Acappella

Welcome to the forum. Love the pictures, and the "Oh phooey. Something you don't have to worry about her majesty repeating:P

He's def got the beat Dan, but the two of you woke poor Jake up. Couldn't you see the little guy was trying to have a nap:ohmy:

Please let us know how your baby is. As luvparrots said, we worry about each other's greys when they're hurt.

Welcome back Pat, you've been missed. You'd better get busy telling us what you and your fids have been up to.

I love that "a special kind of stupid". It's a grat descriptive I'll no doubt be quoting in the future. Thanks for the laugh:laugh:

danmcq wrote: What about CAR, Congo African Reds!

Well, one of my first posts on this forum was my first 'didn't see that coming' moment. I didn't know about the huge morning poop release until Dorian's first morning here :sick: :ohmy:

Everyone's given great advice. Your bird is an adult, rescued from a neglectful if not down right abusve situation. Even if you've rescued other animals before, a parrot is an entirely different creature. When we talk about time and patience we're speaking in terms of weeks, months, and even years for big-time progress. This may seem slow, but when you're dealing with an animal that with good care will be part of your life for decades, it's all relative. The best thing you and all the members of your household can do right now is to let your bird observe his new home and flock from the safety of his cage. Sit by his cage and talk to him, read to him, even eat by his cage, because eating together is a major flock bonding activity. Watch him for signs of anxiety. For example, if you move a chair really close to his cage and he starts to shake or fluff up his feathers, just move the chair a little further away. If he sees you being respectful of his space and his fears, he'll begin to believe you can be trusted. When he does something 'good' like making a desirable sound or talking, or not freaking out when a male family member comes close, praise and reward lavishly, because greys thrive on that kind of interaction. If you note every small step forward you take with your new grey and you look back six months from now, you'll be surprised at how far you've come. Of course you may want to make changes to his cage and his routine, and any time you need advice on how to do things without setting your progress back, there are lots of people here who have done wonderful things with re-homed birds who can offer their two cents. Karma to you for taking in this older grey and making the comittment to bettering his life.

I'm not a parent (of a human child), but I have to laugh at how over protective some parents are these days. I grew up on a farm and was into everything, all the time. Plus I was always an animal magnet and would pick up and pet almost anything with a heartbeat. I'm guessing your son-in-law will eventually figure out that kids aren't as fragile as they seem.

I leave the tv on a digital music station. He seems to chatter more when there's background noice in the room.

Congrats Christina. I have an almost identical picture of Dorian when he decided it was safe to poke his head out of his cage, and I remember how excited I was that he was feeling safe enough to do it. I know your love and patience will pay off.

Ooooh, Pearl, I love Scent of a Woman too!

Thought it was time a Canadian put her two cents in on this thread. First I have to debunk some Canadian stereotypes. Winter is only one of four seasons we have here. I have never built, or been inside, an igloo, and I never took a snowmobile to school (although I have to admit X-country sking there a few times in my youth). There are some places in Canada that absolutely come to a standstill when it snows. (I'm talking about you, Vancouver.):lol: I lived there for four years and got to feel all hardy and superior when the snow fell and stuck although, in their defence, alot of their road do go straight down or up at scary angles that might even give an Eastener pause.:blink: If you watch the winter Olympics this year, you'll see what I mean. I've often said that Canada's national sport is not hockey, it's complaining about the weather. All I know is this time last year the snowbank at the end of my drive was over 6' high, and right now it's only 2', so I'm good:) Here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about Canadians: If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, You may live in Canada . If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, You may live in Canada. If you measure distance in hours, You may live in Canada. If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, You may live in Canada. If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again, You may live in Canada. If you can drive 90 km/hr through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, You may live in Canada. If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, You may live in Canada. If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them, You may live in Canada. If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, You may live in Canada. If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, You may live in Canada. If you know all 4 seasons: Almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction, You may live in Canada. If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, You may live in Canada. If you find -2 degrees 'a little chilly', You may live in Canada.

I do use human grade roasted peanuts as a treat for Dorian. He loves working them out of their shells, but I always crack them open so that I can make sure the inside of the shells don't show any sign of contamination. A couple of years ago I read an article that showed the inside of a peanut shell that was dangerous to birds. It had black spots on the inside of the shell. Am I being cautious enough, or should I bake them myself, or limit him to peanuts without shells?

I have to stop myself from going into pet shops that sell live animals because there is always some soul that pulls at my heart. A local store that had two CAGs, one that plucked and one that barbared, closed two months ago and I can't stop wondering what happened to those birds, especially since they both seemed to bond with me instantly, letting me scratch and feed them through the bars of their too small cages. I know I can't responsibly take on another animal, but walking away was sooo hard just thinking about them now has me teary. They were also over-priced ($1500 Cdn for a 12 year old plucker!) I hope one day, hopefully within my life span, pet stores are limited to selling only pet supplies (maybe selling fish would be ok if well cared for) and re-homing is done by qualified rescues. No more Craig's list, no more commisioned sales, no more impulse buys. A society can be judged on how it treats it's most vulnerable, human or otherwise, and right now as a whole, we're not doing so great!

Congrats:). There's soooooo much cute little girl stuff to buy, have fun getting ready. When are you due?

Hello Mills and welcome to the forum. I was reading on your profile page and you mention that there is a nesting box attached to their cage. Are they a bonded breeding pair? If they are I think it will be that much harder to turn them into pets. The forum member here that has the most knowledge and experience with breeding greys is Dave007. You might want to look him up by clicking on the members tab and sending him a private message. He may tell you to remove the nesting box if you don't want to breed them (and breeding is a difficult and complicated process that should not be done by novices, IMHO), but don't do anything until you've contacted him. In the meantime, do like the others have said. Sit by them and talk, let them observe the household and the members of their new flock from the safety of their cage, offer them fresh food, even sit by their cage while you eat. Eating together is a common flock activity and a good way to start to bond with them. Good luck with your new grey friends:)

As far as not wanting your grey to pick up the other birds' scream I think the only thing you can do is to ignore the smaller bird when he does it. The last thing you want your grey to see is Schalkie getting attention when he screams. If Millie does start making that noise, and lets face it, there's an excellent chance she will:blink: , you'll have to go through the process of teaching her not to do it. This is the main reason I've never brought home one of the budgies or canaries from the pet store where Dorian came from. It took almost two years for him to stop doing the budgie scream he learned while he was there:S

I'm glad she's ok. Thanks for posting this and reminding us all how easy it is to fall into a routine that might not be safe. These guys keep us hopping, and we can never truly predict their actions, can we? Love and hugs to you and Rikki, and to all the forum members who have been re-thinking their routines with their greys because of your post.{Love-000200DB}

Supernova wrote: How about "Haven't crashed yet, nope not yet, not yet, no crash yet, woo hoo, . . . oh no, everybody, avert your eyes, oh the humanity . . .

They'll likely molt out. He'd preen them if they were bothering him. Maybe he bent them playing. Like you said, nothing to worry about:)

Well, just in case the mood never strikes her again, aren't you glad you had a camera at hand?

As I sit here listening to Dorian's before bed comedy show, I agree they're worth the work, the money, the anxiety (and occasional bouts of paranoia and worry). Plus, I've gotten to meet all of you and found a place where no one thinks I'm silly because of the things I do to accomodate his grey majesty:P I remember a few months ago proposing that someone take a video of all the work that goes into keeping a grey, plus all the supplies and food they need, to counter all those cute videos. No one took me up on it. So what do you say, Jess. You're one of the youngest members here, you're of the YouTube generation. Want to make your next major clean-fest a YouTube sensation?:silly:<br><br>Post edited by: Acappella, at: 2010/01/05 03:26

Bowing the head and then turning around and nailing you is a familiar grey trick. Watch her for other body signals. If she's at all puffed up she might be suckering you in. Dorian and I have worked out a system but it took time for us to get to know each other. He'll only accept scratches when he's in his cage or on his playstand where he feels like he has a stable perch. Some birds don't like your hand in their cage at all because that's their safe spot. I know Dorian really wants a scratch when he puts his head down and holds onto his perch with his beak. Unless he's doing that, I don't try to touch his head. It's really a matter of getting to know your bird. Is she biting hard and breaking the skin, or is it just a hard beaking, her saying 'I don't want you to do that right now' or 'I've had enough, go away now' ? If you want her to accept scratches as a good way to interact, wait until she seems to want one, then do it for just a couple of seconds, remove your hand and give her lots and lots of praise. If she puts her head down and lets you touch her again, repeat and reward with praise and maybe a treat. This way you're stopping the scratches before she's had enough, and making it a totally positive interaction for her. You want to end on a happy positive note so that she associates you with good things. She actually sounds very resilient and sweet natured. An older bird like her will almost never become a real cuddle bunnie but considering her life before she came to you, getting her to trust you enough to be scratched will be a huge accomplishment for you both.

Thanks guys. I didn't know it was a competition either Pearl, but I'd like the thank the Academy . . .