birdmom

I see, well if I was in the cage and you stuck your hand in, I might look at you funny too. I guess I'd be wondering what you were going to do to me? Especially if I didn't know you. Now, if there was a little slice of apple or an almond in that hand, I'd know that you just want to be my friend.

hi majic. I think I replied on the biting, but I noticed you only had her two days? Well, give her time. As I recall, when I brought both my CAGs home, I didn't try to put my hand in there until about a week or so, depending upon how they behaved. YOu may want to try opening the door, and giving some distance, see if she comes out on her own, and then get to know her on top of the cage with treats, or just talk to her. Then try a step up. But let the cage be her safe place for right now. Later on, she needs to let you get in there but right now she needs to feel secure in her new environment. Give her time. And if she does nip, don't panic, we all get bit eventually. It's all about how you react: don't. Good luck! Joanna birdmom

Hi Dan MCQ, Yes, it's a case of TMI. Whew. Well I'm really glad to find this forum I don't have any friends who own birds that I can dump my worries on. I guess we're an odd bunch, talking to birds and all. My friends think I'm nuts. The truth is my CAG Charlie is a nut-job, he calls me a poop. He says, "Did you poop? Do you want some poop? Joanne Pooped." I always reply, no thank you Charlie, you're the poop. He laughs and there you have it. Joanna

Hi Mervyn2233, Yep I agree, it's normal. My female Buddi1 does it. I haven't heard male Charlie grinding beak, but I've read it's not unusual and indicates contentment? Well in any doubt, I buy a new toy, she likes to tear apart those colorful pinatas.

Thanks FairY. I'm looking forward to making some new friends here.

Hi there 2233! Well you are much braver than I am. I've had my CAGs since 2003 and no flying around here. I do have the wing trim every 2 mos or so give or take. I recommend you minimize encouraging flying, but its a personal preference like anything else. I just know they can injure themselves so easily. One reason is my female Buddi, tried to fly off my arm and headed for a towel rod in the bathroom but grabbed onto an electrical cord that was dangling there by mistake. The cord wasn't plugged in, however at the other end of it was a magnifying cosmetics mirror that weighed about 3pounds. Sure enough, when she held onto the cord, the mirror came down and the bird fluttered to the floor, and the mirror followed her down, narrowly missing her, she scuttled out from under its path at the last moment. But she was so frightened by it that her knees gave out and she started shaking violently. I held and comforted her, and it was over it a couple minutes. But it was a close call. You just don't know what they will grab onto or how steady it is. My other CAG Charlie flew off his playpen one day when I took out the trash. I came back in and couldn't find him anywhere I was so frantic. After about ten minutes, I spied him perched about two feet off the ground on the side of a folded up travel birdcage, that I had stored behind the front door. So, I could have smashed him behind the door when I opened it, but luckily I didn't open it that far. You just never know. Also, if you let them be flighted, their shoulders will get strong, and then if they ever get loose, they can fly further away, have developed strength and some endurance. They can fly several miles. Just a heads up. I personally don't want my birds to go too far, if they should ever escape. But good luck and be safe. Joanna Buddi and Charlie

Hi Muscleman, I'm birdmom aka Joanna, (Buddi and Charlie). Yes, you should keep them apart since greys are known not to allow other species in their flock. You may know that some parrot species allow others to roost in their flock, but not the Greys. (I saw another posting from someone here, who put their brother's lovebird in the cage with the grey, and the grey killed it.) Most birds are territorial with their cage, but notwithstanding that, Greys don't always mix well with other species unless they're brought up together or you get lucky. My advice is dont push your luck and you will enjoy your Grey and he is a very lucky birdy. I have two Greys and I don't let them perch together, since they are both bonded to me, and jealous of one another. But I have two big cages one for each, plus a small travel cage, and a large portable breakdown cage, plus the usual T stand and a big old Playstand. So, there's a place for them both to play anytime and get out of their cages without being near each other.

thanks judy. i guess i could post a picture, but it would look like all the other CAGs: big bird, grey, looks kinda like a pigeon with a white face, big old pointy beak and big red tail. that about sums it up. LOL

hi becky, You might try investing in a ceramic crock bowl that has a dome shaped top cover on it. They don't tend to throw their food as much because they can't stand inside the bowl. It works for me. Good luck. You should be able to find them at the bird supply shop, they are ceramic, and looks like a little birdhouse, there is a round hole in the front, and a nut and screw/washer that fits through a little hole in the back of the crock, where you fix it to the cage. I have three of them and they work.

Yes, they love those sunflower seeds. Unfortunately, they are fattening, and cause feeding problems because the bird will hold out waiting for his seeds, and not eat his pellets or cooked veggies. I'd never put the seeds in there first. I don't give sunflower seeds on a daily basis, and when I do, only about a dozen. It is birdie candy, like feeding your kids candy bars instead of a meal. No child will eat spinach if he has a bowl of ice cream.

I recommend keeping a hand vac nearby just for birdie spills. I have had a dirt devil hand vac near the bird cage for five years. I use it only for picking up dry stuff that lands on the floor. It works great, you have to adapt to a lifestyle change. You just have to expect that 50% of the food will not be eaten, it goes with the territory, they can't use a spoon.

No don't take the dish then put it back. If you do, she has trained you to come over and see her, and then come back again, in 20 minutes. She has you trained.

Yes I can help you. You must never yell at the bird. 1. The yelling is a reward in the form of attention; if you have yelled previously for throwing food, then the bird is throwing it now, in order to get a reaction. It may want more attention from you. 2. You can buy a dish that has a dome top, I have one of those, and if my female starts throwing food, then I ignore it; however, at my next early opportunity I calmly walk over and switch the dish, to the one with the dome top. That way it's hard for the bird to stand in the dish and pick up food and throw it because they have to duck under the top. Then it's not fun, they can't see you, and it's dark in there. Try getting a dish with a dome shaped top, they're crocks made of ceramic, they ahve a little nut and screw and can be hung on the side of the cage. Good luck. Never yell, it'll reinforce the unwanted behavior. These birds are very sensitive. The rule with parrots is ignore bad behavior (no reaction) and reward good behaviour with treats and attention.

Ignore it. By running over there and making a fuss you will reinforce bad unwanted behavior. You may try quietly reaching in and and picking her up then placing her on her perch and walk away. The tray is there to catch the poop. Most cages have two grooves, one high and one low. My male will do that same thing if I put it into the low one, so with him I have to put it in the high one right below the grill that he stands on. Many birds do what your bird did. Your bird may be adjusting to a new cage. Reward good behavior right away, and ignore bad. Paying attention is a reward, to a grey.

Both my greys do that when they want to go somewhere, it's a flight instinct, I think. He probably wants to fly, or get from point a to b. Mine lean in the direction of where they want to go, when they do that. I usually ask them where they want to go, and point to it. They nod their head and I give them a ride on my finger.

Hello. You shouldn't be afraid of a baby. They don't know how to bite yet. At least, it shouldn't. Biting is not natural behavior, they'd have to have a bad experience, and instinctively had to bite, or learned it from another bird. I think you should just trust your birdy and it will trust you. They can read your emotions. If you are hanging back, the bird will too. They also have to learn the step up command. You may want to find out the bird's favorite treat. Have that with you and come bearing gifts. Maybe an apple slice. That's what I did. Don't expect too much just wait until the bird comes to your hand for the treat. That will be a milestone. Then go from there, one step at a time. Once the bird is taking the treat from you, you can begin training it to step up. The pet shop should be working on step up with the bird and socializing it. If not, you will have to.

Hello, I'm Joanne, I have Buddi and Charlie, CAGs. I'm so confused because a couple days ago I put up a posting here, under the Welcome new members thread. I can't find the reply I posted. Where is it? We are in northern california. My female grey Buddi is 6, and on fluconazole for a yeast infection, we're trying to figure out why she is plucking her neck feathers and the vet did a gram test on her neck and found some kind of yeast. He gave me a spray antibiotic, but she hated that and was trying to eat it and pull out all the feathers that the spray got on. So, after one day of that I had to bathe it all off her, and we went to the oral fluconazole. She didn't like that at all and neither did I. He also gave her a shot of Lupron, in case her plucking started due to hormones. She is now getting a syringe of fluconazole 2x a day for 18 days. Fortunately, she is taking it but not liking it. I have to give her a nut afterwards so she feels rewarded and that is working. I also have a male CAG, Charlie who is 4. I think he is the reason she is plucking. Although she started it before I got him it was very minor. Then after I got him in April, she really starting plucking more. I think she is jealous. The infection may have started 18 mos ago when I moved and she got stressed afterward, and a gram stain showed high negative gram bacteria in her fecal. So, she went on antibiotics, and afterward I should have put her on a Probiotic, but I didn't know it and the vet didn't tell me. So I think she got the yeast from the antibiotics, and it is slow growing, so until some real big stress factors occurred, it was in check. When I got bird number two, she got stressed and I also got her a new cage that month. I'm spending more time with her now, making sure she is feeling verrrry special! I hope I can learn to use this forum. I don't understand what happened to my other posting. This seems like a great place to meet others with CAGs .

Hi. He may be testing you. When he bites you do not react no matter how much it hurts. Just say don't bite, and start asking him to step up, laddering him on your hand, making him take step up over and over. That will distract him.

hi there. don't give up on him. it may take a while but he may be entering his terrible twos. I recommend Sally Blanchard's book. She covers this type of behavior. First rule out medical problems, then did you make some change in your life or your schedule? Bring home a new person who you are paying alot of attention to? Change the routine, or your schedule changed? Greys can let you know they aren't happy this way. But, otherwise, when my grey got nippy, and after ruling out the other things, I realized he was testing me. After the first nip, I just stuck my whole hand in there and made a fist so no fingers were vulnerable, and I said, Okay, here, bite them all! Go ahead. I said it very calmly and looked right at him. He just looked at me, and didn't know what to do. Sure, the first nip hurts. But you have to stay firm on this. What I did was let him know I wasn't going to be intimidated by biting. I just said 'no biting' very calmly. About a month later, he tried it again. So, I took him right out of that cage, and put him on time out in the Neutral room in a smaller cage, with the door shut and a nice light, food and water. He had to stay on time out for 1 hour. All I said was 'no biting time out.' So, he came back out and a couple hours later, same problem, he went right back into the time out cage. It went on all day, it was a long day but I won. After the third time, which was about a 3 hour time out, he was very nice,making kissing noises to me. It's been a couple weeks now and no biting. He will use his beak to move my finger, but he does not bite me now. He learned what no biting means and it's consequences. I recommend you invest in a second cage, a smaller one, just for travel, boarding or time out in a neutral room. And buy Sally Blanchard's book.

Hello, I'm Joanna. I'm here typing away, I should be sleeping but I have a very itchy girl on my arm here that wants scritching and doesn't like bedtime at all (6 yr old Buddi). Somebody has been pulling feathers out of her neck, now she has a ring around her neck that's plucked. So, I am glad to see those posts about the aloe vera juice, I will try spraying that on her and I am doing more baths, twice a week now. I took her to the vet last week and he ran a gram stain and found she has a little yeast, so she is on fluconazole .25 ml. 2x a day for 18 days I give her in a little syringe. The plucking started about a year ago but only a tiny little spot, and then it grew really fast in the last several months, I think it was due to getting another CAG in April she got stressed and I also got her a new cage in April. So it may be she had the yeast going a year ago, and it probably came from some antibiotic I gave her 18 mos ago for high negative gram bacteria that was caused by stress from long distance move. Anyway, I learned my lesson I should have put her on probiotics right after the antibiotic. Now I have a plucker, but I hope she will stop now that the yeast problem is being treated. She doesn't seem as itchy and the vet also gave her a Lupron shot since he said sometimes that helps females who pluck hormonally. Well, like all Greys, she likes her head and neck scratched, always has, but I'm not seeing entire pin feathers on the cage floor, and she isn't yanking them out right in front of me now.We'll see, I'll post on that progress. I also have a male, 4 yrs. Charlie (pronounced with an English accent, according to him). He is a healthy 450 grams, pretty consistently. I am a bit concerned about my female Buddi's weight, she has gone from 442 to 436 over the years but this year she has dropped to 426. I don't know if it's the meds/yeast infection, or since I changed the diet a bit in July, cut back on the sunflower seeds, millet, cob corn, and the apples and high calorie fruits, since the vet said they are birdy candy and not good for them. I think it could account for 10 grams wt. loss in two months because back in April and May I was buying alot of grapes, canteloupe and strawberries, right? She eats the Zupreem and loves that. Her calcium is on the low side of normal, but she won't eat Kale, and most veggies bore her. Any ideas for calcium foods? Or probiotics eg: grape seed, or apple cider vinegar? I hear mixed things about that. Any help is appreciated. Joanna, Buddi and Charlie in California (time for bed birdies!)