TinyTimneh

Well at least all we crazy bird people have each other right ? It's so nice to be reminded that's it's not me it's THEM cuz they're not parrot people .

I sometimes get the impression that, in the eyes of others (non-parrot people of course) I'm just plain weird--eccentric if you like (in rather mean plain english a crazy bird lady). Takes a chunk out of your self-esteem after a while, you know? If I said on this forum that I share breakfast with my fids and then we hop in the shower and that I have to be home by a certain time to make sure there was enough playtime before bed no one would blink an eye. Non-parrot people look at me like I'm from Mars and have six eyes.. (You what? That's so weird) after all, as they love to say, it's JUST A BIRD *:ohmy: Iknow ). Now I am pretty introverted and I don't care much for the mainstream junk that people my age are into---but I never thought I was really that abnormal...sure I prefer to stay home and read a book but geez Plus for me, it's not just a pet, my parrots are my responsibility and one of my greatest joys, and generally speaking their happiness comes before my own because they're helpless animals and depend on me (for example if they need toys and I want a shirt--they get their toys.. lol sometimes even if it's they want toys and I need a shirt). What about you guys? Any of you ever feel like you are/or are labelled as 'crazy bird ladies (men)?'

Don't get too discouraged cuz you;re only 14, I was the same age as you when I got Jacko and he was older than your grey and a bit more problematic Anyway, as others have said the mess and the poop is part of owning of a parrot, you can't get around it. Mess catcher on the cage is a good idea. You mentioned that the place the cage is in is carpeted..is there somewhere else in the house that has wood floors? They're alot easier to clean. If not, get one (or more depends on the cage's size) of those plastic mats people get to put under computer chairs and put them underneath/around the cage. Makes clean-up easy Realize that grey's take up alot of time so, trust me, with schoolwork and all that I totally understand but try to multitask and get your grey a nice big playgym with lots of toys. He doesn't have to be on your arm and being petted all the time so getting him a nice playgym that he can hang out on near you while you do schoolwork is a good way to multitask. As for cleaning the cage either try to do it in the morning and get up some time earlier than you do or do it before you put your grey to bed. As for training just set aside five or ten minutes everyday to work with him. Try and tell your parents that it's gonna take more than a year to get him settled in! I think personally that as long as he makes progress your mom should cut you some slack. I think addressing the attacking women issue is your first priority (and may soften up your mum some too!). I don't advocate clipping but in this scenario if he's flying after the women in your house to attack them he needs a wing clip ASAP till he learns some manners!!!! Your dad should reduce the amount of time he spends with the bird while you spend more time and try to observe whatever it is that makes the grey beeline for your dad (the way he talks to him, holds him, whatever it is) and see if you can do that with the grey too.

I wasn't sure if it could be frozen lovethatgrey, thanks for the idea (especially cuz the vet where I get it from it easily an hour from my house with traffic--plus like you said it ain't cheap) will be trying that... how long can it stay frozen for? I know it sounds silly but I don't want to buy a huge bag and then have it get freezer burn or something lol. I'm actually looking at picking up a bag or two or power treats as well everyone's skin is kinda dry plus I ran out of treats lol.

hmm in that case Shauna's Mash recipe: Shauna’s Mash Diet Written by Reta of TalkParrotlets and adapted by Shandi (skthurley) Shauna is a member of the yahoo group, Feeding Feathers. She has designed a natural, whole foods diet that contains the needed nutrients of birds. Here is a simple summary: Grains, 30% of the diet, soaked overnight and preferably sprouted, at least 4 different grains. The grains also can be cooked, combined with cooked legumes and frozen as a mash base in ice cube trays or small zip locks, depending on how many birds you are feeding. Millet, quinoa, amaranth (must be cooked or sprouted, can’t be fed dry), oats (whole, not rolled or cut), hulless barley (not pearl), wheat berries, kamut, spelt, wild rice, brown rice, raw buckwheat. Legumes, 15% of the diet (two parts grains to one part legumes complement each other for complete protein). Choose from the most easily digestible legumes, mung, lentil, whole pea, adzuki and garbanzo - these are the ONLY legumes recommended for sprouting because of anti-nutritional properties in other legumes. They must be soaked overnight, then sprouted fully until they have 1/2″ tails, or soaked overnight and cooked (boil 10 minutes, simmer 20 minutes). Vegetables, about 45% of the diet. Preferably at least 5 different vegetables per day, run through a food processor or finely chopped to avoid picking through for favorites. Choose at least one orange vegetable (pumpkin, carrot, winter squash, sweet potato), and at least one dark leafy green (kale, collard, mustard greens, dandelion greens - if you want to feed spinach, chard or beet greens only occasionally because of the high oxalate content). Other vegetables to reach at least five per day: broccoli, celery, romaine or other dark leaf lettuce, peas, zucchini, chayote, green beans, bell pepper, chili pepper, cabbage, bok choy, carrot tops, cactus leaf (nopal). Fruit, choose two different fruits per day for about 5 to 10% of the diet, preferably from the more nutritious fruits. Papaya, mango, all berries, cantaloupe, pomegranate, kiwi, citrus, nectarine, peach, cherry, apricot, banana, pear, figs, apple. Try to vary the fruits, not offering the same one or two fruits day after day. Optional ingredients: broken up whole grain pasta, minced wheatgrass, sprouted seeds. You also can offer a dry mix of mostly grains mid-day. Supplements: Tiny pinch of organic powdered alfalfa daily (or can alternate with powdered wheat or barley grass). Powdered Kelp for Iodine (very important if not receiving fortified food, pellets, etc.) a few grains only per day, very little - you do not want to give too much. For Omega 3 EFAs (Essentail Fatty Acids, about 10 whole flax seeds daily, or a drop of flax or hemp seed oil every other day. She makes up her fresh vegetables in the food processor, enough for 3 days, and adds several pieces of whole wheat pasta (whole) which absorbs the moisture and helps the mix stay fresh. In addition to this you can add some bits of garlic, cayenne pepper, italian spice, cinnamon and other bird safe spices.

Hopefully if all goes well I want to start giving my fids Mike's Manna Mash as the base of their diet (alternated with Shauna's Mash Die http://www.lineolatedparakeet.net/food-and-nutrition/202_202t every month or two for variety) I already have the quarter recipe but was wondering how much I'd need to make a month/two month supply (it'll be frozen)? The mash will be half of their daily diet and I have 1 TAG, 1 lineolated parakeet and 1 cockatiel to feed.

As someone who owns more than one parrot (not two African Greys though) I'd have to caution you against it. It is possible that the Greys might bond and not want much to do with you. It is also possibl that the baby will be very upset that their is a newcomer in the house and may/may not develop issues now or later on. Also, your baby grey needs alot of time and care, teaching and guidance at this stage.. which you might not be able to give considering there'll be another bird (much less an older bird who may have issues of their own). Another outcome is that the two birds will despise each other or one will dislike the other etc. and you'll have to be constantly supervising them for fights and/or juggling out-of-cage time for them both... trust me it's stressful for all involved.. although it might not happen because your 1st grey is a baby. A final option might be they might take to each other but still want to interact with you. In short there's no way to tell which of these outcomesd you'll get so it's a game of chance. Personally I wouldn't get another grey, at least not until you've got some more experience with greys and your baby is older and more independant.

Yeah the tiel (and linnie) will be going off of it after the 6 month period... the only reason I'm feeding it to her now is because her and the linnie's big moult should be coming soon and I'm hoping a good dose of fats and proteins will help grow in some nice glossy strong flight feathers. She never got over the nasty petstore clip she had when I first got her so I'm hoping if she goes through a big moult she'll have enough new feathers coming into to protect them (she tends to knock them out or break them). Plus her skin's looking a little dry too.

If she's acting normal and doesn't show any symptoms of being ill, isn't sleepy all the time etc. I would keep an eye out just in case but I wouldn't suspect disease as an issue. If you're worried, a check-up at the vet is always appropriate. If she's only eating fruit and veggies as the majority of her diet I would expect her to be skinny. If you or I existed solely on fruits and veggies we'd be very skinny too as there is really no fat, protein or carbs in fruits and veggies. She needs a good source of these substances, especially as a grey who in the wild eat a lot of the palm fruit and palm nut which is very fatty and oily. If you want to feed her a homemade cooked diet start feeding her a varied combo the various grains & legumes etc. recipes that you can find on the forum or on the internet, along with fresh fruit, veggies and some seeds. If want to feed a more commercially made diet put her on a pellet mix as the base of her diet and supplement with the fruits and veggies. I'd be careful about the pretzel because of all the salt, like humans, excess salt is no good for parrots.

lol don't worry I hate the metric system it's pounds, inches and gallons for me I think the smallest bag I've seen around here was 1 pound so that's what I'll go with.. thanks judygram

Hey all, TinyTimneh here from good ol' rainy Canada Going to pick up Harrisons for the fids this week, probably friday. I was wondering what size bags I should get? I know the bags only stay fresh for 4-6 weeks but what size should I get to last that long? I have Jacko the TAG who'll be getting the High-Potency Coarse and my tiel & linnie will be getting the High-Potency fine/super fine. For right now I'll be doing the recommended near exclusively feeding of Harrisons.

Well lol, I've moved around a hell of a lot in my 18 years but I was born and raised in Quebec, Canada. Split my time between Pincourt (my dad's place) and Kahnawake (my mom's place, Mohawk territory).

Born and raised in Quebec, Canada (the only french-speaking majority province). I split my time between Pincourt (english translation: short pine--no idea why there aren't many) and Kahnawake (Mohawk nation community)

Lol I've had quite a scare with my smaller fids.. they had bright red poops because they only ate the red and orange ones... Jacko has now developped a preference for the green & yellow so his poops would look absolutely terrible if you didn't know any better. Also, for any of you with fids who like to make soup in their water dishes I find that the fruity Zupreem a) tends to really have a foul chemical smell if it's soaking in the water dish b) It leaves a really gross sludge on the bottom of the dish

Well lol... when he DOES eat them Anyway, Jacko originally ate the Hagen Tropican pellets, decided he didn't like those so he chowed down on seed for a couple weeks, but as of right now he's eating the fruity Zupreem (parrot or cockatiel size he doesn't mind either) and will of this week be going onto Harrisons High-Potency Coarse formula for the rest of his life. I have only a few criticisms for the Zupreem to be honest, one is although the fruity taste and colour do help picky eaters... sometimes they'll only eat one colour and go hungry for the rest of the day because they've picked of all that colour out (true story--my smaller fids only eat the orange and the red ones). Plus the dyes wreak havoc on their poops in terms of colour and staining so it's nearly impossible to tell if something is wrong.

Jacko does that when he shreds newspaper, I figure he's trying to dig underneath and find something.

I had a humidifer running in the room (it's not running right now because I haven't got my DIY air purifier running yet--without one the dust kills the filter inside of a month or so) and it was kept at 55% RH--what a difference! The birds weren't as dusty or as agitated when they were preening... it wasn't as dusty and we all breathed a lot easier. Now, without it... it's sooo uncomfortable in the house, plus my dad is insistent about his darned air conditioning--so it's not only cold but dry. I wake up in the morning and my nose is literally on fire and it hurts to breathe. The skin on my hands, feet, knees and elbows is especially dry, peeling and cracked. I cannot imagine what it feels like for the birds.... for now the only refuge for me and the fids is a good long hot shower

I would vote that it's just as difference like everyone else is saying.. especially if he's eating well and active and looks healthy. Jacko for example has always had stunningly red tailfeathers, not the fire-engine red that you see on a CAG but like a crimson red. His beak is now getting darker as well. The only time his beak was really pale and his feathers were maroon coloured is when he was on a bad diet and didn't get a proper environment (usually).

An emergency like a fire is one of the reasons my birds sleep in my bedroom in their crates even thought it is recommended from what I know not to keep birds in your bedroom. If something ever happens like a fire or for some reason in the middle of the night I have to GET OUT of the house, they're right there and ready to go. We have very large and imposing dog (in the range of 130 pounds) who although he is crated at night makes a hell of a lot of noise if he hears or sees something. The doors are locked and we have an alarm system... so I'm not particularly worried. There aren't any firearms in the house that we keep loaded or nearby--I don't plan on getting any even if or when I move out on my own--I'm terrified of guns and can't stand to look at them as they freak me right out--although if it's my life or some intruder's life I wouldn't hesitate to use them. I may or may not get a dog if I lived on my own but for right now I feel safe. If I move into my mom's community with her the town is so small (under 10,000 people) that there is virtually no crime--no one can committ any crimes because everyone knows everyone and everything about them so I'd be even less worried.

Lol he doesn't do it very often but I'll try my hardest to catch him in the act (and hopefully have a camera set to film nearby) I promise

Eventually you should aim for her eating a balanced diet (not just seeds and not just pellets for example). As long as there are seeds in the cage she's gonna keep flinging the pellets out because she can eat the seeds. My advice for now is to stop offering her seeds completely. Give her only pellets first thing in the morning--she'll be pretty hungry. If she doesn't eat them that's her problem--I'm betting that a day or two of nothing to eat if she refuses pellets will convince her to change her mind though. Obviously if there is a drastic drop in weight (keep a close eye on her weight and general condition) stop doing this and give her her seed back. If she isn't quite up to par health-wise don't try this tactic and if she hasn't eaten in two days give her a little bit of seed on night two. This method is only for healthy parrots of a good weight. Then keep at it with the same routine--after they get hungry enough most birds think those pellets look pretty good. Once she's eating the pellets regularly you can start re-introducing some seeds into her diet. Do try as slightly more tasty brand like the natural zupreem or harrisons because obviously the moment you start re-introducing seed into her diet she's gonna totally forgo the pellets if they taste bland. Good luck!

Jacko usually only growls really loud if something spooks him badly, grumbles a little if I have to do something to him he doesn't like (trim his nails etc.) the only time he'll ever make that screaming squawking noise if he's hurt/trapped (like when he tips something over on himself) etc or if he's playing this hideous game wherein he'll hang by one foot, grab the wing feathers of his other wing with beak & foot and proceed to pull/tug on them, then scream and wait for me to look. Little bugger :laugh:

On a similar note I will say that around my place rainy days are lazy days for my birds. If it's grey and rainy outside my birds are very quiet and spend most of the day snoozing or preening. So I'd definetly agree with you Christina that letting our greys and other birds see the sky activity outside helps them decide on the days activities and when to do what.

Okay, well... I have decided to stay put if I cannot soften my mom's stance on only one bird... All of you are right, and it wouldn't be fair or right for me to just ship them off or to come back in a couple years... they are living creatures and my responsibilities but of course the heart is never rational. I'll let you know how things develop, hopefully I can both move and keep my fids

It isn't possible for me to get a small place by myself as of yet as with the economic conditions I haven't been able to find a job yet... I wish I could because this could solve the whole mess. I was such a mess when I posted the first time so of course my thinking is not rational and I'm sorry for my rambling... I know things are not fair for the small birds as well and I feel terrible. I have to let my mom know by the middle of August... My brother is young and I know that he couldn't care for them all by himself but I guess I was hoping that the rest of the family who lives here could help him out.