Jeaniebean

I "sort of" potty trained Huey. First, I taught him what (yes, this sounds gross but it's the topic LOL) POO POO was. Once he correlated poo poo with going potty, I was able to tell him to go poo poo then I would take him out of his cage and he would do it. I have a film somewhere of him outside his cage sitting on the door quietly...all off a sudden he goes "POO POO" and does it...then he says "GOOD BOY HUEY" it's a hoot. I'll have to find it and see if I can get it from a vhs tape to computer.

My Huey has cateracts. I need to have them looked at the next 6 months while I'm in Florida since there aren't any in the state of Maine. I know there are animal ophthalmologists but I want an avian one. Only the best for my Huey. Jeanniebean

LOL Yeah, coffee nerves is a problem. LOL I litterally have to yank the cup from him. He calls in the morning " MOMMIE....COFFEE PLEASE" over and over..I created a monster. If I don't give him one sip, he'll come down off his cage and walk over like a dog waiting right by my feet till I give in. Yet, Dewey doesn't like it. Huey will stick his whole head in the cup, and if I put Orange Juice in the cup instead, he gets mad and grabs the cup with his beak and will NOT let go. One of my people who bought birds from me called me very worried about her "sick birds". I came over and looked around and saw the dracina in the cage with bite marks all over them. The birds couldn't stand up! Once I told her to take away the plant they were fine. Jean

I really don't think Coffee should be on the list. The reason is in the wild, the birds eat the coffee beans due to the fact that the bean has a natural insecticide in it, which aids them with mites, etc. My Huey likes a sip of coffee now and then, and he's 23 years young. They also have had onions in chili with no adverse effects. I don't know if they ate them, but they were in there. Avocato is a BIG NO NO and the other big NO NO IS NON STICK PANS OR ANY non stick surface. House Plants too can be a danger. Dracina (the long sticks with a green spikey top)will make your birds drunk-they will find that plant if you have one.... Jean

The breeders (I used to breed AG) feel the pelvic bone. The males & females are different. Females are pointy and close together, males spread apart and round. Jean

My Huey and Dewey are bonded male/female AG congos (not related), both hand raised and very tame, both talk up a storm. They both share a cage together, and don't like to be separated. When we fly back and forth between Maine and the Florida Keys, they both go in one pet carrier, and are very happy. Jean

Well, I showed your AG to my Huey, which is a confirmed breeding age male AG. If she was a female, his eyes would have gotten bigger and he would have gotten excited (danced, and done other things I know he'd do if he sees a female). He growled, and went to protect Dewey-his girlfriend. So according to Huey, he's a male. When I first brought home Dewey, a female, he went low on the perch in a breeding posistion and got very excited. I'd go with Huey's opinion over mine! LOL Jean

She looks like a female to me. Another way you can tell is how much red feathers are around her vent hole. Females tend to have more red then male, if any red at all. Also, an old breeder who was well known in Ohio, (breeding birds 40 years ago)said (and has been true with my birds) that if you feel the two bones where if it was a female where the egg comes out, if it's closer together and pointy it's a femail-spaced and round it's a male. It is the totally opposite then what you would think being that females incubate. Now, this can all be old wives tales but I was able to sex my grey cheeks like that and it was right on. Male or female, it doesn't matter the sex of the African Grey to be a great talker. Jean

Hi- I had mentioned to MEDIC that Hartman Aviaries is one of the cleanest aviaries I've ever been to-Plus he bought Huey's parents from me and still breeding them. Here is the link to the list of bird shows-Hartman will also be there. http://www.parrotexpo.com/2006%20Events.htm For John Hartman's info: Sunbury, Hartman Aviary 9000 Cheshire Road, Zip: 43074, Phone: 740-965-1965. "By appointment only."

I totally disagree with the saying that they will bond with each other instead of you.That has not happened with my two greys. Of course I HAND FED both, and got them 2-3 years apart. It's no different then having two kids instead of one. Both kids love you, right? Both kids love each other-and love the father....in my house the two birds are just like two kids and we are a family. They talk to each other, and they both talk to us. Sometimes at the same time and ALWAYS WHEN WE'RE ON THE PHONE. LOL Jeaniebean ps. I will send photos

Thanks! It's always nice to feel loved :laugh:

I would say get another grey instead. I have two greys-Huey was 3 when I brought home Dewey. I put Dewey (in pin feathers 2 weeks old) next to Huey in the cage, and Huey said "OH, SEE THE BABY?" They are truly a joy, and speak to me, speak to each other, and keep each other company. They are male & female, unrelated. Yes, they might breed as soon as Huey gets his act together (anyone have any bird porno out there?) Dewey has laid 4 clutches of non furtle eggs. But the good thing is I know she'll be a great mother, and Huey too knows what to do EXCEPT for the dirty deed LOL. BUT he was getting romantic this past spring, but stopped when we came up to Maine so maybe when we go back down to Florida he'll pick up where he left off. So I would suggest you stick to greys, get one first and bond with it then get another. NOTE: I HAVE BOTH IN A LARGE CAGE AND THEY LOVE BEING TOGETHER<br><br>Post edited by: Jeaniebean, at: 2007/07/11 22:31

ABSOLUTELY! I have two greys that have been together for 18 years. The male will say "Dewey wants to come out" and I'll go over there and open the door and out she comes-he'll stay in his cage. I've heard them talk to each other in our language, also heard Huey ask a conure to "talk to Huey" and when the conure went tweet tweet tweet Huey said in discust "oh, shut up!". I can tell you hundreds of stories of my two greys telling me what they want, talking to each other, and even talking to DOGS! It's truly amazing...I hand fed Huey from 8 days old, and hand fed Dewey from 14 days old (different parents). Dewey the female likes to let Huey to the talking while she is a pro at smoke detectors, glass sliding doors, UPS trucks going in reverse etc. BUT I did hear her making fun of Hewey talking in my voice! It's never a dull moment in our house... People (other breeders) always would tell me "Hewey will stop talking if you put another bird in there with him" NOT! They only know ENGLISH, and know that words mean things and use their words to get what they want. Do you know Alex the grey on Tv? Hewey is smarter then Alex....anyday.<br><br>Post edited by: Jeaniebean, at: 2007/07/09 04:52

LOL....I will put together some photos. I took a movie clip of Huey and will attempt to post it in the movie area. This cage is sooooo easy to clean! I'm sorry I waited so long.

Too bad we couldn't do movie clips......

They distroy (chew) their toys within hours so I keep only one or two in there at a time. They are out of their cage walking around the living room most of the time or hanging out on top. Dewey is a major chewer and I can't tell you how many times I had to replace wood work. I bought a basket (bare-no stain or paint) at Walmart, then go to the craft department and for only 88 cents each I buy little cars, trucks, anything made out of wood and I store it in their basket. When they come out, they go right to their basket and pull out their toys which they then turn into toothpicks. A plan cardboard box keeps them busy for HOURS and they love them. I use non conventional toys-things around the house that I know is safe-nothing with chemicals and no cherry wood.I did order a new bell for them since they do like to ring it at 6 am in the morning but I don't know how long that will last LOL. They really like just hanging out with us, or being with us. No matter how many toys I have for them, Dewey will ALWAYS head for the nearest SHOE to EAT-I can't tell you how many Birkenstocks (new ones!) I had to throw out cause of her chewing...she's worse then a dog! Sometimes I make a pine box for them to play in, which they'll eat in about one week. BUt it's a lot cheaper then paying $40 for a toy that will last only hours. I should take pictures of the toys I make them out of cheap pine. Sometimes I just get scraps for free from Home Depot and let them go to town on them.

BTW, I'm in Maine for the summer..not in the Keys.<br><br>Post edited by: Jeaniebean, at: 2007/07/08 18:17

How do I post a picture on my post? I already screwed up the photo for my profile! LOL How do I email the webmaster to correct my mistakes? This really is the best website I've come across! I just took some great photos. I don't like to use flash so they aren't as bright as I like since it is raining outside but the cage is shiney, and can interfer with the flash anyway.

Do you want to have the birds meet by webcam? I think we have to do it thru IM? I use MSN IM. let me know

I LOVE my new Featherland Stainless steel folding parrot cage. Got the 3624 for my two greys, dometop. It's a beauty-the steel tubing is a little thinner then my other stainless but the design is the best-my birds cannot get to the paper to shred it, which they love to do and boy does it make a mess. My only concern, and yes, it's a BIGGIE is that at one part the bars are 1" apart-all the other places the bar spacing is smaller. Do you think I should be concerned with African greys? My male's head is huge so I don't worry about him but the female's is smaller. I've read though that 1" bar spacing is fine for greys. What's your opinion? Jeaniebean

One of my greys, Dewey, has been sitting on my shoulder now for hours watching my computer. It dawned on me that she would love to see other greys so I logged onto this website and showed her photos. Then I thought, are there any other computer birds out there who would love to communicate by webcam? I would love to see Dewey's reaction to seeing other birds on the computer live. She lives with Huey, her "mate" of 17+ years but I'm sure she will love to see other birds since they are so social. If you are interested, let me know. Thanks Jeaniebean