BaxtersMom

That is very true Nims, I do have this forum and didn't even think of all that extra support that I have right here. (Duh) I am still waiting on the guy to get back with me. I am hoping she is still available. She is up for sale on an online newspaper ad. Been up for 2 weeks. Even if this one doesn't work out I do eventually want to take in a bird that has issues and needs a better life. I know I'm crazy, but can't help it. They pull at my heartstrings. Has anyone had a plucker? What is the process of getting it feathered again? What is the down side of attempting something like this?<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/10/30 15:37

Thanks everyone. My heart is saying to go for it, too but want to make an informed decision also. I am still waiting for the guy to get back in touch with me. :whistle:

:laugh: LOL. It sounds like Sassy is falling head over heels in love with you. I was afraid to let Baxter on my shoulder at first but he proved to be trustworthy. I will let him do it untill he proves himself otherwise. I didn't know about the sexual behavior part either so it is good to know. I just can't believe how fast she has taken to you. That is amazing. You are a natural with birds.

Adorable? You really are a softee:laugh: I think so too though. I'm just wondering what is involved. I was thinking about getting her vet checked fairly quick to see if there was any underlying health problems but don't really know what all is involved. If it's just boredom and healthy diet and time I think I could do it but what about all the stuff I haven't even thought of. I don't want to make her situation worse but cant really see how that I could. Now If I can just convince my husband. Maybe I will tell him she was lost and found our house like the conure did:laugh:

Many of you may know that I like to take in older birds that need new homes but I haven't had any really bad experiences with them or serious issues. I know of a female eclectus parrot that is a pretty bad plucker. I don't need another bird for myself but she really needs to get out of the situation she is in. I was thinking about taking her in and working with her and hopefully rehoming her later to someone who would take care of her. If I could part with her at that time;) My intention wouldn't be to get another bird but to help her better and get her in a better situaion. All I know right now is the guy doesn't want her anymore and doesn't have the time. I sent him an email asking more about her, how long has she plucked, is she friendly, does he know why she started plucking, etc but haven't heard back from him yet. My question is ~ is this something I should attempt? Will it cost lots of vet bills or is it something I can do with love, care and healthy diet. I really want to help this bird but don't know if I would be biting off more than I could chew:dry: I put in a small picture of her. I hope you can see it, it's pretty small but all I had. Btw, I already have a male eclectus so I kind of know thier personalities/traits. <br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/10/30 05:23

Sounds like he is doing really good considering everything and settling in just fine. He sounds like a sweetheart, too.

Hi Wingnut, good to have you here! I adopted a 12 year old grey earlier this year so we have somthing in common already. I hope you will tell us more about your new grey. Name? How long have you had him or her? And pictures if you can find the time.Â

Hi Christian, Gatiep is a cutie. I love the pic of him sleeping against the pillow. He looks so comfy. And yes, I did give Baxter some bottle caps and he enjoys tossing him off his cage so I can give them back to him. That looked like an awful wreck.

You are welcome. I must tell you, I absolutely adore my eclectus. He is sweeter than I could have ever imagined:) He is the best talker too. I was afraid I could not love another bird like I loved my grey but I fell in love with Tigger right from the start. I will be happy to talk grey or ekkie talk anytime with you:) I seen Gomes's picture and he is just adorable!!!!

Hi Julie, Welcome to the forum. Congradulations on getting a new flock member:) I have a grey named Baxter. He is 12 years old and I brought him home last July. I knew I wanted another parrot eventually and decided on an eclectus too. I got him about 2 months later. By this time I had bonded so much with Baxter and he was and still is my world and I wondered alot of the same things you are wondering about. I think all birds react different to things but will tell you my experience with getting my 2 together. Baxters door is always open and is free to come and go as he pleases unless I leave or when I go to bed, I lock the door. He spends most of the day outside his cage. When I brought Tigger the eclectus home (he was 5 years old) and I put his cage in the same room with Baxter and I also leave his door open so he can come and go as he pleases. It is working out fine. They can see eachother because their cages are only about 3 or 4 feet from each other. I watched them closely at first to see how things were going to go and luckily I have not had any problems. Each one stays on their own cage. They know their homes;) and neither one has shown interest in getting over to the other ones or acting dominate with the other one. Baxter does creep a little farther than his cage and goes onto a shelf now but never attempted to get to Tiggers cage or vice versa. I do have a conure also who hangs out on my greys cage and they get along fine. (His cage is in the same room, too) My conure was going to go (fly) and visit Tigger one day, too and Tigger let out a growl that sounded like a very large cat. My conure made a u turn and has never went to visit him again:laugh: and it hasn't been a problem either. They seem to respect each others space but I have read other members posts saying they can not let both birds out at the same time because they don't get along. I think every situation will be different as each bird is different but I wouldn't worry to much untill you think you have a reason to. I honestly never kept them apart from the start and it didn't even occur to me that I should keep them apart. I did make sure Baxter got fed first, got talked to first and got everything first and he didn't show any signs of jealousy at all. He seemed more curious than anything. I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. Just act like everything is normal and this is how it's going to be and hopefully they will pick up on that and it will all work out fine. I wouldn't worry to much about it. But definately keep an eye on them the first couple days. The baby will probably be naturally sweet and make the transition easily and if you make sure Dante still gets all the love and attention first he shouldn't have any reason to resent the new flock member. Maybe even give Dante a little more attention the first few days or week when the baby comes home. Please let us know more about Dante and your new member and let us know how it goes.

Those are excellent pictures! She looks so pretty with here wings spread like that. I've noticed too the greys can do the silliest things. Baxter can snap my hair barret in like one second.:laugh: That is his latest ritual:woohoo:

Well, that's funny, one of my parrots will eat the apple part and leave the peel. He actually wont touch the fruit if the peel is on it. :laugh: They can be so picky:side: :silly:

Thanks for the great post Carolyn, Very handy!! I will definately use it for reference.

Yes, Sassy is beautiful and it seems like you guys are getting along just fine. I can understand why you have to wait for your brother to be there when this "surprise" happens. I'm sure this will be one of the bet gifts your mom will ever have ever received. You are so thoughtful. I give my birds pasta, they love it too. And veggies and fruits. I give them a good spoonful or two of the pasta and if they eat it all up, I give them a little more. I'm not sure where the stopping point is. You might want to post a new topic in the Health Room and you will probably get a lot of responses from more experienced grey owners. Keep us updated and I really want to hear about when your mom gets her. I hope you take some pictures and share them with us when she gets her. I would love to see her expression:laugh: :woohoo:

Darn, Was hoping you wouldn't like him and you'd give him to me. :laugh: :silly:

Welcome Michelle and Ruby!!! This is a great place to hang out and talk to other grey owners, make new friends and get answers to any questions you may have. Look forward to hearing more about you and Ruby and would love see some pictures.

First, congrats on getting him home:) It sounds like his conditions were worse than you originally thought and he's been neglected for awhile now. Poor thing:( So glad you got him now. If he hasn't been bathed in a long time I don't see a reason to rush it now. I might try doing the spray bottle in the air and letting the mist fall on him gently and see his reaction and go from there. I wouldn't soak him right away though even tho I'm sure he needs it. You have much more experience than I do tho and know you will know what to do. Baxter was kept in a smaller square cage when I got him and a few weeks ago I put him in a larger rectangular cage a few weeks ago and he doesn't take advantage of it either. Hopefully he will in time. I am just glad you got him and his real life can beging full of love and care. You are amazing and I'm sure Gizmo will thrive under your care. I hope we get regular updates on him. I am so interested;) Gizmos story really touched my heart. {Love-000200BF} If he doesn't work out with you, you can send him to me:laugh:

There are no words to make anything better but just know that you and Bell are in our thoughts and prayers.

Glad he made it home ok. Poor guy had to travel so long in a small carrier but he is going to find it was well worth it when you start working your magic on him. He is going to be the happiest macaw ever in his new loving home. I am so glad that you guys found each other cuz I can see from your posts you are just amazing with birds:)

There's no way you could back and live with your mom? How long of a time are you talking about? How long untill you think you will get situated? If I lived near you I would be glad to take care of him untill you got on your feet. Maybe you could ask your vet if you could hang a sign in the vet office trying to find someone to bird sit temporarily. I bet if more people were aware of the situation they would be willing to help. I can tell you don't want to let your bird go. Hang in there.

Kaedyn {Feel-good-0002006E} Grey Poupoff, Took a minute but I got it;) Good one

You said "I don't want to go to bed...Can't wait until I can spend more time with her tomorrow" :laugh: (You are already so attached to her) That is exactly how I felt for the first month.!! I found myself getting up super early just so I could go see my Baxter:silly: :side: I never got tired of him. I just couldn't get enough. (Thats why I got bit so much too:) ) Glad to hear she knows the step up command. You guys will do good together. Now I am wondering (since it sounds like you been bitten by the grey "bug") will you be able to part with Sassy? You already sound attached and I can't blame you. From your first post it sounds like she will be a great gift for your mom but I bet by the time Christmas gets here you may not be able to part with her. She is going to get attached to you as well. Where is your mom at? Does she know she is getting a grey? Is Sassy a surprise? Can she come visit and spend time with Sassy? Baxter bobs his head to whistling, too. It cracked me up!!!:laugh: I have never been able to whistle very good either and I struggle to get the Andy Griffith tune out but getting better. Baxter bobs his head up and down and goes side to side. What's funny is he can mimick my bad whistling:laugh: I've noticed he will bob his head when he is happy, too. I am from Hazel Park so we aren't that far from each other:)

I'm from Michigan, too. What part are you from?

Hi Trevor & Sassy, Welcome to the forum. You have definately come to the right place if you have questions. And don't be afraid to ask any of them. I adopted a 12 year old grey last July with no bird experience;) . He was always kept in his cage and never handled exept for giving a treat or something but never picked up or handled. By the way, hold long have you had Sassy now? First I would like to know if she knows the "Step Up" command. That makes life so much easier. If she doesn't know it, it would be good to teach her but that is a different topic. When I first brought Baxter home he did not know the step up command and since they do need out of the cage time, just leave the door open. Eventually, she will creep out and go on top. It might take a few hours, an afternoon or maybe even a day or two but I bet she will come out. Baxter didn't want to come out of his cage and I eventually grabbed him by his back and took him out which only scared him more and wasn't good for either of us:( . That is when I read some books and decided I had to teach him the step up command and he learned that in like a day or two. I got bit ALOT when I first got Baxter cuz I was pushing him too much. He was wondering where in the world he was and who is this crazy lady and he was scared so he bit me. You just have to go slow. You can learn that the easy way or the hard way;) With petting Baxter I could only touch the top of his head in the beginning. I would let him tell me when I could pet further. I would try to pet just a little farther each time. First the head, then the neck and a little farther and a farther. If he got nervous I would just stop. I didn't want him panicking or losing trust on me and every week I could go a little farther. It was gradual. First the head, then the neck, then the back, the belly and now I can actually mess with his wings. I can touch him all over now. It just takes time. Talk to her alot, give her toys to play with, be near her alot but don't push her or force her to do anything. There are many threads you can search through here on the forum or you can just ask, too. Keep us posted:)

yes Baxter took awhile to warm up to me. I could only touch him on the top of his head and every now and then near the back of his neck. He was always left in his cage before I got him and never handled. Luckily he has a good dispotion. I just let him tell me as far as he wanted me to pet him and over time it got to where I could pet his neck, then his back, the belly and finally his wings. Now I can spread his wings out and hold them out and he lets me. I would pet him as far as I could and when I seen him get nervous I would stop so he wouldn't freak out on me. He figured out I would not hurt him and let me pet a little farther each week. I got him a little over 3 months ago and I can touch him everywhere now. It just takes some time. It took him about a month for him to really trust me. I wouldn't expect a hole lot the first week. She has to get used to her you and your family and her new home. Talk to her alot and she will eventually want more and more from you as time goes on. I messed with Baxter too much when I first got him. Couldn't help it cuz he was brand new:) to me and I always wanted to touch and pet him, etc. I got bit a lot too cuz I wanted to handle him too much too soon. If she bites, don't take it personally or think that she is a biter. She's just nervous. Just takes time to get situated. Hopefully, you will not get bit;)