Kya

Tried the birdie bread, he won't eat it - actually, my ringnecks are the only ones who will, but they are like feathered garbage disposals. His diet consisted of peanuts and cheap seed before I got him. I literally have to chop up his fruit and veggies together in hopes that the leafy stuff will stick to the fruit juice and he'll accidentally eat some of it. I do shave cuttle bone into his food. Just feel like he needs more calcium rich foods than I can get him to eat. Not really used to this, my other birds will eat anything, but the two rescues weren't exposed to fresh foods and have no idea what it is. The only fresh foods Kya was given are apple and grapes, neither of which he needs a lot of. I am trying to undo 10 years of damage!

Hi, and welcome! I am new to greys, too, just not new to parrots. How is his diet? Does he get fresh veggies and fruit? We recently transitioned ours to a large cage, he was in what I would call a medium sized cage when we rescued him, not near enough room to stretch his wings well. The owner couldn't figure out why he started plucking when she rehomed his partner and moved him into this tiny cage in another room by himself. We moved him to a huge cage, and now he has become cage aggressive. He has all kinds of new toys and I am making huge dietary changes, and he has new flock mates. Lots of changes for him, and it doesn't take much to upset the apple cart in the parrot world. We are just being patient with him, and giving him opportunities to make his own choices - cage door is open and the opportunity is there. He understands NO, so if he tries to bite when we are doing something inside the cage (food, water, toys) we can make eye contact with him and tell him no and he backs off. He'll come out when he's ready, but your friend does need the opportunity to come out! Are their blinds at the windows you can close? Could you go in early or stay after hours and let him have the opportunity to come out? If you can find a high value treat, you might be able to lure him back in the cage with that.

So funny! We keep baby wipes all over the place, so we can grab one quickly when needed. (I am not one of those who proudly boasts that my bird is potty trained, our house is too chaotic to even attempt it.) I have grabbed up many a baby wipe for something other than cleaning up after the birds, only to find that I've already used it to clean up after the birds, and have now smeared bird poop on something that did not ask for bird poop to be smeared on it.

We have a rescue CAG that came to us with some slight barbering, not full fledged plucking. I haven't noticed him doing it since we got him, but I'm still concerned about improving his calcium intake, since he had a really crappy diet before we took him in. (Pretty sure he lived on peanuts and cheap seed.) I know about all the foods, and am doing everything I can in that department, but someone told me to give him a TUMS 2-3 times a week until his feathers grow back. I know they have extra calcium, and of course I will call my vet and ask about that, but has anyone else ever heard of this? He's a little picky with his greens. I can't give him anything else when I offer them, because he will choose almost anything over the healthy stuff. I started using Chia seed and sesame seed in with his food yesterday. He isn't overly fond of eggs, but loves fruit - except the ones that I need him to eat that are rich in calcium. Any thoughts on anything else I can do? (I'm not beyond doing anything - I'm cooking beans for them all right now.)

Okay, birdhouse, I am loving the pipe bells, and that is the first time I have ever seen them! I've met my amazon quota for the birds for the week according to my bank account, but saved the link for next week. What's a little cow bell noise when you have the noise level we have in our house??? I've had Kya telling the other birds to "Stop" and "Shut up" all morning - he learned that from his previous owner. He's also looking for Alex. (We have no idea who Alex is, but he did call my daughter Alex when she left the other night, however her name is Tia.) I have the windows open and it's a very nice morning, so all the fids are especially wound up. Kya is burping non stop, then laughing when he does it. It sounds just like a grown man when he does it. Mia (the aviary rescue) does not know what a conure is supposed to sound like, so she is cawing like a crow. My sun conure is a bit hormonal right now, I have the bites on my hands to prove it, so she is raising 10 kinds of cane wanting out of the cage to bite me some more. Kya woke us up at 7 am this morning yelling "Good morning! I want my apple!" And, of course the ringnecks never stop their baby jabbering. I picked up Chia seed and sesame seed yesterday to add to Kya and Mia's diet, trying to help with their feathers, and I know greys need the extra calcium. My husband was watching me unload groceries and said (in a pitiful voice) "Did you get me milk?" No, but I have this nice kale and nuts and chia seed you could use in your coffee.

Oh, and today I bought Kya a cow bell. Not quite sure what I was thinking at that point in time...

Photobucket and I are having a disagreement, but I am going to try to post pics of my flock! This is Mia. She is a cherry head conure, a rescue that we took in a few weeks ago. We have no idea how old she is. She was kept in an outdoor aviary in the blazing Georgia heat and humidity all of her life, and the week before we took her in, she saw her mate devoured by a snake. The older lady had multiple birds, and decided to get out of the business completely. Mia has never been tame, never seen a toy, and never had fresh food in her life. My husband has been working with her, and she has come a long way. She will not sit on his hand or shoulder without totally losing her mind, but still won't touch good food. Her feathers are in bad shape, but we're taking baby steps with this girl. These are my ringnecks. Lyric is the green, and Karma is the turquoise. They are 8 and 9 months old. Lyric is trying to talk, and is my little hand raised monster of the two - she / he is learning that biting gets you nowhere, except a hand cupped over your head and a game of peek a boo. Karma is a real sweetheart, we got him / her right after weaning, she's never bluffed or bitten - just the perfect little ringneck. No clue on the sex of either, but the ring around Lyric's neck is getting brighter and brighter. And, this is Billy (black capped conure), Sookie (sun conure, rescued also), and Lucy (yellow sided green cheek). Billy is special needs. He has a deformity in his feet, his toes curl inwards, and where his nails grow out, they curl immediately and will grow right back into his little toes if we don't take him to the vet every 3-4 weeks and have them trimmed. We got him right after he was weaned. He is the sweetest baby ever, about 10 months now. Lucy is another hand fed monster created by me - not sure why all the ones I hand raise turn into little terrorists. She is about 9 months. She is a joy, but you can't take your eyes off of her. Sookie was a little wild when we got her, she was a year old, almost 2 now. Now, she spends the majority of her time inside my shirt. She gets the other two in trouble quite a bit, but the three of them are inseparable. (None of them like Mia at all - it's as if they sense she is different. But the feeling is mutual. She doesn't like them, either!) And, of course, here is our Kya.

I agree, Ray P. I am certain that my friends and family think I am certifiable. Thank goodness they love me! I am going to try to upload some pics tonight, and share the whole flock with you. Everything winds up on my phone and never goes any further!

Just joined the forum this week, Lisa, but rather than posting, I got caught up in this thread and was determined to finish it, or at least "catch up". You aren't just a hero to those feathered souls, you are a hero to me.

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! Kya is doing really well. I haven't noticed him plucking since we got him, but we've kept him pretty busy getting acquainted with his new surroundings. And, I finally got him to step up for me night before last, which makes it much easier to get him back in his cage. So, there's a little trust there. He wasn't physically abused, just pushed aside and ignored. He does love the big cage, and seems very happy. Sometimes, we leave his door open for hours and he doesn't come out, but as soon as we leave the room, here he comes. He will fly and land on my shoulder every time. New words are coming out every day - apparently we had a revival at the house this morning - he was saying "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" over and over again, and each time he said it, he would say "Good boy, Kya!" The other night he announced "I'm Frank _____!" I had to text the previous owner and ask about it. It was her father in laws name and he had been trying to get him to say it for years. He has a wonderful personality and we see more of it every day as he gets used to us and our home. He's pretty amazing. I cannot imagine putting him off in a room by himself. He loves company and loves entertaining. We are madly in love with him already.

judygram, that is Kya in my avatar! I will upload some pics soon. Timbersmom, I have a few defiant ones in the pellet department. I can get most of the smaller ones to eat Roudybush crumbles mixed with Vitakraft Prima parrot seed, but it's only because it is so small that it blends in with the seed. If worse comes to worse and I can't get Kya to eat larger pellets, I will mix the Roudybush in with his seed. He was fed a TON of peanuts in his previous home, and demands one about every 15 minutes. Yesterday, I only actually gave him one. The rest of the time I have been offering pine nuts instead. This morning he had corn on the cob, unsweetened applesauce and a boiled egg with shell. Tonight, I'm going to make some pasta and spinach for them all. I do limit the time that seeds are in the cage, because they all fill up on that and don't want anything else. I am familiar with all of the "dos and don'ts" food wise, thank goodness. I have kept birds since I was a teen, and I'm old now!

I love this thread! It will give me good reading for days, I made it through page 8! Kya is new to us, we have only had him for a week. He is a 10 year old rescue. This morning, we noticed that where some of the things he said in the past were in the voices of his former owners, several things he says have switched over to "my voice". We picked him up late one evening, and had already discussed his terrible diet with the previous owners. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a bite of junk food now and then, but it's a rare treat here and not something we do daily. The first morning we had him, I woke and walked to his cage and said "Good morning, Kya" - he replied "Good morning!" He then stated "I want a pop tart." I said "I don't own a poptart, but you can have an apple." He ignored me. The second morning, we did our ritualistic good morning to all of the birds - Kya responded again, but this time he said "I want an apple". He knew what I had on hand because I told him 24 hours before, when he should have been a nervous wreck over being in a new home with strangers. When my phone rings, he says "Hello...okay...bye". When my dogs bark, he says "stop it" - usually before I can get it out of my mouth. When my other birds get all wound up when we come home, he arrogantly states "all the birdies just chirp, chirp, chirp". I have no doubt that they know what they are saying and just when to say it.

Hi, my name is Kim. We recently rescued a 10 year old CAG, his name is Kya. He came from a bad situation, the people meant well but they just didn't have a clue. He was not abused, but was neglected. His diet was terrible - the first morning we had him I went to his cage to say good morning, which he said back to me, and then went on to proclaim "I want a pop tart". The people had two greys, the other one was abusive to him and they were caged together. The lady had asthma and rehomed the mean one thinking she could handle just one with an air purifier and lots of baths. Her asthma continued to worsen, Kya got moved into a tiny cage and put off in a bedroom by himself. She did have a play stand for him in there, and he was allowed out on that, but didn't have much human interaction for the past few months. He started barbering then. (Read the sticky on plucking, great advice.) So, here we find ourselves with a parrot that is probably smarter than both of us (my husband and I), and realize we are going to turn his whole world upside down with dietary changes, attention, etc. He's coping well, other than spending an hour this morning picking pellets out of his bowl and throwing them across the room. We have him in a large cage, he's been vetted and is basically in perfect condition, considering what he has been eating for 10 years. I am trying to introduce him to a healthier diet, and he is taking well to the fruits and veggies we are offering. We have the occasional squabble over peanuts and pop tarts, and pellets are apparently satanic, but we're making strides. He is tame, and has a huge vocabulary that is quite entertaining. I am a nurse, and work 40 hours a week. I do small scale rescue on the side, as in "Hey, someone dumped a puppy, will you come get it?" I do, and I make sure it's healthy and place it in a good home. Apparently, I am now rescuing parrots, which will stay right here in our home. We rescued a cherry head conure 2 weeks ago who had been kept in an outdoor aviary in the blazing Georgia heat and humidity her entire life, she watched her mate be devoured by a snake the week before, has never been tame, but we're working on that. We have a total of 7 parrots - 2 Indian ringnecks, 4 conures, and the CAG. We also have 3 dogs, 2 of which are rescues. And, we have 3 outside cats. I think I am maxed out, but I say that every time and then something comes along that is in need of my help. I look forward to getting to know everyone, and reading through the posts!