BMustee

Normally they will molt really heavy around the neck but I've never really seen a molt cause thin/bald spots on the chest. It sounds like it could be plucking and getting him new toys is one of the best first steps to get it to stop. Maybe bump up the baths too, just incase it's dry skin...and there is never too many baths for greys.B) If you could post a pic.

I'm going to have to say the same as everyone else. A 2 year old...no matter how well behaved...is going to be a 2 year old and they don't mix well with parrots. You didn't say how old the CAG was and many baby birds are very sweet and not known for biting, but they do grow out of that very fast. If you bought a just weaned baby then it's coming fast. Children move too fast for parrots and they will bite. I have a CAG that is the a doll with everyone and has never really bitten anyone, but she did almost bite my niece a few times. Be sure not to allow your child to put her face up to the bird and alway supervise and be ready to jump in if the CAG is getting edgie. I would also like to point out that reptiles and birds do not mix well. As BaxtersMom pointed out a snake that gets out will go strait for a bird cage and a parrot knows what a snake is so they WILL flip out if they see it...no matter how often they see them. I'm not sure if you know this but all herps carry salmonella which can make a human very sick, but will almost always kill birds. Be sure to never mix anything that touched the reptiles or their cages with the birds...this includes sponges, other cleaning utensils, and dacor. I would also shower and change your clothing.

I love hearing about birds that plucked and in a new home and are now looking like a parrot and not Purdue. I also got a chuckle from hearing about your tiel...HE'S OLDER THAN ME!!! Hahahaha! But then again we have a Ringneck Dove at the store that was born in 86' and is still having at it with the ladies! I can't wait to see pictures of everyone...including the finches. I have 14 so Im a nut for them.

I would tell you that most of the chain stores buy from mills but many of the mom & pop stores buy from private breeders...but I'm a pet store employee so I MUST be a lier. I too find your comment insulting and if you walk into a pet store on a high horse like you did in your post then I don't blam the staff for being rude. I know I have better things to do and people to help than someone with that attitude. A bit harsh I know, but Im getting SICK of the stereotyping that pet store workers are a tier lower than used car saleman!!!!! I come home every night with almost no voice because I'm talking non-stop all day explaining what goes into bird ownership and helping people with every issue under the sun they may have with their birds...from finches to Hyacinth, to diet to plucking...and not a WORD out of my mouth is a lie. Im sure Kitt79 feels the same way.<br><br>Post edited by: BMustee, at: 2008/10/06 08:50

I have Elmo harness trained and I've been thinking of getting the flight suit because Elmo seems to have a nervous butt and when she is freaked out it's non-stop poop down my back.:sick: :laugh: So my question is, how much poop can these things hold? An afternoons worth or just an hours worth?:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: The things we ask around here!!! Also, how secure is it? They are held together with velcro right...I would think a determind parrot could take it off. Any issue with yours?

Most "exporters" would jumble all the greys into crates all mixed up and would label the larger greys as being of Cameroon orgin. Congo Greys as a name is not just a generic name ether. There are only two official subspecies...the "Psittacus erithacus erithacus'' which is the Congo and the ''Psittacus erithacus timneh'' which is the Timneh. Notce how there are no wierd sub-subspecies of the Timneh grey? There was no market for a spin-off like there was for the Congos. I have seen enough TAGs in my day to notice some are bigger than others and some are darker than others. As for their being a difference in the coloring and size depending on the region of orgin, I'm sure there is a difference. But, unless you have a wild cought Grey you more than likely have a mix of regional ginetics. My Elmo's parrents looked very different from one another. Her mother was a HUGE dark grey, but her father was a smaller lighter grey. Elmo came out looking like her father...weighing in at 385g and has a light silver color...but if I bred her I might get a huge dark grey out of her. So basicly if you have a captive bred bird you really can't say it's a Camroon, Togo, Gabon, or any other distinct region, it's more of a pot-luck now.

I use the cat carrier for Elmo when we go to the vet but I normally use a harness. I put a towel at the bottom so she doesn't slide all over and I have seen a number of people that installed a perch in theirs for the birds. When we go for a car ride she does like to sit on my shoulder but she is on the harness, not free range.

:laugh: :laugh: love the second to last picture!

{Feel-good-0002006E} That is too cute! Elmo hasn't learned to say any food names so far, but it's something I can't wait for hm to do.

At 13 weeks the noises could be from a number of things. Most greys that I have raised wean around 14-16 weeks, so your little guy MAY need to still get one feeding a day. He may also just want your attention and looking for conversation. It's hard to tell what it is that he wants without hearing the noise because the begging noise is much different than the other noises baby greys make.

LOL...it's good to know that Elmo is not the only parrot with a fasination with crotches!:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

A baby that plays is a healthy baby so you are doing very well with him/her.

I like to use www.photobucket.com for all my pics and then upload them from that website to this website.B)

JenniO wrote: This is a VERY bad idea. If you grey (or any parrot) had a leg tether and took off flying as soon as there is no more slack in the line it can and will pull the leg out of it's socket...a very serious injury.

That is weird. If I was you I would change your password just to be safe.

All the visual sexing methods out there are just guesses. When you have seen tons and tons of greys then you do get a little bit of an eye of what greys "might" be but that is never a way of sexing...just a 60-40 guess instead of a 50-50.

I agree with Judy. A yearly exam would be the best thing because then you could catch things before they are a major issue.

I read the article and it said that most people that get bird keepers lung will get it in the first 5-10 years of exposer to the dander but MOST cases of people that get Bird Keepers Lung keep doves and pidgins.

If he's in the 6-8 week age range than he should only need 3 feedings a day. I feed greys around 8-10am (depending on when they wake up) and then again around 1-3pm (depending on when they were fed in the morning and how fast the crop empties) and then the last feeding around 8-10pm (again, on the time of the last feeding). Don't worry about asking too many questions...we are all more than happy to explain anything to you and would rather answer a million questions then hear one sad story.

I had nightmares almost every night when Elmo was a chick...so your not alone. I have raised SOOOOO many parrot babies and all of them sleep through the night. Some will want to be fed sooner than others but it's not like one day they want food at 6am and the next at 8am. I had a clutch of baby Blue Crown Conures and they would wake me up every morning at 5:30am, but then the clutch of TAGs wouldn't want food till 10am.

HHAHAHAHA...I do give the 3rd degree!!! Thats probably why I have yet to sell a grey...no one is ever good enough for my baby greys!:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I love the songs of canaries. I love it when the parrots are being quiet for a change and I can hear the canaries singing thier hearts out.

Oh I would LOVE to bring Ethel home..and Pattie and Sasha...but I had to move back in with my dad about a year ago because of this WONDERFUL economy we got going on. As soon as I get my own house I'll think about expanding my flock. Dan, I picture the same thing:laugh: . Sometimes I wonder if ethel will pull my finger back and make me say "uncle" for a nut though.:laugh: :woohoo: :laugh:

That sure is a flock you got there. I LOVE the pic of Cabo...he's got a superhero pose going on.:laugh:

Elmo likes to fish out ice cubes out of my drinks and play with them. I don't know if birds can get brain freeze or not, but cold water has never hurt any bird that I have seen (as long as it's weaned and healthy).