birdhouse

Reading your last post gave me a couple of other thoughts. One of them being that Took sounds like she might be very happy w/activity toys for small children. Especially the little dolls they have to teach kids to zipper & tie. I don't know how long it would last her. But she might get a kick out of it. Or maybe you could pick up some plastic zippers, shoe laces, buttons & such & make your own kind of doll or pillow or something. The other was that you might head for the nearest big hardware store. If it were me, I'd pick up a piece of peg board, some zip ties & a bunch of of nickel plated & stainless fittings, especially washers which come in many sizes. I'd suggest rinsing in alcohol & boiling them in water to make sure to get any of the surface oil from manufacturing off. Then get creative about zip tying things to the peg board & each other for Took to start trying to pick off. Edit if it helps, Electro-galvanized hardware looks shiny like stainless steel, but it's zinc plated. So anything for the birds should be nickel plated or of course stainless.

It sounds like you're making some very good progress toward overcoming your fear of being bitten. So very good for you! It also sounds like you may be fortunate that your fid is maybe more easy going than some. A lot, actually. lol Parrots need to be able to explore you w/their mouth to be certain that they can trust you. Most of the time, your fid will remain afraid of you to some degree if you won't allow it. Most of the time, that means that they're much more likely to bite. You can be absolutely certain that your guy knows you're afraid. But so far he seems to be willing to work this out w/you. He seems to have figured out that it's ok to mouth you as long as you've got food in your hand. So he's using it to start getting to know you. This is where you're lucky. Most of them simply withdraw or get angry. Lots of greys won't continue to make the first advances. So the next step seems to be about you're getting comfortable w/that beak. lol How comfortable would you be if I suggested you start to feed him peas, diced carrot or kernels of corn? Anything so small that he has to make contact to take it directly from between your fingers...? Once you're really comfortable w/that you might start to rub the top of his his beak. Lots of fids enjoy this. Their response is often to reach around & "grab" (hold, mouth) your finger. So you'll want to feel relatively able to handle that w/o flinching or yanking your hand away. My other suggestion is to read as much as you can about body language. It really is the most important tool when it comes to communicating w/your fid. Generally, the more a parront understands their fid's body language, the more confident they are around them. The more confident the parront, the more at ease the fid. So there's generally less miscommunication that can lead to so many behavior problems such as biting. Please let us know if you need any other suggestions. Or if you just want to share how things are going; good or bad. But like I said, so far, it sounds pretty good. It really does sound like you two are heading in the right direction. :cool:

It's unfortunate that Took likes metal so much. But I'd be afraid that the alloys that coins are made from would include some of the heavy metals that are toxic to fids. Otherwise I'd say let her have her own coin collection for the time being. Shame that. But have you tried making a chain of nickel plated or stainless quick links for her? You know how much they love to unscrew things! Sometimes I'll just stretch a chain across the cage someplace & let my guys unscrew it for fun. Another thing I was thinking was a bowl of foot toys? How about a collection of pony beads, bells, small wood shapes, tooth picks, popsicle sticks, wooden clothes pins, tiny bits of leather, knotted up string, etc? Also you said she likes the "strawbursts" (our name for it). Have you seen the toys w/bunches of colored, paper sticks jammed into holes in wood? I've seen those straws sold as separate refills, too. Maybe something like that would interest Took.

Of all the gorgeous shots you've posted of your beautiful birds, I love the shots of them in the jungle the best of all. Those last shots really are particularly beautiful!!

Missy looks so pleased & full of herself! And you & Ella Rose sound so happy in the background! Really enjoyed this, Paul. Thanks for posting it!

I always love watching a happy, healthy parrot raise hell in a some non-destructive way. That pot rack makes a greyt play gym for Dayo. Thanks for the vid, Dan.

I figured it had to be quite the place to be worth the trip. And it sure looks like it from everything you posted!! They really could have named the place "Parront Paradise!" lol The place is so big! The door signs were adorable. Loved the adoption area. What a great set up. All those beautiful babies! Loved the pics & vids of them! Major will power coming home w/o one. The electus babies were almost irresistible from here. ;-) Don't blame you for not wanting to see the bill either! But no doubt it was worth it. :cool:

Very, very glad to hear that Barnaby is doing so well.

Ho-ly Cow! Poor Nilah! I watched this twice. Both times my guys were looking everywhere for whatever horrible thing was going on. But I couldn't help laughing ...and feeling guilty, all at the same time. Much too funny!! I cannot believe Nilah got so-o-o freaked out! Or that she was that vocal in human if she was. Whole new definition to hysterical. lol

At least you've got Nilah to share your excitement. Greys are just no fun to share a shopping spree with. I keep telling Phenix that he has no idea how lucky he is. But I'm just listening to myself talk because it never does any good. Looks like you had a lot of fun though!

It's important to get any new fid checked out, just as a precaution. Really glad to hear you got the jump on things here. My vet, at least has no objection to putting things like Baytril into the fid's food. You just need to be sure none of it's wasted so they're getting fully dosed. This might be easier on you both if you mixed the meds into a tiny amount of oatmeal. I like to feed it off the spoon so I can be sure none of it gets spilled or thrown. Just a suggestion, if you want to try it & your vet doesn't objection. Oatmeal seems to be very good for crop digestion & particularly good for crop issues. Lots of fids really like it. So it's not a bad food to include in his diet while he recovers, whether or not you use it to deliver the meds.

They're very beautiful, as always Sanggay. I hope you know by now that I'm fan. But what about... Tropical Rain Forest!!..... Waterfalls!!.... BIG, Lush, Vibrant COLOR!! Can you tell it's the dead winter here?? lol Everything around is pretty much some shade of gray (if you can even imagine it). This time of the year I always look forward to your beautiful jungle pics just to see something alive & growing. Hint, hint...

Fortunately, Phenix has never been particularly hormonal. We're probably due for a bout just about now, though. Pretty soon he'll start to be a little sweeter & just full of beans. But he's old enough that it isn't too big a deal most times. This is the time of year I absolutely dread w/Kura, though. She's such a sweetie, otherwise. Right now she's got way too much energy & uses it to get into trouble nonstop. She even has a temper. Well her version of. lol This is also when she barbs her beautiful feathers. I always wonder if there's some cabin fever going on, too. They've been stuck in the "cold" dark house for months, now. Whatever. But this just seems to be the time of year when the fids go bananas & drive me a lit-tle crazy.

The last batch I bought was this fall w/an Xdate sometime next summer. I usually buy a big bag & divide it into smaller, airtight bags. Then I keep one at a time in an airtight bottle to feed from. I have to admit that I haven't actually sampled any myself. But no problems that I've been able to tell. You could have gotten 2 bad bags. Depends on how long the distributor or your direct supplier has them on the shelf. I don't know. I wouldn't give up on them just yet, though. I like the organic thing & think the ingredients are healthier overall. I really feel Harrison's has too much corn & peanuts to feed daily. But lots of people swear by it. So if you can't feel comfy w/the TOP food right now, it may be better to take a break.

Welcome Koekie. Very nice to meet you & your flock. Have to agree w/everyone else about what a nice play stand you have there. I love the pic of your little fids, too. Beautiful colors.

I've finally ended up w/Booda Comfy Perch Crosses in the travelers. The design works in every travel cage I've had so far & seems to offer a good, comfortable grip. The fids also get to move around some.

Once in a while, Phenix will lose a couple of feathers at a time. But rarely. Nature in it's infinite wisdom designed molting to allow a bird to stay flighted. Flight & tail feathers can't all be molted at once like other feathers, for obvious reasons. So another way to tell if feather loss is just molting is when a similarly placed feather's lost on the other wing in a day or two. They don't need anything like all their flights to fly as we know from badly clipped fid stories. But they need to be able to maintain balance & control.

Nice to hear they're doing so well. And look at how handsome...!! Thanks & please keep the updates coming.

I'm sorry things haven't been all great & I'm very sorry for your loss. But it sounds like Dorian's been a ray of sunshine while he continues to progress so well. It's amazing what wonders a truckload of love & acceptance & a boatload of patience can achieve w/these guys. Very nice to see such a long post from you. Hope to see a lot more.

Amazing footage & I bet it's not the tiniest bit of what it must be like in real life. Those are definitely some people who are truly a breed apart!!

You've gotten a lot of sound advise & I have to agree that leaving a bird loose at night has the potential to do more harm than good. A possible alternative might be separate sleeping cages, if you & your bird were comfortable having smaller cages just for sleeping. If you had them in cages that are small enough to carry, you would be able to grab them & go in case of an emergency. But obviously, these cages should only be used at night, as they'd be too small for the bird to spend any time in, otherwise.

There are a number of acrylic cage designs on the market these days. Some are a combination of acrylic & bars like this one Some are fully acrylic like these. Maybe you can find a good size & design for your special needs.

Sycamore is on the safe tree lists I've read. Having seen pics of some of your other work, I'll be looking forward to seeing your next creation.

Clean water is important for both drinking & washing. If you have reason to suspect that your available drinking water is tainted w/something that's unhealthy for humans, then don't use if for your fid, either. Cups should be kept as clean as possible so they don't incubate their own problems. Whether or not your fid tends to make a mess w/food & droppings in the dishes, they should be thoroughly washed, preferably w/an antibacterial dish soap & thoroughly rinsed at least once a day. Water should be replaced as needed by busy, soup makers. lol I would argue strongly that stainless steel cups are the best food & water dishes. Stainless steel is used for surgical instruments & implantation because it can be most completely & easily sanitized & not known to leach harmful chemicals. You can easily see that the surface is clear of any residual soap or food or film caused over time by chemical build up. Plastic is much harder to sanitized & tends to absorb odors & chemicals. The surface becomes scored & scratched quickly. This ultimately becomes a great breeding surface for germs. It also makes it more difficult to rinse thoroughly clean. Water bottles (like this http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752722 ) have the added problems of hard to reach surfaces & prohibit the fid from bathing on their own, even if they wanted to. Plastic is also being researched for the detrimental long term effects caused by some of its chemical composition. Food is obviously important as well. But there are so many different opinions about what's best. Everyone is also limited by what they have available to them. This sounds like a good time to re-evaluate your fid's overall diet, though. Maybe check out some additions like Red Palm oil or Palm nuts, too. Palm nuts are good nutritionally. They're a large part of a grey's diet in the wild. They're also good fun to eat. Boredom can be as big an issue as anything. Your fid sounds like she's getting time out of the cage which is very good. But if she's just sitting in a different spot for some part of the day it's less helpful than it may be. Although don't get me wrong. The interaction & exercise are all good! But it would be a good thing if you taught her to play. I am very fond of many of the suggestions in these e-books. I recommend them all the time. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download them. Everything's free, but of course you can make a contribution if you want. http://parrotenrichment.com/books.html I'm pretty creative & I've kept birds for decades. I've been making toys forever because my guys weren't very interested in much of the commercial stuff. I still found some very interesting ideas here. There's a ton of ideas about making toys from pretty common household items. There's lots of intelligent suggestions about teaching fids to forage & play, too.

How did it go w/Barnaby's vet appointment?