BMustee

LOL...that's funny. The local news here in Southwest Florida was talking about a peacock that was loose in a neighborhood a few months ago...they were talking like it was blood-thirsty or something :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readarticle.asp?articleid=15343&z=3&p=<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2007/11/28 20:24

My dad's dog will run the other way when she spots my grey. One time the dog came up on the bed with my and the grey and he saw the wagging tail and nipped it...not hard but enough to be noticed. Well, the dog yelped and went running for the hills :woohoo: That dog is such a wimp because my 18 year-old cat gets the little nip to the tail now and then and she will just casually get up and move.

I never heard of Prozac being given but I have heard of anti-anxiety meds being given to pluckers. From my understanding it works pretty good for your type of situation where you know the exact cause of the plucking and the situation has been corrected. The only drawback I have read is that it's kind of a one-time treatment. Lets say it's 2 years from now...your grey stops plucking, the feathers all grow back and everyone is happy again when all of a sudden something interrupts the routine and your grey starts to pluck again. The meds the second time around most of the time will not work as well and may not stop the plucking. So, if this treatment works be very careful to not interrupt the schedule again as drastically.

I'm telling you it cuts through poop like butter.:laugh:

A product called Poop-Off works AMAZING! I love this stuff and tell everyone to try it. I just looked at the website and found they sell wipes, and I know how there are a lot of people on this site that use baby wipes so I bet these would be even better/safer. "Poop-Off ® is the number one recommended bird dropping remover in the world. Three years to formulate and three years of testing were needed to guarantee a safe product around all avian species. The product is so safe it is used by the world famous San Diego Zoo, respected avian breeders and bird lovers. Poop-Off ® contains no-contents that have been found to be dangerous to birds such as chemicals, solvents, orange oil, detergent, citrus fragrances, alcohol or bleach. Safe to use with the bird inside the cage. Non-Toxic & Bio-Degradable. " <br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2007/11/28 17:59

Yeah, it was so cute yesterday when I got to work. The cage Pattie and Sasha are in is right in view of the doorway from the back room to the sales floor and as I walked onto the floor I heard Pattie start screaming...plus I could see her blushing the whole 20 feet away. I had to go over and give her loving'...and Sasha just kept asking me for a cracker (that means peanut to her):laugh: Sunshine the B&G would not leave me alone ether. I normally don't allow any parrot other than my grey on my shoulder, but Sunshine has proven to be a very good girl and is given a little bit of shoulder privilege. She won't come to anyone else that works there and I have only seen her go to one customer sense she came to the store. I feel so bad for her, her owner sold her to the store about 3 weeks ago along with a 30 year-old Amazon and a 5 year-old ring neck mini macaw. Her cage had poop so thick on the perches you could tell it had not been cleaned in a good 6 months. Anyways, she got up onto my shoulder and started pumping her head like there was no tomorrow...I think she has actually given me more food then my own grey. :laugh: She isn't very cuddly, but boy does she show her love in other ways!

Yeah, thats a good thing. My grey will ball up his foot but then won't tuck and then does what I can only say looks like an old man shaking his fist.

I would take him to the avian vet to get it checked out.

LOL, yeah. You should see my arms. For some reason I don't get the skin broken very often, but I have bruises all over from the Macaws.

LOL...ohhh trust me, if I had the room and the money I would have brought home Pattie, Sasha, Ethel (a abnormally large B&G), Harley (a Harlequin Macaw), and Sunshine (a normal B&G) so far... I sure do hope I get Sasha to come around...right now I have a big scab on my stomach from her biting me. I was pushing the cage and the rollers get stuck now and then so I started pushing with my body...that’s when she got me! At least she got me where she did because my "Girls" where pushed against the cage too.

She is such a sweetheart...I can't image not loving on her now that I have gotten to know her. Now to get Sasha to come around. :laugh: I kind of made it my mission to play and love on all the birds that don't get the kind of attention the baby birds get every day. I tell you what, some of the adults are really loving once you get their trust...I kinda like them more than the babies because you can really tell what kind of personality they have where the babies you just get the gist of what’s to come from them...plus they really appreciate your time with them more.

I started working at a local pet store about 2 months ago (needed to get a second job) and I can't even begin to tell you all how gratified I felt after working with one of the "not for sale" parrots we have at the store. Pattie is one of two pluckers that have lived in the store for about 15 years...she is a huge Buffon's Macaw and she lives in a cage with Sasha...a Scarlet Macaw with a real mean streak. Well, Every time I would walk past the cage Pattie and Sasha would start in with the "Hi...Bye...Cracker" and it always cracks me up. I'm not sure why but a week ago when I was walking past the cage Pattie caught my eye. She just had this look on her face like she was lonely or something. I then started working with her to let me touch her feet and slowly I worked my way up so that now I can put my hand under her wings and rub her back...that's where she plucks. The more and more I worked with her the more excited she would get when she sees me coming. So this last Sunday I decided that they needed time out of the cage and put the two of them in one of the "pens". I then gave them a much enjoyed spray bath, and as I was walking away I heard something I have never heard before. Pattie had slid down the perch onto the floor of the pen and was watching me through the glass wall and calling out "come here Pattie...I love you!" I could not believe my ears...after all I have been around these birds for all the time working there and I would go into the store at least once a month for toys and food for my birds and never heard Pattie say one thing other than "Hi, Bye, cracker". I just about had tears in my eyes because it was obvious Pattie has realized she has someone there that really loves her...and she must love me too because she gave me some of her food a few times as well. It feels so good to work with a bird like Pattie...knowing that most people won't give her a second look because of her plucking and her sheer size intimidates pretty much everyone from trying to give her just the smallest head scratch…after all, she is almost as big as the hyacinths.

I would be very careful about the chemical smell on your hands. If you can smell it the chemical is still there and if there is a residue on your hands it can be absorbed through a parrots feet. I would try the stuff everyone has recommended and make sure your hands don't smell anymore before handling.

Yeah, Lovebirds are the type of bird you need to interact with every day. I have seen so many lovebirds come into my work that are just nasty little things because they were not handled as much as they needed to be. I was wondering how old the kid is too because Sun Conures can be great for older kids that don't like teils and budgies.

I have the Lixit glass water bottle for my grey and he seems to really like it. I have heard of parrots jamming seeds and pellots into the tube causing all the water to run out.:laugh:

I think the lady where you got your grey from would be the best person for the job. I would have the same bad feelings from someone that told me that as soon as I was gone they would be able to handle my birds. I think I would have kicked them right out the door for that statement. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

MrSpock posted a picture of an orange red factor grey...take a look and see if yours looks like this one. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/35360-color-mutations.html#37619

Yeah, my grey will "beak" my fingers if I try to move him when he is sleeping and refuse to step up. I wouldn't expect anything else because I know I would bit and be a brat if someone bothered me in my sleep.

I would wait a little while before misting him again. As everyone else has said greys don't like water and they can get mad at you for giving them a bath. My grey HATES getting wet and you would think I was killing him when I put him in the tub for a spray. Wait until you have a close bond before doing something that will tick him off.

Yeah, the trick with trick training is to give treats that are very quick to eat. My CAG loves the sunflower seeds that are already shelled. I don't feed any to him in his normal diet...just as treats so he will really want to work for them.

LMG has one of the few success stories of two birds. My guess would be that she is VERY dutiful over all her birds and they probably have a great personality to match. From all my research into breeds of parrot there are only a handful that are known to keep a close bond with people and other birds...the hyacinth macaw is one of the best in that scenario. Greys are not known for this behavior and more times then not they bond with the other bird and want nothing to do with the owner. I would think long and hard before buying two...would you still love and care for these birds if they don't like you?

That is a gorgeous picture. Looks like the Macaw is in the aviary in the picture…what kind is it?

The pet store I work at part time has a breeder pair that would sell for $50,000. The babies all sell for $10,000. I have always wanted one but I'm not sure I would ever spend that much on a bird. My mechanic has one and he says it's the biggest baby of all 13 of his parrots. It will fall backwards if the TV gets loud real quick...hilarious!

I'm with Dan. If she enjoys going out on the town with you then this holiday trip should be a breeze for her. I would just watch for signs of stress and make sure there is a calm area she can retreat to...just incase.

Yep...sounds like separation anxiety. This will be a tuff one to solve because you were home due to illness. I have heard of a medication given to parrots that is supposed to act like an anti-depressant/anti-anxiety pill would in people. It's supposed to work great the first time they are put on it and many stop plucking, but if something happens like a year or two later and they begin to pluck again the meds don't work as well. Normally I do not recommend medicating birds, but because on the circumstances behind your little plucker I would say it might be worth a shot.