LindaMary

{Feel-good-000200BB} Needs to be printed up and posted on front door...

My vet has told me the warm feet mean the bird is relaxed. I still remember the first time I felt Max's feet "flush" - after I had been visiting her at the store for about three weeks. She had already started to relax her grip on my fingers, but then one day suddenly there was this rush of heat. So I think you should be flattered - sounds like she's just really comfortable with you.

Okay, so maybe I just have a hyper-mellow TAG? Thanks for answering, Hrund - I think you are the only other person with a TAG who has spoken...

Oh, Jen, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. Boy, these transitions are tough - I couldn't help but tear up as I read your post. But what a gift you both had in each other for 15 years! Here's to Crackers, winging through the spirit trees!

My parakeet used to do the very same thing. (Max isn't fully flighted yet.) I think it's just the joy of being a flying parrot! YeeHAH!:woohoo:

*oops* <hit wrong button in the middle of a sentence>! There is quite a bit on the subject on the internet, for starters. Certainly it is a subject to be aware of for grey owners, since greys are about as dusty as they come! I'd be willing to bet your careful bathing and cage cleaning habits are paying off for you, Ajilon!

Hey, Mary - you are right, and thank you for mentioning that article on Bird Keeper's Lung. I didn't mean to imply that there aren't some circumstances in which folks can really be very seriously affected by the powder-down birds' dander - or ANY pet dander, for that matter - and some people are certainly more susceptible to it than others. It's definitely something to be aware of. It didn't sound to me as though Marian was experiencing any actual symptoms, and my goal was to try to suggest some less drastic ways of addressing her fears, including teh concerns she had about her bird's change in behavior. Perhaps I sounded cavalier, and if so I do apologize!:blush: Wish I had a link to that Bird Talk article, but I don't - I read in on paper. There is q

Thank you, Judy - I should've made that more clear: I don't lick the popsicles we share. I break off chunks for each of us, and then she gets the last "chunk", which is the stick. I appreciate your attention to detail!

{Love-0002011E} {Heart melllllting...} What a little doll! Congratulations! (And I love her name!)

That looks like the carrier cflanny just brought ZZero home in (granted I can only see the top of it in her pictures...). How long is the drive home? Have you considered getting a carrier designed specifically for birds (i.e., with a perch in it, for instance)? They are probably more expensive than the carrier you showed, but they might be more versatile in the long run, too (for trips to the vet, or other travel).

Whew! Well, a visit to have his nails and wings trimmed, followed by moving him out of the room he is accustomed to being in and into a cage he is not accustomed to being in....I would guess this has all been a little too much for him! He's a baby, remember: that's a lot of changes for him to process! Definitely find an avian vet in any case - that's who should be seeing your bird in case of any problems or questions. Re: the issue of bird dander; yes, the greys are dusty, but I have never heard of anyone dying from inhaling the dust. It is definitely NOT comparable to breathing asbestos! Some people are allergic to pet dander, true, and there are some actual diseases related to birds that can infect humans, of course - but I think there's a lot more to that picture than just breathing the normal dust of a healthy bird. Are you actually having any symptoms? If so, try using an air purifier. Make sure your bird is getting regular baths, and the cage is being cleaned regularly. I recognize you are trying to keep things safe, but don't let your (I'm sure well-meaning) friend panic you. Go tell your grey right now that you still love him and you're going to sort this out - I think he's feeling rejected! And welcome to the forum, by the way - say hi to us all in the Welcome Room!

What a beauty! You must be so excited! I can see how much time and effort you've put into preparing lots of playspaces for him! Thanks for sharing your pictures with us so quickly!

I think it's a blend of nature and nurture in my case - and my father played a big role in it. He was an Arkansas farm boy for his first 12 years, and though we never lived on a farm in my lifetime, he always welcomed all kinds of animals around the house. Daddy had a real affinity for birds, and we had raised quite a few fallen nestlings before I got my first parakeet at age 10 or so. (Yes, I know - "you're supposed to let the abandoned baby die" - but in our family - not happ'nin, folks...) He also fed wild birds religiously, and always put out hummingbird feeders until he couldn't anymore - at which point I put them out for him. So I'd helped raise a few wild birds and had fun trying to train a couple of parakeets as a child, but I think it wasn't until 1982, when I was an adult and raised a baby robin whose nest (and siblings) were drowned in a torrential downpour in CT, that I really connected with my own inner bird lover. Robin was the first bird who really bonded with me (and BTW he succesfully returned to the wild). He's a whole tale all by himself. He was followed within a couple of years by an equally-bonded Sketch (my wonderful little blue budgie (1983-1995), and by that time it was all over for me - I was definitley a bird person! I think that for me the attraction has something to do with the challenge of developing something like a trusting peer relationship with a creature of a different species. I have never been that interested in exercising authority over a pet (not a good dog-owner!) - my affinity for cats proves that too I guess . There's nothing like a "pet" that has wings and an ice pick attached to its face to convince you that a mutual understanding of body language is crucial. Maybe that's another key - I've always loved foreign languages, so maybe I look at bird body language as another fun language to learn. What the birds see in me, I don't know - and unlike some of you - they don't universally love me:unsure: . Still, I've had wild birds land on me more than once while I'm out doing my field work - especially chickadees, of course. And I'm always delighted and so flattered when that happens!:cheer:

You know, I've heard a lot of references to "the famous grey growl", but I'm not sure I've ever heard it. When Max is confronted with something she doesn't like (the wrong person's hand, the aviator harness (at first), ANYthing pink...), she makes what I would describe as a soft grumbling noise to accompnay the leaning-away, pasted-down feathers and pinning eyes. It actually sounds kind of cute, to me. I haven't spent a huge amount of time around Congo greys - is this maybe a difference between TAGs and CAGs? Or do I just have an inadequate fear threshold?

- and right, Jim: I have learned not to say "When I was in the shower with Max this morning....":blush:

Maxi not only likes ice water and crunching ice cubes, but she likes to try to bathe in her ice-water dish, too, if I've gotten her pretty wet in the shower. Then of course I have to wash and refill her water dish:pinch: (she shows no interest in bathing in a pan of ice water.) She also likes those 100% fruit popsicles a LOT. I only give her little chunks off of them, tho - i.e. we share them - and then I give her the stick.

- you tend to absentmindedly make clicking and smooching noises and random whistles while you are otherwise occupied at work - you are often seen wearing only one earring, because you forgot to put the other one back in on the side where the parrot hangs out on your shoulder

What about goat's-milk cheese? Or soy cheese?

It sounds like she's learned that your husband is the one who "likes" to play the biting game, if he regularly and consistently reacts. Is it possible that you may be reacting to her biting him, now, too - so maybe that's opening new (unwanted) possibilities for her? The trick of course is not to react at all, which is pretty hard to do when that sharp hookbill is digging into your finger, I know! :pinch: Just remember ANY reaction, positive or negative, is a reward for them. They aren't dogs! One little trick that has worked for us is the trembling-hand distraction. Say she's sitting on your hand and her body language indicates a bite is coming, raise the other hand off to the side, about a foot or so away from her at eye level, and shake it a little, like a trembling aspen leaf. With Max, it was usually just enough to make her forget for a minute that she was planning to bite, and also gave the bird-holder a reprieve from blood-letting. Maybe if your husband can practice this (the timing takes a little work) he will get bitten less often and that can only serve to make him more relaxed with Roxy, which may make her less interested in biting him.... When I used the time-out method, I would put Max back in her cage, close the door and completely ignore her for a few minutes - probably 5 minutes maximum. I almost never have to do this any more. Finally, my vet is pretty insistent that Max should have 12 hours of sleep a night. She doesn't always get that, but I do try (occasionally she gets more...) I don't really know whether lack of sleep would be a cause of a parrot biting - I just know it makes ME want to bite people....:evil: Hope some of these suggestions will help...

Squeaky door hinges - (boy does my house need a bath in WD40); blowing raspberries (my daughter SWEARS she didn't teach Max to do this...:evil: ); wild bird calls (bluejays, night-herons, cardinals...) - yep, you are in for a treat!{Feel-good-000200BB}

Hey, Amber - I was looking at your posts and saw that there was a phase when she was 11 months old when she was biting quite a lot, too, wasn't there? So: did she get better, and then revert? The responses to your previous posts are still great advice, suggesting you not react to the biting, or try time-outs. Use those methods again; be consistent; be patient. As for causes: What else has changed in your lives in the last couple of days? Have you moved any furniture? Is she getting enough sleep (11-12 hours)? Did either of you change your hairstyle, start wearing glasses, start wearing a new color....you get the drift. (It took me a while, for example, to figure out that Maxi HATES pink and goes into attack mode if there is anything pink within three feet of her...sheesh!) The other thing to consider is the very normal behavioral changes that occur as the bird matures toward adolescence, though it seems like she would be a bit young still. (I have heard that Timnehs are likely to mature earlier than Congos.) My Maxi (also a Timneh) is about the same age as Roxy, and I am anticipating a personality change sometime in the next year, when she joins my daughter in entering the terrible "teens":evil: . I think you should expect to have to go through some adjustments and mood swings as she matures, but hey: adapting is part of the fun of it, right? Please don't even consider getting rid of her! BTW: I love that picture of her hanging upside down. What a cutie!

I have a "store-boughten" playstand for Maxi (actually "internet-boughten") consisting of what amounts to a PVC table with a central PVC column from which sprout a half-dozen manzanita branches at intervals. Its main advantage is that it's on wheels, so I can roll her from room to room; she can hang out with us in the living room when we have company or in the dining room when we're eating or in the kitchen when the stove's not on, for instance, without always having to lurk on Mama's shoulder. Each branch has a ring screw for attaching a toy, but so far Maxi has totally ignored (or been scared of) anything on the lower branches, and only really wants to hang out on the top branch and be Princess of the Playstand.

I'm so jealous! It looks like Tigerlily's toally comfortable on it and checking out all the features.

Half timneh and half congo? How interesting! Be sure to post some portraits when your baby has come home! Maxi's cage is a powder-coated model: 36"x28"x60", with a playtop, which I bought on eBay. (I'm really NOT handy, but even I was able to put it together without any trouble.) Max is a Timneh, BTW, and small for a Timneh at that. Some other considerations besides just the size of the cage are bar spacing, cage shape and cage placement. Bar spacing is usually between 3/4" and 1-1/4" on the cages for medium to large birds, and you want to make sure the bars are close enough together that your bird can't get its head through the bars and then get its neck stuck or something. I'd ask your breeder what size would be right for the hybrid. Also, I have heard that greys prefer cages with a rectangluar footprint (not round or hexagonal), because they like the option of having corners to retreat to. For the same reason, think about where you will be placing the cage. At first I had planned to set Maxi's cage right by a north-facing window, so she could "see out". But after reading more about it, I decided to place it so its back was against a wall, giving her a sense of security. I bought a 36"x48" laminated photograph of a forest scene to put on that wall, which also protects the wall from her food spatters ("here comes the pomegranate juice!":woohoo: ). Maxi does like to sit on a movable perch at windows when she's out, but as for her "safe haven" (the cage), I think it's true that she appreciates not having it exposed on four sides. Good luck, and welcome to the forum!

Great pictures! I'll bet he was thrilled! I used to live in the Washington DC area, and they have black squirrels there, too. Are you planning to use the winter to get Baxter accustomed to the aviator harness? I started working on it with Maxi (who is 19 months old) a few weeks ago, but it's going to take a while to get her used to it: she still leans way away from it and stares at it slanchwise when I place it on the table near her. :lol: (She doesn't grumble at it any more though.) It'll be some time before (1) her flights grow out and (2) the New England weather permits us to venture outdoors much again, so I'm kind of thankful that we'll have the winter to practice. Thanks for sharing those great photos with us!