DayosMom

Yeah Spooky!!!!

Yeah Spooky!!!!

Our Conure broke a blood feather completely off. The question is: do we pull the feather out since it is completely broken off; or do we leave it in. (afraid of bleeding to death) Thanks

LOL.....square eyes!! That's a good one. Thanks for the laugh out loud!! {Feel-good-0002006E}

Congrats on your Grey. They are such awesome birds. I'm happy your friend gave the Grey to someone they know, and that your happy to have her. I have read so many stories of Greys ending up in adoption homes for placement. One was so neglected, he lost his beak. Obviously an extreme case, but it does happen. What have you (your friend) named her?? KimMcQ

Geoff, your Grey is so pretty. I know your very happy to have him at your home now. It looks as though, so far...so good! Please keep us posted on his progress. (and yours too) Kim

Hi Josh, welcome to our forum. Its great to have your perspective here. Best wishes all the time. Dans better half.........Kim

Congradulations Talon! {Feel-good-000200BB}

Hey everybody - thank you for the info on transmitting bacteria to our bird. This is pretty much what I thought also. It's only common sense to be careful when we are sick. As one post said, it is very difficult to rid a Grey of an infection. She said it took a year and 1/2 to rid her bird of the problem. I was just wondering what all thought on this topic. Very informative. Thanks

When we (humans) get sick, is it better to not handle our Grey until we are well again? (i.e. cold, flu, bronchitis, etc)

Ummm, hmmm. That's a tough question. Grandchildren do have their moments. But then - so do the Grey's. That is a really tough question; may I think about it for a year or two and then address this question again?? (whew) :unsure: Judy, Dan is waiting so patiently to sign on and address this question himself. He has told me not to say. :whistle:

I couldn't stand it.....I had to join in here. I'm up there with Judy.....I'm 54 years young. I'm a cancer survivor of 7 years now (a very rare cancer), and the Grandmother of 8 beautiful children. My husband & I have been married (to the same person) for 36 years. :woohoo: Can you believe it.........all these grandchildren came from 2 boys. Personally, I like all ages. One is never too old (or too young) to learn something from anyone, of any age!!!

Hi Everybody......today we went to see Dayo again. He/she is so awesome. When we first got there, the breeder took us to the kitchen to see how she prepares the food for the different birds she has. While we were in the kitchen, one of the babies was talking and making all kinds of noise from the next room. When we finished up in the kitchen, we went to the next room where the babies are, and it turned out to be Dayo who was making all that noise. He had recognized our voices. The picture Dan posted with the Sun Conure, the Grey on the left is Dayo. We had a great time playing with them. When we got ready to leave, we put Dayo back in his cage. He ran up to the front of the cage, and started calling for us. It seemed like he didn't want us to go. Even the breeder was happily surprised. After she saw this was when she said we could have day visits on Saturdays. I think she was pleased to see that Dayo wanted us to stay. He was the only Grey at the front of the cage, seemly upset at our departure. The breeder is very helpful and willing to share her knowledge of the Grey. She gives tips, and "suggestions" on what we can do for our Grey. She does enjoy it when we come to visit, and she sees how happy the three of us are together. Today she is going to have the birds sexed. This takes about a week to get the results back. However, at this point, I am no longer interested in what sex our bird is. Dayo picked us, and I think he made a great choice.

Richardsmommy - what a absolutely wonderful way to end a day! Evenings are my favorite time of day also. (and very early mornings) Your Grey may actually look forward to these times with you in the evenings. It sounds like a perfect bonding situation. The more you do this, the greater the attachment.

Yes, exactly. This is perfect information. "After a while you start to read what the bird is saying by paying attention to what that is saying." This is the advantage of seeing the whole Grey, not just what one may perceive as threatening behavior. Excellent observation, Judy.

Lidia said: "You have to get to know your bird's individual behaviour. It's a long learning process and it won't all come to you at once." This is absolutely true. Each one of us has a unique, and precious Grey. No two are the same. There is no textbook rule of thumb in this area. That is why I encourage your individual experiences and observations. What one may perceive as questionable behavior in their Grey, after reading all of your exceptional observations of your own bird, they will soon realize the affection behavior pattern of the African Grey. And how to read their sweet language. The love for our Grey has to come from the inside out! Only then will they respond in an array of different displays. dblhelix, do you have a name I can call you? I find your tag name difficult to remember. I'm always going back and forth to get it. (I'm experiencing more and more senior moments these days) Thank you. :blush:

The scratch position..........yes, I have seen this. Very good thought here. They are vunerable in this place. I'll keep that in mind. The cunningness of Monique's Kinsasha is interesting. I did not know this trait of the Grey. Thank you for bringing this thought to the forum Monique. This is one I will file in my in my information center. Right next to the change in the eyes. This is proving to be a very informational thread. I hope others will share their own unique experiences with their Grey. Thank you.<br><br>Post edited by: DayosMom, at: 2007/07/06 02:28

:cheer: You can call me, Kim

I am interested in reading the sounds, and body talk of the African Grey. I have discovered they have a body language all their own. For Example: A slight growl means he is uncomfortable with what I'm doing. A purring sound means he is happy and wanting to be pet, scratched, etc. When his head is stretched out to the limit, he is going to bite me. YIKES! (it would have been my fault) I've learned NOT to approach him from the top. This is a threat he perceives. He will bite, without any thought to what my intentions are. One can also read the mood of the Grey by the body posture. My husband picked up one of the Grey's last week, and it growled the whole time he was holding it. When he put the baby down, it went as far away as comfortable from my husband. The baby obviously was not in the mood to be held that day. He stayed away the entire time we were there. The babies are also increasingly inquisitive as they get older. When they see a piece of jewelry on one of us, they stretch their neck way out as far as they can to get a better view. (this neck stretching is in the forward position, entirely different from the erect head and neck I spoke of earlier just before a bite) Then there is the very funny "jackhammer" reflex they have when they think they will be fed. We have had a couple go to town on our pinky fingers. LOL Keep in mind we are dealing with babies here. Our experience is limited to babies. We would be VERY interested in hearing any info about the adult bird you may have noticed with your bird, and any noticed body language.

We wanted a name for our Grey that would embrace the entire spectrum of having a Grey. Both for the bird, and for us. We also wanted an African name, since we have been reading about the Grey's in their natural habitat. Third, I have always wanted to go to Africa, it's SUCH a beautiful country in some places. So to keep with all of the above, we started looking for African names. Then, after we started our search, that wasn't enough. We also needed to know the meaning of the name. So we put together a list, with the dialect it originated from. So came the name "DAYO." Below you will see part of the list Dan made. Interesting to me, the two names that I liked were from Yoruba dialect. Adisa - Yoruba - meaning one who is clear Kamau - Kenya - Meaning quite warrior Mudiwa - Shona - meaning Beloved Baako - Akan - Meaning born first Dayo - Yoruba - meaning joy arrives Dumisa - Zulu - meaning causes thunder Gugu - Zulu - meaning treasure Deka - Sumoli - one who pleases<br><br>Post edited by: DayosMom, at: 2007/07/05 22:58

About the body language thread......where would the appropriate place be for that? There are many forums here?? I'm learning my way around here, and don't want to place it in the incorrect thread. :unsure: Thanks.

LOL :laugh:

Cesarsdad, I would be afraid I would lose my upper lip..........Yikes. :ohmy: But if it works for you, you go for it. :silly: I'm still in the GREATEST Respect mode with our Gray. Talon, that's a great idea. Let's do that. Reading the Body Language of the African Gray! Kool idea!! Tari, your picture made me smile. Thank you for that.

Hi everyone. I am DanMcQs wife. I registered last night, and want to say hello to each one of you. Dan has already shared a great amount of info on our new Gray. So, I won't repeat what he has already shared with you folks. I am VERY excited about our Gray, and I am interested in reading the sounds, and body talk of our Gray. I have discovered they have a body language all their own. A slight growl means he is uncomfortable with what I'm doing. A purring sound means he is happy and wanting to be pet, scratched, etc. When his head is stretched out to the limit, he is going to bite me. (it would have been my fault) I've learned NOT to approach him from the top. This is a threat he perceives. But the greatest feeling of all was when our Gray stood on my hand for the first time. I felt connected to him. We have named him DAYO as you all know. He brings such joy to us when we go to visit him. This week, I will take a picture of Dan holding Dayo, and he can use his picture to attach to his name instead of mine. I'm very happy to be here with Dan, and we look forward to learning a great deal about the awesome African Gray. Thank you all for sharing all your experiences.