SunnyBird

Oh well, sorry I wasn't the first but maybe there are other people out there that didn't see it the first, second or third time around either, like me??? :whistle: :whistle: So they get to see it this time!! :laugh:

Wow. My loss of Alex seems a trifle after reading what you have been through. I'm glad you found the courage to love again. I think it's worth the pain of loss. Welcome to the forum and I send you both many blessings.

You have to see this - it is unreal. I almost think it could be edited but then again, I can't see any tampering. Those cockatoos are really too much! http://www.maniacworld.com/bird-loves-ray-charles.html This is the first thing that has made me smile since you-know-when.

Thank you for posting this.

Alex my friend - only 2 months together. We just celebrated your 6 month birthday after researching and finding your breeder and learning your age... It hurts so bad. Yesterday he was fine. This morning he refused food and drink. He wasn't peppy and talkative. He was puffed up around the head and neck. He just wanted to be petted and sit on my shoulder with his eyes closing from time to time. He didn't poop normally. Only urine, no feces all morning. Finally in the afternoon there were some feces. He only accepted a little fresh squeezed carrot juice. That was always his favorite. He threw it up 1/2 hour later. I found a vet who knew about birds. Took him there early this evening. Alex was perched on the back rest of he passenger seat. He still seemed OK. Doc said he had a fever but couldn't find anything else wrong. Then he started pooping blood clots. He died one hour later, I was holding him against my chest all the time, tucked inside my vest. We were driving back home with the antiobiotic. He passed in the car. I cant stop crying and my head hurts so much. His aviator harness is in the mail.... Thanks for your sympathy. I am in shock.

Hey Ballsy, is that the Aviator Harness you've got on your CAG? I've just ordered the same color. Have been putting the Feather Tether on mine with much complaint and he's busy chewing on it most of the time when we go out on the balcony. I've done it with him 3 times so far. Those metal clips are so bulky I'm hoping he'll accept the aviator more easily. Yours looks a bit loose on him - or is that how it is supposed to be? Does he get his feet caught in it? I'd love to hear more experiences from people who venture out with their birds.

Thanks!

I am hoping to take my Alex out in the next month or so. I would be very much interested in hearing about how you handle the public at large when you are walking around with a harnessed bird on your shoulder in the street / park / shop / etc. How do people react? Do they think you are eccentric or weird or is it a positive experience for them? Are you welcomed everywhere or asked to leave? What are the classic examples of reaction and how to handle them? Some people are frightened, some what to touch or are overbearing, etc etc.. and the children? What about the pooping? Do you have a cloth on your shoulder to catch the poops or you just go around full of fresh poop globs? Oh dear experienced ones, share your enlightenment!! {Feel-good-00020114}

Ok I have the Feather Tether but everyone is saying that the Aviator harness is better. I don't want to scare off my bird - can the Feather Tether ruin my bird's chances to tolerate a harness? Is it really that annoying to them? I looked at the Parrot University website and I want to order the Aviator Harness. Can you please help me choose which size to buy? Alex is almost 6 months old and 390 grams and he's a CAG The small harness is from 190 to 425 grams (examples are amazons and timnehs) The medium harness is from 425 to 600 grams (examples are congos and eclectus) Will Alex still grow a bit or will the medium be too big for him? :unsure: Thanks for your help.

Wow she doesn't want to have it taken off - in other words she doesn't want the adventure to end yet or she doesn't like you fiddling with it once it's on her? I'm also working with my Alex (5 months old). I have the Premier Feather Tether and I have it completely unhooked and just hold it draped on his back every day for short periods to get used to the weight and the feel, giving lots of praise when he holds still. I tried to hook the neck part but he fought and got away from me twice. He's badly clipped so I had to catch him in the air to avoid injury. I'm proceeding much slower now... By the way, what temperature do you think is warm enough to take him outside?

Here's me and Alex when I first got him a couple of months ago. He doesn't go on my head anymore. My daughter is another story...I guess cause she's still short?? :lol:

Yes I've been visiting every day, too, though don't have time to stay on too long. Still getting to know all the how-to's (still haven't managed to successfully submit a photo, etc etc) but it's really nice to have a laugh to blow off steam between projects at work or to learn something helpful. {Feel-good-000200B9}

My baby Alex actually jumped off his kitchen swing and onto the kitchen table to get at the milk in my cereal bowl LOL! Meantime he tosses the broccoli out of his food bowl to get to the fruit and seeds mixed in.... I'll try to keep his dairy intake to a bare minimum. It's just so much fun watching him drink the milk because it is white and therefore you can actually see it being sucked up the tongue. They say that other birds have to raise their head to drink down the liquid that that they scoop up with their beaks - not so for our parrots, it seems! They just vacuum it in!

My deepest condolences. It is always hard to face the death and suffering of a beloved companion or family member. Be thankful that Hazel's last day was so happy for all of you.

In reference to a comment below, please note that this is NOT America. This is an international forum with members from all over the world. You can have your opinions like every one else but keep that self righteous nationalistic crap out of here, please. Unfortunately it usually a knee jerk reaction to justify excuses and selfish purposes instead of thoughtful integrity and rarely is it meant in its true patriotic sense. Thank you for your understanding.

The main reason I want to get him used to sleeping in a smaller cage in another place is because that second cage will be his home away from home when we go on vacation. We will be traveling by car 9 hours during Easter week to visit some relatives in northern Greece, so I want him to be as ready as he can be. He will need to feel comfortable in that cage in a strange house while we go out with the family... Not everyone understands birds and bird people so Alex will need to be on his best behavior and confident enough to be left alone in that 2nd cage. Up to now he will happily spend a couple of hours a day there playing with the toys, preening and eating nuts - but I guess when it comes to "the roost" it's a whole 'nother matter! Perhaps it will help if I place his sleeping branch in there when the time comes?

Hi everyone especially Nickname and Sooty. I'm so glad to hear of happy endings and positive results when it comes to our birds. Getting back to the topic at hand, I wanted to mention that yes perhaps this behavior is in fact related to a scare. My Alex is 5 1/2 months old and has never done this to me since I've had him (1 1/2 months). All of a sudden he behaved this way yesterday morning when I greeted him and again this morning. I just so happens that the night before this started I tried to get him to sleep in his smaller cage in the extra bedroom which until now he has only visited in the daytime. He got really stressed out and tried to get out of that cage any way he could. I ended up bringing him back to his regular cage for the night, but he did not recover right away. I don't think he got a good rest that night. I guess I expected too much from him. I will take the smaller cage and bring it out to the dining/family room where his regular cage is and see if he'll sleep in it over there before I try to move him back again... Anyhow he's in much better spirits today (yesterday he wouldn't let me pet him all morning...) After he gulped down my finger a few times he put his head down for scritches...LOL

So far what I'm doing with Alex is that I have a little battery operated manicure file with the Dremel tip (flat and round disk). I do the tips of his nails with it - the back ones are the toughest to grab. It's fast and effective. I hope he will continue to let me do it as he grows up... It's not as loud or as big as the Dremel so it's not as scary. They are very cheap to buy at Bed Bath and Beyond if you are in the States... Cheers!

Hey I just took this photo now - Alex and my daughter one month later - quite a difference, eh? LOL

OK Three strikes and I'm out if it didn't work this time - I'll just try to upload photos through my profile I guess... Cheers! Renate and Alex

Here's a picture of Alex with my daughter, the second day we got him. They are both a lot less nervous with each other now, LOL! P.S. I hope I managed to insert the photo this time!

Hi everyone, I just got around to doing this now. I recently started a new job and it's been crazy. I'm a New Yorker but I've lived on and off in Greece for 20 years. Been here again a year now and looks like we are staying - hence my adoption of CAG Alex after many years with no parrot. I think once you have a good relationship with a parrot you never forget it and there's always that little empty space and something nudging you inside.... LOL He's 5 months old (just found out) and we've been together a month. He (or she?) is the only pet in the family now (besides my 8 year old daughter!! *joke*) but my husband and I will be adding to the flock a cat and then a dog by this time next year hopefully. Good thing that Alex was first so that the others will be trained as babies to respect him... ;-) There are some nice people on this forum and I'm looking forward to more give and take. I'm especially interested in those of you who live in Greece, since it's hard to find people who share such an interest here. I would love to know if there are any parrot clubs in Greece - or maybe we can start one??? Cheers, Renate and Alex<br><br>Post edited by: HappyinGreece, at: 2009/03/01 16:34

Thanks! http://www.greyforums.net/components/com_joomlaboard/emoticons/smile.png Did you do the DNA sexing with the feather test or a drop of blood from the nail? I have a test packet from a company in the UK that does sexing among other things and is very reasonably priced. However, I hesitate to proceed for 2 reasons: 1) If I pluck out 3 or 4 chest feathers from Alex will I lose some of the trust I have been working to get? and 2) I read somewhere that those feathers need to be shipped overnight with an ice packet whereas there is no mention of this on the form the company sent me. I don't want to put Alex through this and have the samples turn out useless! Do you know anything about this? Cheers, Renate

Dear All, I have great news!!! Alex my Congo African Grey turned 5 months old on 20 February! His hatch day is 20 September 2008! I contacted the breeder and after one reminder he did reply to me and gave me the info I asked for. He said he was happy that one of their african greys made it safely to Greece. He explained that he breeds these birds but sells them to a trader at either 5 weeks of age or at 12 or 14 weeks, depending upon when they can eat independently. My grey was sold to a trader on 13 January 2009 (which means he was already weaned). He did not know who bought the bird after that. He would like to know how much I paid for the bird at the pet shop in Athens and he says I can contact him again for further info. Lastly, he wished me much success with my bird. Again, thank you all who tried to help me, this has been really important to me. I think that all pet owners who treat their pets like a family member appreciate this sort of information. It can also help understand the psychology of your bird a bit better. For example, I am very happy to know that my bird did not spend a long time in the lousy pet shop where I bought him, that is probably why he managed to stay a relatively calm bird despite their lack of sensitive treatment. Getting ready to celebrate Alex'es 1/2 birthday on 20 March! My best wishes, Renate and Alex, Athens Greece P.S. I was estimating his age pretty well all this time - it's all in the eyes!!

Congratulations! How is Ricco doing now?