nims

Hi, I am back with an update, so she is not plucking her feathers but fluff underneather her feather (dander) and she seems to be doing it at night only which is quite unusual. I have already taken her to the vet for a full check up and he has said that she is in very good condition. Has anyone heard of birds plucking in this way. Dan & Judy - Thank you for your advice, the only thing I did notice is that when she started with this the day was quite warm and I am thinking maybe she was too hot? The plucking as reduced but she is still doing it and I dont want to it to get to a stage where its not manageable.

Hi, I am really worried about Indy my CAG. She is 3 years old now and over the last few days we have noticed that she has started plucking her feathers. It's a small area at the top of her back but we are finding lots of feathers at the bottom of her sleeping cage. Her routine has not changed and we have only noticed the feather in last 2-3 days. Her diet is very good with harrisons and plenty of fresh veg and is very vocal. She is quite high strung and it's difficult for us to get her to relax (she is scared of everything) though we do what we can to ensure that we slowly introduce her to new things and has a variety of toys. She spends the evenings with outside with us as we are home and spends weekends outside with us too. During the day she has Ice for company and the radio on, the room she is in gets plenty of sunlight too. Can anyone help? We will be taking her to the vet for a check up but wanted to find out if anyone had any ideas or could help. We are now bathing her everyday so we can keep her skin moist and hydrated too. Sorry for long post. Any advice is welcome.

for me it's always 'breakfast' or yum yum!!

Ummm my grey is a 5yr old male not quite normal for a fully matured grey. Whatever normal might be, I know no two greys are the same but I wanted to find out if other grey owners have experienced similar

Oh I'm pleased that I am not the only one then!! Hahaha i have heard of lap cats but not lap birds! Ice seems to believe he's human and likes to be man of the house when my husband is away:laugh: and is nothing like Indy (my other grey) who does exhibit more bird like behaviour than Ice.

Hi All, So it's been a while since I have posted as I have been with work. moving and studying!! So I wanted to find out how your grey behaves with you in general. Does your grey prefer the comfort of their cage, perched out of the cage or sitting on your lap like Ice does!! Ice would give up his peanut butter on toast to sit on my lap for 5mins and he simply loves it. Is this normal grey behaviour? I dont know why but he seems to LOVE human company hence the business with the lap but wanted to know if other greys do this? Or am I simply fortunate? All comments welcome!

Hi All, So after much consideration and log discussions with my husband we have decided to move and try to recover the cost. We love our greys too much to be without them and are looking to move to a parrot friendly flat. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks Nims

The situation is that we sought permission from the landlord to have the bird which we obtained. It turns out that he has originally signed a contract with building management not allowing any pets in the properties and this is now being reinforced. The letting agency have done what they can to negotiate but there is very little I could do. Nims

We have sought permission to keep our birds but this has been declined and we have been told to remove them. We cant ge our money and we would lose our deposit that we paid. as we are committed we simply can't afford to move again.

Hi Casper, Thanks for your support. We are looking in to parrot boarders and we come across midland parrots. They have a lot birds and lots of experience but they are a two hour drive away. I wouldnt mind travelling but I would like them to be closer so I can keep in contact regularly. They have been together since nov 2008 and though they dont get on they do enjoy being together. I am looking to board them for 12 months (sob). I would provide cages, food toys and pay for their maintenance etc. I dont want to lose them and this is the best way I have found that will allow me to have them back, once I go back to london. I want them to be well looked after by someone who knows how to care for them. If anyone can help, please post or PM me. Thanks Nims<br><br>Post edited by: nims, at: 2009/07/23 14:25

Hi All, So it's been a long time since I have posted as I have been tremendously busy with my two greys, new flat, new job and studying (all at once......phew!!) I am posting as I am in a predicament and need information and advice. I have two greys (Ice and Indy) and they have been with me for a while. Our home is in London but for work purporses we moved to manchester for a short period of time. When we were looking for a flat we made sure that we could bring our greys with us. We have recently moved into a place and have since been told that we have to give up our birds as the leaseholder has signed an agreement to a no pets policy (this is throughout the building). We were totally unaware of this and had we known we would have not moved in. As we have already put down the deposit and signed an agreement we have to honour it but I do not want to re-home my birds. I am looking into alternatives and am looking in to long term boarding close to where we live so we can visit them regulary. It breaks my heart to have to do this. Does anyone know of a parrot boarding/hotel closed to Manchester/Lancashire? I am desperate for some help. Any advice welcome Thanks Nims

casper is right. Ice whines like a dog especially when i am alone in the house then he goes crazy. he loves me a lot but i am trying to get him to stop!!:blink:

I take both my greys into the shower with me (not at the same time of course) the water is warm. They hat getting wett but once soaked they are fine and happy to stand in the shower with me. I have to battle to do this and in the end they just accept it!!

Both Ice and Indy dont mind the shower. They dont like getting wet but once they are soaked they start to enjoy it.......how weird!

Thanks all......ah Dan you know me so well! I may invest in the bottles you are referring to but both Indy and Ice are good and dont poop in their water/food bowl. I hope they dont invite their friends round for a party!!!:woohoo:

Hi Dan, Thanks for coming back to me. I have moved to manchester about 4 months ago and we dont really know anyone here that would be able to come and check in on the birds Nims

Hi All, I am having to leave my greys alone overnight for approx 24hrs with no-one to check in on them. I live in Manchester and I am going to London for one night (i will be leaving saturdya am and coming back sunday lunchtime) I would take them with me but I feel the car journey is kinda traumatic for them. I have boarded them with the vets before but there is no point for one night. I will be leaving plenty of food and water for them before we go but I am concerned...... Has anyone left their greys for one night? Please help! Thanks

Hi Scousemouse, I have two greys one is 10months old and the other is 4 years old and they dont really get along so I dont see a problem. Good Luck

Nice vid.....I was looking for the third baby and it washiding underneath the other two! lol

Hi Tigerlilly, I have two greys one is a male and the other female. Indy is a baby and she is around 10mths old and Ice is our rehomed greyand he is 4yrs old. Ice is very smart and has a large vocab and Indy can be quite naughty and liked to be babied while Ice is very independant. I wanted another grey after I got Indy because she bonded to my husband and Ice is very much a ladies man! In terms of integration Indy is really curious being a baby and all and Ice doesnt really want to know!! So they still have a way to go. You need to remember that there is no guarantee that the grey will get on with your new grey and vice versa. I am sure you have read the other posts and some of the other memebers will be able to tell you about their experiences.

Hi Dan, Thanks for the clarification. My vet recommended for both my birds. Indy was having problems with calcium absorption and Ice was on a seed diet. Unfortunatly I live in an apartment and dont have a balcony otherwise I would wheel their cages outside for a bit B) Thanks again. Nims

Ice blows raspberries really well and makes everyone laugh. Great trick!

Hi All, A lot people struggle to change their birds eating habits from a seed based diet to a pelleted diet. I have had Ice for a few months now have have struggled to get him to eat his pellets. This is what has worked for me: Ice has 3 bowls in his cage one for his water, one for his seed mix and one for his pellets. Fill the seed bowl with 2 to 3 tablespoons of mixed seed ONLY. Fill the pellets and water in the other bowls. Once he has consumed the seed and they will take the seed bowl away and leave the pellets. They will then have no option but to eat the pellets!! I have just started this 3 days ago and its working like a charm!! Ice has had his head buried in his pellets for the last 15 minutes!!! Good Luck! B)

Hi, Bmustee is right. Some CAGS are small Indy weighs in at 400grams no bigger than a timneh while Ice my other cage weighs in at 555grams. Im sure timnehs also vary in size too.

Thanks Dave!