BaxtersMom

Hello and welcome to the forum. Have bird will travel,huh:laugh: I'm sure you guys will bond just fine. Sorry to hear about your first grey being a breeder. Having a grey for a companion can be one of the best experiences in your life. Atleast it has been for me. Please keep us posted on Clark. He sounds like a doll and his picture is so cute. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Hello and welcome to the forum. It sounds like your new baby will be home in no time. I bet you are excited! This is a great place to meet new people and chat about our beloved greys and if you have any questions please feel free to ask. There are many knowledgable members here on the forum and we love to help when we can. Can't wait to hear more about your new grey. Have you come up with a name yet? Or are you going to wait untill your baby is home to see what name suits it's personality? Anyway, glad you joined:)

I have read to give them bottled water but I give them water straight from the tap. I felt much better after about it after seeing so many reports that bottled water is no purer than regular tap water. I wouldn't use a water softner either, especially if there are chemicals used to soften it.

I haven't tried any of the Birdy Bread yet either. I bet my flock would like it though.

Ooops. double post.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/13 23:15

OMG!!! Thats funny but it's not funny. Especially with children in the house picking up the language:ohmy: . I have seen some greys on Youtube saying that same phrase and I must admit I laugh my butt off:laugh: but I wouldn't want mine saying it. Mine came to me saying Sh*t but he doesn't say it very often but he does use it in context:laugh: If he is older and learned this a long time ago he may always say it especially if it gets him attention. If you want him to stop I would ignore it and show no reaction when he says it. Baxter came to me with some other words but I didn't really give him much attention and he quit saying them and picked up on our lingo here at our house. They are just like kids and pick up on the things we say. Just curious, what are you going to do about this?

Oh that's too funny:laugh: I can picture it really good. Thanks for the laugh.

Thanks Dave, I feel better now. If it happens I will know what to do. I read about it happening in other posts and it scared me. I didn't want to panick if it should happen with one of my flock members. Now I think I could handle it calmly.

Yes, they are just like kids and you have treat them as children, too, sometimes:laugh: and you will have to make him have good eating habits as they will not come on their own. I give mine just a pinch of seeds in the mornings, maybe a half a teaspoon. If I give a hole teaspoon they don't eat their pellets:( . I have learned this through time;) Sometimes if they have been eating their pellets good I will give them a few extra seeds for good behavior, but the slightest sign that they are refusing the pellets again, I go back to the same small amount of seeds again. I have soaked pellets in apple juice for my eclectus parrot and that was the only way he would even attempt to eat them. I would put them in apple juice for just a few seconds and give them like that. Not soggy, just wet. He ate them. I finally found Zupreem fruity blend (smells so good) and he likes them just fine dry. Sometimes you have to change brands as they don't always like the same kind. I have 2 that eat fruity blend and 2 that eat plain pellets:blink: (Why can't they all eat the same thing??) I am assuming that other juices to wet them in would be fine, too. You might have a tough road ahead of you but be persistant. I seen the last comment about the beer, steak and coffee and had to cringe. It's lucky your grey is still alive. Beer and Coffee can be fatal to greys:ohmy: It sounds like his diet was awful but through time, persistance and patience you can get him eating a healthy diet. Just don't give up. It may take months like my eclectus did. You will probably have set backs as I did but hang in there and your precious grey will be better for it. I am not sure if you are giving him veggies or not but try and incorporate them in his diet as well if you can. Good luck

I just took a peek at this post and alot has happened! Last I knew you had found her family and my jaw dropped to hear they lost her again is just a few hours. Stupid People:angry: I too am interested in hearing the latest news and where Roswell is now. Didn't sound like she was with you. I am afraid to ask if the original owners have her again:pinch: . If they do, maybe you can buy them from her so this doesn't happen again. ?

I've read through several posts now about broken blood feathers. For instance, a grey was flying, broke some blood or tail feathers and had to rush him/her to the vets because of all the blood. This sounds very serious and I've never had an experience even close to this which makes me think I wouldn't be prepared if it did happen. Can anyone explain what happens, why it happens and what a grey owner can do if it does happen? It sounds scary and if I'm ever in the situation I would like to know what to do. I am not sure but it sounds like this is not that uncommon. Thanks in advance for any info.

That is very strange and I sympathize with your situation. It must heartbreaking to you to have a great relationship one day, then get the cold "beak" the next day. I couldn't even guess what triggered this and won't try but can tell you about our experience with our grey. We took him in at the age of 12 years so he was not a baby. He bonded with me and my husband very well after the first few weeks. Both of us could touch him, play with him, feed him and I didn't feel my Baxter was a one person bird at all. Then one day it was over for my husband. He is not longer able to pick him up for anything. He did not do anything out of the ordinary that I can think of. He loved Baxter as much as I did. Anyway, one day he went to pick Baxter up and put him in his cage. Baxter stepped up, looked at his hand and bit down hard and did not let go!! It was a planned attack/bite. It drew blood and I know was painful for my husband. He tried the next day to have him step up on him and it was the same reaction. Baxter stepped up nicely, zeroed in on hubbys hand and bit the tar out of him again. Needless to say, my husband did not want to pick him after the second time. He still would be able to pet him, give head scratches, feed him and everything normal except handle him. Fast forward about 4 months. My husband (with my encouragement) went to bring Baxter to me from another room. I figured enough time had went by and they do get along. Long story, Baxter willingly stepped up on my husband hand, then BAM! He bit him in the same aggressive way. I thought enough time had went by that Baxter might have forgotten about it but this was not the case. I don't know why his behavior changed like it did but it changed and although my husband has a very good relationship with him as long as he does not ask him to step up on him. Before that first time, my husband could do anything. Only thing I can think of is Baxter is a one person bird and he has chosen me. I am very interested in this behavior though and hope things can get better for you and Ollie.

Hello and welcome to the forum. This is a great place to learn and chat about our greys. Ollie is a great name and I think it's cute how he "rules your kingdom" :laugh: Can't wait to hear more from you and Ollie.

Dan got it right about the seeds. They should only have a Limited amount. They NEED the pellets for a healthy diet. It is so important. If I give my flock too much daily seed, they too will flat out refuse the pellets. You can not give in to this. It's like telling your child he can eat candy bars all day instead of sitting down for a nutritious dinner. It is easier to give in to the seeds because they like them so much but it has been documented time and time again that it will affect their health in a negative way and shorten the life span. It may not be obvious to see but I believe it will make them not feel as good since they are not getting their proper nutrition. I do give my flock seeds, but just a pinch. If I give them too much, they leave all their pellets so I start cutting back on the seeds again. If you don't give in to the amount of seeds they want they WILL eat the pellets but why should they if they have all the seeds they want?:unsure:

When I got Baxter in my mind I "had" to clip his wings right away. I was scared to death he would fly away:ohmy: Turns out he didn't even really know how to fly anyway because he was a caged bird all his life. I am soooo glad I did not clip his wings. I felt so sorry for him that he never had the chance to fly and with the guidance of the members here we started practicing and he still doesn't fly very much and it wasn't even an issue. We are still practicing flying and he is actually getting pretty good and his confidence has increased because of it. My other flighted birds that can fly is not really a big deal either. I would not clip the wings but each situation is different.

My grey prefers me but my husband does have a good relationship with him. My grey will not let my husband pick him up at all. If he tries my grey will bit him but he will let him pet him, give him treats, greet him. It's wierd. I am the one who has the special privledges of handling him.

Oh Pat, that is so tempting. I don't know what I would do if I were in your shoes:ohmy: It would be so neat to have a brand new baby but I would be afraid of the work and the time all those hand feedings. I don't know myself but I've heard other talk about how much work it was:unsure: . I too have older rehomed fids, never had a brand new baby to raise and I would like to be a parrots first mom one day. You will have to weigh the pro's and cons and let us know what you decide:)

I bought a 12 year old parrot last July. He was nervous at first and I got bit the first few weeks mainly because I was basically pushing myself on it. He was so new and I adored him but since he was not as comfortable as me he would bite to let me know. After I "respected" his wishes and quit trying to handle him so much in the first days/weeks, I didn't get bit anymore. I think after the first month he quit biting me but again it was my fault I got bit in the first place. Now I can touch him anywhere and pick him up any time I need to. My grey shivers from time to time so I don't think it's that unusual. I have no regrets about taking in an older bird. He is the sweetest thing and such a great companion. This is an excellent place to come to when needing advice and getting answers from people who already have greys. If you have any more questions please feel free to ask away.

Hello and welcome to the forum. Congradulations on getting a new baby grey!!

I have told several people about the free food samples so why haven't I ordered some for my flock???? :pinch: It looks like they are very generous when they send it too. I am going to make this a "sticky" topic so it can be seen and remind people to go get that free food!:woohoo:

That was "toe licking" good to Emma:laugh:

I have never heard of them either.

I have an pepsi bottle that I put small bells in and put the lid back on tightly so they can't open it. They haven't lost interest in it yet and it's been about 3 months ago that I tried this out. It gets beat up and yelled at on a daily basis:laugh: :woohoo:

This has come up before. Here is a good link telling more about it. http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/dairy.html

Char, that was a good one:laugh: I think it may have to do with the higher pitch, too. Our grey talks more in front of me than my husband but he is bonded with me though. My husband has an amazon and he is clearly my husbands bird and attached to him but I can get him talking any time I want to, which I thought was very strange, but I think it may be the high pitch of a womans voice. I listeded to a cd that is suppose to teach birds to talk and it had a high pitched (annoying) womans voice saying the words and phrases. I didn't use it, only listened to it so I don't know if the cd's work or not. I just know the voice was very high pitched.