ecodweeb

Ah, yes, I have to side with Dave.... we have a rather well known vet here who advocated a food brand with dyes in it that prevent you from checking the poop color of your bird and suggests twice a year fecals and once a year full blood work..... ie, a bit of a 'scam.'

Seeing as how in 9 years of selective breeding we've gotten an albino all-red grey with white feet, beak and tongue... I don't think it's crazy to think that perhaps these two at one time did perhaps mate. I consider then two different skin colors to the same creature. I've not seen any studies that show TAGs are less or more intelligent than CAGs. I don't think we need to even bother, I think they're just as capable. To me I see the TAG as being a black man and the CAG as being a white man, they're both human and they both have the same mental capability, physically however they do differ because of genetics and selective breeding. Or I could be off base entirely with how I view it. Just sharing my opinion on the discussion. Alex had a red neck feather which makes me believe he had the "King Grey" gene that was selective bred to get the red bellied and then the solid red AG... www.redafricangrey.com

Converting the temps you list puts you at 32F-50F. I do not know if I'd take my fully feathered parrot (certainly not my plucker) out in those temps in a bag with as much mesh as that one has (or any of the other cages/backpack carriers). If you did I'd sadly say the mesh should be fully insulated and covered, remember this is a topical bird whose lineage is used to a much warmer and humid climate... http://www.worldtravelguide.net/country/62/climate/Africa/Democratic-Republic-Of-Congo.html That site leads me to believe that 25-30C is the "normal" temp range these birds are accustomed to, with this in mind, what kind of changes can you make to the travel pack to ensure that your bird does not freeze? It's not uncommon, unfortunately, to read about AGs and other bird freezing to death while stowed under the plane in the cargo hold. I'd leave him where it is warm, perhaps on the warmest day of your trip take him out briefly... but I wouldn't leave him exposed to cold temps for very long.

I wish I could be more helpful. When in doubt, a visit to the vet never hurts.

I am not an expert on babies, but I would offer the birdie food from the bowl (holding the bowl up to him on his perch) for a day or two and then I'd leave it in the dish holder. He'll see that bowl = food and eventually understand that you're not going to offer him food every single time he's hungry, he'll need to walk over to it. But the other reason he may be nervous is he may not be used to moving around his cage. I hope someone whose raised a chick can give better advice. Sometimes I hate having adopted only adult birds, but such is life!

Hopefully the vet and groomer can give you more detailed background. I imagine this is very hard for the previous caretaker to cope with, as he's really letting the last of his wife go with rehoming the parrot. Be sure to hug him and thank him for thinking of the parrot's best interest.

Oh wow. Prayers for Tobie!

Congrats on the breakthru! I did have to covered my offered hand with a towel and then pull the towel away as Talula would step up on it to retrain her to step on a hand. As I said before, she now steps up for me when I offer my hand. I know you'll get thru to this little one. She's just scared. She's probably been dropped a few times before. Karma to you!

wow... initial thoughts: high powered water gun to shoot her with when she's bad. it won't hurt her but it will make her go "HUH?" Harness her Clip... (when you already mentioned)

Don't try and make him step up or interact with you for the first week. Open the door and let him come out, don't coax him out with food. More or less pretend he does not exist, let him see the normal routine, and then he'll start to 'call' you and want to interact with you. Your very wise to know he'll be scared when he arrives.

I don't know if I would say I'm a star. I just wanted to know how she fed Alex and Griff the tofu (raw, and like mine, they devour it and will try and steal it from your hands like a special treat). I asked about her opinion of the captive bred all-red african grey (didn't get to hear the response due to work, will check podcast). The last one I asked but wasn't "asked" perse but she answered it anyway and that was do you advocate traveling with your parrot, like to work or out on walks? The answer to that was "yes."

I just wanted to interject into this that I thought Talula was a broken bird at first. She didn't poop for 16 hours. Then one huge massive plop sound was heard and yup, there it was, she couldn't hold it anymore. Females can hold it in for up to 20 hours I think, as they only get off their nest once a day when trying to make babies. Sounds like you won't have this problem tho

Barbara first contacted me via Twitter the night I adopted Talula. (It went something like "Good for you for taking in an older grey!") I signed up for her magazine soon after, I really like her attitude and approach to training.

I have a 10 year old female who has come from an abusive home. She still ducks and clucks when you make a fast hand movement or anything goes over her little head (Window wipers in the car were a real nightmare for a time). After 5 months of persistence and bribery, she steps up to an offered hand whether or not you say "step up." If she's hesitant, say sitting on her door, I just reach for Mr. Towel and she throws her foot up. Previous she was taught to step on a covered arm or a stick, which really infuriated me. If I can teach this old girl how to step up in 5 months, I know you can teach a one year old! Karma to you!

I was the one who asked all the questions in the interview. I don't think anyone else emailed or phoned in.

If you get a travel cage, let us know how it works out. I have one who will insist on riding on my shoulder and one who wants in my lap, no matter where I try and perch them. One is clever enough to let herself out of the cat carrier and waltz over to my lap.

I've been told by two vets that it's possible for a parrot to bleed out in 15 minutes time if the quick is cut deep enough. Same holds true for a gushing blood feather.

Stick to your limits my dear. You're an inspiration. No one can save them all. People tell you about other birds because, like people who like computers and get harassed about everyone elses' computer problems, those you meet feel you must know how to properly care for them and thus you might take in one more or try and find it a suitable home. it's really a compliment but i understand exactly how frustrating and draining it is at the same time. stand your ground. 6 is a beautiful number.

More progress! With feathers! This was 8-8-09 & 8-23-09: 12-3-09: <br><br>Post edited by: ecodweeb, at: 2009/12/04 01:14

I think ZivaDiva means that using throw-away (ie aluminum) cookware isn't very green, even if it's recyclable, it takes energy to reclaim the material after it's been used. You should check out Corningware and Pampered Chef, both sell stone cookwares that are truly out of this world. Just scrape clean, no scrubbing or washing.

If you've not already, try spraying Aloe Vera Juice (you can get it at walmart in the health and beauty section, ask the pharmacy workers) on your baby to help sooth the new growth.

Yes. Yes I do

katana, it varies bird to bird. I have to hold Talula on my hand in the shower to bath her. She will grumble but she accepts, usually she bites me medium hard. Phoenix freaks out. He won't sit on my hand and he flops on his back in a total panicked state. I tend to just hold his wings open and let someone else spray his undersides with the aloe bottle to bathe him. All you can do is try and see what works. If you have to use the water bottle, well, at least they're getting bathed!

I commend you on your willpower. However, I didn't think parrots can catch any strain of human influenza. I was worried about it when I caught the flu.

Hi Martyn, I wouldn't advocate you attempting to trim your grey's nails right off the bat. Like cats they have a quick that you can't see and it will bleed profusely if you cut into it. It would be best to make a trimming appointment with your vet, they'll file the nails and beak usually for a flat fee. I'd ask to watch them, even ask if they can show you how to do this on your own. Just be very very careful if you do. As for food throwing, it's something that my female used to do before I got new bowls. She'd just dump the entire bowl and giggle, I think she thought it was funny. Perhaps he has too much food? Try giving a smaller portion and see if he still plays, but don't starve him! How old is Buster? Why hasn't he been hand tamed? I have a 10-year old female who was trained to step on an arm of a stick, and I've managed to get her hand trained in under 4 months. It's not hard but you must realize that this animal is going to bite you, it will make you bleed, and it's a learning process. Talula has a larger stance than my other grey and my hands, despite being big, are a little small for her. So she uses her beak to balance herself on my thumb when stepping up. I think she did this with the last family and it scared them, or she may have bit them and they dropped her. She's not "afraid" of people but she's afraid of peoples' hands. Good luck!