LisaM

I just got the same deal on a stand at our local Petco in Minnesota (Maple Grove). I don't normally shop there but went in just to see. It's one of the metal stands with a tray, a U frame with a dowel across the top and a food/water dish at each end. Simple stand and perfect as I just wanted an extra around. It was $24.99 (normally $99.99). They actually had 3 more, but the others had something wrong with them (not level, one dish cracked, etc). Lisa

Congrats on your new Ekkie! I love my little green guy, Max. I'm so happy that Basil has you to look after him now!!! Sounds like you've done your homework, but here are two good sites for eclectus info (one with a forum, but not NEARLY as active as this one!) www.shadeseclectus.com www.landofvos.com Both have good cooked food (rice/beans/corn/etc) recipes, birdie bread, etc., as well as a ton of information. If you get a chance, sprout some of that millet. Mine absolutely goes berserk over sprouted seed and it's SUPER healthy for them (all birds, really, but my grey won't touch it yet...still trying though!). Lisa

Sounds like really good progress. I hope he comes home with you soon also!

Val - oops! I wrote back to Laurie before reading your email. You, too, should feel free to check out Kathy Reichs! :-) And thanks for the tip on Katrina Kittle...I've never heard her name before. I just googled her and read the prologue and part of the 1st chapter of her book, "The Kindness of Strangers." I feel a trip to B&N tomorrow! I'm almost tempted to get out of bed and run out right now but hubby's not home yet and kids already in bed. (probably would have to tear up my "Mother of the Year" application if I were to wake them up on a school night just to go buy a book!...now a weekend would be a different story :-)). Thanks again. You guys are all great!

Laurie - if you love the Kay Scarpetta series, you should try Kathy Reichs. She has a series of 8 books out...the first 7 were pretty good but I'm struggling staying engaged with the 8th. Good character though in Dr. Tempe Brennan, a forensic anthropogist (another great perspective). Settings primarily Quebec and North Carolina. Lisa

Thanks Makena! And kudos (and Karma, of course!) to you Toni for taking some credit for your kids doing well. My mother has always wanted to assume blame for leaving us home alone when we were teenagers (apparently directly causing us to make all sorts of bad decisions in early adulthood), but says we're now successful "despite" her. Crazy. Lisa

Batman Returns - Danny DeVito

One more... #6 - Makena's "wet bird" pictures!!! I love those! I'm on a mission now to get Kenya that soaked. I've never seen a grey that wet. I love it! Lisa

#1. Watching my kids sleep...I think I'll periodically sneak into their rooms until the day they move out! #2. My daughter (9) asking how old she has to be to volunteer at MAARS (the Midwest Avian Adoption and Rescue Services) or the Humane Society. How great is that! #3. I agree with Nevval...I love fresh snow when it covers every little twig on the trees...so peaceful. (particularly when I'm inside watching it drinking a hot chocolate with just a smidgen of butterscotch schnapps). #4. Climbing into my own bed after being away from home for a few days. #5. Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs...the only reason for having cable tv! Lisa

Nevval - the Mermaid Chair was fantastic (much better than I expected)! I liked the Secret Life of Bees also. Ooh, and another one that I thought was interesting was the Life of Pi. It was weird at first, but a good read. Lisa

Well you folks are a bit more "literary" than I am...but I love to read fictional crime series. - John Sandford's "Prey" series - set in Minneapolis (home for me) - Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series (she's the main character, a medical examiner) - John Patterson's Women's murder club series (1st to Die through 5th Horseman) Ugh, and then when I need a break from the nastiness I love: - Janet Evanovich - absolutely hilarious series about a female bounty hunter who gets into all sorts of trouble (and it has TWO hunky main men!) - Nicholas Sparks is always good if you need a good cry (Message in the Bottle, Notebook, etc...books are WAY better than the movies!). The birds think the best book in the world is one I'm done reading and let them shred...what good parrot fun! Lisa

If you go to MrSpock's profile page, he has a link to an article he wrote about 100% aloe vera juice. There's also info on it at www.landofvos.com. Lisa

I don't have a plucker either (just one who "barbs" his feathers and I'm trying to stop that before it turns into plucking!) but have read on this forum several threads about it (plus on a few other sites)...here are some things I would try... Search the forums here for "aloe vera juice" or "aloe juice". I haven't used it but it sounds like several people on this site do and have been very successful. One of the other things I have seen mentioned on this site is giving multiple showers each day...that keeps them preening, vs. plucking, and may be distracting. The aloe juice when sprayed until "soaking wet" (which is not easy with a grey but worth the effort) softens the skin, has anti-itch properties and softens the feathers. People here haven't had luck with the sprays made for "anti-plucking" (like pluck-no-more). Also, you don't HAVE to cover the cage, particularly if he doesn't like it. It may have been used as a punishment at his previous home. None of mine are covered at night but they are in a room with windows and the lights go out around 8 or 9 and the sun wakes them up (I keep the blinds closed so it's a little later than sunrise - I don't hear any morning contact calls until 7 or so). They seem to be doing just fine. It sounds like your little guy is only getting about 7 hours of sleep each night...I completely understand wanting to spend more time with him, but from what I read, they really need much more sleep than that. I've heard 10-12 hours each night and that anything less can create behavioral problems. Is it possible for you to extend his sleep time? I'm sure others will have ideas. I'm really happy that your little guy has someone who wants so much to help him! Lisa

This post is in the Blogs Comments section. You might want to repost in the general African Grey section...more people will probably see it there! Good luck to you! Lisa

When I got one of my birds, she was on a prety junky diet. Wouldn't touch any fruits/veggies/pellets. The first thing I did is try some plain, popped popcorn (obviously plain...no butter or salt!). If I broke it up into small pieces she would eat it. Then I went to soaking the unpopped popcorn overnight, rinsing then cooking the next day for several hours until expanded and "soft". (read that on the landofvos website I think). She LOVED that. Then I moved to cooking up rice & beans and when she started to like that moved to adding veggies to that mix. Now she will eat cooked veggies by themselves but I still have to work on the raw! A lot of it is trial-and-error and small steps towards a better diet. It can be a long trip but nothing could be better for the bird than getting him/her on a healthy diet. I find all my parrots love getting cooked food and will chose that over "almost" anything! The pellets in apple juice as Judy mentioned works wonders with some also! Good luck to your daughter...and bless her for saving this bird! Lisa

Jane - that is so good to hear! Most non-bird people would think "so what?" with your progress, but we know how huge it is, not only for now but for your entire (l-o-n-g) live together! I am so happy for all of you! Lisa

Thank you all. In the two days (has it really only been two days?) I've been on the board I have learned, laughed and have even teared up over some of the posts. Now I'm going to have to wean myself off a bit in order to go back to work tomorrow! :-)

Ooooh...I hadn't heard or thought of the calculator tape! I'm going to pick some up today! Thanks! I have also heard some people will take a phone book and use a band saw and cut it into 3 inch widths and hang in the cage. I would think the white pages would be okay, but I wouldn't use the yellow with all the colored ink and all. I don't have a band saw or table saw, nor do I have any phone books (thanks to the internet), but it might be a good idea to try as well if you do. Lisa

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. These are the saddest posts on the site. My heart breaks each and every time. I think the only way to know for sure what happened is to have a necropsy done. Your vet should be able to put you in touch with someone who can do it. The peace of mind is worth every penny. You mentioned she was your 2nd...does that mean you still have another one at home? If so, the necropsy is even more important so you know if there's something you need to do to protect your other bird. A year ago I had several finches (12) and grass parakeets (4) in one large aviary cage. They started dying one by one (a few weeks apart) and after the 3rd time I brought him in and found out he had an infectious disease and I had to have them all euthanized (it was zoonotic - transferrable to humans, so I couldn't risk it...nor did I want it to pass to my parrots). I was happy I knew what it was though so I could take all steps necessary to ensure my parrots were not affected and do what I could to protect them from picking it up. I also had to deep clean my house with a new cleaner to kill the bacteria as it could live for 2-3 years! In the end it gave me peace of mind in many, many ways but a very sad situation. I understand about closure and hope you're able to get the information you need in order to get it. Warmest regards, Lisa

Just a word on Chet Womach...here is an article from this past May with him addressing his old training technique called "flooding", which was a "scare into submission" technique (yikes!), and his acknowledgement that although it may be an "effective" method, he no longer believes in this approach and now teaches positive reinforcement: http://http://www.buzzle.com/articles/flooding-bad-parrot-training-technique-macaws.html So, his more recent stuff is probably better than what was available in the past (as he would say himself). I'm sure we would all love to hear what you think once you're using them! I do second the recommendation of www.goodbirdinc.com also. Just don't want Chet's name to be scarred forever if he has indeed educated himself and changed his approach (hey, almost everyone used to feed almost solely seed, right?) (now, in my opinion, he should have sent everyone who ever ordered one of his older videos a copy of the new, and better, way to train...but I doubt that happened. Just have to hope that parrot owners out there are trying to keep themselves educated just like everyone on this board! :-)). Lisa

I'm so happy for you, your boyfriend and your bird! It sounds like it's win-win-win all around! I look forward to one day going to one of Barbara's seminar (there's on in November in Wisconsin but I don't think I can do it that weekend). I am in the middle of an 8 week online positive reinforcement training course. I have learned a ton and it's a lot more fun than trying to "force" the birds to do something. Continued good luck to you! Lisa

You could get some smaller playstands for the other rooms so you can sometimes bring him in there. He does need to get used to not having to be in the same room as you though also. Just a word on CNN...there are some pretty scary stories/videos on there (people running around, fires, gun shots/war stuff, etc.) You might be better off with a regular channel...we have a public tv station (channel 2) that has kids cartoons during the day, Mr. Rogers, things like that. Just check the listings for the day because you never know what they may pick up...don't want to mistakenly have it where Jerry Springer might be on! Yikes! :blush: (of course, the bird wouldn't learn to swear, but it might start making the "bleep" sound all the time!) Maybe CNN has toned down...i just used to find it depressing. Just my two cents, that's all. warmest regards, Lisa

Here are my two oldest girls...Angie and Sadie (Sorry - couldn't help it)

Wow - you're pretty quick on the response! Thanks! I figured that was the case. Lisa

Is there any way to see forum posting dates/times in our local times? If not, no big deal, but I thought I'd ask. Thanks! Lisa