DavidH

Thanks for all your prayers and good thoughts. No sign of Shanti yet, but we are not giving up hope. Shanti flew with about a one-second window of opportunity. Someone opened a sliding glass door just to exit quickly. The door was open only enough for the person to exit sideways. Shanti was at least 10 feet from the door. But that's all it took. Almost no time and a very small space, and he was gone into the light and sky. My advice would be to NEVER open a door or window when a flighted bird is out of its cage.

He has become a great flyer, and the weather is good, so he may be ok.

Yes, that's me. I posted on other sites as well. Also, took out ad in local paper classified. Also posters and walking around neighborhood. Notified vets, Humane Society, Animal Shelters, Raptor Center, etc. So far nothing. But it hasn't even been 24 hrs yet. The bad part is that he flew just before sundown, so we didn't have daylight hours to search yesterday. Thanks for all the help.

Thanks to both of you and anyone else who posts. I'm too upset to reply at length, but I'm reading everything and taking the advice. I will update soon.

My bird Shanti has flown out an open door. I have made posters for neighborhood, put his cage outside with toys, contacted animal control/humane society, notified neighbors and searched. It is now dark -- been gone a couple of hours. I've been calling his name in the backyard. What else can I do? All advice appreciated.

Well, I am so happy with my CAG Shanti that I am thinking of purchasing an Amazon (or 2). There are 3 beautiful Blue-Fronted a few months old, gender unknown, available in my area of Southern California. Shanti lives in the house and is flighted. My idea is to build an aviary or buy a large cage outside on our patio for the new addition(s). The human family and Shanti would be able to see them through glass doors and, of course, interact by going outside with them. Here are my two main questions: 1) How hardy are BF Amazons for the So. Cal. climate? (We almost never have freezing temperatures, although in the winter we go into the 40s at night). I have heard that plastic covering for the cage or aviary will protect them from wind, which is supposedly more threatening than cold. 2) Would it be a bad or good idea to get 2 birds rather than 1? Can they live happily ever after in one big cage/aviary? My wife doesn't like the idea of a solitary bird outside, even though it would have plenty of human interaction time. What about another species of parrot? Other species options are readily available in our area. Thanks for your thoughts. Feel free to add anything outside of the above issues that you think I need to learn.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-missing-parrot-20100720,0,771528.story What do you think?

Here's a recent one of Shanti on his boing speaking Spanish.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9I3hs7OlHY&feature=channel And today's 15-second clip of Shanti cheering for México in World Cup: "Gol de México":

Shanti's breeder ASSURED me he was a male. He was certain from looking at him. Claimed the males were larger. Turned out he was right. Confirmed by DNA testing. I'll bet he's right a good 50% of the time.

2 minutes of raw video of almost 2-yr-old Shanti on his boing. He has about a 30-word vocab now, but would only say "Hola Chiquito" and "Tikal" (the dog) for the camera. I'll try to film him in a more talkative mood soon.

Here's the Feb. 20 update on the 1000 Greys saved from illegal traders in Cameron. Follows on a previous seizure of 300 in November. http://www.parrots.org/flyfree/parrots-released_feb20.html on this story:

I find the most important thing -- and the most difficult -- is educating other family members to never leave a door open. Now that we have a puppy, this is even more imperative and challenging. Shanti can, but rarely does (so far), fly. He's very territorial and tends to stick to the exterior of the cage or his boings at all times (unless I take him out in the backpack or he is on my hand). But he'll fly whenever he's startled, so the danger is there. The puppy has a microchip, but Shanti doesn't. How do you microchip a bird? If anyone has a link or info, I'd appreciate it.

Shanti is at last fully flighted, but hasn't flown much yet. He will only fly -- as far as I know -- when he is spooked by something. Last night something freaked him out and he took off on his longest flight yet -- 2 or 3 spins around the living and dining room area. It was beautiful to watch. But when he perched in an unfamiliar spot he started to regurgitate and poop. It was the most I'd seen him regurg. ever. I was a little worried he may have hurt himself crashing around (some rough landings), but he seems completely normal (i.e., crazy) this morning. Was he just nervous? Anyone seen this time of post-flight regurgitation before? Thanks, David

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/business/05road.html?hpw A whole new meaning of spreading one's wings.

Really cool!

Thanks for all the feedback. Shanti was in the room when the furniture was moved. I'm beginning to revise the theory though. He may be a little spooked by the whole idea of moving away from his cage. I thought it was the furniture because he reacted when he past by it (on my hand), but now I'm thinking he's just afraid of me taking him from the living room to the kitchen. I'll keep working on it. I've been away for a few days so it's hard to know what may have upset him while I was gone.

I'm well aware of how Greys can be phobic about new things, but yesterday Shanti started flapping and shrieking when I took him out of the cage. He seems to have been flipping out about the repositioning of a chair from one room to another. He's seen the chair a million times, just in a different spot. Have others seen this kind of behavior often? I moved the chair back and he was fine.

Just to be clear, I didn't take the photos. Jesse Garett, a local high school student, did. Pretty talented kid

You have to do some clicking to see these 2 remarkable photos of Shanti, but trust me it's worth it. 1) http://jgarrettphotography.com/?pageID=357119 2) Click on OPEN MENU (lower right corner) 3) Click on GALLERIES 4) Click on BIRDS 5) SHOTS numbers 1 and 2 are the amazing Shanti 6) Enjoy the galleries with other amazing nature and animal photos too.

I just got back from my first trip away from Shanti. I spent 10 days away and really missed him. He stayed home and my wife took care of him. I was a little nervous about how he'd react when I returned. He was very happy to see me, cooed a lot and wanted to be cuddled and petted. It was very emotional for both of us. I was really touched. I expected him to remember me, of course, but I guess I wasn't really sure how much a Grey could miss someone, or what sense they have of time elapsing. Did he fear abandonment? Was he relieved? Could he "worry" about someone? Have others had similar experiences?

Is there any difference between regular Aloe Vera for people and the version for birds? Anyone have a good Internet source for Aloe? Thanks,David

Shanti is almost a year and a half old and is starting to fly after his original flight-feather clip by his breeder. He just sort of flaps around and gets a little lift. The problem is he keeps banging into walls and furniture. He's hasn't hurt himself, but it's a bit scary to watch. Any tips for minimizing the risk?

Thanks for all your responses. Great pic of Misty with the ice cube. I will try the fruit bars, Dan. I'm sure Shanti will love them. He is definitely a fruitaholic, although lately I've been successful with carrots and some other veggies too.

I know I've read about Greys who like ice cubes before, but I can't remember where. I tried searching the forum but didn't come up with anything. Shanti likes to play with, chew and hold ice cubes if I put a couple in his water dish. Safe? Fun? Other opinions/experiences? Thanks, David

Shanti is also capable of at least some limited flight now; I'm not sure he knows it though. He got startled the other day and flew straight into the glass doors that open on to the patio. It was a scary moment, but he was fine. I've since taken precautions to keep him from learning about glass the hard way. He was clipped early by his breeder, so he's never learned to fly properly. We'll see how he does. It's very exciting and beautiful to watch.