danmcq

Dave gave good thoughts and comments. Ay time you purchase a new oven or home heating/cooling system, a proper "First burn in" is required to allow for off gassing of all the chemicals. I had a similar problem in '92 when we first started cooking with the oven in our new GE gas stove. We had to quickly open up the house, run the exhaust fans, and evacuate. It was a sharp, pungent odor, not an odor typically produced by burning oil. GE tech support was of little help -- I think they said the odor would go away after normal usage. I eventually found a researcher in PA who had measured very high levels of formaldehyde from a new oven, presumably from the binding in the insulation. We ran the cleaning cycle several times when pets and people were not in the house. I think it took at least 3 or 4 tries to get the smoke and odor down to levels that were not noticeable during normal oven or broiler use. Of course, we always use a range hood exhaust fan when we cook. Opening windows does not usually flush the house quickly enough during cooking, unless it is a very breezy day. 1. Look for stoves that use formaldehyde-free insulation. That has been on the market for a while, at least for building materials, so stove manufacturers should be able to use it too. I don't know yet which, if any, manufactures use formaldehyde-free insulation. 2. If all else fails, run the self-cleaning cycle and hood exhaust fan before using the oven for cooking. Do this while the house is evacuated. Also attach aluminum foil or another inflammable object to the bottom edges of the range hood to extend it down another foot or so. The hood extension or side shields will greatly improve the capture efficiency of the range hood and keep odors from spreading throughout the house. 3. Never enter the home when the self cleaning cycle is running, and not until the building has been flushed thoroughly afterward. Levels of indoor pollutants are extremely high during the self clean cycle

Congrats on the dna results. So instead of all the girly foo foo, now you need to go out and buy guy stuff, leather jacket, some cool beatle boots, ray bans and oh, don't forget some hair gel so he can slick back his head feathers.

LOL @ Polish multitasking. All that you describe in terms of the white down feathers is normal (Like snow flakes every where) and when they have feathers mucked up from being possibly toweled, frightened and bashing cage bars with them etc. they will preen until every feather is back in to it's proper position. I look forward to hearing updates on how she continues to become settled in her new loving forever home.

Nice Cage. It is also strategically placed where in or out of the cage your grey will be right in the social center of your home.

Hi Stephen, That was BIG FUN. Totally enjoyed watching Isaac with that cup. I always enjoy seeing and hearing of his antics.

LOL, you'll never hear me sing in a million years, but here is a video of Dayo doing some dancing:

Thats GreYt News!!!!!!!!!!!! I have no doubt all are feeling overwhelmed there including your grey to be united once again.

"It is funny, when one of Gracie's "friends" visits, she demands a kiss. She comes to them and reaches her beak out and says, "Gracie wanna kiss. No bite!" After she gets her kiss she seems satisfactorily greeted." I love this greeting ritual that Gracie has come up with on her own. What a sweet girl. The last names will come about in due time if she is exposed to them. Dayo did not start using them until he had observed and hear me or my wife using it along with our first names when talking on the phone or with someone visiting like an insurance agent for example. He did not pickup on this until he was around 4 years old. I suppose this is used in the wild as well. For example "Oh that's Crazy Horse from the Kenya Flock".

Awwww, poor Escher. Greys can certainly be alarmed and react instantly to an unexpected sight or sound. Next time just tell Escher "Lets Vacuum" to prepare him. That's what I did for Dayo to let him know to prepare for that sound. Now when I get the vacuum out, he starts saying "Let's Vacuum!". If he is out he will fly to my shoulder so he can "help". I loved the comforting photos with Escher.

Maybe this will help - When doing math required to solve software engineering problems or developing algorithms and Dayo is screaming I just sing and he starts dancing ....

Way to go Marco! That was a Grey masterpiece you can be proud of. Place a notch in your beak for that one.

Congrats and thanks for the photo! It seems destiny had a play in this... You both look happy from what I can see of your shoulder, but your grey FO SHO.

I know how you feel from experience. Do not ever give up hope. My Conure Jake flew away one afternoon during hellacious windy thunder storm a few years back as I walked out our sliding glass door. I searched high and low around my entire area within a half mile walking, calling, listening for over a week. I also posted fliers, on all kinds of websites etc. After 3 weeks, a person from a city 45 miles away responded to my craigslist ad about jake. They had found him feeding at their outdoor bird seed plate. One of their children slowly walked up and he stepped up for them. They had found him a week before they responded to my ad. I could tell they had already fell in love with him, but I suppose they decided they should look and see if anyone had reported him missing. I hope this type of scenario turns out to be true of Luigi and you receive a call or email in the coming days or weeks.

What a wonderful story of Gracie's impressive verbal interaction with your Mother. She has been very well socialized. I'll bet if she learns or perhaps already knows your families given last name. She would also then associate the last names of each person to the "Flock" i.e. Jeff smith, mother smith, father smith and the last names of visiting different flocks. They do enjoy visitations from family members, friends and even their pets. They learn and use others visiting pet names as well. As you indicated, their memories are impressive and permanent. Giving this thread the title of "Gracie-- Avian Ambassador" is so fitting. Thanks for sharing this.

Nice photos of them in the outdoor aviary. Thanks for sharing these.

Greys are one of the most intelligent critters on the planet. He probably thought "Thats all you got?"

I enjoyed this video of Escher. I definitely heard him say "what ya doing", "Hello" and several other things he is calibrating. Thanks for sharing this.

Sounds like he got over his disgust with you as well. Did he bite your fingers while you were moving the cage back in? The reason I ask, is Dayo will rip a finger off when I am moving his cage back in if I am not watching like a hawk where he is as I do so. Thanks for the photos.

Just stay consistant with your responses to the bites. They will lessen over time as you both learn. They may or may not stop completely. I still get a bite now and then when not paying close attention to Dayo's body language or cleaning his cage and don't notice he is coming in for an attack. He does not like me in his cage at all, it is his castle and I am not welcome. I am not the love muffin to him, my wife is. But we have a "man to man relationship" lots of fun playing and sometimes giving scratches, just have to be careful and observe body language.

Thanks for the video Steve. I enjoyed it. Dayo flies up and down several times like I see Misty does as well when bathing in a Pan. Must be a "Grey Thing".

Oh no, such alarming news. Hoping and praying for the best. If you haven't already done so, post on craigslist for your area and also on http://www.911parrotalert.com/

This cage is too small for a Grey. They call it a Large, but in reality I consider it a small cage. It would be a good size for a conure. You would want at least D - 90cm x W -100cm x H - 140cm cage minimum and that does not include to the top of the play area on top. Powder coating is what you want or stainless (Very much $$$$).

This is HUGE progress Dee!!! You have worked and yearned for this for so long with no indication from Gilbert that he had even an Atom sized desire to have anything to do with you or the household. Your love and patience is paying off. You set a perfect example for all to follow if thinking about rescuing. You have demonstrated true unconditional love by being willing to truly just provide a loving and good home for a rescued grey direly in need of one. After all you have been through these years we have all known you on this forum. You, of all people deserve this ray of light and hope from Gilbert. I cannot express in words my happiness for you. Congrats!!! :)

Here are a few you can get ideas from. Source in UK for you: http://www.birdtrader.co.uk/bird_advice/building_an_outdoor_aviary/106 http://www.avianweb.com/aviaryphotos.html http://parrotsocietyofnwohio.wordpress.com/2010/08/14/pvc-aviary/

Sounds like a nice outside experience. They love being outdoors and taking in the sights and sounds.