Acappella

It's going to take time to get your bird used to you. Right now he's scared of everything and everybody. When greys are scared they fluff up their feather to make themselves look bigger. Sit as close to him as you can without him fluffing up or screaming. Then just talk to him in a normal tone of voice. Read a book to him. You're just trying to get him used to your voice and presence. When you do have to get close to his cage to change food and water dishes approach from below him and from the side so he can only see one eye at a time. This way you look less like a predator and less scary. The guy at the pet store clearly has no idea what is good for his birds - that cage is way too small like others have said. It's good to have it in a corner right now so that he doesn't have to look out for danger from all sides. Move toys closer to the cage slowly so that he can get used to them before you put them in the cage. Like I said, this is going to take time, especially if he was captured from the wild. All he knows about humans is that some of them grabbed him from his home and his flock, shoved him in a cage with a bunch of other scared birds, then shoved him in this small cage and sent him home with you. Building trust is your first job. Oh, and the sounds he's making sound like contact calls to me. Answer him in a sound you'd like him to learn so that he knows where you are at all times. You're his flock now.

A couple things you can almost count on with greys. 1. They will get stuck on a sound or phrase that you don't like. 2. They will not say the things you want them to say. Just don't react in any way when your bird says the phrase you want to get rid of and he'll eventually get tired of it and move on to the next favourite.

Hey, how are you feeling these days? Is Gilbert taking good care of you?

Food from someone else's dish always tastes better!

Well, I've gotten to the point where I can walk from one room to another around the house, but doing anything outside of the house is a problem, so I'm pretty much house bound. Of course it's all relative. I know my problems are nothing compared to Jays'. It does get me down though because it's relentless, but then, you know all about that. Love to you. Hope you have a good week.

Dorian can barely contain himself when he sees me making these toys. He's usually on them before I get them hung lol. Best things I've ever designed.

The physio said it wasn't sciatica. He said the problem was actually coming from my legs. The muscles in them are so tight they're pulling my back out. I guess that makes sense because every time it's gone out I've been doing something that stretches my back and the back of my legs, even if it is subtle. I just know that the stretches don't seem to be working. That's why I'm willing to try accuputure or massage. Believe me, I'm afraid of needles. I must be in bad shape to be willing to volunteer for them.

Here's another version of the cardboard toy I make for Dorian. It uses more cardboard because I use smaller beads between the pieces. I'm saving this one for when he goes to the bird sitter at the end of the month. Should keep him busy for two days!

Well, it's gone out totally again. I was at the point where I could do household chores and grocery runs of up to three stores without the use of a motorized cart, then last week I was bending over the counter chopping up veggies to put in the crock pot for chilli, and when I straightened up it was out. The good news is that my income has gone up a little, so I can afford a little massage or acupuncture. I was calling around to clinics in the area yesterday but I guess they don't work on Saturdays. Hopefully I'll get callbacks tomorrow.

Sending love and good thoughts your way. Love you both.

When I got Dorian and it had been a year he was still afraid of my hands, biting when he felt I wasn't listening to him, which in turn made me afraid to put my hands anywhere near him. He was not stepping up, and still totally cage bound, So I got desperate and hired an animal behaviourist to come over for a couple of hour to observe us and 'talk' to Dorian. The best advice I got from her was to approach him as if he was already the bird I wanted him to be. With the stepping up that meant to offer it as an option to him and allow him not to choose it right now. Same with being cage bound. I left his door open and allowed him to choose to stay inside that day. As silly as it sounds I became aware that I approached his cage with different body language when I kept this advice in mind. It was a few weeks of this and he became noticeably less bitey, and one day he left his cage and had a little wander round the outside! I really believe my change of attitude made him feel safer. Have you checked out the tread, in the training room I believe, called Behaviour Most Commonly Seen, or something like that. It will help you pick up on your birds subtle body language before they get to a bite. My Dorian usually wakes in a lovely mood, but every now and then he wakes up on the wrong side of the perch, and I now can tell before I even open the cage door. On those days I don't offer my hand for the inevitable bloodletting. You need to learn your birds body language so you can cut him off at the pass before he gets to a bite. Part of that is keeping him off your shoulder where you can't see his body language. If you have to get creative, do. Maybe sew a stuffie to each shoulder so there's no room for him? Has anyone ever taught you the Egyptian pose? If he lands on your forearm, drop your elbow so it's lower than your wrist. It goes against their instincts to climb down. This worked for me. Dorian used to try to climb to my shoulder all the time. Now that I'd actually trust him on my shoulder, he's not at all interested! When you hear flapping wings put your arm out as a place to land. If he lands on your forearm go into the Egyptian pose, if he lands on your upper arm immediately put your opposite forearm in his way blocking his path to your shoulder as was suggested above. If he does get to your shoulder, have you ever tried getting him to step up onto a perch? I've trained Dorian to step up onto a perch and now he does it obediently 99% of the time. I use it if I want to move him from a place like my desk, or his playstand at bedtime, but he isn't in the mood to obey. They can get in downright pissy moods at times. I usually give him one chance to do things in a civilized manner, then I bring out the perch. To be clear, he's not at all afraid of the perch, he just seems to recognize that he's pushed mommy just a little to far at the moment and steps up for it. I even give him a minute to take out his frustration on the perch when he's been returned to his cage by grabbing it by an eye hook I've got screwed into the end of the perch and beating up on it for a minute. That part is quite cute, but I'd never tell him that! As for his fear of men, have you ever wondered if a man did something that scared him badly while he was in transit to you? I don't think a reputable breeder would have shipped a bird with this intense a fear response. You may never know what happened, but anything you can do to bring down your birds' overall fear and increase his confidence will help his reaction. When I rescued Dorian his previous owner told me I could never date a man with grey or white hair because Dorian reacted so badly towards them (her husband had white hair). But then again Dorian was overall a very fearful bird. Now he's such a confident little bugger I doubt he'd even have a reaction. Anyway, for this reason I don't think I'd clip him right now. He sounds like a very fearful bird. You need to increase his confidence in his ability to handle situations that are frightening to him. Clipping would do the opposite. By all means put the travel cage out where he can get used to it. It will come in handy if you ever have an emergency. Let him explore it when there's no emergency and he won't freak out by being put in it if there is one. Sorry, this turned into a long post. I hope there are some tips here that you can use.

Thanks for making me smile with the fly up order window. Are you leaving that window open to the house or screen it so she has to stay in the aviary?

Sorry about your Dad. I lost mine 5 years ago and got so stuck in my grief that I had to go to our local hospice organization for grief counselling. Learn from my example and don't be afraid to reach out for help with your grieving if you think you need it, or even if you just think it would be helpful. As for the apology, I totally understand that a change was needed. I am, however, change resistant (see above note about grieving lol), so I may have been visiting and posting less as of late. I will try to correct MY behaviour, because I know the only way I will get used to the changes is if I use them. I've been around the forum long enough to remember our last format change (anyone here remember 'karma' points), and I was just as resistant to change then. I'm sorry if you've been getting some undeserved grief. As someone way wiser than me once said, the only thing that never changes is change. Thank you for all you have done to keep this forum running.

Well first I gotta say it's just me and him. But he doesn't know he can fly. Also, there's no room in my place for a dinner table so I eat at the counter or at my desk. So, if He happens to be on either of those places when I bring my dinner, I turn the plate to what's healthy for him and let him go for it! He also hasn't figured out that he can move to other sections of the plate lol. This is why I say he's more Densa than Mensa. He's already got me well trained in the drinks and cutlery department - if I don't want it on the floor I put it out of his reach. Sorry, I know this isn't any particular help to you, but you asked what we do, so... Personally I like the sound of a feeding cage, if you're prepared to put up with loud protests from birdie for a while. Just tell your human dining companions that this is the fix to the thing they were complaining about so they can like it or lump it.

So sorry you've had two hard losses so close together. Hugs from Dorian and I.

Welcome back. I really admire those of you with multiple birds. Dorian keeps me busy enough lol.

Thanks. My neighbour wasn't able to get a satisfactory response from head office, so I've told her I can't risk it. The only reason I considered it was that when I was sitting in her house a couple of feet away from a melter I didn't get an immediate headache the way I do with most fragranced things. I was there for over an hour and no headache, no sinus problems. But our birds are even more sensitive than me so I'm not going to try it. Thanks for your responses.

Welcome to you and Pumkin.

I'm so sorry for your losses.

The red factor means nothing to his health so don't worry about that. Like others have said, what kind of diet is he on? You've done the right thing getting him to a vet, as long as he/she is an avian vet. Let us know what the test results are.

I know how sensitive I am to off gassing. I once went into a new Best Buy and had to turn around and leave because the fumes were so bad, so I totally believe that they could kill one of our birds. I hope the wait till spring isn't too long, but it does sound like your best option.

Hi. Have any on you heard of a company called Pink Zeebra? They just started sales in Canada and they say their products, mainly melting wax to scent your home, is 100% pet safe. My neighbour has started selling it and I'm intrigued. I just wondered if anyone here know anything about them.

They've done that with dogs and cats here in Ontario, but not with birds frustratingly.

Happy belated hatch day Corky. I hope you were spoiled!