chapala

I agree with Judygram. Any reaction, even negative reaction, is providing reinforcement for the behavior. So, I would suggest not saying anything (even "no"), and walking out of the room (if you can), or at least turning your back on the bird and ignoring him while he's noisy. As soon as he's quiet or making appropriate vocalizations, immediately go to him and tell him what a good bird he is with lots of enthusiasm. Maybe even picking him up and spending a couple of minutes with him. Lots of positive rewards for the behavior you want, and ignoring the behavior you don't want. If you don't have a contact call developed with your bird, try to find one to answer him or to call to him from another room, a quiet one! (I use a certain whistle with Kali, and he whistles that to me when he's wondering where I am - I answer him with the special whistle.) Kali especially when he was younger would get too loud sometimes. I would say to him quietly, "too loud", and leave. That worked and he understands now what that means. If I say too loud in a soft voice, he knows and usually will quiet down - I don't need to leave anymore. Good luck!

If you want to develop a trusting relationship with your bird, please do not force the step up. That does not build trust. If she has fear of you or your hands, take it slowly, offer treats by hand, let your hand sit quietly on a perch while talking to her. If she pulls away, respect what she is telling you - she is not ready for the next step. Take your time, it will happen. Think positive reinforcement, nothing negative, and she will come around! Reta

Good question. It is important to learn about the nutritional requirements and keep our birds healthy. Seeds are not bad in themselves - they are not good when fed as 100% or any high percentage of the diet. A parrot fed an all-seed diet will be lacking in various nutrients, especially Vit. A, the most common deficiency of pet parrots. A varied diet with everything in moderation is best. Fresh vegetables (especially high Vit. A ones), some fruit, sprouted grains and seeds, a few nuts, cooked grains/legumes, pellets, and yes, seeds, make for a good diet. Occasionally (once a week) a small amount of cooked egg or chicken is fine. I feed less than 20% of the diet in pellets, and most of the grains/seeds that are fed are sprouted - they are more nutritious than when fed dry. Reta

Even if you don't eat them, it's easy to buy a small sweet potato, cook part of it (sliced) in the microwave or in a little water on the stove, then mash. It can be mixed in with fresh vegetables or sprouts, or other food that your bird normally eats, just a little bit to start. The leftover cooked sweet potato will keep several days in the frig, so can be fed several times. It's very common for birds to turn up their beaks at unfamiliar food. They are often very conservative at trying new foods, so that means a new food may have to be offered MANY times, perhaps in different ways and combinations, before they'll try it. It pays off to be persistent in presenting new, healthy foods Reta

Many parrot owners have dogs or other pets. Obviously it's important to be very careful in supervising, and keeping them completely separate when you're not around. We have three dogs and three parrots, and it works out fine. I do train my dogs well that the parrots are part of the family. Reta

Just wanted to say that your bird could really use some fresh food (mostly the nutritious vegetables and some fruit) as a healthy addition to an all pellet diet. I feed no more than 20% pellets in my birds' diet, and they are in fabulous health. The few times they have been seen by a vet (our Military had an injury, not an illness), they remark about how wonderful they look and ask me a lot of questions about what I feed. If you're interested in diet ideas, just ask! Reta

Red palm oil is an excellent supplement for our Greys. The amount suggested to give is 1/2 teaspoon for a 500 gram bird (Grey size). More is not better, too much fat, but it is very beneficial given daily or several times a week. Reta

Kali has a Lixit water bottle, and it works very well, no dirty water. In the aviary, there's a large water bowl, and he often hops in that. When I used to have a water bowl (smaller) in his cage, he sometimes tried to hop in it (didn't fit!), and also made soup dropping his food in. So, I like the water bottle for a clean supply, though they need some water fun and bathing also! Reta

Kali likes a lot of different music, but he really starts dancing and bouncing to anything with a good beat! Reta

I use tiny pieces of nuts, so an almond would be cut into maybe 6 pieces, a half walnut cut into even more. The idea is to give them a tiny, special treat, and around here, nuts are the best!

RE the biting, do try to read his body language (not always easy!), and avoid handling him when he's not in the the mood. Each time he bites you, he is getting reinforcement for biting as a mode of communication. I personally don't think it's a good idea to stay there after he's bitten you, allowing him to bite you more. Again, it is reinforcing the biting behavior. Try to avoid the bite whenever possible by reading him, not pushing him for more interaction when he doesn't want it. He has learned the only communication that works for him is to bite. As far as stick training (an excellent idea), take it very slowly and don't expect it to happen in a day or two. Very little steps with treats, stopping if he shows signs of fear or being uncomfortable. Good luck with him! Reta

So many approaches to feeding our Greys! AFter doing lots of research, I really like the diet recommended by Feeding Feathers Yahoo forum. They have excellent information in their files, and the owner/moderator is excellent in answering diet-related questions. This diet leans heavily towards fresh foods and sprouts, and if pellets are fed (I do feed a small amount of pellets), they are kept to no more than 20% of the diet. Some vets recommend an all pellet diet, because it is preferable to the nutrient deficient all seed diet. However, I think some vets don't take into account that some people will take the time to learn about diet and prepare fresh foods for their birds. Anyway, I highly recommend the Feeding Feathers site for good diet information! Reta

Congratulations! Pete sounds wonderful, and you are off to a great start. Enjoy him Reta

They need not only the right amount of food, but also healthy food. Not too high in fat, plenty of fresh vegetables, some fruit, some seeds, grains, a few nuts. I do not leave any food in the cage at night - birds in the wild don't eat at night (that's what the crop is for, to store food), and then they're hungry in the morning for the vegetables and sprouts. They get a dry mix later in the day for a few hours (seeds, pellets, etc.), then more fresh food and a cooked grain/lentil/sweet potato mix in the late afternoon. Last thing before night-night is a few nuts, usually almonds, sometimes walnuts. The highlight of the day! Reta

I have used Mazuri pellets before, but they seem to be very hard to find. Yes, as I remember, they are made by Purina. Pellets are a small portion of my parrots' diet (probably about 15%), and usually I try to provide more than one kind in their dry mix which also has seeds, dry chili peppers, a few nuts, and pieces of Wasa whole grain crackers. Most of the diet I feed is fresh food - sprouted grains, legumes, lots of fresh vegetables, some fruit, and a cooked grain/lentil/sweet potato mix. The trouble is finding them! I bought them once in a feed store that had a bird section when traveling through Tucson, and ordered them another time from someone in California. Since I don't live in the U.S., I have to stock up on trips north. Mazuri is just very hard to find! Reta

We all decide what is appropriate to feed our birds. I rarely feed peanuts, because almonds and other nuts provide better nutrition. They can't have that many nuts or the diet becomes way too high in fat, so I choose the ones (almonds first, walnuts second, and others a distant third) that I think are best. Almonds are a source of Calcium among other nutrients. Kali though learned the Spanish word for peanut (cacahuate) when I first got him and treated with peanuts. He still calls ALL nuts cacahuates! Reta

I don't give any soup to my birds because it's just too salty, even homemade. Campbell's is especially high. The parrots don't process that amount of salt well, and I think it's good to be careful with all the high sodium foods. No added salt to my birds' food, just the way I do it. Reta

Ah, now I understand about the Karma thing! Good idea, I like it. The only part I would not participate in is the thumbs down, removing Karma. I like positive reinforcement, and think it makes people (and parrots!) happier. Removing Karma is a negative action, and might create disharmony. So, I will be on the positive side only! Reta

Here's another link to specific articles on positive teaching of the step up. This is from the files section of Good Bird forum site: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GoodBirdGroup/files/How%20to%20Train%20Step%20Up/ There are some good articles in that files section if anyone want to take a look. Reta

Hi Lynne! I remember Ariel and Casper. Do you remember Pepper the Military, and Kali the Grey? Reta, who lives in Mexico

I'm new here too. Welcome, and I would love to hear about your flock! Reta

What a beautiful baby Grey bird! Very pretty, love those babies. Re positive training links. Anything by Barbara Heidenreich is excellent - she publishes Good Bird magazine, and has one or more books out and a couple of dvds. Here's the website for the magazine, etc.: http://www.goodbirdinc.com/ Barbara Heindenreich has a Good Bird Yahoo forum, and she responds to posts there: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GoodBirdGroup/ Susan Friedman is a university professor, and in her free time teaches parrot (and other animals at zoos) behavior and positive training techniques. She has an on-line course that is 6 or 7 weeks long, and requires homework! I completed the course almost four years ago, but had to be on a waiting list for close to a year. The only fee is a donation to a rescue or sanctuary of a certain amount (forgot how much). She also has a Yahoo forum, and questions are answered usually by graduates of her course. It is a little more technical approach, but very beneficial in analyzing problem behaviors and figuring out what to do. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ParrotBAS/ There's also a bird click forum or two that I'm not very familiar with though I have done some training with a clicker (dogs and bird). Hope these sites help! Reta

I think given his reaction to the first misting, I'd wait a little bit until he gets to know you better. When the bond is there, then you can mist him and let him know it's just a part of life. But since he's been there such a short time, I'd take it slowly with the bathing at first. Just my opinion

Remember that this bird is a baby, and not a well socialized one. He/she needs time to figure out this new home, new people, totally new environment. Soothing, calm are good attitudes to have right now with the baby. Sitting close to the cage, reading, talking to the bird. See if you can get the bird to take a favorite treat from your hand (small pieces of nut, cut up shelled sunflower seeds). This will help the bird understand that hands are not to be feared. Patience and going slow are very good at this point to build up a good relationship with the bird. Rather than force the step up with such a young and not well socialized baby, please consider taking your time and letting the bird gain confidence and trust in you. A good way to train in a positive way for the step up is to use the food treats, then gradually lay your hand on a perch, getting little tiny steps towards the bird stepping on your hand to reach the treat in other other hand. Always watch the body language, and stop if the bird is getting uncomfortable. Pretty soon the bird will begin to think hands are great things! There is a lot of information available about positive training techniques. I can post links if you're interested in more.

Re GSE (grapefruit seed extract), the moderators at Feeding Feathers forum (Yahoo forum), an excellent source of advice on feeding parrots of all species, recommend AGAINST any use of GSE in the food. OK for cleaning cages. It does have antibacterial action, and the theory is that it disturbs the intestinal flora by killing off good bacteria. If you rinsed the prodouce very well after soaking briefly in a GSE solution, that probably would be fine. As far as disinfecting produce, since we live in Mexico where not all crops are grown with clean water, we disinfect everything for ourselves and the birds. There is a iodine/colloidal silver solution sold here for that purpose, and the vegetables soak in water with a bit of solution added for 10 minutes, then rinsed well. I personally would not blanch most vegetables because some enzymes and vitamins would be affected. I serve most vegetables raw. It's fine to steam or lightly cook carrots and sweet potatoes, since Vit. A is not water soluble and not lost in the cooking as are many vitamins and enzymes. I do however give Kali a small piece of lightly cooked broccoli now and again, but most of the greens he gets daily are raw.