birdhouse

Members' references to the Gabriel Foundation have come up occassionally. These are a few. You might shoot some a PM & see if they'll give you some feed back. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?50435-Gabrial-Foundation-in-Colorado http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?196838-Second-Hand-Birds-Learning-to-Trust http://www.thegabrielfoundation.org/documents/NewMackenzie_akaMackietheMiracleUmbrellaCockatoo.pdf http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?196960-Clipping-Wings...It-s-in-the-Contract/page3 http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?197902-New-to-the-forum-with-the-hopes-of-finding-a-new-home-for-my-grey http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?180149-Two-trips.-One-more-important-than-the-other. They are a fairly good size & very legit organization. Love em or hate em, they're well known in some circles. But I think they're more so in the Colorado/midwestern states & w/people who are particularly involved in bird rescue. Seemingly pretty well funded as these types of org's go. "The Gabriel Foundation, named after a Macaw that Murad once owned, has 25 staff members and 35 volunteers to handle the work. It gets part of its income from an e-commerce site selling pet products, which are also [available] at a store called The Birdbrain at the 1025 Acoma Street site. It also gets money from grants, adoption fees, memberships, bird sponsorships and behavioral training." http://blogs.denverpost.com/fetch/2010/06/27/unwanted-abused-birds-flocking-to-the-gabriel-foundation-in-denver/1284/

So far I've only seen distinctions for US or non-US vs domestic raised or wild caught birds. Have you found something else? "Pet Birds The USDA defines pet birds as those that are imported for personal pleasure of their individual owners and are not intended for resale. Birds which the USDA defines as poultry, including doves and pigeons, are not considered pets and are imported under different rules. General Requirements All non-U.S. origin pet birds may be imported into the United States provided that the country of origin is not listed on the Advisory list..." [flu quarantine ref'd in OP] "Fish and Wildlife Service Permit Information In the United States, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) regulates the importation of birds protected by the Convention on International trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 (WBCA). These regulations are part of international conservation effort to protect exotic wild birds subject to trade. Most exotic pet birds including parrots, parakeets, macaws, lories, and cockatoos are affected by CITES and the WBCA. However, the budgerigar, cockatiel, and rosy-faced lovebirds are exempt. According to the WBCA, in order to import a pet bird of non-U.S. origin into the United States, you must have continuously resided outside of the United States for at least one year. In addition, the WBCA limits the number of pet birds that can be imported to two birds per person, per year. All required WBCA and CITES permits must accompany the bird while in transit." http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/animals/nonus_pet_bird.shtml I'm not getting the impression they care one way or the other about the wild caught issue (as usual ). The big problem I think is the potential that any fid could be either infected or a carrier. The level of available vet technology in these countries tends to be fairly substandard, overall. And everyone is legitimately afraid of the potential for a global epidemic to spread.

Maybe you can find some help or ideas here. http://www.petrelocation.com/pet-relocation-resources/international-pet-import-requirements

This type of thing moves very slowly. Better to go on the assumption that nothing is going to change as quickly as you need it to & find a a way around it. Also a good idea to follow the Rule of 3, in these cases. It's very, very easy to get wrong info, as you've already found out (that quarantine has been in place for a while). So don't stop w/the person who gives you the answer you want to hear. Keep asking until you've heard it from 3 different sources to be sure as possible that you won't get any more rude surprises. Good luck.

Thanks for taking the time to share. Very good to hear that they really are making such advances. It's been a long time coming. Unfortunately, the problem still remains that there are too many practicing vets who don't keep current. And too many owners who are stuck w/whichever type is available in their area, since there are still so few avian vets. Wondered if you'd be willing to ask your vet for some advice to share w/everyone? Maybe get a professional's view of the questions to ask when faced w/anesthetizing a fid as well as the right & wrong answers. I think it might help a lot.

I know this is horrible news for you & I'm really sorry! But this flu is a serious threat & this isn't just red tape for a change. Thinking you might get the best info if you can find a live contact at the USDA, since it's their rules. Local facilities aren't always current w/their info. Also, pets don't seem to be much of a priority given some of the past posts from members. Maybe, there's a way to transport thru another country's quarantine system. But that's probably going to be some additional stress for everyone as well as the time & money involved.

So very, very glad you've got Greycie back home & safe!! It may have helped that you had her out in the world on a harness before she got out on her own. Helped her cope while she was loose & maybe the reason she responded to you in the dark like that. Terrified birds don't want to call attention to themselves, especially at night. That's the first time I personally can remember anyone reporting a night time recovery. This might even suggest that we stop telling parronts to quit searching after dark. I think you'll find once Greycie's had a couple of days w/o any scary reminders, some TLC & a full crop, she'll be right as rain. Just keep an eye out just in case she got into anything during her greyt adventure. The parronts, however, usually end up w/the long term trauma. It's just so much heartache to live thru, even w/a happy ending. I have one of these that I got at a salvage place for a couple of bucks. Obviously a fair number of reviewers don't, but I happen to like mine. http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Mesh-Hands-free-Screen-Magnetic/dp/B007WH8S8A/ref=sr_1_1/190-2141910-0565259?ie=UTF8&qid=1371915402&sr=8-1&keywords=magnetic+mesh+screen+door They aren't the greatest quality, but the basic design works pretty well. Once mine dies, I'll cannibalize it, especially the magnets & make a sturdier version. Thought it might give you some ideas to check them out whether you buy or diy.

LOL Just one thing though Ray. I think you're forgetting about it's "tail". Real challenge to keep that cord safe, too.

A bunch of us have read BH's books, particularly The Parrot Problem Solver. Bet that was a pretty interesting afternoon! Did you bring your fid?

No, never! But can we all admit that we have at some time or another wished they could be just an itsey bit less idk... positive that they're the dominant species all the time? lol

That's a rhetorical question, right...? But I will say, I do like the picture. Nice shot!

Aww look what happened here! I just wanted to do something for Judy's bday & the "songbird" made me think of Gypsy. Apparently, this thread just took on a life of it's own & I actually think that's a good thing for a change. lol Glad you liked the vid, Judy. It is too bad Gypsy (right ?) doesn't sing. I don't think there's anything cuter or sweeter than a tiel serenade. I'm a little behind some of you guys in age, but not much! I am not quite so graceful about the creaky joints & bad back. However all my years of wisdom have taught me there's only one way to quit getting any older & I'm no where near ready to kick off yet. I've also decided that if I ever do start lying about how old I am, I'll lie up so everyone will think how good I look for my age. ")

They are so arrogant right up until it interferes w/them being so fragile, aren't they? But Dayo being Dayo he'll probably get his full on mojo back before you've learned where you're keeping the silverware now. Hope all of you really enjoy your new home. Congratulations :cool:

This one's for you. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=grey+parrot+sings+happy+birthday&view=detail&mid=ED11B301F155101D3B87ED11B301F155101D3B87&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR

I do not know how many times I've wished... :mad:

...don't you hate it when people don't read the posts? I was multi tasking. Sorry, I missed that part. ALL video out is currently bad, bad, bad! So if you don't actually want to live totally TV free, then maybe the next thing is to try to focus on finding something Dorian would actually like to watch vs doesn't hate. I'm guessing you've already tried the nature channels. My guys will watch the Windows flying pipes & the ribbons screen savers for ages. They enjoy the colors & the movement I think. They like some of the forum vids. Biscotti is always a favorite. Maybe Baby Einstein dvds? Of course if it works, you may have to buy his lordship his own little portable DVD player so you don't fight over each other's shows. lol But one problem at a time...

Nothing in the activity books? http://www.parrotenrichment.com/books.html Have been thinking about trying these. I haven't actually done anything about it yet thanks to the silly car. :mad: But depending on the size, Phenix to some degree but especially Charm love to dismantle things. Thought it might be fun to see if this type of toy might play into that & wondered if it might not hold Gus' interest for a few minutes. http://www.amazon.com/Think-Fun-6820-ThinkFun-Gordians/dp/B000EGI4OO http://www.amazon.com/Think-Fun-6920-ThinkFun-Knot/dp/B0033UWE2Q/ref=pd_sim_t_1/187-1304270-9764662 http://www.amazon.com/OBLO-Puzzle-Spheres-OBLO-002-Multi/dp/B004CKA5O0/ref=pd_sim_t_27

So much easier if this doesn't turn out to be a quirk, obviously. So what do you say we keep blaming the TV for a while? :confused: Have you tried another TV or monitor? On the off chance it's a sound the TV is making, even if it isn't the speakers & even if you can't hear anything out of the ordinary. Have you tried moving it or Dorian's cage around? Speaking of... You said Dorian's getting worse. But has he particularly gotten worse since you've moved? So could there be shadows, echoes, reflections or some such craziness? If you watch half the vids on the forum, you can hear TVs in the background. So this seems a little odd. On the other hand, most of us can't sing like you. So maybe Dorian would just rather you'd cut out all the racket & sing for him. In which case you're just stuffed because there's no arguing w/that! lol

lol No problems here. Usually they totally ignore it. Sometimes they'll actually watch it. Mine is set up as my computer monitor. They particularly like watching the screen saver. They do have a little thing about the stereo, though. I finally figured out that they didn't like the subwoofer vibration. So that's got me wondering if your TV speakers have a sound in a frequency Dorian doesn't like. Just for grins & giggles, can you try running the sound thru any other speakers?

If this is just a dinged up feather & if she's that freaked out, I'd just towel her. See what's going on w/the feather. Find out where it's damaged & if you can cut it back in any helpful way as long as it isn't a blood feather. That's assuming you aren't comfortable removing it entirely. Most people aren't because it can cause great injury to a fid unless it's done right. If you don't want to towel her, can't actually help w/the problem or if it is a blood feather, then I'd take her in & let the vet handle it. You might also have a discussion w/them about how to pull a feather. It's a good skill to know because it can literally be a life saver if a bird breaks a blood feather (or 3 in Phenix' case :eek:). Once the feather shaft is removed, the ring of muscle around it collapses, simply closing off the blood vessel & shutting down the blood flow. But just to say it again, it's also very tricky. Slippery, lots of blood, terrified, fighting mad fid & again, again, potential for injury. I hesitated to even mention it because it's certainly not something every parront can manage. But I do think it's something everyone should at least know about, just in case.

That sounds like good advice. Everything depends on individual personalities. But they're young enough that they should be ok, if by ok you mean have much reason to be in the same space w/o being hostile. BFFs, well...? Best in a calmer, quieter place where there aren't too many chances for anything too scary to happen. Birds have a way of misplacing & attaching emotions in a weird way. So if just for an example, a pan crashed to the floor, one or both might blame the other if they got spooked. That can make some difficulties w/their socializing until the fid(s) got over it

Hahahaha They say in order to be happy you should surround yourself w/like minded people. It occurs to me (& not for the first time) that we're all of us certifiable & that's why we band together on our forum. Where in the real world would you be able to say such a thing w/o getting carted off? Let alone get wholeheartedly positive reinforcement? Think about it. We are all completely out of our tiny little minds . ...& it isn't it terrific? Keep up the good work Gilbert! You're making the crazy lady who loves you very happy! :rolleyes: lol

lol It could be worse. The crazy ekkie feathers are huge, downy & red. They either a) creep me all out when I think they're a big spider crawling across the floor or b) creep me all out when I think they're a big blood spatter & someone's hurt. You would think after all these years I would have learned to ignore them or become a better house keeper. But, sadly, no such luck.

...what Judy said. Thanks for taking the time to decode this, Penny.

It could actually be really helpful if this was more than a one time thing for Gus. One of my dogs used to police the birds for me. He was super protective & would come "tell" me immediately if they were doing anything that worried him. He managed to derail more than a few disasters. Especially w/the teil chicks. That's one thing that's a no no here, though. The house is too small for anyone to stake more than a temporary claim to any acreage o/t their cage. I've always felt lucky that I haven't had to do more than ref some dust ups after all this time. Everyone has managed to work out their their disputes surprisingly well ...eventually. When the birds bicker w/each other (vs my other critters) the physical aggression is almost always bluffing & posturing. It's never really taken m/t a couple of weeks for any particular battle ground to return to neutral territory & I think I'm usually more traumatized afterwards than they are. For the fids it seems done is done & they just move on (lucky them). It is so hard to know when to actually step in & rescue someone from their own bad behavior. I usually grit my teeth & let them work it out unless I really am afraid anyone is going to get hurt. And I wouldn't have any idea how to suggest how to tell the difference, especailly because it could be bad if anything goes really wrong. But I've learned & gotten better at it over time because I finally realized as often as not I may have actually made bad matters worse by "taking sides". You have the macaws, though. I'm often in awe when I read your posts because I keep thinking how their sheer size must complicate so many things. I can just imagine what it would be like to try to run interference between 2 macaws & a grey in brat mode! Also, there are 2 of them against 1 of her. I'm very glad I only have to sit back & watch. But I'm very interested to hear how this eventually plays out. Good luck