ziggy

Mike, It sounds like he is spookes about something. Like I said before it only takes a little thing to set them off. He sounds like a good bird up to now but he sees something he does not like. They are tempermental about the smallest detail. The best advise I have for you is to be patient with him and work a little harder with him. For some reason he lost trust in your hand and now he has to learn to trust it again. They are strange at times but greys are that way.( all birds but greys more then most ). Try that and see if you get any possitive results.<br><br>Post edited by: ziggy, at: 2007/12/07 14:37

Hello Terri, Good job Im sure that you will have a great time with this training. My dad(nevjoe) trained his grey and DYH amazon to "poop" on command. I think it is so cool for them to do that. Good luck with future training and I hope all goes well. Just have patience and you will reep the rewards later. GOOD JOB!!!!!! :P :laugh: :laugh:

Hello Mike, Something has him stressed out. Could be a number of things. Have you moved his cage?, Have you moved thing around the house or his cage?, Have you put up christmas item or tree?, Have you got friends over? As you can see greys like routine and stability. You may think nothing has changed but something has and he is picking up on it. He cant talk to you with words so he is saying it with body language. Think and I bet you can find something out of the ordinary that he is picking up on. Will he let you touch him at all? Does he seem nervous at all?, Is he pacing in or out of the cage?, Greys are funny about things and he is no exception. Greys do go through fazes and will bond with surtain people but to just stop totally then something happened that he just dont like at all. These examples are just a few things that could have triggered it.

Hello rRoo and Winsten, Welcome to the FAMILY!!!!!! Winsten sound like a character with all of those sounds he makes. Ask any questions there are great people here with great input that will answer you questions. This is the BEST FORUM on the NET you will love it here. Again welcome to the FAMILY!!!!!!

Hello Jaime, You are correct by wanting to put him in another room. Birds need to get rest and if you are up then he will be up if he is in the same room. The plastic bin will be ok for now but mabee you should have a smaller sleeping cage. It is for sleep only, when it time to go to bed for him just put him in for the night. Every morning go in and get him out and put him in the larger cage in the other room. Be concistant with it. He will get the picture that when it is time for bed he will go in the other room. Greys are very smart, so what ever you choose to do just continue to use it from that time on. If 9 or 10 oclock is bed, then its bed. He will get to the point that he will be comfy in there and want to go to sleep. The cage does not have to be to big because it is only fot sleep and not for regular day use.

Hello Ronda, Great looking bunny you have there. My daughters have a rabbit also a dwarf rabbit named Lilly. The lionheads are a cool breed of rabbit they do look like they have a main. Cool little guy. Thank your daughter for sharing it with all of us!!!

Hello Lynne, What a story. I had one about 4 years ago in a empty garbage can beside my house. He was just sleeping in the can. Talk about scaring you. You might want to get a deep garbage can and put some food in the bottom of it and leave it in a spot you think he might go and get it. If this works you have to make a decision on what to do with it. They are just mutant rats they are ugly and nasty. Please keep the kids and the birds away from it. It will attack if provoked. Let me know how it goes.<br><br>Post edited by: ziggy, at: 2007/12/06 06:22

Welcome to the FAMILY!!!! I happy to see you got this grey. Danni is a cute name.We here love pictures and please ask all the questions you want. There are great people here to answer them for you. You will not get any better useful advise as you will get here in the grey forum. Again welcome to the FAMILY!!!!

Hello, This could be 1 of 2 things. 1) This is the age where a molt should start to take place, but like Beccy said they normally start with the down feathers and then move on to the smaller head feathers and nape feathers and ending with the wing and tail feathers. The pins will start to form and then they will break throught the tube and a new feather is born. 2) This could be something differant, a plucker. (hope not). Indeed if he is a plucker the feathers will have a little blood on the tips. You would not feel pins in this case. Greys are the 2nd most plucker species behind the cockatoos. Is this likely? mabee but I would watch closely to make sure that this is a isolated insident and not a plucker. With the age level he is at I would have to say he is molting and not plucking. But again the plucking is possiable. Besides the holidays coming has there been any drastic changes in the home? Have you spent enough time with him? Has he acted skittish? Has a new bird arrived? Does he seem more nervous? Does he seem stressed out? These are some of the things that could trigger a plucker to start to pluck. With his age I would say he is going through a faze or a molt. But keep a good eye on him.

Great points everybody. this is a fun place and not the ivy league of forums. I am not the greatest in gramma but who gives a s h i t I sure dont. If a word is readable then thats all that matters. What do we need to pass a test now to be a member here. If so GOODBYE I dont need this crap. Politics now on a fun and family based forum i think not. Mabee you need to find a chat room from Harvard and talk to all the professors or a rich a$$hole that if you put him on the street he would die in about 8 minutes. Being from the street I can tell you that street smart people are the ones that seem to have the common sence thing down pac. The book worms are the ones that make new text books on how to be a complete moron in life. This is not a dress rehersal, here it is a fun place to laugh and to help out others that are not so witty about birds,and for the people that have a problem with there pet to get good and honest advise. You said it your self you live in a glass house, and if thats so here is the brick miss PERFECT!!!! you better watch out the brick just broke your glass door. Welcome to the real world that not all people are Perfect. How would you like it if this forum was in Italian and you did not know the proper gramma from Italy would you just not fit in, or do you think that mabee the members would overlook it and say welcome to the FAMILY like we do here. Like I said earlier when you register on this forum I did not see that you needed to hold a 4.0 adverage in gramma. I happen to be great in math should I post a tread about algebra and if you could not answer the question I would make a joke about it. NO I WOULD NOT!!! you want to know why because it does not matter one bit if you could answer it or not. This tread was a stupid tread to post there are so many other thing more impotant then this shit. Try coming up with one that is worth while next time. On behalf of myself and all the other dumb people here Sandra Thanks for pointing this out and making people here feel like they need to be more gramma whitty.<br><br>Post edited by: ziggy, at: 2007/12/06 04:20

Hello Tracy, Tis is good news!! It seemed like all we have been hearing lately is bad new in the forum. Your name is true to form love them greys. Good luck with the new addition to the family. I am sure the road is long for you and Indy but in the end you have done him a world of good. Please keep us informed on his progress. Show us some pics also we would love to see Indy!!!!

With the holidays here (already) we as bird lovers need to take a minute and look after the birds. This is a hectic time of the year for us humans. We have family and friends coming over for the holidays and sometimes with all the confushion we forget about our beloved little feathered friends. We do not do this on purpose but we get so tangled up with all the other things. We are out shopping, we are out getting the food for the feast, we are distracted with family coming, getting the house ready for the holidays, getting all the gifts ready and so on. It is natural to have all of this going on and forget about the birds. They are a member of you household and more then that they are a family member. So while you are having a good time dont forget to include them. Please be aware also that many birds are lost this time of year also. Doors are always opened and closed so there are many ways you can loose you feathered friends. Drafts, flying away, caught in doors, trampled by guests ect. This holiday season please take the time to give your bird the time he/she needs to feel loved. We all try but the holidays are confusing enough with out having to worry about the birds saftey. You are the host of the party and you should respect the saftey and well being of the birds. Kids running around the noise factor and the vast number of people is enough to stress the bird out and possibly nip someone. Kids and people love to torment the birds by sticking there fingers in his face and jabbing him so if possiable place the bird in a quiet room with the lights off so he/she can relax. There is enough stress going around so why should they be stressed also. Lets not forget to spoil them either. Buy them a load of toys and treats.

Hello, Yes go to the welcome room and we can give you a formal welcome. As for the heater They are all correct on telling you about tem. They are dangerous and you dont need that. To many things can go wrong with one of those space heaters. Teflon and also sented candels are a huge NO NO when you have birds in the house. Please make sure you have none of them around the house.

I have seen that at a bird show I was a vendor at last month. That is a cool looking cage and has a pretty cool design. I did not do much research on it yet. If your cage has the powder coating falling off, If I was you I would get your bird out if it yesterday. The powder coating is toxic to your bird and if he eats or picks at it he could get very sick from that. Just had to say that.<br><br>Post edited by: ziggy, at: 2007/12/05 04:43

Hello, All good points. The one thing you need to do also is make sure the flu is open. Dont laugh many people loose pets and their homes because they thought they opened it. A screen is a MUST if by some reason that he/she flies to close or to the fireplace he will not get any further then the screen. It has to be a screen that goes all the way up to the openiing of the fireplace. The ones that look real nice and they are shaped like a u not good. If the bird is flying and he/she hits the mantle or the wall to the fireplace and falls down he could fall behind the screen and be right in the fire. The wood you burn is a concern also if you burn natural wood and it is not dry enough it pops and the ambers can leave the firplace and if the bird is that close to it the amber could hit him and burn him/her. These are the little things that we think are very normal and then we overlook them and a accident happens. They all sound like no brainers but we often enough over look them. Having a bird is like having a tottler. You have to kid proof your house so that he does not get into things he is not suppose to. You always should never take anything for granted either, even if it sound kind off silly.<br><br>Post edited by: ziggy, at: 2007/12/05 04:19

Hello, Laurie nice name my wifes name is Lori. Anyway you allowed Klause to win you said it your self he is the dominate one when it comes to your shoulder. You have allowed him to set the rules and now he will make the rules. I am like you I let all my birds sit up there as I said though there are my rules they need to follow. In your case I think he got the upper hand. If you comes down to is that you are comfy with it. You need 100% trust and faith in your bird to make this a pleasurable time for you and the bird.

Hello, You are right they do dig in there natural enviroment, but in this case he is doing it for attention. Greys are so smart that they know if I do this I will get attention. Like a child that does thing that make you scratch your head at times. Even in bad behavior they will recieve attention. Not saying your bird is bad this is just an example. Like you said he will totally ignore you but keep doing it this is a form of attention. Most greys will dig when they want something example if he wants out of the cage he will scratch at the cage floor near the door. If he scratchs on top of the cage he wants you to talk to him even if its yelling. He feeds off the attention.

Hello, The ideal temperture for sa grey is over 75 degrees. In there natural inviroment it is quite hot all year long. You need to keep them away from draft and if you have givin them a bath and are still wet you should have them in a warmer temperture. Also be carefull that it is not to hot birds do not have sweat gland like we do and can over heat quite quickly. Yes there body temperture is always warm they can also be cold to the touch.

You say hes about a year old this could also be a faze they will go through fazes from time to time. He is a little young to be going through his "terrible twos" but like I said before every bird will be his own character. We have guidelines for them but they are all in %'s and not in fact. Just watch those little fingers please. Tell her not to get upset she has to work with him.( dont show a weekness though) He will respond to that, Thats for sure.

Hello Mike, This seems to be a bird that is living up to his reputation. Greys are tipicaly a one person bird( there stereotype ). Your wife must learn to deal with it of try to work with him for hours and hours. She will get nipped and it will hurt but after a while he might come around. She needs to be sturn with her commands. She must not be affraid of him at all. If she shows any weakness he will feed off of it. Greys are very smart and have great memories. She needs to be confident when handleing him. He has put his trust in you at this point, and he needs to learn to trust your wife. Every grey will be differant then the next. He might never like her or he might have to learn. He is the one that is going to make that decision. If you force the issue she can get hurt. She needs to show she is the dominate one next to you. Hopefully he will except it, if not you and your wife will have to make the decision on what to do about his behavior.( she might want to stay clear of him) The growling is his way of saying "I DONT LIKE THIS" and she needs to understand that. Keep working with him and hopefully he will come around. For the kids they move to fast and they make to much noise for him. The excitment is to much for him to handle. Please watch the little fingers with him. He can put a good wallup on them.

This is a great joke hope you all enjoy it:P :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot really had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to 'clean up' the bird's vocabulary. Finally though, John was fed up, and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot, and the parrot got angrier and more rude! In desperation, John threw up his hands, grabbed the bird, and put him in the freezer! For a few minutes the parrot squawked, kicked and screamed..... then suddenly there was total quiet! Not a peep was heard for over a minute! Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said, 'I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions, and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior.' John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude! As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued, 'May I ask what the turkey did?'

Jimmy, All I was saying is that you want to make a differance you need to have a little more knowledge. I dont mean to sound rude but your thing is that you do not like how they are being treated. This is from a lack of experiance. Yes you would be a good worker, but thats not my point. My point is that you seem to love these birds and to get great knowledge you would be better working at a avain club or rescue. Its not that you would not make a good worker I just think you need to have more experiance if thats what you want to do.

Hello Jimmy, Great looking bird you have there. Thanks for sharing these pictures. Have fun with him and enjoy every minute with him. Looks to be pretty young how old is he? I would say by looking at his eyes he about 6 to 7 months old.

Hello, Birds on the shoulder is a on going debate here in the forum. Some say yes some say no this is the same with clipping wings. The best thing I have found is that you are the boss of your own bird and you and only you can make this determination. Me I have 17 birds ( 2 more coming) and all of them are free to go on my shoulder, but there are rules they need to follow. you need to be aware of what they are doing while up there. The signs are there you just need to know them for this to work. If he/she is getting nervous then take them off your shoulder. Another sign is that he/she is getting to ruff up there(nipping and pulling earrings ect.). The one sign that he is geting upset is that he will pace from on side to the other. There are many others but if you as the dominate one get this under control you will have great success with this. Yea there is a chance that you will get nipped in the process but thats the price you have to pay if you want him up there. The best advise I have to offer is, if you are not 100% comfy with him up there and you dont trust him/she 100% then you need to not put him up there until you can build up that comfort level. You need to be the boss at all times with birds if they see a weekness they will go after them and try to push the envelope to the fullest. This could be a nasty lesson for you if you dont take control from now. That sharp thing on the front of his/her face can do extreme damage to you so please be careful. Every bird will react differant so what is good for me might not be good for you. I say if you like the shoulder bird just remember it should be a privaledge for him to go up there. Also if you let them up there you have to always let them up there. You opened the door for him to do that now you will have to live with it. All birds go to the highest point so by letting him up there he feels it is ok to be there and he will act on that. The biggest thing you need to know is that you need to be consistant with him if its no then its no. Try not to be like its ok for now but then later its not. Thats not fair to the bird when you get upset when he/she does it when you dont want him/her to do it.

Hello, Yes they do shed their beaks and this is a great tread for people that would not know about this. Like a snake a birds beak will grow and the old beak has to shed to make the new one come through. It is so nice to see the new beak nice and shiny and smooth. Ziggy just went through this last month and still has a little left to go. I help him along by picking off the old particals. Karma for you Mark