BaxtersMom

That is great news that he is very very healthy. Shady looks healthy and super happy from the pictures you've been sharing with us. Now we have to wait to find out if Shady is boy or a girl. :whistle:

I don't blame you at all for backing out. If I am going to dish out a lot of $$$ I definately want communication and would think they wouldn't have a problem with regular updates. If they are already blowing you off and avoiding questions perhaps that is the way they raise theeir babies too. And God forbid if something was to happen to your baby, they don't sound like they would be of any help at all. I'm with you on this one. Gut feelings are usually right. Are you going to be searching for another breeder? Are there any breeders near you where you can go visit the baby as it gets ready. I am not sure but don't think it is unusuall for a baby to be sent home on one feeding though. Keep us posted on what you are going to do. I'm sure you made the right decision.

You are quite welcome and that is what we are for. This is a wonderful website with great people on it. We are here for each other through the good and bad stuff. I've made several really good friends here along the way, too. We love to brag on our babies and well, too and love seeing pictures of our birds. I am glad you will taking her to the vet. It amazes me that there are so many people out there that do not know how to properly take care of their birds and I feel so sorry for them. That's what happened with our amazon. I thought we were going to look at a well rounded young and socialized bird but it was the total opposite. I couldn't leave him behind and he is doing wonderful now. When you get chance please introduce yourself and your flock in the welcome room so everyone can give you a warm welcome. We would love to see pictures of your all your flock, too. photos would be great, too:)<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/25 19:47

Being in that small cage could have really made her a little crazy. I've seen shows on TV on birds that litterly go insane in bad situations like that. I hope yours will be fine. I bet under your care she will finally have a wonderful life. I recommended to keep giving the veggies as much as possible because you said she wouldn't eat the pellets. I am one who thinks pellets are very important and would try to get her on them as quick as possible. Untill you can do that, veggies are the way to go if you can. The greener ones I've heard have the most nutrients than the lighter colored ones. I have 4 parrots and the only one I had to clip was my amazon. He was just too wild in the beginning and clipping is my last resort but really felt it was necessary in his case. We had to clip his wings in the first week. I would have liked to wait for 30 days to take him anywhere but had to do quickly in his case. I'm sure will make the right choices and if unsure, just ask us. Someones usually on here that is willing to help out.

LindaMary, I won't tell Max:whistle: Mums the word. TeeHee.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/25 20:58

LOL, that's what I thought, too. Baxter does not like new things at all and I thought the harness would be impossible. I thought I had ZERO chance for him to go into a harness but I was so wrong and so glad I tried it with him. We aren't very graceful getting the harness on yet. I do take him to a totally different room to do this in. I set him on a couch and try to get him in ti. He jumps around and tries to get up on my fingers which makes it hard and then he runs and when I get him cornered somewhere and the head part starts to go on, he starts his clucking but by that time it's on his head and I pet his back and tell him how good he is and he is nervous at this point but while I am petting & praising him I slip the wings in their spots which isn't too hard at all. Then it is time to tighten it. That is probably the hardest part. He is trying to run around but he can't get away and I try to tighten the strap up. Once I got that done, he steps up on my hand, I keep praising him and we go outside. I am hoping in time he will get more relaxed putting it. And no we are not graceful at it at all. I don't want you guys to think it's a breeze for us cuz it's not. :laugh: It's probably funny to watch us. But he is relaxed outside now and do think he likes that. It doesn't hurt to try and you may be so pleasantly surprised like I was. I figured Tigger my eclectus would be the easy one since he is so mellow. I tried to put it on him like the guy in the trainging DVD and really stressed Tigger out. When he sees it, he runs now:( So I kind of screwed that up for Tigger. That's why I suggested watching the you tube videos. Different ways may work better for some poeple.

That is so nice that they offer those "little extras" to make the experience a little more relaxing and caring. A hot cup of tea would make anyone feel better no matter what and I'd be all for those facials:) and the pampering. I'm glad to hear it is such a nice place.

He hasn't really accepted it yet. I didn't think I had a chance either. Poor thing just clucks like a chicken:ohmy: :dry: when I try and put it on him but he doesn't bite. I am hoping that he will realize it will not hurt him and quit making those noises. Makes me sad when he does it. Once it's on he's fine for the most part and not freaked out by it. I plan on putting it on him atleast once a day. Now that I've started it has to be a committment or I don't think he will get used to it or accept it. You should try it Sheila, it may go better than you think. And LindaMary, keep up the good work and perhaps Tanner will better suited for the harness. If they avoid the area that the harness is in it would be kind of tough to put it on them. Maybe your other bird can learn from Tanner:)<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/25 19:06

Hi Funnyfarm, karma to you for taking in such a neglected amazon and trying to give it a healthier life style. I can't believe the poor thing was in a budgie cage:( I took in a 1.5 year old dyh amazon and noticed that he had a dazed type of look to him at times. Even now he does it sometimes. He will look up at a light or lightbulb or something up in the air with his head tilted to the side and looks totally zoned out for a few minutes. I never really gave it much thought because overall he acted pretty normal. If it seems more serious than that you might want to take him to the vet which he may need anyways just for a wellness check. As taking him off the sunflower seeds, I would do that gradually. Mine too was on a sunflower seed diet when I got him. That's all he had in his bowl and she said thats what he liked and other than some occassional table foods that was diet. If yours is anything like mine he loves food!! I was lucky. I would take him off the sunflower seeds gradually. Mine did take to pellets right away. Actually I had get him a different brand than my other birds ate. he would not eat the plain pellets at all but loves the Zupreem fruity blend pellets. Maybe you could try some different brands to see if he has a preference. Also, try offering pellets in different ways like, soaking in apple juice or get a jar of baby food and put a spoonful in to moisten them up. (mine love it that way),try cooking some oatmeal and put some pellets in it. I am hoping that you will be able to find a brand that he likes or find a way mixed with something else that will start him or her eating pellets. Also, keep giving him lots of veggies if he eats them well and the occassional fruit. Veggies have much more nutrition than the fruits. Please keep us posted and perhaps you can go introduce yourself in the Welcome Room here. Was wondering if you have a grey also. You don't have to have a grey to be a member here but we love to know more about you. Good luck and let us know how it goes.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/25 18:54

Judy is right. You have to be careful what you buy at the grocery store as alot of it has lots of sugars, additives, preservatives, salt and so on. Always read the back of the packages to see the ingredients list. I found a Whole Foods Store where they sell organic seeds and nuts that you can buy and make your own seed/nut mix and they list the nutritional values next to each seed and nut. As for how much of each they need to get, I think that would be a question that you should discuss with your avian vet.

Thanks Caitb for posting that link. I was hoping someone would. Yep that is the one I was talking about. As for the question when he flies, it does not yank him back at all. When he gets to the of the leash it stretches out some more so there is no jerking. It obviously slows him down and he lands softly and easily in the grass. That was one of my biggest worries too but it isn't a big issue at all. He is still flapping as he is going down and has always landed good on his feet. I am going to have to buy an extension for the harness though because there just isn't enough line for him to really go anyway. I think he can get about 8 to 10 feet away from me with just the harness and the line that is attached. And I tried running with Baxter thinking that would help him go farther. :laugh: That was a joke. Greys can fly pretty fast, faster than what I can run. I think someone told me awhile back that greys in the wild can fly about 40mph and I can probably only do about 2pmh:whistle:<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/25 04:14

Now that picture could win the best birdie picture for sure. What a great smile. Looks like he is going to be a hoot! and a camera ham:laugh: You should frame that one.

Hello and welcome to the forum. Congradulations on expecting your new grey. Are you within distance so you can visit it? Greys are such wonderful companions. I don't how I ever did without mine and couldn't imagine life without my Baxter. Please feel free to look through the many threads that are available here and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Someone is usually on that ready and willing to help out.

Ms Voluptous, I don't know how to put the link in here but you can go to You Tube and I just put in "Aviator Harness" and several videos came up. The specific one I liked was called "putting on the Aviator bird harness" And Pat, I can't believe you took Fergie all those places:laugh: . I am excited now. I was thinking when he gets real comfortable in it I might take him yard saling with me:woohoo: There is a real nice park nearby too and I plan on taking him there later on too. First we must practise practise practise.

Oh I am so sorry. This is heartbreaking. What a shock. I can't imagine what you are going through.

Baxter is about 13 years old now. I got him last year and he was never handled so he has come a long long way. I watched the video and thought me and Baxter would have to practise for a long long time. We actually put the harness on my eclectus first since he is the most mellow and followed the guys instructions and my ecclectus got very stressed out over it. We checked on youtube and watched a few videos of how other people put it on their parrots and I liked their style better. The first time I attempted with Baxter I got it on and that surprized me. I just opened the circle thing all the way up and slipped the head part over his head. Since I had it opened all the way the back part pretty much landed at the end of the wings and just a little tuck of the end of the wings was all it took. Then I pulled all the slack out and tightened it up. If you haven't watched any of the youtube videos try that. The one I liked had a girl and a cockatoo in it. I don't know how to copy and paste it in here but the link is called Putting on the Aviator harness. That way worked better for me than how the video showed. Of course, the cockatoo in the video was more well behaved than Baxter was but her bird is trained. Let me know how it goes.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/24 22:05

I think he will start to enjoy it more and more. He was pretty nervous the first time and it showed in his eyes he was a bit spooked or bewildered. Yesterday he started relaxing when I just sat in the lawn chair with him. But, he does like to chew on the harness and I have to keep telling him to stop chewing it. I know he has no clue why this thing is on him and I can't blame him for wanting it off in the beginning. As the time went on he was chewing it less and less so I think with a few reminders and figuring it out it won't hurt him he may chew it less.

I need to get an extension for it so he can fly a little further. <br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/24 21:34

He likes to walk, too, mainly back to the house:laugh:

He is doing good. I'm proud of him. I kept him out atleast an hour, maybe almost 2hours today. He is learning to be good and relaxed too:) <br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/24 21:31

He likes to chew on the front of it, too:angry: <br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/24 21:30

Ok, we're back from this outing. And since Judy requested pictures:laugh: we'll here ya go. Baxter likes to chew on the harness:angry: <br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/24 21:28

I am getting ready to take him back outside. I thought I should wait a few days but Dave said to keep doing it and get him used to it. Dave promised Baxter would not hate me because of it. I did want to put in my first post to look on youtube because the way he showed on the DVD was basically pulling the birds head through the hole which will not work at my house:laugh: . The youtube video I seen had a cockatoo and she just slip the harness over the head. Much easier & less stressful for both of us.

Hi Nancy and CJS and welcome to the forum. Captain Jack is a cutie and quite the whistler. My Baxter was sitting with me when I played it and Baxter started whistling back at him.:laugh: Looking forward to hearing more from you guys.

I order the aviator harness last week and it came a few days ago.The video was good but and the only thing I didn't like about the video was how he showed how to put the harness on. My grey will not let me grab his head like the guy in DVD's did. I looked on youtube and found a few videos that showed how they put them on their parrots and found the very very helpful. I let Baxter play with it for a couple of days on top of his cage to get used to it and then I decided to "try it out" I only planned on putting it partially on his without tightening it up but it went better than I had expected so he ended up with it all the way on. Not to say he liked it because he didn't. After I put it over his head he clucked like a chicken:ohmy: which I had never heard before and I could tell he was nervous but he did not bite me once. I was talking to him and petting him the whole time though. Anyway, we got it on and I took him outside in it. He was nervous and "big eyed" for about 10 minutes but settled down eventually. We were out for about half hour. I walked him around the yard and let him look at everything. He did try to fly off my arm but the cord that is attached to the harness worked very well. There was no jerking motion either so he landed in the grass softly & easily (thank gooness) He picked up some leaves and tossed them around, he picked some grass and threw it down too and then he started walking in the harness. It was so funny. By this time Baxter was more relaxed. I tried it one more time that day in the evening and although he still isn't used to it going on I think he enjoys going outside without being in a cage. I am not sure how often I will use it though and I was wondering what other people do with their birds on harnesses? I was thinking about taking him for a walk through the neighborhood but other than that I am not sure what else there is too do. I was also wondering that if I do take him for walks will that help him learn where he lives if god forbid he should ever get lost? Will he remember his area and his house? I know he knew where the door was and walked from the grass to the door as if to say "That's enough now, I want to go in" :laugh: Here's a picture of him wearing it. He is still a bit nervous looking in the photo. <br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/24 19:02