BaxtersMom

I think I am going to start a new thread to name this bird so other people who haven't read this one can still get in on the naming.

OMG, Barnums good too. This is going to fun and am already liking your suggestions ALOT. I think we are going to have great names to choose from. Brady is a guy on the soap opera we watch (Bo Brady) from Days of our Lives. I even got my hubby watching it now (we tape it and watch during dinner). Also from the same show is Stephano & Lucas.

We both liked Cooper, it's going on the list:)

I know, :laugh: If a bird will talk for a vacuum my husband will push it a few times a day for them. One of the perks for me;)

Hey luvparrots, it's a great idea to have everyone help name him:woohoo: We have a few that we kind of like but we certainly are open to suggestions. The more to choose from better! We are hoping to find him a name that really suits him. You guys all know his story, now. I will tell you a little more about his personality that we have noticed in the short couple days we've had him. He is very curious and seems like he has a very mellow easy going nature about him when he is just hanging out. When he gets going he is a clown and likes to hang upside down from his cage and open his wings and kind of do a rocking motion. (He hangs like a bat:laugh: ) He is a big fellow, too, kind of a gentle giant (as long as we don't mess with him too much;) ) Here are some of the names we have been considering. Sampson, Miguel, Travis, Nigel, Stephano, Parker, Lucas & Brady. That's what's in the running so far. We kind of like unusual or people names. I'd hate to think there is a name out there that is perfect for him and us not know about it so please let us know if you like any of the names we have thought of or your suggestions, too. We would appreciate all the input we can get. I really want to give him a name so lets hear all the suggestions. This is gonna be fun. We might use one you guys list or might be from our list, too. Just don't know yet. Ok, lets name that bird!:woohoo:

Pat, Fergie is beautiful. I didn't know they were called Zons but now I do:) I think I'm going to like having a Zon in my family. It will keep my house clean too. When we turn on the vacuum, he starts talking alot and my husband is vacuuming again:woohoo:

Hmmm, Toni, I just did a post, too and it didn't show up either. What's going on? What I said in the last post was he has started acting like a real clown in the past hour. He is hanging upside down from his cage and doing silly acrobats. He is talking alot too so I am assuming he is happy with everything. I got the misting bottle back out to see if he would like again. Thats when all the excitement began. He does not run from it at all. I sprayed him a few times and he comes as close as he can without coming out of the cage:) That's when he went to the top of the cage and opened his wings so I could get those armpits:laugh: and he's been silly ever since. :silly: :side: I forgot to tell everyone that I did get his paperwork with him. He was hatched in April 4th of 07. The breeder also sent the dna paperwork so he is a male which will make it easier to name him.

Pat, she is beautiful and I really like her name, too. I think I am going to like having a Zon:) (new word for me that I didn't know) Hope we can find a new name for him soon. He is a character and has really gotten silly in the last hour. He is hanging upside down from his cage and doing acrobats and just being a nut in general and talking and making all sorts of noises. I am assuming this means he is happy. I got the misting bottle out again. Thats when all the excitement started. He came to the front of the cage for it. Then when I was misting him we went and hung from the top and spread his wings again so I could get those armpits:laugh: I think he really likes bathing. I bet it felt really good to him to. He is not running from it at all or I wouldn't have pushed it. I forgot to tell everyone, he does have his paperwork & hatchdate. He was born in April 4th of 07 and I do have the dna paperwork from the breeder saying he is a male.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/11/08 18:37

Hey, thanks for all the well wishes. I can already tell he is nothing like Baxter when he came to us and this one is going to be different and more challenging all the way around:laugh: We got him Wed, Thursday we opened the cage door but he wouldn't come which we expected. We let him be most of the day & settle in. He would takes treats from us and foot toys, too:woohoo: so that was good. He doesn't run away from us unless we want to touch him. He will let us pet his beak without running off but if we try to touch any other part of his body he scrambles away. In the evening we heard a few flaps and he was just outside the front of his cage on the floor. Hmmm, how do we get him back in????:unsure: We hoped he would climb to the top of his playgym but he had other ideas. He ran in the other direction and when we'd get close he would fly off. I finally cornered him and got him up on my hand and as long as I didn't move my hand at all he was ok but if I moved his legs seemed to turn to jello and he'd just sit his butt down or flip upside down and hang from my fingers like that. It was funny. My others don't act like this:lol: Problem was when I would move my hand just slightly he would fly off my hand and he goes straight up as high as he can go. I had to hold him to get him back to his cage and I got bit:ohmy: (knew it was just a matter of time) He did fly into a chair:( . It wasn't a hard impact or anything but he held his wing down for a few minutes and we were scared but after 5 minutes it was back to normal. Thank goodness!!! We got him back in and he settled down again and didn't seem to really phase him much at all. But that little episode did scare us and we decided we were going to get his wings clipped. My other birds wings are not clipped and I didn't think we would clip his wings either but think it is in his best interest at the moment. The way he flies off I don't think we could even begin to train or handle him without his wings clipped. I was surprised he could even fly at all trapped in his cage like he was. Friday afternoon(yesterday) we took him to the pet store and had his wings clipped:( I don't even know if he realized it yet. He hasn't tried to fly anymore. He did go up to the top of his playgym and didn't go back in so my husband tried a perch for him to step up on this time and he stepped up on it with a little coaxing. This might be the way we start out instead of on the hands. He took to the perch much better than a hand. (Baxter freaked out when we tried to get him to step up on a perch.) He was saying a few words yesterday too so he must be settling in ok. Right now he is talking some more. I think he will be fine. My husband is thrilled with him. he likes my other birds but this one I can tell is going to be his baby:) . He is acting like me when I first got Baxter. He is fascinated with him and I am so glad. Especially since he wanted a young well mannered friendly bird that already knew how to step up. :laugh: This is going to be fun. He is eating pretty good still. He had such a bad diet but he is actually fat. I think all those sunflower seed fattened him up too much. He is starting to say some words. He is saying eieio (old macdonald), hello bird, hello and hi. I got the vaccuum out yesterday and thats when the talking started. "He also said What are you doing Huh???" He laughs and he makes baby noises too. So he actually is a good talker.

One more of him <br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/11/08 05:03

My husband said a few months ago he would like to get an Amazon and planned to get either a baby or a real young one. The plan was to get one in December but he found an add online about a 1 year old, dna'd male, friendly & good talker. I called her said she had him since he was a baby, finished hand feeding/weaning him and had to get rid of him due to her daughters allergies. I asked if he had been handled much and let out of the cage and she said yes but not much lately due to the daughters allergies. That still sounded ok to me and we went to go look at him Wednesday November 5th. I will say her ad was deceiving to say the least. This is what we found, starting with the cage. The cage is good sized but the entire outside had plexiglass over the bars except for the top 8 to 10 inches and the ceiling of it. Poor guy couldn't even climb the sides of his cage and the plexiglass was filthy. She said she did this so there wouldn't be a mess (outside the cage). The cage was in a hallway and the lighting wasn't bad but not that great either. I could see that she didn't bother to clean the cage for us but didn't realize how bad it actually was untill later. He only had the one long original perch inside and one small 6" cement perch. There was one of those rope perches but it was just hanging down the side a piece of metal hanging out of it that used to be on the inside of it. It was caked with crud, too.:sick: There was one small plastic parakeet toy and one other small toy hanging inside. The cheapest ($5.00) toys you could possibly get. It only got worse from there. I asked about his handling and did he know how to step up, she said no but he will get on you and I could tell she didn't want to take him out. By this time I knew this wasn't a cared for or a tame bird. :angry: She did put her hand in and he didn't look scared but he did run to the back of the cage. He didn't want any human contact. She said the birds name was Mojo. He was a friendly looking bird and he was a pretty good sized bird. I was trying to look past all the bad and see the good. He was very pretty but his tail feathers were kind of ratty and a couple other places too. Look like he was oily or dirty in spots. Other than not looking very well groomed he seemed ok. The eyes were bright and there was no discharge coming from his nasal area. I didnt see any real red flags with him that a little bit of care, healthy diet & a bath wouldn't fix. I asked what she fed him and she said sunflower seeds and he had a bowl full inside:pinch: . She said he never used a water bowl and has only drank from a water bottle since she got him(that you hand on the side of the cage) I thought no wonder he doesn't look clean, he has probably never even had a bath!!:angry: :pinch: Atleast if he had a water bowl inside he could taken atleast some baths. She was telling us how wonderful everything was with him and how much she would miss him and put on a good show. By this time I was fuming inside and so was my husband but we played it off, discuss it briefly and decided to get that poor bird out of that filthy disgusting enviroment. Now this is not the kind of bird we wanted to get. We wanted a baby or young and friendly bird that we could love and get along with from the start but neither one of us felt like we could leave it there. So we paid the woman and took the bird. At the house we offered him pellets and he acted like he was starved for those. He was very excited about the food. I put one of those edible calcium perches up and he started chewing on it, too. My other birds have never chewed on them so I thought he might have really needed some calcium. I was still upset because he acted like he was starving and hadn't had decent food in ages. Then we removed all the plexiglass off all the sides of the cage. It was then that I noticed the plexiglass was over the bottom grate of the cage. There was no way to even get the bottom grate out to clean it and it had not been cleaned in I don't know how long, several month atleast. The poop was just caked on. It was pretty stinky too:sick: It was awful. It was getting late and I thought I would let the bird get settled in and I would clean the cage the next day. We tried to sit back and relax a bit but the cage was stinking up the room he was in pretty good. Maybe because we took the plexiglass off the sides, I don't know but it was really bad. Poor bird was living in filth:angry: We managed to get our new amazon on a table perch and I scrubbed the cage outside twice the next day. Put in all new toys, good food and put him back in. He loved the toys. He is still scared but very curious of us. Baxter my grey wasn't used to being touched but we got through it but this one is going to much more of a challenge for us. Sigh. I am glad we brought him home though and I am really glad that my husband decided to take him too because he really was looking for an easy, mellow and step up well rounded bird. I am just furious that that woman could let a bird live in that kind of filth and not pay attention to it at all. She lived in a huge (and I mean huge) log cabin home but with all the fancy bells and whistles in her home but couldn't even clean her birds cage. I did get the spray bottle out to see his reaction to getting a bath. I was just going to mist above him and let it fall on him gently and see if he would freak out or not and he loved it sooooo much so I kept spraying him:) . I mean he even opened his wings up so I could get him wet under the wings. He let me get him pretty soaked and by the time he dried he looked like a completely different bird. This one is going to take lots time though. Sorry this was so long. Here's a picture of our most recent and final flock member. She called him Mojo but I think we are going to change his name but want to get to know him a little more before we change it.

That would be a nice reunion after so long. You said you were nervous but did not say whether you really wanted him back or not though. If you want him back and can give him the life he deserves with plenty of attention and plenty out of the cage time, your heart was in it and your husband is on board I would go for it. If you arent sure you want the responsibility and commitment it might be better to let your ex find him a loving & responsible forever home. So many birds get passed from place to place and it can be a very sad life for a grey. You probably would be the best person for him but are you ready to make the life long commitment again? Please keep us posted and good luck with what ever you decide.

Berna, they are so cute. And what a nice home they have. My mom had a few canaries when I was a kid and I loved to hear them sing.

That is an excellent idea to hang brocolli that way. I would have never thought of it. :silly: It sounds like you and Gizmo are really bonding well and he seems like he is loving every minute of it. You have done wonders for Gizmo in just a very short time.

Hello Imraan & Buddy. Good to have you here.

Caroline has given you some excellent advice. Keep trying different ways and be persistant. My grey is a "seed junkie" too and it has been an ongoing battle for us but I am making progress with him. I have the best luck with him trying new things in the morning when he is hungriest and when I cook at dinner I will set some veggies aside for my flock. My birds do seem curious as to what I am eating at night:) Try different ways like Caroline said, cooked, raw, mashed. If you give your baby scrambled eggs or oatmeal, etc try sneaking some of these foods into that too. I have started giving fruits and veggies in the mornings and adding the seeds an hour or two later. Stay persistant and eventually she will find a couple things it likes.

Do you think he would fly right now? The reason I ask is that Baxter was cage bound too and his wings were not clipped. He didnt even know how to fly when I first got him. He wouldn't even attept to fly off his cage untill months later after we had been practicing flying/flapping. I think he has flown from the cage maybe 3 times now. He doesn't care to leave his cage really. The first thing I thought I would do when I got Baxter was clip his wings cuz I was afraid he would fly off but it wasn't necessary in his case. Does Gizmo know how to fly? You will make the right choice though.

With the fresh foods I put in the fridge my rule is if I wouldn't eat it then they shouldn't eat it either. I would say that's about 24 hours on average. I do throw a lot out but have learned to buy little amounts.

You seem to have a great attitude about getting a grey. Its really nice to see someone putting the greys welfare first and wanting to make all the right decisions and choices before you get an african grey. And I love it that you want it to be part of the family instead of a pet:) Dave makes some good points above about getting a baby and that probably is the best and most ideal thing to do. You can raise them from the start and they will get used to you and your lifestyle and you 2 can grow and learn together. I on the other hand had no experience with a parrot and chose to adopt a 12 year old grey, mainly because it was more affordable to me. I had no knowledge what so ever and this forum was invaluable to me. Baxter (my grey) did have some habits and issues that we had to get through but over all it has been a great experience for me. I don't think it would have been as easy as it was if I didn't have this forum to turn to and get help. I was very lucky too though because Baxter had a great disposition from the start and every accomplishment we made was so rewarding to me and I wouldn't change a thing. I also had the time too since I work out of my house. Some potential adoptive birds could be more challenging than Baxter was so if you do consider adopting just make sure you ask alot of questions and get a good feel for the bird and his previous lifestyle. If Baxter was half wild or mean before I got him my road would have been much more rough than it was. A baby is probably the best way to go but I found adopting very rewarding to me. I think what ever you decide will be fine as you seem to be the kind who will do your research and make the right decision for you. Good luck to you. We are all here to help you. You asked about cleaning, cages, wing clipping & general care. Get the biggest cage you can for your grey. Cleaning may have to be changed a little bit because they are sensitive to chemicals and could harm and even kill your bird. I use vinegar and water. There is also a thread on cleaning on the forum, too. Wing clipping is a personal choice. Some members birds wings are not clipped but others do have their birds wing clipped. African greys need out of the cage time everyday. I think it's about (atleast) 4 hours a day recommended,more if you can. They need attention everyday. The more time you spend with them the better results you will get. Make sure they eat a healthy diet with pellets and fresh veggies and fruits. You can never learn enough so just read through all the posts and you will get a ton of information:) If there is something specific you want to know like "diet" for example, put that word in the search box and hit the enter key and many threads will come up. If you can't find it just ask us:) Greys are great companions/family members and mine has brought me great joy:)<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/11/05 02:35

Hi Alex and welcome to the forum. You have definately come to the right place if you want to learn about greys. There are many knowledgable people here and always willing to answer any questions you may have. There are also many different threads that covers a lot of info on greys. Please feel free to check out all the different threads, if there is something specific you need to know just put it in the search box ats the top of the page and hit the enter key. Hope to hear more from you soon.

JanfromBone makes a really good point and I will admit somehow I did misunderstand or read more into it than what Mr T was wanting out of a pet grey. I think I explained it in my last post, I first thought he was wanting to do to much action type stuff and then re reading it it didn't sound like it did the first time around. My apologies to Mr T. if I misunderstood. I think it was because you said it "Has To" do certain things with you. Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/11/04 20:41<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/11/04 21:30

It sounds like everything is going really good for you. Especially if he is flying to you. Atleast you know he wants to be near you. I don't think there is anything else you can do except keep doing what you are doing. I think the biting will probably stop with just a little more time. I think you are doing a great job and making more progress than you realize Karma coming your way:) :silly: :side: :lol: Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/11/04 19:52<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/11/05 04:41

I was just looking that up and there is a topic here on this website called "Tofu as a regular part of diet" that was pretty interesting. Look it up in the search box and hit the enter key. (I only say that cuz it took me a few months to learn I had to hit the enter key:laugh: ) I will have to learn how to add the links. Another website say it could be used as a suppliment while others think you should keep it out of a greys diet all together. Hopefully someone else will know the answer and help out but I would proceed with caution untill I knew for sure.

When this post first came up you sounded to me like you are a very energetic, risk taker and somewhat of a daredevil type and I believe you scared the crap out of all the members including myself that you wanted a grey to do all these outdoor activities with you and we could picture a bad ending. I could picture you on a motor cycle flying down the highway or on a mountain bike doing jumps and flips in the air with your bird in tow. Now I am not so sure. They are amazing creatures but they are cautious by nature and can spook very easily. They are also very curious and do some crazy things which are fun and entertaining to watch but always stay on the cautious side. If spooked they can be gone in a second even if you think you have taken all precautions. I think everyone just wants you to know that before you get a grey and find out it's not right for you or your lifestyle. I think it's good that you are doing research and hopefully when and if you get a grey you make a very informed decision. I'm not saying that it can't go outside or can't ride in cars and I've seen pictures of people who take their greys on bicycle rides (with a harness) and next year I plan on having my grey outside frequently and going for walks if he is willing and comfortable with it. You just made it sound like you were more into action adventure daredevil activities atleast to me you did and I don't think any grey would be comfortable with that much excitement. I am interested in what you end up doing and if you do get a gray or now. I still wouldn't compare a grey to a monkey like you said you read somewhere but do think it would be funny to see a monkey riding on bikes with their owner;) I don't want to discourage you either but just know they can't/won't do all things us humans sometimes expect;) but are amazing companions in thier own right.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/11/04 18:31

Thats sounds really good and it sounds like something my birds would really enjoy, too. Thanks for telling us about it. Sounds yummy! {Nature-00020096}