BMustee

I would for sure have a picture of the INSIDE of the beak...LOL That "tunnel" area is actually one of my greys favorite spots for scratches.

LOL...thats funny Dan! Is it like a soda can box or something you gave to him? Mine will flip his toy bowl and use it as a soap box...he stands on it and screams and barks at all the toys and the finches.

I don't think Sandra Bullock was in Titanic... Speed - Keanu Reeves

Oh yeah, another thing that happened that I thought was funny was not too long after he weaned I gave him a millet spray to munch on when I left for work. When I got home the spray was picked clean and his crop was huge. I felt his chest and I was shocked to find that he felt like a Hacky Sack! I freaked and called the breeder to ask him if I needed to get his crop pumped. He said to watch him to make sure it was emptying and was laughing at the mental image he was getting of a Hacky Sack with wings. It took a full day but his crop emptied on it’s own. This was my first scare with him and looking back I think it's hilarious seeing as though he loved it soooo much that he filled himself to the brim.

Yeah, try online. I bet you can find them much cheaper too...I didn't look online because I just couldn't "wait" one more day to get one. :laugh:

Those do sound better than seeds...I'll have to see if I can find them at my store.

Mine likes to play "get the toes wearing ski masks". Every time I leave my sock on when I'm in bed with him he will "attack" them. I can't remember who it was that used the fraise to describe play...I want to say LMG but I could be wrong...but he does act like they just stole his wallet. It can hurt sometimes, but normally I'm cracking up because he seems to be having such a good time and it's soooo darn cute.

LOL...maybe try a better treat LunaBaby? I use hulled sunflower seeds (roasted, no salt) because it's like the old Klondike bar commercials...my grey would do anything for one! :laugh: Plus, training is the only time he get them...I make sure the little bit of seeds he DOES get do not have them in it. Goldfish crackers also work...just break them up into smaller bit sized portions. I haven't been able to get a video yet...my new phone's video it's working right so I need to call them up to see if I can fix it. I'm going to start working on teaching how to Fetch in the next day or two so I'll let you all know how that goes as well.

Get a cement perch...make sure it is cement and not the sand covered ones though. My grey had such sharp claws when he was a baby he would have made the perfect pet for a diabetic. Every time I would pick him up my fingers would be bloody. I got the Cement perch at Petsmart...it was around $17 but I got to tell you it was the best money ever spent. Within a day or two his nails were worn down. I put the perch in front of the food dish so he has to get on it every day.

For only having her 3 days i would leave her alone for awhile. The growls and nips could be a sign of being scared. There are a number of posts on here about the first few days with your grey, you should check them out. I put two posts links below for you. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/35417-bringing-home-the-baby.html http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/37515-help.html

jessupmom - I have to say that is extremely cruel punishment and I’m absolutely appalled by it. I have never heard ANYONE with any kind of knowledge of avian behavior say that locking a parrot in a dark closet for 4 hours is a proper "punishment". I mean, if someone did that to a 3-year-old human child the state would take them away and have charges placed against them for child abuse, so why would it be ok to do it to an animal that has the same intelligence level. I personally think this is very callous behavior on your part and hope to God that no one here follows this sick "advise" of yours. This type of treatment normally leads to feather plucking, self-mutilation, and screaming. And yes, we as a forum are divided on things like timeouts and shoulder privileges, but from everything I have read from NATIONALLY accredited Parrot Behavior experts, not some back hills breeder, a time out done properly can work on some birds, and others it won’t. Some behaviorist say never let your bird on your shoulder; some have pictures with them with their birds on the shoulder. It all boils down to the personality of each individual bird.

Yeah, that is really soon to be going away for extended times. I would say the best thing for the Grey would be what LMG said...have someone stay over.

Brokedown Palace - Claire Danes

You get Dolly's bra, but you get lost inside one of the cups and end up starving to death inside of it. I wish I could quit smoking.

I love the pics...especially the Turkey Vulture shots, those are one of my favorite birds.

Mine does it when he's excited or wants to be picked up...not so much before flight though.

Alright, the wave Hi is actually what I would say it one of the easiest for a bird to learn as long as it is fully trained on the step up command. Start with the bird on a stand or play gym. Get a treat and put it in-between the thumb and first finger...I'm right handed so I do this with that hand. Get the bird to look at the treat and wave the other fingers in a "wave hi" manner while at the same time taking your left hand up to the bird like you want him to step up. As soon as the foot is lifted off the perch, no matter how high (and not stepping on you) praise and give the treat. Keep drilling and pretty soon you should not have to bring your left hand up as far to get the bird to bring up it's foot up. Little by little take the left hand out and only show the hand signal with the right. As soon as the left hand is no longer needed to get him to lift the foot start working on how high it is lifted. What has worked for me is lifting the right hand with the treat higher and not giving the treat till the foot is raised a little higher...and not giving treats for lower lifts. If this does not seem to work, then after the foot has been raised bring your left hand back up and take your finger to a toe/nail and lift it for him...the bird should get the hint. I have never needed to use that so try just raising the hand higher first. Don't get frustrated and give up, the real key to training is to make sure you get a feel for your bird’s attention span. If you go too long the bird will get bored and you won't be able to end on a positive note. If your bird can only go for 5 minutes before loosing interest then only go for 4 minutes, if you can go for 15 without loosing interest then go for that long...just as long as the bird is still into it. This may be your problem Dicky601…you should try shorter sessions.

I just had a really bad experience with Craigslist. I am trying to sell my old 85 firebird with a blown motor on there and the first day I had it listed I got a reply. I had it listed for $1200 and expected to get talked down, but this guy was like "$1200, I'll take it". I was shocked but happy. The guy said that he couldn't come to see the car due to work and would be sending me a check for the car and shipping costs that in the next few days. I figured that the guy lived somewhere close by and would be sending a tow truck to pick it up. I agreed but told the guy that the check would need to clear the bank first. So the day the check came in I was floored to see it was sent from a UPS store in Utah and the account the check was from was in California...and to top it off it was written for $4800!!! It came in on Wednesday so when the guy e-mailed me about letting him know if I got the check I told him that I would go to the bank on Friday. From that point he was e-mailing me two or three times a day asking if I had cashed the check and western unioned the money to his shipper. I was getting leery at this point but figured the guy had just sent me a good chunk of change and was nervous I was going to scam him. I told him again that the check had to clear before I would send any money to his shipper and he replied with "I'm a Pastor and would not do anything to hurt you...don't worry, the check is real." I read that was like, why did he say "real" and not "good", I shrugged that off due to the fact that it looked like he was writing his e-mails from a blackberry or something and thought maybe people on the other cost talked different or something. So the next Friday the check was supposed to clear the bank and I told the guy the day before that I would be sure to leave work in time to go to the bank to withdrawal the money and send it the same day...I checked my bank online before I left and what do you think I saw? It didn't go through. I sent him an e-mail and told him it had bounced and to let me know what was going on with it. At the same time I called the bank because I was charged a fine or $10 for the check not clearing and I wanted to find out why. The lady I talked to was like, I'm not sure why you were charged...let me look at what was going on with that check. I heard her typing at her keyboard for a moment and then she let out an "ooohhhhh". I asked her what it was and she then told me it was a counterfeit check. Before I could e-mail the guy again and tell him the check was a fake he had already sent me one saying that the money was taken from his account and he confirmed that with his accountant and he just couldn't understand why I was doing this to him and to send the money because he knew I had it. I called the bank again to reconfirm that no money was taken from any account and they said the same thing as before...there was no account to take money from. When I sent him an e-mail telling him that I didn't have his money and that the jig was up and I knew about the check being a fake I never heard from him again. I figured I would post my story to let people know don’t ever, ever trust anyone online when it comes to sending money unless it’s through Ebay or another reputable website…not craigslist.

oh wow...that's one red factor grey right there!

:laugh: hahaha...thats funny Ronda. I love my cornbread and biscuits n' gravy! I'm live in FL and we love the soul food down here, and so do the birds. I don't let him get too much, mainly because I want it all for myself, but also because I'm sure if it makes me fat it'll make the bird fat as well. :laugh: I just go with the rule of thumb that if I wouldn't eat it then the bird can't ether...minus the chocolate because I can never have too much of that!

Hmmmm, well if the bleeding stopped and the bird isn't acting like it is hurt or favoring any part of it's body then I guess as long as there is VERY close observation of weight and activity then it should be OK without going to the vet. I was wondering, did any feathers come out? If so maybe a blood feather was lost in the crash and there was a little blood from that. As far as the perches go, give fav treats anytime your putting her on them and give lots of praise for staying put.

Bobby - Anthony Hopkins

I'm sure you will. And the different personality could actually help. If Milo was to act too much like Buzti you would more than likely always be thinking about him when you were with Milo, but with him being so different then you won't associate them as much.

Dogwood huh, I'll have to see if I can grow that here in FL.

When it comes to the Avocado, I would not feed any of it to my birds. I saw you said only the seed, but the flesh around the seed and skin is toxic. I have been told to keep anything that has Avocado away from the birds, like Guacamole and things like that, because you don't know what parts are in it. I personally do not allow anything with it in the house, just to be sure that the bird never has a chance to get into it. Also, never allow your bird to get into any alcohol (beer, wine, liquor), tobacco product, or chocolate. These four items are the biggest no-no’s for our avian friends.