Timmysmom

Thanks Dave. I'll pick some up tomorrow. I have a huge Aloe plant here in the house. Coud I cut a piece of that and use that until I run to the store tomorrow? You are correct. It is just those two places on the sides that he is picking and snipping off his feathers. I do know I need to get him to stop, before it becomes a bad habit and he continues in other places. Here's some feathers I found around his cage yesterday while I was cleaning it out. You can tell he snipped of some pieces as well as the whole feather. Dina

Thanks Dave. I just wish I knew why he was picking. I've never had to experience this before. Very nerve wracking not to know what is bothering him. Dina

I think they got kicked out since they were too large. I'll try posting this one. Hopefully it goes through. I don't know how to resize them, without sending them by using Picasa. :blush:

Sorry guys, I don't know why that posted twice. Dina

Hello Everyone, I hate to announce that Timmy my TAG is picking and snipping off his feathers on his wings that lay across his back. This started the day after Hurricane Ike went through Ky and Cincinnati Oh area. If anyone has any information on what I can do, please let me know. I have other parrots, but no experience in dealing with feather pluckers. He isn't too bad off right now, ust two bare holes on each side of his back. I just want to try and stop it before it gets any worse. These were taken last month and he is now 2-3 times worse. Thanks, Dina

I can't tell from the pictures, but here is one of the myths stating that they can be sexed without DNA, again I don't rely on them. My Ozzie was DNA tested and is a Male. Another one is the shape of the eye. As for the Grey's preferring the opposite sex, that does not hold true at my house. My CAG does not like women and prefers men. http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/appgreys.html Dina

Both the eye theory and the tail/vent feather theory proved correct with my CAG, but I would not rely on these methods at all. DNA testing is the best way to find out the sex.

Ozzie does hold out his his and dance around on his perch. I call it his happy dance. He actually does it when I approach the cage. His wings don't actually droop downward just held out away from his body where you can see under the wings. I make a point to spend extra time with him talking and rubbing his head while the others are out playing, so he doesn't get mad or jealous...at least I hope he doesn't. If any gets jealous it's my Female Eclectus that makes groaning sounds when I'm not paying attention to her and her only. She would be a Big Mommy's Girl. Dina

Thanks Dan. I am trying my best not to show any fear and have only accomplished small steps with Ozzie, like scratching his head and beak. While he is out on the floor he lets me rub his head but not pick him up. My husband works late at night so he would be of no help at all. I just hate to leave him in his cage all the time. My other birds playstand is in the same room so he sees them out playing about. This may be a stupid question, but here goes. What are some of the signs a Grey gives off if they are hormonal? I know my Eclectus parrots well and can tell when either my Male or Female is hormonal but Timmy is less than two years old and hasn't gone through that stage yet. Dina

Ozzie is eye level with me while sitting on his cage. I can see how this might cause a problem while he is on top of his cage, but I don't understand the floor part. All of my others want up off the ground but he tries biting me if I go to have him step up.:huh:

Okay, I am at my wits end with Ozzie. I have been working with Ozzie ever since he gave me my stitches and I am only having luck with him while he is inside the cage. He will come to me for a treat (of course) and a head rub. He doesn't try to bite me while he is inside. I'm just working on handsoff training like targeting inside the cage before hands on. When I let him come out of the cage on his own, he won't go back in on his own. Apparently he was never perch trained and is petrified of a perch coming close to him. If I do get it too close he will fly to the ground but try to bite if I try and pick him up of the ground or while on the cage top.:angry: The only way I have been able to get him back in his cage is by toweling him, which I hate to do to him. I do not want to make him stay cage bound while my other birds are out having a good time. Any suggestions? I am going to Barbara Heindreich's workshop towards the end of this month so I hope she can shed a light on things for me.

Thank You all for the very nice welcome. I am certainly going to take it slow and not even let him out of his cage until he is more used to me...not after this past accident. Last night I just sat by his cage and talked softly while reading to him, hoping he will get used to the sound of my voice. I feel bad about it since all my other birds are allowed out to play but I don't think this is something I can help right now. Dina

Thanks Judygram. I know I have a long rode ahead of me in building up the trust. I'm hoping with him sitting right across the room from Timmy it will help some, since I'm always practing flight recall with him. Here's a picture of Ozzie taken Friday evening before the major bite took place. He hung upside down from the underside of my index finger and wouldn't let go, only kept digging deeper. Ouch! Dina

I just got Ozzie last week. My friend had a heart attack and is not able to care for all her birds, so I took in Ozzie for her. I had no intention of even picking him up or even making contact until he got to know me and my husband better. Ozzie has always been homed by couples and was never abused in any way. My friend took him in from one of her friends because he was always biting the wife, so basically I am Ozzie's third owner now...poor bird. No one has any clue as to why he dislikes women, he is always sweet and gentle with guys but will bite women in a heartbeat. He will take almonds through the cage bars from me and let me pet his head but that's as far as it goes. I only had to pick him up Friday, because I did not want Timmy or Ozzie to get hurt. If I knew how to post pictures to the group I would glad send some in. This forum is all new to me. Dina

Hello everyone. I am new here and my name is Dina. I live in N, Ky. I have parrots of my own which include a pair of SI Eclectus, a TAG, a Severe Macaw, and a GCC. I also have been given a CAG who is 5 years old. My problem is Ozzie the CAG. I was told he doesn't like women. I would like to know what I can do to get him to get over his hatred or possibly fear of women. I had a very painful episode with him. I know have 6 stitches from a very large and deep bite. I let him out of his cage to play. He was always the type to play on his cage and go in when it was time to go to bed. Well, on Friday evening something scared him and he flew down then started climbing up Timmy my Timneh's cage and everything went crazy from there. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I had no intention of even picking him up until he got more familiar with me. Dina