birdhouse

I'd just give them a call. Can't be any worse than trying to read all the legal'ese. Email: Kundtjänst Call Customer Service: +46 771 223 223

Not all fids go thru obvious hormonal episodes & each occurrence may be different. But Gryphon lives w/Seraph, so he has the added stimulus of always having a female w/in reach. Taking him in another room may momentarily lessen the affects sometimes. But considering that birds can track potential mates from some pretty long distances, there's no escaping the affect they'll have on each other whenever either of them is hormonal. Because no one has ever publish a decent field study, we don't know how adult greys handle adolescents in a wild flock. I bet if they did, we'd find a lot that's generally thought to be going on really isn't. I suspect a lot of generally accepted motives are based on human, species-specific reactions & are in fact, way off w/greys. I also wonder how much adolescent fid rebellion actually results from rejection. When a full tilt hormonal bird is rejected by it's most important & worshiped human(s), it makes sense to me that it may result in a serious dent in their relationship. May be strange to say, but have you tried approaching his behavior like Gryph thinks he "loves" you more, rather than less right now? The way you shut down his behaviors could make a big difference in some of his biting & frustration. There is no training for hormones. There is no logic. It's all primal. You can't blame yourself for not understanding Gryph at the moment any more than you can for not predicting how a bullet might ricochet. You can't blame Gryph for biting any more than you can blame the bullet for how it travels. And it's not Seraph's fault if she's kind of like the smoking gun. Under the circumstances, living w/this temporary insanity (& it is insanity) can be a lot easier if you can honestly accept that. I really believe there's nothing for it but to cope when a hormonal beastie rears its ugly, little head. It seems to me that the only real choice is how to approach it. All shoulder time gets revoked when you have to assume that it can & will go Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde in a flash. Safety takes priority, even though that frustrates them, too. But other than that, lots of leeway & a wide berth. The ultimate "all about you" treatment. Helps me to consciously remind myself (often) that it's not their fault anymore than if they were sick. And the worst of it will be over in a :rolleyes:just:rolleyes: a few weeks. Of course I always look forward to that like the mother of triplets looks forward to the first day of school! But knowing it is temporary does make it easier to get through it. I really do feel your pain & hope things ease up for you both, really, very soon!

Thought I copied the wrong link. Apparently, it's one of those magical script things. Can't click on the link or open it in a new tab/window. When I copied the link & pasted it in the address bar, it took me back to the right place, though.

Very fun to watch! Must be something else to live w/that fid! So glad you didn't notice because it was only a little salty, but very, very sweet!

No one I know has ever left the country w/their fids. Sorry I did find this website, if it helps. http://www.jordbruksverket.se/swedishboardofagriculture/engelskasidor/animals/import/petbirds.4.6621c2fb1231eb917e680003127.html

Phenix loves nuts. He can open most of them in no time flat. I don' t know if they're just not strong enough when they're younger. And the older birds may just not like them enough to be bothered? Although I can't imagine watching my guys! But acorns have tannins & are on the unsafe list http://www.avianweb.com/toxicfoods.html Some types of wild birds do eat them. But birds metabolisms can differ a great deal. So those are one of the things to be cautious about feeding. I was so disappointed when I saw this because of course I've got tons & tons of the silly things.

You see how birds live in the wild & think "How fragile can they be?" But there's a surprising number of things to watch out for when they live w/us.

It never hurts to call the vet just to be on the safe side.

Beth, you just sound like you're an excited parront to be. You're talking to a bunch of grey-o-holics. So it's all good around here!! Congratulations! It looks like you've done some serious homework & covered about all the bases you possibly can beforehand. The only thing I can possibly think to add is some more ideas for some of your left over wood. I really liked the swings that are 3 branches bolted together. But my ceilings are too low, unfortunately. It also makes good smaller swings for inside the cage. The irregular shapes are fun in hanging toys, too. Feel free to share pics of all your greyt work while you're waiting for the big day.

If it helps, I've always pick birds up more towards the underside of my wrist/palm of my thumb. It seems to be easier perching, especially for the bigger birds. When I make a loose fist, less vulnerable things are available to grab. What there is tends to be a little easier to get out of harm's way, too. Also, I'm usually careful about giving my guys things like glued boxes & random metal objects. A while ago, manufacturers started using glue that has zinc in it. I started to see it on other forums when it meant parronts lost their fav cheap toys: empty TP & paper towel tubes. I try to remove glued seams or stick to corrugated boxes that need to be folded together because I don't know what's in tape adhesive, either. Lot's of common metal objects (keys etc) are unidentified metal alloy w/zinc plate. They're likely to have a clear coat of epoxy to keep cheaper alloys from tarnishing or rusting. Also (possibly lead based) paints which might never stop giving off enough VOCs to be safe for fids. They don't get coins to play w/either. Besides the fact that they "eat" thru enough money as it is, I thought all US coins had at least a percentage of copper. But I could be wrong about that.

I'm not going to lie, Judy. My first reaction was dread. Phenix isn't allowed near anyone's face unless things are totally controlled (lol you know what I mean!) And by "anyone" I mean me. Everyone else thinks I'm absolutely nuts! But after all this time, reading him is a reflex. It didn't take a second to realize this was something he'd never shown me before. I've long since accepted that he'll never stop being able to surprise me. But this was something extraordinary that I won't ever forget. And I'd be really thrilled to see this side of him again, any time!!

Thanks. My back is a little better today. And it was almost worth it just for this! But one of the things that got to me was that Phenix is not usually worried about me. In fact usually when he knows I'm distracted he sees it as a chance to get into more trouble. lol For him this was beyond amazing! This is one of the moments there's no sharing w/anyone who's not a parront. And I'm especially glad I can share it w/parronts who have done some rough miles w/their fids & can actually understand why it made me ridiculously happy!

I dinged my back & have not been able to find a comfortable position for 2 days. I finally found the sweet spot on a small mountain of pillows, leaning against the back of the sofa. It felt so good I dropped right off into a deep sleep. I dreamed someone was playing w/my hair. The way they were slowly, gently pulling the strands felt so nice. I didn't ever want to move. But something kept telling me to wake up; something you need to do. I finally jolted half awake & realized I'd fallen asleep w/the fids out. So I started to get up & let out a yelp when it hurt. Then I woke up & saw Phenix. He was sitting a few inches away, giving me the strangest, sweetest look. I don't know if I just looked that vulnerable or what. But my issue-ridden, strictly hands off guy had settled beside me to preen my hair while I slept. Even after I jolted awake (loudly) he hadn't bitten or even spooked. He just sat there w/this look. For maybe the next 5 min, I told him how wonderful he was, how I could never have dreamed something so good & how much I loved him. It was such an amazing thing for Phenix to have done that I would have stayed there for a long, long time. But he was done. Put his little attitude back on & waddled off down the couch. Moment over Stormy... Bongo... Athena...? I peaked on that thread where I'm not supposed to go. Sorry! But I just wanted to tell you something. Sometimes, when you make water fall down your mom's face, you did something very, very good.

You have a somewhat better chance of defending your plate. But it only takes a second to dump a cup. Which is why we use travel mugs for anything we don't want to share w/the fids. Poor Gabby's been starved & stuffed in a tiny cage for months, at least. I still think right now she's over the top w/all the available stimulus. Likely the food in particular since it's a primal need. So my suggestion is maybe try a slightly lower fid's table next to the dining table? I'm just hoping that if it's lower, the food on the main table may be a little less visible. Theoretically one less attraction, even though they can smell it. You guys seem to be pretty handy at building things. Maybe you can make some kind of stand setup w/locked down bowls for it. Then again, you could use paper plates or just dump piles on the table. Might be good foraging to put food in unwaxed paper cups, also. I don't see any way to do it that's not going to get messy. So might as well plan on letting them have some fun. I think I'd try to bring out everyone's food. Then bring Gabby to the fid's table before everyone sits down so she can hopefully get focused on her food at least for a while. And, just like w/children, it might be helpful if one of the parronts sat w/them. Try to keep them corralled some, at least to start with. They usually want anything anyone else has got. So I don't know whether it might be more effective if they got served anything that's good for them from your dinner or their personal favs. Or it might keep Gabby's attention better if you gave her ears of un-shucked corn, bananas, squash & such that they love to tear apart. But you can experiment if you thought any of this was a good idea.

I know the damage 1 parrot can do in about 10 minutes. So I understand how the native species could be a real problem. Especially when I've seen vids of 100's in a single flock. But our birds are generally small. The male Cardinals, Blue Jays, some weavers & finches are colorful. Other than that, our birds are pretty much shades of brown. Maybe some splashes of subtle color, like Robins. So that might give you some idea of why what you're describing sounds so wonderfully exotic to me! Makes me hope even more that you'll let us see lots of pictures! And it will be interesting to hear how the African species relates to the Australian birds. Mine talk to the birds outside, especially in the early spring. So Walter might very well pick up the kookaburras language. All I've heard is the mating call. But that could certainly get Walter's attention.

That's not winter!! lol Ok, I know it is by your standards. Lucky you! Where in Australia? Hope you send lots of outside pics when the weather "warms up". I think your plants & birds & all are amazing.

So cute! Almost looks like he's asking Walter to come out & play. It's a little hard for me to wrap my head around parrots being outdoors in the dead of winter because I'm from NE US. I don't remember seeing if you mentioned it. Are you from New Guinea or Australia?

I went off to the bathroom in tears that day & it didn't have (much) to do w/my hand. I think I'd just gotten desperate enough to finally see what was right in front of me all along. But they are so complex that sometimes it's nearly impossible to see the whole picture. I was hung up by the fact that Phenix is afraid of hands & for very good reason. I just couldn't see past it until I was driven to that point. "It takes a village to raise a child." Sometimes, it takes a fresh perspective see what's really going on w/our own fids' issues because their pain can become ours & we can get just as lost in it. Back when parronts had to find that perspective on their own. But that's why Grey Forums is so awesome! I'm so glad that new parronts have resources like this where they can share all kinds of things now. And the moral support is just a big fat bonus!

This forum's sticky list is getting a little daunting. But this really should get added to the long list of very important health care topics. Can this thread please become a sticky?

Sorry Zoom, I've got no experience w/babies & it sounds like the Terrible 2's from what I've read. The only universal grey advise I've got is don't let it get to you. Once Simon figures out that it's pushing your buttons, he's going to keep pushing. All greys think think that's funny. If you can keep your sense of humor, you're more likely to get thru most issues (& on to the next one >;->) that much more easily. That's become my secret weapon over the years & it's served me pretty well. Hopefully the other members will be able to give more specific help, here. Good luck.

Sadly, there's nothing crazy about it. You may have just made a huge observation. Although you think of "Rosie" as her name, she's reacting to a voice cue that she's conditioned, apparently, to believe will be followed by something bad or scary. My TAG has also been abused. Unfortunately he was sick when I got him, too. He'd had a lot of traumatic handling by the time I started to try to get him to step up for me. For the first few months he would rip me every single time I asked him to step up. But he was even more terrified of sticks & gloves. So I didn't really have a choice but to keep on getting badly bitten. At some very low point, I was wrapping my dripping hand & thinking that Phenix may really really never be handle-able. During my little pity party, I started to replay all my failures w/him. Then something clicked. He was truly terrified of my hands. But he wouldn't flash out & bite until I said, "Up". I went back out, gave him a little nudge & said "Foot". He shook when he climbed onto my hand. But it was the very first time ever that he'd done it w/o biting me! (I still get the chills just remembering) I think it might be a great idea to lose Rosie's name, in this case! Usually you combine old + new name when you're changing over. But it this case, I think the sooner it's gone the better. You might say "Hey Baby" or something to get Rosie's attention for the moment. They respond to tone of voice more than words, anyway. Then start to use her new name to give her love & treats & all good things. I'd be surprised if she didn't continue to quake at the attention for a while. But if you can convince her that things are going to be different, she should start doing it less & less.

Too bad you couldn't see the way I was grinning while I was reading your post. Awesome!!!!

^^^ Like I said Nancy, Phenix came that way. I was more than willing to play any genre he could relate to at that point. Seems like Amazon has free, legal downloads a lot. Which is nice. I like it. But after a while, the problem is finding something that doesn't make me zone out right along w/them. lol

Yes & no. I think some people are born "Whisperers": horse, dog, whatever. They're not born w/the expertise. They have to learn that. But they've got some "it" factor that animals relate to in a very special way. Good intentions count but aren't enough. You guys seem to have "it" & I think it's pretty wonderful to see you sharing it w/all these fids who deserve so much better than they've gotten before you found them.

If Isabelle is healthy & eating a good diet, she should recover pretty quickly as long as she's kept hydrated. You might beef up the protein in her diet this week, too. Give her some marrow bone. If she won't eat it on her own, scoop out the marrow & mix w/maybe applesauce or something. Quakers are scrappy, even by parrot standards. Hopefully Isabelle will be back to her old self very soon.