pearllyn

Tycos_mom, I most certainly will be contacting the breeder. I've sent them a couple of emails telling them how Alf is doing, but no reply. I'm beginning to think, maybe they're all about the money! I'm a bit surprised tho, as Alf was so well handled when We got him. I'm maybe talking out of turn. Will drop them a line and see what they say. Alf seems to be ok tho, no new feaethers chewed today, thank heaven. He's cuddling right in now - it's his cuddle time! Every night just before bed, he pops his halo back on his head and is just the sweetest boy. Thanks again for keeping track on the Alf saga! x

Thanks, danmcq, Yeah, first words are just great! I can't tell you how excited I got - I cut that bit out of the video tho!!

Hello to you all, Had Alfie to the vet, and the verdict was mites! I know its a terrible thing for my baby to cope with, and I feel soooooo guilty about it, but at the same time, I'm actually relieved that it is just mites, which the vet says is easily treatable. I mean, if he was chewing his feathers because he was unhappy, that's a whole bigger problem to solve, I think? Any way, I gave him an Aloe juice bath when we got home, then applied the treatment, and bless him, he took it all like a trooper. He didn't even bite the vet, Which I have to say I'm a little surprised at, even tho he is well socialised, he doesn't like people to touch before he's on first name terms! The infestation, incidently, came through his feed. I had noticed as I got near the end of the bag, that it was a little dusty, but never dreamed there would be mites in it, and it wasn't till it dawned on me eventually that it could be mites, that I had a closer look. The feed came from the breeder with Alf, and I think I just presumed it would be fine! Not a mistake I will ever repeat. So hopefully, I can give the birdie bunk a good old wash and he can have it back - he did love it. Another thing that I am delighted about, but which only adds to my guilt, is Alfie said his first words last week! Here he is going through all this, and still trying sooooo hard to be a good little bird. he amazes me! I got it on video, and hopefully you can have a look at it here;~ http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bpZdwH84Gk4 Thanks again to all of you who helped out with this - I've been beside myself. It's so upsetting watching him destroy his beautiful feathers and not being able to do anything about it, but hopefully this will be the end of it! Thanks again. x

Thanks folks, Sorry if I was misleading when I mentioned the looming hospital visits due to ill health, it's my Dad that's poorly, but Mum and Dad are both quite elderly and don't feel confident driving into the city (we're country folk!), so I will be his chauffeur for the next few months, which is going to take my away quite a lot! I'm fine, other than a trapped nerve (ouch) which left me housebound a couple of days last week. Sorry again for the misunderstanding, but thanks so much to you all for caring. Will let you know what the vet says. x

Thanx for that. Sorry I didn't reply sooner - it's been a bit mad here. I have an appointment at the vets for tomorrow, so will let you know how we come on - I found some mites in Alfies feed and suspect that is the culprit for the feather chewing, hopefully we will get to the bottom of it tomorrow. The chewing hasn't been consistent by any means, coming and going, so it's a bit baffling. Will keep you all posted. Thanks again to all who offered advice. x

Thanks to you all for the thoughts and advise. The problem is persisting, so will try taking out the birdie bunk (which i'm a little reluctant to do, as he seems to love it), but do very much want whats best for him. If still no change, I guess it'll be a trip to the vets :ohmy: to check to see if he's deficient in any way. Another unexpected problem thats popped up is a few hospital visits over the next few weeks due to ill health - it never rains but it pours, eh! Will do my best and keep you posted. Thanks again. Lyn. x

Hi all, Haven't been on for a while (sorry), been pretty busy, but now a wee problem has popped up and we could do with some advise. 3 days ago we came home after doing the shopping and Alf was playing with one of his (unattached)tail feathers. Another 3 or 4 were still attached but chewed near the root. he has since removed these chewed ones by chewing them off rather than plucking them out. Then when we came in today, there is now a damaged feather on his wing that looks the same as the tail ones were. Nothing in his routine or diet has changed, and he doesn't seem stressed at all. One small change in his behaviour that he initiated himself, is his use of his birdy bunk - while he has used it for playing since i put it in there, he has never slept in it, up untill a few days ago, and now he curls up in there every night. the feather chewing started shortly after. He hasn't touched any of his other tail feathers now that the damaged ones are out. I have a few theories of my own, but really, I'm such a parrot newbie, that I'm not sure just how alarming this could be. One thought I had was that he had fallen off of his perch (happens occasionally) and damaged the feathers that way, then removed them himself. The second is that he does have new tail feathers coming through at the minute, and I thought maybe that was uncomfortable for him, and he's chewing at the site of discomfort, much like a dog would chew at a wound. Another, more unsettling thought I had was that he is simply unhappy. we are home most of the time, he has a huge cage filled with toys, I always hide some treats when we go out, but it's maybe not enough. One other thing that crossed my mind is that he is mayber a she - we never had him sexed - and that maybe she is starting to nest. How old are they when they start laying eggs? Alf is just over 6 months. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks. Lyn.

Thanks Judygram, I have to admit I can be a wee bit too sensitive sometimes! I'll be fine once I get to know everyone! Cheers.

Dave007 wrote:

Thanks everyong for all the great stories regarding hissy fits - I have another wee queerie though! Alfie gets distracted soooo easily! I'm sure it's quite natural for a young bird, but will he grow out of it and be able to concentrate on one thing for more than 3 seconds, or is that greys for you?! Interested to hear your views - byee for now. Lyn.

Hi Empress, That does suck a bit, 2 kittens, no matter how gorgeous they are, are no consolation when you haave your heart set on a grey!! Don't despair though, about 10 years ago, I got a conure. My cat at the time was around 9 year old and before too long, the two of them would play together! My cat was a really good boy though and had always been used to other animals - he didn't mind rabbits and guinea pigs running around him (had to watch him a little close with the pet rats though!) If you still are set on a bird, I would suggest getting one while the cats are still fairly young, kittens are far more adaptable and ready to accept new situations that older cats are. Enjoy all your animals whatever you end up with!

Do you know, I've wanted a grey for sooooo long, but really , never could have imagined the pleasure and enjoyment we would get from him, and he's only been here little over a month!! Precious!

Lol, I don't know what to say - maybe Alcazar has grown out of his tantrum days!!

Just wanting to make sure that these little tantrums are quite normal for a grey! One minute he's playing away with one of his toys, or tucking into a snack, the next he's throwing a wobbly as if it swore at him! I try not to laugh, but it's a bit funny, it's hard not to! Just interested to hear all your experiences!

Every body is sooo friendly!

Thanks.

Thanks to you all for a lovely welcome! I will try to get some pics up soon, although getting a decent shot of Alfie is a bit tricky, cos everytime he sees the camera, he flies onto it! catch you later. x

First off, can i just say what a great find this site and forum is! i was visiting a while before i got round to registering, and what a wealth of information! So my name is lyn, and I live in the scottish borders, uk, with my fiance David, 2 dogs, 3 horses, and recently, our congo african grey, Alfie. He popped out of his egg on the 4th of Feb, and we brought him home on the 3rd of may. he settled in beautifully, and really gets on fine with everyone. Had a bit of a hiccup and couple of weeks ago when we brought a plant into the living room, but we're getting over that now! He's my first grey and I just love him to bits - have wanted him for 15 years or so, but just recently found myself in the position to have him! He's trying like a bear to talk, have hear the makings of " clever boy " a few times! he picks up whistles really quickly, and he does my phone too! What experiences does everyone have of their birds starting to talk - agewise? His latest trick is hanging upside down off my finger when i'm trying to put him back in his cage - it's a bit tricky to get a bird to step off when they're upside down!! catch you all later. lyn. x

Hi guys, thanks for the advice. By the time I clicked that the plant was probably the culprit, Alfie has kind of accepted it, and has taking to perching on it, which was really why I got it in the first place! And David is continuing to suck up with treats!

Hi Erica. Wow, you have waited a long time too then! One of the biggest things I had to consider when I was thinking about getting a parrot, was that my fiance had a huge bird phobia, stemming from childhood, but we made kind of a deal and he said he would try really hard to get over it, which he did do within the first sort of week, which I think had a lot to do with Alfie initialy preferring David to me! Anyhow, when we did make the decision to go ahead a called the breeder to say if he had any babies ready and he said yes, so we travelled down on the sunday, just really to have a look and put a deposit on one, although I had my cage already, it still needed furnished, so we intended to bring baby home the following tuesday, which the breeder said would problably suit fine as the babies would be cmpletey onto solid diet by then too. Tuesday morning came and I was sooooo excited to call and say we were on out way, but was told best to leave it till the weekend as they were still getting their baby food. Let me tell you that was the longest week EVER! Anyway, we brought him home, he travelled really well, settled in pretty much from the word go, we certainly never saw him pine, even though we half looked for it. He was stepping up on comand within a couple of days, and flying to hand within the week! Although I never weighed him, he never looked like he lost wight either, in fact, every time mum visits she says "my hasn't he grown?" He's certainly beefing out all the time! As for handling him, we pretty much left him to it for the first 24 hours, talking to him of course, but tried to keep hands off to give him time to settle. but like I say, he was stepping up by the sunday night, and pretty much he was asking to be out by then, so really we followed his lead initially, allthough we didn't do that for much more than a week because he was dictating when he wanted out! So after a while, we didn't bring him out when he was asking, rather we waited until he stopped asking then rewarded him with out. Pretty much I'm training him like I've trained my dogs and so far it's the same! He's trying like a bear to talk, picks up whistles very quickly, and I've heard the makings of "clever boy" a few times. He also potty trained prety quickly, although we do have one or two "accidents" now and again, but I have to keep reminding myself that he is really just a baby, because he just looks like an adult bird! Sorry to go on (and on) a bit, but it's nice to talk to someone as nuts about parrots a me! It's like when I first started taking him out with his harness, the first time he flapped off my hand but flew back to me before he got to the end of the line, I was like Woo hoo!, and when I told David he said "thats nice" !! Any way, I've rattled on for long enough. Don't worry too much about doing the "right" thing when you get your baby home, common sense will prevail, and you'll feel instinctively was is right! Have you any other animals? Have fun and let us know how you come on. Lyn x

Thanks, DanMcQ, for a nice welcome - I will go to the welcome room and introduce ourselves properly!

Hi Erica. Your story sounds a lot like mine! I've wanted and African Grey for years - 15 that I can remember, and I recently found myself in the position to finally get one! Me too, in at the deep end, first parrot and all, but I did all my homework, took any advice I could get and took the plunge! Alfie came home on May 3rd 12 weeks old, and he's settled in beautifully, I could hardly believe he's taken to us so well! Anyway, Have fun with your baby, I look forward to hearing how you get on with her! Lyn.

Hi all, I'm brand new here and just wonderng if I can pick a few brains? We brought baby grey home little over a month ago and initially, he was keener to go to my fiance than me. However, it was really me that wanted him, and a I feed him and clean him although we both handled him from the start. about two weeks ago, baby alfie took a dislike to fiance david, and now although he will tolerate him, gos out of his way to avoid him. we can't pinpoint any change other that we introduce a rubber plant in to the living room just proir to this. Does anyone have any advice how we can put this right?