danmcq

Awwww, too cute. I love dachshunds.

GreYt lists. Words and phrases used. What contact calls or words used daily that the grey is used to and what they mean. The more you intimately know about this grey will give you a huge head start in making this new grey feel as comfortable as possible in this transition and make it feel like it can already communicate with you from day one.

Welcome jgerardo. Cute baby photo. Judy was right in using 100 percent aloe gel on those irritated areas. Please do not use Vaseline or Olive Oil. Aloe has healing and antibacterial properties that will soothe the irritation and help in stopping your baby grey from picking at those areas. You certainly need to get to an avian vet to take a look at him.

GreYt comments from Steve. Welcome to the forum. Have you decided on a name for your grey? I look forward to hearing more and seeing some photos of him when you get a chance.

I had to think about this strangest fear for a while. I think the strangest fear Dayo has is of a Shadow of something. He has known what a shadow is for at least 4 years. He noticed mine one day outside while I had our birds out by the pool in their cages sunning. I kept hearing him make a "Dink" sound like a ball peen hammer on steel very loudly. As I looked at him and started walking towards him, I noticed him staring down at my shadow as I approached. So I stop and waved my hand as he looked down at it, then he would look at me waving my hand and then back down at the shadow again. He put two and two together pretty quickly and picked up the word "Shadow" by the next morning. I thought this was brilliant. But, from then on if he see's a shadow go by on the wall or any place else he see's one appear and start moving he will start furiously searching for the source. He just knows it's the boogeyman if he can't figure what and where is the thing causing it. He does not go nuts or start flapping around, but he certainly becomes VERY alerted by it. Sometimes when the light is just right and he notices he is casting a shadow, he will bob his head, raise his wings or move side to side as he watches it and says "See my Shadow?". Anyway, just thought I would share this since I finally decided what his strangest fear was.

GreYt observation Inara!!!

Happy Anniversary Janet! It has always been a pleasure having you here and contributing as you do. Looking forward to many more years!

Many good comments and things to try by all! One thing I will say. My personal opinion when a bird bites like described with clear intent on doing harm by clamping down hard and grinding the beak deeper and deeper is not the time to sit and act like nothing is happening. They know what they are doing and if they get swooshed off they know why. They are highly intelligent and know it is not the humans fault they got a firm NO BITE as they got earthquaked, blown or launched off by dropping your hand quickly. If they bite another bird like that, I guarantee you they are going to get an instant reaction. This is all they have to defend themselves and they use them in the wild as well on other parrots if provoked to that point. My grey can deliver a light to firm beaking to let you know he does not wish to step up or is done with scratches. He can also decide to perform a clamp down, grind and hang on during arm wobbling, blowing in his face etc. I must launch him in to flight to stop one of those blood gushing bites before it literally hits bone or completely removes a chunk of flesh deeply. They don't happen that often, but when they do, I certainly do not sit and act like I don't feel it or like it is not going to possibly severely cause harm by severing a nerve or tendon. So as others said, you really need to learn quickly what causes those bites and try avoiding whatever circumstance it is that brings one on. Also, try to see even the most imperceptible body language indicating one is about to happen. Sometimes you can't because they have poker faces when they wish and totally catch the best of us off guard sometimes. But, as you learn, you'll reduce the frequency of receiving a damaging bite. In your case that I just saw posted after I had posted, is this is a rescued grey with baggage that a stick was used to step up by the previous owner because of the biting. This is going to be a long process to stop. Use the perch at all times. Watch for quick movements to get to your hand and block it with a fist of iron with the back of your hands skin drawn tight so a bite cannot be delivered. It is going to take a while, maybe months to stop or greatly reduce these bites that Paco has become used to delivering in the previous homes. The best thing you can do right now is build the relationship with him on you. Make him earn the reward being on you only if he can do so with no bitting. If he bites, take him on the perch to a tree stand or the cage and leave him there. Tell him No Bite as you do so. Then talk to him and interact with him from a distance that he cannot reach you. This is going to take time and patience to get resolved from years of this behavior being developed. Some greys are not cuddle muffins at all and really do not like upclose physical contact, but love attention from a distance of whatever they think is "Their Space". You can only determine these things about Paco as you interact with him over the next months. Post often and ask questions. We're all here pulling for you and Paco! Here is a link showing the fist of iron. The Bird Whisperer passed away a few years ago, but his brother has sworn to maintain this site in his memory. Many a damaged baggage ridden bird was brought back in to control by him working with literally thousands of people. http://www.thebirdwhisperer.com/fist_of_iron.htm

Cricket is cute! Thanks for sharing this.

Indeed! Thanks for posting this.

I never bothered to train Dayo to poop on command or a certain place either. I can certainly see the downside of doing so. It is really disconcerting to hear how it can affect their health when circumstances change and the intervals are suddenly interrupted by a change in schedules and perhaps homes. As mentioned, I can tell whenone is gong to happen and wear "Bird Shirts" when they are out and hanging around on a shoulder, leg etc. They get stained and holes bitten through them. But, thats the style now for some groups of younger people. So I guess I am cool to some.

If you get a grey say in the next 3 to 6 months, it will have time to become a solid flock member in your home. It will have become used to it's cage, tree stands and other perching items. When you move and take your flock with you. The surroundings are different, but the flock is the same. The items you take with you like the cage (safety place they own and allow you in only on rsvp) tree stands etc. will be the places they will know and gravitate to as their safe perching places in a new home and surroundings. A grey that is rescued is already used to change, travel in cages etc. Once a grey or any other parrot has become a part of a flock, they wish to be with the flock wherever it goes. This is ingrained by instinct for survival. So my thoughts on this, is if you have the bandwidth to search and rescue a grey now, the sooner the better.

Oh Jesus. I wish I lived close to that area, I would take in that grey. I know we do have some members here who do live in that southern ca area that hopefully will see this and have the room and heart to take in one of them. Thanks for posting this!

Welcome Vikki and Dorian! Thanks for taking in a grey in need to a loving and caring home. At 10 years old he probably has a lot of baggage from the previous home. I don't know how much they may have shared with you on if he was with them the entire 10 years or perhaps had been rehomed previously as well and how he was treated in those homes. Does he only scream when you leave the room? One thing about squawking, screaming etc. when a person leaves the room a grey is in, is that it is a natrual instinct for them to call for the flock when they become separated. All birds do this in the wild, as separation from the flock normally means certain death. I never recommend punishment in trying to change a behavior in a bird or any critter, like covering the cage. It just does not work and induces fear and confusion. I do however understand the contact calling can be nerve racking. You can try positive reinforcement techniques such as giving a favorite treat if he stops for even 15 seconds by reentering the room and rewarding him. This will do two things. First it will show you are in fact in hearing range and secondly the reduction in contact calling earns him something positive. If you do this each time he pauses, the period between squawks will become longer in theory. Another thing you can do, is replace an irritating squawk sometimes by returning their call with perhaps a nice whistle or "I hear You", "Just a minute" something else etc. Since you have only had him for 4 months, it's still a critical time for him and you to be building trust by showing unconditional love, patience and making him feel safe and secure. Depending on how much he was abused, it could be a long path in building this relationship in to an enjoyable one for you both. There are many members here with rehomed greys that will chime in here and give you further ideas and advice to help you and Dorian through this. Again, it's GreYt having you here and I hope to hear a lot more.

Welcome to this forum. It's GreYt having you and Inara here. It's always good to hear of a grey being rescued and brought in to a loving and caring home where they will flourish. Based on your previous 20 years of experience in rescuing a wild caught grey and rehabbing him in to a healthy and happy grey for the remainder of his life. I have no doubt Inara and you have a wonderful time together that you both deserve. She is beautiful. Thanks for the wonderful introduction and photos. I look forward to hearing more from you about her and the journey you are both taking together.

Nice photo of the flock. Thanks for sharing it.

Congrats! Cute photo. now you can spoil him rotten and create another parrot person.

LOL Ray - We're going to need to call you Doctor of Poopology!

Nice job on getting it to start growing.

I read that link in the email from her this morning from her blogs. I personally did not think it was all that informative other than just how she worked with a parrot she rehomed for a short while and a few others. I guess I was looking for something more substantial. One thing about screaming and contact calling over and over. It is a natural behavior for a parrot that has become separated from the flock. You can try and reduce it or replace an irritating scream or sound affect with something more pleasant like a nice whistle or phrase like I hear you. But, stopping it completely is very rare. Even Barbara did a replacement rather than totally stopping it. She did recommend ear plugs or the like to help ignore it.

If she has perhaps flapped around in her cage from a fright, it could have knocked those primaries loose and they would come out and regrow. Only a natural molt will induce primaries coming out in order on left and right sets of primaries.

That sounds like a very slight beginning of a growl to me.

Baileyspapa is right. Their poop color and consistency can change based upon what they ate. For example eating cooked corn can make it more runny and a yellowish color, eating blue berries would make it more runny and turn dark blue etc.

LOL BaileysPapa! But, we have a Grey!

No other parrot makes a growl like a grey. It is unique to them. I suspect it is a growl that you are hearing. if you could hold a phone or camera and just get a short video of it and post it, we could tell you for certain. Here is a couple of examples: