danmcq

Welcome Lino! It's GreYt having you here. As jooles said, a lot depends on how the Grey was raised, socialized and introduced to new things by the breeder. Greys have different personalities just like people. Some are every outgoing and fearless of new things and people. Other Greys are sometimes fearful of new items like toys or other items and not very friendly to new people. The bottom line is, getting a Grey is a life long commitment and keeping one after you get is should not be based on if it did a million tricks for you or happily went along through a busy noisy street in a city. You should only get one if you wish to provide it atleast 4 hours of out of cage time with you daily, interacting with you and getting mental stimulation from you. If you are only going to get a Grey and place it in a cage like your other Parrots and just it out once in a while when you wish and not spend the daily time needed, do not get a Grey. They are not HIGHLY prone to plucking, but some do at times, just as all other types of Parrots will sometimes pluck. It is more common in Greys than other species, but not high percentage as a whole. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

What a GreYt update!! :-) It sounds like Abbie is really flourishing under your loving care and is enjoying life once again. :-) She is talking to you, with those VERY MEANINGFUL whistles and microwave beeps etc. I'll bet she is mumbling under her breath when your just out of ear shot. As the layers of onion continue to peel off that built up, you will start seeing the real Abbie under there. :-) Looking forward to hearing updated more often!!

Yes, Harrisons High Potency Coarse is specifically formulated for Greys.

I would imagine Pheona was a little peeved over her eggs being taken and placed in the brooder. ;-) Normally breeders are kept together all the time. I would assume you seperated them for a reason other than just Pheona being a little angry over the egg snatching? Thanks for the update and I hope all goes well with those eggs in the brooder!! :-)

Welcome Bry!! It's GreYt having you here and nice to see you researching well in advance before determining which parrot is right for you. :-) You'll find a ton of information here and nice people as well. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

The Red Palm Oil is specific to the African Grey itself. It is a species of palm native to Africa and has different properties than the palms found in south America that the Macaws thrive on. However, the Red Palm Oil is good in moderation (small amounts) as it is fro the Greys. Other parrots do not really benefit from it and to some, it can be very bad for dietary wise. One thing to consider also is the very small amount given by most of us (10 drops) on food a few times a week. If your Grey or Macaw is not flighted and burning many calories, you need to ensure you do not give too much too often. It is very high in fat content and could adversely affect your parrots health if given in too high of quantities. Remember, those wild Greys and Macaws fly up to 50 miles a day.......now thats a need for calories!! This is not the case for our captive greys or other parrots.

It's very saddening to hear this. Epilepsy is not caused by a head trauma. If symptoms to to it apparent from a head trauma such as convulsions, that is a very serious injury and would require hospitalization as you are describing. I pray your Grey is doing ok and that he will come home to you as normal as he was previously. It would be wise to lower the perches in the cage and make sure you have towels or other cushioning material inside and outside the cage so if a fall occurs, the resulting floor impact will not be so harmful. Please keep us posted on how this goes.

It could also be a mating dance starting. It just depends on the situation, how close if not on you etc. More information on what triggers this would be very helpful. :-)

domyoburk wrote: I think the key word here is choice. The issue is no matter how you say it, you Grey is making it's choice, not considering if you are giving an option or not. They all do this. The only way I have been able to let my Grey know that he's going to step up whether he wants to or not, is to use the fist of iron and go in with my hand in a fist and the back of it towards him. He knows this means there is no choice and he can not bite to stop it. I have found that by paying very careful attention to body language, how they may start to move away slightly or lower the head slightly as I approach indicates he is doing something or is happy where he is. Many times I may just be walking over to get something by him and notice this. You will need to watch your Grey carefully for these little indicators. Then when you know your going to demand a step up, use the fist of iron everytime. He will know your not offering an option. When you can see he wants your attention by his body language, use a normal hand positioned un-fisted for a "Friendly" step up. Others will chime in as well I'm sure with more good thoughts. :-)

Welcome Mary and Nickel!! It's GreYt having you here. It sounds like you are off to a good start with her and it's wonderful to hear she has fit right in with you and family. Looking forward to hearing more and seeing photos when you get a chance. :-)

Dave gave my opinion as well. There is no one book, many contain incorrect information and most are written from the authors personal experience with their Grey(s). Each Grey or any other living creature for that matter is an individual and different. Some are extroverts, some introverts, some nervous, some not, some adventurous, some not, some like grape, some not etc...... Thats what makes this place so useful as a repository of MANY different peoples experiences with their Greys and others. It is a dynamic, living if you will, book that changes for each persons specific situation. If you just wanted books for reading the many different opinions and methodologies, then read, read , read, which many of us have. Then like eating a watermelon, we spit out the seeds. :-)

Wow, GreYt news and Congratulations!!! Man, the next 3 days are going to be looooooong, but with all the things you have to do between now and Thursday, maybe it will go fast for you. :-)

Welcome Carol and Cookie!! It's GreYt having you here. :-) It's always wonderful to hear of someone taking in a mature Grey and giving them a good and loving home. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

Welcome Badhbh and Zoo!! Looking forward to hearing more from. :-)

Yep, as Judy said, I meant tight fist with the back of hand and wrist going at him. He can't get a good bite. When he see's that coming, he knows resistance is futile. :-)

GreYt photos of Boneks bath time. :-) Thanks for sharing them.

You are definitely being tested and Dusty is finding boundaries. It may be a challenge to stop her from flying to a "Favorite" spot, but not impossible. I had the same issue with Dayo and the Top of the fridge. I can not count the hundreds of times a had to get up and go get him off that fridge, saying no, placing him back on a proper perching area etc. He actually started becoming more aggressive with hard blood letting bites before I knew to use the iron hand rather than take a hit from the get go. He became very possessive of "His Ground". Finally after stopping being "Mr. Nice Guy" and having him step-up after much coaching and giving him a ride to a perch, I just started forward motion with the fist of Iron and wrist and he either stepped up or got pushed off the fridge topm, slowly. After several times of this, He quit going there.

Hahahahahah, I can just mentally picture that. You really need to snap off a few photos of that if you get a chance and post them. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/05/17 19:06

Very exciting moment!! :-) Thanks for sharing his first word and those GreYt photos.

Thanks for posting this. Are you sure Dixie isn't saying "HellllllloOOooOooOoo?" to get you out of the book and pay attention to her? Cute conversation. :-)

WOW!! Beautiful photo. Thanks for posting it Sheila!! :-)

LOL - Are you sure someone hasn't put a "Poop Here" sticky on the top of your car?

I'm sorry to hear this Mags. Your Grey obviously has come to hate the harness for one thing and forcing it on her while accepting bites of protest may have made the biting worse. Since you don't mention any other things that may have changed or happened over the last several weeks, I would suspect that is the root of this biting issue. When a Grey bites multiple times as you describe, that is a full on attack. It seems your hand has become a villain for this moment. I would stop any harness work, take it completely out of sight and just start gaining her trust again that your not going to put her through that. I can certainly understand your aversion to letting her out of the cage, but as you know out time is necessary. Since you fully expect she will go for your hand, be prepared before it happens. See if you can let her out of the cage with out allowing a path for her to attack. The thought being that you first need to stop the attack before it has a chance to happen. It will hopefully stop a habit from starting of a bite attack the minute she is let out. The more information you can provide on this, the better. It is of course very hard to see all the dynamics of the interaction from a written post,but we'll all try our best to give you good ideas on overcoming this biting issue.

What a Greyt update and photo of Partner. I do hope you get that job and with the commitment you have shown to Partner, I don't think a change in schedule will affect him. They are adaptable, as long as you keep a fairly consistent schedule and give him the up-close interaction he needs each day. Thanks for sharing all this. :-)

Those are wonderful photos of Emma, thanks for sharing them.