Maunaolu

Hi Carlsjr When we received my bird, we were advised and had read to share your daily activities with it. Monte usually hung around the counters, desks and our shoulders. When we ate, he ate, usually a piece of fruit or vegetables or dried pasta - whatever. One night I was preparing pasta. He was on my shoulder and as I peeled garlic he hopped down to see what it was. He came to my hand and clearly wnated to try the clove. I put him down and went on-line to see whether parrots eats garlic and found Carolyn Swicegood's. After reading (and not finding others) that I gave him the clove which he gobbled up. Two days later, he was dead on the bottom of the cage. I've tried to contact her since with no luck. Maybe he was too young to eat such a strong food. Needless to say, lesson (painful) learned. As for the newbie, we haven't decided. Last time I went in he was a little bitey. S/he was the third and last remaining of the hatchlings. The employee there who I hadn't seen before and seems to be the most parrot-wise of the group said this newbie is a little more withdrawn and mellower than the other two. The others were swinging from fingers/hands and much more active which could explain why this one is the last. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Newbie is talking and is very alert as he watches everything I or my partner are doing. We haven't decided yet to purchase and have the store hold him before we leave. ...I guess another visit is due!

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm not one to purchase from apet store. However, this store sources birds from a local breeder. Hand rears and feeds their birds and seem truly caring about their birds' welfare. This particular one is very sweet. Hops up readily and just hangs out. He's still a baby yet he's already starting to talk at four months which I think is really unusual. My concern is leaving him in the pet store is more exposure to different uncontrolled (v. my home) influences. And yes there is a bit of let's-bring-the-bird-home-now sentiment.

Hi all, It's been over four years since I last logged on. Things have changed here with the site. Some of you may recall I had a new CAG who died about six weeks into ownership. I followed a lady's advice on the internet and fed him garlic (I see the link is still on-line - http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww56e.htm). After necropsy, the vet confirmed the garlic killed our bird. "Why did you feed him garlic? We weren't told otherwise." Needless to say, we were and have been distraught ever since. About two weeks ago, I happened into the local pet shop and came across 4 month old. He was the remainder of three; the other two have been sold. We started thinking about going the CAG route again and I'm ready to pull the trigger. However, we are headed out for two weeks vacation that had been planned well in advance. Any thoughts on what to do? Get the bird now, care for him for three weeks then board him? We are fortunate to have a very good bird boarder near us. Or wait until return? I may be able to arrange for the shop to keep him while we're gone though I think the movement/relocation could be equally traumatic. Any thoughts? All comments welcome. Feels good to be back. Thank you!

I'd like to thank everyone who posted their condolences and sent support. This situtaion is just very unfortunate. I have not heard anyone else having similar problems with garlic. It's possible that Monte's young age could have been a factor. I also never received a response from the author of the referenced website - Carolyn Swicegood. I appreciate the kind words. I will be sure to check in and also let you know when I get a new bird. Happy Holidays!

I've been out of the loop the past month for various reasons and am sad this is the post that brings me back to this forum. Here's what happened so everyone else can be forewarned. I was preparing dinner with my CAG, Monte, sitting on my shoulder. He had already eaten some carrots and spinach and had proven to be very curious about everything I was eating. I was peeling garlic cloves and he became very interested. He crawled down my shirt, hopped onto my arm and sidestepped out to my wrist to to try to grab a clove to taste. He seemed pretty keen to taste it and I thought it best to check to see whether it's safe. The 3 books I read and various posts here and there state the big dangers are - avocados, chocolate, coffee beans - with the other assortment of fruit seeds, alcohol, etc. I was in the kitchen and didn't want to run to my office to check on-line for garlic. So I put Monte on the counter and looked up "parrot garlic food" on google on my blackberry. This website was the first to come up: http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww56e.htm I scrolled down to garlic and read the paragraph. I summarise the key lines below that I believed: "Garlic is helpful in the prevention of illness caused by viral, fungal, and bacterial pathogens...Fresh garlic, rather than concentrated forms such as garlic powder, should be offered to parrots...One clove from a regular size bulb of garlic (not an entire bulb of many cloves) given two or three times a week is sufficient as a preventive food supplement for parrots, who love the pungent taste. Leave the peeling on so that the birds can unwrap their aromatic and medicinal food gift from Mother Nature." After reading this and assuming this website was informed, I gave Monte one unpeeled clove. He immediately chomped it up, letting the larger pieces fall to the countertop. I sweeped them away and put him back in his cage next to his water bowl. Two days later Monte was found dead in the bottom corner of his cage. I had a necropsy performed by my local avian vet who reported that all vital organs were normal, there was digested material in the intestines, there were several undigested pieces of what he considered to be garlic in the stomach and the portion of the mid-intestine immediately following the stomach had turned gangrene, ulcerated and perforated (the lab tech described it as being black). His diagnosis was a ruptured bowel and secondary perotinitis that killed him. He could not pinpoint the cause but looking at the crop and stomach contents and the fact that the garlic was the only undigested matter - he believes the garlic was the cause. My bird was about six months old. Needless to say, I only had Monte for six weeks and he was starting to take his place in my life and household. I am pretty distraught and will just set aside all his toys, cage, etc for a while and decide when I may get another one. As far as the website is concerned, I have always looked at the internet as a turbulent sea that needs to be navigated between fact and misinformation. I'd be interested to know what others may have experienced with garlic and whether they know anything more specifically about this website and/or its author Carolyn Swicegood. I will be sending her an email as well regarding my unfortunate experience. I hope to rejoin this community again under better spirits. Mahalo - Martin

Hi, Can anyone tell me how I change my password? I forgot mine and it has been reset but I don't see where I can change it on my profile page. Thanks,

Just a little ps to the above... I just read the "feather health" thread - very informative. That is the type of thing I was looking for. So for example on my list I'd add red palm oil and aloe vera juice to keep feathers shiny and healthy. I am assuming after most people reading the thread that red palm oil and alor vera juice are "must haves".

Thanks all. I don't mean to be difficult but I found and read all these threads before I made my original post. Seems like there is no checklist so to speak of what to have on hand when bringing a bird home. I am sure everyone has their favorites to address certain aspects of their bird's behavior - sleeping cage, several perches, extra perch stand, specific toys, shoulder pad, harness, first aid kit for injuries, food, treats, whatever. I imagine through experience each owner looks back and says I wish I had this or done that or this was unnecessary. It's that collective wisdom I was hoping to tap into. I'll keep searching and post what I learn. Tomorrow is arrival day - woo hoo!:woohoo:

It wasn't so much doubt rather than the actualisation of making it happen. I bring the bird home on Sunday. I need to choose a name. I did check some of the threads mentioned. I was hoping (direction to the appropriate threads are welcome) to have some thoughts on "must have" items. Aside from the bird's individuality, are there certain things people like? cleaning products, training aids, toys, first aid kit?

Here goes...! I made the decision nad have agreed to purchase a 3 month old CAG. I brought it to the vet (Thanks Kristin - you recommendation was another postive one for Roger Kehler) who thought it was an exceptional bird - healthy, alert, surprisingly calm throughout the examination. I saw all the different parts to be concerned about and am satisfied this little guy will be a trooper. Now I need to get ready for the bird's arrival. I found and purchased a cage from the Mainland which will arrive mid-October (46 x 29 x 59) - nice and roomy. The breeder says he had a temp cage he'd let me use until mine arrived. Sooo - what do I do now? Any recommendations on key products, materials, preparation to ease the transition and welcome little guy into the house? I do have a dog. He's 70lbs and a creampuff (usually). I am thinking how best to manage that introduction. Thanks again for all the feedback. wow! this actually going to happen.

All great points - thank you. I forgot to add - dometop v. playtop. I like the dometop look but understand the playtop benefits. What about the height of the playtop? I assume the cage needs sufficient height to allow the bird to climb around but then does that place the bird too high when it's playing? I haven't actually seen a playtop - none here in my area - how easy are they to clean? I assume the bottom of the playtop is solid so debris/droppings don't fall below. Maybe not?

Hello again, I was wondering if anyone has had experience with these feeders - the lexan covered, externally mounted feeding dish (http://www.cagesbydesign.com/accessories/friendlyfeeder.asp). Seems to make sense to me, keeps the droppings out of food and water. Does the parrot mind putting its head into that smaller space to eat? Has anyone tried to retrofit these to a cage that has the swingout doors? Thanks.

Thanks to all for the previous feedback. I'm getting closer to decision time and have been reviewing cage options. I have read various postings here and looked on-line at what's available. So this is what I understand so far for Greys. 1) Somewhere around 30x 24 is minimum, but anything bigger is always better subject of course to what can be reasonably placed within the home. 2) More width is better than height, but you want to have minimum height to encourage different levels of play - gorund level, mid level and high level toys. My questions are the follwing: 1) I live in Hawaii and the bird could conceivably live outdoors all year round. Should I consider this an option with a smaller movable cage or perch to keep the bird in the house for socialising? Or the reverse, keep the larger cage fixed in the house with the movable perch to move around, indoor or out? Though I don't think having the perch outside is practical (question on this below). The way my house is arranged I could roll the cage to the outside terrace but these cages seem large and heavy and I am not sure how practical that would be either. 2) Materialwise, consensus is stainless is the way to go long term. You pay for it though and stainless birdcages aren't readily available out here. On the other hand, I am in Hawaii and metal eventually rusts out here. For that matter, the stainless railings around my house get stained (I've learned stainless stains and requires maintenance). If I am going to maintain stainless, then why not buy the powdercoat and maintain it? Any experience out there for one or the other? 3) Lastly, I have read about the aviator harness. I have a good size yard so there is room for the parrot to fly around. How realistic an expectation is this/ I have seen parrots on a leash but is that really their natural habitat. I always assumed they are flyers, not walkers. 4) By the way, the baby parrot in question was raised outside and sleeps outside. The breeder moves it to a smaller airplane type cage at night and covers it with a blanket. He tells he does this 1) to get the bird accustomed to such a cage in case he needs to ship it to the Mainland, and 2) for warmth and security. The vet and the cage seem to be the big must-haves at the moment. Thank you again - I see this forum has an enthusiastic, helpful membership.

Forgot to mention - breeder is happy for me to take bird to vet for health check.

Thanks all for the info. Since posting I spoke to the breeder again. He offered a one year guarantee on health. Not sure what that means really, what's typical practice? - is that vet bills reimbursed? I forgot to mention that he started weaning the bird last week, checks its crop regularly and is allowing its flight feathers to grow out. When I handled the bird, it was stepping up on my hands, walking up my arm and sitting on my shoulder which I thought with what little I know was a pretty good indication given these birds seem to have the reputation of being shy/timid (at first meeting at least). I haven't made the decision yet. I am pondering the commmitment. My biggest concern is my travel schedule where I can be away for week or two at a time, maybe twice a year. Could that create a problem? Lastly, any telltale signs off the bat that may indicate some physical ailments? Thanks again for all the input - where's the welcome room?

Hi, I am new to this forum and I am sure this question has been asked before. Any thoughts or direction to the appropriate post is appreciated. I am very close to purchasing a CAG from a local breeder. The parrot's almost three months, has been hand-fed early, is weaned for a week, very calm, easily handled by me a complete stranger, one or two little chirps, has fledged and flapping a bit across room. Breeder seems to be well-informed, long-time bird person (over 30 assorted birds at home), helpful and caring. This parrot is surviving chick (others apparently eaten(?) by other birds in community cage) from first-time breeding pair - female bred before, male hadn't. So - what should I keep in mind, look for as I make a decision? Thanks, Martin