danmcq

You know how they say owners and pets are alike? Us Grey owners are just as "Phobic" as they are. But, when it comes to their health and well being, it's a good thing.

Welcome Suzette and congrats! Looking forward to hearing more and seeing some photos.

Stop it, Stop it, Stop it!!! I am getting MBBS (Multiple Baby Bird Syndrome) again!!! What a beautiful baby grey you have. There is nothing quite as good as the first Nanner.

Thanks for the update. Good to hear it is under proper care and treatment.

As are yours Jay and thank you Sir!

My personal opinion on Irwin possibly being happier as a breeder is an unknown. Breeder greys are not treated with the love and at least company of humans at all. They are basically left alone other than feeding and watering by most breeders so they can just focus on being with their "Mate" and producing eggs. I guess my questions at this point would be , what difference does it make if he was or was not wild caught? There are tons of wild caught greys in homes around america and other countries in the world getting a long just fine. I would steer clear of non-rescue type people just tellng me to dump a grey I rescued and go get a baby instead. I am just trying to give you food for thought here. You have already done a good job in rehoming Irwin and starting a foundational relationship that can only grow over time. I know what I am talking about in regards this. How so? I purchased a suspected wild caught Peach Front Conure from a low life that had cages of parrots just sitting in his back yard and was selling them. He had to use gloves to get Jake out of that cage, but was telling me he had to because Jake was just scared.... Long story short, for 2 years I could not get him to step up or even want to be close. I left him flighted and would either towel him or finally got him to where he would stepup on a perch and I could return him to his cage. After another year or so he would occasionally stepup on to one of our hands and he would always follow us where ever we went in our house. Now at 8 years in our home, he sits on one of our shoulders at all times, loves scratches and screams if he gets left in another room and comes frantically flying until he finds and lands on one of us. how old is he? I have no clue, but don't really care. What difference does it make? We love him just as much as our Grey Dayo that we started visiting at the breeder at 6 weeks old. I hope this helps you decide to keep Irwin and develop a loving and good relationship with him.

It's good to hear you already have an appointment for this morning. Best advice is to leave it alone for now. These oil glands can sometimes become inflamed, infected and even impacted. I am hoping for the best and a quick resolution to this for your grey. Please keep this updated when you have answers.

Thanks for reviving this Penny. Due to experiences of other grey owners losing their greys or other birds and then being asked to prove it is indeed their bird. I am now rethinking this and contacting our avian vet about having it done. A chip is undeniable positive proof of ownership.

Loved this video of Alfie, thanks for sharing it! He is doing GreYt.

Thanks Dave, great post!

LOL - Good thread and responses. I am still in denial so may need an intervention and Rehab.....

Jay - I tried to respond to your PM, but it said you have blocked all Pm's.. just letting you know. You may need to have Penny look at your account if you are having PM issues again.

I am with Greywings on swatting dogs or other critters. We have had dogs and cats most of our lives. The last few decades we have been both raising and rescuing Dobermans. You never want to hit, swat, kick or any other violent method on them. There is no reason to. They are very keen on body language, understand your words and can sense your emotions instantly. Physically trying to control a dog can be very damaging to not only them, but also to the person doing it when they get fed up with it. Of course there are those that will cower and shake in fear, but that is just to sad t see and personally infuriates me. I have worked with Dobermans that had been abused and it took a long time to help them understand they need no longer fear a human and cower or bite if they sense you seem to be angry. It takes a long time to build trust between humans and critters when damage has been done. But, I am not saying you have done this, but just stop the swatting please. You would be shocked at the things you can do to make a critter prance out of the room when you wish, you just need to learn what alarms them. I had one female Doberman that if I sneezed or even acted like I was going to would prance down to the bedroom and wait until she thought "All was clear".

LOL, love this description Ray!!!

All have given good advice. This will blow over.

Loved the video of Gracie. She is becoming a prolific talker and the song "Bird is the Word" is too cool. I have to say, she reminds me very much of Dayo around that age. Really feeling full of themselves, getting in to anything and everything, making messes by tossing items to hear the clang and bang, tossing water and food bowls to the floor and then laughing and woo-hooing about it, flying around doing their pterodactyl scream etc. acting like a kamikaze hell bent on destruction and lastly biting when you stop their fun or take something away from them. Solution? Well I have heard people say the did something like return their grey to the cage for a time out, explain how disappointed they are and "Poof" their grey or other birds never did it again and never bitten again afterwards. In my opinion, the entire home population is either smoking or taking something for the calming affect. I let Dayo know by telling him in a stern voice "No Bite!", return him to cage for a timeout.. If I could without losing an arm, eye and maybe a piece of ear. When he is in a hell bent on destruction wild eyed hellion having fun by going on a rampage. I just walk away and ignore him. He will try his best whistles, songs, beat boxing, dayo loves daddy's and the whole gammit, yet I ignore him and will sometimes respond with "You hurt daddy, No bite daddy" and continue to ignore him. If he is on blinds or something I need to get him off of, I quickly learned to use a perch. he will not step up on it, but he will at least fly away after I nudge him gently with it. Many times when I just get it and head his way he will just fly away. If I tried to get a step up, my hand or arm would be hamburger meat because he wants to stay where he is and continue destroying something like a blind. I will say he has mellowed over the years, but from years two to four he was a true hellion establishing his individual rights I suppose in his mind. I guess to put this in a nutshell, is they learn just as we do through feedback, body language and voice tone/fluctuation. But, the main thing is to just avoid a bite as much as possible if you can. I do hope this does not last as long with Gracie. I do need to add. Some people have greys that have never bitten or maybe only once or twice. Greys are much like humans in personalities and disposition. Some are very iintroverted, meek, quiet and would just run or take a beating and walk away with out putting up any type of resistance. Other are very boisterous, out going and will not take anything off anybody and may seek out a good scrap and have a temper.

As Jeff said, that is a tough one. I don't remember if he is flighted. But, will he possibly step up on a perch so you can take him back to his cage? Would he after a time go back to his cage on his own? Does she like a certain treat you could use to entice him back in the cage? My hat is off to you for taking the time to come up with ideas to keep him happy and busy in his cage. It shows just how much you truly love him and are concerned for his well being and happiness.

Happy B-Day!

Good progress. Aris has certainly take a liking to you. Judy was spot on, please ignore that sexual excitement. Thanks for sharing this.

I totally enjoyed this video. You may want to get that bad cough checked out. Thanks for sharing this.

As greys get older, they will just sit, chill and watch things as they happen. It is actually normal for them. Of course, when they want to be actively involved and to know where and what you are doing, they will call and come looking for you.

Escher is certainly one sharp cookie and is keeping you entertained. I love hearing real-time interaction like this of a greys thoughts and comments on various situations. I have a feeling his antics are going to keep us all entertained as you relate them to as they occur. Thanks for sharing this.

LOL. I know. We all fret over doing the best for our greys. I use timers as well for my birds lights. Lest we space out when busy and forget.

I run mine 12 hours a day. That's basically the same amount of natural light Greys receive in the wild. No idea where petshop people and some bulb manufactures got their information from.

It's good to see Emma just settling in and interacting with all so quickly. She is beautiful. Thanks for sharing these photos.