ziggy

Very well put Talon I agree with you 100% on this We are a forum of good friends and this is our extended FAMILY on line. We will laugh,argue,debate, and we will show respect to our fellow members. There is no reason at all to critisize the way others grammar is. There are many members from a differant country and they dont know the proper way to spell or even have the right words sometimes. We do not have to make a member feel like they are not worthy of posting because they are afraid of what others will think of them. So when that person has a emergency or a question that may be very important to them, they will not express there thoughts to get a answer from someone that has the answer.

Good post Dave, Friends and family need to have respect for your rules in YOUR house. If they dont like it the hell with them and dont come to my house. Kids need to be trained the same thing. If you cant respect a few simple rules how can you survive in tnis world. Imagine these derilics in the work feild. They will bounce from job to job because they cant follow directions. Again who do you blame THE PARENTS and the parents only. You need a license to drive a car and a license to do most things in this world but any jackass can bere a child. Go figure. Most are total idiots. And whats worse they pass the jean to the next generation. God help us in the future.

Hello Birdmom, Welcome to the FAMILY!!!!!!!!!

Good points Judy and Dan. The diet you have him on is a good balanced diet. I dont know how much fruit you are feeding but give more veggies then fruit. Fruit has natural sugars called pectin. To much sugar is no good. You said it yourself he eats his veggies last. Why is that well birds have a great sence of taste. would you like something sweet or something like broccoli. Sweet of course, same with birds so just be careful with all the fruits. Maybe give him fruits as treats. Also watch what kind of nuts you feed also they are full of saturated fats.

Hello, In most cases this story reflects to to old saying "Dont blame the children you need to blame the parents". This is a text book example. The kids are raised and the parente have no control over their kids actions. Sab but all kids need structor and if the teacher (parents) is out to lunch they learn nothing. You so called friend has no consideration for you or your home the best thing that could have happened, happened. I dont think the kids are the ones to blame, its the parents. If you raise animals they will become animals. You see in the news about how rootys and pitbulls are nasty and vishious. They are not they were trained to be that way. Same with kids it all comes down to how they were raised period. Like I have for every post "To recieve respect you must respect yourself" and it is true. Sorry you lost your friend but in the long run you won.<br><br>Post edited by: ziggy, at: 2007/12/13 14:39

Welcome to the Family!!!! Hope to talk to you soon love to hear about Zeus and yourself Again welcome to the FAMILY!!!!!

Pat you sound like a good parent to your pets dont blame yourself. Things happen even though it hurts inside you need to keep strong. Hopefully he will heal and have use of his beak. Sad to here this but accidents do happen from time to time. Agian sorry to here this. Please keep us informed on his progress.

I still think this is so cool to train a bird to poop on command. This would have been great for kids. Kids are such good listeners( yeah right) I have 4 kids and it would have been great to tell them to poop on command. ( think of all the money you would save on diapers). HAHAHA!!!!!!!!! Great job everybody have fun with the training!!!!

Yes baby toys are good for yout birds. Please watch for all the toys be recalled for lead. There are alot of recalls right now so be careful. If you go to Mattel and Hasbro there are a list of toys being recalled. Check the list before you buy them. Most have been pulled from the shelves but I noticed that alot of people are buying from a second hand store. They might still have some of the recalled toys in there store. Thats why I say check the web sites for a list of them.

Hello Steve, I hope you are going to make the right desision. Greys are a little tricky. I wish you nothing but the best on you new adventure. Birds are very needy and they are also very smart. You might want to get some books on behavior. Bonnie Munro has a good couple of books you should pick up. One is called My Parrot My Friend and the other is called Parrot Training they are very good books to have. Also Barrons have a collection of books The Guide To A series. Also excellent books to have. If you deside on a grey you will have a loyal pal forever. Just watch the mood swings.

This is a very cute video. Just goes to show you that if you have the money to burn you can have it all. This was a great time I would amagine.

In a case like this justice was served. The S.O.B. that did this to this poor bird sat in prison for 5 years and if I were the judge I would have this man in for life. I cant stand to hear things of this nature. I am so GLAD that Max is doing well and now has a human friend that cares for him so much. I tip my hat to this lady for taking this bird in and spending countless hours to work with him. You go Max!!!!!!!!

As a chef most bacterias will die at 165 degrees. This goes for e-coli,saminella,and thats why you need to cook pork to 165 internal degrees. The bacterias are harmfull in a raw or under cooked state. If you are like me you cant order a burger less then medium well at most restaurants. I love my meat cooked rare and the only way I can get that is to make my own. These bacterias are treatable to humans but in the case of birds most if untreated are fatal. Please watch what you feed to you birds. As for the garlic thing it is not and I repeat not bad for your birds. There are actually antioxidants in garlic that are good for your bird. This like all other things are not harmful in moderation. Yes like the man that lost his grey from what he believes from garlic. The grey was only 6 months old and he gave him a whole clove. You cant say that was the reason for the birds death for sure. Even his avian vet said he believes that was part of the cause. Not the actual reason of his death. A piece of undigested garlic is not the real reason of his death. That just happened to be the last thing in the birds stomach. Like humans that parish we still have the remains of our last meal in our stomach. So if some one dies and has a piece of apple in his stomach does that mean he died from the apple, I think not. Garlic is great for the blood, and the reason is that it has antioxidents. I know people that take garlic pills for that reason it purifies the blood. Like everything else to much of anything is no good.

Hello Eddie and Bamboo, What a nice name for him. You little guy there is using that beak as a arm to grab things. Ziggy has to use that beak for everything he touches. That includes me he dont put no pressure down unless he is falling. They have a great sence of taste and they love to taste everything. I would not be to worried about it. If it gets worse you have another thing to worry about. I think you are in the clear. Hes a baby right? Well I dont know if you have any kids but I do I have 4 and everyone of them put everything right in there mouth. So in the sence of age your baby is tasting his new world. HAHAHA!!!!! Just sit back and relax your bird is following in the footsteps of all babies.

yes good luck with the smoking I hope to do that this new years. You say it has an odor is it like a yeast or beer smell? If so he might have a crop infection. If you smell it you need to get to a avian vet A.S.A.P. This can be treated with antibiotics. If it smells like garlic or food I think you are safe. Please let us know what you smell after reading this post.

Hello Dee, This is just a case of her being a little nervous. The pacing is a sign of of excitment and the panting is a sign of being nervous. Have you put up a christmas tree or lites. Do you have any motion dolls or decorations around the house. It sounds like she is spooked about something. You said she did not attempt to bite. This could be that you got lucky the signs are showing that a strike is possiable. I just posted in the train ing room a tread on body language you might want to read this tread.

Welcome to the FAMILY!!!!!! WE here love pics and new people. Looking foward to hearing about you and your birdies. Ask as many questions as you like there are many people here that can answer them for you Again welcome to the FAMILY!!!!!

Trish, She will tell you where not to touch most greys dont like the under part of there body and under the wings. She should allow you to touch her back and under her nape. Just be careful of the areas that she dont like. Ziggy loves for me to touch him all over but some of my others dont like there underside touched at all. All birds have there own do's and dont's she will let you know. Just remember greys are not known to be very cuddily so just watch for the sharp end of the bird HAHAHA!!!!! She might nip at you if she dont want to be touched in a certain place. Let me know how you do with her and how she does with it.

Hello Andrew, Cork from all over the world are soaked in the peroxide to kill the bacteria. I would not give any of my birds cork. The cork we have for wine bottles also have Glue of some sort to keep them if the form. Most good pet shops sell all natural cork ( at least around here anyway) If you were to give him cork I would give him the all natural one instead of the wine ones. I cant really see the reason to give them cork anyway. When they play with it, it is going to be in pieces that could get caught in there throught and might cause problems. I think you need to give them more bird and kid friendly toys. ( plastics,woods ect) Me personally would not take the chance with it. It will also make such a mess around the cage. IMHO

There has been alot of questions on training you grey and what are signs of aggression to me in pm's and on the im. So here are some of the signs to watch for. 1) Eye Pinning= there pupils are dialated to a fine point. (sign of being disturbed or threatened, and excitment) 2)Crouching low on the perch with wings open and tail feathers fanned open,and beak open.( The bird is very nervious and is ready to strike). 3)Wings raised and beak open=(bird is scared and ready to fly) 4)Swaying back and forth on there perch along with hissing.(the bird is excited or upset) 5) Hissing( bird is upset and is ready to strike if you are in striking distance) 6) Eyes are oval or are in a 1/2 open state( bird is getting sleepy) 7) Puts up on hand at you. ( wants to be picked up) 8) fluffs up his nape and bows. ( looking for a head rub) 9)fluffs up all of there feathers.( looking fro attention but can also strike) 10) Panting( bird is nervious and needs to be calmed down) There are many others to look for but this gives you a good look at some of the common ones that he/she will use on a day to day basis. Every bird will be differant so what my bird does to get attention or a reaction your bird might not. The items listed are in alot of books that tell you about body language and you should get to know them. Alot of people get nipped because they misunderstand what the bird is trying to say. Please try to get some good reading material or ask your avian vet for some literature and get to know the signs. Birds cant tell us what they want except with there body language. 2 great books to look for are Parrot Training by Bonnie Munro and she has another one called My Parrot My Friend these are 2 great books you should have in you library. Barrons also have great books there guide to books are great also. The books are from Mattie Sue Athan great books also to have.

Yes I have that book and i read it and I dont know if this is the same story or not but I lookes myself today and I think it is the same story. I heard this from a friend yesterday and he emailed it to me. Sad story but it has a great ending to it. Max seems to be happy with his new home and that is a great thing. I cant stand people that buy these animals and just abuse them. Why? There is no reason to waste the money for one and to waste the time of the birds life. When they are young this is the time to mold this bird into what he/she will become later. Same as kids if you raise them like animals they will grow into animals. No differant with a dog either. I have a Rotty named Max of all names. He is a loving and caring dog, not the junk yard dog or the stereotype Rotty. It all comes down to how you mold them. Love them and they will love you and others period. Thankful for Max the bird he was saved in the nick of time. He will have a great future and thats what counts.

Yes Kat it does it tells you all the effects it has on your bird. Its not like avacados that will kill your bird but it does have to be treated with antibiotics. I will get the article and post it for everybody to see.

Nice pics Jimmy Cosmo looks great.

I just read a story that was completly devastating. This is a story about Max the Moluccan cockatoo. A business owner wanted his office to look nice so he bought a cockatoo to put in the office. He figured that he would be good for his customers to see. He really wanted to show off his sucsess. So he hooked up with a breeder and bought a 12 week old baby. He put him in his office and people would admiring Max. Well after a short time the business owner got tired of the dust and the mess that Max made in his office. So his decision was to put Max in the basement of the building. Insteed of giving Max away. Well this went on for 3 YEARS down in the basement. Never did he ever come out of the cage again. And to top it all off the office would be closed for the weekend and all the lights were out for the weekend. This poor bird would not only be trapped in his own cage but in total darkness for the weekend. One day a client was walking in the building and heard this ear piercing noise coming from the basement. He went down the stairs to find a bird that had totally plucked himself to the point that there were holes in this poor birds chest. He plucked every feather and after he had no more feathers he startes to pick himself apart. The cage looked like it was never cleaned and there was dried up poop all over the place and all over the bird. He left the building and went straight to the police. The police came there with a A.S.P.C.A. officer. They took the bird to the shelter. The man was arrested for cruelty to an amimal and was sent to prison for 5 years. Max was rescued and now is doing great. After 5 years of dedication the new owner of Max has givin him a reason to live like a normal bird again. She says the scars are still there where he started to nip at his skin. But his feathers are now back ( with the exception of the ones he picked so bad that they will never fill back in). She says he is a great pet and has every intention of having Max for the rest of her life. When I read this story I did not know whether to cry or just go and see this jerk and punch the ever living shi- out of him. I am very glad that Max is doing well and has a great new life. This is a story that has a great ending but such a horrible begining. This just goes to show you that there are people in this world that have no right of owning a pet. It also shows that there are alot of people out there that really care for animals. I know we here would want to rip this mans skin of his body. But as we can see this poor bird now has a life with a loving and caring lady that just adores him to death. And with Maxs bad start to his life he always kept his baby ways she said. He would want to cuddle with her and just want to be LOVED. Sad story I just wanted to share this with you.<br><br>Post edited by: ziggy, at: 2007/12/11 08:04

Well I guess I started a riot HAHAHA!!!!. Yes grape skins over time are toxic to your bird. There are acids in the skin that turn to toxic acid after digestion. Like a human that eats alot of grapes the results are having a belly ache and the runs(with alot at one time). This is from the acids in the skin that turn to toxins. It is safe to feed grapes in small amounts of for a special treat. I will get the info from the vets office and scan it for you and you can see the results. This is like the bird that died from garlic. Galic is a very good source of antioxidents for your parrot. Like all things to much of anything is no good. Lets reflect back to the garlic for a moment, the bird was 6 months old and he fed him a whole clove of garlic. Just because he died and there was garlic in his stomach that does not mean that he died from the garlic. Was there a post mortam exam done? We dont know if this was the true cause of death. But everybody here seemed to respond that they were going to stop feeding garlic( in moderation) to there grey. The skins of grapes are simular to they are toxic in large amounts. Will one or two hurt you bird, probably not but if you give him 4 to 6 2 times a day the acids will become toxic and you might have a problem with it. They need to be in limited quanity and not all the time. The skin is very hard to digest and can remain in the stomach for 2 to 3 days before it is fully digested. What happens to the skin it turns into a toxic acid mixture that lays in the stomach for days and forments there. Thats why the skin turns to toxins.