jj_qpr11

hi, my grey is 5 years old and she is a plucker too. I have in the last couple of days obtained some red palm oil , and aloe vera juice. Its not easy getting her to eat the red palm, i find it best to soak a bit onto some bread. she wont touch her normal food with red palm on it. she HATES being sprayed with the aloe too, i have done it for 2 days now, once each day. i hope she will eventually get used to it. I will try and get pics up of her progress. One thing i do not get about the aloe, is how can it calm the skin under the feathers? it just seems to cover the outer feathers, and I really doubt it gets through all that to the skin does it?, Unless you drench the poor bird in it? All in all she is still a very friendly and happy bird, just perhaps not as pretty as she could be, but I love her all the same! Good luck with your little one. James

thank you that has put my mind at rest! James

HI all, I have noticed corkey seems to sometimes be a bit blue around the eye area, almost like shes wearing eye shadow :blink: i just wondered is this normal or could there be something wrong with her? Cheers James

hi thanks for the replies, i have heard about misting before, even with just water is meant to be a good thing, but i wonder if corkey will like it. i suspect not so i am hesitant to try it. Do they like being misted in general? Shes never had a shower or anything since i've had her as she seemed quite scared of water?

In a video I saw the trainer was giving the parrot yoghurt drops which might be what you saw. I have tried quite hard to find yoghurt drops for birds but cant! so i dont know if they were the sort you can give to hamsters and stuff?!

hey have you tried grapes? thats the ONLY fresh fruit corkey will eat and shes mad for them! also how about yoghurt and monkey nuts? another 2 of corkeys favourite treats. at least its not too fatty/salty. sunflower seeds are about the only thing she'll touch out of a "normal" parrot mix of dried fruit and seeds. worth trying those things to try and get you bird eating a bit healthier. oh corkey does love crisps (or "chips" as you might say in the USA) I very occasionally break off a small piece of crisp for her, but only VERY occasionally.

Here some full-body shots of corkey, looking very fluffy compared to most greys I have seen on here! <br><br>Post edited by: jj_qpr11, at: 2008/04/25 10:59

thanks, I will pop into H&B today hopefully it will help her get back to her full glory. And she IS every bit as sweet as she looks, I am so happy to have her in my life, she hasnt nipped me once yet, wish she was the same with strangers though!

Joesy sounds so sweet I'm actually in the UK, but there are similar health food places so I will be sure to check them out. And thank you so much for taking the time to help James

lol same with corkey, and her noise is water related too...sounds like a massive DROP of water splashing into more water....hard to explain but its that sort of PLOP! sound. no idea where it came from. she also makes some embarrassing flatulence and burping sounds...obviously picked that up from her last owner not me lol :ohmy: funny though

hey thats brilliant I know how you feel, its a great feeling when your birdy does something you want them to Corkey is so lovely and tame, but when shes on top of her cage shes not always happy about stepping up and like Obi runs to the other side of the cage. weird as corkey will sit with me for hours letting me stroke her and play with her, guess she just doesnt like having to go back in the cage! :laugh:<br><br>Post edited by: jj_qpr11, at: 2008/04/25 01:49

Hey thanks for some great suggestions I hadnt thought of any of them! Cant wait till tomorrow now to try these out! lucky for me horsey is an option as corkey loves having her tummy tickled :laugh:

Hey Judy, she was fed purely on "Pretty bird species specific", which i guess are sort of pellets, which she loves and i have managed to find a place that sells that. I have also introduced her to monkey nuts, sunflower seeds, and grapes, all of which are more treats than anything, she goes mad for them, same with yoghurt which i often give her a small amount of again as a treat. I hadn't heard of red palm oil until just now when I read of it in another post. thanks for the suggestion, i will have to try and find some, is it something they sell in normal health supplement shops or something? Its ok to mix it with these dry pellets or seeds is it? Just seems they might go soggy/greasy from it, but I guess if she likes the taste she wont mind. Shes alseep now but tomorrow I will try and get some full body photos so you can see what I mean. she seems perfectly happy and active so im not unduly worried, just think it'd be nice for her to look "as pretty as she feels" Thanks again james

Wow everyone's jobs are so interesting!! Me, I'm a partner in a web design company...boring!!!

hey thanks i'll pass on your compliments One thing that I have noticed, from looking through the members pics here, is corkey seems to be the only one with rough looking feathers she unfortunately was like it when I got her a couple of months ago, but I am pretty sure she isnt plucking much, if at all any more, so I wonder will she ever turn back into a smooth looking birdy like most others here? I dont mind I love her regardless of course , but I just wonder if its normal and possible she will go back to being fully-feathered?

and another....ahhhh....this one i had printed onto A4 and she looks lovely, think i will get it framed

Heres (hopefully if it works) a pic of my baby, corkey. Shes just so adorable, slightly vain (loves having her pic taken ) 5 years old, and shes just spent all night on my leg watching me play games and watching tv with me snuggled up... <br><br>Post edited by: jj_qpr11, at: 2008/04/25 01:14

I couldn't speak for you bird, but in the past when I have done the nice thing and given my birds the freedom of an outdoors aviary, they tended to get a bit wild. These weren't greys though, these were tame lovebirds and cockateils. being outside was obviously far more enjoyable for them than being inside and that seemed to make them less tame. Another thing to watch out for is obviously the wire fencing you use, as certain sizes can cause them to get their claws or legs stuck and bleed which is very distressing for everyone involved. What I will be doing with corkey is just taking her whole cage, outside, if I can, and just sitting out there with her while i sip my lemonade B) be nice to let her spread her wings, but shes not much of a flyer I dont think. I think its a lovely idea to what what you want to do though, and I'm sure someone here can offer a more experience voice when it comes to greys specifically.

Hey thanks. That is what I'm doing. I have the stand in view but at a distance and I'm slowly trying to get it closer to her. I put all her favourite foods in the bowls on it now, so she can see her treats are coming from it, and i make a point of touching it as often as possible. Shes now at the point where she at least isn't stuffed up in the farthest corner of her cage, she'll come out and even walk past it with me, as long as shes on the opposite shoulder to it. So i think we're getting somewhere very slowly Thanks for all the great help and support from you guys. And wow it must be good being able to take your grey into a petshop with you! Cheers James

hi i am actually trying to distract her from doing it, by always playing with her, letting her be with me when im on computer etc etc, I dont THINK i'm rewarding her as such for plucking, but I hadn't thought of it that way. Her feathers in general seem to be getting a lot better, but she still seems to loose a lot of fluffy ones if she flaps ever, is that normal? They get everywhere! Ive given up trying to drink anything from a cup without it slowly filling with fluff! I will take her to the vet soon anyway, for a checkup. Cheers James

hi thanks for making us so welcome here corkeys always trying to type something on here she loves using the keyboard! I will try and get some photos up of her, she is lovely, but a little rough around the edges, I think she plucked a lot at her old home and Im trying and slowly succeeding in getting her to stop that, and shes looking more full-feathered by the day Thanks for the warm welcome James (and corkey )

Hi Everyone, James here from UK, I probably should have said hello here before going and posting elsewhere, but after some prompting I am doing it now! I'm quite new to African greys, but have had countless other birds as pets over the years. Corkey (5 year old congo) is my first and probably only grey, I have only had her for a month and I have fallen for her unique charms! She was a little scared for the first couple of days of ownership but now she's used to me we're inseparable! Shes still shy around strangers, and seems terrified of any toys or anything new I try to introduce, which is the main reason for me searching for a help forum just like this, and within minutes of posting some very nice people have already helped loads so thanks again and I look forward to getting involved here James

Hey everyone, thank you all for your replies, that was so quick!! You all seem very nice and helpful I'm glad I found this place for mine and corkeys sake! I'll go introduce myself properly now Thanks so much again James

Hi, Thanks so much for your reply. My first thought was just as you did, but I guess I haven;t given her enough time. The trouble if i put the stand (or ladder) near her cage she will literally go right to the furtherest corner away from the stand/ladder in her cage and stay there, she didn't even eat anything this morning that I could tell, so I'm worried about leaving these things near her for any great length of time. But i do think you are right, she needs to learn somehow that its not a threat. I will continue to persevere I guess time is the important thing here right? Cheers James

Hi All, New to this board, and to African Greys, I have had Corkey (5 years old) for about a month now, and on the whole she is brilliant, very friendly, hand tame, and talkative, never bites or screams at me, loves being touched and tickled. However I am having real trouble getting her to get used to ANYTHING such as toys, ladders, stands, ANYTHING, and wondered if there were any tips people can give me? The toys she had in her cage I've take out as she wasn't interested in them, the ladder I got to help her get in and out the cage she is petrified of it. Today I bought a proper parrot stand so she can be with us when eating, or so I could put her in another room when cleaning the cage out etc. But shes terrified of the thing. How can I get her used to the stand? At the first sight of it she ends up trying to fly across the room and she won't go near the thing. Any advise would really be appreciated, I dont want to get rid of the stand as it will help me a lot, and mean I can spend more time with her in other rooms I hope. Thanks in advance, James