BMustee

Those are some nice paintings. I bet it would be pretty hard to do the detail and not have the barbs come apart.

Sometimes it seems birds pick people at random and other times because of things that happened to them in the past. I have seen parrots that will bond to females because ether their past owner was a woman or a man was mean to them or the other way around. Sasha at my work (a Scarlet) may have bonded to me bacause I look like her past owner...from what the girls that have worked there have told me I am the first person she has liked in the 15+ years she has lived at the store. There is a Golden Conure at the store right now that loves blonds, but will jump at the chance to bite a brunette. So sometimes it's as simple as your hair color why a bird will like you or not. In your situation it sounds like you will just need more time than your sister and D/law.

Yeah, be sure to take him to an Avian vet...not a run of the mill vet. I have heard of many birds being taken to a normal vet and die because the vet could not tell what was really wrong with their birds.

You beat me to this one Dave. Nuts and Grapes are not toxic to birds. Hyacinth Macaws need a large amount of nuts in the diet and other parrots like to have a few a day for something to do and a tasty treat. Grapes may make parrots droppings runny but this would only be because the higher water content, not because of a toxin in it.

Some parrots will fling food, others won't. It's kind of the luck of the draw. If you got a flinger then the only thing to do is buy a good vaccum.:laugh:

yeah...If I was in your shoes I would clip as well.

I wouldn't think being outside they would be in that much danger ether...I know they can still get sick but I wouldn't think of instent death. What was the ruling? Did she win?

I am so sorry, I was really pulling for Spike. You did more for him then most people would and for that I'm sure Spike is greatful. If I could I would give you a big hug for him.

I for one do think that if you can offer an enviroment in your home to allow your bird flight you should do so, but if the safty of the bird and other people and pets is in jeopardy then in the intrest of everyone they should be cliped. What is better, a flighted bird almost never out of the cage, or a clipped bird out with the family every day? I say if you feel that clipping will make both birds lifes better then it should be an opition put in the table. Right now I have Elmo full flight because my dad got a new dog (a husky) and I want Elmo to be able to escape IF they were to come in contact. I did have Elmo clipped before, but that was when she was able to have full run of the house...now she is confined to the bedroom most of the time.

Ohhhhh, how cute is that! Well, from that picture it looks like the two of you have a good bond already. Knowing that your Grey is healthy is pricless, but if you had to put a price on it $280 is a price worth paying. :laugh: It's also good to know you and Woody made it through Ike ok. Being in Southwest FL I know how it feels to go through a storm, and go without power for weeks at a time...I think that is worse than the storm.

The only time I have been bitten by a grey was while trimming customers greys. I don't think they have ever made me bleed though. I have a big scar on my little finger from an Amazon that got me a few months ago and a scar from Sasha on my stomach when she bit me through the cage when I was moving it...this was before she liked me though. I have a number of other scars from parrot bites but none of them were that memerable other than those two though. I would say the worst bite I ever got was from one of the baby macaws. I was holding him up to my chest and loving on him when something spooked him. I looked down at him at the wrong moment and he bit down on my lip so hard my eyes started to tear up. My lip looked so nasty for a good 2 weeks and I had to explain to everyone I talked to that it was a macaw bite and not a mega-giant-herpes sore.:laugh:

If she did starting to pluck again due to the kids then she will probably stop on her own because the kids are no longer there. Is it possiable that she is molting? When Elmo starts a heavy molt I will find 5 feathers easy on the floor under her. Is their a bald spot on her anywhere? That would be the tell-tale sign of plucking.

Oh I know!!! The cockatiels and budgies always go for the cuticules...oh man that hurts!!! plus their beaks are so small you can't pry they open. At least the macaws beaks are big enough that you can get a good grip on them.

DYN are suposed to wean around 14-15 weeks, but I see them wean more like 18-19 weeks. They take a little longer than greys.

Oh I know! I love all the birds, but there are always those birds that you bond with really quick. I still miss a few of the birds that we have sold and will think about them pretty often. I do seem to have a way with the birds that most people are leery of. All 3 Scarlets we have had have taken to me, Ethel is my boyfriend and gives me big wet macaw tonge kisses, oh boy the list could go on!:laugh: I think it's because I'm not scared of the big beaks, where most people are. I tell you what though, I would rather get bit by a macaw then a Lory...those little bastard hurt so bad!

Whenever we get adult birds it normally takes a little bit to get them to come out of their shells, but once we love on them and they get comfy they normally sell just as well as our babies. I Scarlet had a breakthrough today with me. Because we don't know their names I decided to call him Mika to go along with Sasha...keping the Russian thing going with the Scarlets. I found that he will step out of the cage with a stick and once on the stick will ste onto my arm. He then bolts to my shoulder but we are working on that. He was letting me pet down his back, his wing pits, and his neck. By the end of the day I didn't need to use the stick to step him up. I'm so proud of him.:kiss:

I was pretty lucky when it came to "race relations". My schools growing up were never a sea of white, but a mix of every nationality under the sun. When your 5 you don't see the kid sitting next to you as black or white, but as a kid. My friend Steve in middle school (RIP) always said he loved the movie but never said what it was about...just that I needed to watch it. I pictured it as a revolutionary war movie or something!:laugh: Well, years later I was watching FOX late night and what movie came on...American History X. From then on when I'm asked what's my fav movie I say AHX.

We are dealing with the same issue with a DYN at the store, and just got done dealing with another DYN with the same issue. It seems Amazons are very hard to get to let go of the hand feedings and will do anything to get you to feed them more. The bad part for you as the new owner is that you are hand feeding him is that he now associates you with "the bottle". The DYN at the store was STUCK at two feedings a day...would not eat, just sit and "put put put" for food. What we did was gave him just a little bit of food...a little less than an ounce worth...so that he was getting the feeding he wanted so bad but did not have a stuffed crop. We then found what his fav food were and filled a bowl full of them and put him right in front of it. They both seemed to like the dried friut, Higgins Mayan Harvest mix, Higgins Saflower Gold, Pretty Bird Gold pellets, and Zupreem pellets. You could also put a big bowl of fresh friuts and veggie in front of him after a smaller feeding because in the wild these parrots eat much more of these foods than seeds and nuts. Plus, you will want to get him to want to eat more of these foods into adult hoood because when they eat the same amount of seeds as lets say a Grey or Macaw they get FAT...not chubby, but the kind of fat where if he was a person they would need to break down walls to get them out of the house fat.:laugh: If at 20 weeks he has not yet dropped the first feeding then instead of the hand feeding in the morning make a mix of the formula and mashed veggies and offer that in a bowl or spoon and sit with him while he eats it. The last feeding is the feeding you can let him ride out for a while. It's not really a nutritional thing but emotional, so if you feed the last feeding very slow by taking a LOT of breaks then he will not need as much food and will still get the feeding time he wants. At 13 weeks he in the ballpark of fledging, so for him to still be hand feeding once or twice a day is normal. After he is 4 months old is when he should be weaning.

HAHAHA Judy...but in parts of I-75 going 90 is slow.:laugh: I was doing 80 at one point and a cop blew the doors off me...he was going at least 95. They are all such nice birds. The Scarlet is my new project. He is such a sweet boy but he is a bit cage bound. He loves to give kisses through the bars of the cage and I shared my lunch with him...and boy did he like it! Once I open the door to the cage though he goes to the back and pushes my hand away. I'm not going to push it at this point, I'll give him a few days. It turns out that the new Moluccan is not a Moluccan after all. He's a Mobrella...a Moluccan and Umbrella hybrid. He has the pink in the crest, but not as vivid as a true Moluccan. Under his wings it is yellow, like an Umbrella. That is the tell-tale sign of the Hybrid.

From what I have read from you I would say it's not something you did that got him sick. To me it sounds like he has had it for some time and it only flaired up to the point it is after you got him. For being as young as Spike is it could be an infection he picked up from the nest box. At my work we get baby cockatiels in all the time and we have had to treat a bunch of them for Yeast infections and some other miscellaneous illnesses. They are in perfectly clean conditions at the store and come in looking fine but then flair up out of no where. Infections can be funny like that. So please, don't blame yourself for him being sick because I'm sure you are doing everything right.

OMG!!! The mental image of a little grey sitting on the steps and dog poo being flung everywhere!!! :laugh: I was laughing so hard reading your story...although if I was in your shoes I would look like a mix of Albert Einstein and Don King! I too have a doggie door that goes out to the pool but Elmo is almost never out in that room. When she comes looking for me I she always goes to the kitchen and gets distracted.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Well, I had quite a day! First, I had to drive an hour and 45 minutes up to Sarasota and meet the guy at a McD's off the interstate. I was laughing about the hand off with the owner of the store because she gave me the cash for the birds and I was saying that it was going to look like a drug deal or a black market bird sale!:woohoo: :laugh: Well anyways, the birds are not babies...all three are about 5 years old. I guess the story is a woman selling all her birds and the breeder guy bought them knowing that he would have buyers for them. Here is the Yellow Nape. He talks up a storm and speaks English and Spanish. Here is the Moluccan. Oh boy it this guy a clown. The whole drive home he was playing with the towel in the carrier and doing everything he could to get me to play with him...but driving I-75 at 90mph is not the time for play! And this is the Scarlet. He was ment to be a breeder but he and the hen wanted nothing to do with eachother...they want to be pets. The poor thing got car sick in the guys car so I put him where I could keep an eye on him in my car and he did ok on the drive back. Once at the store he wanted me to pick him up but didn't seem to want anyone else near him! I guess we really bonded on the ride home. They were all stressed (well, not the Cockatoo) so I didn't want to handle them too much today. I'll get better picks tomorrow.B)

I love Tekken Tag...playing that game at the arcade is how I met my b/f. He was sooo go at it everyone called him "Tekken Guy". I also like Unreal Tournament, Dead or Alive, and old school Mortal Combat! Yes, I still have my Sega Genasis...

I'm so glad everyone made it out ok with Ike...he was a nasty storm. I'm not suprised that your birds all warmed back up to you with only a few finger pinches, they love you so they wouldn't hold a grudge for too long. BYW, I love the name Dammit for a Quaker...very funny!:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Elmo is out pretty much the whole time I am home, but he does go into his cage when I am not. From what my stepmom says it is VERY rare to hear him do anything while I'm at work but normally about 15 minutes till I normally get home she will start clanking around in the cage and start talking. She tells me she would never guess that their was a full sized parrot in the house the entire day. When I'm home she will spnd a little time in the cage and that is when she goes nuts over her toys. She just learned how to hang upside-down from her crazy links chain...sooo funny! So, it seems pretty normal that some greys use their cage time as their quiet time and will act like perch potatos when in it.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/09/19 18:20