MeginAL

Katie started saying words a week after I brought her home (6 months). She picks up words and phrases on her own. I haven't been very successful at teaching her what to say. I have taught her to say "Do you want a kiss?' when prompted, but generally she just wants to carry on conversations with the words and phrases she has learned on her own.

I paid $800 three years ago here in North Alabama. But, the parrot cost is just the beginning...the main cage, travel cage, multiple play stands, toys, organic pellets and vegetables, vet checks and grooming... I changed my spending priorities to keep Katie happy and healthy.

I've been very happy with our Caitec travel cage. However, our first cage broke after a few years because we always hung her toys on the door. Now we only hang toys on the back panel. Because we have a hawks' nest in our yard, our CAG-friend, Katie, spends all of her outdoor time with the family in her travel cage. We even put the cage on a float in our swimming pool and she joins in the fun! I like the plastic perch because the ridges seem to help her keep her grip when the cage is bumped and when the car stops suddenly.

Great ideas in the posts! My CAG-friend, Katie, started biting me at about 8 months. No scars or permanent injuries but the bites shocked and hurt me. I researched on the web, books, and magazines and tried different techniques. I found that positive reinforcement (sliced almonds) for good behavior worked well. I also learned to read her body language. From reading her body language, I discovered that Katie always wants to have her own way. That means that she was a pushover for training with positive reinforcement since getting an almond slice is her favorite way to bend me to her will. (She still hasn't realized that doing what I want her to do for her almond reward isn't getting her own way.) I know what your boyfriend feels like. Hopefully once he has a supply of your bird's favorite small treat, he will be able to start working on a better relationship. However, Katie bites my husband, drawing blood, every time she gets the chance to do so. She also loves him most. I think over the years she has built up a love/hate relationship because he has never made the effort to get physically comfortable with Katie. She loves to sit on a perch about 3 feet from him and just look at him.

Great post Judy. One idea to add from my avian vet for my CAG-friend. Slowly change Rose's diet to 80 percent pellets, 20 percent organic veggies and seeds only sparingly. She also suggested almonds instead of sunflower seeds.

Great book review! A+. I'm a big fan of Barbara H. Check out her website at Goodbirdinc.com. Watching her interact with her parrots is amazing. Her informative books and videos taught me to respect my CAG-friend, Katie, and we have a much better relationship. My lack of knowledge caused Katie to bite when asked to step up. Barbara showed me how to reward her step ups, and to respect and distract her when I want her to step up and she doesn't want to do so.

My avian vet recommends Harrison's pellets for my CAG. Check out their website which is full of good information on birds and their diets. I bet they have a recommendation for a baby grey like Piccasso. My older grey eats High Potency Coarse pellets. She also likes their birdie bread. My avian vet recommends seeds as a treat, not as a daily diet staple for Greys. http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/

Kaytee has a good handout out what a sick bird looks like and about various poops. Just remember that some food colors are reflected in poop e.g. blueberries. http://www.kaytee.com/assets/010/22969.pdf

Whatever Rubi is saying must be happy because my CAG loves this video!

I don't know what IMO means. However, I think the length of time spent under the lights relates to the species of bird and the type of set-up. CAGs are from equitorial regions where days are 12 hours and nights are 12 hours. I'm not using it in close quarters as I've seen on some websites. Katie would be very unhappy to have to sit still under a light for any length of time. The cubic area of her play area is 5'x5'x5'. The full-spectrum lights and timing were recommended by my avian vet for a specific bird in a specific environment. I should have been more specific in my answer.

My CAG, Katie, eats Harrison's high potency coarse pellets (avian vet recommended). The Harrison's website has good info on converting birds to their food. I followed their advice on mixing old and new food and Katie adapted readily in a couple of days. She liked the coarse pellets more than the small pellets and seed of her former diet because she can hold the pellets in her claw to eat them. Harrison's web site also recommends supplementing with fresh veggies (85% and 15%) and treats of fruit. Katie didn't like the power treats but she loves their millet bread. Occasionally, I bake them in a mini-cupcake pan and freeze them so she can have one fresh. Once, Katie wouldn't eat the pellets from a new bag (I buy the 5-lb bags)! My supplier thought they looked like they had more suplina than usual. Katie just picked them up and threw them on the floor. I called Harrison's and they sent me a replacement bag from a different batch. The wild birds loved the discarded pellets and Harrison's has a lifetime customer! Seems like there are so many different opinions on the best diet to feed our birds. Whenever I start feeling guilty about the ease of feeling Katie the pellets and fresh organic vegetables from my own meal preparation, I remind myself that my avian vet told me that this was the best diet for Katie. Harrison's recommends keeping the pellets in the original bag and keeping them in the fridge. I do transfer pellets from the 5-lb bag to a used 1-lb bag so that I don't reopen the larger bag so often. I rotate two purchase of 5-lb bags with a puchase of a 1-lb bag so that I always have a fresh 1-lb bag. Saves a little money since Harrison's is so expensive and the Harrison's stays fresh. So far Katie hasn't tired of the pellets, but I do use different foraging methods and toys to feed her the pellets. She does get bored with just eating the pellets out of her bowl.

Loved watching your videos of Rubi. I'm a big fan of the training techniques of Barbara Heindenreich. She uses target training with her hand closed and holding cut-up shelled suflower seeds. I tried using a clicker and stick, but I'm too uncoordinated to click at the right time and the clicker, sticks, and treats were too much for me. I agree with the other poster that it's important to find her favorite food. Katie also wasn't crazy about sunflower seeds. I noticed that she loves almonds so I buy Planter sliced almonds (the slices are a bit thicker than others). I break several in half and they are always handy in my pocket and in small closed bowls around the house. Katie gets bored during formal training sessions so I just go with what her body language is saying on when and for how long to train. (BH also has some good info on bird body language, but every bird is different so you also learn your own bird's body language.) I've found that Katie's best training has been when we're just enjoying each other's company or when she's playing in her play area when I'm close by. I just reinforce what's she's doing with the treats and make a few adjustments to what she's doing. That's the only way that I've been able to get her to talk (say certain phrases) with my prompting. Always have the treats handy! Katie also bites her nails. I think it gives her a reassuring feeling when she's bored or nervous. Sometimes she just seems to be thinking while she bites her nails. I know that she is sharpening them with her biting. I used to worry but she's never harmed herself so I don't worry anymore. However, I have her nails groomed by her vet or her hatch mom every three months and I use a nail file on her nails in between grooming. She's very good at sharpening her nails and grooming perches don't seem to do anything but help her keep her beak sharp!

Katie, a CAG, loves to go places. For travel in the car, she has a Perch and Go Bird Carrier (acrylic with metal cage front and back) that we put in a child's booster seat (from a used children's items store). With the booster seat, she can see out of the window which she loves and she's safely seatbelted. We take her with us on errands and let her wait in the car when the weather allows. Ocassionally, when we can't leave her in the car, we take along my Pet Voyage Bird Carrier (looks like luggage) and take her into the store. Since you can't see in the carrier, you wouldn't know there is a bird in it but I have been kicked out of a local grocery when she started talking loudly and attracted a crowd of shoppers. I always take her with me in the acrylic carrier to our local library. They love her there and I leave her on the check-out counter while I'm looking for books. She's also welcome in the pet store and bird store in her acrylic carrier. I purchased a used child stroller for the acrylic carrier and we walk around our neighborhood daily. Katie loves walking in the stroller and it's good exercise for me and our dogs. We visit on neighbors' front porches and decks when invited. Some neighbors even invite her inside for a visit when they see me. Katie and I also use the Pet Voyage Bird Carrier to go on hikes in the woods around our neighborhood. I wrapped the wood dowel perch in cotton rope so she can get a better grip and I use a comfortable over-the-shoulder belt from a suitcase that I put around my neck so I can use my hiking cane. Katie has a harness that I used for one year but then a pair of hawks nested in our yard so now Katie only goes outside in a carrier. We let her sit on the top handle/perch of the acrylic carrier when we're sitting in our gazebo with hanging plants preventing the hawks from swooping in. The young hawks have actually tried to get Katie when she's sitting inside in front of a window, so I have to be extra careful. Katie even enjoys being in the carrier on a sturdy float in our swimming pool. She likes the movement of the water and watching the kids and dogs in the pool. We've taken Katie on one trip out-of-state to see my family. She did fine in the car during the daylight hours but not so well in the dark. However, I found that I was so concerned with her enjoyment and safety that I didn't enjoy the visit. We love to travel and Katie loves boarding with her hatch mom so that's the best solution for us. On local trips with Katie, if she's not safe or happy, we can just take her home.

I'm so glad the visit went well. My vet recommended the same thing for my CAG. She also recommended our local close-out store as a source for "full-spectrum" lighting fixtures and bulbs. This type may not be as specific for the task as the other bulbs but they are much better priced than the specialty lighting. Just look for "full spectrum". I keep it on at her play area about 10 hours a day and replace the bulb about every 6 months.

Interesting to read about your husky. We have a re-homed Shih Tzu who had been mistreated. However, Katie has always been treated with love and concern. Her hatch mom and I may not have always been 100 percent knowledgeable, but we use positive reiforcement only.