birdhouse

That sounds encouraging. I'm very glad to hear it. It hurt to even look at the pics when this first happened. Hope the vet has good news on Monday.

I think I may have tried everything (I've been doing this for a while ). I like paper under the grate best. My guys use their whole cage most of the time. I don't want them mucking about in poop. I also like that any fallen perishable food is out of reach immediately. It is good to be able to keep tabs on what & how much they're actually eating (vs throwing around) as well as the quality of poop. It's economical. Also, cob & shavings can get blown all over the floor pretty easily & makes clean up a little worse. The vacuum cleaner does not appreciate much of what comes out of a cage & it chokes on shavings. btw If I had one helpful hint it would be to get a simple, old fashioned carpet sweeper. Save yourself a bunch of time unclogging the vac & depending on your model, a small fortune in bags.

I only wish we could have done more, Ray. Bet I'm not the only one who wished they lived close enough to be w/you for her funeral. To support you, of course. But also because you made Cricket special to us, too. She meant something to a whole bunch of people who never got to meet her & she won't be forgotten.

Almost impossible to imagine that Rio's going to keep getting more handsome as he matures & goes thru his first molt & everything! What a beautiful baby! I agree w/the others. Even though I can tell how much of an effort it is , you must keep posting vids, please!!

"They" always think it's all tall tales until they see for themselves. I have to admit how much I enjoy watching it happen, though!! I kind of figure that means I don't really get to complain too much when visitors' reactions perpetuate certain bad behaviors. Fair is fair after all.

Oh Ray, this is so sad. It literally brought me to tears to read this. You & Cricket have had such a great love. I know how much you'll miss her & I can't begin to say how very sorry I am.

Here it's Quaker oats w/some combo of cinnamon, raisins, bananas, applesauce, red palm oil, flax seeds or chamomile buds (for hormonal sprees). It's also a good way to help transition a fid's diet. Several times a week make breakfast warm cinnamon oatmeal & applesauce (usually a universal fav). A few weeks later, start sneaking a very small portion of broccoli buds or some other yucky healthy type thing into it . You might also try smothering a bit of mash w/it. I won't say it works all the time. But I've had pretty good luck. It generally seems to taste best when eaten off a spoon. And of course, whatever anyone else eats may just be extra incentive to try as well.

Aahh, the big bad bath thing!!! EEwWW! I don't know why, but I'm surprised that you don't have a bird fountain in that lovely bird room. What do you think about adding one? Megan's been thru a lot. A lot. You've been doing everything you can. But, you're the first to admit that your emotions have been pretty close to the surface. I'm sure she feels that as well as her own as well as Peck's. So it wouldn't really be surprising if she had a small call it reaction. But unless she was so bonded to Mar that she's going to tip over, I think she's got a big bird life that should probably help her get thru this w/o much more than a hiccup or two. And you two seem to have a bit of a contentious relationship. So I'm surprised she hasn't been giving you a harder time than this long before now. Hopefully, that's a good sign.

Have you tried talking to a professional? I was looking up regs for a member who wanted to move from an Eastern European country to maybe Sweden? Anyway, these guys were advertising on the website w/the official info. So maybe they're legit & maybe even helpful... for the amazingly low sum of..., of course. ") http://www.petrelocation.com/

Thanks goodness Rosa waited until it warmed up, too! Well, by New England standards, anyway. So glad they got her back!

aayup, we have that in common. Unfortunately... If it helps any, Kura is just starting to feather back in. She's about 3 weeks'ish behind Isaac. Hers is a) known hormones & b) living in New England where spring has finally started to kick in. We managed to get outside for the first time this week. Whoohoo!!!

Hi & Welcome LotusBloom. Good intro! Lots of info in such a relatively short post! lol So, ok initially, you were in what we call the honeymoon phase. Unless a bird is traumatized or inherently bad tempered, high strung etc, they tend to put on their company manners during that time. Your baby's got a nice disposition & was probably treated pretty well. That's great to know & helpful to work with. Now reality has set in. She's not going home to the parront(s) who she'd been bonded to for so many years. Grey bonds can be very strong. I'd say she's missing her human(s). And she's intelligent & sensitive enough to be withdrawn & upset enough to be isolating herself for the moment. Also, if she's been an only fid, she may be even more out of her element w/this blended flock. Even if you do let her out by herself, she'd still be aware that the others are there & has no reason to think they couldn't be lose at any moment. Apparently, my theme for the day is "patience". It sounds like you're doing everything right. You're allowing her the space she needs by not pushing yourself on her. But you're giving her the opportunities to join the flock. I'd say just keep doing what you've been doing & give her time. Grey time, as we call it is basically slow motion. But they do eventually get there, in their own sweet time. And if you have any specific thoughts or questions from now on, don't hesitate to post them. Maybe we can speed things up a little(!) by addressing specifics. Also, hoping you'll be posting some more about you're whole flock. Not just your greys. We also have an "Other Birds" forum. I for one would like to hear everything you want to share about your Cape Parrot. :cool:

Easy now!! You have had very few problems w/Isaac. Aside from the time he took off, which certainly counted for some big points, you guys have been everyone's envy. So, okay, maybe he's pissing you off. Or maybe, he's upsetting you to the point where that's how you're processing it at the moment. And that's okay so long as you get it out of your system & go back to being centered & rational about this. Because he feels your emotions & that's not helping. Remember? It's a process that usually takes time. The fact that gaining ground takes so long & but you can lose it in a flash is granted heartbreaking. But it is what it is. Also, it's been barely any time since you were talking about aloe, sunshine & feather in. Assuming you've started doing those things regularly(?), it would be surprising for them to have had time to work already. However this started, I have a feeling it's also being fueled by hormones now. If it is, they haven't run their course yet either. That could be part of what's causing recurring episodes. There is a reason for this. Feather picking doesn't make Isaac a "bad" bird. Nor does not being able to figure out the cause make you a bad parront. It isn't like Isaac's acting all mad at you for not being able to decode his issues. Maybe you should follow his lead? Patience. Patience. Patience. Patience. That's not a platitude. It's the first ingredient for fixing just about every grey problem there is.

Miss G is becoming a more socialized creature. Socialization requires communication & us dull witted humans pret-ty much only recognize the verbal kind. Whether she though she'd earned a time out or maybe you didn't look like a happy homemaker or just because the world revolves around a grey bird... Whatever. It sounds like maybe she thought a heart felt apology would do the trick. Seems like she's apparently getting to like having that door open. Progress. But also like the others have said, when it's open it's all up to her whether to go walk about or sit still & watch her slave at work. Control. I also think that some parrots are (maybe m/t) a little manic depressive. That I actually learned from my tiels & I'm very grateful because they didn't bite anywhere near as hard. Of course Miss G's got some reasons & maybe she's got some Daddy issues. But overall, she just may have that type of temperament. No matter how good it gets, she'll still be a right nasty beastie occasionally. They like to change things up. I think because it's another way to have some control. So I give up trying to guess past a certain point. Sometimes what little there is left of my sanity demands that I just try to keep up & appreciate the good days w/the appropriate gratitude & humility. lol

At least the wounds are apparently closing up. Poor baby girl!

I think Alfie's is also a King's cage. I just meant that I have this model.

Hi David. Welcome to GF. Big brownie points for taking Jocke on. I can already tell from much of what you've said that you have the right stuff to work w/this guy. My TAG Phenix is a wild caught bird who had it pretty rough before he came home to me. He growled, screamed & bit, make that ripped every chance he got. He was also sick which meant that he had to be handled when he was in no head space to be near people, let alone forced into scary contact like that. That was 25 yrs ago when there was no internet & forums full of helpful people. We had to sort everything out on our own. I'm still not quite sure how we got thru the first couple of years. But he made in spite of me. lol Unless you know better, Phenix generally passes for a normal grey w/attitude these days. Jocke is more intelligent than you could probably imagine. His emotions are much like a 3 yo child's. And he's a wild animal who was brutally ripped away from his life & sentenced to 15+ yrs in a cage w/horrible, scary people. It doesn't matter whether they were actually abusive, or terrifyingly well intended. They've collectively done more harm than good since Jocke hasn't transitioned to captivity. He needs time where no one is threatening him. Well intended or otherwise. He needs to be somewhere that he can see his new flock w/o being forced to do anything. But he needs to feel he's welcome. Which is a little tough because w/o exaggeration, even looking at him is threatening at this point. So you glance in his direction occasionally while talking w/him from a safe distance or across the room. Whistle back & forth. Do quiet things sitting nearer his cage. People knit, read, work on their laptop, etc. And w/o seeming to, watch his body language, the way his heart flutters in his breast, the way his eye pupils pin open & closed. You're waiting for him to tell you what to do & what not to do. And you should expect to wait for a long time. We call it Grey Time. Everything's in slow motion by human standards. But there's no rushing a rescue. Right now, there's not a lot you can do about him screaming at you while you're close enough to the cage to feed him. Move slowly. Apologize quietly & sincerely. Step back as soon as you've finished, but try to talk w/him for a few minutes afterwards to see what it takes for him to calm down. More space? A chipper attitude? Commiseration? A song, perhaps? Seriously, many birds love music & being sung to, no matter what we think we sound like. But it will really help make good things happen if you can find something to end these encounters on a positive note. While you're figuring that out, you & Jocke are going to learn a great deal about each other. The most important thing for Jocke to learn is that you respect him & what he needs. You are not another scary human. That's the magic key to everything else. So it's well worth whatever it takes & however long you may have to wait.

Sad but true. Most of the unwanted grey population is domestically raised. Most were taken from their parents as chicks to be hand fed & imprint on humans. They weren't taught any of the basic skills to survive in the wild. They don't know how to feed themselves because they were never taught how to forage, let alone safely. Their socialization training never happened. Most have actually spent their lives as solitary birds. As adults, a wild flock would be very unforgiving & transgressions would most likely prove fatal. They wouldn't recognize most types of predators, most especially human predators as the others have pointed out. Which again could ultimately get them killed. All that being said, your heart is in a good place & maybe you can think about an alternative. These birds may not be able to be set free, but they can be liberated in another sense. If you were to visit websites for sanctuaries like Project Perry, for example, you could find some artificial environments that are better than freedom for domestically raised birds. It is possible to construct safe shelters where these birds have free flight, the ability to socialize & lives as close to natural as possible under the circumstances. In all honesty, this is probably a much better life than returning them to the wild, even if they could be rehab'd. All their needs are met in a safe, stable, nurtured environment w/o the threats of mankind or mother nature. Please don't let all this discourage your dream! As stated, it just needs some re-thinking. Well, that & some support (this isn't really a solo gig), a lot of dedication & the ever problematic funding. Your time table, at least, sounds pretty much spot on. This could take a while. ") Until then, you'd want to get as much hands on experience as possible. Volunteer at any shelter, rescue or sanctuary near you. Learn ...everything. Also suggest following & maybe even supporting the organizations who are in a position to return captured birds. http://www.parrots.org/flyfree/ ...& who knows, you could even decide to join them one day.

Oooo, very nice! Congratulations! Think the more you use it, the better you'll like it. I've got a King's travel cage that's similar. We love ours. Safe & solid enough to go anywhere. I do take a towel along, though. Sometimes it's a little intimidating for the fids to see the whole world. They like the option to hide & play shy occasionally. That cage is also "wide open" to the elements, which is mostly a good thing. Just sometimes they need a little shade or wind break. I also ended up replacing the carriers' dowels w/Booda Comfy Cross perches. It seems to be better to grip & lets them perch facing in any direction which they like.

That is so cool. I can only wish I could let my birds fly like that. But it's much too dangerous here.

He's getting there ") That face kills me though! He could care less what his feathers look like. He's adorable. He's loved. He knows it & it's written all over that cute little face!

Wow Scary!! Very glad things are going pretty well now though.

Successfully edited my first post on this thread!!! But the pics are acting strangely. 2 pics were added/inserted from my computer. If I'm signed in they both show up in the post & are fine. If I'm not signed in, only the link for dog's jpg shows up & if I click on it it's rotated when it opens. When I inserted pics this way, they used to show up whether or not someone was signed in. ***Skip the part about only 1 link named. I didn't see that the links are run together & I happened to click on the dog's link. Tried attaching another pic & it's not flipping when it's opened. Guess it was something about the other one.

See the 4 little doors? The smaller cage is not designed for "big" birds. A grey won't be able to use the cups & perches that will come w/that cage. Add roughly $50 to get the right size. A grey will also have those doors opened in pretty short order. You could add $10-15 of clips, but the odds are, a grey will either outsmart them or be able to tear apart the wire the door is made of. In which case, the cage becomes worthless & hopefully, the fid didn't hurt himself on the sharp wire. In which case, add conservatively $100+ in vet bills plus the cost or replacing the cage & possibly even your fid. Bar spacing counts. It needs to be comfortable to climb & to fit grey sized perches, cups & toys. Bar spacing n/l/t 3/4"- 7/8", although 1" is doable. The bars on the smaller cage are too small & too thin. That cage also has too little living space. Assuming a fid is going to get daily time out, the smallest permanent cage for a grey s/b n/l/t 23"dx32"w & 24"dx36"w is better. Otherwise, there is not sufficient room for the fid to have everything it needs to keep him active & health. The greater the interior height the better. Which is why I tend to like dome top cages. There's always more height to the living space in them, w/o a bigger footprint. I've found open dome tops work better w/my fids. Phenix, my grey, really doesn't want to hang out on top of his cage when he's loose. Nothing to see there that he can't see from the inside. Which is pretty normal. Many parronts have had to put up play stands or swings somewhere even though their cage have lovely gyms on top. I also learned to love having veranda doors above the main door. They're handy for leaving treats & foot toys. I can just open that door for the fids to come & go at will while the dogs can't get access into the cage. Otherwise, they tend to scarf whatever they can off the cage floor & may steal random bird toys. Treated well a decent cage should last 10 - 15 yrs, at least. A good cage can go 20 yrs & still not show it's age. Cheap cages peel & rust in a couple of years & are a waste of money. So it really is well worth the initial expense.

We use Totally Organics TOP pellets & like SterlingSL, as a secondary food. Mostly it's fresh or homemade mashes. Also a small amount of a good seed mix. Good being not all sunflower seeds, dried corn & peanuts. In fact, peanuts from store bought mixes shouldn't be fed as they can be contaminated. Strongly suggest fishing them out if they're in whatever mix you end up using. However, your bird is probably going to determine what you'll be feeding, initially. Greys can be notoriously finicky eaters. Probably better to ask about the current diet & stick w/it for the time being. Then you can introduce new food gradually & see how it goes. So, today's the big day...!?! Hope everything goes greyt! Looking forward to pictures & everything real soon. hint, hint lol