Giannine

She was doing it when I was talking and even with my mouth closed, she shoved her beak in. I don't think she was trying to feed me...more exploring, I suppose.

Hi Tonya! Welcome! I saw your other post asking how long it should take for your newly acquired Grey to get used to his new surroundings and star talking again. May I ask what the circumstances are that led to you taking in your dad's Grey? Was he having issues with him or couldn't care for him anymore? Again, welcome! Please post pictures when you can

435 when you got her?? Wow! Poppy thoroughly enjoys her food and spends quite awhile eating in the morning and throughout the day. She is just now starting to become more interactive with me and trying out new sounds. The simplest new things she does thrills me. I have a lot of fun with her. She makes this funny "Woah! sound now after hearing me do it all the time. It almost sounds like a little bazooka. Just today, she started shoving her beak in my mouth. Not sure why but she likes it. I try to not allow her to do that because I know our bacteria isn't ok for them:-) Do any of your guys' do this?

Poppy was 278 grams on August 27th and is now 290 grams. I am going to look up the average weight span for Timnehs to get an idea of where she falls

I do keep pellets in my bird cages at all times. My Quaker goes to the pellets immediately after being put back in her cage for the night and I often find them eating pellets in the morning when I uncover their cages. I do mix a small amount of seed in with the pellets—probably about 80% pellets, 20% seed. I haven't made chop yet but I think you could make a batch and if you're worried about Jasper getting bored with it, just add a few other things for variety...I think it would be good to do that every day, anyway. I second Sterling...I get disappointed lately coming on here and not seeing any new posts. I suppose I could try to add some of my own but I just don't have anything exciting bird-wise going on so yes, we would love to see pictures and hear how everything is going once Jasper gets home and settled

I like Charlotte:D

Hmm...That's exactly what Poppy does sometimes when I have her on my lap or chest, rubbing her head. She sounds like a begging baby. After I handfeed her, she turns from sweet baby to sounding like an irritated crow. She makes that same cawing sound when I put her in her cage, as well.

I agree with JudyGram...it is better than the tiny cage he is in now but the larger cage still is not big enough. I have 2 Parakeets in a cage a bit bigger than your larger cage and I feel it is too small for them. Personally, I would never put a Grey in a cage that is not at least 32" wide. I', glad Alvin seems to be doing better

I do have one question I've been meaning to ask. What does it mean when Greys caw like a crow? Poppy always does this after she is finished eating and sounds quite contrary. You'd think she would sound content and happy:rolleyes:

Too cute...she reminds me of Olive. Olive gets her little foot right on top of her head and twists her head upside down and closes her eyes as she slowly rubs her head lol Olive is definitely my 7-year-old's bird. They have a relationship with each other that nobody else has with Olive. Giovanna just adores her and Olive seems to trust her more than even me, though I am 2nd. As I am sitting here typing this, I am watching Olive climb down her tree to get close to our Boxer. She has taken to taunting him and he seems to think she is a little play toy he knows he isn't allowed to touch but wants to so badly. He gets close enough to her so she can swipe at him with her beak as if he likes the interaction (weirdo). Poppy on the other hand, pays him little attention and shows little fear of him, though she will open her beak wide as a warning if he tries to put his nose on her.

Hopefully you are there to stay. How is Miss Gilbert faring with Hurricane Matthew? I just read this morning that Georgia is at risk so I assume you guys are experiencing high winds. I woke up this morning to unusually high winds and I am all the way in Washington State. They calmed down by the time it was time for me to get out of bed, though. I think if you ever did find Jim and he really wanted to see her, it would be extremely hard to say no. It would be interesting to see what her reaction would be.

I haven't read that book but I will order it. I just ordered two other African Grey books and have read a third. I will add The Parrot Problem Solver to my library. Poppy watches me very intently. I sold everything in my salt water aquarium and the woman who was buying it said, "Your bird is a trip" and I asked her why and she said, "She has not taken her eyes off you since we've been here." I looked back at Poppy on her cage and she was in her crouching position with her neck craned out watching me very closely. She does that a lot. Sterling, I have never owned a Caique and probably never will, only because I have 7 kids, 2 dogs, and 2 birds and I just don't think I can stretch myself much further:D I think the only other bird I find very tempting is a Conure but I have no plans to get one in the next several years (or maybe ever)

Are you sure it's diarrhea? Their urine is mixed with their poop so it is not uncommon for it to be watery.

Yes! That is for African Greys. I would use that formula

Tooo funny! I just find it so odd how calm they were and both acting as if it was the most normal thing to be sharing a cage top next to each other. Especially a Quaker Parrot's. Olive is just a little sassy boss. She has quite a lot of spunk whereas Poppy is the complete opposite.

Alvin is adorable;) It seems like you guys have bonded quite well. It's a good thing you stopped putting vegetables in with the pellets as that makes the pellets wet and they can go bad, if not eaten right away. If you're able, I would order a proper formula from the internet. Of course continue the oatmeal, if not or until you can get proper formula.

Everything has been going well with Poppy. I really thought I would be on here asking a million questions but I have found that just getting to know her and allowing her to get to know me has been my best teacher. I did learn a lesson yesterday, however. Normally if I need to go upstairs for anything, including going to the bathroom as my house is a tri level and they didn't put a bathroom on the main level, I take the dogs (Solo the Boxer and Mia the Shih Tzu) with me in case one of the birds decides she wants to take a trip down to the floor. The birds hang out on their cage play tops or on the Manzanita tree stand (one at a time). I have never allowed them to be in close proximity of one another because I am afraid they will fight. Yesterday I took the dogs upstairs with me to get myself looking presentable quickly as someone was coming to look at my car to possibly buy it. I was upstairs for less than 10 minutes and didn't hear anything downstairs...all seemed well. I opened my bedroom door, all was quiet, walk to the landing of the stairs, all was quiet, start walking down the stairs and reach the bottom, look up, and see Poppy perched on the corner of the play top on Olive's cage and Olive perched about 15" away, from her. As soon as they saw me, Olive started going toward Poppy with her beak open and Poppy started flapping her wings so I rushed over and got Poppy off. Apparently, Poppy had fallen off the tree, walked over to Olive's cage and climbed up it. I have no clue how long she had been there and find it funny they were sitting peacefully until they saw me:confused:

I agree with everything Dave said. I have never heard of anyone mixing vegetables with formula. If the correct formula for parrots is not available to you, feed the oatmeal. Vegetables should be fed in a separate bowl. My Grey just stopped taking her morning formula feedings but every morning I would offer her fresh vegetables and fruits in a bowl, let her eat, then if she still seemed hungry or was begging, I would offer her formula. Your Grey should have a bowl of fresh food and a bowl of pellets available to him during the day but pellets should be available to them 24 hours a day, as well as fresh water.

That is great! Hopefully they implement some stiff penalties for those who break the law and I assume there will be many. Enforcement is key, as GreyWings basically said above

Wow...it is! Sheesh! I am back to Timneh now:confused: One thing is for certain, you have a nice mix of characteristics from both a Congo and Timneh. Very interesting

I agree with Judygram...I am hesitant to even offer Poppy unhealthy foods because I'm afraid it will spoil her appetite for healthy foods which she enjoys. I would say if you give her junk food, it should be on the rare occasion rather than regularly. You have a better chance getting her to eat vegetables if you are not offering the unhealthy foods. I give a bowl of chopped up mixed vegetables to my birds every morning and also put vegetables in the birdie bread I make them. You might want to look up a birdie bread recipe and make that for them...maybe you'll have better luck

I think the weight will help give a better indication since the Congos are bigger and heavier. The DNA tests come back very quickly (within a few days, maybe sooner, depending on where you get it done). I am completely new to Greys so I am not able to offer any input on whether or not male Congos are darker in color than the females but I bet someone here knows

That picture swayed me over to Congo! LOL I was looking for the white scalloping in the first set of pictures and couldn't tell. Maybe she is just a darker Congo but I agree that a DNA test would be beneficial. Can they actually know from DNA whether birds are Congo or Timneh? Regardless, as everyone else said, she is beautiful and you two are blessed to have found each other:D

Welcome! At first before opening the pics, I thought, "This will be easy" but then after seeing them, that thought went away quickly:p Tough call...she does have the lighter coloring on her upper beak but it's not blaringly obvious. Her tail feathers are definitely brighter than the Timneh's...this article tells the difference between the coloring of abdomen feathers. The Timneh's form a noticeable 'V' shape and the Timneh has darker Grey feathers. It is difficult to see clearly in the pictures due to lighting but yours seems to be more Timneh colored http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-species/find-the-right-bird/congo-timneh-african-greys.aspx

"The Cussin Cajun" LOL I remember reading something she said in her accent that was just hilarious to me...I believe "Sheee-it" was in there. Four homes in seven years, though? Wow:( I suppose if she saw Jim, there is a good chance she would regress. I think she would be happy, but confused. I am just a sucker for history and wanting to know the whats, whys, and whens of things. I get curious and Gilbert's past is something that has peaked my curiosity. How long have you had her now? 5 or 6 years? You definitely have given her more stability than she has ever had so I know that you are still scraping the surface of the goodness in Gilbert.