birdhouse

I've had cages w/those same holes & they weren't any problem... until my ekkie. Fortunately, I was right there & it just scared us pretty good. As it happened, that was a temporary cage for her & had outgrown its usefulness by the time she got caught. So she was out of it pretty quickly. You might be able to find small bolts or screws at the hardware store. The holes are a little close to the adjoining bar, but it might be worth giving it a shot.

That's a pretty impressive start. Especially considering Mikko seemed a little touchy about his feet when you first got him! I do my guys nails. Phenix is just extreme about not having his feet even touched! He came that way & he's only ever gotten a little better. But only because the flush around his eyes doesn't change anymore & he gets over it more quickly, now. Fortunately, I rarely have to do his nails because the variety of perches really works. It almost seems like his nails never grow. Once in a while I do need to blunt them, though. Kura's nails are crazy. The different perches don't seem to help at all. Luckily, she's learned to be really good about clipping them. But I never force the issue, either. If she's just not in the mood, I just try again later. I just find it's easier for me to use regular human clippers, stand her on the shower stand in the bathroom & close the door from any distractions. Just in case, I've always brought a small cup of cornstarch because it's good to stop bleeding. But w/her, it's turned out to be good bribery! lol We go slow, make a game out of it & every once in a while she gets to help herself to the cornstarch. She does like to eat it, but she likes to get it all over probably just as much. Easy enough to clean up & I love that there's almost never any drama or trauma. EDIT I just re-read that. Don't want to give the impression that bloodletting should be a matter of course! But it happens, so I'm always prepared. I have drawn as much as a couple of drops of blood 3 different times in the past 20 yrs. I think it was more traumatic for me because I still remember every time. Everyone else, except Phenix, seemed to be over it 10 minutes later.

To quote the man who taught me so much about safe, organic, well, lots of things! lol originally posted by Jayd... "Apple Cider Vinegar is not only safe for our fids, it's good for them and us. It's one of the best disinfectants around. We use it on our fids hard toys, feeding and water bowels, to clean hard poop, and to clean and wipe down their cages... We also use "Organic Apple Cider Vinegar" for soaking their veggies after there rinsed with water, and to wipe hard boiled egg shells lightly. If you have a mold spot on you wall, bathroom etc, spray it on, it kills the spores." http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190341-For-a-beginner/page7&p=208351

I hope you won't ever actually have to find out because his current owner makes a full recovery. But if that doesn't happen then I think you've probably learned more than you may realize from your time w/your fids. You have a pretty good support system here at GF. I have to guess that you've got the means to take on another fid or you wouldn't be considering it. That all certainly qualifies you as having good parront potential. So the only thing is whether this poor little blighter has touched your heart enough to work thru his demons w/him & still love him for whoever he turns out to be. Sounds like you've got some pretty good potential there, too.

I could be wrong & I apologize, but I'd still think it was kind of funny if it weren't painful. But not serious. Karen said Tybalt was not being any kind of hostile while he was trying to eat her alive. So, the normal, friendly activity closest to this would be grooming off dead skin like around nail beds, for instance. I've never seen anything where a fid has actually been eating much of what he's removing, though. If Tybalt is being scent driven by the yummy lotion, then he has no concept at all that he's eating Karen's skin. Birds don't have human logic & it's fairly hard for us to see that sometimes. But he isn't going to understand why if he gets a "Don't bite me!!!" reaction. He's then going to backslide because he's afraid of the incomprehensible feed back. So Karen can wear long sleeves. But Tybalt is likely going to start after the shirt because it's going to smell good, too. She can unbalance him each time. But he'll just keep coming because he can still smell something good to eat or maybe he'll stop wanting to land on her at all. OR she can stop using the lotion if that's what's motivating him. Then there's no need for anything but positive reinforcement & everybody's happy. To me, it just doesn't seem from what's posted that Tybalt's got a behavior problem, here. So, I'd kind of be afraid that acting like it is will actually cause a problem where none existed. Misunderstanding & overreacting causes so many problems & this may just be one of those circumstances.

Morana, Gracie should feel like she has some safe, secure personal spaces, especially now. I expect she'll find the carrier threatening so it shouldn't be allowed to invade her space. Jeff, I think the biggest difference between bringing home & settling a baby vs rehomed grey is their sense of self. Most babies are still inexperienced enough to be willing to follow a flock leader/parront figure to get thru the transition. Most rehomes already feel they can depend on things they've experienced. Gracie already seems to have a great sense of self. Which is why I'd default to treating her like a rehomed fid right now. If she were a rehome & more comfortable not stepping up, off her cage, it would be better to accept that, for now. At least not to challenge it. So maybe you can let her spend time on top of her cage when she's looking like she needs some personal time. Then give her a reason to go back into the cage on her own (bribery is our friend ;-p). Have her step up when you think she's ready to take her out again. Basically, set up as much positive interaction as you can. Just get to know & enjoy each other. In other words, Jeff, right now, your main focus is to seduce Gracie. lol

Oh Yay!! Happy Dance!! Breakthrough moment!! Happy Dance!!! Bet you're flying pretty high right now. This is great news & I'm pretty sure you won't have to wait til next Xmas to post some more. Oh Yay!! Happy Dance!! Breakthrough moment!! Happy Dance!!!

This is pretty horrible. I'm so sorry. Try to do as much research as possible. There's a ton of information available & any of it might prove helpful when you least expect it. Keeping good thoughts & hoping to hear that Barnaby's doing better soon.

Expectations + time tables = setbacks + Frustration VS Goals + time invested = Progress + motivation Gracie's only been w/you for a short time. She may be a baby & may have gotten familiar w/you weeks ago, but she doesn't recognize you as her parront, yet & she is very much her own girl. A characteristic you specifically wanted in your fid. Now it's about working w/it. First thing is to make sure the carrier isn't visible. Hard to tell whether she doesn't like the carrier or Xmas was just too much, too soon or both. But either way, I'd encourage you to recognize that Gracie needs some positive bonding time before you go any further. In the process of building a successful bond, you'll likely learn more about what was so upsetting to Gracie this week & then have some better idea as to where to go from here. I would step back & go thru all the introduction techniques suggested for rehomes. Gracie will probably benefit from being treated this way because she's already got such a strong sense of self. But she will probably respond to this kind of treatment rapidly because she is still a baby that's spent so much time w/you prior to coming home. Once she seems comfortable, again, you can sit the carrier back out somewhere she can see it. Make sure it isn't anywhere close to where she is generally or anywhere that you'll need to move or interact w/it, either. You should see her start to watch it immediately. She may go back to acting skittish. But just act like the carrier's nothing to be concerned about & work thru any nervousness with her. Once she's been ignoring it for a few days, then you can move it to where you both might start to interact w/it, but again, make sure it isn't too close to her cage, play stand, etc. It's also important that you don't try to make her do anything. Once she's well & truly un-phased by it, you can try to put it someplace that she'll be able to explore it on her on terms & schedule. Then you can put treats inside to encourage her to climb in. After a few days, you can try closing her in for a few minutes & see how it goes. I know you were hoping to take Gracie w/you after Xmas vacation. I think you may want to make some arrangements in the event that doesn't happen. It sounds like she might not be ready & this is an important time to do everything possible to go slowly enough to accommodate her needs. It's important that you build a solid, trusting bond right now. Sorry if this isn't what you were hoping to hear. But, well, that's just kind of how this goes sometimes. You want Gracie to become very comfortable living a bigger than average grey's life. It's well worth the extra time & effort now. Honest.

Wow, Congratulations. I think I nominate you for one of the more interesting challenges of the week. "How to get the fid to stop eating it's mother?" Short of bugs, the problem is most often the other way around. Hope you're smiling. A sense of humor always help me, especially w/the most perplexing problems. No one has ever taken a friendly chunk out of me before. And no one has ever eaten any when they did. If Tybalt's body language isn't aggressive, then I'm going to guess he's after the lotion (which btw may not be good for him even if it is all natural) Be very, very interested to hear the feed back about this problem. lol

^^^ Funny, now that it's done & no harm done. I always supposed soda wasn't good for fids because of all the sugar, caffeine & other bad ingredients. The old timers used Coke to clean the corrosion off of car battery terminals. So it wasn't a very big stretch for me to think I might want to keep the birds away. I'm glad you posted this because I didn't know about the carbonation. Thanks

Sounds like you're getting somewhere w/Sam & all that patience is going to pay off. Greyt to hear this & how much you've grown to love him, warts & all.

The one on your profile will do quite nicely!! That's a beautiful picture of a beautiful flock of greys together on a pretty nice stand. And I have no doubt there are more than a few stories to tell, just looking at that crew. Let alone that you have 4 greys under 3 yo. Yep, looking forward to a few tales from you FeatheredFollies & welcome to our flock.

lol!! I have to say this after the last post & it may sound a little nuts. But to me, Quakers have always seemed like a bird that Walt Disney should have created. And I'm still surprised they haven't got at least one in any of their movies by now. Isabelle is a very pretty color. Charm was supposed to be that color, too. lol At least that's what I imagined when I decided one day I'd like to have a Quaker. Then I met my girl & it just didn't matter what color she was. She was the most adorable baby & totally impossible for me to resist.

Thank you for making this happen, Penny. This room has so much potential. I hope it will become another great source of help for many, many fids.

That hat's nice enough to wear all year long lol

... and from me & mine to you & yours. Merry... Happy... whatever brings you love & joy at this time of the year

Change in diet will often, quickly become reflected in a bird's poop. Droppings are a combination of urine & solid wastes. The more liquid the fid takes in, whether thru eating or drinking, the more he'll put out. Junior's droppings should be expected to become more watery because he's starting to eat more "wet" fruits & veggies. His metabolism also needs to adjust to this new, healthier diet. By all means watch the droppings, but what you've posted isn't automatically cause for concern. Yes, since you've started to feed a colored pellet the dyes may well be causing the color change, here. Some pellets will effect a change for as long as the fid eats them. Change the brand of pellets & the dropping color may change, again. You might want to read up on the different concerns & suggestions that members have posted about the different brands & why they do & don't like to use them. Sounds like Junior's started to make some very nice progress. Yay!!! When you think about it, he's being pretty brave. Now, maybe it's your turn. You already know Junior NEEDS to explore anyone/thing w/his beak in order to become comfortable & convinced that they really are not threatening. As long as you won't let him explore you, he'll remain unconvinced that you're not a potential threat. That's going to stand in the way of your bonding. That, unfortunately is also likely to get you bitten. I'm sorry. It's a tough hurdle for a lot of people to overcome. But a necessary one. You're going to need to learn not to be afraid & you can't fake it. Eyes closed & sound asleep, every parrot can sense a person's exact state of mind. One member says they're empaths. They read body language, interpret tone of voice & simply (literally) smell emotion. Especially fear. It's really kind of funny, when you think about it. A lot of this is the very same conflict that Junior is trying to overcome. Up til now, you've been focused on trying to convince him that it's safe to interact w/you. Now you need to be convinced that you're safe around him. Might be very helpful if you really think about what this feels like & remember so you can use it the next time it's his turn again. The "magic" solution (for you both) has a lot to do with control. You'll need to become relatively convinced that you can keep Junior from hurting you. One of the best ways to do that is to learn to understand & read his body language at least half as well as he reads yours. So I'd really suggest that you do some big time reading up on that, too. You might want to try to get started relatively soon, too. Greys often tend to pick a favorite & very often everyone else can become second class citizens, even when the fid loves them. Your Dad is well on his way to becoming Junior's fav & you may want to start giving him a run for his money.

It's the simple pleasures, isn't it? Merry Christmas

lol Merry Christmas to you two

You've gotten some really nice shots of your fids lately, Penny! Thanks for sharing them.

LOL! This vid is totally adorable. Have to give Charlie a gold star for being such a good sharer.

I don't have any idea. They're pretty old. The good news is that they last like forever. I did see some recently. I just don't remember where. I'll post it if I bump into any more & I'll try to get a pic up after the weekend.

I've gotten spray bottles from all over. I think this one may have come from Harbor Freight Tools, but I've honestly lost track. I got a water conserving aerator on the faucet, if it helps. Think you can get them at any Lowe's, Home Depot, plumbing supply. I can adjust the stream to make a pretty wide, gentle shower & it swivels. I like it for the dishes, too. ;-P