debstein

Does anyone have a recipe for making a birdy bread? Can I use some ground up pellets in it? Thanks!

Someone recently suggested I try sprouting seeds for Romo, but what do you sprout? A million years ago, I tried sprouting seeds for my family - they didn't think it was worth eating.....do you sprout the same seeds for parrots?

After I posted, I cooked some oatmeal, grated an entire apple in it, added a little cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin, and some chopped pecans. When it cooled, I served myself some and kept it away from Romo until he just couldn't stand it any more! And he ate it! Yeah, I felt like the kid on the old Life cereal commercial! He likes it, Hey Mikey!:woohoo: :woohoo: So, now I have something healthy that he likes, I'm going shopping this afternoon and maybe I can find something else. Thanks for all the great suggestions! I haven't sprouted anything yet, what seeds do you sprout? And where do I find a recipe for birdy bread? That sounds like something I could disguise some ground-up pellets in........anybody got a recipe?

He only wants seeds to eat and he will eat some veggies. He will not eat the pellets or the soak/cook - I am only feeding the stuff he was weaned on, but now he won't touch the pellets or the cooked mixture, and eats fresh broccoli and grapes, but that's about it. I have tried not giving the seed and only providing the "good" food - he just doesn't eat. I've moistened the pellets with juice - no go. He won't eat squash, sweet potatoes, apples, green beans, carrots, greens, the list goes on and on. I've tried spoon feeding, warming foods up for him, but he wasn't interested at all. I've served myself a bowl of pellets, and munched on them while playing keep away with Romo - once I finally got him determined to have some, he spit it out and looked at me like - I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE EATING THIS STUFF! :ohmy: I've ordered free sample packs of Harrisons, Roudybush, Pretty Bird, Zupreem, and a few others. This morning I ordered a variety pack of beak appetit after reading about it on several lists. Any and all suggestions are much appreciated! Deb & Romo - the fussy grey!

We found the earring, apparently he dropped it and because it was so small, it didn't make a sound. I changed out the vacuum cleaner bag and vacuumed everywhere I was, then we slit open the bag and went through the contents. The earring was in there. It was an incredible relief, especially since I spent all our money on getting Romo, his food and cage, etc., and I couldn't imagine how much it would cost to get him xrayed. Needless to say, I'm not wearing earrings anymore, and I take off any bracelets or necklaces as soon as I hit the door.

An hour ago, I was on the phone with my boss, and Romo was on his playstand. He flew over to my shoulder and faster than a NY minute, he grabbed my tiny diamond stud and when I reached up to stop him, only the earring back was there. I searched all around to make sure it hadn't dropped and I really think he ate it!! It was a really small earring, tiny diamond in a plain 18K white gold post - will it pass? Is he gonna be OK? Has anyone ever had anything like this happen? I don't wear earrings around him, but I just got home from work, and hubby took Romo out of his cage and onto his playstand - when he saw me, he just flew to me and I forgot I even had the earrings in. Geez, I feel like a horrible birdmama. Can anyone help me? What should I do?

Hi Kim, Congrats on your new baby! We use a sleeping cage for Romo - we bought it to bring him home in, but it was too big to fit in the car without taking apart! :ohmy: Anyway your cage looks fine - we also got ours at Petsmart, they were selling some of their floor model cages for 60% off and we got a great deal. Good luck with your new baby, post pictures when he comes home.

Most of the books I bought recommend that you put a towel (preferably grey or similar in color) on your lap and place the bird there. Bring up the corners slowly at first like a tunnel and then put them down, saying peek-a-bird! I started by putting the towel over my face and then saying peek a bird - and slowly bringing the corners up until today when I was able to put the corner of the towel directly on his head. I only keep it there for a second or two, before saying peek a bird and removing it - then giving lots of praise and touches. The point according to the books is to gain trust with a towel for vet visits or times when the bird will need to be restrained. If he is comfortable being wrapped in the towel, he won't stress about it. He was very nippy when we first got him, but he isn't doing it nearly as much, especially with me. It's just one more thing I can do with him to establish trust and make a game out of it. Since I really don't know much about parrots, the books have been my instruction, along with my experience training and raising Arabian horses.

Well, I wanted to be really prepared b4 we brought Romo home, so I bought a bunch of books. I got: The Essential African Grey by Howell Book House, and Pamela Leis Higdon The African Grey Parrot Handbook by Mattie Sue Athan & Dianalee Deter Barron's Guide to Companion Parrot Behavior by Mattie Sue Athan Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot by Mattie Sue Athan and Barron's African Grey Parrots - A Complete Pet Owner's Manual My favorites are the books by Mattie Sue Athan, I keep referring to them and reading some sections over and over as I work and play with Romo!

This may be really boring to all the pros here, but I am just so excited. Romo is our first parrot, and even though I've read everything I could prior to getting him, I still worry about doing everything right. We just got him this weekend, and yesterday was our first full day at home. I took him out to do step ups with him and start playing the towel game. After being a little nervous about the towel, he did fine, but he didn't seem to enjoy being touched on the neck and head, and kept trying to nip me when I touched him. I was disappointed because I thought he was supposed to like that. Well today, I was able to completely cover his head with the towel while playing "peek a bird" and he seemed to LOVE his neck and head scritches. He would lower his head and then tuck one foot up into his chest. And he didn't try to nip me once! Hurray!:lol:

I also looked at Wendy's Parrots before we bought Romo. Her website is impressive, and I especially liked everything she did to acclimate her young birds to normal household sounds and noise. Sugar is a beauty and I'm sure you'll do well with her.

I'm so glad you brought up this topic Hannah_Rae! I've seen the flight suits online and wanted to know if anyone used them. We'd like to be able to take Romo outside with us sometimes, and I really want to make sure we can't lose him. Great info! Deb & Romo

Yep it sure did! We are big Cowboys' fans at our house. Today I worked on step ups with him, and a little "peek a bird" with a towel. He was very sweet and seemed to enjoy our time together. I'm really happy that the breeder we bought him from fed him a really good diet of pellets, fresh fruits and veggies, a soak/cook mix, and a little seed mix. I bought everything he had been eating at the breeder's so there wouldn't be any food changes for him. He eats everything really well, and really chowed down on his fresh veggies/fruit tonight. Deb & Romo

Hi y'all, We picked up our 4 month old TAG baby this weekend, his name is Romo, and we are thrilled with him. We had to travel to a family wedding in Austin, and that's where the breeder is, so Romo had to leave his hatchhome and spend the weekend with us in a hotel, but he did fabulous! He ate and drank well, and slept, played with all the toys in his travel cage, and we did some limited amounts of handling with him. He steps up well, and loves to be talked to. Now he's home in his big cage and is having a ball exploring it. Romo is our first parrot and I'm sure we'll have tons of questions, I'm so glad I found this forum. I'll attach a picture of him, hope it comes through. Thanks for all your help in advance! Deb & Romo