ecodweeb

I can tell you now, they will syncrhonize. It starts with a look and then they start rattling off the practiced bit in stereo!

Phoenix bathes in his bowl in a similar manner, and he's 17. I always wanted to get an indoor bird bath for him, for the days when he feels it's time to splash out all his drinking water in the attempt to calm down the dust.

I imagine that the world was very different back when bird that could fly were 8 tons in weight. I imagine they just perched on rocks and not trees. But I'm just guessing

Talking to a toddler is easy. Simple, slowly, but not baby-like with the goo goo's and the ga ga's. He may not grasp the words but he will get the body language.

Patience and Tofu. Fry the tofu (I get it for $2 a package at wole foods) with cayanne or another pepper your bird likes until crispy on both sides. a pack lasts over a month with one-cube-a-day dosing to my male. Dr. Irene Pepperberg used this with her first parrot Alex during the early years of her intelligence experiments to tame the moodiness of a male in the winter. Might help here too.

I told you these birds came from raptors.

I get mine from a coworker who refuses to use petrochemicals in her lawn. So I know they are safe. I wanted to get them from my work (lots of pine trees) BUT I saw the Orkin man out spraying the grounds and quickly said "no" to that idea. I'd ask around, friends family neighbors coworkers, and see who has pine cones and who DOES NOT use herbacites/pesticides in their yard. Ask if you can collect them for your parrot, most are happy to see them go.

what kind of scale should one purchase, christina?

Complicated. Has she seen the vet and been given a clean bill of health? Did they do blood work to check for staph? I've read that some birds may pluck due to staph infection, only to spread it via the beak. My Talula started plucking but it seems out of resentment to a change in routine one night. Also she has dry skin and the pinfeathers are painful to her, so the vet says. Try aloe juice (if you can't find that, it's a product, get regular aloe gel and mix it 50/50 with water in a misting bottle) and give her a shower once a week... that should help with softening the feathers and the regeneration process. Also spoil her a little, and give her lots of other things to tear up in the cage. pine cones are a favorite of mine. as are mini pumpkins (cut in half) and anything red/orage colored and wooden.

fid: feather kid

I would not allow any pest control company to spray with the parrot in the house. They are spraying a toxin and birds are extra sensitive to those. I would take the bird to work, and wait until I couldn't smell the smell to bring him back in. If this meant leaving him overnight, or staying overnight with him at a friends home, that's what I would do.

Oh my. I don't quite know what to advise. Is there a second opinion you can get from another avian vet in the area? Jillybeanz and I agree that it isn't normal to have a vet give a contraception injection w/out a blood pressure check first. I realize you came here likely hoping for a second opinion, but it might be worth the long distance call to reach the next closest avian vet to see what they say about this. Is it possible to place the troubled amazon in a room on its own, away from the rest of the birds? I think that would be the first course of action. danmcq said in chat that greys bleed from the eyes when highly stressed, and obviously she is very upset. If she is the kind of bird who enjoys hanging around with you, it might be best to keep her in a travel cage in your room until the amazon is gone. If this were me, I'd be calling another vet, and not touching the eggs until I get their opinion. I'd also be prepared for the drive to take the AG to that vet who gave the second opinion. I'd also put the amazon in another room, even if it was my bedroom, shut away from the others. For their sake, I'd put up with a screamer in my own room. If the amazon is bothering your grey and OTHER birds, obviously it's the one that should be removed. I really hope you get this all sorted out soon. Karma to you for support.

This is a very cool story, and I think that Breeze will be very happy in your home. The level of care you've already shown will foster this little one's spirits and provide you with a very happy (and probably talkative) companion for many years to come. Kudos to you for taking on a disabled grey, and for not only making the proper changes to ensure a happy cage life, but also for making stands so that she can be outside the cage. I also agree that the environment is what makes the parrot (happy or sad). I let Talula sit outside her cage for the first few hours the night I got her home, and I let her out often. This has been good for her emotional wellbeing, and that shows with how friendly she has become towards new humans. Karma points to you!

Use your cell phone to get him on video; or use your webcam if you have one. That way you can shot Chuck and post it on YouTube for the rest of us!

WTG! That's very cool, he is fast on his way to being a real conversationalist!

Mine only talk excessively when I'm out of the room or they get covered up. So when they think they are alone. Talula has made it a point to say her name in two or thee different ways in hopes of getting uncovered and a peanut. She knows how to work daddy, that's all I can say.

Everyone else has basically said it: * Sinbad didn't understand the circumstances of the scolding and reacted with a natural fear response * your remorse is detected by him now, and being the manipulative little creatures they are, he will try and use this to his advantage (ie he screams when you say no, ignore this behavior and tell him no -- you cannot give in to a screaming child, nor a screaming parrot) * Consistency is key. It's very hard, but there is no alternative. * You're going to put this behind you in short order and laugh about it later. Also, tip from one parrot keeper to another: baby powder will stop the ants in their tracks. Coat the cable hole in the wall and around the sink and around Sinbad's cage... they can't detect their tracks in it and they get confused and somehow die. Don't understand the science, just know it works and is VERY cheap compared to the Orkin man.

Talula I want to say is around 585 grams and I want to say phoenix is in the 480-490 gram range (I recall there was nearly a 100 gram difference). It's "unusual" for a female to be bigger than a male, but they're just what they are. Talula will easily be 14" beak to tail when the feathers are finally allowed to grow in. Phoenix is 12" beak to tip. You can look at their feet and tell that talula's are almost twice as thick, with longer nails. It's like looking at a "southern gent" like me: well over 240LB and 6'3" vs looking at a tinny yank from upstate NY who is 5'7" and 145LB. We're both human, both male, but we're quite different physically speaking. Same thing with the birdies.

I believe it's Vitamin D that comes from sunlight, we have something in our skin that makes it when exposed to sun light. It helps make us happy. When I moved to the Northwest the first thing suggested was indoor tanning, I said why on earth would I do that? They said to help offset the Seasonal Affective Disorder, or seasonal depression, from October to May when it rained. They weren't kidding about the depression, but I never tried the tanning bed. However light therapies are not uncommon or new! So you might just need some better lighting in the house to help you feel less of a 'miserable git' my dear

Well, that depends on the cat. I have two greys (one a ten year old female, rescue) and two cats (both girls). The cats are in fear of the birds, mostly thanks to the 17 year old boy. He don't take well to cats jumping into his cage and snooping around (bit one hard enough that she bled). But your grey won't do this, and as such, you're right to be concerned. I'd advise keeping kitty closed up in the bedroom for the first week and let the bird out as normal. This is important to her psyche, as she's used to that routine -- it would be good to continue it. After a week, so she gets established, let the cat out while she's out and keep a constant eye on them. Obviously while she's in the cage the cat will be out, and you can observe how the cat reacts. If the cat sits at the cage and stares, that's a bad sign. If the cat seems uninterested, that's a better sign but not one that it's all going to be OK. Some animals hold back their agression for years -- one lady posted of going to the garage to get a box and came back to find the dogs had attacked her grey. They've lived together for 10+ years, and no signs of agression, until that day. It's never a good idea to leave greys out of the cage with cats around. I put them up if I need to go upstairs, or take them with me. Also, I would play with the toys out of the cage and then put them in. Hopefully she will play. Try pine cones (NOTE: get them from someone's yard who DOES NOT use fetalizers/herbacides/sprays on their grass, I can't advise getting cones from any old parking lot as those tend to be treated and I fear the toxicity of the chemicals and the fragile immune system of greys). My girl LOVES pine cones. Put some seeds that she likes (my girl likes pumpkin) inside the cone and cover it with peanut butter. That'll give her an incentive to tear it apart. Doing this has gotten Talula to play with other toys. Also, Good Bird Magazine talked about taking paper cups and stuffing them with crumpled napkin balls filled with seed, and strining them up.. this is a great forraging toy that is rewarding too! I have had good luck with reading outloud to my female. She also takes intent notice of me when I sing to the radio. try reading the newspaper/online articles/forum posts to her. Just pull up a chair and read out loud, make eye contact. These things build a level of trust, but also form a routine. If you drink coffee in the AM and read the paper as part of your routine, add the parrot into it and read aloud. But I would say don't pick her up or try and handle her too much in the first few weeks. She needs to settle in. Obviously if she offers a foot while you stand in front of the cage or walk by, she wants up, and let her. Have you had parrots before? are you prepared for the inevitable bite? Not to scare you, but it will happen! Just remember to stay calm and think that this is a misbehaving 2-year old human girl whose parents were murdered and she's been thrown about the foster care system. If you can keep that image in your head, you'll understand why she's so scared and untrusting. Good luck and Karma to you for taking in a rescue. You've earned it!

Jill: I think the geographical differences plays into this. You're more north than I am, I imagine that birds in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains all the time like the UK, have little problem. The climate and barometric pressures are different there. Here in Carolina, it'll be 104F in the summer and possibly even snow and get to -F temps in the winter, that's quite a change, and I think it plays more into their mood. Stress if you will of "the storm is coming and my body says I should take cover," where in areas where it always rains they're like "meh, just another day." That's my theory anyway!

The first one came as a package deal with the newly found boyfriend. Fast forward 5 years. The second one was adopted in part to keep the first in good company, and also because I felt for the poor little girl. She needed people to love her and give her the attention she deserved.

Aw. I am glad he's better, you've got a good vet for sure!

haha, yes I love this Thanks for sharing!

Just saying, birds of olde seem to have had more interesting color mutations. Which brings us into the solid red african grey mutation that was bred in captivity. not to mention the white tailed AG, the albino and the "F2" that has a red stripe of feathers across the belly or back.