jay257

what bird would recommend? thank you for your reply.

Hello all! I hoping someone could enlighten me please, my african grey Larry is now 20 months old and doing very well. However during the week (4 days ,my wife has Fridays off too) he is on his own for a minimum of 6-7 hours which we really hate but can't avoid. Its been the same since we got him @ 11 week old. Every evening, he is out his cage and we play with him for minimum 4-5 hours. During the day we we make him plenty of foraging toys with hidden treats so he does keep very occupied and he isn't plucking or anything like that. However, we feel it would be lovely / beneficial to get him a companion (in different cages). What bird can live happily with a grey? We were thinking of cockatiel or would this not work? Would larry be aggressive and territorial towards an new bird entering the home? Any help / advice would be greatly appreciated. Regards, James and larry.

Hey guys, Im so sorry i have taken this long reply - I actually did reply on another forum.....my apologies. Larry is all good and the blood tests came back perfectly normal. The red feathers are purely just his unique colours, and they have actually starting to fall out of his chest, u can see from this recent pic he still has them on his legs, but the redness has reduced significantly over the last year. Thank you for all your concerns and replies :) James

Hello all, We have had our delightful little CAG (Larry), for around 4 months now, we bought him at 11 weeks so he is approx 7 months old. Things we going very well - he was picking up a few commands / tricks step up etc and potty training. We decided against having him clipped and soon enough he was flying around the house and with the exception of a few crash landings was settled very well. However there has been a slow decline in almost every aspect of him. We started to notice he was pulling his black flight feathers out and he seemed to prune almost non-stop to the point where he pulled out so many feathers he has stopped himself from being able to fly. His behaviours changed slightly whereby he would refuse any treats (which he absolutely loved such as pumpkin/ sunflower seeds), and his overall energy seemed to decline - in the sense that a CAG his age should be investigating everything / being very active - however he seems to just want to perch on our shoulders or in his cage. After taking him to 3 different vets - last guy who seems extremely knowledgeable was very concerned about the fatal PBFD (Parrot beak and feather disease), and we are currently awaiting the results which will come this Monday for blood tests. He was extremely concerned at the colour / texture of his feathers and the fact he has plucked many - and he was particulaly concerned about the red feathers over his chest (which he has always had since we bought him). We was told the red feathers over his legs and chest means he is classed a "King African grey"? You can see these in the pictures below - the red feathers over his body and there is a photo from behind showing all the black flight feathers he has pulled out. Has anyone else had anything similar? Its a waiting game until Monday but we are devastated it could be PBFD. The vet said it could only has contracted this from the breeder as he hasn't been in contact with any other birds let alone Parrots. We did so much research and feel like we have let him down. Could anyone please share information they have regarding the red feathers and the behaviour i pointed out earlier? Thank you so Much. Photos below. James