BMustee

Good, because now all the girls in the bird department and the fish and reptile guy Frank are following your babies progress and want to know how he's doing after I told them all your prodicament with the regretion feeding.:kiss:

Cosmo will be fine. Elmo stole a peace of a Pecan Sandie cookie the other day and he's still kickin'. :laugh: I love the pic with his eye half closed!

Have you given him a good bath sense they have gotten raggedy looking?

I'm very sorry to hear about your baby and the issues he is facing. I'm also sorry to say there really isn't too much you can do. I just googled CT pet lemon laws and this is what I found... Connecticut - Section 22-344b of the CT Code. Dogs and cats are covered for health problems for 15 days. Reimbursements for veterinary bills can not exceed two hundred dollars. Without some kind of health guarantee there really isn't much you can do. The breeder I got Elmo from had no health guarantee on Elmo because I took him before he was weaned and there is just to many things that can kill a baby bird to be able to guarantee his health. My breeder however called me a few times a week to see how Elmo was doing and to see if I had any questions. Also, my pet store normally does not sell unweaned birds but because there is so much misinformation out there saying you need to hand feed a bird to bond with it that there are people that will only buy a bird if they can hand feed it themselves. We have those customers sign a release stating we can not guarantee it's health and we are free of any and all liability. Sorry to say but it sounds like you have and "as is" sale and a real dou*he-bag breeder. You should have given both birds a good look over before you took the birds and asked about the scab and asked the breeder for a guarantee to allow an avian vet to check him out before you bought him.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/06/10 05:13

Well, some greys do wean very early. We have two in the store that weaned late last week and they are only about 11 weeks. We still offer it to them at night to be sure they are really weaned but they only take a small amount. Being down to 1 feeding at 12 weeks is pretty normal, but he may have been rushed if there were other chicks weaning faster than him in the clutch. I talked to my boss Steph at work about your issue and seeing as though he only begs for food from you, and no one else, tells us that it's not that he is hungry but he just wants to be babied by you and knows he will get it. What you should do is when he is begging for food in the afternoon check his crop. If you feel a little bit of food in there then he doesn't need to be fed. To let you know, there will only be a small amount in the crop when a bird eats on it's own so don't think because there is only a thimble full of food in there that he is starving. Something else you could try is take baby food (the stuff in the tiny jars) and mix in a little fruit or veggies and hold him on your lap while he eats it out of a bowl. The point is to get him to feed himself. If he won't eat on his own then just hand feed him a small amount and then put the "big bird" food in front of him. Elmo started eating on his own when I offered him apple sause while I had him out on my desk around feeding time. When your with them while they eat they still feel close to you and your still bonding. Try these tips and see if it does the trick to start the re-weaning process. As for the emotional aspect of hand feeding it's not good to have them being on multiple hand feedings for to long. There is a "weaning window" and if it gets shut before the bird is weaned then it becomes MUCH more difficult to wean them. Hand feeding a bird here and there is a good thing so if there is ever a time when they need oral meds it will be SOOO much easier to give them.

I skimmed the reply to Dave before but I just went back and read it and it seems you have a regressed baby on your hands. Now we are in a whole new ball game. When baby birds get stressed they will start to regress. We have a Goffin at my work that regressed...he came to us weaned andnow wants 3 feedings a day along with the younger goffin. How long have you had him?

Ooops...in my first post I put morning feeding...I ment afternoon feeding. The morning feeding it normally the second feeding to drop, and then the night feeding last.

Well, at 16 weeks he should be close to weaning but he isn't in the "worried" zone yet. If I was you I would give him the week and see in if looses interest, then try dropping the afternoon feeding. If he still won't drop any feedings by 20 weeks I would do a blood test to check for infections and things like that...that is the leading cause for baby birds to refuse to wean.

I would say give him another week and see if he starts to loose interest. If next week he still begs put off the feeding by an hour or so. See if he stops begging after a short time and goes off to play, eat, sleep...something other than begging. If he does stop begging after a short time then concider the feeding dropped. If he is still begging then go ahead and feed him. Did the vet do bloodwork?

hmmm, sounds like he has a bunch of food...does he pick at it at all? The afternoon feeding is the one that is dropped first in most birds...is he still gung-ho and fills up at that feeding or does he just want a little and then start wandering?

You didn't mention how old your grey is...they normally start dropping feedings around 9 weeks give or take. What you need to do is first - drop the afternoon feeding. Your not starving your baby for "force weaning" by doing this. A little before you would normally feed your baby, put some good stuff in with him like apple sause, cut grapes, blueberries, weaning pellots...stuff like that. He should start investigating these foods and start picking at them. Also, have you been putting food with him already? The big issue with weaning is when a baby is not given the chance to get hungry he won't. Most people think letting them get hungry is force weaning and think they are hurting them. Force weaning is when someone weans on a deadline, and for example a grey's weaning age is 12 weeks. A force weaner will have that baby "weaned" at 12 weeks if the baby wants to or not. My Elmo weaned at 16 weeks and it was by his choice. I helped him along when I dropped the afternoon feeding but he decided to drop the rest.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/06/09 06:26

I don't see anything wrong with the wings. The babies at my store and my grey at home will hold their wings like that from time to time...more with the young birds. As for the wing clip...it looks like a longer clip, sometimes called a baby clip. I do prefer to let birds learn to fly before they are clipped but a pet store is no place for a baby bird to be flying free. At my store, there are bins with puppies and a bird would be torn to bits within seconds of landing in one. We also have a breeder pair of Hyacinth macaws in a large cage in the bird department. If a baby bird was to land on their cage it would loose it's legs in a heartbeat because the Hyacinths are wild caught and VERY nasty...esp the female. There are just too many dangers in a store to let them fly. My best advise is to let a few of the flights grow in and allow the grey to learn how to fly and land with grace before it is clipped again.

That is so cool. I can't remember the last time I saw a humming bird...they are one of my favs of the "backyard" birds.

It could be the top layer flaking off. It will look a little discolored, but as soon as it comes off the color is back to normal...it's normal if that is what it is.

I just read your profile and there was a few things that I was a bit alarmed by. You said that you got a bigger bird because it could defend itself better...NOT TRUE!!! Greys are just as vulnerable to hawks and any other preditor as a conure. All parrots are prey animals and all can and will be an easy meal for a raptor...or dog...with the exception of maybe a Hyacinth or Buffons Macaws due to them being bigger than a lot of raptors. Also you said Toby has flown away twice. I know people are ether pro or con on this but you really should clip his wings if escape is that easy for him, because next time he might not come back. I am a BIG fan of large dogs and plan on getting a German Shep. once me and my b/f get a house and I plan on becoming a K-9 officer in the future. Believe me that when I get a puppy it will be no where near Elmo until I know he can be somewhat trusted and with me between them. I really hope you heed the warning because I can already see a sad story being posted here.

Hi Kerry, and welcome. I have seen too many people get a parrot and THEN ask questions, but you are doing the most important thing by asking first. Most people on this forum are grey people, so there really isn't too much of the negatives listed here but it's like that with every type of parrot person. I know quite a few Ecie people that just LOVE them to bits, but I have only met one I like...an old male that plucks all his feathers except the one's on his head. Be sure to look into all the different birds, and ask us in the Other Bird room about the different kinds...a lot of use have parrots other than greys too. Again, welcome, and I look forward to answering your questions here.

It's no problemB) B)

The cage looks fine, a few small chips are nothing to worry about. It's when there is a bunch of rust everywhere you look is when there is something to worry about. Unless your home was build before 1978 there should be zero lead in the paint. If your home is newer than that there is nothing to be worried about with some paint being chipped. Heck, the Blue Throated Macaws at my work have peeled the paint off the wall by the back room door more times then anyone can count and they are just fine. But OMG get those toys out of there!!!!!!! Hahahah, just kidding. Those are fine, I have some similar to them for my grey Elmo. Are you a new owner? It seems everyone is a on edge when they first get their babies home, but you soon find yourself less worried about them because bird safty and hazard awareness become second nature.

The saliva from a dog or cat will kill your bird once in the blood stream...in about 24-48 hours...unless MASSIVE amounts of antibiotics are pumped into their system. Most of the time though a bird is not killed by the saliva because the internal damage does them in well before the bacteria takes hold. Given the fact that your rottie pup thinks a nip from the grey is an invite to play instead of a warning, and swats at him, I would say that the grey and the pup should only have LIMITED contact because a rough puppy could very much be the death of your grey. My grey has pretty much total freedom in my room, but only when I am home. When I leave for work he is locked into his cage. All birds should be put into their cages if there are other animals in the house and you are not able to supervise them. Not to sound mean or anything but if you keep letting your grey roam free with the new puppy, my money would be on the worst case scenario.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/06/07 10:22

Here is the meanings of Elmo. of Latin and Greek origin, and its meaning is "amiable; God's helmet". Variant of Anselm and a short form of Erasmus, the name of a fourth-century bishop-martyr who is patron saint of sailors. The electrical phenomenon sometimes seen in the rigging of ships at sea is called Saint Elmo's fire. Also the name of a furry red toddler-monster on the TV series "Sesame Street". <br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/06/07 04:07

As Mary has said, think about any changes anyone in the house has made to the way they look...hair, nails, anything. Think back to even a few weeks before the behavior. Has anything in the house changed? New couch, table, rug...

hmmm, I guess "Feast your eyes of THIS!"

My b/f does not like my birds and right now we don't live together but when we do move back in with eachother it will be something we might butt heads about. He does like Elmo but he HATES the mess. He's a clean freak but it sounds like your man might be worse than mine with the catalog house. All I can say is think long and hard about it because it could very much come down to "him or the bird". I for one have told Paul that it's me and the bird and I would not get rid of Elmo even if it ment the end of us. Elmo loves him and HAS so give him a kiss every time he comes over so Elmo has won him over for the most part, but Paul liked Greys before I got him and said that would be the only parrot he would put up with...another reason I got a grey...and not living in the same house at the time has given him a chance to warm up to him.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/06/04 18:55

Well, how old i the grey? If it is more than a few days old a closed band would not be able to be put on without risk. An open band does not prove the bird was born in captivity and in my eyes is pointless. My CAG is not banded and if she was I would have had it cut off.

I only notice how dusty Elmo is when I where black and I snuggle with him. I get "dust prints" all over me! Hahaha! As for in the home, with cats, dogs and finches it isn't all that bad. I got one of those Dyson vaccums that don't let out the dust cloud when you start it up and that has really cut down on the dust in the air.