Kaedyn

If your fid isn't used to new places, then the new location is going to stress him quite a bit. All of the out of place objects won't help either. Add to that, you and your family are both stressed and excited, and your bird is going to pick up on that and react. What I would do is to try and replicate his previous environment as well as you can. That not only includes his cage setup, room, and the placement of objects within the room, but also the schedule and your visible emotional state. Be his example and reassure him that all is well. You might also provide him with any of his favorite distractions.

As far as I know, real wood fireplaces that don't give off any smoke (wood isn't wet, etc.) are fairly safe. Alternatives to wood, such as Duraflame logs are not safe at all. I'm not sure about coal, maybe someone here can add their input on that one? I would recommend that you keep a close eye on the temperature and humidity. Smoking is a different story. I wouldn't let anyone smoke near my fids.

You are definitely expecting too much too soon. Three months did the trick for my two as well. That seems to be the consensus here. I wouldn't say they are best friends now, but they will play on the same net and take showers on the same shower perch. They still occasionally beak each other, so I tend to keep an eye on them--just in case--but it doesn't really get that brutal. My recommendation would be to include both of them in your daily activities. If you have two perches, I would perch them near each other and slowly move them closer and closer over the next few months. Eventually mine were close enough that they could reach out and touch each other--if they wanted. If they didn't want to, they could take a step in the other direction and be out of the other's way. I also placed them both on the floor with tons of foot toys and let them wander around. Every now that then they'd encounter the other and there would be some interaction, but it was a neutral place and they didn't feel defensive. Of course, bear in mind that there is no guarantee that any two birds will ever get along. That doesn't mean that they'll attack each other. They might simply ignore the other's existence. Just give it time and effort and hope for the best. My two started out one scared of the other, that turned to beak-ing each other, yet now they are sitting about 8 inches apart playing on their net. Like your situation, my three month old just wanted to be friends, but my year old grey wouldn't have it. She would tilt her head down and make coo-ing noises and he'd hit her with his beak. So, after many months, they at least get along. They don't snuggle together, but then again that's my preference. I prefer that they not bond too closely with each other--making me the third wheel.

I was really just picking up some supplies at a local pet store which has a great bird habitat. I know the staff there fairly well and I just can't help but play with all the new babies. There was the cockatoo, two macaws (barely feathered), and five conures. It's a dangerous thing to do, not for my physical well being, but for the well being of my wallet. It's hard to escape the clutches of a cute bird. I won't say it'll never happen, but a cockatoo isn't in my foreseeable future. I managed to escape without doing anything stupid, but I did ever so slightly injure the wallet to pick up a neat birdie tent. I'll have to post some pictures.

I grew up with a timneh grey in the house, along with a few other birds, a cat, and two dogs. I love them all, but I am very partial to the birds and dogs. When I left for school, I took one of the dogs with me. For all intents, she was mine. If I was anywhere nearby, she was by my side. Like many others here, as she aged and her quality of life reached a low point, I did what I had to do. It was the single worst day of my life. I've always been infatuated with birds. If I had to list some reasons why I own birds and more specifically a grey, these would be them: 1. Their high intelligence -- The grey being the highest. 2. The challenge -- With all that intelligence and personality comes quite a challenge. 3. Their lifespan -- I don't want to go through the experience of watching my pet's quality of life deteriorate any time soon, or really ever again, but I know that's unrealistic.

I am so excited! I've always known that cockatoos had a nasty bite, but I'd never experienced it for myself. Well as of last night, that has changed. I was playing with a 5 month old lesser sulphur crested. She really wanted to sit on my shoulder and I wouldn't let her, so she decided to put the squeeze on my soft flesh. Let's just say that I'll take a bite from any adult grey before I'd take another from a baby cockatoo. They are *very* strong and it's the shape of their beak that really does you in. They also don't just bite and release. They like to maintain their grip and try to squeeze even more. That fun aside, she was a beautiful bird and her feathers were extremely soft. But, I definitely wouldn't recommend the cockatoo to first time parrot owners or anyone with young children. In case you were wondering, I survived with just a minor flesh wound. It's not the first time I encountered the beak, just the first one attached to a cockatoo. It was my fault and I knew what I was getting into.

As long as they are eating a balanced diet of pellets, fruits (including palm oil) and veggies, I wouldn't give them any supplements, unless your avian vet recommended it. Just feed a good diet, make sure they get enough UV light, either outdoors or from a full spectrum lamp. Then just make sure to take your grey in for a yearly exam with bloodwork. If there is a deficiency, that will expose it.

A good breeder is something that's very difficult to quantify. In my opinion, a good breeder is one that places the animal's health and well-being above all else. And the best method for making this determination is to look at the offspring they produce. Are they happy, laid-back, healthy, and well socialized?

If Charlie noticed that your neighbor's daughter was given attention (good or bad) for screeching, she may think she's onto something. As the others have said, just try to ignore it and see if it just goes away.

My crew is typically already asleep when I get home from work. They wake up when they hear me arrive and come out of their cages for several hours before I put them back in bed. If I sense that they need more sleep or they didn't get a lot of sleep the day prior, I'll try to have them in their cages by 9:30, but there are many nights that they stay up till 11 or midnight. Just as Dave said, they make up for it during the day, while I'm at work. Unless the environment prevents it, they'll usually go to sleep on their own, when they feel tired. They don't necessarily have to be in their cages. Rigel likes to sit on my arm when I'm watching TV at night. After a while, you'll find him with his head twisted back and his beak tucked under his wing. Sierra prefers that I lay a blanket on the ottoman. As soon as I do, she places herself squat in the center and complains if I don't cover her. She'll stay under there for hours sleeping. In her mind, she's out of the cage and near her flock, which is all that seems to matter to her. In my opinion, not spending enough time with your fids it likely more detrimental to their well being than making sure they are in bed early. They can adapt very well, you just have to always be vigilant for signs that they aren't getting enough sleep. Anyway, enough on that topic. I have a possible recommendation for your heating issue. Have a look at the Eco Heater: http://www.eco-heater.com/ One of their dealers (http://houseneeds.com/) has it for $119. It's a wall-mounted, "pet-safe", electric room heater and you can combine it with an inexpensive wall socket thermostat.

Sierra is a small grey at 380 grams, so I'd start by looking for the short one. I'd eliminate all those that had a perfectly red tail, since she's still got a tad of black at the tips. If I still couldn't pick her out, I'd have to play to her weaknesses and get her to come to me. 1. Cheerios (but I bet she's not the only one that would come running) 2. A blanket. As soon as she sees a blanket, she runs over and positions herself squat right in the center. If I don't cover her ASAP, she then proceeds to explain the error of my ways. 3. Pull out any cleaning apparatus. She hates them all. And, that's the only thing she's scared of. She absolutely hates vacuums, brooms, etc. I can't really blame her. I have a slight aversion to cleaning supplies myself. Rigel would be easier to pick out of the crowd. He'd be the one with no flight feathers and no tail feathers. Although, in the last week, he's just started to get his tail feathers back. So, I won't be able to use that for long. He used to have a bald spot on the top of his head from an injury in his cage. That would have been a sure sign it was him, but it has finally healed. I suppose I'd just have to pull out some healthy food and see which one tried to escape?

I have allergies to contend with, so I went all out and invested in an IQ Air. It's the last step in portable air purification before you have to consider a whole house unit. A less expensive, but highly rated unit is the Austin Air. A few of the bird magazines have recommended the Austin in the past. There are many others, but those are the two that I'm familiar with and trust. Whatever you choose, just do your research. Many of the so-called HEPA filters on the market aren't worth the electricity they displace. The filter itself might be rated very efficient, but the seal around the filter is typically the weak point. Air will take the path of least resistance, hence it'll just sneak around that highly efficient filter. Two other factors to consider when doing your research is the volume of air it can displace per hour (consider the size of your room) and how quiet it operates.

That's great news! At least now we have one more possibility to consider when they droop their wings. And, as you said, you've saved yourself many days of worrying. I know this is a very controversial topic, but more and more I'm convinced that I don't want to clip my fids wings. At least I would have asked the breeder not to. Sierra's clip wasn't bad at all and she learned very early how to fly. Rigel wasn't so fortunate and he's suffered a few minor bumps and scrapes due to his lack of skill. P.S. Thanks for the pictures too, Tyco is a beautiful bird!

Is the window Tyco is near closed? If so, the UV spectrum is blocked by the glass. Also, the distance from the light to your bird is critical. UV generating lamps are very weak and require being within no more than a foot or two from your bird. You don't want it much closer either. Just make sure they have plenty of space out of the light too. I don't think that greys necessarily require more calcium than other birds, but they are more sensitive to calcium deficiencies. Hence, if your amazon we're low on calcium, it may not have as much of an impact on his health. One thing I forgot to mention is that those UV bulbs also have a very short lifespan. They continue to emit light, but their UV output drops off sharply. It's best to replace them every 6 months. You can extend their life by putting them on a timer and only running them for a few hours a day.<br><br>Post edited by: Kaedyn, at: 2008/11/20 04:06

Welcome to the board! Every bird has a different personality, some are clingy and others not. It's also something he'll likely outgrow as he ages, but being irritable is just part of being a parrot. They have their moods just like the rest of us. Has Mitchell been for his first avian vet visit? If he hasn't, I highly recommend you take him for an exam with bloodwork. That's the only way to know what's going on physically with your bird. Just so we're all on the same page. When you say he's picking a lot of down feathers out, do you mean he's creating a bald spot, or just cleaning up the lose ones? If I remember correctly, I think I've read from other members that the young ones will sometimes chew off their tail feathers, but it's something they typically outgrow. I'm sure someone else here can confirm that. Why don't you post a few pictures of Mitchell, so that we can get to know him? You can also tell us more about yourself and your grey in the welcome room.

I was a bit shocked myself. I figured I was doing everything right, but obviously not. I should have the lamp in a few days and I'll have him retested in 6 months.

My crew isn't covered at night. They have their own room and I do close the door, but daylight fills the room from two windows. Yet, I never hear a peep from them until they hear me first. If it's anything like other groups of animals in the wild, they might instinctively know that they don't do anything until the flock leader says so. Of course, that would be the only case where I feel like I'm the flock member in charge. B)

I've never known a grey that didn't do that. It means he's relaxed and just resting his foot. The smaller birds tend to not do it, but the larger parrots do. Just as the smaller birds tend to not hold their food by their foot.

You wouldn't even know I had parrots until they hear me shuffling around in the morning.

I jam Rigel full of Harrison's pellets, eggshells, broccoli, and turnip greens. I take him out in the sun at least once a week for 30 minutes, yet his recent bloodwork still showed that he was hypocalcemic. So, now I have a new UV lamp on the way. He wasn't showing any signs of illness and I really didn't want to give away my money, but I did what I'm obligated to do and took him in for his yearly exam. If it wasn't for that, I'd never have known that his calcium levels were low. If Tyco hasn't had her yearly exam, this might be a good excuse to do so. At minimum, a quick call to the vet for their opinion or reassurance never hurts.

This is just a bit of holiday humor I thought I'd share. Forgive me if you've already seen this one or if this isn't the proper place for it! ------------- A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. It quickly became apparent that the parrot 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 polite words, playing soft music, and giving him head scritches, but it made no difference. Over time, John became fed up and started yelling at the parrot, but the bird just yelled right back. John shook the parrot, but the bird just got angrier and more obnoxious. In an act of desperation, John grabbed the bird and threw him in the freezer. For the first few minutes the parrot squawked, scraped, and pecked. Then all of a sudden there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for well over a minute. Fearing the worst, John darted to the kitchen and threw open the freezer door. The parrot calmly stepped up onto John's outstretched arm and said, "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and behavior. I am sincerely remorseful and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior." John was stunned at the dramatic change in his bird's attitude. Before he could even question what brought about this sudden change the bird said, "May I ask what the turkey did?" Happy Thanksgiving!

That's her most common voice. Sometimes she'll freak you out by talking in her quiet voice and then immediately switching to a louder and deeper voice for a single word. In those cases, she's typically repeating something she learned from Rigel. Your right Dan, it does sound like "sponge bob", but to the best of my knowledge, they've never seen the show. It's exciting, yet scary. I've started checking movie ratings before allowing them to watch.

After many attempts, I finally managed to video Sierra talking. She speaks fairly softly, but you can clearly hear her saying, "whatcha doin?". I have no idea what she says after that, since Rigel starts to talk over her. Any guesses?

I tried several harnesses before I found the aviator. It's by far the safest, least cumbersome, and easiest to put on. I've been using mine for over a year and it still looks like new, even with all the chewing it goes through. I paired mine with the aviator flight line, which works very well if you want to give your fids some yard length flight exercise. The only word of caution I'd offer is to keep an eye out for predators while outdoors. My area is known for hawks, owls, falcons, etc.

As Dan has said, their feet actually lock onto the perch. An involuntary reflex causes a tendon in the back of their leg to tighten, locking their toes in place. This allows them to sleep on a branch blowing in the wind. Or in the case of my greys, it helps them sleep while perched and traveling in the car. Over bumps, turns, stops and starts, they rarely wake up, and never fall. Have you actually witnessed your grey falling while asleep? If you have access to a camcorder that works in low light, this is a good tool for determining what's going on when you can't sit and stare for hours. The next morning, you can fast forward through the video to find the point of incident, then see what lead up to it.