danmcq

Good to hear this was caught in time. I have no doubt you'll learn from this scare. I have to watch my birds closely when outside. Where I live it starts at 80 early morning and climbs to 95 by 11am, with highs ranging from 105 to 111 so far this summer. So the birds can only be out an hour or so early morning and must be moved back inside.

Awww, pretty baby. Congrats!

This is not how a grey looks even in their first molt. Misting with aloe after a shower will help. I would strongly reccomend a vet visit to ensure all is well as was mentioned by Sassy.

There has been tons of good advice on things to try and curb the aggression. It is hard to say the least, in trying to help in tough situations like this sitting, reading and giving things to try. This type of behavior is so dynamic second to second and the actions and reactions by both bird and human cause equal and opposite reactions physically and emotionally that escalate it even more. The smallest bit of emotion or body language can be detected by a grey instantly and they will react to it. I am a person that can go from laughing to pissed off in 1 millisecond. So when I went through months 15 to around 36 with dayo and his aggressive, most times I would need to just walk away or go outside when he delivered a blood letting bite. I learned quickly that if I did not exit stage left or just ignore him that this aggression would escalate in proportion in my emotions. It took months for me to keep my anger pushed down and react by reason and talking to Dayo in a neutral voice. So my best advice to you, is to take everything in to consideration that has been written here and try it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I look forward to hearing what you have tried and how each method worked over time.

This is completely out of my knowledge zone. I guess because I'm a guy and don'y worry about my hands being soft. But, so far with all the lifetime of chemical exposures etc. to my hands, no leaks or holes have developed so far.

Great comments and thoughts Val! These types of behavior can sometimes be very complex, perplexing and an emotional roller coaster. Wingy, you are certainly taking the right steps in a vet visit and possibly getting help from a behaviorist if needed.

Very cute. Thanks for sharing this.

Thats good news turzzock. Thanks for the update.

Hi Bratbirds - Your right. This is the list for the top 10 worst and top 15 best provided by EWG's 2011 Shopper's Guide based on epa findings. It is not a bird safe list. I appreciate your bringing this up. Onions, Avacado's and Mushrooms should not be given to our birds.

Hi Sterling - Just an FYI on Avian light. Whether a bird sits under it for most of the day on a perch in their favorite spot or goes outside the "Cone" as your avian described. It is better than nothing and is very beneficial. That "Cone expands exponentially the instant it is outside the reflector area and extends to and past the edges of the cage. The most important thing is the light placed over your bird and between 12 to 18 inches above their head when on their favorite roosting spot. Nothing is better than outdoor sun. But, some people never take their birds outside or in the winter when it is too cold, there needs to be a light source that provides UVA and UVB for the birds. It is needed for vitamin D3 production and when D3 is present in the blood stream, calcium will be absorbed. With out D3 and no calcium being absorbed equals a grey having seizures and dies or has significant decrease in skeletal strength. Greys are notorious for low calcium levels. Not to put words or thoughts in your avian vets mouth, but many assume a bird is being fed pellets that contain D3 and calcium amongst several other vitamins, proteins and minerals etc. and that the bird is consuming enough of them to maintain correct levels of them. Many times this is not the case. Just an fyi, I do not mean in any way that this avian vet is not stellar in all aspects.

Wow! Thanks for sharing this Dave.

LOL - Oh No, not the stink eyed Grey, Oh My!!

Marco is well spoken. They do sit and repeat name sometimes. I suppose Andrew is a hit with him. Probably because Marco figures Andrew is in trouble all the time and Marco is helping you by ganging up on him. Thanks for sharing this video, I enjoyed it.

LOL Chezron at Golden Retriever. I have no experience with Quakers, but from things Dave007 has posted about them. They are ferocious fighters and will stand their ground around any size parrot. I don't know whats with the desire for a good beak smacking. But, I suspect it must feel good. Dayo at times likes me to scratch his beak fairly hard I suppose to help clean it. But, he closes his eyes like it feels really good. I know when he had enough pleasure though... he will many times give my finger a good pinch.

Oh Jeff, we all know Gracie is a sweetheart. It is wonderful she is just basically pushing your hand away, rather than delivering a blood letting bite.

We all do "Baby Talk" to ours as well. I truly miss that baby interaction and jack hammering when the beak is touched. That little baby growl is cute and is begging for more. As Val said, keep an eye on those breast feathers. Normally even a heavy molt will not appear that mussed up. But, it could be due to perhaps a little stickiness from the meal? Thanks for sharing that cute video.

Steve is spot one. The frozen veggies have been thoroughly clean and also blanched in most cases before flash freezing.

Awww, I loved this video. How inventive is that in giving him a simulated feeling of flying? He seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. Thanks for sharing this.

This topic had come up several times in various threads on our forum. I thought I would share some information on this topic as a good guideline to use. There is constant testing by many laboratories on this and they have produced lists of the most and least contaminated. Here are the worst and best lists: EWG's 2011 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™ Worst - Highest in Pesticides 1. Apples 2. Celery 3. Strawberries 4. Peaches 5. Spinach 6. Nectarines 7. Grapes 8. Sweet bell peppers 9. Potatoes 10. Blueberries 11. Lettuce 12. Kale/collard greens Best - Lowest in Pesticides 1. Onions 2. Corn 3. Pineapples 4. Avocado 5. Asparagus 6. Sweet peas 7. Mangoes 8. Eggplant 9. Cantaloupe 10. Kiwi 11. Cabbage 12. Watermelon 13. Sweet potatoes 14. Grapefruit 15. Mushrooms Please make certain you thoroughly wash all Fruit and Vegetables with water and vinegar before yourself or your bird eating them. If you can afford it, buy Organic!

It sounds like Gilbert is coming along nicely. Through the travels with "The Flock" he knows the "Parronts" always know the path "Home" and perhaps that is also building trust and confidence in you both and that this is indeed his FINAL flock he will spend his life with. The new found flight ability is seemingly building confidence as well and more mobility. It is so good to hear of "Leaps of faith" he is taking more often now. Thanks for the update.

It does get better Wingy. But, takes time. The new ability to fly with those primaries coming in give him freedom and abilities he did not have. Now he can interact with you both on a whole new level and unfortunately that is playing games that you don't like and he thinks are terrific fun. This could continue for a while. That pent up energy comes out when that door opens and it's a free for all. I remember those days well and they lasted from around 1 year old to around 3 years old, but lessened in frequency over that time month by month. You will become masters of hearing wings flapping and ducking and flailing arms to divert the fly-by and nip. Nothing is more fun than a flighted bird being placed somewhere and race right back to the point of origin to do another cycle of the same behavior. The best thing I can advise you to do, is make certain there is another landing spot like a tree or t-stand he can fly to when you flail your arms or duck as he fly's by. You both will need to be prepared for these until he ages and mellows out a little. I cannot count the sneaky back of neck pinches I received over the time period previously mentioned. Most the time you can divert them, but when your focused on something they can fly, nail you and lift off before you can say $%$%#^$^XXX! So hang in there, know this is rather normal grey fun and learn to deal with it as well as you can.

Most Greys seem to really love grapes, my grey included especially red grapes. I would suggest not giving grapes to Thane for a while and just keep giving him the veggies and other items. When he realizes it is not going to be an everyday treat he can gorge on and toss the rest, he will start eating other items. They are just like young children, no control Place a bag of candy next to their breakfast, lunch or dinner plate and guess what they will eat? Use those grapes he loves so much for giving a reward when correct behavior or task is performed. Grapes are good as cash to a grey. I love the new photos, he is beautiful!

I wonder if Greys think "I'm Sorry" is just something we humans say after we do something considered as hurtful or mean like putting them back in their cage. Then we do it again. So maybe they are following our lead?

Cool story. Thanks for sharing it. My son has a Jack Russell. That high energy ball of fire will leap 4 feet in the air up and down a gazillion times right in front of Dayo's cage when they come and visit. Dayo puffs up and tells him No no no no no! But to no avail the jumping continues until one of us go get "Q" and either place him outside to play or in his crate for a time out. I guess Dayo has not yet mastered Dog Training.

Thanks to all who have shared their funny stories of grey manipulation and deception. I hope others have good ones to share as well.