BMustee

It sounds like your birds love it out there. I don't have an Aviary right now...but when I buy a home of my own I will probably build one. My grey goes outside with me almost every day and he loves to play on the bed cover of my dads truck. I'd love to see some pictures of you aviary.

Awwww, him falling asleep on the swing is so cute. As Laurie said, approaching from the front/top can spur biting, so just go with what works for Cosmo. Over time he may trust you enough to come at him from the front but that will take time and from what I saw in the video he really has taken to you. For the flying it's also just training. If his wings are clipped right he should be able to glide to the floor, so if this is the case he really shouldn't be at too much of a risk. Now, if he drops like a rock because of a to short clipping you could have problems. I have heard of a ton of birds breaking the keel bone due to not being able to glide. If he is a literal sack of rocks in flight keep him over pillows, exercise mats, folded towels, stuff like that to protect the keel. When you put him down on something you want him to perch on tell him "stay" and if he flies off pick him right back up and tell him "no" and put him right back where he was and tell him again to stay. Some birds pick this up quick and others can take awhile. The key is consistency, so just stick to it and he will learn to stay put when you tell him.

Jimmycoop - My grey will give kisses when I say, "Give me kissy" or give him raspberries on the tummy. As for starting kisses, it's really as soon as you feel comfortable. If there is any uneasiness that you may think he will bite I wouldn't go for it because as we all know, if you think they will bite they will. Also, give dry kisses, not wet ones...and never let them put their beak on your teeth. We as people carry nasty bacteria and fungi in our mouths like Staph and Strep as well as others that could cause nasty infections in birds.

{Feel-good-0002006E} LOL...oh man that is funny...goes to show even parrots don't like a crying baby.

I voted clipped...I'm thinking of letting him become fully flighted now that he is very well trained and could be trusted...the sun conure I had was full flight and would not dare leave my side.

Also, the Aloe juice should not be diluted with water...use it strait. Like LMG said, you need to sit and think hard about what changed when Angie started to chew her feathers. Even something as small as moving a coffee table can set off plucking. It becomes therapeutic for them and that is why it escalates the way it does...they begin to enjoy it.

I give the no in a stern low tone with a dirty look on my face...parrots are able to read facial expressions, so it helps when you give the evil eye along with the "no". If it was just a play/test bite I would leave it at just the "no" and stink eye, but if it's a serious bite I would put him back in the cage while giving the no and eye, and turn you back. {Emotions-00020076} He is a very good lookin' bird, he doesn't seem to wigged out in the pictures so I don't think it will be long before you to are best buds...keep the pics and updates coming. B)

I got my grey at 6 weeks, but I am experienced with hand feeding, and only live 5 miles from the breeder that I got him from. The breeder said if it wasn't for how short a drive it was to his house to mine he would not have sold him to me even with my ability to hand feed. He was on 3 hand feedings a day, but yours could still be at 4. You need to think about that...one feeding a 6-7am, another at 3-4pm, and another at 10-11pm...and that’s if it's on 3 feedings. You can't stray from that time frame...not even for a day. My work schedule changed a few weeks after I got him, so I had to bring him to work with me every day...are you able to do this? If you are not experienced with hand feeding you can kill him in a matter of seconds. All it takes is a small amount of food go down the esophagus...and there is NOTHING you can do once that happens. That is actually the best case scenario with hand feeding deaths...sometimes the baby will take a day of suffering before it dies...it could be from a hole being burned in the crop, crop infection, starvation due to a lazy owner...the list goes on. They also at this age should not be in a cage...they need to be in a brooder tub, and after that should be in a transitional cage. The last thing you should be thinking about with a 7-week-old grey is it's sleeping hobbits. Unless you are at a professional level of hand feeding, and are able to feed the baby on time every day please do not get him...wait till he is weaned.

I agree with Mark and Jane on this one. Clipping more feathers is not the answer. If you were to clip more it could/will stress her more and will damage any bit of trust you have earned. Because your baby seems to be such a strong flyer, more feathers cut wouldn't fix the flying across the room. You said that she can go from one end of the room to the other, so she is able to glide. Your grey is properly clipped and more than likely if you take off two more she will still be able to go from one end of the room to the other...mine has about 6 or 7 clipped and he can go from one end of the room to the other with no problem. If you were to clip shorter it will take away the gliding abilities, but it would be a VERY BAD idea. I have seen birds with their wings cut really short and when they try to fly away they drop...strait down. I see it the most with birds that have the same issues as you are having...people think the less flight they have will make them stop trying to fly away but really it doesn't....it just puts the birds at risk for severe injuries. What your bird needs is patience and training, not clipping. As for the breeder making her a "wild" bird, I would have to disagree. Now, I don't know her and probably never will meet her but I have raised my grey from 6 weeks...he only had the feathers on his head and the beginning of wind and tail feathers...and ever sense he was old enough to run around and play I gave him free range (within safety rules) and he is not a wild bird. He goes where he wants when he wants as long as I can see him but when I tell him no, or call him he listens to me and ether stops what he is doing, or comes running. He also knows that if I put him on a stand, chair back, shower rod, ect...he know to stay put and not go running around. This is not due to me cutting his wings and forced interactions with me...it's good training, and I'm guessing that your breeder started this with your baby but all that went out the window when she was shipped to you. The trip on the plane could have been VERY traumatic...no one knows what really happened to her when in shipping...so if she needs time to trust people again then she needs to be given it. It could take one more week or 5 months, it's all up to the bird, just let her know she is in a safe place and she will come around on her time, not yours.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2007/11/20 14:36

I'm a strong believer in not teaching bad words to birds, but I have the most hilarious metal image of you scrubbing your amazons but and it screaming profanities at you...how funny. {Feel-good-0002006E} I'm also so glad to hear that you were able to get the goop off...I was thinking maybe Goo-gone, but peanut butter I'm sure is better to use because it is ingestible. I'll be sure to remember this because at my pet store job we use sticky traps for mice and I can just see one of the birds getting out and getting one stuck on it.

:laugh: LOL...good mental image of a grey with cracker crumbs coming out with a pathetic attempt to whistle...LOL:laugh: I really don’t think there is anything other than ignoring the noise and hope for the best. Maybe tell him a stern NO when he does it. Unless he was already on your hand, putting him in the cage may not work very well…by the time you pick him up and put him in the cage he could already have forgotten he made the noise and wouldn’t know why he is getting a time out.

Does he want to fly onto everything, or just that one light fixture? I clipped mine a good 2 months after he fledged because I was bringing him to work with me at the time...for feeding...and he wanted to fly around the warehouse when I had him out. I also clipped because it does help in the initial training. They are more dependent on you and are more willing to comply with orders. I did the clipping myself and left his wings long enough that he can still fly from one end of the room to the other, just won't get any height. I'm thinking that I might keep him flighted after he has his first molt.

{Feel-good-0002006E} OMG, that it too funny! I'm going to have to print that out and put it on the frig. ROTFLMAO!!!! I'd like to read the one about wrapping presents, because I had one heck of a time with the sun conure...I almost did wrap him in a box!

{Feel-good-0002006E} Right on with the swearing Trish...I now have a very clean mouth around the grey...having a grey is like being in a Orbit gum commercial. Dirty mouth...clean it up with an African Grey. :laugh: :laugh:<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2007/11/15 13:12

From what I have been told whistling will not hamper the talking abilities of a grey. I think that putting Bozo in another home may do more harm than good, and as soon as he returns they will continue to contact call each other. At 14 months he is still in the bracket of not talking yet. One of the girls at my work has a 2 year-old that just said it's first words. If he isn't ready to talk there is nothing you can do to force it.

I thought about the chemicals too. If you look at the ingredients lists on cosmetics there is not one natural thing it them. Hell, over half the stuff you can't even pronouns:laugh: …and if you can’t say it, it ain’t bird safe and should never be used on them.

I don't see why not. My breeder did not put bands on his babies because of the risk of it getting caught in cage bars or on toys and injuring the bird. If I had a parrot with a leg band I would have it removed. One of my finches has a metal band on it's leg but I would think there would be more risk to the leg removing it than leaving it on seeing as though it's leg is the width of a tooth pick, so I'm letting that one be.

I won't risk it. I plan on cooking the Turkey with foil...and not the new fangled kinds that are non-stick, just old school foil.

My CAG seems to love the color red...he always goes for the red parts of the toys first, he doesn't like blue too much though. He is afraid of bald heads and rabbit ears.:woohoo: :laugh: :laugh:

Maybe the sounds of Hemingway and Serpico will entice him back...oh I hope you get your 'tiel back!

Parrot's in the home is still relatively new and because it is not as common as lets say dog ownership there is not nearly as much studies and scientific fact out there for the new and skeptical parrot owner. Almost everything I have read on "behavior" of birds is somewhat vague and the info out there that put numbers on things are not national studies...it's probably numbers based on less than 100 birds. When you do a google search most of the websites that come up have articles written by people that are/were breeders or long time owners and only go by their experiences and the experiences of people they have talked to. It's not like when you google a breed of dog and get numerous Nationally Accredited websites with top-notch references. I think that with what information that is out there on greys you do get a good base for what to expect of your bird, but I wouldn't say that stuff is set in stone. I have had my CAG sense he was 6 weeks old and have socialized him with many, many people. He will step on a strangers hand without hesitation, but for some reason hates my father who he sees every day and never had negative interactions with. Every grey is going to be different and nothing you read will prepare you for the amazing creature they are...quirks and all. Now, as for the trend going on recently that everyone wants to know scientific proof on everything, no one here is a Harvard professor, so if you want hard facts with numbers to back the info don't ask anyone here...it's getting really obnoxious giving advise and having someone expect research to back it.

I don't think that human moisturizer would be safe for use on a parrot’s beak. Almost all the hand creams and such have a lot of perfumes in them that can really hurt the birds respiratory system. I would only use Aloe Gel as a moisturizer on any bird.

I think she looks like a Sasha...I like Penny and Dot though too.

Ewoks are those little bear looking things form Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

As for the fixing and smoking...Everyone has the right to do what they wish to their bodies...good or bad. I take the depo shot for b/c and will soon get the implant that lasts 3 years. I'm only 22, no (human) kids, and not married, so fixing is not something I will consider any time soon...plus I think I'll make the hubby get the snip when I'm done with kids! LOL! I don't think a woman should EVER need a man's permission to do anything...especially when it comes down to what I want to do with my ovaries. I would tell my husband just because I would want the same courtesy if the tables were turned, but if my mind was made up anything he said would just be wasted breath.