BMustee

Elmo was molting really heavy for a little over a month and then is seemed to stop, but then it started up again about a week or two ago.

I thought I would share my fav pics of my tub of a cat:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: How cute is this...she wants to get some sleep. Look how fat this kitty is...she fills the kitty cab! <br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/07/27 05:20

They start the first molt around a year old. Elmo is the same age, 1 year, 4 months. :laugh:

Hahahaha...my cat will follow at a distance and when I turn around she acts like shes doing something else, and then I'll go around a corner and wait and sure enough here she comes! Kitty is a big ol' fat cat too...but she has the smallest feet EVER! She still thinks she only weights 2 pounds too and wants to walk all over you and boy does it hurt...those little feet with all that wieght behind them!

ummm, well thats a good question. I think if I was you if the dog can't walk or has major difficulty I would take her to the vet, but if it looks like it is just really sore I would wait a day or too to see if it gets better. If the skin wasn't broken then I don't see a tendon being snapped or anything like that. I'm going to bet your thinking is right and your dog has a tendor welt or bruise. Maybe try to get a look at it and see it it looks bad.

Well, Elmo is starting her second molt and this time it's more of just her back and flight feathers that are molting out. Her first molt was the head, neck and tail feathers. All you need to do is give lots of scratches (but be careful not to be too ruff with the pin feathers) and maybe an extra bath here and there. I think molting is more stressful on the owner than the bird...esp the first molt. Oh yeah, Klaus might get a little more testy too because the new feathers can be a bit irritating when they're coming in...so don't worry it's not you putting him in a mood. B)

Yep...scarlets have a plain white face and yellow on the wings. Anyone that breeds macaws would know that so I'm beting this is some kind of scam.

That's not a scarlet macaw...it's a greenwing.

Avian vets have a tool that removes bands with little effort...it takes like 2 seconds to do.

They need a high fat diet, with most of the diet being nuts like Brazil, almond, and Macadamia. They sell for about $10,000 in the US give or take a little. A friend of mine has one that he got when the bird was 5 and got a deal on it...$8,000. I care for a set of breeders at the store and they are not for a person that can't put up with a lot of noise. They actually scare the other birds soetimes because of how loud they are. If you saw one up for $500 it is a scam...no one would ever sell a Hyacinth that cheap. Also, if you can't afford the $10,000 price tag you can not afford the up-keep on them. They will need a new cage on a regular basis...and not some rinky-dink cage, but an indoor aviary sized cage. Toys are another thing, Zeus my friends with take a cow bell and under 5 minutes it will be a little crumpled ball of metal. What a grey would go through in a month or two a Hyacinth would go through in a week or less. That adds up fast.

For an African grey? Most people use aspen bedding for parrots. If you don't know a lot about breeding and rearing I would not recommend that you start by just jumping in. Get in touch with a local breeder in your area or a bird club and try to get someone to train you. It's not that hard to many types of parrots to breed, but it's a whole lot harder to produce babies that are healthy, sweet, and worth something on the pet market. If you do not have the time to hand feed baby birds 6 times a day don't breed.

Amber wrote: No, it is not possible for the grey to hybridize with any other species of parrot...they are not related close enough. A Scarlet Macaw can breed with a Blue and Gold Macaw and produce a Catalina Hybrid, or a Military to make a Shamrock, or even a Buffons to make a Verde Macaw, but no macaw can cross with lets say an Amazon parrot. Finches are the same way. An Owl finch can cross with a Zebra finch because there are enough similar genes to produce offspring, but the offspring will be sterile like that of the offspring of a horse and a donkey because there are not enough similar genes to produce a fully functional baby. Although the owl finch can breed with a zebra finch they can not breed with another popular Aussie, the Star finch...not enough shared genes. The Red Factor in greys is caused by an excess of caritoid genes...which causes the red variation. It is not caused by cross breeding, but by genetics like albinos.

I have heard that you can paint a bird cage with non toxic paint marketed for being child safe but I would never use the stuff. What could be safe around a kid could still be harmful for birds. I would ether get the grate powder coated or get a NEW cage. I do not trust advise from people that call themselves "collectors" because many of them do not give parrots forever homes and do not see them as members of their family and many times do not give them the proper care.

First, you should never get another bird just for the current bird. Many parrots do NOT welcome a new addition and there could very well be major fights between them if they are allowed to interact with each other. They should NEVER EVER be caged together because you would surely end with up a dead or badly maimed birds. Most "old world" parrots like the African Grey only flock with their own kind, so the likely hood of them getting along great with a different type of bird they were not raised with is slim. As you said he is not socialized with other people or birds so a new addition...even if it was another grey...could cause aggression with you and the new bird because of teritorial and jealousy issues. I work at a pet store with over 30 parrots and many of them are together and many people that see this think that you can just take any bird and put it with another. Our parrots that are together were ether raised together or were watched non stop till we knew for a fact that it was a good match. The odds that birds that are not babies will get along is not good. I would say no to another parrot because it could cause more harm than good.

{Feel-good-0002006E} That's good...really good! I was almost expecting the punchline to be the vet telling them their cow was a bull and that wasn't milk the town was drinking...hahahaha!

Thats good to know that he will be getting a better living condition and was happy to be back. Congrats on the Quaker, I've heard only great things about them...I'm sure your going to love her.:kiss: :laugh:

As for actually breeding... Your two greys, did you get them from the same place? If yes are you sure they are not related? I ask because inbred birds are not healthy. The babies often have "failure to thrive" and die before they wean. Also, how old are they? Greys reach sexual maturity around 7 years of age. Have your birds already been paired up because just because they are male and female does not mean they will breed. That is why birds are sold listed as "pair" and "proven"...proven meaning they have bred before and a pair just means you have a male and female. It can take switching birds several times before you have a pair that click. Lastly, have you hand fed before? It is difficult to feed 2-3 week old babies and they can be easily killed by too cold or too hot formula, formula not mixed right, or by far the worst; Aspiration. The worst way to learn how to hand feed is by trail and error because that only results in death. Be sure your up to the responsibly before you breed because no one wants to buy a parent raised parrot.

spring into summer. Breeding season is coming to a close now.

Is floyd going back to your cusin or his mom? I feel so bad if he has to go back to your aunt...those are horrid conditions for a grey and I can't stand to think of a poor animal being locking in a room and only getting what would only keep it alive to go through another miserable day. If he is going back to his mom do you know if he is one day going to take him back from her? If you like the Larger parrots, I really like the Umbrella Cockatoos. I'm betting that sense you have 50 chickens that noise isn't really an issue. I have yet to see a U2 that didn't do great with kids, and they are so snuggly and love EVERYONE! If you want a family bird that's the one I recommend...but do some research into whatever you think of getting first.

I'm so glad to hear Scar is healing and putting on weight! I'm sure he is going to grow into a strong healthy bird.

I just watched your clip of Beaker talking and that has got to be one of the most adorable things I've seen. I love the little birds when they talk...it's not expected and they have such tiny voices.

How cute!!! She is such a talker and she does seem to be miss posh ordering around Oisin like that.

It's a cool idea but I would ask the vet first. Something else to think of but if she likes Apple Sause you could mix it in with that too. I'm doing oral meds right now too with baby TAGS and it's going pretty well...one is wise to the meds and I have to do baby food chacers, that youngest doesn't care he just wants something in his tummy, and the middle child now only wants the meds and seems to be disapointed when he gets baby food.:woohoo: I would say talk to your vet about what would be best for your baby...maybe see if someone there would be able to birdie-sit and give the meds.

Oh yes, we get a lot of our grey from him and I'm sure someone has already called him. I'm also preparing myself for loosing another chick. We did the vaccination on the other 3 but it could very well have been a little too late. The one good thing in the baby greys being so young they were not kept on the showroom yet, but in the back office away from all the other birds. Sense I have been breeding finches I have lost my share of babies, but that never really hurt too bad. They can have the "failure to thrive" or just not be strong enough to make it on their own. Everyone at the store has lost a baby or two but they all agreed that it really sucks for me because I am still new to caring for a large scale of babies. Steph was telling me her first baby lost was an 8 week old U2 and it was fine one day and the next morning it was gone. It was an infection that had gone undetected and just took hold of the poor thing. She had also lost a Greenwing macaw from Polyoma year ago...it died right in her arms. At least now I don't feel like it was my fault, but it's still heartbreaking to thin I could lose another one.

I'm just very, very stressed right now...I just lost a baby CAG. Sorry if it seemed I was being harsh. Working normal hours is fine for a grey. I think it is actually good for them. They know that you leave but you do come back home and they learn how to keep themselves occupied. Now that I only work one job again I don't come home during the day but Elmo has learned my hours and from what my stepmom has told me if I'm running late Elmo will start calling for me. A lot of people with plucking greys are people that are home for most of the day and then all of a sudden have to start leaving. Never learning that when you leave you always come back can start separation anxiety. One lady on this forum had a grey that if she even went to the store for an hour it would start plucking because for the longest time she was always home. I never have anyone watch Elmo for me, and I actually don't want any of my family too. I don't want to worry if he was let out and got into something while I was gone or given something he shouldn't have...my family isn't bird people. If I go on a trip I'll have one of the girls from the store watch him for me...at least I know they know wht they are going:laugh:.