Mistyparrot

I see now. I thought you meant his original cage! But I would still be inclined to replace it. I guess with me Misty rules the roost! (within limits of course:D) Steve n Mistyparrot

I would be inclined to get rid of it. Sam obviously has bad memories associated with this cage. He may think you are going to put him in it and take him from his home but for what ever reason it obviously upsets him. Even worse if you put your new baby in it Sam may come to associate the baby with it and become phobic toward the baby as well. Steve n Misty

Thank you for posting John. We have all been in a situation where we have to be away from our much loved Greys. Please come back and tell us more about living with Smokie when you can. Steve n Misty

Hello Smokie. Welcome to our family. You have a difficult problem. As others have said your idea to leave your Grey alone is not a good idea. You have find a better option than the one you suggest. Greys absolutely need regular companionship otherwise they will suffer depression and that can lead to all kinds of problems from feather plucking and worse. May I suggest you contact local breeders to see if they can reccomend a temporary foster home? I know if I was in your position and had to leave Misty I would be worried sick if I did not know that he was in the best possible care. If I have to leave him for more than half a day I worry and cannot wait to get back to him. I have turned down holidays because I could not find a suitable carer for him in time and I don't regret it. The holiday would have been no fun for me because of the worry. You could not leave a small child alone like that and as you know Greys are like small childeren emotionally and in other ways. Even two days is to long! If you want to enjoy your time away or at least not be worried sick, find a solution that means your companion is well cared for by sympathetic people. You have not said where in the world you are. We have members all over the world and there might be one or some who could give you more location specific advice. All the best Steve n Misty

Nutmeg and Dan. you are both in my thoughts. What terrible times you have both been going through. Steve n Misty

Sarah. I have just spoken to the police in general terms about your situation. They told me that they regard parrots as valuable property and would certainly act to try to recover one that was stolen. They also confirmed that they take crooks who impersonate police extremely seriously and that they will not let it go! You need to phone 101 which is now the UK police phone number for non emergency cases. It is easy to do and even if you do not get Archie back you will know that you did what you could and it will help ease your guilt! Phone 101 now! With deep respect Steve n Misty

I don't like to get in the middle of a private family argument but your husband is wrong! Going to the police is no guarantee you will get your Archie back but it is the very best chance you have! As I said in a previous post the police may not care about missing parrots but they care a great deal when a felon impersonates them for criminal purposes. Ideally you should have acted as soon as the crooks took Archie but even now it may not be to late. If you don't, you stand no chance at all and you let those b******ds get away with your cash and your parrot. Did you find the ad in Gumtree? If so the police may have a way to trace the crooks. Don't let this create anger between you and your husband. Reserve that for the crooks. Use your anger to energise you to see this through as far as you can. Don't let this horrible event turn in on yourselves. Please please don't give up! Steve n Misty

Dear xSarahx. Thank you so much for telling us what has been happening. I am so sorry that our worst fears have been confirmed! I do hope Archie is OK. He will certainly be advertised again. You may be certain that these crooks have done this before. Have you been in touch with the police? They may not care that much about missing parrots but they get very upset when people impersonate them for criminal purposes. You may yet find Archie even now. Please don't beat yourself up over being taken in. We all respect the police so any of us could have been fooled as you were. Your story is a warning to us all. I do hope you find the bird for you whether Archie or another. There are plenty of parrots in need of the kind of loving home you would provide. Remember this is a place for people who love parrots and Greys in particular but you have no need to currently have a Grey to belong. Please stay. Steve n Misty

What a beautiful bird. Well done. I must agree with snoepgoed123 about harnesses though. There is lots of good advice here :http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?11617-aviator-harness! Steve n Misty

Congratulations to Buddy and you:) Steve n Misty

The bells, ......the bells ! Might Quasimodo be a good name for a parrot? Steve n Misty

Amusing video but never give your parrot a toy that has been in your dogs mouth. Dog, cat and human saliva can carry pathogens that are not good for birds Steve n Misty

Hey Nancy speak for yourself ! Steve n Misty

CrazyGreyLover.We are all crazy grey lovers here. We all love Greys and the people who love Greys. Please never be worried about posting here whether it is a question about your Grey or just to tell us about your Grey day and the things that happen or that your Grey does. If you are able we like the occasional pic as well. Without people posting this forum would not exist!:eek: Only the obnoxious are unwelcome but they never come here anyway. As for your question I agree with the rest here. You should move as soon as you are able for the sake of all of you. Bandit will soon settle down in his new home especially if it is a less stressful environment. Unless you feel the need to take a weeks break I would suggest you just move asap. If you do take a break, as long as Bandit knows you are with him he will be fine. I am sure you know tobacco smoke is a killer of humans as well as parrots but parrots are much more at risk because of the way their lungs work. They have more efficient lungs than we do but that also means they are better at absorbing poisons in the air than we are. Canaries used to be used to detect poison gas in mines for that reason. It saved human lives:) but it was hard on the Canaries. Steve n Misty

Sarah do you have a copy of Archies ring number? You will need to be able to identify him if you can trace the scumbags who stole him from you! Steve n Misty

I do hope you get him back. You absolutely must go to the police because they had no right to take the bird from you. You must also try to find a sympathetic lawyer who can give you proper help. You may need to try to get a court order to have Archie returned to you. Some times the CAB can come up trumps but in the end they can only offer advice. Can you clarify how much you paid for Archie? Was it £500? The police should have given you a receipt when they took the parrot. This whole thing is wrong in so many ways. I have just spoken with a friend who has legal expertise and his conclusion is that you have been scammed. You must go to the police NOW! It looks like the "Policemen " who came to your home were fake and the police do not take that crime lightly ! Were they uniformed? Steve n Misty

Congratulations on your decision to adopt a Grey. You seem like the kind of person who understands that you are taking on a commitment and not just an amusing pet. Your Grey is going to be very happy. I would suggest as others have that you do not clip your baby's wings. It especially important if you have other pets around. Your Grey will feel more secure knowing he can fly from danger. Besides it is a real pleasure to have your Grey fly as he chooses. Aerial makes a good point about ceiling fans. I have heard some horrific stories of spooked parrots clipped or not flying in to them. If you have to have a fan then switch it off if your bird is out. Do get him used to a harness so you can take him out. This is much easier with a young bird. (I only refer to your coming Grey as a "him" as they are never "it" to me). We all look forward to hearing about your new family member and your new adventures in parronthood. Steve N Misty

I hate to say this but you must realize now that you made a serious mistake not getting a receipt from the seller and I don't understand why he would apparently let you take Archie with you having paid only half without getting your address and without a written agreement. That does not ring true. How did the police explain that ? I am also surprised that the Police got involved because this seems to be a civil dispute. Has the seller agreed to repay your £250? Have the police returned the parrot to the seller? You need to lodge a counter complaint with the police because it looks to me that they have made a mistake taking the Archie from you. Do they say you stole Archie and at the same time admit you paid at least half?If the police are accusing you of theft then they must caution you. How much did you pay for Archie? The police have only the sellers word against yours the there was an agreement of any kind. Did the police give you a receipt for the parrot? Is the seller re-advertising the parrot? You need to find out more about this man. Steve n Misty

I think it's a great idea. I only have an iPodtouch but I don't let Misty play with it because he is to good at getting inside things! :eek: I think an Ipad is a much more suitable toy to try. If I was you I would get a screen protector film though! Steve n Misty

Ah ha! Do you suppose that the reason he uses your voice is that he is planning on taking over your role? You better be careful!:eek: Steve n Misty

He is such a wonderfully chatty fellow! I love how they like to exercise their vocabulary. Misty does the same but usually whenever I put up the camera he stops his chat. Misty was very interested I am sure he recognised it was a fellow parrot talking. I loved the way he came running up to you at the end. Do you have many vids of you and him together? Steve n Misty

That is gorgeous! Can't wait to see your first glass Grey! Steve n Misty

I don't think Greys think like that. They want what you treasure because they assume it has some special magic and if it is good for you it must be good for them as well. Either that or when they go for your treasured thing it gets a reaction from you and that is lots of fun! Steve n Misty

Yes. they are the darkest wing feathers and on an unclipped bird they will extend to cover the red tail feathers when folded back in rest. This is a pic of Misty with his unclipped wings fully extended just before landing: Misty from the front showing flights extending over tail: A graphic of a typical Grey wing: Steve n Misty

I got Misty at about two. He was poorly clipped and his feathers were a bit scruffy. He went through two moults over the next two and a half years always starting with the snow storm (his white down) and then the small grey body feathers mostly from his chest. It seemed to happen almost overnight! He always kept a down covering on his body. All came back over a few weeks. His flights grew back after about a year.I gave him calcium supplements and a variety of different nuts, cashews and walnuts are good for all kinds of useful minerals. These always part of his diet. I had to relocate and again he had a minor moult of his chest and neck but everything came back. Two years ago I had to move again and he lost his red tail and they took a year to return. As of now he looks great. After he lost his tail I gave him a dilute solution of "Osteocare" in his morning drink (a preparation of calcium magnesium vit d and magnesium.) I think it helped and it does my old bones good too It seems that the stress of moving home has an effect on his moult but his personality is always much the same and he is always sociable with everyone he meets. Steve n Misty