BMustee

YYYEEESSSS!!!!!!! Phelps just won his 4 gold this year at Beijing and has become the most winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th career gold medal!!!!! GO PHELPS!!!!!!!

Hahahaha...ohhhh I know! I saw that they said something to the US at the medal ceremony, I would have loved to have heard what was said.

To add to the learning thing, I think that also because they are so smart they need to play just for the mental stimulation. All smart animals love to play like chimps and dolphins, but the things they like to do don't really aid in survival in the wild...it's just fun.

Some birds do buff there own beaks. I mainly only see older birds do this though...thats just what I have notived though. Whyman and Smokey are two African Greys I know that both do it and they are both over 20. A Blue and Gold Macaw at my work does it too and he is 8 years old. They all have very nice beaks but it doesn't mean they are healthier.

Elmo loves the twister cement perch too. He sleeps on it most of the time.

Thanks...Elmo says so too. She does think she is Lady Godiva or something.:laugh: B)

Hahahah...he's been yelling at me for posting the pics...so I took more!!! Hahahahaha!

Here are a few pics of the perches in my cage. Excuse the mess...tomorrow is cage cleaning day. Here is a shot of the cement perch and how it should fit the feet...Elmo is modeling it for everyone. Elmo has had enough...he's sayin' "That enough...get outta here photog!"

He could sleep on his bowl for a number of reasons. Parrots normally want to sleep at the highest point in the cage and is the bowl is higher than the perch that would be one. I'm not sure if the perch is the right size for your grey because greys can very a lot in size. I have seen greys up to 600g and as small as mine is at 385g. What you really want in your greys cage is a number of differnt sized perches so his feet are not always in the same position. I have a wide perch that goes all the way across, a cement perch at one side at the top and two thinner branches on the other side. I'll take a picture so you can see my setup. I would be sure to put in higher perches in your cage and I bet he will happily sleep on one of those. PS - I never recommend the dowel perches that come in most cages. They are the same size and diameter all the way across. I like the natural branches and only use them in all of my cages with the exception of my hospital cage for the finches, which I use plastic perches that are faster to clean and disinfect.

Man oh man, I've never been a big sports fan except for always watching the SupperBowl (btw, seahawks were ROBBED) but I'm really into the Beijing Olympics this year. I watched a little of the last summer Olympics and by chance I saw most of Michael Phelps's races and really got into him. This year I'm glued to the TV watching all of Phelps runs for the gold. Last night was the BEST, the 4x100m relay. The French were favored to win and one of the French relay members was quoted saying "were going to SMASH the USA" and boy they eat those words. I was laughing so hard when I could hear the guys on the USA team yelling out "Who's talkin' now!!!" when they won the relay. Plus Alain Bernard, the guy that made the comments to the press was the anchor for the French team, wouldn't get out of the pool to face the USA...man, that was GOOD TV!!! So as of now, Phelps has 3 Golds under his Speedo in Beijing and has 5 more to go...LETS CHEER HIM ON FOR THE RECORD!!! And Ladies...attached are some choice pics. Mmmmm...thats all I can say.:lol: :woohoo: :kiss: <br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/08/12 07:48

By the time they are weaned they are full grown so I wouldn't count on her growing into it. 1" is way to big for a TAG...heck, it's too big for my CAG. The cage I have has a 3/4" bar spacing and it's overall size is 32"L x 23"D x 64"H. My CAG is on the small size at 385G...so not much bigger than a tag. Here is a link to the cage I have where I got it...it's a good price and something you might like to get. http://cgi.ebay.com/Parrot-Bird-Wrought-Iron-Cage-32-x23-x66-WI32AS-R_W0QQitemZ250172752249QQihZ015QQcategoryZ46289QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713.m153.l1262

hmmm...I've never heard of pattern baldness in greys...or any bird for that manner. How old is he and do you have any pictures? If I was you I would want him tested for PBFD because older infected birds are the ones that are bald, and a bald head is a red flag because they can't pluck themselves there.

Elmo is 1 year 5 months old now and I have had her sense she was 6 weeks and I've only been bit once. Elmo was on top of her cage while I was working on the finch cages (putting in new nest boxes) when my male owl finch got out as always. He started dive-bombing Elmo and she went into kill mode. I reached up to grab her and she knicked the top of my hand. It wasn't a "nasty bite" by any means, but there was a little bit of broken skin. I grabed her with a towel and put her in the bathtub. I shut the door to keep the finch out till I was able to catch the finch and as soon as he was secure back in the cage I went back in the bathroom and there was Elmo looking at with with these "what jut happened" eyes. I don't know if she even bite me though, she might have just poked the skin with the tip of her beak because their wasn't the usual bite mark but just a dot where the skin was scraped. I play "got yur face" with Elmo and she will pretend that she is attacking my hand while I grab at her beak but she is so gentle when she gets me it's unreal. She will do the same thing with my face and just drag her beak across my skin. The games normally end with a nice "gurg" for me which is nice:sick: :kiss: We must be lucky Judy...we have very sweet birds. I say we say the heck with Dan's Bite Me Club and start a "Sweet as Pie" club of our own. :woohoo: :laugh: B) TAKE THAT DAN!!! MUUUHAHAHAHAHAHHAA<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/08/08 07:30

Tycos_mom wrote: Actually lions and tigers don't breed in the wild because they are on different continents. In captivity their are a handful of Ligers...a cross between a male Lion and a female Tiger. Cross breeding only can happen if the genetics are close enough. Macaws can cross breed with other macaws because their genetics are almost the same. An Owl finch can breed with a Zebra finch, but like the horse and donkey hybrid it is sterile. The grey is not closely related to any other parrot to breed with it...I don't even believe the CAG can even cross with the TAG.

magicalem wrote: I would have to say that is NOT a good plan. African greys are not social flockers like New World parrots (macaws, amazon, conures) and don't really care for the company of other types of birds. They may not mind them in the same room but if they are near each other the grey could hurt or kill the other bird. Getting another bird for it to be "buddies" with your grey is not a reason to get one and just because the grey doesn't like it is not a reason to get rid of it. Plus, many pet stores and breeders do not take back birds. If your friend wants a bird they should be the ones to pick it out and decide it's the pet for them. Who is to say your friend won't like the bird and won't re-re-home the poor thing. I would have to say if you don't think you have the time for one bird then I don't think you have the time for two. The time you do have for your grey would have to be split between the two so their would be even less time for the both of them. I don't want to sound mean about it but if you were to walk into my pet store I would not sell you one of our birds because it sounds like your expectations are too high for the second bird and you have already said you would not keep it if it could not live up to them.

Great job on removing the feather on your own. It sounds like Zahzu took it well. Many times when you do something quick yourself the bird won't really get a chance to get as stressed as it would if it was packed up and driven to the vet, sat in the waiting room, taken into an exam room...you get the gist. I like to use needle nose pliars to pull blood feathers. I'm able to get a better grip and can get it in one shot. You can also do it by hand if needed. Just grab near the base and pull.

Parrots body temps are around 105 degrees F...human body temp is 97 F. Parrots feet feel hot because they are much warmer than we are. It is normal for a new parrot owner to think there is something wrong or the bird is sick because of the hot feet, but don't worry there is nothing wrong with your bird. Even if they are at rest they will have hot feet, not just when they are excited. You will know if your bird is too hot because he will hold is wings away from the body and will pant.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/08/08 04:50

I agree with Dan's advise 100%. The Feather Tether has a petite size that might fit your baby...it's for cockatiels and similar sized birds. I use the F.T. on my CAG and I love it.

I always say you should never get a pet for your pet. If your grey is as open as you say it is their may not be an issue with him but the new bird may not be as open. Also, your grey could be aggressive about his cage with other birds. A new addition should be for you and you alone and IF the two birds get along that should be a HUGE bonus. Elmo is a single parrot and is alone for most of the day when I'm at work. He does however have a fish tank next to his cage and two large aviaries with finches across the room for him to watch...it's like Live Bird TV for him.

Elmos longest is "ok, ummm hmmmm, yeah, all right. mmkay love you too, bye." Thats how I always get off the phone with my b/f.

Yes, like others have said gurging is a birds way of saying they REALLY love you. 4 months isn't too young for this behavior...esp because he is a TAG, thay mature faster than CAGs. Like Tracy said, birds can fly when spooked or catch a strong breeze. Now is the time to start harness training him. I have been harnessing Elmo sense he was little and it's the best thing I ever did. He will tug at it at first but then he acts like it's not even there. I like the Feather Tether, but others like the Aviator harness.

I would leave him be for the first few days and only talk to him in a soft voice. When he seems more settled then try to handle him and offer treats.

The one person bird isn't set in stone like most think. Elmo is my baby and I raised her sense she was 6 weeks, and you would think that she would only like me. She isn't lovie-dovie with most people but she will step up on command to 99% of people. She does however LOVE my b/f almost as much as me. She yells at him and then gives him kisses. It's all in how much other people handle them. Elmo used to come to work with me every day at my old job and has come into the pet store where I work on "field trips" and enjoys going into 7-11 to pick out her own fruit cup...and the staff there always gets a kick out of it too.:laugh:

My grey is like a church mouse 90% of the time. She can raise the volume but even then it's not really loud. She isn't ever really exposed to loud noises so she never had a chance to learn them. If a grey learns a macaw scream though it will be just as loud.