Suzzique

Yeah as BMustee said a good carrier is a better option. Have a vet check see how much your grey weighs. Alex is bigger than Elmo he is around 420g but there are greys that are even larger. So Alex uses a medium. I have the aviator harnes for him. Also don't feel safe just because you clip your birds wings. There are more clipped birds lost every year than flighted ones. I'm not saying don't clip that is totally your choice. Just know you have just as much of a chance loosing your clipped bird as you do a flighted bird. Oh and congrats on taking on one of these wonderful birds!

Yeah Judy Alex is the same way with cheddar cheese! I let him have some once in a while but I don't think it would be good as a training treat. I'm still looking... The next thing I'm going to try is hemp seeds.

Really at this point it is nothing to worry about. Sense so meny birds are clipped so that they can't fly far you can treat this like he is clipped. If he decides to try flying then good for him. Other wise just make sure he is happy and you are good to go!

What a hansom fellow!

Yes it is! Alex wouldn't touch grapes for the longest time. Now he eats them first. I have yet to find something that he will do anything for (except cheese). I have worked on several things with him and just give lots of praze. I get really excited and tell him "Yay good bird!" He even gets kisses when he has done what I want. So far so good.

If you want him/her to be flighted then this will happen. You can potty train your bird to only poo where you want them to. Not that accedents don't still happen. You can try a lazer pointer and put the dot of light near your bird where you don't want him to be. It doesn't mean that he wont still go there but it's a good way to get them down. Also what about a playstand that he can fly to that is put in that area? You can then put stuff on the floor to make clean up easier. Also not to sound mean but poo and major mess just goes with these amazing birds! I have food stuck to stuff that isn't even near his eatting areas. So you have to wonder if sometimes he isn't seeing how far he can throw his food. They are incredably smart and can be tought. This takes time patients and lots of work on your part. They have a mind of thier own and sometimes no matter how well tought they just aren't going to do what you want. They will choose not to. This birds are NOTHING like having a cat or dog. If you got this bird just to have a talking bird then you got it for the wrong reason.

Alex will never be clipped again. However I totally disagree with putting them under anesthetic for something as simple as a wing clip. Anesthetic is very iffy with birds and only used in extream cases such as surgery. I know someone just had a post not long ago that had a great link to finding avain vets based on your zip code. I think there was one for the UK as well. Maybe the mods can find the post and make it a sticky? It is such good info.

What a hansom boy Charlie is!

I can only comment on the broken wing. If it is long healed and he can at least make a good landing when flying down then I wouldn't worry about it. My tiel who is now over the rainbow broke her wing a few years ago do to a night fright. It was badly broken and we didn't think she would live so we didn't take her to the vet. We made her as comfortable as posible to make what we thought would be her last hours as plesent as posible. She sureprised us by not only totally recovering but after a while she started to fly again. Her wings were no longer semeterical but she was happy and could fly again. After our pionus passed away from a staff infection we took Maggie in to make sure she was ok. The vet looked her over and showed me how badly broken her wing had been. It totally snapped off attached to a new spot and healed. He was amazed that she not only lived but could still fly just as well as before. He said that there was no reason to fix what was no longer broken. He said that the stump from where the wing snapped would wear down and you wouldn't be able to tell where it happened. She was in good health and he was quit happy with her. DNA is really optional. If you really want to know if you have a boy or girl then have it dna'ed. If you don't care one way or the other then just enjoy your new bird! I didn't have anything more than a hand writen note saying that I had payed for Alex in full. My vet never even asked.

The more things you can introduce to him the better. For veggies that can be eatten raw or cooked try both. I had a pionus that LOVED cooked carrots. But she wouldn't touch a raw carrot. Just like people there is no one thing that they all go nuts for. I am still trying to find something that Alex will do anything for (other than cheese).

I guess Alex is the odd ball then. He has the one wing clip. He fledged any way and has great control. He can even gain hight. He has never had a problem.

Cute video of Loki! I still say she is a girl! :laugh:

Yep I agree with Judy she will take care of it! Might take her a couple of days but she will pull it out.

I think that 3 times a day is plenty. Just vary the times so that if for some reason you can't do it it doesn't stress him out. Other wise sounds like things are going well.

Don't worry lovemygrays I've watched him for a while and he doesn't ingest just chews them up. I have foam pieces all over the house from him chewing them up and then the cats playing with what he throws on the floor! LOL What is really cool is that I think he got the idea from me. I was trying to interest him in the jacks. So I put a foam bead on one of the ends to make it free standing. He has taken it from there. For some reason he likes the bead to be on one of the ball ends. So he first chews the hole a bit bigger then he puts the bead on. Sometimes he will put it on and take it off several times before leaving it on and chewing up the bead. He is such a smarty pants!

Here is Alex having fun with a foam bead and a large plastic jack.

Congrats on your new bird! Oh and don't forget the pictures! Got to love the pictures!

Yep everything is totally normal! Just like everything else each bird is different. It can take a few months for them to totally molt out all the old feathers. Alex started with just the down about 6 weeks ago. He has pins all over the place and his chest is starting to look pretty bare. I know it's just the molt because I have the feathers fall out at me as we cuddle. I'm still waiting for the flights to molt out!

I've posted it before but I'll post it again. This is a great DIY toy site. Tons of great ideas! Also though I do order alot of parts I also love the Dollar Store for toy parts! I recently found the golf ball sized whiffle balls 12 to a package. http://www.cheepparrottoysntips.com/

Did you know that the bird that holds the Genuis Book for number of words is a parakeet? So no reason at all that Spike can have just as large a vocabulary as Tyco! :woohoo:

My senegal Martini purrs sounds just like a cat it is to cute! However don't let that only one wing clip make you feel like he can't gain hight. Alex recived that same type of clip from the breeder before we brought him home. No one told him that he shouldn't be able to do much flying like that! ROFL He has NO problem gaining hight. He can fly down to the floor and take off and fly up to the top of the shades. I am now waiting for the clipped feathers to molt out so that he will have even more control. Why did the vet knock him out? I've never heard of a vet doing that. Cliping the tips of flight feathers isn't any different than cutting our hair. The bird just needs to be towled. I wouldn't worry to much Gizmo should be totally back to normal by tomorrow.

Thanks for the update! You are right it does give the rest of us some hope!:woohoo: Alex is now saying Hello crystal clear but only as part of his "song". He loves to sing and has incorperated Hello into it. He wont say it any other time. But there is still hope that one day he will!

I dye Alex's toys myself. I use the food grade dye. I use both the liquid and gel. Though orange is a bit odd for some reason. I found using packets of kool-aid (flavored drink mix for kids) works well for dyeing as well! Once the pieces get to the color that I want I then bake them in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes. It helps dry them out faster and sets the dye a bit better.

I am at home with the birds most of the time. So if I'm home they are out. However we have cats and a rat terrier. Martini isn't flighted at the moment and Alex has a tendency to chace him. I would be way to stressed to leave them out of thier cages when no one is home and for bed time.

Lokie looks like a girl to me! :cheer: