birdhouse

I've had that exact image for years w/Phenix & now sometimes Gil gives it to me, too. "If only you could poke around in their little head, find the problem & tweak it, just enough to make them happy again." What I think is funny is that you got it in one; Data & all. Obviously I'm not the only Star Trek fan here! lol

Glad this sounds like it's over & done & "just" a scare. Very glad for you both! The problem w/birds is there really isn't any "over reacting" to a lot of symptoms. They don't give us much, if any warning about being sick. It doesn't sound like you were anything other than a dutiful parront who got very lucky this time. Thank goodness.

Miss G is so very lucky that you're so incredibly selfless. I'm sure she feels it's simply her do. But as another mere human, I've got to be impressed. I let everything Phenix did run off my back for years. But I really don't know how patient I would have been if he was making nice w/everyone else in the meantime. So major props, again!! I just wish you could figure out which little screw was loose so you could finally tighten it already. She's come so far & I think you're right about everyone in her orbit benefits w/each new accomplishment. But it seems like the biggest obstacle is firmly tangled up w/whatever is stopping her from admitting that you're her biggest fan & devotee. It's felt like she was right on the verge for a while now...! But it does make me smile to think how everyone -you, her, people literally all over the world, are going to be so happy when she finally gets there!

Isaac loves, loves, loves his cup, right? At least he did. Or has he out grown that? If not, maybe start w/the known commodity. A plastic cup w/a handle, zip tied to the side of the cage somewhere, filled w/a Qtips, a nut in its shell, plastic beads & wood pieces. Get some raffia & use it to tie a coffee filter over the top. Most if not all of this should be found at WallyWorld, Michael's or any craft store http://www.michaels.com/store-locator Works better if you let Isaac watch while you construct this the first couple of times. Birds are great at figuring out how to get into everything you don't want them to. Which is probably why people are often surprised to learn that many of them need to be taught to play & forage. If it makes you feel any better, Phenix isn't generally a store bought kind of fid, either. Wood is good. Bells are good. Wood toys w/bells are very good. He's got 3 store bought foraging toys, now, too. But the rest of the time, it's strawbursts or adding machine rolls or a slice of phone book, etc. The kind of activities found in the free ebooks that I'm always recommending. https://featheredangels.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/theparrotenrichmentactivitybookversion1-0.pdf https://featheredangels.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/theparrotenrichmentactivitybookversion2-0.pdf

I'm never looking forward to any of this stuff. And it sounds an awful lot like Nemo 2 is on the way. Can't say I enjoyed the first episode very much at all. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?198316-Night-of-50-candles So now I'm taking a short hot chocolate break because well, hot cocoa just makes everything seem a little better & my list is pretty well covered, too. ") All I really have left is to dig out the travel cages. Not because there's any leaving once the adventure really begins. But if things get as loud & crazy outside as they did before, I'm thinking the fids might feel safer in them. And if I wrap them up hopefully, their own body heat will help keep them warmer. I've pushed the heat up & opened all the cupboards & closets for the day so things can get a little extra warmed up. All the battery operated stuff is on chargers. Inventoried a pile of non perishable food, bunches of clean water, clean critter bowls & hopefully enough heating supplies for at least a few days stranded w/no power. After the last time, I added extra bags of tea lights & some nice sturdy candle holders that each take multiple candles. I also got a bunch of quilted moving pads from Harbor Freight for insulating our little cocoon, if push comes to shove. But I really, really,really hope we don't lose the power again because it's the absolute pits. At this point I'm just dreading tonight & tomorrow.

I was doing the home-mini-spa thing; hair piled w/conditoner, face covered in a green clay mask. I had to go into the living room where the birds are to grab something near Phenix's cage. The way he looked me up & down was funny enough. Then he popped out with, "What are you!?!" But I think my favorite will always be the first time he did anything like that. We were at the vet & he was running late. We were hanging in the examining room, so I could at least let Phenix out. But he was on edge, of course. I swiped him a wooden tongue depressor & it worked surprisingly well. By the time the vet came in, he was very focused on tearing it apart. He totally ignored the vet until he came over to stand beside us & observe. Phenix finally looked over his shoulder w/very obvious attitude & said, "What...?" Perfectly delivered in a tone of voice that was beyond disgusted. Phenix had seen that vet frequently for over a year. But he hadn't been talking by his last appointment. The vet's eyes flew open & he literally gasped. He laughed so hard for so long I thought he was half collapsed into the corner. That was the first time Phenix realized he could use language for its shock value & there was no putting that Genie back into the bottle from then on.

Since the humans in the house don't like peanut butter, the fids don't get any. lol Not really! There's plenty of things I buy just for them. But Phenix came addicted to peanuts & sunflower seeds & wouldn't anything else for a scary lengths of time. I used peanut butter to help him transition to good foods. But all peanut products were banned once I got him "cleaned up". Probably why we found Red Palm Oil which is actually supposed to be healthier. You might try it. I find it in the organic foods isle at my regular grocery store. Different species of birds have different requirements for fruit intake. Greys are on the lower side, generally. Raisins are fine, but too much sugar isn't great. So my guys get them as a treat.

All in all by New England standards, it's been a "wicked" easy winter. Although last week the temp did drop to 4 below, Sunday it was 51°F. Not cold enough long enough to really settle into everything so far (knock on wood). No need to drag out those covers. Even if it was up, a pic wouldn't do much good. Phenix' cage is in corner, behind a couch, end table & lamp. But construction really is super simple. 12 straight lengths of pipe & 8 elbow connectors like this (commonly found in white) 3 straight lengths get pushed thru the curtain pockets first. The pieces then pushed together to form a cube. The thrifty version uses curtains & a spread from Goodwill & the project comes in around $30'ish. Maybe takes 15-20 min to complete. For my purposes, the simple cube works just fine. But it should in theory be able to be fancied up a bit, too. Originally I was going to try a slightly more complicated frame design to better contour w/my dome top cages. That added 4 short pcs of straight pipe & 4 half 45 degree elbows. I had thought to use a 4th curtain if I went that way as well.

Considering birds in the wild travel so many miles every day, I have to think going places w/us is good for them. And spending extended time in different places should just be like migrating. All second nature to most birds. And maybe even a key ingredient that has enabled Gilbert to thrive so in your home. Just something that's good for her head in a way that most of our fids don't get to experience. Congratulations on the big wedding plans. No small amount of insanity to follow, no doubt. But hopefully crazy in a very good way!

I don't usually cover cages. I know my fids don't like it. But this is New England & we do have some cold, yucky weather (just every so often). So sometimes I break the covers out whether they like it or not. Phenix dislikes this most, of course. I swear there is just nothing easy w/that boy. lol I had to make him a new cover every single year which he'd immediately set to work shredding. I mean it's easy enough. I usually use big towels which happen to be a very nice size, washable & thick enough to give good warmth & darkness. But eventually, I just got sick of it & outsmarted him w/some PVC pipe, 8 corner couplings, a few rod pocket curtains & a sheet, scarf or big ole piece of material. Whatever worked w/his cage(s') dimensions. The pipe makes a giant cube w/curtains hung on the top pipes of 3 sides. The sheet's laid across the top & down the front. That's how it "opens & closes". Then it was just a matter of experimenting w/clothes pins, ties or Velcro to close up the corners. The first 2 options gave Phenix something to vent his frustration on whenever he was out. So Velcro eventually won. It was so simple. The whole trick was to set it all up just slightly out of reach. The thing stays up until the weather eases up, then breaks down & stores in a closet until it's needed again. They can play on it, it washes nicely & it's been everything I've wanted for years. ...incl free of peep holes.

Oh yay!!! If that's all there was to it, then I'm really glad for you both. You should also be congratulated for raising a well adjusted grey. Extra points because at his age, they're often such a handful. By comparison if I do something like this w/Phenix, say replace a perch in his cage, he sits on his food cup & won't move for days. Obviously the polar opposite end of the scale personality-wise. And I think people tend to post more about that type of grey than Storm's. So there's another reason for you to post sometimes, too btw. ")

Hope you get squared away soon. I've apparently come to depend on you to get my baby bird fix. It's been a while & I was actually a little disappointed when I opened the new post but no pics. lol What did you mean when you said the birds had been trained to stay away from people? Why?

The site has been going thru a re-vamp for security reasons. In the meantime, it's apparently being something a little less than new user-friendly. Please don't give up. Penny/Talon is the Admin. If you PM her, she can probably get things straightened out for you. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/member.php?1690-Talon

"The Parrot Problem Solver. Finding Solutions to Aggressive Behavior" By Barbara Heidenreich http://www.amazon.com/Parrot-Problem-Solver-Barbara-Heidenreich-ebook/dp/B004H4X7ZU Also same author - "Good Bird! A Guide to Solving Behavioral Problems in Companion Parrots" http://www.amazon.com/Solving-Behavioral-Problems-Companion-Parrots/dp/1895270278/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421553551&sr=8-1&keywords=Good+Bird!+A+Guide+to+Solving+Behavioral+Problems+in+Companion+Parrots+Barbara+Heidenreich I think the most valuable thing about that first book is the way it looks at behaviors from a wild perspective. Our birds are not that different from their wild relations in a lot more ways than I think most people would give them credit for being. They aren't really domesticated like most of our other critters & its very important to understand the difference w/all parrots. But Greys in particular, I think, because they're so sensitive, intelligent & often at least a little neurotic at at some level.

Okay, first & foremost, please don't ever again have any hesitation about posting >>a-ny-thing<< ever! As long as it's PC & relatively PG-13 ('ish - give or take a little wiggle room lol). Members may have little or nothing in common except for our fids. But we're always here for every fid as best as we can be. Those first years in particular are amazing & wonderful & scary sometimes all w/in 6 mins time. We're greyt to share it all w/because we get all that & more like only another grey parront can. To your questions; yes, birds/prey animals are if not afraid of the dark outright, at least hard wired to be prettyy easily spooked at night. There are scary things that eat them in the wild & lots of them are prowling around at night. If they have a trusted roosting spot, maybe they can at least rest a little easier. You've already seen Storm be cage aggressive. That & territorial are peas in the same pod. Territory & roosting or nesting spots have hardwired importance for birds. And you just took Storm away from his. Also, the way I read your post, his cage is now in a busier spot on top of bbeing 75% exposed vs the 50% he was used to. Then you eliminated his nite light on top of everything. I second everything Timbersmom said. Phenix would most definitely have a big ole meltdown for sure! Since most Greys tend to think all change is just bad, civilization as he knew it has just ceased to exist. The end of the world may be here soon! lol So, first, like Timbersmom said, can you cover part of his cage w/o freaking him out? That would help him feel more secure until he's adjust to this wide open new space. During the day as well as nighttime. Also, if he's used to his night light, that might be important, too. If you haven't experienced night frights you really don't want to start now. Could you possibly rig something up just for tonight?

Maybe not yet. But sometime in the foreseeable future, I think. It just feels like there's a mean, angry, vicious parrot out there who's just been looking for you for a while now, Ray. Okay, wait a minute!! That may not sound like it but it really was meant to be encouraging, honest! ")

Pretty awesome realization isn't it? And you do realize that's all on you, right? That sound you hear right now is applause!!! ") ...or...maybe... that's the fids (furry & feathered) implementing that diabolical plot they've been hatching for a while now. Perhaps you'd like to check just in case!?! lol I don't normally think of Amazon for bird toys. I was just looking for free freight. I should have taken a pic before I put everything away because I've got a banana box overflowing w/quite the diverse entertainment. Even w/o those giant monstrosities. I think they're going to be dismantle for parts. I'm even a little afraid of them because they're so heavy the cage bar sags when they're hung up. My unquestionable favorite is Phenix new foraging wheel. He's never had one like that because I thought he'd have it solved in no time, assuming he didn't run away from it. I did the whole introduction ritual & eventually we were playing w/it on the outside. He'd gotten to where I'd say, "Turn the wheel." & he'd run right over to show off. I finally loaded the thing & hung it up. Then I sat w/him until he'd actually go over & turn the wheel by himself. I walked away making a bet w/myself about how long before he unloaded all the Nutriberries. 2 weeks & he still thinks turning the wheel is the "trick". He's pretty PO'd when he doesn't get rewarded for doing it because he still doesn't actually realize that he has to line up the openings. If it doesn't happen by accident he tries to break into the thing. Then he walks away w/the utmost disgust. I shouldn't laugh at him. But it's much too funny because he's usually so quick to figure things out. This time though, he's just being such a blunt instrument! I don't know how long it's going to take him to connect the dots instead of acting like the vending machine ate his last quarter. But in the meantime, it's hysterical.

Oh my goodness, that Grey virus is so-o-o easy to catch & it just doesn't go away!!! Sometimes it also morphs into a multicolored version. That can really cause absolute chaos. Often multiple times a day. Looks like you've got it really bad. Pretty sure there isn't any fixing the problem, no matter what you do. You should just resign yourself to the fact that this has become a permanent thing. ")

Good luck w/that. I could say it takes a while to bird proof a house. But I'd be lying. It's always going to be a work in progress. Which is why I bookmarked this when I happened to see them during my holiday shopping. http://www.amazon.com/Cord-Protector-CritterCord-Protect-Hazardous/dp/B000EH2I5O Although they're obviously un-initiated w/our little winged terrors, there's still some useful products ref'd in this article, too. http://www.cableorganizer.com/articles/Ways-Protect-Wires-From-Cat-Dog.html

Maybe because it was -4F this week, but that's what I was thinking. Nothing seems warm enough in this weather. lol Ok, so maybe you can kill 2 birds (sorry!) w/one stone. Find something Dorian really likes to drink & use that to coax him away when it's time. Hopefully it could turn a tense thing into a good thing, maybe.

I only have 1 metal cup & all sorts of other covered types incl some cool plastic ones for cold drinks & some really lovely ceramic ones that I think I got at Bed Bath & Beyond, maybe? Like you said, it made him so happy. Still does. So I never could break myself of the habit. I just pour 2 cups at a time. Maybe just a cinnamon stick in their warm water. Whatever. But that way we all get to share a drink together & everybody's happy.

Nuts or banana chips around here, but basically, what they said. Just can't let things escalate to the point where it's rewarding them for bad behavior. I know how much fun the computer desk is, in general. Let's just say I've been well schooled. lol But that aside, do you think his particular thing about that spot could have anything to do w/it being warm as well as suc a nice roosting spot?

From what I've read, it seems like the problem is the caffeine. Even decaf teas & coffees have at least some & birds are apparently overly sensitive to it. Flavored teas may have a problem w/other ingredients in the blends, too. Then, like Dee said, dairy milk & artificial sweeteners are all bad as well. Phenix loved to drink out of a cup long before he even remotely liked me. So when our first winter together rolled around & I started drinking hot chocolate like most people drink coffee or tea, I had to find a safe solution. W/him, I think it's more about sharing* my** warm *** drink from a fun cup. It eventually worked out that all soda, hot chocolate, coffee, even alcohol goes into a travel mug w/a cover & for the most part, the fids eventually learned to pretty much ignore them after persistent begging proved totally pointless. They're right there whenever I have "normal" drink ware w/chamomile tea or warm apple juice w/w/o cinnamon in winter or fruit juices any time of the year, though. Even warm or cool water makes them happy most days. They're really just happy whenever they get to drink out of my cup.

Love to see a recipe if you wanted to share, Greatness. Around here, it's usually about covering things w/apple sauce. If it's something chunky, apple sauce & oatmeal. If it's really dubious, add cinnamon to camouflage the smell. On really rare occasion I have to bring out the big guns ...Red Palm oil or peanut butter! Warm oatmeal w/melted peanut butter & just a bit of something new eventually converted all the fids to new food while they were still picky eaters. Warm concoctions apparently remind them of baby feedings & are comfort food even when they're grown adults.

It would be great if everyone read thru that article you linked. It's not that long & the pictures are nice. I don't think people from countries w/import bans necessarily realize what's going on around the world. CITES, the committee to protect endangered species globally, has no... call em teeth. The more aware people are, the more they might be willing to help. Just exchanging information is actually a big help. Or maybe signing a petition the next time the CITES committee is sitting. A little bit can go a long way. Rescue isn't for everyone & it's good to realize your limits when adopting something so sensitive, intelligent & long lived as a parrot. But there's a difference between fids who need to be rescued & the ones who just need to be re-homed. There are so many really wonderful animals who could give back such a huge return for a little bit of love. Rescue & re-homing have always been near & dear to my heart. And I have a thing about the victims of the wild bird trade too, because of Phenix. So I really hope your thread will help encourage people to consider an older critter before they adopt. Glad you posted this.