empera

Wow, it's been awhile since I've been on here. I've been so busy with my new baby Zeus <3 He is just about 4 1/2 months, born on October 1st. Last month he was whistling up a storm, making so many noises it was silly! I was surprised at how quickly he caught on. the mornings are always the time to let out all that lovely energy. For the past two weeks I've been repeating hello! hi! every time i see him, and a few days ago I'm greeted with a "HELLO!" My goodness, I almost knocked myself off my feet! Every morning I put him out on a stand near a window (but not too close) so he can observe everything that's going on outside. One of his favorite things. Well, this morning I go into the kitchen to get oatmeal for him. I hear him flying and he says HELLO! I have a cat and 2 dogs in the house so i rushed into the room There he was sitting 2 inches away from my lovely cat. Haha. :woohoo: She looked appalled and he looked delighted. Heres a link to a video of him saying hello for the camera!

Haha, actually I believe they would. I have another hen named Vodka, but I named them for the names not for an alcoholic reference. Her new name for the time being will be Lulu. It's innocent enough.

Thank you everyone! Well, taken into consideration of all the great ideas you all have given, it's coming along well enough. I'll first have everyone sit in a big circle. Ask them a few questions about chickens, like the classic question about which came first; egg or chicken. That will give them a chance to think. Then bring out Rocky (rooster which is a bantam cochin barred rock) and Tequila (although her new name for the children will be Lulu). I'll talk about why different chickens lay different sized eggs, the colors of the eggs, diet, predators, life cycle, free-range vs. most commercial chickens (very briefly), why they can't fly, where their "stomach" is, etc. Any other ideas?

Help! I have about 9 chickens that are all extremely tame and healthy. I though about taking them into a classroom to show children the importance of chickens today and so on. I emailed a few teachers at a nearby school and I didn't expect them to reply with yes! I need a lesson plan. I can't do the incubator with eggs and wait until they hatch because this will be a small lesson with 1 week old chicks and 2 full grown chickens. Ideas! I have the life cycle, egg production, interesting facts, importance and thats all! :blink: Any ideas?

Update! Okay, maybe I was being a tad bit worried a few days ago about Zeus but that's all changed! His nipping is slowing down a lot. He seems to like oatmeal, and a little bit of tomatoes. He is eating well, and playing around as much as possible. So far, he is making a ton of noises but I'm not sure if they are showing contentment or any other feeling. I hope. He seems quite protective over his food, which is questionable. BlueKiwi, he hasn't seemed to take much notice to the green foraging toy that you also own. I think it's because he's only been at my house since Saturday morning. But congrats on your baby grey! The wait is so worth it. He has been stepping up successfully and seems to begin to understand the whole concept. We can pet him almost everywhere and he enjoys it. I'll get more pictures soon!

Here my baby is. And a few questions. He seems to be very nippy, and I do understand that he is tasting everything, etc. But now there are those bites with baby noises telling me no. I know it's his first day, but he has adjusted so well! He is obsessed with one of his toys, and loves bell noises. He preened and did all of those things that shows us he is comfortable. They are more than a little hard, and I only have him step up when he is about to fall or anything like that. I say a firm "No bite." but he doesn't let go, and I can't distract him from the bite with anything else. I have a somewhat lower pain tolerance, and I'm so worried I'm encouraging his behaviour. Also, he seems to not want to stay on his perch, instead perching on his water and food bowls. I just put a blanket over his cage, and a small night light so he can climb on the perch without being in absolute darkness. I'm just worried I'm doing the wrong things! Advice?

I don't think you should let your grey go. Having a grey and a newborn child is a big responsibility, and takes up more time than ever. If there is any possible way to keep your grey, it may turn out to be a better outcome for your grey than what you think.

Thanks. The cage that I was so convinced not to come until January, came last night! I just put it up after a lot of frustration. :woohoo: Now I just need to fill it with Zeus

Why thank you everyone for the advice. Hopefully he will be fine with his smaller cage. At the specialty bird store that I'm getting him from, they socialize the babies with all other birds in a "Nursery Area" that people who walk pass the store can see. Everytime I've been to the store, they have been playing and walking around with like 15 other birds! That's good that they are used to other birds. Nope, I seriously can't wait. Before I found out about Zeus coming home soon, I was super excited about the cage. Imagine how excited I am now!

So after a good 9 days since Zeus' arrival, everything is going better than expected. He is eating everything (besides forbidden foods) we give him. His step up is improving each and every time we go over it. And sometimes he is rewarded with a yummy banana chip, which he loves very much. I took him to the avian vet on Friday last week, and she was surprised at how healthy of a baby he was. His weight was great, and everything was healthy. Since he was weaned on to Zupreem natural and Zupreem fruit pellets, I didn't bother thinking about Harrison's diet now. But fortunately, the vet sold Harrisons! She recommended it, and gave it to me for free! I have a little bag, that I am slowly giving to him every day. Besides the regular baby noises, I didn't expect to hear any mimicing or any of the such until a few months after he began to settle in. But in the past few days, he has been trying to wolf whistle every time someone walks in the room. (I do that, haha.) Then he begins to mumble under his breath. He is only 3 months old! I have some pictures for you "What? I was hungry, okay?!" -------------------------------------- My sweetheart is going to be coming home in a few hours. In the next 45 minutes, we are leaving to go up to Everett to get my beautiful baby. I'm so excited. I couldn't sleep, haha. ------------------------------------------- Zeus, my baby CAG, born on 10/3/08 is ready to come home. At a very young 2 months and 3 weeks, he is already weaned. I have a few questions I couldn't seem to locate answers for. And I want to be as sure as possible before I make any mistakes! 1. Although I ordered a huge cage around 3 weeks ago, it still hasn't been delievered. :angry: And I wasn't expecting Zeus to come home until the middle of January. Anyways, I'm not sure when this permanent cage will arrive, but I have a smaller cage. To get to the point, if Zeus comes home and gets used to this cage, will it be bad or troubling to him to move him straight into that one? 2. Since he is so young, he might not be fully fledged. So I'm not sure how to help him develope these skills. I don't plan to cut his wings until absolutely necessary. I've read all the sticky posts on bringing my baby home. But I can't help but feel so nervous! He might come home a few days after Christmas. (What a gift) Thanks. Post edited by: empera, at: 2008/12/27 18:02<br><br>Post edited by: empera, at: 2009/01/05 21:16

That's good that your rehoming a kitty, Sandra. Oh yes, a certified avian is in my plans along with all different animals. But the only vet school in the state is WSU in Pullman, WA! It's on the opposite end of where I am.

Sandra - I believe the reluctance was more of a stubborness instead. It is just his nature. Always stubborn about admitting anything. And as soon as I brought Merlin back, I think he saw the possibilities that could have happened, and he seemed to be more caring towards Merlin. He's changing his diet from full seed to full pellets, which I'm very happy about. As much as Merlin would be a lovely addition to my 2 dogs, 3 cats, 1 sun conure, 9 chickens, and my soon to come home baby grey Zeus, I think I would have my hands finally full. His appetite has returned somewhat, same with his thirst, which is a great improvement. This further motivates me to become a veternarian! Thanks Luv for the Karma. I appreciate it. Are you also feeling the strong winter snow storms that Washington state is so not used to?

I just dropped Merlin off at my avian vet. Dave- I understand what you are saying, I'm just saying that although he does not specialize in birds, he should notice the obviously signs of an illness. Linda - Thank you, and his father ended up giving permission as long as I paid for the 200$ worth of blood work and examinations. Hopefully they will help him recover. I hope for the best.

I must correct myself in saying that my boyfriend fully agrees with my views on the condition of Merlin. It is his father that wouldn't take him. I apologize for that misunderstanding. Last night I was about to take him out of the small carrier they put him in with a towel and force feed him water and food. Yet they refused that I do so, and decided to stay within sight of me and Merlin to make sure I didn't try it. I tried to get my boyfriend to stress the importance of his intake of food and water during this time to his mother without his fathers presence, but she said that he had plenty. (A sip of potato soup, a piece of small broccoli, and half a small slice of banana? I don't think so!) I was furious. :angry: For one, his father is almost equivilent to a normal vet, and he doesn't see the immedient danger Merlin is in! Two, he didn't listen to my advice through my boyfriend, urging him to go to the vet now. But all his father does is try and blame my boyfriend for his illness! Which is entirely not true. I would have taken him to the vet, but I have no large amount of money to pay for the expensive bills. I understand that a mineral block and foods will not do it's work in such emergency cases, but it's all I could try and do when they refused for me to take him to a vet. I heard that they have finally decided to take Merlin into the vet. This is stressing me out.

My suspicion was confirmed. Merlin has a calcium deficency. I suggested that in the very beginning, and his dad instead though it was lead posioning from his cage. After only calling a normal local vet for an opinion, he got a prescription sent to a vet place for calcium drops to mix with water. That was before I took him to the vet. The vet had to obtain his information from me, instead of my information because I was indeed not the owner. So the results weren't delivered directly to me. Now, his father told me that it was what he thought it was. Ridiculous. Anyway, I believe I did the right thing by checking Merlin in and getting blood work, etc done to make sure what was wrong. I'd rather spend time and money making sure what was wrong with a bird I care for, than doing guesswork and having it be too late. Thanks everyone for your advice. ----------------------------------------- My boyfriends fifteen year old African Grey named Merlin is currently on a strictly seed diet. A few days ago, he had a seizure in which he fell from his perch in his cage after rapid fluttering of the wings and continuous muscle contractioncs causing his head to be bent in the most frightening way. After 10-15 seconds, the seizure ceased and he would say "Hello!" and wonder why all these big humans were hovering over him. Two days ago one seizure. Today he had three. At first I suggested that he had an extreme case of calcium deficency. So three days ago, we put a cuttlebone in his cage and he went to work on it. Since I am only someone who visits the house and takes care of these two, I can't just rudely suggest that Merlin must go see an avian vet. Now he is very tired, and bruised around his eye due to falling to the floor and hitting his head. With the possibilities of a concussion, internal bleeding, I'm quite worried. Actually more than worried, I would be horrified if he got in any worse condition than now. He has little to no appetite, and is acting the most tame I have ever seen him. Only two people could pet him without him being aggressive, and now everyone including myself can pet him. He also has no want for any water. Slowly, my boyfriends mother is trying put some water into his mouth and feeding him some food that isn't seed. I know that going to an avian vet would be the most reasonable thing to do for Merlin, but I have no say in the care of an animal that isn't my own.:dry: Also, western Washington was just hit with record amounts of snow, so it might be difficult to get him somewhere. I would greatly appreciate some advice. Thank you.<br><br>Post edited by: empera, at: 2008/12/20 01:03