pearllyn

Thanks for the Karma folks, and it's always good to hear the feedback. Danmcq, I will try to get some more video, kbut every time she see's a camera she makes a beeline for it! It's hard to take her photo when she's sitting on the camera! bye for now. x

Hi folks, so since I was on last week, moaning about my bloodied fingers, Alf has hardly bitten me once! She's had maybe 3 or 4 time outs in her travel cage and she seems to be getting the message - almost a whole week bite free, and the nips I have had certainly have not been malicious. Even when I'm asking her to step off of places where she knows she shouldn't be, she's resisting an obvious urge to express her displeasure with a nip! She's even started saying "Good girl" in the last week! She's such a star! I've posted a wee video on youtube (haven't mastered vids on here yet), it's only a couple of minutes long, so please have a quick peek. Hope you and yours are all well. Bye for now. Lyn & Alfie xx<br><br>Post edited by: pearllyn, at: 2009/09/06 14:55

Ok, I tried this last week but couldn't post a pic, so here's my second attempt. Alf is having a good old look at me in a lush face mask!! Lyn & Alfie x <br><br>Post edited by: pearllyn, at: 2009/09/06 14:46

Hi Acappella, after I posted my reply last night I was thinking about it and thought exactly the same thing - toys out and place the cage on the floor, cos when we're going out, we sit it on the table to put her in it! That should do it, eh? Isn't it funny how you can sometimes need something pointed out to you before you can see the obvious?! Thanks for your concern, Acappella. x

Thanks for the encouragement danmcq. So does this mean I'm going to have a stroppy teen on my hands for the rest of my days? (deep breath!) Actually, as usual, she came for a cuddle tonight before bedtime, and I just can't believe what a Jeckyll and Hyde character she has - she's such a sweet bird come evening, but mornings seem to bring out the Daughter of Lucifer in her! Thanks again, will come back more often - hopeless at organising me! Tycos-mom, I know you're right, and I did think about giving her a time out in her travel cage, but didn't want to put her off of going in that, as she loves going for days out with us, and I didn't want her to associate it with anything bad, but if you think it's ok I will certainly do that. I was just saying to David today, that it almost feels like we have to "reclaim" our territory, ie, the living room! Will take your advice and let you know how we come on. Thanks for the word of wisdom. x

Thanks keywe, I will try that. ALfie does like her food warm, and although I have tried adding water to the Harrisons Coarse, the wee pellets mkay be better suited to mushing! Thanks. x

Hi Amerrie, Although her behaviour can be extreme, she is definitely still nice more than she is naughty! x

Hay Folks! Things maybe aren't quite as bad as the subject heading says, but the last two or three weeks have been quite eventful! Healthwise, Alfie seems to be in good form. Her feathers are well on their way, and she has regained her flight and then some (see youtube - click or paste here and here ) !Plus, all the tests came back negative, so other than the little inflamation seen with the x-rays/endoscopy, nothing that can't be fixed with diet and uv light. The diet isn't going too well, she's eating plenty of fresh stuff, but after a promising start with the Harrisons, she's barely looking at it now, she only picks it up to throw it on the floor (I swear she aims at the dogs!) The only slightly encouraging thing is, she seems to be less interested in the sunflower seeds. The blood & tears of the subject heading are all mine (parrot lovers breath sigh of relief!) With Alfie's new lease of life has come a killer attitude. Maybe it's just her age, but she is challenging me on every little thing. She bites me whenever the mood takes her, and while I accept that she probably never bites for no reason, sometimes I feel the reason just isn't good enough! She always has access to fresh food and water, but when she comes and bites me, and lately, she always draws blood - she really means it, it's so frustrating (probably for her and me!) if I can't figure out why she's doing it! If I'm late with her tea, I take my lumps, but it's getting to the stage, when I know she's in that mood, that I'm getting a wee bit nervous when she lands on me - she doesn't just go for fingers but has bitten my neck a few times too, and occasionally she tries to kill my toes. The other time's she bites is when I'm putting her back in her cage and she doesn't want to go - she used to just hang off my finger, now she takes a hold and squeezes - and the other time is if I'm asking her to step up off of somewhere she knows she shouldn't be. Happily, all this naughtiness is reserved for me - David is getting off scott-free!! All this behaviour only happens in the living room too, where we all spend most of our time. Could it be she is getting possesive? When I can, I take her off out of this environment, just to break the mood, it sometimes works, if I can't do that, I ignore her for a bit. Sometimes that works, sometimes it makes her worse! We thought perhaps, now we know she's a girl, she's getting to that age, where she maybe see's me as a rival, but the strange thing is, when she wants a cuddle, it's always me she comes to. Parrots are weird!! I keep joking that she's like the little girl in the nursary rhyme, you know the one that had a little curl?! I know it's quite serious, but the other day I was sitting on the couch, and I could see her sideling up to me sneakily behind my back, then she dived in, bit my bum then took off. I couldn't help but giggle, but I didn't let her see that. I could do with some advise on how to put my teenage madam in her place (or some tips on how I should accept my place!) When she's being good she's an absolute joy, and I still love her to bits, her vocabulary just exploded and she's so funny with her little monkey sounds and uh-ohs! She blows kisses too. She will also tell herself to "have a whoopsie" then does it. She has, though, started to go to the toilet in places she shouldn't, and I'm certain it's a statement rather than and accident. The lady where I get my feed says that when ever she does it, we should leave the room. That's a bit diffocult when she dives on the desk, the laptop, or anyplace she knows to be out of bounds as soon as we dissapear! Would love to hear your thoughts. Hope you and yours are all well. Bye for now. Lyn & Alfie. xx

Hi Folks, Just a quick update on Alfs progress. It's almost 2 weeks now since her vet visit, and her wound has healed nicely, new feathers are well on their way and so far, no chewing (although she has unwrapped a couple!). The AviX bird builder supplement that I've added to her water seems to have done wonders for her appetite - after having absolutely no interest in the Harrisons for around 3 months, since I started mixing it in with the Birdy Bread she's started picking at it within the fortnight! She also seems to be really enjoying the UV lamp, sitting as close to it as she can get when it's on! No word yet on the other test results we're wating on, but will keep you posted. Hope this post finds you all well. Bye for now, Lyn & Alfie xx

Hay again, Have just spoken to the vet who says bloods show liver to be fine, white blood cell count normal, calcium levels a little low (8.6 where the norm is 9.2 - 9.8) but nothing that won't be fixed he reckons by the UV lamp. Just waiting for the poop results now which will test for Psittacosis. fingers crossed. Lyn & Alf x P.s. click on this link (or copy and paste) to see a wee vid of Alfie the day we got her home after her op. edited by: pearllyn, at: 2009/06/13 16:09

Thanks everyone for such kind words. It always touches me how this commutity care so much about everyone else. I'm hoping to hear from the vet today (saturday) so will keep you posted. x

Thanks so much Caitlin, for your kind words. I have been feeling really guilty about the diet situation, but trying really hard to put it right - giving her up at this stage isn't an option at all. I really thought twice about her even having the op cos i was so worried about the anaesthetic!

Hi Folks, It's been a wee while since I was on, and quite an eventful couple of months really so thought it's time to post a wee update. Ok, so the bubble hasn't actually burst, but deflated a little. The short version is, Alfie has just been to hospital for some investigative surgery. The most major discovery is that he is a girl! The long version, if you have a couple of weeks to read through it(!), goes like this. Around the middle of April, Aflie's behaviour changed drastically over a couple of weeks. The first thing we noticed was the screeching. His usual tuneful whistles were replaced by long high pitched whistleing at the top of his voice. This was accompanied by some nasty biting of my fingers. This noisy, bolshy period lasted about a week, after which he became very quiet and withdrawn, and this is when the feathers were targeted again. Over two days, he chewed his flight feathers so severely, it's affected his flying. Allthough he can still fly short distances, he can't fly uphill, and if he needs into his cages for a drink or a nap, he has to come to us for help. We weren't aware of any changes that had been made in the home that would have upset him, and although I had been in hospital for a week at the beginning of march, he'd gotten on fine with david while i was gone, and other than being stuck to my cheek for about three days when i came home, didn't show any signs of having been upset by my absence (he will happily go to david and sit with him, but alfie is still very much my baby). So at this point, maybe two weeks after we first notice a change, we booked an appointment with the vet. 3 days later when we saw the vet, Alfies behaviour was pretty much back to normal, apart from the flight, but we went anyway thinking there must be an underlying cause. (The last time he chewed feathers, we did find mites) However, our local vet found nothing and so referred us to a specialist in the city. When we eventually got our appointment booked (about three weeks later, as our own vet had forgotten to book the referral!), we had a very thorough consultation about his lifestyle/diet etc (I've had trouble with diet for a while, and although Alfie does have a healthy appetite for fruit and veg now, he still refuses to eat any diet but his seed mix - i've been feeding him harrisons since around christmas, but he's not really interested, and even turns up his beak at the sunflowers if i add supplements) the two main things the vet was concerned about was diet, and sunlight. So we left with lots of tips on diet conversion, and a UV lamp, plus another appontment to go back for bloods, x-rays and an endoscopy to get to the bottom of whatever it was. The x-rays showed an unusually easy to sopot spleen, and not much else. The endoscopy confirmed that the spleen was a little large (splenomegaly), which the vet expained , could indicate infection, the liver was slightly rounded (hepatomegaly)which could mean reduced function, and there was a mild air sacculitis. There was also some ovarian development. The vet did stress to me, that while these things all needed watching, he wasn't too worried by anything. We're still waiting for the blood results, and i've just sent some of Alfies droppins away for sampling aswell. While he was sedated, they took out all the chewed feathers too. I had asked my own vet if they could do that - you know how you keep chewing at a ragged fingernail - but she said there was no need!! It's been three days now, and so far, fingers crossed, no feather or wound chewing. I've introduced Avix Bird Builder Supplement to the water and that seems to be going down ok, and have got some Harrisons Bird Bread Mix and Harrisons Power Treats, which are all supposed to be good to help with diet conversion. Behaviour wise, Alf is pretty much back to normal, Talking away, and his newest craze is blowing kisses, he doesn't seem to be any worse for his spell at the doctors. It will take a wee while to get used to him being a she - I've just realised I've been referring to "him" throughout this whole post! I'm not too surprised he's a she, I always thought Alf had terribly pretty eyes for a boy. David's a bit gutted - he always thought of him and Alf as "the lads" in a house full of girls! I think we stil have a way to go, but hopefully, before too long, we'll have a healthy happy girl. Incidently, when we were speaking to the vet about getting her better, he spoke as if we might just give up and not bother trying! Apparantly, he reckons he's seen it all too often, this is when a lot of people give up on their birds and rehome them! Hope you and yours are all well. Lyn and Alfie xx

I have to say, potty training was one of the first things i concentrated on with Alfie when we got him, and initially he was brilliant - very quick to pick it up, and things where fine untill, I'd say just around christmas, he started having "accidents", although i'm not sure they really are. His going to the toilet anywhere, is becoming more frequent and I'm wondering if it's an authority thing? Even on the odd occasion, although I'm wise to it now, but if we're sitting on the couch of an evening relaxing, and Alf is on my knee getting a tickle, where he used to fly to his perch for a woopsie, he will actually fly now to david instead and relieve himself there! Can anyone offer any theories why he might be doing this, and how i can stop him? I'm spending a fortune on poop-off!! Take care. lyn and Alf. x

Hi Jan, Glad to hear Tobie has been given a clean bill of health - that must be a huge relief for you! Keep posting the videos! Lyn and Alf xx

Hi Jan, Hope you get on ok at the vets. I shouldn't think you need to worry about Tobie likin gthe taste of the Aloe Juice - have you tasted it? Vile!!! Keep us posted. Lyn and Alf. xx

Hi all, Just a quick thank you to all of you who left such kind replies to my post. I would never have dreamed of rehoming Alf during all of this - it's always a mystery to me when people give up their pets willingly! Bad enough when you lose one through circumstance, like illness or whatever, but to give one up because things get difficult, well I just don't get it. Alf pretty much will go anywhere with us, if he is with his "flock" he's happy! And yes, during the last couple of months I haven't felt like smiling much, but Alf is such a tonic, I just can't help laugh at his antics - hissy fits etc! Thanks again. We Wish you all a Merry Christmas. Bye for now. Lyn and Alf. xx

Caz, I just came across your post while i was reading answers to mine, so sorry to say, i''m not familiar with your story, but i take it that Alf isn't terribly hand-tame yet? It sounds like you're on the right track though. Not pushing him, as you say, is the key. Let him come to you. Greys are very nosy, (at least mine is) and if you sit in his room with his cage open, and read a book, or have your lunch, chances are, he won't be able to resist coming over to you to investigate! I wish you the best of luck with him - your patience will pay dividends. Lyn and Alfie. xx

Hi Folks, I haven't been on here for ages and just wanted to let you know how Alfie is coming on. I mentioned in one of my last posts that due to ill health, I was going to have to be leaving Alf on his own as there were many hospital visits looming. It was my Dad who was ill and in September his health took a turn for the worse. I made the decision to move in with Mum to help her care for my Dad, and sadly he died in October. The huge side effect of all this for me was having to leave the animals at home, but most of all, was worried about Alfie, because, although both David and I were sharing feeding and cleaning etc, Alfie was very much my boy, and it was always me who would have to put him to bed when he played up for David (occasionally) I did have to make a couple of unscheduled visits home when Sydney (we discovered Alf has a split personality - Alfie being the sweetie pie, and Sydney being the naughty one!)absolutely refused to go to bed. But other than that, I really needn't have worried. David brought Alf up to visit us a few times, and whenever I did go home, Alf got so excited to see me, going through his entire repertoire as soon as I walked in, like he was really excited to let me hear his new words!! I think I was dead worried as well because of all the stuff I've read about greys not liking change, but this was something we couldn't really avoid. From when we got Alf, we did try to introduce him to new things all the time so hopefully change wouldn't freak him. We also take him out on walks with the dogs regularly, which all seemed to stand him in good stead for my little stint away. Now I'm home again and Alfie is very much Daddies boy at the moment, I seem to be the strict one who doesn't let him get away with stuff ( and by golly is he trying at the minute!), but I think he has David wrapped around his little wing!! He's as wide as the hills and definitely plays David and I off against one and other! I'm just so thrilled he and David are getting on, as it was touch and go for a while. David had a severe phobia of all birds when we got Alf, but we both love him to bits now. I know everyone who has a Grey, has a really "special" bird, but I can't help but think Alf is such a star. He's been though so much these last couple of months, but he's still just as cuddly and silly and funny as ever! The next hurdle is getting the Christmas decorations up - we started introducing one at a time last month!! Hope you are all well. Bye for now. Lyn and Alfie. xx

Hay folks, Just a quick update on Alfies little feather chewing incident. A trip to the vet did confirm the mite theory and two courses of spot on does seem to have cleared it up. Just to be on the safe side, I also removed his birdie bunk as it may have been infested, but he loved it so, I made him a new one and he loves that just as much! He has also been getting aloe baths regularly, which he hates, but needs must! His feathers are really shiny now because of the baths! Thanks again to all of you who offered advice. Its really comforting for me to know there are experts on here who are always willing to help out with problems! Bye for now. Lyn and Alf. x

Thanks.

Hi Folks, I am a member of WSPA, and just got an email from them asking to forward the email to raise awareness of the suffering of Animals worldwide as they are being transported for slaughter. Please take just a wee minute to click on the link below, and if it moves you at all, hit the "Take Action" button and sign the petition - it'll only take a couple of minutes. http://www.handlewithcare.tv/uk/default.html Thanks in advance to all of you who sign. This sort of thing really shouldn't, and needn't be happening in this day and age. Lyn.

Yeah, they're so sweet when they're in cuddly mode. I never knew it about Greys, it's not something I found in any of the (multiple) books I read in preparation for Alf, But sometimes I just can't believe how cuddly he is! Amazing! x

Thanks Sameera, It's so nice how concerned everyone has been about Alf. x

Hay everyone, Just a wee update for those of you who are keeping tabs on Alfies little problem! After the initial dose of Spot-on, he hasn't chewed any new feathers, although he is still occasionally pulling at the ones he had already started on, but I think he just wants to finish those off! He gets the second dose on Wednesday, but hopefully thats the end of it. Kind regards to you all. x