OlBenny

Thank you all for your help in this:) I'll be getting some pictures up soon of my new addition to the family. As always, I can count on the members of this forum for sound advice and helpful hints:-)

Hello All, I rescued a 11yr/old CAG this last weekend. The lady I got him from said that he had plucked himself because of the diet that he was on; which was solely a seed diet. Any way, my question is this, Its pretty cool where I have him and my mother has offered to knit him a sweater. I think that its a good idea, but I would love some input from every one:-) Thanks a bunch, Ben

Hey Devin, I am from Minnesota to. There is a rescue here in MN called MAARS. I think you should go there and spend some time there even if its only for a weekend. I know that you said that you want a special needs Grey, however spending time with some would be a good idea first. It would be a good insight for exactly what you are getting your self into. Also, being a first time bird owner (if you go through MAARS) will probably require you to take classes and do some hands on training at there site before considering you. Here is there web site: http://www.maars.org/index.php Please, please, please check into this before you get a Grey!!! I know from experience loosing a companion bird is VERY hard. I researched Grey's for over a year before I actually got one. There is a lot to learn and it CAN'T be done in a couple of days. I think it would be a good idea for you to get some Cockateils or another type of smaller bird before you get a Grey. In my opinion, Grey's should not be pets for first time bird owners. Ben Fort, Chanhassen, MN

I am in the twin cities area. Over by Chanhassen

Hello all, I know it's been a while since I have wrote any thing, but I am starting to look for another Grey. I would like to get another Timneh. I have been looking online and most of the people I contact "have just moved out of the country". Any way, I was wondering if any one knew of a good breeder in the area. I am not worried about driving. I would be able to travel a couple hundred miles for a pick up or half way...I am not to fussy about the mileage I would have to drive. Thanks again, Ben

I love photography and have been doing it for a few years now. I have the Canon 30D with a variety of lenses. SLR stands for Single-Lens Reflex, and DSLR means Digital Single-Lens Reflex. All this means is that there is a movable lens with in the lens that magnifies or de-magnifies(I hope that is a word) what ever you are looking at through the view finder. Since you said that you want to take pictures of animals and bugs and such I am going to recommend a Canon. The research I have done has led me to believe that Canon is better in the field than Nikon will ever be. The 30D is nice but a bit expensive. You would get similar results with the Rebel XTi, and the XSi. The nice part about the Canon 30D is there are different modes of shooting. While I was starting out I left it in auto and payed attention to the settings inside the viewfinder and then went on to the semi-manual modes (ex. Tv,Av,M) Just so you know the M means FULL manual. You have to set the ISO, exposure time, aperture, flash and all that. If you are going to be taking pictures out side please please please pick up an external flash! The external flash plays a few key roles. 1. It elevates the flash so you get a more even coverage of light 2. Eliminates silhouettes when shooting into the sun 3. there are more but you'll get the picture;-) Also it sounds kinda bad, but pick out the biggest flash you can afford. You will NOT regret it. I have the Canon Speed light 580 EX2. Excellent Flash!!! As far as lenses go if you are shooting out side at birds, deer, "animals" I would suggest a lens in the range of 17mm- 85mm, this gives you the ability to be semi macro (Shooting bugs) to semi telephoto (something across the field), this lens usually comes with the camera if you buy a kit(Just so you know, when you look at lens's "IS" means Image Stabilized). As time goes on and you find what you like to shoot, that will determine the next lens's you buy. If you like to shoot macro (Really small things) I would suggest the 100mm fixed lens. The auto focus is really fast for those little critters that won't stop moving with amazing clarity. If you like the longer range shots then the 75mm to 300mm is a pretty standard lens, how ever to get that one in IS is VERY expensive!! So, I use a standard (Not IS) 75 to 300 with a tripod. If and or when you get a tripod make sure you get one big enough for you camera and lens. This means future lens's as well. A lot of super-telephoto lens's weigh more than the camera and if not mounted on a pod that can even out the weight all that money tips over. Any way I am sure you are getting tired of reading so I am going to stop typing. If you would like more info or tips please don't hesitate to message me. I am ALWAYS more than happy to help any one with photography stuff. I am by no means an expert but I do know how to have a lot of fun!!! :-)

Kind of an update: I called the land lord again yesterday(Monday) to see what he found out. He finally called me today, and after about 5 minutes of him babbling about what he found on Parrots, he told me I should call the owner of the complex and talk to her. It's like he needed to check out what I told him to see if I was lying or some thing (how irritating), any way I called her and ironically today was the first day she had herd any thing about it; and she herd about it through an e-mail!! By this time I was good and mad, any way the sum of it turned out that she is going to check some unbiased sources and get back to me tomorrow after noon. I'll let you all know what is found and or decided. Ben Fort, Chanhassen, MN

I talked to the Land lord to day and sure enough he had the carpets steam cleaned. When I asked him about the smell he said that it was cinnamon. The cleaner added it to the mix for a nice smell. Any way, he said that he would call the company and ask about the chemicals they used and contact the owner of the complex. I also gave him the number to my vet so she can better explain to him what she explained to me. I'll keep you all posted as what I find out on the matter so this NEVER happens to any one else again!!!

Thanks all, I really do appreciate every thing :-) I was thinking of an autopsy but when I called the vet she said that they could only do one if she wasn't frozen, unfortunately I had all ready done that so I could take her where I want to bury her. The vet said some thing about some things in her body change and don't give the right reading's after they have been froze. I am going to do some calling around to the Land lord and see if there was some thing on his part or one of the tenants as far as the smell. Either way, I am going to get some answers. I'll keep you all in the loop as far as what I find out. And THANK YOU ALL for your kindness and for your thoughts and prayers. I'll be staying on the sight and see what every one else is up to;-) Ben Fort

Well, I have some VERY BAD news. Last night around 3:00AM Bell past away{Feel-bad-00020072}. I am still investigating as to why this happened. My Vet and I have been thinking of different reasons, but between the two of us the only thing we can come up with is that some-one some where in the building had scented the hallways for Fall. When I walked out my door the scent was so heavy I had a hard time breathing it. As far as we can tell, its the only thing that's changed. Any way, Thank you all for your help these last few weeks.{Feel-bad-0002006A} Ben Fort

Thanks Dave, That does make sence. I just wanted to make sure. About the beard, I just wish mine would just grow evenly. Thanks again, Ben

I am sure there is a ton of threads on here that discuss molting and the like but please bare with me. I was giving Bell a shower last night and I am almost positive that she is well on her way into a molt, but the thing that's peaked my curiosity are the feathers on her chest closer to her wings and almost under the wings. Some feathers turned a shade of blueish purple, but only when they are wet. When she dries off they are all Grey again. I don't know if this is some thing that she's had and I never noticed or if its some thing new. I just had her to the vet about a month a go and had blood work done and she came up clean as a whistle. While at the vet her doctor told me that the band thats around her leg indicates that she was wild caught and imported. Not sure, but the Vet thinks she is around 20- 25 years old. This shattered me and the previous owners original estimate of around 7 years old.What do you all think? I'll see if she will let me take some pictures Thanks, Ben

I have always been a little cautious of clipping my babies wings and it tore me in two to do it:( , but the area where I live, if she were to get out it would most defiantly be the end. I live in an area that has a very unforgiving weather. In the summer it can be unbearably hot and in the winter subzero. I keep her wings and my teils wings clipped all the time, how ever I don't trim to the point where they fall like a rock. Usually when they are trimmed they have enough flight feathers to make a VERY smooth landing. I like it this way because I know the farthest they could fly is to the deck door and at the very worst make it to the deck. When she is on the floor every thing she can be on has a cotton rope attached to it and she can crawl up it to get to go where ever she wants. I guess the moral of this story is; where ever your area is, its going to decide whether or not to let her fly or not. If you have the wide open spaces, I'd say get her a harness and let her fly or clip her wings and find other ways that she can get around, but Janfromboone is right, going back and forth would be traumatic. I hope this helps, Ben

This more of a question than any thing, but I have noticed that Bell (My TAG) fluffs up when ever my teils get to close to where ever she is; so that makes me think that when she does fluff she is irritated, But when I watch training video's of other types of birds they say that when a bird fluffs up it's a sign of being comfortable. What do you all think? Does fluffing mean irritated? Thanks, Ben

Hello, Just curious, but why would I need to strip the bark if I bleach it? If I soak the entire stand in a %10 bleach water solution, wouldn't that take care of the limbs to? The only reason I ask is that I like the way it looks with the bark on. Let me know what you think, Ben Fort I'll put some pics of it on when I get a chance ;-)

OK, sounds good. I made it a little on the big side, so baking it isn't going to work, but I can bleach it. Thanks for the advice! :-)

Hello All :-) , This past weekend I was visiting my parents and I told my dad that I wanted to make a play stand for my bird. After looking over the list of "bird safe wood", my dad and I settled on Hickory. We have a ton of these trees scattered through out our woods (also we use it for smoking all the meat we process :laugh: ). Any way, we cut the tree down and I took what I needed from it and proceeded to make the stand. I didn't use any screw of any sort. I am banking on the fact that as the trunk dries out, the holes will shrink, pinching the branches in the holes. When I was all done I noticed this Moss looking stuff. My question is this moss looking stuff toxic? I allready scrapped off every thing I could, but now I am wondering if I should just make a new one. Let me know what you all think :-) Ben

Hello- I am currently teaching my TAG to lay on her back. She is still getting used the idea but I can lay her on her back in my arms,my hand, and on her back on the couch. It takes some persuasion to get her to let my fingers go, but after some time of praise and belly rubs she does. Fist what I did was get her used to perching on my left hand with both her feet wrapped around my left hand index finger. With my limited experience this seems to be a must for the first step. After she is comfortable with that, start introducing your thumb on top of her feet. I do this because it more or less a security issue with the bird. Any way, after she is comfortable with that, I started tilting my hand so that her back was starting to hang off my hand. When you do this she is going to dig those claws in and probably bite. Just remember that she isn't doing it to hurt you and the biting is more for balance and to right her self. She is doing it because it isn't natural for a bird to be on her back. On kind of a side note, make sure you are talking and praising her the whole time, and kind of trick I have learned is when you are talking to her make sure you use a calm voice (Not stressed out from pain; if her claws are really tight on your finger). Keep going as you see progress but don't over do it. If you do, she will associate being on her back as a bad thing. After she is comfortable being up side down on your finger, start petting her back and belly, just to let her know that every thing is okay. Then when you are convinced that she is cool with it, start lowering her closer and closer to what ever you are going to lay her on. I started with my hand. If you decide to go with you hand or lap, take your other hand and kind of cup it around her head so she can't see what ever you are placing her on. This does a couple of things. 1. she isn't going to bite what ever you are putting her on and 2. gives her that security that YOU are not going to let any thing bad happen to her. When you get her down to what ever you are going to put her on just touch her back to it for a second, then bring her back up top, and keep repeating this step longer and longer. Your bird will tell you when she is ready to just lay there and be comfortable with being pet or rubbed. After that just start pulling you finger(s) out real slow and see if she will open her claws. When I got to this point I didn't pull my hand out all the way, I kept the finger that she had a hold of close, just in case she decided that that was enough. Then just pet her and praise her and keep letting her know that every thing is okay. Then to pick her up, just stick your finger back on her feet and let her grab a hold, and lift and twist your hand up into a normal perched position. Like I said before, I am by no means an expert, but what I did really worked for me. I hope this helps. Let me know what happens. It worked out for my Grey, I hope it work for yours as well. Good luck! :-) Ben Fort Chanhassen, MN

Thanks much, and see you around:-) Ben

Thanks for getting back to me:-) We are not exactly sure how she is. The lady I bought her from was saying that she got from a rescue that her owner(s) had past on, but they told Lori(The lady I bought her from) that she was really young. And Lori had her five years. So I am going to say between 5 and 7 years old. When she sits and bobs around I don't think that she is regurgitating food, but then I wouldn't know. :-( What would I see or hear if she was? That would good to know. Ben

Hello All, I am very new to the blogging world and it will take me a while to figure it out. I am even newer to to having an African Grey. I don't want you to think that she was an impulse buy or an ornament for the house. I really love birds and the information that I have read has led me to having a Grey own me ;-) I just wanted to say hi to every one and all that kinda jazz. See you all later, and talk to you soon. Ben Fort

This thread discusses the Content article: Crazy Bird I have had my Grey going on two weeks now, and I was just wondering a few things. When she is sitting on her stand and just hanging out together some times she will start bobbin and moving her head around like a cork-screw. What I wondering is, if this is her playing around or if there is a problem. Also, when I put my hand in her cage to pet her, some times she will put her beak on my hand and kind of shake her head back and forth. Is this playing or is there area for concern? Let me know what ya'll think, and thanks for your time, Ben Fort Chanhassen, MN