BMustee

I have read that it can be a sign of contentment...like beak grinding.

It sounds like he may have damaged his beak. Infections can set in very fast and isn't something you should "wait and see" on. You should take him in to see an Avian vet to have him look over the beak and possibly do some blood work to check for high white blood cell counts. That is what I would do.

The link doesn't want to work for me but I'll go by what Dan said. If there is no lead and everything is listed as safe then I wouldn't worry too much. Finches really don't chew on their cages so the chance for ingesting anything is minimal. One thing though...is it paint of powder coated? Paint doesn't seem to last as long as the powder does.

If some say yes and some say no when it comes to anything toxic to birds you should always go with toxic. Like some lists say that Garlic is safe, yet one of the members here lost his grey after it ate it. The best list that I have seen and use for my guidlines says that philodendrons are not safe. http://www.plannedparrothood.com/plants.html If you really like the plant, put it somewhere you know 100% your parrot won't get into it.

I don't have too much experiance with p'lets but from what i have seen when they have a birdie buddy they won't tame.

Elmo won't poop in his cage unless it is an emergencey. I work a full time job and a part time job and on the days I work both I come home for about 30 minutes to play with him because otherwise I would be gone from 6am to 9pm...but the first thing we do is go to the toilet when I get home. I have had a few days that I could not return home...the last time was when i had inventory and was gone from 6am to midnight. He let it out when he knew I wasn't coming home for his potty break. The rule on toys I go by is as many as you can get in without over filling. There should still be space for all out wing flapping. I have 5 toys in Elmos cage and he is able to flap without coming close to hitting any of them...although most of his toys are hanging on the top and it's a pretty bid cage.

That's how most of Elmo's speech sounds. Real mumbly and raspy. If thats what your guy has been doing he is going to talk soon for sure. There is a grey at my work...I've been calling him "Clydes", short for Clydesdale cause he is so big...that has started with the incoharent chatter that sounds like his own personal conversations. He's going to be a HUGE talker.

I took him up this evening and had it done. He was a little upset with me but after I took him up to 7-11 and gave him a new ducky toy he got over it. He's chating away right now on his tree stand. ZooLab should fax over the results in about a week. I wish it was next day!

:laugh: :pinch: It's so funny how Elmo thinks sense he enjoys "eating" his feet so much that I would want to do it too. The look he gives me is like "Man, you gotta get in on this!" Then it's parrot foot taist-testing time! Funny story about the CEO of my appliance job. He brings his CAG Smokey into work with him pretty much every day and he sits nice and quiet in his office. Well, the way his office is set up there are 3 girls in the room that you have to walk through to get to his door and they can all see into his office if his door is open. Well one day everyone was working and you could hear a pin drop...then Smokey let out a big nasty fart noise. My boss jumps up and starts yelling "I DIDN'T TEACH HIM THAT!" Meanwhile all the girls are laughing their butts off!

My Elmo does that all the time. It's part of his preening rutine. He will bite his nails when he is nervous or stressed too though. When he's had a long day he will do it a little more than normal, or if there has been new people around he will do it more also. It's kinda like a nervous tick. I have read that parrots will pick at their feet as a stress reliever. It's funny, sometimes he wants me to chew on his feet...I'll be sitting there and then all of a sudden I got a foot boping me in the mouth.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/02/20 18:55

The outer layer of the beak will flake off as the beak grows...befor Elmo's started to flake it did look like it was thin. A pic would be nice but it sounds like it's normal to me. When beaks are trimed it's really just the edges that are done...to even them out...and the tip filed down a little so it isn't as sharp. I've never heard of an all out buff job on a beak before.

He IS getting DNA'd...I thought it would be fun to have a poll on opintion as to what he/she is and then when I get the results back from the lab I will post them.

My vet did not. He just did the full blood workup/count. I'm guessing though that because Elmo is under a year there probably wasn't anything to be worried about.

{Feel-good-0002006E} Thats funny!

Ether way I will still say "who's a good boy" to him, but if the rumers are true and females don't switch people as often then I really wouldn't mind if he was really a she. And yes, thats a Harley sticker. My dad has 3 of them and one Honda from the 70's...that one was his first bike from when he was my age.

Connie gave me the idea to have a poll on what sex Elmo is on the thread that head shape and feather colors were discussed as sexing Techniques. I'm taking him into my work today to get DNA sexed and I figured I would have a little fun while I was at it. As a refreasher, I got to see Elmo's parents and he looks like his father. His mother is a big, huge, dark Camaroon grey...his father is tiny in comparison and is very light in color. Below are some pictures of Elmo that show his head and colors the best. Take a look at them and then cast your ballots! CLICK HERE TO VOTE!!!---> http://poll.pollcode.com/AAoD Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/02/20 17:05 Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/02/20 17:40 Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/03/01 04:50<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/03/01 05:05

Amen Sister!!! Let the person that lives a life without any risk be the first to throw stones.

Yeah, if it's still jacked it's broken. It'll snap the rest of the way off in time. Baby birds always seem to break their tail feathers so I wouldn't sweat it at all.

No slack hereB) . All of use know the risks and I know that all of use would never do something that we KNOW would hurt our birds...like, leave them in the Sun for hours on end to bake like chickens. I myself have all 11 birds in my bedroom and yes, I have used fabreaze around them...well, elmo goes in the bathroom for a little bit after I spray, but the finches are still around it. I just use as little as I can and open a window...some people I'm sure would not do that because of the possible risks.

Yeah, we did do this before... Anyways, Elmo will be 11 months on the 27. I have 2 cats, Kitty is 3 and Angel is 19...I got her when I was 4. There are a couple Macaws at my work that are older. Pattie, Sasha, Omar and Sidmar are all in their mid to late 30's.

ohhh...I've been Green for months! All these post of "4 months and talking" made me sick! :laugh: j/k.

I don't risk it and have banned the use of teflon in my house

The pics are too cute! I'll have to watch at home too...at work and I'm sure the sounds of a cockatoo would get some attention

{Feel-good-0002006E} No problem...I figured I would say something before everyone started calling me Lisa! LOL

Make sure to not over heat your pans...the fumes can go all over the house. They are oderless and colorless so you don't really know how far it has gone.