Acappella

Just here to vent. Dorian is driving me crazy with a new sound. I had him outside yesterday and he heard a wild bird cry which has become his new favourite sound. It's loud, shrill, and high, and he's on a fast cycling repeat. So now we're doing the sound extinguishing dance and I have a pounding headache. Sob

Ah, the familiar shot of a grey beak trying to eat the camera lol. Welcome. Oh, that cute beaking he's doing to the furniture arm? It foretells the demise of said arm. You might want to take steps to protect it.

Just be careful with heaters. Make sure it doesn't have any Teflon covered elements, since Teflon when heated off gases fumes that can kill birds very quickly (and, frankly, can't be great for humans either). Usually a call to the manufacturer is the best way to be sure a product is bird-safe.

Sounds like you need to invest in one of those camera-that-doesn't-look-like-a-camera cameras, so that we can all enjoy Miss G's antics. Of course, it will also have to be a camera-that-doesn't-look-like-it-needs-to-be-chewed-by-a-bird camera! Lol

Benjamin Moore has a paint they claim is truly odorless. I'm not sure whether VOC free and odorless are nessecarily they same thing, or which is more important. Anyone have any thoughts?

Is there a test for it so that you can prove she doesn't have it, then quarantine her until it's time to leave?

So how goes the Guster enrichment program?

I remember the first time Dorian stepped up for me. Happy dance, Happy dance, Happy dance!!!!!!

Right at the top of this Welcome forum room there's a sticky thread titled "how to post pictures". If you need any further help just ask. We'd love to see some baby pictures.

Well, he's been really upset this weekend and it has had nothing to do with the tv. I had a yard sale, and the sight of boxes being moved out of the house really ticked him off. Of course the change in the daily routine didn't help. As for the tv, his first owners brought him to their pet store with them and that's where he lived, and where I met him, so he went years without seeing a tv. I've wondered if that is part of his dislike. He has picked up sounds from the tv, but not often. (I can't watch Star Wars with him unless I want to live with R2D2). I definitley can't watch videos of other parrots. If I want to catch up on Biscotti's latest exploits I have to watch away from Dorian and use headphones. I wondered if other parronts had this issue because I thought maybe their eyes picked up on annoyances that our eyes don't, like the way moving horizontal bars sometimes show up on film when computer monitors are taped. From everybodys responses, I guess that isn't a factor. It is the video, not the sound. He happily whistles along to audio performances where there is whistling (James Taylor is a favourite), and he laughs and whoo hoos along with the audiences in live performance CDs. I guess he's just a weirdo! Oh well, he fits right in around here.

Dee, do you think it's the rescue remedy that's made the difference, or just time and patience?

Sound source doesn't make a difference. I can be using the tv speakers, home theatre, computer monitor, tiny LCD, iPad, if it's TV he's sulking. And that beep gets seriously annoying after a while. grrrrr

...who hates the TV being on? I mean hates it! He sulks the entire time I have it on. Won't speak, just makes his 'I'm annoyed' beep at regular intervals. It's not an attention thing. I can just have it on in the background while I'm puttering around cleaning or otherwise attending to his majesty, the 'tude keeps up until the TV is off. He's the main reason I don't know anything about any current shows. I just don't have the set on to get addicted to any of them. This isn't a new thing but it's getting worse. It seems the less I watch the more determined he becomes to get the set off 100% of his awake hours. So, anyone else out there got a feathered TV critic on their hands?

I agree. If you're budgeting, I'd put a boing and a big noisey stainless steel bell ahead of a jolly ball.

It's true you never know what they will like. One thought. If you're getting a baby they are often more accepting of new things and braver than older birds are.

Just one question. Is the tap in the new kitchen Dayo-proof?

If you are moving him to a place he wants to be he may be biting out of habit. In that case a firm but calm "no" + sad face and return to point of origin. Make your change in attitude dramatic. Happy and full of praise when he's being good, immediately sad and quiet when he bites. Fred should get the message pretty fast that he doesn't get where he wants to be if he bites. Now, if he's biting because he actually didn't want to step up and is only doing it under duress, that's an entirely different kind of bite. That's "I may have to do what you want me to, but I'm letting you know I'm not happy". It took more than four years before Dorian would step up from inside his cage. We started with step ups from a perch that was attached to the side of the cage on the outside. When Dorian landed on that perch, it was my signal that he was ready to step up. After that routine was established I started asking for a step up from inside the cage, but it was always his choice. I'd offer, he'd decline, and I'd say OK and leave without him. Come back and offer again. I just kept on offering and offering until his desire to leave with me overcame his reluctance to step up from inside his cage. I think at this point it would be Ok to do a gentle rolling of your hand to destabalize him if he's going in for a bite. A little earthquake hand combined with the 'no', sad voice and expression, should get the message across.

Oh jeez, I just want to rescue these poor babies. We are being cautious in our advice because we know how much damage a bad living situation can do to a companion bird, especially one as sensitive as a grey. If you cannot take these birds in, can you find your closest rescue and facilitate them getting out of their current situation? If you do decide to re-home one of these fids, please jump in with both eyes wide open and your heart ready for set backs, disapointment, and frustration. Remember, you know that everything you are doing is to make his/her life better, but all they know is that another strange human is changing their world. Sounds like they all have ample reason to distrust people, and so you're going to have to work at building trust before you try to work on anything else. How long that takes depends upon the individual resilience of the parrot. If you can meet them where they are and let them control the pace that trust can be built over time. Those of us walking this path ahead of you will always be here to advise you and cheer you on.

I'm glad you're meeting Irwin where he is and taking it from there. Just sitting by his cage, like you mentioned you are doing, is great. You can slyly observe each other! Look for signs of increasing comfort. Is he willing to move closer to you as long as the safety of the bars are between you? With Dorian, he started sitting at the far end of his cage and gradully moved closer. To tempt him, I put a 'treat' bowl near where I sat on the inside of his cage and started droping a treat in it. At first he would wait until I got up out of the chair and moved away to retrieve it. Then he would "run" across the cage, grab it and run away to eat it. Then he'd relax enough to stay closer to me for his snack. I always let his body language tell me when he was ready for the next step. We eventually got to the point of taking a treat from my fingers, which was a leap of faith for both of us! I spent 2 years sitting by his cage in a less-than-comfortable chair, waiting for Dorian to trust me. Keep track in a journal of your starting point. After a few months of incremental progress you'll look back and realize how far you've come. The hardest thing about having a rescue is comparing our birds to the fids that were gotten as babies. Just remember, those milestones we have to work hardest for mean the most. <3

More like she Knows she's done something wrong and is being pro-actively cute before you can get mad at her!!!! lol

Sounds like you've got a 'Too personality in a grey body. Just be careful. We've had more than one member here who got so used to having a bird on their shoulder they forgot for a moment and opened an outside door. Also, don't set up a routine now that you're not willing to commit to for the next few decades. How does she behave if you try to cage her for a short while in order to get something done? She may need to learn to entertain herself for short periods of time, so now is a good time to find out what kind of toy engages her. Does she know how to forage. Does she like making toothpicks out of pieces of wood? Is shredding paper or cardboard her favourite thing to do? If you allow her to be on you all the time now, and in a month or two the novelty wears off and you decide you need to cage her for short periods of time, she will be confused and will probably act out. Just start with very short episodes, and reward her with lots of praise and happy sounds when she succeeds. They love to please, and they are more secure once they know what the rules of the flock are. You're doing great!

Beautiful! Dorian has a bit of red factor in the same pattern, only much lighter. Your baby may molt out these bright red feathers and replace them with ones with just a hint of red. Just makes your baby easier to spot in a crowd!

Great deal. I only see two problems. The leather furniture and the computer keyboard are well withing the neck stretching reach of a determined and destructive fid. Might want to cover them, unless swiss cheese looking upholstery apeal to you.

I think you made the right decision for Kizzy, but is there anything you can do to improve the lot of the little TAG? Is the current owner well intentioned but under informed, where some mentoring might help, like Wingy mentioned? Or could you help find a better home, even if it isn't yours? It's so hard to quiet that voice inside once we see an animal in need, especially when compared to our own pampered babies.

I would continue to let Irwin out at times when you have a long stretch of time to let him explore. If it's only going to be for 1/2 and hour I wouldn't. That's because, if he's out for a long time, he'll get hungry or thirsty and want to go back. Does Irwin have a food he really loves? Use it for bribery. Let him see you put it in his food dish, or keep a dish that's dedicated to treats. If it's at night that you're trying to get him to step up, start gradually dimming the lights in the room. That will give him the cue that's it's bedtime, and it also tends to make them more compliant because their vision in the dark isn't great. Have you tried stepping him up onto a portable perch? If he's on the floor try directing him to the perch. If he steps onto it, even accidentaly because he's trying to avoid your hand, praise the heck out of him. Always tell him what you're doing. Dorian knows that when I tell him it's "time to go home" he's going back to his cage, and there's always a 'good boy treat' there waiting for him. You'll get it figured out. <3