ramsabi

I commend your efforts to understand and learn about greys in detail before deciding to let yourself into the life of one. On workdays Rishi gets about 8-9 hours of sleep during the night. We are not at home between 7 and 5. We presume he takes naps during this time. HE is with us and my 2 cockatiels till 8 PM when they all go to sleep. Rishi is up at 5 AM and the tiels at 6 AM. During weekends he is in his cage till 7 AM. He, the tiels and I nap in the afternoon for a couple of hours.He and the tiels nap on my shoulder. I wouldn't worry too much about getting the perfect 10-12 hour night sleep. <br><br>Post edited by: ramsabi, at: 2009/10/06 21:43

Thanks again everyone. It looks like Rishi has turned the corner. I now have to look at long term issues and also live with the fact that he could have PBFD. The wonderful news is he is completely off seeds and has totally taken to the pellets with absolutely no fuss !! The switch happened from the day after we returned from Dubai. I do not know the antecedents of Rishi since he acquired me at a pet shop but when I think how easily he has taken to pellets, it is very likely that he was used to them wherever he came from. Thanks for the offer Ranaz. I will certainly get in touch with you if I need assistance to get pellets. Yes getting to Nad Al Shiba was very difficult especially with the amount of construction work going on there. Dr. Guilio was the one who looked at Rishi. Very professional and knowledgeable. But unfortunately I do not have a definitive diagnosis. I got the blood results the next day and did not have to wait. Armed with the results my plan of action is to explore if online vets can assist. I am going on a business trip to San Francisco and Portland next week and I plan on carrying the reports and ask the opinion of some avian vets there. Thank you all again for the thoughts, prayers and support.

I am not able to find words or emoticons to convey my feelings !!!

Most Indians claim their lineage from 16 wise men (Rishi/s). I trace my lineage to a Rishi named Atri. So I suggested Atri. My wife asked me what it meant. When I explained it to her, she said why not call him just "Rishi" which means a sage and I found it was very appropriate. We have not had Rishi sexed and we do not intend to. So we need not worry about a name change !!

I don't know if this is the right room for this post. I am going on a short trip to San Francisco. Can someone recommend a good pet shop where I can get some toys and accessories for Rishi and my cockatiels? We have absolutely nothing in Oman !!!

My heart goes out to you, Tamarah, in this period of grief. I recently went through two successive tragic losses and I am still coping. But gradually I am coming to terms with the loss and treasuring and recollecting all the good moments rather than grieving for something that can never be recovered. The grief can never go away completely but it has mellowed over a period of time by reminiscing about the good times. Of course the loss is irreplaceable, but by the very fact of being irreplaceable it leaves memories and thoughts that are a treasure and that can be delved into again and again not to mourn over but to relive the happiness. Whether you finally decide to share another grey's life or not is a personal decision that you have to make. But my thoughts are with you to help you to get over this very difficult time.

Hi Jess. Welcome to this great family !!! You will get all the help and advice that you need from searching the posts in this forum and from most members who are more than willing to share their knowledge and expertise. Please do read the "Parrots Bill of Rights" by clicking on this link: http://www.greyforums.net/forums/the-grey-lounge/59053-a-parrots-bill-of-rights.html It is an excellent place to start for any prospective grey owner and a must read.<br><br>Post edited by: ramsabi, at: 2009/10/04 06:16

Rishi has decided that this is the correct, only and best use of the Aviator Flight Harness !!! I have decided that it is useless to try anymore. <br><br>Post edited by: ramsabi, at: 2009/10/04 03:57

Hi Jackyshay, welcome to the family. You will find valuable information in this forum and wonderful people to talk to.

Hi Nicky, welcome to the family. You will find all that you and your Grey need on this forum and you will also find friendship, warmth and support.

Rishi playing bat. This is his favourite game

Rishi on one of his perches nibbling on Roudybush pellets about 5 hours ago. Notice the feathers on the chest. They were much worse. <br><br>Post edited by: ramsabi, at: 2009/10/02 18:36

Rishi is almost normal !!! Except for his voice. It has become very mellow and soft !! We are unable to figure out why. And since every cloud must have a silver lining, this one does too. I have never been able to find pellets - neither in Oman nor in Dubai. I was not sure about ordering online because I was sure there would be import restrictions. So Rishi's diet consisted of seeds and fruits and vegetables. Well, the long and short of it is that the hospital in Dubai had Roudybush and Harrisons and in my excitement I bought huge quantities !! But what is astonishing is that Rishi has taken to the pellets right away !! As I type this he is on his perch behind me happily nibbling on pellets. So, as we promised, Rishi thanks you all for your care and prayers and healing thoughts. My wife and I strongly believe that goodwill has its power and Rishi owes his recovery not only to the vet and our care but also to all the members here who had him in their thoughts.

Words are miserably inadequate to describe the overwhelming emotions and gratitude that my wife and I wish to express for all your care, concern, thoughts and prayers. If Rishi comes through this illness, we would attribute it to all your healing thoughts, prayers and concern. This is an absolutely amazing family and we are proud and grateful that we belong. While we are truly grateful for all the praise and expressions of admiration, we really do not feel that we did anything extraordinary or something that most other members of this family would not do for their faithful and dependent companions. Now for the update. I am cautiously optimistic that Rishi is on the road to recovery. We were force-feeding him till last night because of his refusal to eat. This morning when I made the mash and offered the syringe, he opened his beak by himself and I only needed to squeeze the plunger !! And in the evening, he had the mash straight from the bowl and also started eating a little bit of the roughly powdered pellets that I had put in his bowl. Till yesterday he was not making ANY sounds at all. But today he is whistling a little and saying his name. He is also preening himself and beginning to take care of his appearance. The frequency of the water poop has reduced drastically. We are now hopeful that he will be back to his normal self over the weekend (Thursday and Friday here in Oman) and by the time it is your weekeend, We are confident he will join us in thanking all of you.

Rishi my CAG and both my cockatiels sleep on one foot.

Since Grey Talk is not actually "talking" but a form of 'whistling" and the throat muscles are crucial, maybe birds endowed genetically with strong throat muscles are more likely to talk? And if that is the case, while the parents' ACTUAL ABILITY to talk does not matter, the POTENTIAL ABILITY to talk probably matters?<br><br>Post edited by: ramsabi, at: 2009/09/30 04:43

Hi Ellie, wonderful that Elvis is beginning to become comfortable. I went through a harrowing experience in the past 4 days and have realized that an avian vet is a must. I had to go to Dubai from Muscat to take Rishi to one. Bahrain has falconry doesn't it? I am sure if there is falconry, you will be able to find an avian vet. One reason why avian facilties are required is that if for any reason a Grey falls sick, tests might need to be run. Also a regular avian vet visit is necessary. Birds can conceal illness very well and by the time the symptoms present themselves, it might be too late to do anything. I now have to live with this constant fear since there are no avian vets in Oman.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful moment.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your thoughts, concern and prayers. I returned from Dubai in the early hours of the 28th. I did not have time to update this thread yesterday and I was also having issues with the internet. My wife and I decided that we were willing to face imprisonment and deportation for Rishi's sake and so smuggled Rishi across the border on 26th Sept and took him to Dubai to a specialty hospital for birds. You can check out the hospital here: http://www.nadvethosp.com I will not go into the details of how we managed to get him across and back because that is a long story !! By the time we reached Dubai Rishi stopped vomitting. We had been handfeeding him baby food and powdered oats and wheatabix as recommended by the vet and also continued to give him water, which he drank frequently. My wife and I took turns from Thursday evening till Saturday morning to keep feeding him and giving him water every 2 hours and we were pretty exhausted (It is a 500 km drive) by the time we reached the hospital at 5 PM on the 26th. At the hospital they put Rishi through a host of tests and asked us to leave him overnight with them and return at 2 PM on 27th. We stayed the night and in the afternoon went back to the hospital. The vet said Rishi was in poor condition with most of the blood parameters not in the normal range. But they do not know what is wrong and why !!! Rishi was still neither feeding nor drinking water. We asked if he should stay at the hospital for a couple of days more but the vet said "it is no use". He has given a seven day therapy that includes oral doses of the same antibiotic that the vet in Oman administered and another oral drug for the stomach and asked us to keep our fingers crossed. He said he strongly suspected PBFD virus. We brought Rishi back to Oman on the 27th and reached home at 1 AM on the 28th. Since then we have been hand feeding him a porridge of baby parrot food powder and powdered pellets. We give him 10 cc every 3 hours. The vomiting has stopped and he seems to be regaining strength. He is also voluntarily eating the mix and is trying to eat seeds. But now he is passing only water when he poops. It is clear liquid !! And this happens a few minutes after he drinks water. Right now our action plan is to continue the medicines and keep feeding him and giving him water frequently. Once, with our care and your prayers, he gets over this, we have to look at how to address the core issues of his blood results. Post edited by: ramsabi, at: 2009/09/29 12:17<br><br>Post edited by: ramsabi, at: 2009/09/29 14:34

Thanks everyone. Yes JillyBeanz, the nearest avian vet is in Dubai. And yes there are border probems. But as Judy said, I am prepared to go to any lengths to give the best possible care for Rishi. There is no time to go through any paperwork. So................. I don't want anyone here to be an accessory before the fact !!

Thanks Judy and Jooles. The nearest avian vet I guess would be in the neighbouring country - Dubai !! And getting him there is going to be difficult, especially now. But I am going to try.

My worst nightmare has come true, There was only one rule of the "Parrot's Bill of Rights" that I broke when Rishi came to our home. I knew that there were NO AVIAN VETS in Muscat. But I decided to risk it. Rishi started throwing up last evening at 7 PM. It became worse during the night. We took him to the vet this morning. The vet gave him a shot of antibiotics, a shot of vitamins and some oral drops for gastritis. He asked us to come again tomorrow morning. Right now he is a very sick bird. Does not eat or drink or poop. He last pooped this morning. The time here is now 9 PM. We are hand feeding him every two hours with powdered oats and wheatabix boiled in water and also giving him plenty of water. He keeps throwing up the water but not all of it. Will update this post tomorrow. In the meanwhile I will be grateful for any advice.

Thanks Dan and Judy. Yes he will take treats from her (rambutan fruit is his favourite). He occasionally sits on her hand. Of course there is also the fact that my wife got bitten a few times (not very hard) and even I can sense her hesitancy when she approaches him and Rishi obvously senses that.

My wife wakes up Rishi in the morning and puts him to sleep at night. He is outside the cage all day. She gives him his food, his treats, his water. Plays with him and talks to him. He learns his words only from her. He screams if she leaves the room. But.......... Absolutely refuses to let her touch him and if she gets close to me, he attacks. What can explain this behaviour?

I wish I had known: 1. not to have buttons on my shirts 2. to have cast iron zippers 3. to learn to operate the TV/DVD... without a remote