Tycos_mom

Thats so great Linda The birds do have this way of supriseing us sometimes don't they. Maxi has been listening to Tanner screeching for you all month long. She probubly thinking that its about time you decided to introduce him to her. I think they will be just fine. I know just how cold iyt got when your power went out. The other night we had a huge wind storm and it was 7 degrees below zero out side and our power went out for 6 hour from 8 pm until 2 am. I was so worried about the bird it was so cold in our house. Our house is heated with electricity and it was just freezing. We have a gas fireplace that runs on propane but I haven't bothered to fill the propane tank. I think I might get that done very soon so at least we will have some heat if that ever happens again this winter. It also has an electic fan on the fire place to help distribute the heat better but I sure it would still be better than no heat at all. We could all cuddle around it and stay a bit warmer than we were the other night anyway. I'm glad your birs made it through without to many problems and so did mine thank goodness. Gizmo is starting to become a real sweet heart he steps up from on top of his cage with no problems at all and really seems to enjoy his time away from his cage. he has gotten better at comeing out of his cage now also. I still have to talk him into it a bit but its not to hard anymore. All i have to do is pick up his water sprayer and he comes right out I don't even have to spray it anymore I just pick it up and he know its time to come out. He quite funny though I ask him to step up and he actually flys up instead it funny because I'm standing right beside him and he flys the 3inches instead of just stepping up. I'm so glad that Tanner is going to work out well and he's finally out of quaritine now so you can start working a bit more with him.<br><br>Post edited by: Tycos_mom, at: 2008/12/17 07:45

congrates!! You new little girl sounds wonderful. It sounds like she will grow up to be the perfect little companion. Keep us updated in her progress. we would love some pictures please when you get a chance

I'm glad you had a wonderful vacation with your children and grandchildren. I can just imagine how much you missed your baby's It would be almost unbearable I would think. I'm so glad that they where happy to see you and Joesy wasn't mad at you for leaving her. I don't think Tyco would have been quite so forgiving. She was mad at me for 2 days just because I took her to the vet.

I was thinking it may be heavy metal posioning also did your vet take a blood test and if not please get one done as soon a possible. if there is any metal that your not sure of around or in his cage get rid of it imediatly if the cage he is in has been paited or if its a old cage get rid of it as well and but your baby in a small cage with a light on it to keep him warm cover cover three sides to keep the heat in. and go as fast as you can to a vet and get a blood screen done for heavy metal posining and any other bird diseses that have these simptons pbfd does not have the symptoms that your bird has.

I heard that Ionizer are bad for parrots I have 2 air cleaners with ionizer opions I never turn the Ionizer on just the air cleaner. Ionizers lump dust particals togethwe and when taken in when your parrot breaths can be bad for their delicate systems. So I've heard.

Great post for new bird owner. What would we do without you Dave.

I can't beleive that Tanner is like that also they really are a strange little bird so indesisive makes me wonder how they've ever survived in the wild. They are really sweet friendly birds and I just love Gizmo to death because he so cute and loveing he just doesn't know what he wants. Or mabie it just seems that way.

Thank you for the nice comments Its just trial and error with Gizmo he's so different than any of my other birds. Even though Tyco was also cage bound it was totally different I knew what I could do with her she laid out her boundrys and I didn't cross them with Gizmo the lines are not so cut and dry he wants to be a pet and wants me to scritch his head but he gets nervous about it then changes his mind at the last minute. He really needs that little push to get over his nervousness. then one he does somthing a couple times he's ok with it. Its hard because I don't know where to stop. Like I said its trial and error with him.

All Greys lose white downy feathers if that is all your seeing is these feathwes I wouldn't worry to much. Most Greys don't start to pluck if they do start to pluck until they are at least a year or 2 old baby's will sometimes pull feathers but it usually isn't a permanent thing its usually just s short phase that the grow out of very quickly so don't worry

Try not to let her see you get upset over this Greys love dramamand may keep doing it if she see that she gets a reaction from you I know its hard but you have to treat her like nothing has happened or she may not ever stop. She is very young and could grow out of this as fast as it started as long as you carry on like everything is fine.

When I first got Tyco every flight feather on her left wing was chewed completel off. I beleive that she had a bad clip as a baby and just kept chewing that side because everytime it started to grow in it irritated her. she was 4yrs old when I got her and the person I got her from thought it was a birth defect because it had always been like that for as long as he had Tyco. I took Tyco to the vet and had her wings clipped to match each other because she was so off balance she would constantly fall on her keel and I was sure that if something wasn't done she would hurt herself. Since I had her wings evened out she no longer chews her feathers and is now fully flighted and is just learning how to fly she was not permited to fledge as a baby. I like to think that she stopped chewing because she is happy and healthy but its more than likely because I had her wings fixed for her so when they started to grow they where no longer as irritating to her so she had no more need to chew them off.

Mabie your right I just about get to the point where I think he's never going todo anything except stay in that cage for the rest of his life. I still have to coax him out of his cage but that doesn't take to much as soon as I get the water sprayer out to give him a misting he will come out of his cage so I can give him a bath. for the last 2 day I have been getting a towel out and as soon as he see the towel he flys off of his cage and once he's off his cage he will step up no problem but today I didn't even have to get the towel I said step up and he jumped right onto my arm. I think he's starting to realize that he gets allot more attention from me if he will come with me and sit where I want to be. anyway he will step up from The top of any cage now e was sitting on the travel cage next to me today and as soon as i asked he jumped onto my arm. And like I said he flew over to Tyco's cage today after the dog spooked him and he stepped right up off Tyco's cage also mind you he stepped up to quickly because he was scared and used his beak to grab first and got my skin a bit. he didn't bite me hard enough to break the skin but it hurt a lot I didn't react though because I knew if was out of fear not because hhe meant to bite me so I just clenched my teeth and proceeded to calm him down. He 's going to be okay I think. I try to make it fun for him when he comes with me and he really seems to enjoy his time away from his cage. I think thats why he stepped up today he starting to understand that there is more to life then being locked up. I'm really glad I started pushing him a bit again. I hope he will continue to go forward now.

I was making my daughter an after school snack and Fergie was making a pest of herself flew from her cage to the top of the frige then to my shoulder. I said to her your quite the flyer today aren't you. she said yea then she flew from my shoulder to the table top perch that was on the counter so I said you really liking this flying stuff ah she said yea then I said are you and angel flying around like that she said yea thats right very matter of factly I laughed so hard and so did she. Gosh they are just so smart some times.<br><br>Post edited by: Tycos_mom, at: 2008/12/11 02:29

I know exactly how you feel their is such a rewarding feeling to bring home a bird that is unhappy stressed out and neglected and to watch that bird turn into a happy well ajusted pet that he was always meant to be it is a feeling that is wonderfully rewarding. I have rescued a few birds now and that rewarding feeling never gets old. It takes a very speicial person to have enough love and patient to be able to take on a bird with tons of baggage but the harder it is to get them past all that the more rewarding it is. And each little step forward is so awesome because you know that that little step forward became possible for the bird to do because of your love and patients. Kepp up the good work and don't forget to keep us updated also. I would really love to see some pictures of your birds when you get a chance

Thats great that you got your new bird home. As soon as you can please post some pics I would love to see the little sweetie.

It definatly sounds like divine intervention if you ask me. I think its wonderful that you are willing to give these birds a forever home. I also think if you put them in the same cage that it will make it much harder to tame them. You may want to hold off on putting them together until your male is more comfortable with you and is stepping up on command.

It definatly sounds like divine intervention if you ask me. I think its wonderful that you are willing to give these birds a forever home. I also think if you put them in the same cage that it will make it much harder to tame them. You may want to hold off on putting them together until your male is more comfortable with you and is stepping up on command.

I finally got Gizmo to step up from his cage. I almost fell over when he did it and boy did I give him a ton of praise. I do have to get his wings clipped though he was in my bedroom with me and he was on my shoulder. and my Pappion decided to jump up on the bed well It spooked Gizmo and he flew around the room a couple time and landed on Tyco's cage. Thank goodness Tyco is used to other birds and treats them as flock members so I just said no Tyco don't hurt him and I went over and stepped Gizmo back up onto my arm he was still a little shaken because of the dog and I got a bit of a bite but nothing serious and he soon settled back down again. I hope it doesn't set him back its so great that he is stepping up for me I don't want him to go backwards just because that silly dog always wants to play.<br><br>Post edited by: Tycos_mom, at: 2008/12/11 06:34

I think Panda(iluv her name) just needs some time its great that she is stepping up for you sometimes she obviously has missed human interaction but is a little bit nervous about her new enviroment I sure she will come around and will start getting more vocal as soon as she is more comfortable with her new surrondings. Greys are great birds but when the get rehomed it takes them quite abit longer to settle in than other birds. I believe this is due to there high intelegence and to the fact that they bond so strongly to their humans they are very loyal. it takes them a while to get over the heart break of losing their friend and get on with their lives again. just be patient with her and show her that she is loved and cared for and she will come around in her own time

I know Its probubly just a matter of time and patients. He really seems to enjoy his time away from his cage he looks around and snuggles againts my face. But he just can't seem to get past wanting to be near or on a cage. I'm really starting to think that I should just take his cage totally away from him for a few days except to sleep in at night. This may help him to realize that the world won't come to an end just because he doesn't have a cage.

You have to remember that your bird is an animal all birds will eat other birds. Hawks aspececily would just love to get their talons on our pet birds its not canobolistic for our birds to eat chicken its not like their eating another one of their own species its a chicken not a Grey.

Zooman I think if you look in Superstore they carry hartz bonanza for hook billed parrots and I think walmart carries it also. I buy the small hookbill for my conures when I'm out of food and need somthing in a hurry I do perfer a slightly higher quality seed and nut mix usually but in a pinch it's not to bad. Like I said I tried this new food I found at petsmart its made by Browns and its called tropical carnaval for hookbills I have never seen so much stuff in a parrot food in my life it has tons of different kinds of deied fruits and veggies, every kind of nut and seed you think of, it has pasta and pretzels and all kinds of stuff including pellets of all different shapes sizes and colors My birds just love it and my birds are looking just gorgous. the best part is that there is hardly any waste because they eat mostly everything thats in it.Its also a little pricey a 5lb bag is about 27.00 but they love it so I don't mind.

I sit on the floor with my birds and play roly poly with a ball Fergie Tyco and myself all play they will pass the ball to each other or to me its great fun they really seem to enjoy it. I have taught my Amazon to roll over like you would teach a puppy. She loves learning new things Tyco can recognize different colors and different letters and numbers I use childrens plastc number and letter shapes to teach her they are also different colors so she can learn colors with them also. all my bird learned to turn around and wave these where 2 things that they learned in a very short time. I have to agree that playing a tape to teach your bird to talk is really not the best way. I think that word assosation is the only way that your bird will actually learn to comunicate with you I talk to my birds as if they where children and I say what ever comes to mind if I'm giveing the something I always say what it is and I ask them if they like it or not. Talk to your bird as if you where teaching your child to talk he will soon learn and its nice when they can actually talk to you and comunicate different things. Like when I tell my birds that its time to get myself ready for work. Fergie will say no its not fair don't go. They are very smart and can learn allot from us if your willing to teach them.

I also have a rehomed Grey only my sweet heart had three terrible homes before she came to me. It took her a good 6 months to settle in and start trusting me. I'm sure for the first while she was just waiting to hehomed again she is 5 years old and I'm her 4th and final owner its so sad when people buy these birds on a whim and then when they realie the amount of work and responsiblity that comes with them they get rid of them to another peson who does the same thing. Anyway patient and love is all it takes and you will soon have a companion that is so lyal and that loves you so much. You have done a very wonderful thing by taking in a older Grey it must have been very stressful for him to be shipped to you but he sounds like he must of had a wonderful secure life before his previous owner passed on he sounds like he's settleing in already your handfeedings are a great Idea they will help him to bond with you. What is his name by the way and please post some pics I would love to see him is he a Congo or a Timneh. as for the cough there is a good chance he may have learned that sound and is just mimicing. please keep us updated I would like to hear how he is progressing in his new home.

They are so sweet at this age I just want to pick them up and squeeze them what adorable little babies are you keeping them or will they be going to new homes. If you are selling them who ever buys one of those babies is going to a very wonderful loveing bird. your doing such a good job they look so sweet all cuddled up on your lap at work. I just love the little ones soooo much. {Love-000200D8}