birdhouse

W/a little forethought & planning this should be relatively easy, once your fid is comfortable in a carrier. As always it just depends on the players. But if your bird is relatively easy going, if you're relatively intuitive & don't push too hard too fast, it should work out fine. One thing I would advise very strongly is that you never let strangers w/in arm's reach of the carrier under any circumstances. People can do surprisingly stupid things sometimes. If & only if they appear to be the right sort, they might however be allowed to worship from afar as long as your fid approves. This will help feed that insatiable ego & also help w/socialization. I don't trust collapsible travel cages for "tough" duty. I've had issues w/them maintaining their integrity & my grey in particular picks them apart. Very bad! But especially when we're out in the wide world. I have awesome King's cages, but because (for me anyway) they're awkward & a bit heavy I'd use my cat carriers for this type of trip & set the other carriers up when I got where I was going. Since birds are insecure flat footed, I put cross rope perches in their the travel cages. After some experimenting I've settled for the type that use wingnuts & washers because they work awesome in both the wire & plastic carriers. I eventually put 4 small holes in the sides of the plastic carriers which makes it super easy to switch between any of the cages now. They give the fids lots of very secure perching w/o dictating which direction they must face for the entire trip as that can also become an issue. Having water available at all times is very important especially because they're apt to be at least a little over stimulated under the circumstances. I've had good luck w/the hamster type water bottles. The fids do need to be taught to drink from one in advance though. In fact, better to do everything in an incremental build up beforehand. The more practice going just outside, then maybe to the park for a bit, etc, the better. If you can get a short train trip or two in, even better still. Greys aren't usually good about new anything let alone situations w/sensory overload. And you do **not** want a meltdown here, at all. The relatively easy solution is to limit your fid's field of vision by covering the carrier. A heavy cover is also some protection from cooler temps &/or drafts. Light covers can help protect from sun & overheating. And a couple of bungee cords would be useful to help secure your quilt/towel/sheet while you're on the move btw. As to the noise question; I would be more concerned that the environment be too noisy for your Grey. Not so much that your Grey would be too noisy for the environment. Unlike some other parrot breeds, Greys aren't often known to put on a show for strangers. Any scared or even uncomfortable Grey will usually do everything possible to be still & silent enough to become invisible to possible predators in whatever they see as hostile situations. There's always the exception to the rule, but it would be a rare grey indeed who would go out of their way to call attention to themselves under those circumstances.

I know this is taking all the fun out of everything, to state the obvious. But, first you'll need to stay calm & try to act happy w/the baby. (S)he's going to catch your mood. So the more worked up you are, the worse for your fid who's already sounding taumatized. Dave007 is probably the best person to ask for help here. Suggest PM to him asap because as you know, your fid can't go long w/o food. Meanwhile, if you have any, you can try offering coconut water which has minerals & some food value as well as water. Although Dave is good about helping, he might not be immediately available. I don't think you should wait much longer. Call your vet & ask for suggestions while you're waiting. If Dave doesn't get back pretty soon, ask to see the vet today. They should understand & make space for you under the circumstances. If they don't , suggest finding another vet asap.

LOL Whoa now! Easy there big fella! It's okay! Those links can't hurt you. *They're* *not* *eligible*. They're not mine. I only cut & pasted them off the web. The first one was just to get the party started. The second one is a blog post w/some potentially helpful ideas. Also, some nice pictures. I could not resist that pic w/the fid diving in all the way up to the tail hehe And those Camelot macaws ~love! Truth be told, I'll be lucky to even get a horse in this race. For many, many years I used a grey owl as my avatar because my guys are all convinced that cameras are pure evil. Not going to stop me from trying, though. I still think this contest will be fun w/w/o my flock o paranoid problem children.

Aaww! For starters, that calls for a roll of paper towels, I think. You can always add more & bigger presents any time over the next 10 or so years. Happy Hatchday Talon!

The babies are so-o cute!! I don't know if you've posted this on GF. But this one also came up afterwards The one of Kilaya is kind of magnificent! I don't understand, though. How does the leash keep from getting tangled on such a big arc like that?

If this was a rescue, it would all be different ...starting w/the time table. Very glad to see Echo's not so fragile & has come such a very long way in such a short time. It would seem she's basically a pretty stable girl from a good & loving home who will bounce back from this trauma mostly unscathed. Now that the dust has settled some & speaking as someone who is no friend of the dog walker- She is very lucky. This could have been so much worse!! I literally can't imagine any one of my friends who would put either my critters or me thru anything remotely like that, just from a pain perspective. But also because they would respect my judgement too much when it comes to what my critters can tolerate &/or what things might put someone in harm's way. I don't know what I would do if someone pulled a stunt like this. But one thing for sure. This would be a "one & done" from the perspective that I could never fully trust them again.

Welcome home Lily! Hope this is the beginning of a decades long friendship.

Oh, Greyt! This could be a lot of fun! https://jamiesparrothelp.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/how-to-carve-pumpkins-with-your-parrots/

It always comes down to the individual animals, birds & humans. But overall, cats & birds are just not a good mix. Cats are natural enemies & most have a pretty large prey drive. Lots of them hunt for the pure joy of it. AND if they truly love you, they'll bring you the half dead trophy so that you can have the honor of killing it. But most don't care care what you think. If it looks like there might be a few minutes of fun & torture to be had, Tweety's fair game even if your kitty knows for positive sure it's a huge no-no. In fact, the fact that it's forbidden can actually make it more fun. Puppies are worse than cats. They usually want to please. They just forget sometimes because that's what youngsters of almost all species do. So for the first couple of years,there's always the possibility of a random brain fart, no matter how well they've been training. Generally, border collies are smart, quick to learn & eager to please. They also tend to have a little more energy than parrot might natrally feel comfortable around. They have some prey drive & a pretty large herding instinct which might actually lead to more issues than the prey drive because little grey birds are breakable. But most of them are very loyal & can be settled into a good relationship w/any weaker creature who their master makes clear is precious. Generally, Vizslas just make me smile. I had a mix. He was a big goofy love ...who I could never trust around the fids, for the most part. He respected there cage boundaries, thank goodness. He thought they were fascinating & meant to be respectful. But he was apt to hurt someone by accident because he was such a goof sometimes. And I don't know if yours has that ancient hunting dog skill set. But Morgan would point at a flock of geese in the sky & you could see electricity running down his body. He didn't usually act that way w/our fids. But there were times. Especially if they went flapping their wings. Over the decades now, my fids have had moderate to excellent relationships w/all my dogs. My collie/shep/husky helped w/the breeding teils. He checked the nest box daily, then baby sat the chicks after they fledged. He was the first living thing Phenix ever tolerated. He loved him so much his name was one of the first words he learned & he would call looking for him for about a year after he died. So yes it's possible for **certain** animals to have a good life together. It depends on all the personalities involved. It matters how fair the humans are & how perceptive they are at interpreting daily interactions. The real challenge is understanding that even though a fid is the most breakable critter in the mix, they're almost always the best manipulators. That's more damaging that many parronts realize & can be the key point to everyone living happily ever after (or not).

You've got a tremendous relationship w/your fid & I think should be applauded big time. I know this way outside the norm. But is she usually so forgiving? Today has been very encouraging even if she is that kind of girl, though. So given all that, do you still think she needs time w/the sitter & a whole new room design? Or do you think you might just be able to limp along now?

^^^ So not fair! Watching my guys w/a pumpkin is like watching the wild birds take a bath. Oh, wait... another sore subject. Never mind! lol

When the hawks are outside in the yard, the the fids are skittish. I put my jacket on at the other end of the house & Phenix makes the zipping sound before I can pull on the second sleeve. And he can't see me mind you. So just in case, could you maybe set up an old smartphone or Nanny cam type arrangement to see if Echo's back to normal?

lol Just what I said to SullysMom. Really, I am a litte surprised you didn't give it a bit more fanfare the first time. Cuz I mean they're so wretched & deprived & have so very little to give them joy & pleasre. ")

^^^ Maybe they were just confused. Isn't everything supposed to be bigger in Texas? That is what the brochures say. Some little orange ball in the middle of that awesome big ol' fantasy land they call their aviary probably didn't stand a chance. Next time(?) go big or maybe I guess you could actually go to pieces, too. But your fids live large! Which is why I'm kind of surprised you didn't have more fun w/this. So what if they got a big & beauty rubbed w/RPO? And it visually stood out a little? Like if it was stuck w/straws & finger traps or something they already know is fun. Or if the holes were full of peanut butter & seeds &/or had bamboo skewers w/grapes or celery stalks w/leaves. Something visually yummy. Maybe they really have got better things to do. Like I said before; they do live large. But it still might be worth another try. SullysMom, the first time I always let the fid "help" me w/a jack-o-lantern. they mostly get all the seeds they can eat & free reign of the guts & pieces. Basically that plays into their natural curiosity & avoids TheNewThing meltdown. From then on, it's pretty much all good whatever way you want to present it.

Wow, wow WOW!!!! If that happened w/Phenix I would have lost my mind!! Yes to everything you're thinking. Except no to a couple of days recovery time. If you are very lucky, Echo will have come down some by then. But, I think there will be some very real long term repercussions to be dealt w/one day at a time. What are you going to do about the dog walker btw?

:cool:ctober - time to let the fids enjoy a pumpkin or two. For any of the newbies who don't know, letting your new fid loose on a pumpkin is just so much fun that you won't even mind cleaning up the mess ...honest! You can make it a strictly fun thing. Or you can let them dive into the pile of pumpkin guts & pieces if you carve jack-o-lanterns. Or, you can gut the pumpkin, clean & bake or freeze the seeds & let them have at the rest. And/or you can wash & put up some pumpkin fruit (meat?) before, during or after. However you slice it, pumpkins are cool!!! Anybody think maybe we should try to encourage the moderators to have a pumpkin eating photo contest...????

Most of people have the same concern. But a lot, maybe even most, don't have any other birds for company. My guys don't seem to have much of a relationship w/each other. So I don't know how much the company is worth, really. But I figure if nothing else, it's better than being alone. They may eventually get used to sitting & staring into space. But even the little birds really need to be kept amused. There are actually more & more interesting store bought toys available than there used to be. But there is also a price to pay for them. You can help defray the cost by buying parts from some places. And you can make your own, probably better & definitely cheaper. There's a whole lot of ideas on this site & in these books. http://www.parrotenrichment.com/ http://nebula.wsimg.com/ea1811ab2ca5bc98c07f342ebb0d994a?AccessKeyId=82DA67762E035B563F83&disposition=0&alloworigin=1 http://nebula.wsimg.com/436f5a9956b227946a6ed81633622973?AccessKeyId=82DA67762E035B563F83&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

I've always called it night frights. Almost as scary for us as them, I think. Is it bad enough to consider a small sleep cage for a while? One of my birds would jolt awake because he was slipping off his perch due to his extreme old age. Age not applicable w/Isaac, of course. But new perches & nail cuts might apply. Mostly, I've been able to find an environmental source. Sometimes some pretty subtle things including blinking power lights & things that that they hear which we'd ignore. I had a timer that turned the lights off & on that ticked just a little. But it really freaked out one of my love birds.

Aawww! How wonderful & scary all at the same time!

It doesn't have to be anything other than that Issac is young enough that he's still doing flight exercises to blow off steam sometimes. Think of the guys who do their push ups before they get into bed. He's also young enough to resent his bed time. Especially if you're still up w/o him. Have you tried covering the cage? Some fids really do hate it. But if Isaac isn't one, it's a great way to help him power down. If he's getting night frights, it might be better to look for the source. From everything I've read light cycle & lighting seems to genuinely affect parrots. The wrong light temperature/color can actually put them off their food. Differences in the balance of day & darkness effects their sleep cycle & hormone balance. Artificially simulating the breeding season of long spring & summer daylight seasons can lead to more plucking. And he's looking awe-some right now & I'm sure you'll want to avoid that for sure!

That's not going to be doing good things for the bright, shiny, paint job on that nice new cage, though. Mine have all pretty much learned to tolerate showers, fortunately. I usually do them 2 at a time - misery really does love company };-> Even so, when it's warm enough to take them out (during our 3-1/2 wks of summer) the simplest thing for me is to bath them when they're in their travel cages. For one, they ain't going very far! But I also don't have to worry about getting the cage, perches, food (especially) toys, and everything else soaked. And of course, it's way cheaper to replace the little cage when the paint goes. Also, my hands aren't what they used to be. So that spray bottle, which no one was ever that fond of, got replaced w/a lawn sprayer. I had always thought part of the problem was certain types of bottles & the sound of certain pumps. W/this big ole contraption, I pump it up beforehand & it sprays real nice & quietly too. I won't claim they actually "like" it. But they don't seem to mind it as much, at least. So that's something since I'd always hated feeling like bath time was synonymous w/torture. You know?

^^^ Tried Tupperware? Not the spiffiest designs in the world, but it does come in some nice colors & bounces pretty well. lol And to be honest, I am always astounded at the stuff you have around your house that doesn't apparently get bothered. Like the last pics of Kane where there's a big pot of Rushes (?) Grasses (?) & the cuckoo clock I send good wishes every time it's pictured. Neither of those would last 4 min around here. But fortunately, these guys are very low tech. Woodwork, curtains, blinds, mostly. If Phenix gets a chance, he'll rip up the underside of the sofa. It's his man cave & the little stinker likes it how he like is. BUT cords...? OH good grief. Everything has to go into the entertainment center or some type of cabinet because if anything's left out or open ... They always zero right in on the cords & any power lights which scares me a lot!

This could help put things in perspective so you'll feel better. Then again, it could just give you nightmares. idk http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/2014/10/31/18247521/

I dare a-ny-one to try & claim he doesn't know what he's talking about (when it suits him)! Typically clumsy me sloshed a water dish all over just now. I didn't even really have time to register the mess I'd made when - Phenix: "Oh, Nooo!" Me: "I just spilled that all over the place didn't I?" Phenix: "Yupper!!!" Then we both laughed because I mean how could I get frustrated (even w/a fairly good sized mess) after something like that? Even though I've been lucky enough to live w/this little varmint for 25 yrs, he can still surprise & delight me. And he can always make me laugh.