gotfaith1989

Interesting concept...I'm not sure when he was started on pellets or when exactly the plucking began. I just know the previous owner told me that the owner before her said her schedule for work changed and that is when the plucking began. But you never know. Do you think that I should just give seeds for awhile or would it be detrimental since she may have a hard time accepting pellets again if that was not the problem? I may use this as a last chance effort after I try everything else and see if changing homes, light, red palm oil and getting more attention will help first. Thank you though for your input though.

Alright, thanks for your help in clearing that up! I know that they LOVE to be around people and I would never take that away from Rocky

I thought I read somewhere that Greys do better and have less behavioral issues and plucking when they can't see the door that people come in/out of? Is this true in any way?

Hi. I just picked up my new fid today and he is a plucker around his neck and some on his chest. I have been trying to research what the best way to go about helping him all that I possibly can and so far I have learned these: 1) Red Palm Oil - 1/2 Teaspoon daily (Already bought) 2) Full Spectrum Lighting - (Going to buy the AvianSun setup) 3) Frequent Baths 4) Spray with Aloe Vera 5) Diet (He is on a combo of Fiesta seeds and Zupreem pellets) 6) Routine is important as he is a stress plucker - started when previous owners work schedule changed. 7) LOVE LOVE LOVE them for who they are... Is there anything I am missing? Is there a sticky somewhere about this? I couldn't find one...

I am getting my first CAG tomorrow. My hubby is picking him up and I won't get to meet him until Wednesday night, so I'm trusting my hubby to do everything right the first couple days. I am so nervous and scared, yet excited out of my mind that my dream is finally coming true! I am scared of the unexpected...scared I'm getting in over my head. Scared I'll do something wrong, much like every mother feels the first time she steps into her home with her newborn without any nurses or doctors. I am so stoked though!!! Man, is this a crazy feeling! I will barely be able to sleep tonight in anticipation!!!

Ok thanks so much! Our new baby will only be in this cage for about 3 days. We already have another one set up to buy

We bought this cage on Craigslist. The guy lied to me and told me originally was 3 ft x 3.5 ft. My husband picked it up and measured it and it is 24x22x33. I am disappointed but I know we can always upgrade. What are your thoughts about keeping our Grey in this? He is in a larger cage right now moving to our house and will be out of his cage most of the day.

Hello, I am *finally* getting a Grey I have dreamed of getting. I bought a used cage off Craigslist and will wash it down with a bleach solution and possibly also a vinegar solution. My question is: It comes with a lot of toys; wooden, leather, plastic, rope. Is there any way to wash/clean these toys down? My dad insists I can wash the wooden toys lightly with antibacterial soap, NOT soak them and then dry them quickly either in an oven or with a hairdryer to avoid bacterial growth. Is this possible? Thanks in advance

What color is your cage for your Grey? Do you find that certain colors of cages bring out the Grey better? We are getting a cage painted and we're having trouble deciding the color!!!

Yikes! That stinks for me! If i don't wear earrings for a few days, my ears will grow back.

Thank you very much! That was very helpful!

My parakeet died suddenly on Sunday night and I've been doing research on Teflon poisoning. The fumes travel on air currents and if 2 birds are sitting next to each other, one bird may get hit and the other be fine. We cooked with Teflon for 5 years and Poppy (my parakeet) was fine, but this time he got hit by a bad air current. I definitely suggest you get rid of ALL teflon!

Did you ever get the results?

I, too, work at a Pet Store and usually you can tell how the bird was raised according to their behavior. Right now, we have a bird enthusist who hand raises alot of our birds and they come from the best home with constant attention. We usually sell those birds within a few days because people see the time being put into them. We also rescue some birds...for example, someone called us in a low income apartment asking us how much we would give her for her african grey she inherited. Big Chains wouldn't have messed with a bird like this at all, but being a mom and pop store, our owner gave us the Ok to buy the bird and raise it. When we got to the apartment, we found the bird wasn't even fully weaned and the dumb people were wondering why it wouldn't eat seeds. So our bird enthusist has that bird at her house and she is raising it into a wonderful, good tempered bird. Moral of the story : Not all birds from pet stores are bad, but usually you can tell how they have been treated by their temperment. I agree about Petland.....they could care less about thier animals and I can't even go in there anymore. It sickens me.

How exactly do I potty train a CAG? I know to hold them in a designated place for their morning bomb and eventually they will learn to hold it until then, but what about other times of the day? Is there a way to teach them to go to a certain place or hold it until a certain time safely? Thank you in advance.

I'm not sure I'll be able to do the whole "keep her off the shoulder" thing. You see, I do not own her....I work at a pet store and she is for sale. She is my baby and I hope I will be able to buy her, but for now, I am the only one who really spends time with her in the store. Really, the only way I can spend time with her is to let her on my shoulder while I work and check people out. Tonight I was very careful NOT to let her get near my mouth hoping that she will learn. However, she did get my earring again. This is mainly my problem.....

Can birds catch human illnesses? I have heard they can't, but i want to make sure.

Thank you everyone. This morning I am doing better...I got out of the house and went to class. I just can't go home because I'm reminded too much of Poppy. I'm trying to talk my mom into getting another pet to ease her pain. She is taking it really hard and since she is home all day, she was really attached and has no where to get away from the house. She doesn't want another bird bc she's afraid it will die and I told her you can't think like that. Birds are so fragile, and that is the problem that she has. Just keeping everyone informed. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers.

About 30 minutes ago we found my 5 year old parakeet,Poppy, dead in his cage. My mom was cooking on Teflon, which she has done many times before, making sure it didn't get too hot and making sure the oil covered the pan. He was my life. He said over 100 phrases and was always there to cheer me up. His poop was looking stringy the last couple of days, yet he was acting fine. I guess my question would be this...Can parakeets get worms or is there anything specifically that would make his poop stringy? I lost a piece of my life today and I'm not sure how to get over this. Any ideas?

Good Idea...thank you! I do have another question. How do I love on her? She likes to snuggle against my neck and I love to hold her and stroke her back (which I know I cannot do later). If I can't kiss her and she can't be on my shoulder, how do I show her love????

Yeah I think Kenya thinks she owns me already. So what do you do to keep her from the shoulder? Everytime she steps up from her cage to my hand, the first thing she tries to do is crawl up my arm to get to my shoulder. And when I don't let her, she'll try to fly up there.

Yeah you guys are right. She could accidentially get me on the lip. It seems like everytime she's close she is trying to get in my mouth though. It's gonna be hard for her to break that habit. She is crazy about pulling out my earrings too. She usually pulls at least one out once a day, sometimes both. It's gotten to the point where it doesn't even hurt anymore....

Is it normal for my CAG to be "jack hammering" in my mouth at 7 months? She is not trying to feed me. When I hold her up to the mirror, she will regurgitate food and her actions are way different than when she tries to get food out of my mouth, so I know shes not doing a mating ritual. However, most of the time when she jack hammers my mouth, she ends up whimpering and being aggressive. I am sooo confused at why she is doing this!!! She was handraised partly by me if that helps. She will try to put her beak in my mouth and act like a woodpecker and then after a few seconds she will just freeze there in that position. Its the weirdest thing!

I put Kenya (a CAG) up to a mirror in the bathroom and she loved that reflection! She chirped and started feeding it! I pulled her away in time that she didn't make a mess, but she had her chewed up pellets in her mouth ready to give to the other bird! It was so cute.....

I work in a pet store and I am handfeeding a 16 week old grey for the first time. I have been doing so for about 2 weeks. She (Kenya) has been eating about 60cc every night about 7:00...so she is on one feeding a day. She acts like she will eat more than that, but I am afraid to overfeed her since 60cc is already a lot. I am aware she needs to be weaned soon, she eats her weaning food only when she is outside of her cage though. She also loves grapes and apples. Should I be cutting down how much she is eating? Or should I just let her keep eating however much she wants to for however long she wants to? BTW, I am syringe feeding her....what are the benefits of spoon feeding?