Makena

Don't worry CD, everything will turn out fine! We miss you here.. don't stay away for so long!! It's a new year. A time for new opportunities and beginnings! You will get everything worked out and it will all work out in the end. We are here for you!

Awww... that is so cute! I bet you will be finding flung corn pieces for ages!

Awwwww... SO CUTE!!!! I love the little chicks!! What a proud mama you must be ;)

Agreed Spookyhurst.... What the heck is going on!?!?!? I LOVE EVERYONE!!!!!! :kiss: So... ummmm, back to greys!!!

Hey! I am baking you a chicken today with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and sweet potatoes!!!! You are not missing out on anything!!!!!!!!!!

I am heading out tonight for my big trip to the mainland :woohoo:!! I fly back on the 30th. I will try to get on when I can, but it will probably be pretty sporadic. Happy holidays to everyone... I will miss you a ton!! Enjoy your time with your family and friends... Enjoy the good food... Enjoy the atmosphere and enjoy your time off work!!! I will be enjoying some cold weather (and of course Target and Trader Joe's )!!! Aloha everyone!!! {Love-000200D8} PS- Keep Andrew company... He has to stay home and take care of a little grey bird

Joe, I have gotten to know you very well over the last 5 months. I have spent many nights chatting with you in the IM window. You have given me tons of great advice, not only about birds... but about food, relationship problems, etc. You have always been there for me and I thank you for that. What I don't understand is how you could just up and leave without any explanation? No PM, no post about it, nothing! Just... this is my last post and I am not coming back... I am having a hard time comprehending this. I am feeling angry, worried and depressed. If nothing else, please let us know that you are ok. I hope you change your mind... I am shocked you would just walk out on your forum family. You are not the type of person to abandon friends. Just remember this... There are a lot of people here who care about you and will miss you.

I have plenty... but here is the worst... I had just gotten home from a friends house at around 10pm. Makena was up when I came in the door and itching to get out of his cage. I went over and picked him up. He climbed on my shoulder and I walked upstairs to watch some TV. After about 1/2 an hour of him sitting on my shoulder I decided it was time to put him to bed. I reached up to get him to step up and out of nowhere he lunged at my thumb and grabbed it. He dug in hard scraping across the whole width of my thumb. It started bleeding like crazy. I walked downstairs holding my thumb with Makena still on my shoulder. I went over to the cage and let him crawl off me as my hands were out of service. He sat on top of the cage and didn't move a muscle. He knew he had misbehaved. I sat by the front door crying until Andrew got home about 20 minutes later. He cleaned my wounds, scolded the bird and made me a drink. Yah it hurt like hell but I think I was in shock more than anything. How could my sweet bird do something like that to me?!?!?! I must say... it sure has made me a little beak phobic!!!

I was just able to get a video of Makena acting helpless in order to get let out of his cage. I have no idea why he goes upside down in his food bowl, but that is what he does. I put him in his cage about 5 minutes prior because he bit me. Apparently he doesn't like to be disciplined!!! This time the monkey actually got his talons caught in his own feathers... :pinch: :pinch:

Just take out the period after the web address and it will work.

I notice different smells on Makena's breath and there is also a distinct smell of his feathers. I love them both!! You are right Birdmom, Zarlock is probably smelling a lot of things for the first time. Enjoy it Zarlock!! Welcome to sensory overload

I love the pictures!!! I am so glad you compiled those, it was so neat to watch the changes. Congrats on your new baby!!!

LOL Dave!!! Count me in on that study... I love their smell too ;) ;) Maybe they could also create a support group for our significant others :lol: :lol: :lol:

Makena lays upside down in his food bowl and flails about helplessly when he wants out :lol: :lol: :lol:!! It is really pathetic :silly: :silly: :silly:

You are right Judy... It could have very well been the fact that he swallowed too big of a piece. Here are my thoughts... I don't cut everything up in tiny pieces for Makena. He likes to hold things in his Talons and slowly tear through them. If I thought garlic was fine, I would just hand him a whole clove without even thinking. Just like I hand him whole soybeans, whole green beans, chunks of carrots, etc. I assume that Makena is capable of biting off his food to a point where he isn't going to choke or have intestinal blockages. After all, no one is cutting up things in little pieces for them in the wild. The problem here is that the garlic was unable to be digested by the bird. He ate enough of it that it caused a blockage. If garlic can't be digested I am not going to risk giving him any amount. Who knows how much can be given before it causes a problem? Who's to say 1/2 a clove is fine or an 8th of a clove is fine? The bottom line is... It is each and every persons choice to choose what they feed their bird and to have their best interest/nutrition in mind. After hearing what we did from the avian vet we made a decision to not feed Makena garlic. I feel that his diet is just fine without it... so why risk it? The garlic issue is one that hit too close to home for us. I would be devastated if that happened to Makena... Especially knowing it was something I gave him that caused it........

We WILL NOT feed Makena garlic. We take Makena to the same avian vet who did the necropsy for the bird that died due to the garlic a few weeks ago. When we were at the vet last week he spent a long time forbidding us from EVER giving Makena garlic. This is what he told us about it: When he opened up the bird the garlic that had been consumed more than 24 hours earlier was sitting undigested and black in his intestines. It was basically rotting and caused a major blockage. The blockage caused numerous ulcerations to the intestines. The blockage/ulcerations are what ultimately killed the bird. The vet said it was horrible and that he has never seen anything like it. Sure garlic is GREAT for humans... So is avocado. And just like avocado I won't be giving garlic to Makena either. I am not trying to create an argument here... Just telling you what we were told. The choice is yours

Congrats Tracy!!! Wow, that is a lot of posts!! You are a great friend and always full of wonderful information! I am so happy to have met you here!! You are a fabulous addition to this forum and I can't wait for the next 2500!!! ;) {Love-0002011E}

LOL! He was just whistling away with no worries in the world :P :P

Awww.... Thanks guys!! And congratulations to everyone else, I thought they were all wonderful!!! {Love-0002011E} About the picture; My parents have an oceanfront timeshare in Honokowai, Maui which is a small town near Lahaina. We vacationed there every year of my life (before we moved here). That picture was taken from the Lanai one night we were there. It was probably the most amazing sunset I have ever seen, that picture doesn't even do it justice! The island off to the right is Molokai. B)

I would just continue to allow him to watch you in the shower for a while. If you force him into the water he is going to have a negative assocation with it. You are also still developing your relationship with him. Forcing him under the water could make him resentful of you as well. And if there is one thing I have learned about greys... they sure can hold a grudge! Your baby is young enough that you should be able to train him to take a shower. We brought Makena into the shower for about a month before actually getting him wet. After he started getting really comfortable with the shower (would fall asleep on the rod) we started putting him on our arm. We would hold part of our arm under the stream without getting him wet and let him explore it. After many times doing this he finally decided he wanted to check out the water. At first he would just drink from it but over time he started to really get into it and completely drench himself. Now all we do is stick him on his shower perch and he runs right over to the stream if he wants a shower. It takes a lot of patience and time. Hope that helps

Wow, you really do have a red factor there!! What a lovely and unique grey!! Cosmo is beautiful!!

We were nailed by a tropical storm that knocked our power out for the last 2 days! Since we had nothing better to do we decided to take lots of pictures of all the destruction...I used the point and shoot, didn't want to get the new Nikon wet. Enjoy This is a gulch behind our condo that is usually dry. http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/gulch1.jpg This is looking out the other way towards the ocean. http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/wheresthebridge.jpg This is the entrance to our condo. We are trapped. http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/trappedinourcondo.jpg This is looking down what used to be my street and a poor stranded car (don't worry, they got the people out). http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/gladthatisntmycar.jpg This guy is having fun http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/notsobright.jpg Looking out towards the ocean. http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/lookingtowardstheocean.jpg That is a lot of water. http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/trappedcars.jpg These truckers were trapped for a long time. http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/stranded.jpg Another street. http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/anotherroad.jpg Lovely ocean front property... LOL! http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/thatsjustfunny.jpg Looking back at our condo complex. http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/lookingbackatmycondo.jpg This was a white sand beach. http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/thatwaswhitesand.jpg Our lovely pristine blue... I mean black waters. http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/notsopristine.jpg And here is a video for you... This was taken from our lanai. http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/Kristinw16/?action=view&current=MVI_3407.flv

You are exactly right Mark. If a blood feather broke that wasn't emitting much blood I wouldn't be too worried. The vet told us only in extreme cases should we pluck the feather...He said the preen gland feather in question could potentially be an extreme case. He basically just warned us as a worst case scenario option if we weren't able to take him to the vet. To be honest I don't think I would have the heart to do it and would take him to the vet anyways!! He said that there is a small chance that the bird could bleed to death if that feather broke.... We just want to know every possible scenario so if it were to happen we would know what to do

AND... Andrew also didn't brag about how much the vet was gushing over how healthy Mak is!! He went ahead and gave him a full check up ($$$$$$) and said he is perfect in every way!! He couldn't remember the last time he had seen such a healthy bird!!

What Andrew also didn't mention is that when plucking a bleeding feather you want to use tweezers and get as close to the base of the feather as you can. He said you should also put your fingers on the skin on each side of feather to keep from tearing any skin with it. I know it's yucky stuff... but I am glad he told us in case we are ever in a situation where we would need to pluck one.