talon, it only takes one time and all the birds are dead. That has been a VERY PAINFUL lesson for many bird owners. Muchless the poor birds it killed.....

Definitely normal behaviour, as the others have said. My Grey does that several times a day when out of his cage. He also does it when chasing the conure. :-) I just stay the heck out of his way when he is in Pterodactyl mode.

Theres not really anything you can do about them rubbing their head on something, other than changing the size of the opening etc. Not sure what size you cage is or bar spacing.