chimaysmommy

On Saturday, I gave Chimay his daily spritz of aloe juice just like he gets EVERY day...and he fussed about it just like he ALWAYS does, and took his bribe of pine nuts in exchange. All routine for us. BUT, on this day something clicked in his little birdy head and he got really excited. He went straight for his water dish and started splashing and shaking and getting more and more soaked!!! It was such a hilarious sight that I couldn't help but get a bowl of water and put it up onto his playtop. He immediately jumped in and continued the splashing...but then figured out that the bowl can easily be lifted and how fun it is to watch the water spill over the brim. Three days later, no sign of the water-loving Chimay we saw on Saturday. Just makes me wonder if it was a fluke or if he is starting to like water finally!

When I was in high school, my mom had a TAG and during the summer/spring she always took the cage outside to do a "big clean" with the garden hose and some bleach solution. The grey would sit on a perch at the window and watch. One day during the first year we had her, a hawk crashed into our window trying to get at her. I've been having various apprehensions about taking Chimay outside myself--hawks, mites, fleas, stray cats (they're ALL OVER our apartment complex at the moment). So yes, hawks are way up there on the fear list for me

That's so exciting!!! Such a good girl! I can't wait till Chimay's flight feathers come in all of the way so that we can start practicing with him. Our breeder clipped him before he was shipped so we'll have to wait. Keep us posted on her progress!

Yeah our hand-vacuum is a life saver! Ha ha!

I picked up "Birds for Dummies" and found a LOT of useful information in there about general bird care, and then picked up African Grey Parrots: A Complete Pet Owners Manual on Amazon. I found that book in particular VERY helpful http://www.amazon.com/African-Grey-Parrots-Everything-Nutrition/dp/0764110357/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1242937329&sr=8-1

I especially loves it when he's rubbing his head all over his back, and comes up with a big fluffy down feather stuck to his head. He gets so confused as to where the heck it came from and how to make it go away!

Such exciting news!! Congrats to Maxi!!!!!

I sure hope so!! He loves being in the window on sunny days, and I'm sure he'll take to it. I'll be sure to get some pics up when we get it installed

Will do...It was actually kind of cute yesterday. He was sitting on my belly preening away after a good Aloe juice bath. After a solid few minutes of preening he fluffed up and shook his whole body and out came a mushroom cloud of fluff. As it floated down around him he was very surprised and freaked out a little bit...The only thing I could think of was Chicken Little! Ha ha! "The sky is falling!!!!"

Well I'm a big ol' idiot.....after all of that going back and forth on deciding which swing to get, flipping back and forth on the website's pages, I finally decided on the global swing as well. I went thru the purchase screen, entered my card info, got my confirmation number, and realized I had ordered the wrong one!!! Oh well...Hopefully Chimay likes the two big rings

Aaaaaawwww!!!! Those photos and videos of Spock are just darling...he definately seems like a little pistol!!!

Not a problem! Just shoot me a PM and let me know. Good Luck!

Within the last week I've noticed that there is quite a few more down feathers coming off of Chimay when he preens himself. He's no more aggressive or frequent with the preening than he has been in the past, but it seems the volume of down that he loses is going up. He'll be 6 months old in a week....am I seeing signs of an upcoming molt or something? I had always heard that greys don't have their first big molt until about 1 year of age, so I figured he was too young but wanted to pose the question anyway...

That sucks! I'm sorry If you are at all interested in an out-of-state breeder I can give you the information for the one we used when we got Chimay. She is in Georgia, and even though I couldn't see Chimay till we picked him up from the airport I would recommend her to ANYONE. He was very very well socialized and healthy when he came home, and it's been smooth sailing ever since. And he handled the flight from GA to OH well also

I would be careful of how close they get to the window....don't want them to catch a chill or overheat. Wasn't sure if you meant putting them right next to the window or just closer to the window

I'm with you luvparrots...Chimay is still mumbling and grumbling all of the time, but no words. I get so excited when I see that there's a new post on this thread...these conversations are always cute-exciting-surprising!

That's GREYT NEWS!!!!!! Wow you look REALLY prepared....I'm loving the "his and hers" blankets!! Cage looks fantastic too! They are going to be so excited to see all of it! PLEASE keep us updated on their homecoming...and of course BABY PICTURES!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Lots of love out to you and your new FIDS!

Eeeee!! How exciting! Congrats to you and to the new parents!!!!

I think I may just have to get one of them with this week's paycheck, and the other with the pay after that! Ha ha ha!!! GreYt idea SchoedersJen!!!!!!

I'm trying to pick out a new swing for Chimay, one that will hang from our ceiling by the window. Currently, we put him on a wicker basket by the window for a little bit each day to play and enjoy the sun. BUT we're really getting tired of having to replace the basket every week or so (he can waste it within 7-10 days easy and it's getting $$$$$$), and wicker splinters really hurt people-feet. Ha ha! So my question is, if you were a bird which of these swings would you rather have: http://www.greyfeathertoys.com/cgi-bin/quikstore.cgi?store=&search=yes&detail=yes&product=35&category=Toy_Chest_-_Swings_and_Boings&keywords=&hits_seen=&page=search.html&and=&affiliate_id= OR.............. http://www.greyfeathertoys.com/cgi-bin/quikstore.cgi?store=&search=yes&detail=yes&product=183&category=Toy_Chest_-_Swings_and_Boings&keywords=&hits_seen=&page=search.html&and=&affiliate_id=<br><br>Post edited by: chimaysmommy, at: 2009/05/20 21:41

Honestly, with all of the pooping and pellet/food/toy flinging going on, we really don't notice the dander. Ha ha! We haven't found the dander/powder to be a problem for us, and we live in a 2 bedroom apartment (1 grey). We do vacuum often both with the full sized vacuum and a small hand-vac, but that is mainly for the feathers and pellets that get scattered around. As far as bathing goes, I purchased a bottle of Avian Rain from my vet's office. When that ran out I just went to Walmart and bought some Aloe Vera juice to refill it. Chimay will tolerate a bath in exchange for a pine nut, and it really made a difference in the feel of his feathers. We do that mainly to keep his feathers and feet moisturized, not for dander-deterring.

Very nice tribute to Alex... If you haven't done so already, you should pick up Dr. P's book Alex & Me. I think it's mentioned a couple times in the forum if you want to search on it. We miss you Alex!

You must embrace the poop lest it destroy you. Lol!

Hi fidsandfrats!! Mind if I ask who your breeder is? I had met someone else on this forum who got their baby from the same breeder as I did, and wasn't sure if that luck happened twice or not. Ha ha! As far as what you are saying with regard to interaction, that sounds very similar to the care my baby received before coming home to me. She, her husband, and her sons all played roles in rearing the babies until they were ready to be sent to their new homes. In that environment, Chimay came to us VERY well socialized and happy!

I just purchased the Aloe Juice for Chimay this past weekend...before going in I logged onto Walmart's site and searched for the item and was able to get the UPC code (just in case I needed help in the store). I just walked up to the pharmacist window and asked about it, they directed me to it with no problem.