JennS

My little lady Vannah has some in her wingpits and just a tiny bit at the top of her legs. I wondered about it too. Thanks for the info!

Yesterday was 6 months with Vannah. I am more like her play gym than her human now. She crawls on my lap and sits on the blanket with me. She LOVES chewing on just about anything (thus the blanket on the chair to save ti chair). We are trying to get her stay on top of or in her cage even with the door open. She crawls down and looks for me if she knows I'm home😏. She is doing better with my Husband still, but she doesn't sit with him or go looking for him. I think she is starting to say good-night to the other birds. One goes bed about an hour before the others and she says "good-night sweetie" when we cover the other bird. She says it again when the third one gets covered too. I made her a play gym and I can't seem to add a picture but her preferred activity is dangling from the perch by her beak and waggling her feet. I think she's saying, 'mama, come hold me'. Her previous care giver occasionally comes to visit and she loves that, but immediately comes back to me. Sometimes in front of him. He is sad not to have her anymore but very glad that we do.

Wow Steevo! Poor Matilda! I'm so glad she's doing better and sleeping well. 19 years and 3 birds, I have never had this issue. I hope Matilda will never have it again.

Well Monday will be 3 months with Vannah. A couple weeks ago my husband started waiting for her to climb down off her cage, which was the only time he could pick her up. He picked her up like normal, but started taking her into the bathroom (stool covered of course) and negan routine training with her on stepping up. Though she knew how, she wouldn't do it for him unless she was on the floor. It took about a week, and now she will come off the cage for him. We are both a bit relieved because he'd have to wait to go anywhere until I was home of Vannah got hungry and went inside. We were worried about this for emergencies too. She still doesn't like him, but her level of tolerance is growing. With me, she will do anything. For only having her 3 month I am shocked at how well she's adjusted. She lets me put new things in her cage, she lets me pick her up like a football if I need to, and she will try anything I ask her to. I didn't expect this kind of trust so soon.

Vannah liked fried chicken when she came to us, along with fries and crackers. She has crackers now without salt, and chicken bits I've cooken up for her without the oils, but no luck on the fries. I'm going to try the sweet potato thing and see if that works!

The sqewers and treat hangers are really the trick with her. There have been so many things that I put in her bowl and she wont touch, but I attach it to a toy or hang in and its gone!

This is a bit of a relief for me as a rehome companion. Though Vannah doesn't have fowl language or anything, there are some things I'd like her to stop saying. I was beginning to wonder if it was just wishful thinking that I could train her out of some phrases.

Found Swiss Chard and hung it up from a treat ball. She's eating it!! So far she likes the stalk, but I'll take it!

Update: we've been adding in Kale and Cauliflower to the snap peas, carrots and broccoli. She still wasn't eating much of it. My husband started feeding her veggies a couple hours after breakfast and that seems to do the trick. He also hangs the kale like a toy to get her to eat that.

Good idea. She will occasionally let us put her on Cory... that might work.

Update: Today is Vannah's 2 month move-in anniversary. I am clearly her favorite now, and she is still barely tolerating my husband. She allows me to do most anything including the "fall over" routine she did at her previous home for nail clipping. She also comes out with me at the end of the day for quiet snuggle just before the lights go out. I love that time :). Cory tries to nudge in sometimes and he is clearly unwelcome from her point of view. My husband continues to try and get her to like him. He gives her treats, feeds her, and due to him being on medical leave right now, stays home with her all day while I go to work. I remind him regularly not to be pushy or forceful so a bad relationship doesn't develop. I also told him about the experiences you all shared. I just don't want him to push her totally away.

Not much progress lately. She still likes to flap on my finger, and go places around the house. She is still getting winded and she always wants to face me. So when I hold her out to the side, she kind of steers back in rather than ahead of herself. She also barely tolerates my husband, so getting him to help doesn't really work. Any thoughts? I guess its not a priority that she fly, but if she is liking to be high, and play flies from my hand, it seems that it would be good to teach her.

Well, Vannah and I are practicing flying on my finger. She holds on and I lift her in the air as she flaps. She is starting to flap enough that I can feel a little lift on my finger. Sometimes she and I run around the whole house like that. She sounds like she's dying sometimes, but she wants to do more. We go until she's ready to stop. She hasn't been brave enough to try to fly to anything again. She is starting to let me handle her more than just her feet, so we might try the tossing activity if she will tolerate my husband helping.

Well, I think I have convinced him not to try so hard. She's accepting treats, but not really tolerating him getting too close. I shared this info with him, and he wasn't all that excited of course. I remind him that I have been living this role with one of our other birds for 19 years, and this might just be the way it is. 😉 I hope he'll eventually get over it if she doesn't warm up. He's the one that really wanted a grey.

4We have had Vannah 3 weeks now, and she is settling in ok. She allows me to pick her up off of her cage occasionally, and from the floor any time. I can put her food in her cage without nips, and she knows when to go inside at night. She won't always allow me to put her in the cage at night. She also enjoys sitting with me and getting her head scratched. She's willinging to try a new perch too as long as I don't leave her on it. Here's the problem... she won't do any of this for my husband. In her previous home her favorite in the house was a man, and his wife was tolerated, but was not liked. On Vannah's first night here she didn't want to go in her cage, so my husband tried to make her (without success). I feel like this might be part of his problem. Now when Vannah and I are cuddling he will try to come in and pet her or pick her up from me. He will also try to do something with her that she generally does with me. She doesn't like that either. Now she has changed her willingness to do things with me when he is around. She will give him "kisses" though. We need her to be at least compliant with stepping up for him and allowing him to feed her. How do you think we should go about this? We don't want him to become completely alienated from her. His solution is to be firm about his requests and continue until she complies. He isn't mean, but you can tell she isn't happy about it. I think there is probably a better way. Is it possible that her initial bedtime experience is causing this? Will she forgive him?

Thank you. After my last response, my little conure scared the begeezees out of her and she took off from my lap. She made it about 3 or 4 feet and landed next to the coffee table. Not too smoothly. She is definitely wanting to try. I'll try making some soft spots for her to work on it. My husband is worried about keeping her fully feathered if she's going to learn to fly. There is an outside door in the room where she is. It is used infrequently, but as he reminded me, it only takes once for her to get into the trees around our place. I am worried about taking away what she wants to be able to do. I am hoping to teach her safe places and maybe screen in tge porch outside the door.🙂

We were told she has all of her feathers, but when she stretches her wings out it looks like there are a couple missing. They aren't cut though. She flaps while on our finger as if she's going to take off, but doesn't. Her previous companion didn't think she knew she could fly. Just about an hour ago I picked her up off the floor and she flew to her cage! Only about 2 feet. First time she's been independently airborne in the last 22 years. We aren't sure if she was flighted her first 6 years. I'd like to encourage her flight with in reason. She seems like she's a little short of breath when she finishes flapping on our fingers. It seems she might be a tad out of shape. She was about 400 grams at the vet, shoo not fast at all. The very said that's a little under weight, but that it could be her normal.

Vannah seems very healthy, active, talking, attention seeking, etc... I am trying to understand her behaviors, but this one is mystifying me! She starts be getting me to pick her up, then leans in to me. Not sure if she likes the snuggle or is looking for stability. Usually I go sit down with her and let her choose to snuggle, play, flap, or what ever. The following video is what she does at some point everytime I pick her up. Today as soon as we sat down she started. **edit** I know she is asking for a cracker in the video, but she always asks about crackers, ever when she has one. She either likes the word, or She was a cracker junky... What do you think about it? Do any of your fids do something like this? What does it mean for them? 20200719_095151_1.mp4

She had 4 in there when she moved in. I tried to put new ones in when we took out the old ones to clean. When she touched them she reacted like someone putting their hand in spaghetti in a haunted house. Haha! Then she refused to go in her cage at all. I'll try the vet wrap if I can't get her to use other perches.

Thank you. I'll probably find a bird place to get the light. We have chain pet stores and they don't have this kind of thing in the bird areas.

I have been looking at websites and pictures of feet, and I think those toes are supposed to be shortish anyway. The nails dont grow well on them. I have read about different perches (soft and hard wood, varied dimensions, flat,etc...) and one place says its good for them, then others say its unhealthy... who knows. I read another article about how hard woods like manzanita are slippery for Greys and may result in this problem of uncertainty of footing. All she has (she has refused any new perches) is manzanita in there right now... so I wonder about that now. I'll try on the new perches again and see if she'll accept them. She's been with us 2 weeks today, and has warmed up quite a bit to me. She might be ready.

Yes, all vets are not equal in the case of birds! Find an actual avian vet. My girls go to Dr. Fuller at the Ellensberg Animal Hospital in Ellensberg WA. We drive a ways to see him, but I think it is worth it!

Thats what I call it, but it's a salad mix with lots of different kinds of weed looking greens. I had heard about spinach before, bit I'm glad its ok occasionally. We like to share with our birds❤

Good ideas! We definitely have yams. My husband is meticulous on yard maintenance unfortunately, and if we hang a dandelion it would get sprayed before I ever noticed it😔. We do get what I call dandelion mix in the produce section of the grocery store. Is that ok? Hopefully she will like the yams. It would be great tho have something to hide other food in. She is sorting her seeds to the floor as I type... finicky girl. 😍

Vannah seems to be a bit off balance or unsure of her footing. We chalked it up tho nervousness, but is not getting better. When we first met Vannah we noticed her back inner toe on each foot appeared deformed. Her former companion said she had always been like that. The vet made mention of them as if something had happened to her. Now that you have background info, I am wondering how much shorter are her inner toes, compared to normal (see attched pics)? I'm also wondering what, if anything, I can do in and out of her cage to help her. She climbs well, but has a hard time just standing on fingers and people, and she is overly causious about transferring from perch to perch.