chimaysmommy

Welcome Mark and Monty!!! Sounds like you have your hands full with the little guy! Ha ha... Can't wait to hear more about Monty's antics!

How EXCITING!!! Congratulations!! T-minus 10 days and counting!!!

My breeder had used Continental climate controlled cargo shipping. It was an extra fee but we gladly paid it to make sure that he was comfortable as he could be in a scary airplane. Your breeder should really have this information for you...if they've shipped babies in the past they should know what is best. Ours gave us about a week's notice as to the flight number and scheduled arrival time.

My boyfriend had suggested the name Chimay RIGHT AWAY once we decided that we'd be getting a grey. I kept throwing other names at him, not that I didn't like Chimay but I wanted to explore all of our options. I was shot down every time. Ha ha! What's funny is that now that we've had Chimay, I can't think of ANY of my rejected names! His name is just perfect. We had named him after Chuck's favorite brand of beer. My mom had a TAG when I was in high school, and had named her Shady. As embarassed as I am to admit (I think I'd talked about it once before in a post), she had named her after my imaginary friend from when I was like 3. :blush: Oh and I had a kitty that I had named Butters...he's my favorite South Park character. Ha ha!! He was truly his namesake.<br><br>Post edited by: chimaysmommy, at: 2009/07/21 01:03

That was SO nice of you Davey!!!! You've got quite a talent B)

I'm pretty confident that I could pick my baby out of a crowd of greys for sure...Given that nothing changed in his beak (he's recently had a layer flake off after an unfortunate birdie vs. bakers rack gliding incident) I know the pattern in it, and there is a streak of feathers on his head, about 1 feather wide that is darker than all of the others. Plus, his "baby" tailfeathers have taken quite a beating since he's come home with us. Quite a few have broken off in the middle (no blood thank goodness). A month ago, I would say that mine is the one who's tail fanned out looks like a V. But now I'd say that mine's the one that looks like a / Ha ha ha!!

OMG OMG OMG.......those pics are TOO cute!!!! I love the first one where he's playing with the little green ball.

Welcome Fendana!!! How exciting! I'm pretty convinced that there is no slower increment of time than what is experienced while waiting for a new FID's arrival. Lol! I was an anxious nervous wreck before Chimay came home to us. Of all of the advice that our breeder had given us, the best was the schedule to keep him on upon first arriving. We kept inside/outside cage time at intervals of 2 and 1/2 hours inside for every 45 minutes outside (with an exception of bedtime of course...we left him inside all night). This seemed to get him acquainted with his surroundings much easier, possibly because of the secure feeling he had from being inside the cage. By the morning of day 3 he was right at home! Can't wait to hear more about your new baby!!

Hello dealrocker!! Would you mind sharing what it was that made you decide on getting a grey? Please keep us posted on the progress!! Can't wait to hear more about you and your soon-to-be-grey!!

*Sniff!* I actually got teared up for you Caroline! Out of happiness!!! What greYt news! Sounds like you have a really good plan of action too...please keep us posted on how things go. If I could give you more karma I would, but I already did a little while ago so I'm getting karma-blocked. Ha ha!!

Chimay is similar in his alone time...though his alone "quiet" time isn't all that long, he does sometimes enjoys simply sitting on top of his playtop or Atom and admiring the realm of his "kingdom." Ha ha. I agree with what Caitlin said about your grey preferring men over women...we have the opposite problem at our house. When Chimay first came home he would almost have NOTHING to do with my boyfriend, and would constantly look for ways to avoid interaction with him. But as soon as we noticed this behaviour we began spending as much two-on-one time with Chimay as we could so that he could associate my boyfriend with positive interaction just like with me. He still prefers me over my boyfriend, but he can handle Chimay MUCH better now and has not been bitten in quite a while. When it comes to growling the way you describe, my guess is that Chikki is having a disagreement with one of his toys. Ha ha. Chimay does this as well...he gets into frequent disagreements with his wiffle ball and will transform into a taradactyl in what seems like an instant. I wouldn't worry, he's just showing his toys who is boss around that house

Aw Caroline my heart really goes out to you....I agree with Judy, don't beat yourself up over this. You have done everything possible, but it really comes down to their personalities. If they don't mix, then they just don't mix and that is no reflection on you. It is truly a sign of a good pet owner when you make selfless decisions for the well being of the animal, no matter how painful it may be to you. Karma to you for considering the best possible solution for Jasper as well as Keeko and Charlie. My thoughts are with you! :kiss:<br><br>Post edited by: chimaysmommy, at: 2009/07/20 18:31

OMG I really want to watch this vid but I'm at work and they don't allow that so it'll have to wait till I get home. But I know EXACTLY what you're talking about Caitlin! It's the funniest thing to watch. Chimay will have little "moments" where water is just the coolest thing since sliced bread, and he'll have a blast splashing his head around in his water bowl. But as soon as I show him something bigger (i.e. bowl or tub of water) he's not interested. And I'm pretty sure he thinks his mister bottle is the root of all evil. ha ha! Isn't it funny how they seem to only want a bath their terms? HAPPY 6 MONTH TO ECKO!<br><br>Post edited by: chimaysmommy, at: 2009/07/20 18:17

I definitely second that....aside from locating a good avian vet, this forum has been the best resource we've found since getting our grey. Good luck and happy searching!

have you tried birdie bread? Chimay likes his vegetables just fine but I normally have to trick him into fruits by putting them into his birdie bread. He also loves bananas mashed up with a little peanut butter and flax seed. I'd also found a recipie for a smoothie that combines applejuice with some strawberry, banana, blackberries, apple slices and a little natural vanilla yogurt. Veggies are pretty easily hidden in bread though.

Our Chimay also loves to chew up wood...he likes to break off little pieces and I also was afraid that he was swallowing bits of it until I sat in front of his playtop and watched what he was doing. He would bite off a bit of wood and stash it under his tongue, continue biting then bring up the hidden piece and chew on that for a bit. From far away it looked like he was swallowing it but when I watched close up I could see what he was really doing. I would just watch your birdie very closely next time he's playing with wood. You'll be able to tell quickly if he is swallowing it or just chewing and dropping it. With regard to the materials, so long you ordered it from a birdie friendly website I wouldn't be concerned about chemicals causing problems. If you're still concerned about that I would call the site's customer service line and ask. However if you truly think that he's swallowing the wood I would contact your vet to find out any safety issues in digesting the bits. If anything, that's what would worry me the most if I saw Chimay actually swallow a piece of wood. Keep us posted! Hope this helps

Hello! The ONLY place I've been able to find Aloe Juice is at Walmart. It's a little difficult to find, but it should be located in the pharmacy/nutritional supplements section. If you can't find it, do what I did and write down the product code and give it to the pharmacy counter staff letting them know that you can't find it. It saved me what would have probably been a half hour or so of searching. Here's the link to it on their website: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10314798 I use mine straight, no dilution necessary.

Hello glitterysparkle! I got our Chimay from www.canopycreatures.com. It is a home based aviary in Georgia and would recommend them to ANYONE. We live in OH and Chimay handled the shipment very well, and came to us better socialized than we could have ever asked for. Through postings in this forum I've actually spoken with several members who have used Canopy Creatures as well and they were extremely happy with their experience too. Regardless of what breeder you decide to use I would write down a series of questions to ask them and speak with them over the phone first. That's what we had done and wound up choosing canopy creatures....The lady who operates the aviary with the help of her husband and sons (Casey) was VERY patient and answered all of our questions at length. She kept us well posted with lots of photo updates too, and provided us with references when we requested them. Please visit her site if you have a chance, and keep us posted on your quest for your perfect match!

If you run a search in the forum just on the word "egg" there are a ton of threads you can read through from people asking about egg laying/binding/nesting/etc. Also some interesting stories/pics from those who've had greys surprise them with eggs! Even though my Chimay's a boy I still find them interesting reads.

I think the time-out method would be a good idea...combining that with treats for any times he's nice/tolerant of the dog. The longer you prep him the easier it will hopefully be once the service dog arrives.

Oh young Spock....I know it probably seems highly illogical now but with time I'm sure you'll find yourself in alliance with this newcomer. Be good! You and your humans keep us posted now...

How exciting! Definately let us know when you find out... I also have no experience with an egg laying grey...Chimay is a DNA'd male so unless we expand into the realm of multiple birds down the line (or unless Chimay's test was wrong :blink: ) we'll likely never come across that scenario.

Oh my! Do you know anyone with a dog that would be willing to bring him/her around a few times per week to get Jacko accustomed to the presence of a dog? How often is he exposed to dogs? This is going to sound REALLY silly but perhaps getting a large stuffed toy dog to have sitting in the living space? I know that sounds really goofy but I read about a technique for preparing greys for a new baby by carrying around a baby doll before the "real deal" arrives to help with the transition.<br><br>Post edited by: chimaysmommy, at: 2009/07/17 16:45

Hi Abula, I wish I could give you some advice here but I have no experience with egg laying greys. What you might want to do until another response comes up is run a search in the forum on "egg" and read, read, read. There is SO much good information in here I'm sure you'll find some on nesting behavior, and what to watch for. Keep us posted!

Wow I read that description on the "shampoo"....there's no possible WAY I'd let that crap get anywhere near my baby. I understand the need to resort to more drastic measures in the case of an emergency (i.e. oil) but no way on a regular basis would I use it. I'll stick w/the aloe vera juice