asnead72

Thanks for the welcoming words! I posted quite a few of Smokey on my profile. I'm looking forward to learning more about why he does what he does-I need all the help I can get right now! Thanks!

Smokey doesn't bathe well either. I had a perch in my shower at one time because he loved the steam and the condensation from the water, and would sometimes even venture into it. Now, when I try to put him into some water, like a shallow dish he has a fit and pretty much leaves me bleeding. I left him out in the rain once on a purpose on a hot day to see if it worked better for him (cage was half in and half out) and he stayed out of it. Once in a while, he will play in his water bowl, but that's very rare... I feel your pain, believe me!

Yeah, I'm guilty of not following directions very well, but I believe as long as it's not a habit, it can't hurt him too much. I tried the pellets once before and all he did was pick them up and fling them everywhere. It's like he knew what I was doing!! He used to love the monkey food as well, but someone told me it wasn't good for him after a certain age. Thanks for the advice guys! It's always welcomed because let's be honest, none of us are perfect! Angie

Hi everyone. My name is Angie and I have a male African Grey named Smokey (I know, my husband named him because he's gray like smoke...egad!). He is the only bird I have ever had and we bought him from a pet store when he was still on monkey food. He's definitely a mama's boy and will only let me hold him, pet him, play with him, and feed him. My husband, Jerry, tries to be a part of his life, but I see the betrayal in Smokey's eyes when Jerry pushes his finger through the cage to pet his beak! I am going through growing pains right now with Smokey. We have had a major alteration in our lifestyle and he is letting me know every day how much he hates the change. But we are working on it together! I have always treated him like a child of mine and wouldn't have it any other way.<br><br>Post edited by: asnead72, at: 2007/10/30 03:09

Hopefully I am not the only one out there that does this, and that I am not doing something super duper wrong! My Grey has always eaten what we have eaten (except Avocado's and chocolate...well maybe an m&m or two!). If we have spaghetti, he gets some, bbq chicken, he loves, and all kinds of other stuff. I feed him plenty of seed along with daily fruit treats, goldfish crackers, or raisins, which is one of his all time fav's. He uses his deluxe seed mix as a snack or appetizer only and he could never survive on just that. Am I wrong for doing this? I don't feed him pellets; I give him milk diluted and juices diluted for the added vitamins. He has a clean bill of health and he doesn't do anything outside of annoy me!

I went through the same problem with my child, er bird. You kind of have to think of it as testing her boundaries (the biting). You have to tell her No and teach her that it's not nice. I have a funny feeling it has to do with the new cage though. You took away her familiar and now she's in a big cage that she may feel intimidated by. Try putting like a small box in it; it may give her the comfort of being surrounded. The shaking, well my bird does it when he's uncomfortable, usually when my husband comes around hahaha. He doesn't like men for some reason, and when he comes near the cage, he starts shaking the same way you described. If you compare her to a toddler, going through her terrible 2's and never getting past the age of 4, it might help you understand it a little better. That's the only way I have been able to cope with my booger. Good luck!

Craigslist does not allow you to sell animals, at all. You can give them away, but to ask for a price on them is forbidden. This is directly from their site: [ no pet sales or breeding please -- rehoming with small adoption fee OK ]. Craigslist is actually not bad for a lot of things. It's kind of like an online garage sale!

Wow I thought I was the only one glaring at the bird on a daily basis! If I'm not paying attention to Smokey (4yrs now) when he's ready for attention, he lets me know! Somewhere between my husband's cell phone, the house phone, the microwave, that annoying chirping bird outside and of course the barking of my mom's chihuaha that visits us, he drives me bonkers! It's like he knows what will get under my skin and lets it blare when he's ready! But other times, I just love him to death!

My Smokey loves to be touched, but on his terms only. The only way I can tell how much he wants to be handled is how he reacts when I massage his beak while he's in the cage. If he immediately tries to snap my finger in two, I know that it's best just to leave him a piece of banana and apple and be on my way. Other times, he will give me love nips and push the top of his head under my hand. But beware, when he's done with you, he will leave the mark to show it!