danmcq

Casey, it's great to hear the tongue bite incident is oing to heal just fine on it's own. You mentioned that this has occured previously. Out of curiosity, is the upper and lower beak aligned straight and true or is it possible offset a little which could be causing the tongue injury? Some Parrots do have mis-alignment, some more than others.

I am sorry to hear of the loss. Personally, I would have paid the 450 to get my much loved Grey out of that tree using the fire crew while I knew exactly where my Grey was. Whats the difference in purchase price for another versus getting your much loved Grey? It sounds if if you just gave up on him and just went and purchased another......... I don't know about others here, but once I have eye contact on my lost bird, I don't give up and go to bed. I stay and call to them and never lose sight of them. If they fly, I follow. They are just like a true lost human child to me and I would follow them 24/7 until I either got them or they flew so far I could never find them. I would never relent until the latter happened. Now Max is still out, hungry, scared and most likely sentenced to death unless someone finds him and can get to him.............VERY SAD for Max.

Well Congratulations on rescuing a CAG!! Isn't it horrible that people go out and buy a Parrot of any type and then blame the poor bird when a young child gets bit for bad behaviour. I would have let the child learn bad behaviour from bad bites, just like they learn fire is hot the first time they decide to put their hand in it. Thats how children learn...cause and effect :pinch: Your construction plans sound wonderful and also as if you plan on starting a large rescue final home for many more parrots that need tlc. :-) Looking forward to hearing tons more about your rescues and the cnstruction project!!

Welcome Ina and Charlie!! It's GreYt having you here. Looking forward to hearing more from you. :-)

OMG! Is Martini doing ok? We would love to hear an update from you on this. :-)

Welcome Wendy and congratulations on getting a new TAG on Sunday!!! Looking forward to hearing more about you and the grand homecoming. Of course photos of the event will be a "Must Do" also. We love photos and videos here. :-)

Not an expert on this. But I would suspect your Grey's tongue will be just fine and heal itself. Only your vet will be able to determine that with certainty. Please let us know the outcome. :-)

Welcome HCSBForever!! It's nice having you here and looking forward to hearing yoru side of the story on Alex. :-)

That is a HUGE loss to the Bird Community. I found his site 2 years ago and used it to start working with my wild Conure. We also communicated via email during that time and he was a wonderful person to have as a guide and advisor when needed. Only his techniques worked, not the books written by people that had no or very little experience in dealing with out of control birds that people could not touch or let out of the cage. It is very unfortunate that the existing community of so called "experts" scoffed and ridiculed his methods. Those methods worked and very rapidly as you can see examples of on his website. I do hope his brother is able to keep that site and information up for a long time so others with wild or out of control birds can quickly overcome it. I hope his advice a talents can be carried on and promulgated by those that learned from him. It would truly be sad to see his wonderful techniques lost.

Welcome Ccable and Harley!!! Throwing food is something Greys do. :-) Looking forward to hearing more from you.

LOL Dave, I am glad you are picking up one of my Illuminating books. :-) Better get your shades out though B)

The information I posted is how it is processed in Birds. If you are feeding your Grey a Pellet Diet that has Vitamin D3 in it, full spectrum lighting is not needed for the synthesis of vitamin D. However, birds see in the UVA range and if you wish for your bird to see the world in the way it was intended to see, then avian lighting is still a must for him. Weak Feathers are more attributable to other dietary issues, rather than that of Vitamin D3 or Calcium. Feathers comprise a large percentage of total body protein. They are generally rich in sulphur amino acids, with dietary deficiencies evidenced in curvature of the rachis, abnormal persistence of the basal sheath, and misshapen vanes. Inadequate dietary lysine decreases feather strength. Dietary deficiencies of methionine result in dark, horizontal “stress lines” on feathers, while excesses are correlated with soft, weak feathers. Tyrosine and phenylalanine are important factors in melanin production in feathers. Production of sheaths during molt can increase protein requirements 4-8% per day compared to maintenance requirements but this is often met from increased food intake rather than a diet higher in protein. I am not sure of which pelleted diet your Grey may be on or how much he is actually consuming, but I would suspect a protein deficiency. You may want to raise the amount of protein your Grey is getting by feeding nuts, such as Almonds, Walnuts, Shelled peanuts etc. You can also raise the protein level while address a possible lysine deficiency at the same time by feeding scrambled whole eggs and some other good sources of lysine are found in cheese,Lima beans and cooked potatoes.

What a horrible experience for you and Cracker!! I am glad it had a good ending with Cracker making it through. This is a great thread that will serve as a good warning to anyone believing a really cheap cage is too good to be true. It is, through the use of inferior materials and unregulated manufacture processes used for animals as you ran into. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Your right that in the wild, they receive all the vitamin "D" they need due to the sunlight they receive. Actually, Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, is known to be an immunity enhancer. Provitamins D are found in both plant and animal tissue. In the plant form, ergocalciferol is classified as vitamin D2, and is known as calciferol; vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol, is the natural form as it occurs in fish oils. Vitamin D2 is produced by irradiation with ultraviolet light of ergosterol in plant sources such as yeast or fungi; and vitamin D3 is synthesized by the action of ultraviolet light on 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin. Vitamin D is not immediately activated, but requires enzyme conversion by the liver into 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, and then by kidney into the active form, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol before it becomes fully utilized. Full spectrum lighting (Phillips, Lumichrome,Vita-Lights, OTT lights and many ohers) can be useful as an artificial substitute for the natural ultraviolet light from sunlight. The active form of vitamin D is manufactured in response to the secretion of the parathyroid hormone, which helps to increase the uptake of calcium when blood calcium levels are low. Those birds who have kidney or liver disorders may not be able to convert vitamin D to the active form. Vitamin D is important for the absorption of calcium from the intestine, and in the breakdown and assimilation of phosphorus, for the normal depositing of these minerals into bones, for normal growth and development. This fat soluble vitamin in conjunction with calcium is valuable in maintaining a stable nervous system, normal heart action and normal blood clotting. All fat-soluble vitamins require at least a small amount of fat in the diet, along with the secretion of bile acids for absorption to take place, for it is not readily excreted, and is stored in the liver, skin, brain, bones and other tissues. Vitamin D is best utilized when taken with vitamin A for a boost to the immune system. These two vitamins, taken along with vitamin C, act as a preventive measure against infection and also increase the absorption of calcium. Food sources include: fish-liver oil, egg yolk and sunflower seeds, to name a few. Fish-liver oils are the best source of vitamins A and D. The liquid calcium (CML) we use contains fish-liver oil in its vitamin D3 source. If you perform a search for lighting, you will find a study I perform on UVB/UVA and the best lighting system for our birds. I wound up building my own to ensure that regardless of distance, my Grey gets all the UVB he needs and UVA for the visual spectrum they can see in. The complete build project is in that same thread with photos and lamps chosen for best UVA/UVB output at safe levels for them to be in for 12 hours a day. I hope this helps in your endeavors to overcome the weak feather structure your Grey seems to be suffering from.

Nice post and photos Mark. Kip is one lucky Grey to have you watching over him so well. :-) Now your wife, amy have a bone to pick or two........ ;-) I'll bet Hawaii made up for Kips special treatment though. :-)

I just did an area code search. it is the Houston Texas area. The good news is there are rescues there and SPCA shelters. The bad news is, that storm (Hurricane) was horrendous and 100's of animals and birds of all types were lost. Hopefully they will be found and returned to their owners.<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/09/21 19:33

Very nice Carolyn. Thanks for sharing it. :-)

GreYt photos Siobha!! Well, you know someone has to inspect the material for defects. Nothing better than the hawk eyed zoom in and UV capabilities of a Grey. :-) Thanks for sharing these photos.

It's too bad Bobby did not work out at your home. Hopefully the disabled lady will not grow short of love and patience to help poor Bobby come to know that a life with humans is no so bad once he has a lot of time and patience spent with him. It's always heart rending to hear of a Grey that just gets past from one home to another and another and another. I truly hope that disabled lady intends to be his "Forever home" whether he ever becomes a snuggle muffin or not. Did she have any previous experience wit parrots at all? If not, please steer her to this forum. :-) I have a "Wild" or "Breeder" Conure with no past history except they claimed he was 6 months old. It has been over 2 years now and he is not hand tame or a snuggle muffin, but he is such a joy to just have around and he feels he is taking part in everything with the "Flock" by just flying from room to room as we go, watch TV, get a shower or take a favorite treat from our hand. He perhaps one day will overcome his fear of man and actually become hand friendly, but it does not matter if he does or not. He is Jake and as much a part of this family as anyone and loved deeply as one. Hopefully Bobby has found a final home such as this. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/09/21 18:58

It's good to hear Tigger is ok after that fall. I would assume he is clipped and did not try to flap on the way down from your description. The blankets will help tons and moving the perches closer to the bottom is definitely a good idea. I have a 6 foot tall, floor to top cage, that Dayo has been in since he was 16 weeks. He goes down and walks around on the floor of his cage even with the Dobermans right beside it. he does perch though and preen or rest on the mid level perch most times. He has fallen several times when either clowning around or slipping, but he has always flapped and either grabbed on to something on the way down or landed fairly softly due to the wing flapping. One thing to remember also, the slightest impact on the bottom of a grated cage sounds like a hammer hit it. :-)

It's great the hear the move went so well and all are doing well. If you leave, do not leave your Grey outside it's cage. That is an accident just waiting to happen, as you mentioned power cords, as an example. There are numerous items that could spell disaster for your Grey if your not around to supervise. Hopefully we'll hear more good stories from you of Dukes antics. :-)

How sad and tragic for your Cockatiel. Thanks for the great warning to all though of the dangers in kitchens. :-)

Good luck and have a great time in Vegas. :-)

Thanks for all the information on spikes illness and care. Best wishes to him for a quick recovery and return home!! :-)

What a wonderful story linda. These Greys are very sensitive and intuitive. What a warm jesture Maxi displayed to your Mother. Thanks for sharing this. :-)