danmcq

Welcome BlueCounty!!! It's GreYt having you here. Congratulations on getting a Grey. There is a ton of information here on how to care for your Grey and provide a great life for them. You will find most topics in their respective rooms, such as babies (nursery), foods, training etc. Enjoy your time here and we look forward to hearing more from you. :-)

Welcome cflanny!!! It's nice to have you here and thanks for posting such a nice introduction and background. You sound like a GreYt person to consider rescuing/adoption. There is nothing more rewarding for both you and the rescued critter that needs a new and loving "Forever" home. :-) As Suzzique stated, some rescues do require a class or a few and qualify anyone considering adopting. They do this for 2 reasons 1) To ensure the prospective new owner knows what they are getting in to by having them attend a class 2) Some (not all) charge a minimal fee for the class and also an adoption fee. This provides the rescue some funds towards their astronomical expenses in taking, providing medical care and feeding all these poor rescues what they need while observing their individual characteristics, personalities etc. to ensure they match them with an owner that could handle the challenge of providing a good home for them. Form the description of Togo you posted, He sounds like a wonderful Grey that just needs a final home to love and enjoy life together. Looking forward to hearing more from you as this progresses. :-)

Welcome Kevin!!! Thanks for posting such a thorough introduction. It sounds like you have been involved wit pets of all types since a very early age. Rescuing is a wonderful path to take. As you stated, with plenty of patience, love and time, that Grey could be trained to interact with you and not only enjoy it, but look forward to it. If you were successful in bringing that Sugar Glider around. Then it shows you also have what it takes to do the same with that Grey. Do you how old that Grey is? Do you know if he was hand raised and later turned to the breeder arena? Any either case, they are super intelligent and over time, can be a wonderful and much loved flock member. :-) Looking forward to hearing more from you.<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/08/20 14:00

Talon wrote: And................. I will add "Where are the Photos"?? ;-)

tarnold wrote: LOL - You got that right.....See ya, been nice knowing you. ;-)

Best wishes to you Berna. Hope to hear reports from you on how things are going as "Power" permits.

Welcome hitlernruby!!! The others have given great advice on the Mosquito issue you have. You definitely do not want you much loved Greys bitten by them and falling ill to diseases those mosquitoes carry. The netting would be a great protect and most preferable would be keeping them inside you home with the AC on. The temperatures will be fine for them. :-)

Hi Kasko, First, you must let your Grey become accustomed to different objects, before he will ever want to explore and play with them. This can take 3 or 4 days. As Jane stated, you can also show your Grey how to play with the toys. Bat the plastic ball around a little after he is used to it. He may just start running after it and batting it around himself. :-) They also like very simple things. Throw some wadded up paper, newspaper etc. on the cage floor. They love to bat them around, attack them and shred them to pieces. The also like empty toilet paper rolls to shred and play with. You'll get there, it's just trial and error until you find what pushes his HOT button. :-)

It's good to hear you things are working out for you and that you have chosen a different path of study and residence at a college where you are. That resolves the issue of trying to take a Grey into Austrailia. Now, instead of learning how to make music, you can just enjoy the natural music from all the critters in nature. :-)

Hello Kaskoo, Dates, as you probably know, grow on palm trees and have been a valued fruit through out history. The dates raw and fresh provide a good source of vitamin C. The Pit is not harmful at all if your Grey eats it. It is also a great nutritional source and is used ground up as a flour in many pet foods and also by some people to make bread. The size of the Pit is small enough that your Grey can crack and enjoy the contents, unlike the larger Palm nuts from various other variety Palm Trees that produce fruit with much larger pits that only macaw size Parrots can open and enjoy the pit contents. My Grey does not like the sweet flesh either and eats a pit or two here and there. :-)

Welcome Kaskoo!! You have come to the right place for some help and finding the resources you need to assist with your Greys Diet and Toys. The others have given good links and advice. Looking forward to hearing more from you. :-)

Love the name Baxtersmom. :-) He/She looks very happy in the big cage with lots of toys already. Can't wait to hear the stories you are going tell.....They will be amuzing to say the least, I'm sure. B)

I agree with Pat on this. With your bathroom being completely remodeled, the noise will be least of concerns. There will be a lot of Sheetrock rock dust, fumes from the plaster/spackling/paint etc. which could be harmful to your Grey. In the computer room, I would suspect you can close the door and open a window if fumes start becoming a concern. The noise, well I had some construction done on my home around March. The only thing the noise did, was give Dayo a new one.... A NAIL GUN.....BANG....BANG....BANG, perfectly mimicked I might add :pinch:

It sounds like you have everything under control and your vet is giving you great advice and trying his best to get this issue resolved. I have never used tricyclic antidepressants on any critter and can not offer any feedback. If your vet recommends it at this stage and your research is showing good feedback, it sounds like that may help Zahzu get through all the traumatic experience she has had with her wings and feathers. Hopefully the med's and good care will help her through this until her feathers can all grow back in. Then hopefully she will no longer pluck due to irritation or discomfort. :-)

Congratulations Steve!!! Looking forward to seeing those photos and all the latest on Alfie!! :-)

Yes, you can just rinse well and rip off a big leaf. They love Greens and usually raw. They love Collard, Mustard, Kale, Rapini etc. I personally never cook them.<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/08/18 15:46

Mistyparrot wrote: I think that is just another example of how brilliant Greys are. The know it is not good to discuss politics or religion, unless you want to start a fight and divorce yourself from any further relationship with that individual or group. ;-) :-)

That depends on what you really mean by afraid. Dayo will watch and make a very high pitched chirp if we walk by him carrying or holding something in our hand. He will only scream, if you get something with in around 2 feet of him and are still moving it towards him. I once found a little furry toy that looked like a mouse. Walked up to dayo and placed it in his face.....He puffed up and screamed, I screamed, the Dogs ran, Kim came running in wanting to know what was wrong with Dayo.... and I have never just showed Dayo anything upclose again. I view him as being more cautious, as pretty much all Greys are to strange things they have never encountered before. I has no problem with the Vacuum. On average, I must place some with in view and around 3 or four feet away for 3 to 4 days for him to become comfortable with it as I move it closer and closer each day to his favorite perching place or cage. I can usually coax him to get right up next to it by placing and Almond or Apple piece on or next to the object. he will "Snatch and Run". :-)

Congratulations on geeting a Quaker. :-) I doubt you will be successful in having the two share the same cage. I would be very cautious. The Grey can easily kill the quaker of mame it severely. This will just be a slow process in introducing the two and you will need to be very observant and in close proximity any time you have them out together. Looking forward to hearing more once you get your Quaker home.

Welcome Greg!!! Thats a nice looking baby CAG you have there. Thanks for posting the photo and looking forward to hearing more. :-)

LOL Baxtersmom, glad we could fill you in on the EVIL Conures. :evil: But, they are a hoot and the life of a party, whether you want a party or not, it's going to happen. ;-) :-) B)

Well, to put it in perspective.... A Grey is the type of person that wears a Tuxedo and is well poised. A Conure is a Punk Rock Skate Boarder with ATTIUDE!!! He will settle in as others described. But, don't count on him becoming as sedentary as a Grey, it will never happen. :-)

That was GreYt!!! Thanks for the morning amusement!! {Feel-good-0002006E}

These are great online books TT. Thanks for sharing them. They truly contain a ton of information and ideas for all Parrot owners. :-) Karma to you!!

Everyone has given great foraging advice and ideas for hand raised Parrots. As stated already, they do not know how to do this learned behaviour, as they would have observed as their parents did so in the wild. With this in mind, you could start by continuing to keep using the bowl in which the bird was typically fed, but don’t fill it to overflowing, put in just enough food for the day, and don’t put the most favored treats in the bowl. The, add several smaller foraging bowls all over the cage. Place these small bowls in the cage such that the bird must fully traverse its cage to get to all the bowls. Now place only a very small amount of a favorite treat in each of these bowls. It is important that the bird not reach the first bowl and eat its entire daily ration. We want to encourage the bird to move to and explore all the bowls. At this point you are already providing the bird with more exercise than your formally sedentary parrot who sits on its one favorite perch all day. When the bird has mastered finding treats in all the little bowls, begin to add a small piece of paper on top of each bowl so that the bird must push it off to get to the treat. Advance from here to taping the paper on the bowl so the parrot must chew through the paper to get the treat. Some retail foraging bowls come with lids that can be placed tightly so that the bird must work out how to undo the lid to get the treat. The idea being that as the bird masters each stage the foraging is made a little more physically and mentally demanding. When your bird has become a master forager you can start to vary the routine somewhat and place a large variety of foraging toys in the cage. Some of the toys are now empty, some are filled with actual toys, and some are filled with small treats. You can also introduce some of the acrylic type toys that require an action such as opening a drawer, turning a wheel, or lifting a lid to get to the treat. As you can see, this idea of challenging your bird to really forage for their food can go to any limit you and your bird wish to take it. Some may be more receptive to more difficult challenges than others. Only you can determine this.