eve

i did hear of someone who mixes their own seeds that decided to omit chillies after she had an "attack" of some sort after inhaling the dust from chillies that were crushed in the mixing process (she was mixing quite a decent quantity by hand). I said I "heard" i don't know the specifics. Dust of any sort can cause respiratory attack, wheter that be the dust from pellets or peppers if someone is in a position to inhale large quatities. i don't think one can blame peppers for asthma. my mom is asthmatic, she eats peppers like a maniac, dried, crushed, fresh. she is no more asthmatic after eating a pepper. i had a reaction after eating swiss chard that made me feel like i was having an asthma attack (if i had to imagine an asthma attack)... this does not mean that swiss chard causes asthma. i personally removed the peppers from seed mixes just to avoid having them get crushed up and making dust cause i always smell my seed mixture and i used to get a tickly nose until i took them out. i keep them on the side and add after. but that's just me. sorry you got offended that people disagreed with you, too bad you left. i'm sure the rescue you deal with is very competant, but that does not mean that they know everything nor does it mean that everyone has to agree with them. Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/11/01 06:03<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/11/01 06:09

i forgot my cell phone at home once... they now do the ring, the missed call sound, and the batterie dying. OMG i can't stand it.

tonka loved to be petted until when he was about 18 monthes. then at about 3 years he became a snuggle bug again. he is 6. he oves to be pet, snuggle, flips on his back. hard to imagine there was a time when he did not want to be touched much..

For the pellets, aong with mixing some into his regular mix you can also try putting a bowl of jyst pellets up near his favorite roosting perch. May sound simple enough, but I switched my 6 year old seed eater onto pellets in a week this way, and I know lots of people who have similar success. Maybe cause they nibble at night, or just take a nibble in between playing cause they are lazy and don't want to go down to the other food. Just make sure that you don't take away the seeds too early, that he is eating enough pellets before doin so. Another thing that worked well for me, was eating foods in front of them and not wanting to share. Just eat and when they seem interested, just pretend like you don't want to share for awhile (tried this after they tossed down food that I was eating that I offered so took it a step further). Pretending that I do not want to share gets them super interested and they will usually give it a try. Good luck, just don't give up! You can also try making a "toy" out of healthy fresh food, like on a skewer kabob thing. My guys will only eat their leafy greens if served like this... never touched them in a bowl. Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/10/03 01:32<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/10/03 01:35

Tonka was hatched August 19 2001 She came to us at about four monthes old Lego was hatched Mai 18 2001 He has been with us for a around 6-7 monthes<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/09/25 03:34

lovemyGreys wrote: same here. there is nothing more annoying the traveling in a car with an impatient grey in a carrier. man they drive me nuts sometimes.. :laugh:

I have a couple of potty mouths too. Lego swears like a French Quebecer and has managed to teach Tonka some words. Its so frustrating to see such beautiful intelligent creatures cuss like they do. Lego had been here about 6-7 monthes now. Still swears quite a bit. He swears and then laughs, and tehn Tonka laughs. Hey, I ignore them, but they are having so much fun together... I don't know if it has any effect... I agree with the ignoring, completely. Don't even turn your head or look at him. Try and make a big deal when you use the replacement word. Like stub your toe or something and start yelling "Duck duck duck"... hopefully he will pick up on that cause its similar and used in a high energy (drama) context. I got some tough words to find rhymes for myself...<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/09/06 06:29

I have two Greys, so I'll answer for Tonka, whom I've lived with for six years. What are his/her favorite toys? His chandelier style swing that hangs from the ceiling, mini birdie bagels, and small pine-cones. He loves small stuff that he can throw. What is his/her most hated toy? Tonka does not like acrylic toys. How large is your birdie's cage? About 3 feet wide by 2 feet deep but 4 feet tall. What does your birdie's cage look like? Don't have a pic, it's a hammertone gold, dometop cage. Where'd you get your cage? Petshop Where'did you get your bird? Petshop, fell in love with home while shopping for a cage for the baby Grey I had just put a deposit on at the breeders... What's your bird's favorite game? Fetch, where he throws stuff and I fetch What is your bird's favorite and least favorite food? Favorite: chicken; Least favorite: leafy greens (so I hide them in his mash) What is your bird's favorite treat? Chicken Is your bird clipped? Nope What is your birds newest (or favorite) phrase? Don't forget your keys (he says that now when I leave, because my boyfriend tells me this because I tend to misplace my keys) Does your bird know any fun tricks? He does quite a few, waves hello, waves bye-bye (foot open and close), gives five, plays dead, does the "vulture" stance to name some. How many hours a day do you normally spend with your Grey? I spend about two hours in the morning and five hours after work. How did you choose to name your Grey? His name is Tonka, because he is a small Congo Grey (under 400grams), but he is very tough and built "sturdy". So, like the Tonka trucks, he's small but built tough. Is your bird DNA sexed? No Do you have fun stories about your Grey? Yes of course, but i can't pick one to share right now Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/27 20:42 Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/27 20:43<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/27 20:49

CeasarsDad wrote: I saw one in real life, like I wrote before in this thread. Amazingly, the color in the picture is very true to the color the bird was.

My Greys love showers, they go all nuts and flap around. No bath though, ecept for Lego after he's had his shower he takes a short dip in his water bowl. They come in the shower with me and I spray them with a spray bottly... it's hilarious. Lego was not this euberant before, but he leant form Tonka (who is very exuberant with everything he does...) Here is a link about Greys and bathing, as well as some tips on teaching your Grey to bath. I found the first section (about then in the wild) quite interestin, as Tari mentioned they just sit there and let the water roll off them and move under the leaves when they've had enough. http://netpets.com/birds/reference/behavioral/gryart.html Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/13 08:43<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/13 08:43

No bathing cue from the vaccuum here; but my friends have mentioned seeing this with their birds. When I vaccuum, they just start talking and playing louder to keep up with the noise. Lego will bath in his water bowl though, after he gets out of the shower. But will have nothing to do with a bath before he is soaking wet. Weirdo. :laugh:

Tonka's best trick is the not-so-original "bang you're dead" which he does in two versions: either standing on a perch or my hand (and falls back) or on his back in my hand (and his neck hangs down at the "bang"). Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/10 08:25 Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/10 08:28<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/10 08:28

Yeah more small Congos! Tonka is about 375g, small but built like a tank, I say Nice to see some smaller CAGS around, everyone's CAGS around here that I see are all huge compared to my little squirt...<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/10 08:15

Cool, some free samples of Harrisson's! I wonder if it's available to Canadians? I know mine already like it, but it's so darn expensive here that any sample I can get counts :laugh: !! Thanks for the info!<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/09 01:29

...in his past life. I come home to day and instead of his usual "Hello", he blurts out "Is that for here or to go"... now where on Earth did he get that from? Now he won't stop saying it... It's gonna be a long night. He does this evrytime he gets a new word.

Yeah, mine fight like that all the time. Upside down, growling like its the end of the world. They are playing, having fun. Your hyper little Grey just has to get some energy out, and what a better way then to attack toys! Tonka says "Kill it, kill it, kill it" before jumping on a toy (my husband taught him that :laugh: ) I swear these birds of mine are upside as much as they are right side up. And the sounds they make are more remeniscent of some sort of prehistoric beast then a bird...<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/07 01:36

Agree with Judy. I know of a few Greys that will sleep in a tent, but they are in the minority. What's important to keeping your Grey's feet healthy is having lots of different perching options and a chance to change the position of his feet. I prefer real wood branches above everything else myself. I can buy safe wood already equipped with the necesary hardware at my bird store. These branches serve the purpose of giving the bird a good grip (bark), one perch varies in diameter and gives the foot the chance to change positions often and I personally find them alot more effective at keeping nails trim then those concrete ones. Depending on your bird, manzanita might not be the best choice. It is slick and hard. Not much to gnaw at, not much grip. You can scratch it with a saw to make grooves in it if your Grey has trouble gripping it. There is sandblasted manzanita too, which I would assume has more grip to it, but I can't say for sure I have never seen it in person. Rope perches are good too, I personally use a rope perch that is a bit smaller diameter for my Greys cause they love to hang upside down from them and it's easier for them to hang onto the smaller diameter. But this would also depend on your individual bird to what size you'd choose to go with. Keep an eye out for fraying if your bird chews them! Lots of varying perch sizes, shapes, materials is what will help keep your buddies feet happy and healthy, cause it is normal that he's using them most of the time (or all the time is he does not fly). Also if you have a cement/sand perch, you might not want it as the highest perch in you cage or in a place where your Grey seems to hang out most of the time. In some cases, a bird may develop sore spots if he stands around on a cement perch too much. Those are just a few examples, and sorry to go off topic. Not to say that you don't already have a bunch of different perches to keep your boy's footsies healthy. Just thought I'd bring it up, because like you noticed, they are on their feet pretty much all day in our homes and standing on the same type of perch can tire their feet. Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/05 07:28 Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/05 07:32<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/05 07:33

oh and are peas one of the veggies that have to be blached before freezing? should we use a frozen pea rathre then fresh? just checked a frozen pea sinks... so does defrosted pea.

Mmm, I love frozen grapes, better then a popsicle during the summer heat! and that pea in the middle of the ice is such a great idea! thanks for sharing!

Makena, Tonka also has a purple sheen to his back belly and legs. The best way i can describe the color, is how white looks under a black light, except the color is more lilac then purple. He is six. Is your Grey a very light color, Tonka is a powder Grey color on the wings and head.<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/02 23:32

Just something else I will add, which kind of makes me "fishy" about the red Grey just being a "factor" and not a condition. I did not add this before cause it was late and I didn't want to write about this half-asleep. Now, this man had told me that he went to three vets (he gave the names of three very competant Vets around here). But, I don't know if he's bluffing or not. I noticed that the Grey had some serious cleavage; But not like "an Amazon that was raised on peanuts and sat on a perch all day". His breast was not "soft or squishy", but very firm and felt like muscle. Now I'm not a vet so I don't know... but could muscle have built up so much to give cleavage? Just thinking out loud, but could the red be due to an overactivity of some sort or hormone or something that could also cause the significant muscle mass? (I have heard that hormones can cause red feathers to pop up on Lovebirds- don't know how true that is though) Or maybe it was fat, and the problem is in the liver or something? Sorry, just thinking out loud. Another thing was the feathers. He had an abondant supply of powder, but his feathers felt different. Kind of like a Cockatoos feathers. More silky I guess is how I'd describe them. I didn't really want to touch the bird honestly, but is flew on me and I figured the damage has already been done, so might as well check it out (he was very social and confident, let me scratch and touch him). So, sorry for the long post. I'm not judging this man, saying he's "lying" about having his bird going through a bunch of tests three times... but I have to take what he says with a grain of salt. Can never be too careful. Needless to say, I let my curiosity get the best of me when I visited this bird, NEVER AGAIN. I just can't be sure that there is not something wrong. I scared myself so silly that I went to my mom's, threw my clothes out outside and jumped in the pool, got her to bring me a towel only after my clothes were disposed of, then took a crazy shower and changed into her clothes. Then went to my friends and showered again and changed into her clothes just in case. It was embarassing, especially the pool part :blush: If the man ever emails me the photo, I'll post it if it's okay with him. PS Does the grey in the photo I posted appear to also have some "cleavag"e (I know its hard to tell from a picture). I thought some thing seemed off with his breast, but could be just because I am looking for it. Here is a picture where I circled what a find a bit weird, though maybe it is just the position of the bird. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x40/greyeve/redgrey.jpg Sorry for writing so much, just thinking out loud. Hope that's okay. (sorry for all the edits, lots of type o's in my english writing. I will try to proof read better net time) Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/02 19:04 Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/02 19:06 Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/02 19:07<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/02 19:08

Sorry to hear that the "fitting" didn't go as planned. Hope you have better luck in the futur. I have the Aviator harness and it's a godsent for me. Tonka was always too small for the Feather Tether's medium and I didn't want to try the smaller one because of the design. He got his Aviator beginning of June and I thankfully had no problems getting him in it. Lego on the other hand was not as accepting until... he saw Tonka and I playing outside a few times and finally gave in. I have a question for those who live in a climate where they is a cold winter... how to you keep your Greys accustomed to the harness during the cold months? I mean, we can't give them the reward of going outside... do you just substitute the reward for someting else during the cold months? (ps celery, you have a Vasa! Checked out your site, he is gorgeous! They are such intriguing birds.) Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/02 06:08<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/17 06:33

Well, I don't have any pictures on the computer... sorry. And about the names, yeah, silly names for silly birds thats for sure. I forgot, they are Congos. Thanks for the welcome!<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/17 06:11

Hi, just joined! I live with two African Greys, Tonko who is 6 and Lego who is also six. Tonka came to me as a baby. I had just put s deposit on a baby Grey at a breeders a few days before, I went shopping for a cage when I met him at a petshop. I felt an instant connection. I did not buy him out of pity or to "save" him, as far as petshops go this one took very good care of their birds and had knowledgeable people doing so. He was six monthes old and such a character. We took to each other right away. I had to call the breeder back and cancel, lost my deposit. Tonka and I have been inseperable ever since, he has been reading my mind since the day I brought him home. I know that I made the right decision in bringing him home. He is called Tonka (like the trucks) cause he's small but built tough. Like a little tank... lol Lego came to us six monthes ago, he is also about six. He came named as Coco (which I was not too fond of) but he kept saying "Le' go" so we called him that. Kinda fits with Tonka He was loosing his home because the people had to move into an apartment and he can be loud. So those are my guys. Can't wait to look around this forum some more, it's GREAT!!<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/02 05:32

Thanks for the welcome Judy! I live with two Greys, a 6 year old that I have had since weaning and another 6 year old that I have lived with for six monthes. I will introduce you to them in an introduction post. Here is the pic of the Grey that looks like the one I saw... It is more orangy then a rose breasted too and darker. The scallopping of the Grey feathers is there too. http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7461/yaco04hn8.jpg (ps. if you saw my question on birdmart, I did post there too, but I don't like using my real name on that site for some reason.. call it a "quirk")