BaxtersMom

"Where's Me Dinner" oh that is a cute one:laugh: I forgot to mention that when Cooper is laughing hysterically, he also throws in real heart felt "Oh My God"s in between and some "Oh Wow"s. I cant help but laugh. All this fun and laughter happens daily now too. When he's not laughing like that he sometimes moans like he is in severe pain or dying. But he's not;)

I thought it was funny what Kimberly said about the terrible acting:laugh: I think so too. When ever I flip through channels and see soap operas I think their acting can be pretty bad, what's funny though is I don't see the bad acting on the show I watch. I'm sure they are just as bad but since I watch it I can't see it. :whistle:

Thanks you guys:) Those poses and expressions in the photo really show him pretty accurate. He is always on the move and always looking for new adventures. He's game for anything and has no fear:woohoo: He is such a fun bird to have. We needed Cooper for all his crazy shenanigans. He's a hoot!!

Every day is fun to Cooper. Never a dull moment with him around

Cooper has been with us about 2 months now and boy has he ever settled in. He has turned out to be such a character. I was worried at first that he would talk or make noises unless we had the vaccuum or something like that turned on because he didn't make much sounds unless there was a background noise. But then one day, he let out a loud yell when the house was really quiet which really caught us off guard. We didn't know what happened but that was just the beginning of his sounds and he hasn't shut up since:laugh: So be careful what you ask for cuz it just might happen:silly: I think that was his real turning point. He still seems to like us both but he steps up more readily for my husband. He will even throw his head down for head scratches and let my husband rub his head. He let me rub his head for the first time last week. It was such an honor and I thanked him for it:) He still loves to play with his toys and spends alot of his time playing. He loves to chew so we try to always have a wood block that he can tear up or he will go find some somewhere else in the house. :blink: If he sees something interesting he has no trouble climbing down the cage, getting on the floor, walking several rooms to get it and take it back to his cage. He doesn't leave his cage to go investigate things (yet) but he will leave his cage to go get something if he thinks it might be fun. :lol: He loves to have conversations with me and will talk or make noises back at me. I will says something or make a noise and he answers me back and he gets so excited!!! And then he just busts out with his laughing noises and it cracks me up every time. He is loud too. Not screaming but anything he says is projected very well. If he wants our attention he will call to us by saying Helloooo Hellooooo, hiiiii, hellooooo He has learned his name Cooper, he came kind of singing Old MacDonald...His version is Old MacDonald...Farm...EIEIOOOOO. we are working on the "had a" farm and he is starting to do it sometimes. My husband always goes up to his cage or when he sees him will go "Da Da Dah" like a grand entrance and Cooper picked up on that really quick. He is forever singing and never gets tired of singing Da Da Dahhhhhh over and over and over again:laugh: :blink: I also thought it would be neat to if he could tell me when he was hungry (big mistake) Every time I get ready to give them their food or at night when I give them their cooked foods I will tell him over and over Hungry? Hungry? Hungry? Well, he learned that too. Now if we are eating or cooking or doing something that pertains to food all I hear is HUNGRYYYYY, HUNGRYYYY, HUNGRYYYYY. He knows exactly what that word means. He loves food!! Since it is just me and my husband in the house we eat on TV trays in the living room at night. Well, now Cooper will climb down off his cage, (saying hungryyy the whole way), climb up on the legs of my husband try and doesn't stop untill he up on the tray. That was very cute but it just didn't work for us so now my husband will put him in his cage while we eat. He loves to talk and make noises. He still laughs and hollers but the baby crying has let up a little bit. They must have had a baby where he came from. He enjoys taking showers. The first one was a little iffy but I knew he liked it, now he just loves going in the shower. He is turning out to be a wonderful addition to our flock. He keeps us laughing every day and we never get tired of hearing him holler sing and shout all day. I am so glad we got him. He is such a clown and so eager to do new things. He is so curious and not afraid of anything it doesn't seem. Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/01/12 19:33 <br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/01/12 19:40

I have 4 parrots, a grey, an eclectus, a conure and a dyh amazon. The only one that I have ever clipped was the amazon and I felt I had to for his safety. He was never handled when we brought him home and when ever we tried to get near him he would fly aimlessly and crash into walls or objects and was afraid he was going to seriously hurt himself. So with a heavy heart we had him clipped. He has calmed down alot now and friendly and don't plan to clip him again.

hey those are great. Thanks for sharing them. Alfie sure does have a great view by that window. I bet he loves it:) Be careful of the lace curtains though. My flock loves to climb curtains. I decided to change my pretty lace out with a thicker curtain cuz I was afraid they would get their nails caught in them and get tangled up.

If she has nicks and red marks I would say something happened to her. Maybe she fell or got caught on something and banged herself up. You need to check the area out and see if there are any safety hazzards. I am not sure why you have Pax on antibiotics...Is there something else wrong? If Pax's skin is that dry that the aloe spray is not helping, first I must ask, are you spraying and soaking all the way down to the skin? Her skin needs to be soaked so it can get in and moisturize the dry areas. I would recommend doing this atleast twice a week or more untill it gets better. If that isn't working, it sounds like a visit to the vet is in order. If she didn't fall and get banged around then it sounds like there are some serious issues going on with her skin and I would go to the vet right away. If she did fall, It may have been a fluke but she may have got caught on something too. I would check the cage or area she was in where this has happened and make sure there are no safety hazards so it doesn't happen again. I'm sure others will have some great advice to offer. Keep us posted.

I have a parrot that was almost impossible to get to eat pellets and it has been a long road. I had to get tricky with how I presented them and hid them in other cooked foods. I have put them in scrambled eggs, pancakes, cornbread, I have also soaked them in apple juice like Carolyn said above too. Little by little he began to eat them when they were fixed in a cooked food. It took about 4 or 5 months but now I can say he will eat them dry. It just took forever and you can't give up. I had to try different kinds of pellets, flavors etc to see what kind he would like. I have 4 birds, 2 eat the regular pellets and 2 eat the fruity blend pellets. There is a thread in the bird food room titled "Free Food" and in there it gives you toll free numbers where you can call and get free samples. I am not sure if the phone numbers have changed or not but alot of companies will give you free samples if you ask. Good luck and don't give up.

Hello and welcome to the forum. Pepper looks like a sweetheart. Congradulations on getting another one soon. I bet the time can't go by quick enough for you. Looking forward to hearing more about you and your flock.

Kimberly, that is a gorgeous canary! Quite photogenic too:)

Hi David, Kaytee is a popular brand of parrot food, but with that said..Each product always like to say theirs is the best as in "exact nutrition in every bite". Those are advetising gimmicks and a 1/2 a cup in a might be a lot for a grey to eat. I don't think mine eats a half a cup all day long but he might. If he did eat that much I don't think there would be much room for other foods. Of course you don't have to feed a 1/2 cup each day either if you do like the product. I have never tried it myself. And as the for soak mix...perhaps you can buy some from your breeder as needed? Or you could find out what the ingredients are in it like you said chickpeas, lentils and others and do it yourself? Even if he is not close to you, it could always be shipped in the mail. Or ask your breeder where to order it. The best and safest way to decide what diet for Shanti to be on if you are not sure is to ask your avian vet what would be the best to make sure Shanti gets all the nutrients needed.

I hope it didn't sound like I was against the insurance in my earlier post. I just decided not to get it. I do have a back up savings incase of emergency. And I had to pull out about $2500 for my cat last year:ohmy: . That's how much our emergency cost us and it added up fast! She was hospitalized and in the intensive care for kidney failure for 3 days!! Talk about a bill. It was $500 per day not counting any treatments they did to her. Luckily I was prepared to handle that (although it still hurt pay that much at once) but I have had her for 13 years and she has not been sick a day in her life untill this. They gave her only a couple days to live and no longer than a couple weeks. I am happy to say about 8 months later she is still with us and I consider it money well spent. She is on meds and needs treatments every day and I do think she is getting close the end of her time with us but as long as she is feeling good and happy I will take the best care of her as I can. It is a miracle she is still with us now. I just thought with the insurance most bills would be covered and when I read through it all, there was a lot not covered or only small percentages of it were. I am not sure what it would have covered in case of emergencies like my cat had. It happened on the weekend of course and after hours so we had to go the Emergency Clinic. From what Sheila quoted..It does sound more reasonable in cost than I originally thought. The cat and dog insurance was about $40 a month for each one or $80 a month for both. If I am calculculating right if Sheila has her birds insured for $15 for both birds that is about $25 to $30 US dollars for both or about $15 to $18 a month per bird in USD(I think). That's not bad at all and I might consider checking into it in the future again. My advice is to ask all questions and what's covered and whats not just so you know before you sign up. I hate thinking I am covered for something and find out later that I'm not:S

Well you guys have come a long way and have become one big happy family:) What a big boy he is too already taking showers. Isn't it amazing all the different things they are willing to do when we just give them a little time and expose them to new things?! I get nervous too when I have 2 birds on my shoulders at once knowing the only thing between them is my head:blink: I never intentionally let that happen but sometimes it ends up that way. I can just picture one getting mad at the other, starting fighting and my head get in the way {Feel-bad-00020080} I have found that Cooper is also much more "physical" than Baxter. My grey is soooo mellow compared to Cooper (and much easier, too:laugh: ) I will have to give an update on Coopers progress. He feels totally at home now and pulls some crazy stunts lately:woohoo: We are always entertained. I am always interested in how Tanner is doing and will always check in and chat with you when you post about your babies:silly: I look forward to them. Stayed tuned..I will try to get Coopers update in the next couple days (there is so much to tell) ...and Pat, if you are reading this too I would like an update on Gizmo, too please;)<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/01/12 01:39

Sheila, you have convinced me to come and visit your area. It sounds wonderful and so interesting. It is so nice to hear of an area getting all "spruced up" instead of how so many places just get let their cities go into dismay. I'm glad you posted it. You are lucky to have a community that cares and willing to keep everything nice. Sounds like it is "The Place" to be. I would love to see the Minton Tile floor and I am a sucker for museums and things like that as well. And as for concerts and events I try to go to one or two good ones atleast each year. Your area sounds perfect for me. I'm sure you will enjoy it for many years to come. I'm glad you posted it.

This is great news!!! I know everyone on this forum has been so worried. If you didn't know before I'm sure you can tell now how much we all really do care. Hopefully the worst part is over and you are in the home stretch now.

Hello and welcome to the forum. Congradulations on getting your grey. I think you will find this community very helpful with all the knowledgable members here. I think it's great that you rehomed an older bird and hopefully in time will come to love and trust you. I'm he will, it will just take time like the others have said. I'm sure you 2 will have a wonderful relationship in time. LisaM gave some good advice about keeping a journal. I took in a couple older birds with some issues and did keep a journal. I always thought things were taking so long with mine but when I go back and read the entries it our progress was quicker than I thought or realized and its just fun to look back on. I do hope you keep us posted on your progress.

:laugh: How funny. If I remember right a month or so ago he didn't want to come out of the cage. My how things change:woohoo: Now he's into visiting. Well, atleast you know where too look now when he's gone missing;) I was just wondering about Tanner and Pats Gizmo the other day. I haven't heard updates in a long time:( and I miss them. I should give one on Cooper too because man has he ever settled in now:ohmy:<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/01/11 23:20

oops, double post.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/01/11 05:37

I have considered pet insurance for my dog before at my vet recommendations but after realizing what it would cost over a years time and what his yearly expenses were I decided not to take it. The main reason I didn't take was I noticed they didn't cover everything like the vaccines or office visits, xrays and if they did I would still be paying the majority of the bill:( I know there are several plans out there but in my case it seemed like it would only help me if my dog needed surgery, got cancer or a serious life and death illness. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to have, just didn't fit for us. If you get it just make sure you really know how much of the costs it actually covers and how much you would have to pay. And shop around for the best plan. I thought it would help cover alot of the routine things like the visits, shots, teeth cleaning, etc but it wasn't. It would have ended up costing me more in the long run. I have not checked into insurance for my birds though so it may even be different.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/01/11 05:38

If you were asking about craigslist before their website is www.craigslist.org

That's why I said to "consider the source" and who it was written by. Was it an by just an individual or by a licensed professional??? It is up to each individual to get the information they need. Sort the good from the bad and make an informed decision. I just enjoyed the aritcle about the greys and noticed what it said about lactose intolerance and was surprised at what they said.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/01/11 02:47

I agree also that the very best way to get the information you want is to ask your vet. I did see 2 other aritcles written by vets that said about the same thing as the link that Penny posted. I have not found anything else out about the lactose free or soya milk. I was very surprised that wikipedia put that information in there but did want to share it. I have always thought wikipedia was a pretty decent source and they do list their references. I do think it is healthy to have a debates or discussions about certain topics as the peanut, seed & pellets, etc. It brings attention and awareness to important topics that might not otherwise be touched on but it is up to each one of us to decide what we should or should not feed our greys. I agree a vet should be consulted if you are not sure of something. But even vets can have different opinions on subjects as well. I do look at different websites when I want to learn things and do think the internet is a good tool but when researching I would say to always consider the source, Is it an opinion by an individual or a professional opinion?? and always check a few differnt sources and make an informed decision which may include consulting with a vet or doctor, etc when it is of a serious nature. I for one am glad this topic came up and the peanut debate as well. <br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/01/11 03:51

I looked up African Greys on Wikipedia. It told alot about them and I thought it was interesting so I put a link in the African Grey room. What really caught my attention though was at the bottom of the article in Dangerous Foods section, it stated that they are lactose intolerant but yet it is not dangerous for them. They just get reduced nutritional value from it. It was very short and to the point. I was surprised when they didn't say that it should be given in moderation or anything along those lines. Here's a link if you want to check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Grey_Parrot<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/01/11 03:49

I got 2 cages off of craigslist too and they were both in like new condition. They were King cages which is one of the best quaility cages for $100 & $150. They would have cost about $650 or more if bought new. I also bought a nice cage at a bird show. It was 36"x24" and over 5 feet tall. That one cost around $200 and I am happy with it but it is not as good as the King cages that I got off craiglist. Just because they are used doesn't mean they aren't good but I understand if you want a new one. I have always asked what happened to the birds that used to occupy the cages. One had a vitamin deficency and died because of a poor diet but not a disease. They took it to the vet and found out why it died. The other one, they grey owner moved across country took her bird with her and left the cage behind. It was only used for about 3 months. Both cages I thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before putting my birds in there. If you buy from a pet store expect to pay some pretty big $$$. Bird shows offer decent cages for good prices and I recommend craigslist myself. Atleast you get to look at them before you buy.