zingarette

Oh, that is awesome! Do you put the part that blows air toward the wall? Thank you again!

Dave, thank you. That was helpful. Have any ideas on where to get a good exhaust fan? Also... we live in a cold winter climate, any good suggestions for what to do in the winter time?

Hi all, I have a problem. Now that we have three feathered babies (CAG, Green Cheeked Conure, Indian Ringneck), the dander and floaty feathers issue has gotten out of hand. Not to mention, even with diligent cleaning, daily vacuuming and other housekeeping measures, the smell is becoming more noticeable. We purchased a HEPA-type filter, but it's NOT working at all. Tim, our CAG, is a very large Grey... much larger than most I've seen. He also produces a lot of dust, dander, and feathers. Don't get me wrong, I love my babies. I don't mind much, but my husband's and my allergies are starting to kick up. We need to get the dander issue under control, and cut the smell. We like to have guests in from out of town, and (when guests are not staying) the birds live in the spare room. So... that room needs to remain clean. My question is two-fold. 1. What filters/purifiers do you use? Do you have any suggestions? I'm specifically interested in people who have multiple birds. Are you satisfied with the reduction in dust, dander, and teeny-floaty-feathers? 2. My mom has an Ionic Breeze (from Sharper Image) she's not using, and offered to give us. I have heard some reports of these purifiers being unsafe, but I don't know if the reports are true, or just hype. Do any of you use them? Having used this exact same purifier in the past (literally, this unit, it used to be in my room when I lived at home), I know it works, and works well... I just want to make sure that it would be safe around the birds. Thank you so much for reading this, and helping me out!

I'm so glad to know Tim-ers isn't the only accident prone baby in the world...

Thanks Jen. Tim is just like your Schroeder then... he only has two tail feathers left... his poor little tail looks so sad! I don't think it's breaking farther down, I think he snipped it off pretty well. Thanks again for all the thoughts. I'm sure I sound silly.:dry:

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. He actually ended up biting it off. Here's the feather, off of him. That's what his tailfeathers all looked like when he bit them off as well...

Okay, I'm a newbie to Greys... but I've have two other birds. I've never seen this happen, and it's freaking me out. WHAT is UP with this wing feather? Did he start to bite it off? Why does it look like this? What do I need to do? Sorry to sound like a freaked out first-time parent, but I am... He seems fine, but I noticed him biting at it... that's when I realized that it looked weird. Do I need to do something with this? He honestly doesn't appear hurt, or anything, just annoyed at this feather. You'll notice in one of those pictures that his tailfeathers are largely gone too... does he have a plucking problem?

Thanks Judy! I gave him a good soak down last night. I'd spray, spray, spray, then give him a banana chunk (his favorite food in the universe, the sugar levels scare me, so he only gets them as treats. He gets other fruits and veggies as staples) then I'd spray, spray, spray. He actually tolerated the bath when it meant he was getting bananas. Go figure. I don't know why we didn't think of that before. After the bath, he didn't seem as itchy. Woo-hoo! Thanks again for the responses!

Thanks caitb2007. I have tried misting him, he's still getting used to the concept. My other two (birds, not Greys...) like it, but I don't know if he's ever been misted before. He's beginning to seem like he's enjoying it. He tries to catch the tiny little water droplets in his beak, it's cute. As far as pictures go, I'm still working on that. He's more than a little camera shy! Ha ha ha! He'll get used to that too. He's already fine with my mobile phone camera, so it's not going to take long for him to get used to the big camera. Thanks again for your input!

Hey all... so I have my baby, he's home... and he's looking kinda itchy. I think? I'm not sure, as he's my first Grey. Tim has been with me for two weeks. He's a sweetheart, but still a little leery of me. He's letting me touch his toes through the cage bars, and he's coming out of the cage willingly. He'll sit close to me (as long as I don't try to touch him!) it's all good. I believe he's about 7-9 months (still waiting for his exact hatch date to come from the breeder, she's in the middle of a remodel). Here's the situation. He's preening, HARD. There are bits of feather coming off, and he's got a pokey/fuzzy patch. I have seen plucked birds before, this looks different to me. I don't think he's plucking. It's like he's clipping his feathers off mid-shaft. I'm a little worried that he's itchy or something. He's got one area on his back, just above his tail, that he's always rubbing. Not scratching at, but seriously rubbing... with his head. What scares me is that he seems to enjoy playing with the broken feathers. We tell him to "drop it" when we catch him with one. So far it's only happened twice. I just don't want this to turn into full-on plucking. Any thoughts? OH! Also, we live in the high desert of Idaho. Think, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone, etc. It is dry, could that be it?

Okay, thanks again everyone! So, I'm still without internet, and only able to log on every couple of days... we've made progress though! Tim came out of the cage! Woo-hoo! He flew off, landed on the floor, and let me "rescue" him. He stepped up pretty willingly after that. He's kinda gone back to "no-touchey" but he still lets me sit near him, and he calls out to me with a tongue-clucking noise... which as I said, is the noise I do to him. We're getting there! Any ideas for helping him take food from my hands? I want to start training, but I'm not sure how without treats... and he won't take treats from me.

Thank you so much, everyone, for your kind words, and encouragement. Tim is happy, and healthy... and I'm sure we'll bond eventually. I've been talking with his breeder, and she shared some thoughts with me today. I'm going to try to just let him come out on his own, settle down, and then try the "step-up" command. I think he likes me... hopefully he'll trust me soon. He ran over to the side of the cage nearest me this morning when I woke up the birds. He seemed happy to see me. This must be a good sign.

Yay! I brought my Tim (Congo, about 6 mos) home on Saturday. He's beautiful, and he's HUGE. He's the biggest CAG I've ever seen. He's very sweet, and he loves his new cage, toys, and is eating like a champ. He loves to have me sit near him and read a book (sometimes out loud) or play him guitar. I wrote him a lullaby which he loves. He's super sweet, and smart... but he doesn't like my hands. He's okay with me changing out his bowls, but if I get too near him with my hands he still freaks out. Any ideas as to how to get him to trust me? I want to hold him, and love him, and have a good bond with him... but he just won't let me near him... unless I'm outside his cage.

I love it... :-) I've watched it a bunch of times already...

Msvoluptous, I would LOVE to make you a signature! All I need is for you to post a few pictures that you would like included (go ahead and just post 'em in this thread if you like), and then I'll do the rest. When I'm done making it, you'll need to host it. I use photobucket.com for all of my board image hosting. It's simple and easy to use, and they'll generate the code you need for putting it up on the forum. When the time comes, if you need help sticking it into your signature, I can guide you through as well. Just let me know :-)

Okay, I saw this on Cute Overload today, and I had to share. This little guy has some SERIOUS dance moves! http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4489941/12035368 It made me smile! Maybe you've seen it before, but I just had to share! He/she dances better than me!

Unfortunately, my feathered kids are across the country.{Feel-bad-0002006A} My husband is on an internship here in Connecticut, and so obviously, I didn't want to be apart from him for four months... so I came, and the babies are staying with "Nana" (my mom). My brother (who is 17) was supposed to be taking care of them... but he's kinda freaked out by them LoL! He's a very calm, quiet guy, and my littlest one is NOT. He's hyper and beaky and all-around a little stinker. So my mom is taking care of them. My dad likes to "touch" them... through the cage bars... and he can't figure out why they keep nipping at his fingers! LoL! They like him just not his fingers. Can't say I blame 'em. They're funny, they sing to me over the phone a lot and are still recognizing my voice. Stratford, my Green Cheek still does my special whistle when he hears me. It's adorable. They're really enjoying Nana's house, because they get a few more treats than normal... as is typical of a grandmother. I'll be back for them March 24th... yay! I will be going back to work in April (I hope!) I'm currently trying to get work in Idaho (where husband goes to school) and since I'm a Cosmetologist... and the service industry is suffering... I'm having a hard time. I did find one good prospect, and I'm REALLY hoping it pans out. Thoughts and prayers (if you do that kinda thing ) would be appreciated.

Hey All! I make board signatures, like the one below all my posts. I do this on one of my other forums, and I'd be more than happy to do it here too, if anyone's interested. It works really well if you have a photobucket.com account. That way you can host your own images, and then post them on the forum, or in this case your signature. If anyone is interested, just let me know. I'll need a picture or two, maybe a favorite color or shape, and whatever wording you'd like on your signature. Right now, I have tons of time on my hands, and I'm looking for something to do with it. I'm being a "Stay-at-home wife" for another month... and I've run out of things to do. No car, and no means of getting around = a LOT of time playing with my digital scrapbooking and signature making. Anyway, either send me a message or respond to this post, and I'll see what I can do :-)

Oh, Chimaysmommy, I feel your pain! Ha ha ha! My hubbie and I are waiting for our baby too. We're in CT on an internship, and our breeder is in ID. Since it's Winter, and too cold to ship, we have to wait until we get out there to pick up the baby. We won't get our CAG until the beginning to middle of April. Yikes! Also, she doesn't exactly do deposits and such... she's very picky about who the babies go to (which is the reason I chose her) and she wants to meet people in person (if at all possible) before sending babies home. So, if all the babies somehow get sold before I get there... well... that would be sad. I'm totally comfortable about though, I know there will be a baby left for us! She and I keep in touch via phone and e-mail, and she likes me. Heh heh... she seems like she'd rather give one to us, than to some of the other "scary people" she's talked to. Those are her words, not mine. Anyway, congratulations! Chimay is ADORABLE!!!

Bless you, luvparrots. I appreciate it! Anybody know where I can get a cage (I'm totally cool with used cages!!!) for super cheap? Either in Oregon or Idaho? Or online for cheaper than 100? I know, I know, I'm dreaming big, and it's a long shot. Still, anybody have any ideas? The cage we've got is only the minimum size requirements (since we were planning on using it only for sleeping)... and (thanks to the economy) we don't have a whole lot extra to spend...

Kaya is really light! She's silver, not grey... it's interesting. I've never seen another one with quite her coloring. Stratford loves baths. He comes into the shower with me, and sometimes we do "Birdie Hot Tub" which is the bathroom sink with a little warm water in it. That's his all-time fave. If I ask, "Hey Stratford, you wanna birdie hot tub?" he gets all excited and comes running. Too cute. I think conures are just universal little goobers! They are too sweet... I just love mine. He's my baby, and pretty much hates anyone but me. He'll perch on other people, but he lets them know that they're inferior. He's a butt... what can I say? It's all good though, because Kaya is freakishly bonded to my hubbie. I'm a good mode of transportation, but only if I'm going in his direction... at which point she'll jump off me and onto him. Gotta love their little personalities, eh?

I do have pictures of my other babies though... and my hubbie. He hates this picture and it annoys him when I put it up "all over the internet" (it's on my blog too) but I think it's cute! He just doesn't like the expression on his face. The goober on the left of the picture is Stratford, our Green Cheek Conure. The beauty on the right is Kaya, our Indian Ringneck. That's little Stratford at maybe 5 months old... just barely weaned, and only in our house for a few days. This was right after his first bath :-D He's one now... Not the best picture, it's from my phone, but this is Kaya about three days after she came home with us. She's two next month :-D

Ha ha ha! Hardly me at my best. My profile picture is probably my best... but I have an odd sense of humor, so I like the ones that look silly! Like this one for example. I keep this in my wallet. This is my little brother, Ian (who is currently helping my mom watch the babies while we're on an internship across the country) about 12 years ago on Christmas morning. None of us can quite figure out what caused the face, but I crack up every time I see it. I just love silly pictures. When Tim/Henry the Grey comes into our house, I can guarantee there will be silly pictures of him posted as well!

This is my hubby (Thomas) and me... Awwww aren't we cute! My favorite picture of Thomas, he actually dislikes, but I think it's cute, 'cause it has my three loves in it. When we get our Grey (5.5 weeks and counting!), I'll have to take another one. Okay, this one was taken on my birthday (Jan. 22) and we were at my favorite 50's diner... I like food... the greasier the better. Just thought I'd share! <br><br>Post edited by: zingarette, at: 2009/02/24 15:11

No, no pictures yet. He's currently in Idaho, and I'm currently in Connecticut. I'll be back in ID around the beginning of April, and will (hopefully) bring him home around that time. It all depends on whether or not the breeder we're working with has any left from this clutch. Since we're not within any sense of a reasonable distance, she's going to try to sell the babies to homes closer until we get there. I'm totally cool with that. If there are still babies when I get there, then one will come home with me :-)