danmcq

Welcome Cindy!! You do have your hands full, but the love received from these guys eclipse any inconvenience. Great having you here and look forward to hearing more and seeing some photos. :-)

Oh Man, charliesmum and nychsa your both definately Club members!! Nychsa - Next time, hand Jiggy to the security person and tell him to hold him while you get the rest of your stuff!! ;-) :-)

Yes, Stainless will definately last a lifetime. If you have it in your budget, get one. It would probably be last cage you ever bought for Makena. Atleast in terms of needing to replace it due to rust and the powdercoating starting to peel off after years of scrubbing and beaking.

Welcome back from the crash Acappella!! I will certainly watch out for the commercial. Now I'm wondering, with all the movies Dayo watches intently with us and the Surround Sound going, What obnoxious sounds he may pick up. :-)

Congratulations Laurie!! Now the wait to hear it for yourself. :-) I think many of our young Greys are on the verge with all the mumbling every ones, including my Grey are doing now. Of course Nychsa got the "What the Hell" from Her Grey, I wonder who's voice it's in ;-) Now I'm getting paranoid of what Dayo's first word may be :ohmy: :woohoo: :side:

Hi Deanna, What a good and thorough post you contributed. It is great to have an actual Vet and Zoo experience also here on our Forum. If you ever see me posting something wrong, please correct. :-) We all do our best, at helping other members, but in some cases we sure could use the insight from a Vet!!

Nice photos of your Great Danes Deanna. Thanks for posting thme, they are beautiful. :-)

Interesting Benny, Does your Grey have bone or joint problems, such a inflammation or arthritis? That is normally the reason for prescribing Meloxicam.

Im am happy everyone has found usefullness in the list posted from personal experience so far. I have a feeling it is going to grow exponentially as Dayo grows older, wiser and fully flighted. :-) Never thought about pets being good birth control, but hey, who am I to argue with that. ;-)

Welcome Unopoo, It does sound like your Grey may be sick. Only a vet check could tell. I would be great if your vet could see him today. The sooner he is diagnosed and treated the better. Please keep us updated on this situation. :-)

Judy is right on. No animal or bird should ever be left without someone visiting them each day to ensure they are safe and have food and water. If you can't find boarding for your pets or someone can't come over everyday, you should not have any pets at home.

What Great News!!! Welcome back Penny, you have been greatly missed during your move and unconnectedness. Your presence, wit, humor and just good friendship has been missed. It is always a loss even when a family member is gone for a short while. It seems like a long time, though it wasn't, but that's how families are. :-) So Welcome back PennY!!!!!! <br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/01/11 19:59

Hi Abdullah, I paid 950 for Dayo (CAG) and the Breeder was wonderful, used the bountiful weaning method and welcomed us to come and interact with the clutch from 6 weeks and on. We went every weekend and spent at least 2 hours playing with and enjoying all those baby CAG's, six in all from two separate clutches. While at the same time learning volumes of information about the Greys from the Breeder. Finally at about 10 weeks, two started running to us every time we went. We wound up bringing both home the first day at 16 weeks old, but one started losing weight drastically (50 grams overnight) and so we returned it the next day. I am actually happy it turned out that way. I can not imagine trying to give two babies all the attention and training they require at such an early age. :-) If you have the opportunity to let the Grey pick you, it is the best possible match you can get. Some may just not like the way you look...kind of like people that just rub you wrong and you don't know why ;-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/01/11 16:31

Hi Tess, Clicker Training is highly effective and actually a positive relationship building methodology while achieving good training results and building a closer bond. There is a thread or two in the Training room specifically on Clicker training with some links to is also. You are walking down all the right paths and obviously a very concerned and loving person to put forth the effort you have already. :-)

Welcome Des!! You have performed a warp-speed learning curve and I congratulate you on your due diligence in giving this wonderful Grey Chick the environment, love and attention he needs. Your absolutely right regarding the love and bond that exists almost immediately, thus being to late to just say "Oops mistake, give him back". You are too responsible to do that and he is probably receiving better care than he would have at the breeders or another person he would have sold this Grey to that would not have done the research you have and thus probably would have lost this young Chick. It's great to hear what you have done and already have in mind for his future "Sun Room"....good luck on convincing your Husband. :-) Looking forward to hearing more and seeing Photo's!! :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/01/11 16:47

Hi Katie and Welcome!!! IT does sound like he Holiday season may have been the culprit. You also mention Kids. One thing about children is they are high energy, move fast, wave their arms around and just put their hands in any pets face or on their body and expect no reaction from the pet. Your Grey is starting to mature at 9 months old and realizes he can make choices on his own. He may not want to step up or interact at the moment someone wants him to do so. You need to pay very close attention to his body language when you approach and start to offer your hand for a step up. If he starts fluffing up, eyes pinned or leaning forward and down with his head towards your hand stop, talk to him reassuringly and leave him alone. He is trying to tell you he doesn't want to be moved or bothered. He has found the only way to communicate this so far is to bite. You will need to teach your children also to slow down, stop and slowly approach the Grey and watch carefully how he is moving his body and the look in his eyes. It is hard to teach a child this, but it is possible. Please ask any questions you have and also describe more in detail how these bites are are occurring and in relation to what specific action. As Tracy mentioned, there is a ton of information here on biting and body language you can find by a simple search for a keyword. :-)

Welcome Tess!! What a horrific story, my God!! Zulu spent 4 or 5 years in fear from that abusive and violent homes atmosphere. The six months you have been so lovingly and patiently nurturing him is a relatively short time compared to his previous experience. As Mazy recommended, let the toweling stop as it is just another scary and abusive act to his personal way of thinking. The "Tough Love" mentioned, is not the way to winning him over. He has already had plenty of that. This poor guy is intelligent and knows what he has been through and at this point, probably thinks that is the way the world is, as far as he has seen. Just the description of him stepping up willingly from the floor and starting to regurgitate for you are huge strides from him and shows trust he probably did not have in the previous home. This guy has come from a real battle field and is suffering from the post traumatic shock of it all. Mazy and others all gave good advice. The Cage is his place of safety and security. Leave the door open so he can come and go at his own pace. Once he realizes you and family truly love him and want the best for him, He will start responding to you more and more. You have done a wonderful thing in taking on this huge responsibility and putting for the time, effort and patience required to get him this far. My hat is off to you and your family. That is a great photo of Zulu. We'll look forward to hearing more of him and you. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/01/11 15:15

Thanks Judy. LOL - Yes, it is just like having a child all over again. :-) The love you feel is the same, at least for Kim and I.

Welcome JP!!! It's great to hear you have been doing research into various Parrots, their individual species characteristics, personalities and needs. What Greys will expect: [li]Your attention[/li] [li]Your attention[/li] [li]Your attention[/li] [li]Patience[/li] [li]Patience[/li] [li]Patience[/li] [li]Unconditional Love[/li] [li]Be viewed as a member of the family[/li] [li]Respect[/li] [li]To be with you in the room you spend the most time in[/li] [li]To be with you when you walk about the house[/li] [li]To be with you when you are trying to cook[/li] [li]To be with you when you need to use the restroom[/li] [li]To be with you when your dressing[/li] [li]To be with you when your when undressing[/li] [li]To be with you when brushing your teeth[/li] [li]To be with you when showering[/li] [li]To be with you while working on your PC[/li] [li]To be with you at all times!![/li] [li]Not to be punished[/li] [li]Not to be yelled at[/li] [li]Not to be hit or slapped at[/li] [li]To have all the best toys and new ones constantly[/li] [li]To shred anything they can[/li] [li]To have fresh veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds through out the day[/li] [li]To join you for dinner[/li] [li]To be protected from people visiting your home[/li] [li]To go on trips with you[/li] [li]Never to be left for 24 hours alone[/li] [li]If a Parrot sitter is required for a vacation. They MUST know Parrots very well[/li] [li]To be taken to the Vet anytime you suspect something is wrong and there can be no dollar limit in finding and treating the illness[/li] [li]To live with you until you or he/she dies at 60 or 70 years of age[/li] If you can accept this list of responsibilities and commit to them unconditionally. Then you are a great candidate to own one of these magnificent and intelligent creatures. If not, then you need to go with dogs, cats or other much simpler pet to care for. I hope this helps. :-)

Welcome Skyedjr!! It sounds like you have quite the aviary going. :-) Looking forward to hearing and seeing more.

That is terrible, heartbreaking news. We have all enjoyed the inspiration and beauty that Shanlung has shared with us in Tinkerbells flights and interactions.

What a nice looking Grey Paul was. Thanks for sharing that photo of him. It sounds like he was quite the character and kept you all entertained and provided good companionship at the same time. It is so nice that you have shared this small glimpse into of his 40 year life. :-)

This is good news about Fawkes!! It sounds like you have done everything possible to stop the plucking and it seems to be working. :-) Keep us posted on those new feathers coming in.

Wow, thats a lot of good things happening all at once. :-) He sure adjusted to his new Cage quickly! Keep us updated on the harness training and looking forward to more photos!!

So sorry to hear of the unfortunate ending to this story of Paul. I can not imagine the grief and hole he left as a life long member of the family. You have my condolences. Letting the Vet perform a necropsy is a wonderful thing to have let happen. As you said, hopefully it will advance their understanding of these wonderful creatures and help them in perhaps treating whatever it is they may have found as the underlying cause.