BMustee

I LOVE carving pumpkins and this year I did three. Here is my Biohazard pumpkin... My Mustang Logo pumpkin... And the Jack the Pumpkin King from Nightmare before Christmas Here is the three all together. All of them I did freehand...no stencils. Here are a couple pics of my makeup...not much but I think I looked pretty.

Be sure that when you get your baby that you put towels at the bottom of the cage so that when he falls it's a soft landing. Keep the towels in till he's not as clumbsy

yep, like Dave said you can't do powder coating yourself. The process of powder coating is done by first cleaning the part to a dry, bare metal surface, a special electrostatic spray gun with 30,000 to 90,000 volts, is used to apply a thin layer of "plastic" powder onto the surface of the part to be coated. The powder is held onto the part by static electricity. Kind of like dust on a TV. Once coated, the part is oven baked at approximately 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The curing oven melts the dry powder to a "gel state" and then further curing causes this gel to harden into a very tough "plastic" coating. This flowing and fusing of the coating in the final curing oven creates a continuous coating which is very hard and has no porosity. From what all I have read it's anywhere from $10-$20 a sp.ft for "grates".

My grey does enjoy grinding the cage bars from time to time...I think because he likes the noise. I for one do not trust any paints...non-toxic or not...and would not put my grey in a cage that was painted. Paints are not tested for toxicity when ingested, just the toxins released into the air. I think it was in bird talk the other month where they talked about this very issue of painting cages and the manufacturer of a "safe paint" did not recommend putting a bird in a cage that was painted because the chance of ingestion. If you want to refinish a cage I would recommend getting the cage powdercoated.

Parrots make noise...don't know what else to tell you. Just about all parrot behavior problems are not thought up by the parrot but are taught by the owner. I'm guessing he was spoiled and given everything he wanted in the beginning but the novelty and "newness" has worn off and the attention has become less and less. Not to say the attention is at a neglected state, but not near what he got in the beginning. The clingy behavior spells that out. It also sounds like he doesn't know how to amuse himself and needs you for all his amusement. You need to teach him how to play with toys and that it is ok to be alone for a few hours.

When it comes to wing clipping, it is best to let them fledge first (learn to fly) and then clip. I think that when it comes to parrots after fledging it's really what works best for you. If you are able to parrot proof your entire house and take extra security to make sure there is no chance for escape then it's great to have a fully flighted bird. If you have a house where the doors are always being opened, and hazards that can not be changed then clipping is the right choice for you. Also, some parrots get testy and almost mean when fully flighted so clipping can get them to calm down and enjoy human company more. Males and females are both just as smart in the parrot world and both speak just as good. I have read that darker cages are better to look through. I have a dark grey cage for Elmo and my large flights for my finches are dark. My hospital cage for the finches is white though and I have noticed that the birds look better in the darker color cages. But if white works in your decor then go for the white.B)

Hahaha, very cute! Did you teach her how to dance or did she just learn on her own? Elmo does pretty much everything but she doesn't dance and I would love her to learn.

I bet you can't WAIT! And good for you for doing research before you made the decition to bring a parrot into your life. Im sure you have seen that everyone here is more than happy to answer any question you have, and I always say that I would rather answer a million "stupid" quetions than hear one sad story, so don't think that anything isn't worth asking. As for the pics we ALL want to see them, so the best way to do it is make an account with www.photobucket.com (its free) and put your pictures on that site and then post the {IMG} code for the pic to show in the forum posts.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/10/15 04:16

Hahahha! I didn't see those before! Thanks for sharing!

I do wing/nail/beak trimming at my store and trust me, most of the birds that come in know what they are there for and fight us tooth and nail. We have never had to tell someone to take their bird to the vet and get put under for trimming, so I don't know why there are so many vets that do it. I know it's a risk I would never take for Elmo, and my vet would never think of asking me too ether.

Almost half of the baby greys at my work have pink tounges...even some of the Timnehs. It'll ether stay or go, but I think it's cute and there is nothing to worry about.

Diddo with Dan. Tar black poop does indicate bleeding, but the black grapes could also bethe cause. Don't give any black grapes for a few days and watch his poo.

I agree with Tracy. Maybe put them on a tree stand together and stay within arms reach and if any of the behaviors that Tracy pointed out start separate them. It good to hear that the new grey is warming up to you. I have found that most of the "mean" birds are anything but. Most of the time the mean birds had been abused and acted out like any anomal would and got labeled at unhandlable. Once they know someone is going to be nice to them they are sweet as pie.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/10/15 00:03

Don't worry everyone...I have not forgoten to get pics of the other critters. I just got new batteries for my camera so I'll get some pics when I work tomorrow.B)

I would say 80% of greys under 16 weeks don't even mimic sounds...they just make baby noises. Most greys start to talk around a year old...but some not till they are 2 or 3. I hope you didn't get your grey JUST for the talking because many greys do not talk.

Are you giving her baths?

I will Judy. You can see in the background in the Walleroo pic the macaws Harley and Oscar. :laugh:

{Feel-good-0002006E}

MAN what a BLAST!!! The lion wasn't able to come and the lady that has the connections was going to try to get a Tiger but that fell through too. Here is one of the Wallaroos...when he stood up he was about 5"3ft tall! Here is the CHIMP! Ohhhh he was so cute!!! He untied my shoes a few times and wanted to play with the puppies. It as so funny, he wouldn't leave me alone at one point and kepts jumping up on me and then trying to pull me down.:laugh: Unfortunatly my camera died on me:pinch: so I wasn't able to get more pictures, but at least I got pics of the animals that don't come up to the store...I'll get some shots of the others tomorrow for you all.

Good to hear that your home now and I'm sure it was the best medicine for you to have Loki so happy to see you home.

It's strange too...it doesn't sound like there was a reason for him to bite you ether. Anything wierd happen today with him?

oh man...that HAD to hurt! That is a wierd bite...if I hadn't known the history of Tyco I would have thought he was a cage bound aggressive grey but he is normally so sweet with you. That bite reminds me of Oscar the Buffons macaw at my work. I think he has a book of human anatomy hidden in his cage somewhere because when he bites you in the arm he always hits a nerve and makes your hand/arm go numb for a good 30 minutes. Maybe Tyco and Oscar have talked?:laugh:

ROFLMAO!!! Keeping and empty food bowl in the cage for the bird to poop in...HAHAHAHA...Now I have heard EVERYTHING!!! We have a few birds at the store that no matter WHERE we put their bowls they ALWAY poo in them, so it makes sense to put a preverbial toilet in the cage in the form of a bowl.:laugh: It's taken some time. Elmo is getting close to 2 years old and I have had her sense she was 6 weeks so it's taken some time...but I still an in utter shock I have an animal that goes to the toilet to go.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I loved your story. So many people are like that with parrots and it just makes me sick! The ending to your story couldn't have been better, thanks for posting it!

Tomorrow Im going to be in an Exotic Animal show that the store puts on every year for a condo association. I'm so excited because of some of the animals that are going to be there. One of the ladies that work at the store is going to bring her Kangaroos and Wallabies, the owner I'm sure is going to bring her Gibbons Apes and Capuchin monkey. Our giant Green Iguana and full size African Spur Thigh Tortoise will be coming too. The owner is also having friends of hers bring a Chimp and a Lion Cub!!! Man, I can't wait to meet the Lion cub...I love big cats! I'm going to be showing our Harlequin Macaw and Umbrella Cockatoos, and the manager of the bird department, Sheph, will be showing the Buffons Macaw. I'm going to be a picture takin' fool...so be on the lookout tomorrow for for great pictures!!!