EdiferiousRex

They are in the same cage, it is one of the giant play top macaw cages. Honestly, I had the same cage for my single CAG prior, so it concerned me slightly. However, they seem to be of great feather and spend 99% of their time out of it, or at least with the door open and the choice to be in or out. I do have a cat at home, so all out of cage activity will be closely supervised after their move to my home. Should I have two cages? They're reliant on eachothers company it seems...Would that upset them to be separate? Or alternately would it be benificial for getting past "Romeo's" awkward/shy nature? (I think that "Juliet" is a bit dominant/overbearing of him.)

Often baytril can be given as an injection..But dosage, how it's given (IV, IM, SQ) are very important, and informing the owner of the risks associated is necessary..I'd search for a new avian vet if I were in your situation.

I'm preparing to take on a pair of greys, "Romeo" and "Juilet." They are roughly 6-8 years old, I will be their 3rd home. The current owner is getting their estate in order to go to a nursing home facility, and as I veterinary professional (specifically with a lot of bird experience) I was recommended as a contact for her in this difficult situation. I joined the forum here just under 2 years ago now when I was entitled the care of a middle aged (20's-30's) grey with sever chronic plucking and calcium deficiency that was dumped at my hospital. I appreciated him for everything he taught me in the short time he had with me. I have said since his passing that I'd do it again in a heart beat, but I'd not go buy a grey, or create a home for one that wasn't in need. I have the time, I have some knowledge (I'll be the first to admit I'm constantly learning more), and I have the heart, last but not least I have the financial means and network to support proper grey medical care. So here I am, reaching out to you again for advice: How do I best make the pair's transition smooth? I visit them 1-2 times a week to interact for a few hours at a time at this point. "Romeo" has decided I'm fascinating, he enjoys sitting with me and grumbling (supposedly doesn't talk.) However this makes "Juliet" very jealous. She is unsure of me, and upset with him for interacting with me. I'd love if anyone has transitional advice for the move; winning her over; changing their diet (more seeds than I find advisable currently;) or just any advice you may have for adopting a set of bonded greys. This is uncharted territory for me. I read over the must read threads a few times to reinforce the knowledge I have of greys, and learning some new things, but found little about bonded pairs of greys. Thanks for all your help in advance!

Thanks Judy. I'm not sure how to go about finding another grey though. Craigslist is, eugh...Kajiji is expensive...Yeah...Any clues?

There is a syrup, for pediatrics, called Calcium Glubionate. You can give it to birds at a dose of 1mg/Kg, just incase anyone has this problem, we have birds in the exam room bounce back from comas with this treatment. It was too late for Darwin though. There was probably much more wrong with him as well my dr. said.

Darwin Passed away just before 1pm today while eating his lunch. See my post in health room for more info if you'd like.

Hey guys, Today at 12:58pm Darwin was eating his lunch of peas, mmm...He got very stiff, and fell over. No body control. He went into seizures all the way to the vet clinic, halfway there he had another huge seizure and stopped breathing. I turned on my flashers, and gunned it, (I only live 3 freeway exits away), while breathing for him. Rushed him to the surgery table in back and went to turn off my car while they intubated him. His heart rate was good, but going fast. He came back for a bit with some injections from the crash kit, but in the end he ended up going to birdy heaven 20 minutes after being revived, and while still on Oxygen. Darwin probably had a few things wrong with him, but this is typical of a bird who is being malnourished, seizures, comas..They need calcium to prevent these episodes. I just hope everyone is caring for their birds in the best possible way, and we'll be looking for another grey to welcome into our home, its very bothersome to me that Darwin was discovered too late to be saved...But its comforting to know he had the best 4 days or so of his life while he was here.

Not an african grey story but... I know a blue and gold macaw, one morning while his owner was sleeping he went upstairs to her bedroom, and got on her night stand, cocked his head to the side and said "What are you doing?" she replied "Sleeping! Go away!" he said "Oh, okay..." and flew out the window above the bed. (Free flighted outdoors...she's crazy, I know)

That is absurd. If she really did kill them, I'd call the local ASPCA about it, see if they can charge her with anything.

Oh, and Darwin is currently playing with a quarter he found. I'm so happy, he hasn't even picked up his food with his foot yet, but he's turning this quarter around with his foot and his beak like its the coolest thing he's ever seen!

I haven't what does that do particularly? Is there a thread on it somewhere?

He really trusts me, anything I put towards my mouth, he'll eat given the chance. Including my chapstick! But I should go slow with handling him I guess, he has bit me a few times, but I can see them being deserved. I was pushing him.

A few of you are familiar with my grey from our welcome room post....point is, due to Darwin's past he/she is very shy and insecure. Does anyone have confidence building techniques they could share?

Adorable!

Ooh.. He's a Brat! He bit me and said "OW, Don't bite me!", but you know, I'd have bit me too if I had put that medicine in my mouth, its nasty. I'm gunna get some juice to dilute it with in future.

That does make sense, and I can deal for a while..But even though I am prepared to give him a home for his life, he can't be bonded like this when he's got confidence back. I'm gunna make him sit on his perch while I nap, I had a long sleepless night I was so excited. He seems content to watch animal planet anyways...

Thats great to know you're close. I do end up that way every few months (Do a lot of exotic rescue through work, though I try not to take them home unless...Well, I have to, and I just had to. I'll keep in mind you're close, thats great to know, you know who I'll be after when I find a grey puzzle to solve. Speaking of, grey's don't normally sit on your chest purring and pinning, right? I always linked that behavior with cockatoos...He's really sweet but I don't want him to be dependent on me, he starts shivering if I push him onto a perch though

Yeah, oven ready is right. I haven't been able to find any pictures this bad through google images. Oooh, he likes teh typing noise. He's way too cuddly though. The vet was worried about him pair bonding with me...

Sorry, didn't work..Trying again.

Earl will probably be Darwin from this day forth, he pins when I say "Do you like the name Darwin, do you want to be a Darwin?" He also pins when I say "You're a sexy bird" Or when he's just looking at me...I feel like I brought home a funny looking cockatoo, not a grey! Anyways, heres some photos from my blackberry. I regretfully lent my Digital SLR out to a friend who is traveling for 6 months. How was I to know I needed it? Sorry for the poor quality photo, I will try to borrow a camera for my reference on feather growth, as well as yours for seeing my lovely guy/girl

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys. I appreciate it, even with the backing of my avian vet, access to Veterinary Information Network (VIN), and all the resources I have in the area (Personal contacts with other well known avian vets due to working together. I have to admit to myself this is going to be my first parrot, and though I know, in theory, and I teach people about them..Practice is probably very different, and I've been doing nothing but research between work, school, and other duties since I met Earl. I should pick him a name before he comes home though, so I don't confuse him...

I hope so. I'll be the first to admit a grey was not a bird I'd put thought into owning, I know how hard they are to earn trust with, among other things..Keep their minds active. In my position at work I spend hours of every day explaining to people why their care is insufficient to their grey. I know from this, that I will do everything in my power to break his habits through husbandry, but with all those years behind him of plucking, the likelyhood that he will start up as soon as the meds are stopped is very high .

Oh, and his name is Earl...But I'm not sure if I'll call him something else, I'm not very fond of Earl for him, he's not Earl-ey

As soon as I get pictures, I will share - believe me, I thought he was beautiful, and we just fell in love when we met. His story is this: He was bought in '91 by a elderly couple who...meant right, but had no clue. You know the type? Anyways, he's been kept in a parakeet sized cage since he was brought home as a featherless hatchling. They handfed him, then he grew in his feathers, and they forgot about him in the corner and fed him what they thought he needed (seeds, eggs, cheerios, nuts) and slowly he got balder and balder...So he's been plucking since his first feathers came in. My vet has already opted to put him on prozzac, because he's been plucking so long. She feels theres no way just environmental change will fix the habit he's formed, and we've had good success with some patients we used it on when all else failed. We're running blood work when I get him tomorrow to see if he has any underlying medical problems. I've been getting ready all month for him..I'm just so excited, we're gunna be pals. When I met him he snuggled up in my chest and made a purring/beak grinding sound, and let me pet his head. Then my boss (The avian vet) tried to pet him and he stared at her, lunged a little, and said "WHAT do you think you're doing!?" Thats when we knew he was my bird.

I'm Edi, from Seattle WA, living in Olympia WA. I'm about to (Tomorrow) receive a Congo African Grey. S/He is very sickly, completely plucked...So I hope he lives through the stress of tomorrow. I work with exotic animals at a vet clinic, and have no birds. So this is an experience. I got a huge cage set up, built a manzanita perch...Got all the bad foods he currently eats, you all would have a heart attack! He eats cheerios, scrambled eggs, and some seeds (But he's picky bout the seeds). Oh my gosh! What a project. So, assuming he's alive after we pull blood for testing..He's going right on good ol' prozzak for that plucking. I have to figure out how to get him from the seeds/cheerios/eggs to pellets (Got harrisons). So thats me, and my very first African Grey. Howdy!