KatB

Fantastic news, Terri! This is exciting stuff. Please feel free to tap me for any startup work needed.

I think it can mean different things depending on the breeder. Oliver's band, for instance, is 3 letters, followed by a symbol and then 4 numbers. The numbers can't possibly be a year or any format of date, so I have to assume his is just a sequential number of some sort. On the other hand, I'm sure some breeders do include a form of the date...

LOL Jane, your toe story got my laugh of the day. Thanks!

Wow, you guys have been busy today! I'm interested in helping, as well. Please keep me posted.

I found this site, don't know how helpful it will be to you: http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww5eiii.htm The following links are to some banding databases. http://www.ncbirdlegband.info/ http://www.pamperedpeeps.com/bandsbreeders.htm It appears these registries are voluntary so they aren't complete. I was unable to find Oliver's band number or breeder code there. There's another, more promising, link that's pasted all over the internet but which appears to be dead. Maybe that's just a temporary condition, though. It's http://buddysfriends.com/registry.html I hope this helps.

I have to believe he's doing it on purpose, but I don't understand why he has started doing it every time he's perched on my hand. The fluttering does unbalance him and to keep him from falling I hold him close to my chest and he stops fluttering. Maybe that's what he's after? He wants me to hold him against my body while I'm carrying him and he knows if he flutters I'll do it? I sure wish he would talk and say "Hey, Dummy, hold me against your chest why don't you?"

Great news, Ronda, CONGRATULATIONS!

LOL, I think I'm going to have to have a little more than 10 days for Oliver. It's taken 3 months to get him to sit on a towel when in my lap. Still haven't had any luck with raising the edges of the towel while he's sitting there, though!

Did your birds learn to wear a harness from babyhood, or did you have to train an adult to wear one?

Aww, I'm having visions of prisoners running in place in their jail cells. I'm seriously considering letting Oliver become flighted. By the time his flight feathers grow back, I should be experienced enough to handle it. I know this Forum has lots of strong feelings both ways and I don't want to start any controversy, but I would be interested in hearing some objective viewpoints on pros and cons...

Thanks for the info, everybody. I don't know why he only seems to do it when I'm transporting him, but if it's good for him I'll go with it!

In my early research on the care and feeding of an African Grey, I ran across an article that recommended intentionally causing a clipped grey to flutter his wings for several minutes a day to give him exercise. Since it involves causing him to be off balance while holding him, I thought it sounded a little suspicious and didn't do it. But recently Oliver has been doing it all on his own when I carry him -- fluttering wildly like he thinks he's going to fall, although he hasn't hand any trauma like that that I know of. Do you think he's just exercising or does it sound like he has become uncertain of his balance when perched on my hand?

On navigation -- I found a good tool to be the list of recent posts on the Home page. That's the best way to see all posts sorted by date. You can search by name in the search box at the top of the Forum pages if you want to see posts by a particular user. Also, if you click on the user name beside a post you can go to that user's profile and see a list of all their posts. I'm not a power user by any means, but these are some things I use often. I experienced some of the things you mention when I brought home my grey when he was 18 months old. I also did the glove thing until the folks here recommended I not. I then went to a hand-held perch for quite a while until he became trusting of me. That worked very well. He didn't mind stepping up onto the perch and it saved my skin! Just be patient. I can tell you from experience that as long as you consistently show him you are trustworthy, he'll soon get the message and become a wonderful loving companion. With these guys, that word "patient" always shows up!

I've recently started seeing good size feathers - 2 to 4 inches, a couple of times a week on the cage bottom or on the floor near the cage. These featers have intact quills that look like the tip of a new shoestring. Also, he's having mood swings, being very sweet and loving one minute, then pretending to want a head scratch and attacking my hand when I reach for his head. As best I can figure, Oliver was born in March of 2006. Does this sound like a major molt?

Hey, Matt, are you out there? How's Max doing?

That's a wonderful story, Dan. I always thought his name came from the calypso song.

Oliver sometimes climbs down onto the floor when I'm in another room so he can come and see what I'm doing. I don't think it's so much that he likes being on the floor as that it's a means to an end. If walking across the floor is what he has to do to find me, that's what he'll do.

How cool is that! Thank you for sharing that photo.

FairY, I suppose houses there are built to retain the cool to ward off the summer heat, but in winter that works against you! It's so interesting to hear from folks in different parts of the world. You mentioned the Netherlands in a previous post. Does your work take you to these foreign parts?

I put 1/4 cup of pellets and 1/4 cup of seeds in my TAG's bowls every 2 or 3 days. I had been wondering if I should cut back to just what he'll eat in a day, but he isn't consistent. Sometimes he'll eat it quickly, other times I'll empty the bowls after 3 days or so just to resupply with fresh. I also make sure I offer at least 4 different types of green and yellow vegetables, a fruit, a couple of servings of bread and a protein source every day. Like you, I sometimes wonder if he ate anything at all, but he appears to be meaty enough and happy. He does get excited when he sees me coming with his breakfast and dinner, though!

Ah-hmmm. Wow, Tracy, I'm so happy to hear Soldier is on his way to being able to enjoy the good life he deserves. What will you do if he and Coco decide to start a family? Are you prepared for that?

Yes, growing up in Tennessee made me identify with a few legends -- Elvis, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn... Are we off topic yet? :lol:

Dolly Parton! How funny! :laugh: Especially since she's from my home state - Tennessee -- and I pass by her theme park whenever I travel home. And here's a UK AG whistling along to her music. Such a small small world!

Hey, Tracy, how about an update on Soldier? Is he one of the gang, yet? Have he and Coco paired up? Is he still in his cage or has he moved into the commune? We want to know the rest of the story!

Walmart has flax-seed oil capsules in the vitamin section. They look like Vitamin E capsules and are a good source of omega-3. I just poke a hole in them and squeeze the oil onto Oliver's breakfast, about a half-capsule a day. The red palm oil is a source of omega-6. If you can't find red palm oil, you might try substituting ground walnuts. Or, I understand safflower oil is also rich in Omega 6. I don't know what the consensus is on feeding safflower oil to the greys, though. Maybe a more knowledgeable member will shed some light.