BMustee

He doesn't seem to ever get to itchy or get really dry skin because we live in Southwest Florida and it is really humid here this time of year so the air doesn't dry him out as much as it would up north so thats why I don't do it once or twice a week. I'm working up to about once every two weeks in the summer time and maybe go to once a week in the winter when the air is dryer.

The first time and every time I do it he hates it. He doesn't flip out as much as the sprayer though. He flaps his wings and tries to climb out but the edge of the tub is too high for him. I don't want to say he tuckers himself out but he starts to slow down and not fight as much by the time he is done...I think because he knows he's beat. I put my hand down in front of him and he jumps on. I do this about once a month for now but I'm going to start doing it a little more often.

My Elmo HATES baths and will fight tooth and nail to get away from the sprayer. He loves to sit on the curtain rod and watch me take a shower but God forbid any water gets on him. What works for me is to fill the bath with cool water (greys seem to like it on the cold side) to a level that would be around the chest and just drop him in. When I do this with Elmo he will try everything to get out of the water but the more he moves the more water works it's way under the feathers. He will try to bite the water but by the time he is done he seems to know the water has won.

I would look into getting an air cleaner and maybe a Dyson vacuum as well...they work GREAT for getting dust out of the carpets. As Dave said, macaws can be more susceptible to repritory issues but the Greenwing is much more susceptible to infections than other macaws. Don't feed him in-the-shell peanuts and try to only kiss him on the top of the beak or on the side of the face...no mouth kissing. You are going to love the Greenwing, they have one of the best temperments of the large macaws. I'm not huge on their looks...I like the Scarlet colors more...but they are on my very short list of other parrots I would get just because of their disposition.

A greenwing macaw is a very large bird and could very well scare your TAG. I would not count on them getting along and just because your greenwing will be young does not mean he will not be aggressive with a new bird. At my pet store we do have a number of different types of birds together but they have all been raised together. For example in one pit we have 3 B&G's and a Harliquin and in the other pit we have 2 baby B&G's (about 8 months old). One day one of the babies flew to the floor and a customer picked him up and put him in the older macaw pit. All 4 of the macaws in that pit went into kill mode and we all got hurt getting them away from the baby B&G. Keep them at a safe distance and never let them be out together without supervision. A greenwing's beak could easily kill a small TAG with minimal effort. Greenwings are normally pretty laid back but I wouldn't risk it.

Now sense the CITES group has got a ban on the importation of any endangered parrot into North America, banding is not as important as it once was. The pet store I work at only gets parrots from local breeders, some of them are banded and others are not. No band on a baby is not an indication of being from a mill, in fact I would think that mills would band their birds. Most large scale breeders use bands with their breeder ID on them, where small "mom and pop" breeders would be more likely to not band.

Oh she is a doll! I love those big baby macaw eyes.

That is so great to hear! Applesause is what worked for Elmo, but the carrots sound like your ticket to weaning!

As everyone else has said, a band could cause more harm than good. Plus, only an open band could be put on and they are pretty much worthless. A closed band proves it was born in captivity and most of the time will have the year it was born. An open band doesn't prove that. In fact, when an older bird has a open band almost everyone thinks "import." Plus they can be removed much easier than a closed band so if someone stole your bird or found it they could take it off. A closed band has to be put on within a week of hatching and once they are past that age they can no longer be put on. My grey does not have a band and if he did I would have already had it removed because of the risk of injury from it. I'm also waiting on the GPS chips and will have one put in when they hit the market.

I just found this thread and you have really gotten some good advise. Like Tycos_mom just said, the bathroom can be a great place for your grey to hang out. My grey Elmo loves to spend time on the shower curtain. I would take the curtain down first if you don't want it chewed on though.:laugh: :silly: Try mixing in some Safflower seeds and see if he likes those. They have less fat than the Sunflower seeds and most birds that lie sunflower seeds like them too.

It's normal for parrots to beak a new hand, and as long as she isn't getting too rough then don't discurage it. Seeing as though she is in a new house with new people she won't be too focused on treats, she is more into who is doing what and what is going on around her. If she talked before she will again. She probably just doesn't know you well enough to talk in front of you yet.

{Love-000200BF} That is SO good to hear!!!

Is Tyco breaking them in-between the grate of the cage? If that is what is happening then you could try putting a beach towel (or 2) folded to fit the cage to cushen the bottom and hopefully protecting the feathers. God forbit, but if Tyco breaks a blood feather try to come from behind with the towel and cover his face. Have whoever is helping you do the talking...telling him it's OK while you pull the feather. After your done drop the towel and start scolding it. I know it sounds funny but let him see you point at it and say "BAD TOWEL!!!" Smack it around a bit too for affect. That way Tyco may think the towel did it to him. One more thing you could do...if you were the one that pulled the feather and someone else held him, leave the room before the towel is taken off his eyes and come back when he is put down or take him from whoever was holding him. That way you look like the person saving him.

As long as he is still eating plenty on his own and taking formula then there shouldn't be too much to worry about. Greys loose a LOT of wait during fledging time and then will gain some back. Greys are heavy birds and it is difficult for a baby grey to keep all that weight in the air. My Elmo looked anorexic when he was fledging and when I called my breeder to ask him about the huge weight loss he said it is normal for then to look that thin. As long as you can see they are eating plenty then there is nothing to worry about. What was his weight before?

Regurgitation, from everything I have read, isn't spicific to sexual bonding. I see birds barfing for each other all day long and only a small handful actually started to pair bond. Now butt shuffling is another story, but that won't start for years to come.

I look forward to hearing about her advise to you. Have a good day at workB) ttyl! Berna

I would keep the kids away from him for awhile...a lot of birds don't like kids and it could spook him even more. Talk to Ronda477 and I bet you'll get your baby to become a loving member of the family.

It could help but then it could also go the other way and scare the poor little guy even more. Do kids have access? I love the green cheeks, I'm very sorry for the loss.

Do you have a lot of foot traffic in your office?

A lot of people like to put them on their birds when they go out on the town so they don't get that lovely trail down the back but I would think a bird would be more comfortable at home not wearing them.

I would say to have anyone that makes him cling to the cage like that stay away from him. It sounds like he is cage bound...which is basicly aggresion when they are in the cage. It sounds like he could use some space but still expose him to other people. There is a TAG at my work that had an infection and we had to give him injections and that was so trumatic that for him he did not want anyone near him and trusted no one. It has been months and he is slowly coming around.

My Elmo went through a tramatic experiance and was doing something similar. Your poor TAG came to you scared though. Was there anything sense you got him that may have scared him? Maybe there is something in the room with his cage that scares him. When he is in the cage see if there is something he seems to watch and not want to go near. What I did with Elmo was to find his comfort distance from what was spooking him. Go to that point and stop and let him see that nothing happens to him...comfort him and tell him how good he is doing. If there is a person in the room keep that distance and tell the person to move slow and to talk in a soothing voice. After some time goes by doing this and he seems a little less tense try moving a little closer. Not too much closer, you don't want him to really notice the change. Little by little he should become more comfortable with what is around him.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/06/13 03:27

How long has he been doing this?

Oh yeah! He set a trap for me by dropping a peace of ice on the floor out of my cup and when I went walking by I slipped on it. Thankfully I caught myself and didn't fall but you should have heard Elmo. He was laughing so hard if he had pants on he would have peed em'. He is such a hoot to live with...when I got him I never expected this. Even though he is going to be the death of me I wouldn't change a thing.

Kitty Van Winkle here is ALWAY ready!