Acappella

Hope everything is ok and he comes back to himself soon.

Welcome to you, Charlie, and the rest of your flock. There is an "other birds" forum where you can post about your conures!

You found a real gem in HRH. It sounds like it's hard to be in a bad mood around your house.

I managed to get my floors swept and mopped! What a relief. I could have knit another cat with all the cat hair I picked up. I've also managed to walk short distances every day, although it did get twitchy one day. I think I'll still go for my MRI at the end of the month because it's gotten better before then relapsed. I'm going to try to do some weeding today. I'll take it easy, I promise. Nancy, I'm sorry you had knee problems. I'm glad it got better.

So glad Ollie is doing well. He'll feel better once he's done with all the meds and swelling and stuff, and then it will be a relief having all those sore teeth out of his mouth.

You'll be amazed at how long it takes all those trimmed feathers to fall out, and each one is a mini celebration on your way to having a fully flighted bird.

Welcome to the forum to you, your family, and Spy. She's a beauty.

Anyway you can contact them today and tell them to bring a little extra stock because you plan to buy in bulk?

Yes I noticed that you were having problems. I second birdhouse. PM Talon. Go to the Community tab up top, 5th from the left, and click on it. Go to the T's and go to page two. Click on Talon's name and then on the menu on the left click on send private message. Hopefully she'll be able to figure out what happened to your original post. Welcome to the forum!

If I'm remembering correctly Congo is a re-home. It may be that he's had a bad experience in his past with someone who wore glasses. Unfortunately the only way through this is a slow steady slog. You have to build a relationship with him in your glasses wearing persona lol. Maybe only feed him treats when you're wearing your glasses, sit by the cage and read children's books to him, let Congo start to have positive interactions while you're wearing them. My Dorian hated the husband of his previous owner so much she told me I may never be able to date someone with white hair lol. The member here who got braces eventually got their bird to accept them but it took a long time. One piece of advice I got in the early days with Dorian was to approach his cage as if he was already the bird I wanted him to be. They are so adept at reading our body language the way we approach them really does matter a lot. Good luck, and remember this is just part of his baggage. You can always come on here to vent.

Well, I don't want to jinx it, but I may have turned a corner when it comes to my back. I've had a couple of days in a row with only minor pain, and I even ventured out to the bank machine tonight without my cane! WhooHoo!!! Tomorrow I'm going to try to walk to the top of my Crescent and back taking real steps, not the wincing baby steps I have been using. Thursday I may even try grocery shopping without a motorized cart! Big dreams, eh? Thank you everyone for your help. Hopefully I'm through the worst of it.

Welcome to the grey family to you and Kiwi.

Dorian wakes up in a cuddly mood and he's very free with kisses and cuddles in the evening and when I put him to bed. It does appear to be true for many of our greys that they get more mellow in the evenings when the lights are turned low. That's why it's good advice for people with problem or skittish greys to do some work building relationships in the evenings. They just seem somehow more receptive to people's overtures in the evenings.

So sorry Stephen, I was so hoping for a different outcome for you. No one has a more loved, more enriched, more spoiled bird than you, so please try to work through any guilt feelings you have, they're undeserved.

If you go to the health room, Dave007 did a comprehensive 4 part sticky post there titled Wing Clipping where you can educate yourself on the controversary. It's well worth the read. It's not too far in the past that wing clipping was common and it was hard to find a breeder that would sell an un clipped bird, citing safety. Now there's a wider recognition that just because a bird is clipped doesn't mean it can't fly, particularly if startled. Read the posts, then you'll be better equipped to make a decision about Nonsense. Bless you for being open to new information. <3

If you just type in Felix in the search box then you should be able to scroll down your results until you find one that has an African Grey as its avatar. Also, I miss typed, it is just Felix, not Felix the Grey, so that should help. https://www.facebook.com/FelixLaFollett/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Oh that's not how I read it Greywings. I read it that the humans and their exercise equipment are moving into the basement to give the birds the upstairs room as an aviary. Alex2014, correct me if I'm wrong.

Do you follow Felix the Grey on Facebook? In the background of his pictures you can see her walls are painted with murals. Giant palm leaves and flowers, on a light green background. Maybe you could scroll through her pictures, or maybe she'd even send you pictures if you msg'd her and told her what you're trying to do.

I'm sorry that Olie isn't well. I do know several people with small dogs who have had to have dental surgery to remove teeth so maybe it's a common surgery? I know any time they put an older dog under anesthesia it's serious and that you'll worry about your baby and I admire your commitment to taking care of him but I don't think you'd have to disrupt Sophie's whole world. She may not get as much attention from you as usual for awhile but these birds are smart, Sophie especially. She'll see that a member of her flock is sick. They're also a lot more resilient than we give them credit for. When I was taking care of my dad, and then in an estate dispute with my brother which was very upsetting, I worried about Dorian getting less attention from me and seeing me upset, but honestly, he just rolled with it. I really believe Sophie will be ok, and I know you would give her all the time you could. I think you and Sophie have many years together yet to come.

Clipping wings is a hot button topic around here. You have to do what's best for your situation. I will just say this, don't let clipped wings lull you into a false sense of security. A bird with clipped wings can still get loft if they're frightened and can be out a door or window in a second. You still have to be careful with open doors and windows. My last piece of clipping advice is to get someone who is VERY experienced with clipping to do it. The optimal is an avian vet, but some members here have a trusted groomer who they trust to clip. It's not something any vet tech can do, and a bad clip can have a bad psychological impact on a bird, even when they're fully feathered but not flighted like Nonsense and my bird. I'm glad Nonsense isn't holding a grudge. Lol. I agree with Timbersmom about routine and verbal cues. Pick a phrase (around my house it's "Dorian, time to go home"), and then another phrase to let her know how long you'll be gone. For example, I tell Dorian "momma's gotta go to the store"=short time away, or "momma's gotta go to the doctor"= longer time away. A few simple phrases like that will reassure Nonsense about how long you'll be away and she'll be locked up. It'll help if you and your girlfriend can use the same phrases. You're making her world predictable. You're doing a great job with Nonsense. She's obviously braver than Dorian, in that she's already venturing out of her cage and it took Dorian literally years to reach that milestone. When he did eventually venture out he occasionally wouldn't want to go in when I needed him to. I was able to 'herd' him in using my arms as he was still totally hand/arm shy. Maybe you could direct Nonsense into her cage using a towel or a perch. That wouldn't work on the cage I have now as it's taller than I am, plus he's not afraid of my arms anymore so he'd totally bite me, but your cage doesn't look too tall. I also used a perch mounted on the inside of the door. He would get on that perch, then I could just shut the door and voila, he's in his cage. As you can tell, your strategy has to change as your relationship with your bird, and her relationship with her world, changes. That's one thing about these guys, they're never boring!

Nancy, I'm in Ontario Canada in a little town called Lindsay if anyone cares to look it up. The closest grey forum member I think I've ever seen here was in Barrie Ontario, which isn't close at all. Besides, she's not on anymore. It would be great to have another forum member close by physically, wouldn't it? I mean this international community is great, but face to face is nice occasionally too. I know this back thing has been very isolating physically. I did manage to get out today and do a grocery shop using a motorized grocery cart and I managed not to run anyone over! Lol

Yeah, I was lucky, this was the first forum I found and the only one I registered in. The welcome and info I got here made me realize how far from good Dorian's living conditions were and made me resolve to bring him home with me.

He's really looking like a fully feathered bird just going through a molt. Doesn't it make you wonder what made the difference and stopped the compulsion to pull those feathers out? What complicated little souls these guys are.

Read the sticky in this room titled "Body Language Most Frequently Seen". It will help you predict when she's on the road to a bite and to prevent it.

My Dorian was completely cage bound when I brought him home. It took literally years for him before that first time he poked his head outside his cage. That's month after month of me sitting by his cage feeding him treats, reading to him, sitting on the floor in front of his cage, building and playing with toys and doing everything I could to make the world outside his cage look fun and exciting. It was another several months before the first time he stepped up for me, years before he would step up from inside the cage. Sometimes it felt like it would never happen, but I could always come here to vent my frustration and heartbreak. Just remember, they're not like dogs where training happens fast and you only have 12-15 years with them. You can invest years here because you have decades yet with your bird. Bless you for wanting to expand nonesense's world. It's worth whatever time it takes. My heart still soars a little every time Dorian lifts his little foot for me, knowing what it cost him to get to this point. I know you can do this. p.s. I do believe finding his toy kryptonite, which is shredded paper and thin cardboard, and then building toys in front of his cage made of those materials, was key in getting him to come out. Try toys with rolls of adding machine tape, cardboard, bells. You can get other toy ideas in the toy room here.