birdhouse

Awwww! Gorgeous right from the beginning & just kept getting better.

Sounds like a pretty greyt homecoming! It also sounds like Lillie's going to be a charmer. You'll have to tell your son not to let her charm him out of his french fries anymore, though. Too much salt & potatoe is on the no-no veggie list. Not good for her girlish figure, either. lol

Testing parronts is encoded in a grey's DNA. As is the life long mission to keep us off balance. lol Find a consistent phrase to use when you tell Coco that you don't want him to bite. Use a quiet, firm & disappointed tone whenever you say it. But try to keep everything understated. No really big reactions because that may become a source of amusement. Then Coco will start to do it for the fun of getting a rise out of you. After you've told him to stop, you should continue on as though nothing important happened. Try to end on a positive note if possible. Also, you may be able to avoid some, maybe many such episodes once you understand Coco's body language better. There's quite a lot that's been written about it. So it may be easier to do some research rather than trying to piece things together episode to episode.

First day home & you're making chop (which btw intimidates many people for whatever reason). And it got eaten not flung. Saw the vid & heard happy noises. :cool: You get extra greyt parront points!

Your CAG's looks like my ekkie's cage. In which case, it's huge (36"wx28"dx57"i/70"o ht ?). You've left a good bit of open space in the top left & on the floor. From your pics it looks like there would be enough room in that set up for my ekkie's wingspan which is aprox 24-30" vs a CAG's which is aprox 18-20" I think. So, I really like what you've done w/Archimedes' cage. I don't know about the overwhelming part though, because I've never had a baby grey. But if he's interacting comfortably w/everything & not falling, shouldn't that mean he's okay the way things are...??

Hi ariisamis. Congratulations on your new fid (although I know 4 weeks seems like forever from now). The "Cages & Homes" forum might help narrow down your cage search, some. Once you've maybe got a style in mind you can post a thread & get some feedback about what's good or bad & maybe some suggestions about where to buy. The "Show Us Your Cage" sticky might be helpful, too. I like to look at cages all set up rather than the stock pics on the websites. It just gives me a better idea of the real size & how they'll set up. Maybe this link will give you some naming ideas. It's actually a twofer because the link refs another one about how a number of members named their fids http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?191920-How-did-your-bird%28s%29-get-it-s-name Hope this helps. Welcome to Grey Forums! Looking forward to hearing more as the time gets closer.

This is one of the times I wish we could press the "thanks" button more than once!! I think my favorite part is "Take some of that bird poop you borrowed from the bird supply store and place it on a spatula. Now reach over your shoulder with the spatula and rub the bird poop on the back of your shirt. Let dry and then go grocery shopping. Count the number of people who either stare at you or tell you that you have bird poop on your back. Do a little dumpster diving and collect odd items like water bottle caps, pieces of raffia, tree branches from bird safe trees, pieces of cardboard and old plastic clothesline. With these items, attempt to make an interesting toy. You have 8 minutes. You may begin." The whole thing is so funny & so, so true. Is there a way to make this some kind of permanent link?

Oh, Dee!! Roll on the floor!! That would be great. But alas, I have only figured out another way to created more mess to clean up, not less.

lol Oh she is going to be a handful! Looks like you're really going to need to keep Gracie's cage stuffed w/enough toys to keep her from thinking up her own amusements. I've had cages w/that type of latch & they aren't great. If this becomes a problem, you can go to the hardware store & get a couple of dog snaps, like on the end of leashes. Nickel plated or stainless are okay. But avoid the electro-galvanized ones because they're zinc plated. She shouldn't be able to open it once you work out how to clip together a bar on the door & cage. While you're there, you might also save yourself some effort w/Gracie's favorite hanging toy uhhm frame. You could pick up a little hanger wire & eyebolt kit for a couple of dollars. If you add this to the bottom, you can limit how much she can pull the picture away from the wall & have a second weight bearing point for support.

Hi geoff. Pretty much everything you've said sounds encouraging. At 9yo Coco might have been resistant to this change. But just because he's been in his new home for 3 days & is willing to play w/new toys actually says good things about his temperament. You've already formed a relationship w/Coco & his transition is likely to go all the more smoothly because of it. Good for you both that he's already familiar w/his new surroundings from his previous stays. Maybe let him come out of the cage on his own & once he does & you think he's not stressed about it, then give him the guided tour. Don't push him into anything. Just encourage interaction & work w/the feedback he's giving you. Sounds like this should go pretty well. The only thing you might want to plan for is the (usually inevitable) end of the honeymoon period & a possible mourning reaction. He's used to your house being a vacation experience. He may or may not change his attitude when he's been there long enough to realize he's not going home. Depending on how bonded he was to his Mum, he could go into a little emotional mood swing. So you might want to be aware to keep an eye out, be sensitive & supportive. Other than that, it all sounds good. Congratulations on your new parronthood. Please keep posting & let us know how it goes. There's a lot of greyt information on this website & people to help or share with. We do love stories & pic, too. Welcome to Grey Forums!!

Thought I'd pass this along for any dog lovers who might want to help the cause. Don't know how many members watched the Super Bowl (congrat's Giants fans, condolences Pats fans) & saw this commercial for Bud Lite w/this adorable little rescue guy. http://screen.yahoo.com/bud-light-rescue-dog-28205076.html?pb_list=7f47291f-5880-4e79-8ee4-ff4442911164 "The ad is for the benefit of Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF). Fans are asked to head to the Bud Light Facebook page, where for every "like" the page receives, a dollar will be donated to the charity, up to $250,000. So far, the page has collected 24,000 Likes." http://omg.yahoo.com/news/meet-weego-super-bowl-ad-sensation.html

Well... it seems like Ellie still loves you, anyway. lol

The only time I can remember Phenix sneezing is just after he's been preening. You can certainly hear him but fortunately, that's all. I don't ever remember a wet sneeze coming from him. Kura has the most delicate little sneezes. But you wouldn't want to be within range. They're not always wet, but she has gotten me a couple of times. Something's apparently different about her nasal passages. Chewing on some things like loofah or coconut "tickles her nose". She always seems to get water "up her nose" when she's getting or taking a bath, too. :confused:

I'm also big on the bonding but not so much for the germier concerns. So it's either beak to "beak" Eskimo kisses or cheek snuggles for me & mine.

I love to read this thread. It almost always makes me smile. So much progress. So much joy. And this is just the first year. A decade or two from now you'll look at Gilbert in all his fully feathered, fully flighted glory & hardly be able to believe where it all started. One thing won't change, though. Gilbert will continue to astound you & give you every reason to believe that love really has no bounds. Thanks for sharing so much of this special year, Dee. Happy anniversary to you & Gilbert!

That must have been absolutely adorable! lol

I don't know where, but there was a discussion about toys where I said I always end up using these swings for all kinds of things. DawL asked for a pic but I forgot until I went looking for them again today. Found some industrial size paper towel rolls for $3 at a salvage place in town. They're big & kind of heavy so I'd planned to cut them down. But it was way too hard. Went looking for a way to hang them high enough so they wouldn't get pooped on & safely enough to avoid them getting pulled down on anyone's head. As usual, one of these swings fit the bill nicely. They'll take almost any size dowel & they're strong. Don't have to worry about the fids being able to chew through them, either. Sorry it took so long, DawL & I wish the picture had come out better.

A good heart & good intentions are a must. Fortunately for all of us, perfection is not required.

When it comes to socializing dogs & birds, around here at least, the bird always ends up on the upside of the power curve. All but one of my dogs figured that out pretty early on. I am only a referee & stay totally neutral. My only job is to make sure the dog doesn't get to chomp or stomp the bird. The fids do all training themselves. The dogs usually stick their noses where they don't belong until they've had enough of getting nipped. Considering that the smallest of my dogs had a nose at least as big as a parrot's head, you'd have thought the fid would be a little more severe. But the funny thing is, my birds have never done any actual damage during this stage of training. This includes Phenix who drew blood on me even before I brought him home. Once the dog agrees that the fid has certain unalienable rights to any thing or territory it claims, the fids start to reward them. I know they've worked things out when I realize the fid's deliberately throwing their food to the dog. And/or, start to hear them literally calling the dogs, praising them & ordering them around. lol

You & Spencer have a common goal: Spencer gets a happy, healthy new life. By that definition, you're both doing greyt! Maybe you're reluctant to call him a rescue because he came from a life of passive abuse. But that's what it's called for a reason. If you'd prefer to think of Spencer as a rehab, that applies too. Rehabilitation is slow & challenging. It's a process. It takes however long it takes & there aren't any guarantees. But there is a realistic possibility that persistence, patience & time can make good things happen. I think you're doing a wonderful job. You keep on plugging away. You try this & try that. You celebrate baby steps because you can appreciate how big they really are for you both. You're not upset because all your patience & effort hasn't resulted in a new & improved superfid (yet). Many, many people would have started to push when they shouldn't have or just given up long ago. I honestly admire the way you've kept the faith. Spencer may not quite have figured out how to take that next scary step in the process. But he's getting there. Which means whatever you've been doing is working. So don't stop now.

I'll let them check out the new guy while in the carrier & see how everyone acts. If the dogs are relatively calm & trustworthy, then they're just part of being introduced to the flock. But kept at a reasonable distance while the fid settles in. Especially while they're loose. The less cooperative the dog, the farther away I keep them for the rest of the day. Out of the room if the dog's going to push to get at the bird. Out of the house if the dog's going to start a fuss in another room. I've always had large & giant dogs. Even if they can't see them, new birds often get nervous when they can hear the dog acting like that. But the dogs live here, too. They came first. So it's a juggling act as to who takes priority & when until everyone learns to play nice nice. It's gone pretty well for the most part. And you may be surprised at the relationship that develops between the two species. As much as I've seen, it never ceases to fascinate me.

I'll agree w/Janet that a parront's energy levels feed their fid's. But how the heck can anyone be expected to power down w/all the excitement of becoming a new parront? Right? Well, you can't. And you can't lie to a fid because they read humans way too well. And it makes them crazy when we try to convince them that we're something we're obviously (to them) not. So my suggestion is that you approach everything that's new and exciting like it's a good thing because it is. Don't be afraid, alarmed, obviously concerned that any of it is going to be scary. Be confident & encouraging. BUT be observant & sensitive enough to recognize whatever Roxie isn't comfortable w/& slow down, back up or stop as needed. If you want to rename her, then just use both together for a while. She's going to be paying extra attention under the circumstances & she'll catch on quick. I'd see how Roxie reacts to the new cage. If she's interested & comfortable being in/on it, let her spend as much time as possible there before you close her in. Then observe her w/o being obvious about it to see how she does. Being watched can make a fid nervous all by itself. I think it a primal prey animal instinct. If she's obviously not happy about the cage, then I'd let her stay in the old one, at least for the time being. But if possible, set it up next to the new one so she can get used to using it & eventually be transferred to it, assuming that's the one you'd prefer for her. Food I'd adjust a little more gradually, maybe. Find out what she likes. Once you understand that you can work w/it to adjust her diet to whatever you feel is healthy. She is young & she wasn't in her other home for very long. So you've got a really good chance that this will go as easily as you can make it for her. :cool:

Like Judy said, a few nice baths & some pure organic aloe juice might help. You can usually get it at Walmart or the big drug stores. Lilo is the right age & this is the right time of year for molting & the complications that sometimes go w/it. But this has apparently been going on for at least a few weeks & so maybe there's something more to it. Unfortunately, it's a tough problem to figure out. Has Lilo been acting normally? Is she eating, vocalizing & playing normally? Does she sit or move differently? Is there anything new around? New food, perches or toys? Something new in the house? Have you moved anything around? Any new people or animals? Has anything else changed? Did you remove anything in her environment? Has there been a change in the household schedule? Looks like she started this right about the beginning of the year. So maybe the stress from the holidays started it. Rearranging, decorating for the holidays, putting things up, taking things down & rearranging again can be a lot for some greys to handle. The next thing to consider may be Lilo's cage & the time she spends in & out of it. A bored parrot can get pretty self destructive. To complicate that, a young fid has a lot of energy. Sometimes that combination turns into plucking which can lead to chronic plucking even if the problem is resolved. A large cage w/a variety of toys is particularly important to help keep that from happening. The living space in a cage should be at least 2'dx3'wx3'h w/a couple of perches at least & maybe a swing or boing. Usually, the bigger the cage the be better. There should be at least several toys that the fid will actually play with. Those should also be changed out occasionally to keep things interesting. Greys can be a challenge where it comes to accepting &/or being afraid of new toys. It may require some effort to figure out what works for Lilo. There are a number of posts/threads on this issue that may be helpful to you. The more time out of the cage, the better. Also important that Lilo's comfortable with it. Some fids stress in a loud, busy environment. My guys do NOT like it when my subwoofer is on. Birds don't hear & feel sound the way humans do & I think the sonic vibration bothers them. But they're all different & sometimes it takes some detective work to figure out what works & why. A lot of greys set about plucking when sick or injured. So those are important things to rule out. And even when a fid is generally healthy, they can have food issues. That's another thing we talk about all the time. So you might do some reading & see if there may be some dietary changes or additions that seem like they might be worth a try. I know it seems like a lot. But this could actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It's almost impossible to do much reading about greys w/o learn something new. Best case is that this is a temporary insanity from Lilo's first molt & you got a whole bunch of new information that will help keep her happy & healthy for a long, long time. Plus you found Grey Forums, which is a really good thing all by itself. lol How about introducing yourself in the Welcome & Introduction forum & telling us a little more about you & Lilo? That might help people understand more about what's going on & maybe generate some more discussion & suggestions. Besides, everyone likes to meet new members & just say hello.

I really wish I knew more about grey's habits in the wild. Although I've researched it I've never been able to find much in spite of the fascination people have w/them. Would love it if someone posted a really good field study. This is a hormonal time of year for a lot of our fids. Fortunately for me, Phenix has never been partiularly effected. Now that he's older, I barely notice the difference. He always spends time on the grate in his cage. He likes to play on the floor, too. His favorite place to hide is under the couch (good place for a sneak attack lol). So I wouldn't necessarily see any changes there. He used to chew up everything in sight. But he quit that a long time ago (thank you, thank you!). He does get more active in general, though. He actually gets sweeter, too. He's not a "lover". He doesn't regurgitate. He's just busy being charming. I'd really look forward to this time of the year if my ekkie didn't go bananas. Dave007 would probably be the best one to ask about how to handle things w/Shadow because he's a breeder. Maybe you could shoot him a PM.

This is a boing. We have sisal boings because Phenix likes his extra crunchy. lol Also, I'm always concerned about the cotton kind fraying because the fids can get caught in the threads. They come in different sizes, so all my fids have one & they love them. Although, Phenix was seriously alarmed by his at first. But that's normal for him & it is kind of big. http://www.wayfair.com/AandE-Cage-Co.-Medium-Sisal-Rope-Boing-Bird-Toy-with-Bell-HB563-AEC1248.html