Summerc25

Karma to you for taking in a grey who needed a new forever home! I am so pleased for Grumpy that he has found a good loving home that will keep him forever. That is good news that he is coming around One thing I wanted to point out is to make sure grumpy has a bite of your food before you do or put some to the side for him because greys really should not eat after humans at all. You may already know that and have done that, just wanted to make sure I have to be careful about kisses because shaka zulu always tries to grab my lip with his beak when he kisses me and I try to only kiss the top of his beak because our saliva is not good for them. Can't wait to see pics of Grumpy

Julie I hope the biting stops or lessens rather. There have been a couple of times that shaka zulu has been moody with me for a few days and bitten pretty hard and that is not typical for him at all. I do think it may be hormonal because of the wing flapping thing too. Shaka zulu often tries to regurgitate for me and when he does he lowers his wings and all that. He has also raised them up before and slowly flapped them. It was during this whole show of love he does lol So I am definitely no expert but it is possible that it has to do with that. Good luck and let us know what the vet says

Hey Jay and welcome! First, please do not grab Bella by the legs or wings or anything. They are very fragile and she could be injured from that. Greys are very smart and she will learn to step up onto your hand or finger from the cage. The breeder said give her a week but it depends on the bird. They all have their own personalities. It could take her several weeks. Just be sure to talk to her softly alot and leave her cage door open. Maybe even sit near her when you eat so she can have more time to bond with you. Eventually she will come out on her own. Also, my grey, and I am not sure she is the same way, he does not like anyone to ever reach quickly to scratch his head or rub it. He wants to see your hand first and realize that it is not anything trying to get him. I always ask/tell him first like "want a scratch?" and he holds his head down now for scratches. She will come around just hang in there and earn her trust and love and she will be yours forever Most Congos seem to bond with one person too fyi. If you want her to bond to you spend a lot of time with her. I am sure not all are that way. Mine likes my other family members but they are not allowed to touch him or his belongings, other than an occassional scratch lol he will not step up for them or want to cuddle with them. edited to add: Try to acclimate her to your entire family though. It is better for them not to be terrified of other people. I do try to get him to stand on their hands once in a while, etc. It is better for him in case something ever happens and I had to be away, say a hospital visit or anything. I do not want him to be terrified if I am not there. I have even gone on vacation for a week and left him with my sis once. He was fine. I did get him to visit with my sister a lot the month before I went though and I called and talked to him every day though hehe I am sure most people would think I was a freak for that but he knew it was me on the phone and it made him happy...lol<br><br>Post edited by: Summerc25, at: 2010/01/10 02:07

Hmmm I am not sure Paul but it may be that he is not getting enough time out of the cage. My bird is out as soon as I get home until bed time, and the only noise he makes is talking, whistles, etc. The other thing I want to ask you is this, are you making sure he gets a set amount of darkness at night? My avian vet said people often do not realize that they need light/dark. He said he has had a lot of clients come in and say their bird was screaming alot and he would find out that the bird was in a room that always had light and noise and was never getting a good night of rest. He said they have to have almost total darkness for sleep time each night. He may be trying to tell you something is wrong. Those are my only ideas. The only time I have ever literally heard my bird scream is when something frightened him. Now I will say this, when my 6 yr old nephew who is VERY loud was visiting, my bird picked up on some of his noises and sounds and was being MUCH louder than usual. That quit after a day or two though. I also leave the tv on for him all day so he has voices and sounds in addition to his toys.<br><br>Post edited by: Summerc25, at: 2010/01/10 01:31

I have no idea about shipping one but what a sweet baby Congrats!

Soooo adorable!

I think I could spot mine with no problem based on markings but I definitely could when he talks and with body language. It would be a cool thing to test though lol

Shaun I hope you really think things through if you ever consider buying another parrot. Just changing toys etc, is not going to 'cure' a bird. I know you cannot spend every waking moment with one, I don't spend every waking moment with mine. I have to work. However, there are lots of members here who have birds that pluck and they cope with it. These birds were never really intended to be pets but to live in flocks. Different things can cause them a great deal of stress. My bird has never been a plucker but he has a little bit of a twitch which the vet said is probably just a nervous habit. I truly believe his previous owner loved him but she had small children and I have no doubt that they made him a nervous wreck. You only gave this bird 5 weeks to settle in and now you have given him off to a "sanctuary" well I hope it was a good one. There are some who truly love the birds and want to help them. There are also horror stories about some of them who really do not care about the birds. As a matter of fact, my bird's previous owner made me sign a contract with her agreeing never to give him to a bird sanctuary. If I ever decided I don't want him, which I won't, then she will refund my money and drive 12 hrs back from where she moved to pick him up. I hope that little guy gets a good home where they will be patient and understanding and not just dispose of him when he doesn't fit their expectations. I am sorry if I sound rude, but this whole thread just really upset me. This is what I was talking about in my other rant thread. People go and buy parrots because they are cute and fun without spending time researching about it first. I am ashamed to say this but my brother had a grey before I ever had one. He ended up moving across the country and he felt he could not take the bird with him. I was afraid of his bird because that bird only loved him and hated everyone else in the family. I wanted to take him, but I knew I would not be able to give him as good a home as an experienced parrot person. I knew I needed to start out with a calmer bird that was not so aggressive. He sold the bird before he moved. Thanks to this forum I was able to get in touch with the new owner and know that he is ok now and has a MUCH better home. Love my brother but he had no business ever buying that bird either and I was VERY angry with him for selling him. The poor thing screamed and ripped his feathers out while the new owner drove him home. I felt very guilty for not taking him until I knew he got a great home with someone who had a lot of experience with parrots. He has since stopped biting and stopped plucking. People do not realize how very attached these birds become to their humans. Because I saw my brothers bird, I do. A while before he ended up selling the bird, my sister kept his bird for him for a year because he was having some personal issues, she did not want the bird but she was trying to keep him from having to get rid of it. That bird called his name for a solid year and never let my sister touch him or pet him at all without making her bleed. She wanted to keep him too, even though he bit her all the time and didn't like her at all lol but she knew he would have a better life with someone that had experience with parrots. I think knowing about all of that with my brothers bird is why I feel so strongly about people getting a bird and keeping it. I still feel bad that I didn't take his bird and keep him but I feel better now since I know he has a good home. My point with all of that is that maybe your bird was ripping his feathers out because he missed the person that hand raised him.

That is great news Glad you found them a home with someone that sounds like she has plenty of time for them.

where is Lincolnshire? England? I am in the US. I wish I could get this bird. I pray there is a member here near Lincolnshire that might be able to give this baby a home!<br><br>Post edited by: Summerc25, at: 2010/01/09 15:58

I love your site! What happened to Riamfada? I don't know if I just missed the ending somehow or what. Beautiful birds you have

I wish I could have them Shaka zulu takes every spare minute I have. Good luck finding them a wonderful forever home! I love that aviary but I hope it goes with them. Where did you have that built??

Awwww Yuki is just gorgeous! Karma to you for rehoming a baby that needed a new forever home! Trust me, I have had my bird since April and I still freak out all the time. I spent 200.00 taking him to the vet once because I was worried his poop had a few bubbles in it and nothing was wrong but it was money well spent so I could relax lol He hates the vet even though the man is very nice and good with him. I spent over $600.00 in the first 3 months probably because I freaked out over every little thing. I am sure Shaka zulu was like would you just chill I am fine! lol It is always better to be safe than sorry though. I did the same thing about the standing on one foot. I asked the vet if his feet were ok because he curled them up alot. They were fine hehe It just takes a little while to see what is normal behaviour for them. Now I know how his poop should look, and how he stands etc and I only freak if something is abnormal behaviour, usually anyways Enjoy your new baby!!

This is a very interesting thread. Shaka zulu does flutter his wings a bit or make a very soft whistle if I move around at all while he is asleep. He never gets 12 hrs though, more like 8-10 and he is very rarely grumpy. Because I have read a lot of horror stories about peoples birds dying from different things that you would never expect to kill them, I am super paranoid when it comes to my bird. Once in a while I will just softly open the door and peak in on him in the middle of the night and he will say very softly 'soooo' because he says 'so jao'(not sure of spelling) meaning good night. His original owners were from Pakistan so he does speak some of their language. When I get him up in the morning, if he is still tired he will tell me so jao over and over lol Usually I will cut the lights back out and let him rest a little longer when he does that. He definitely knows what he is saying. I can tell it is like a kid who does not want to get up for school lol I think they get used to normal household sounds like the heat or air running. My bird does not seem to pay the slightest attention to that when he is sleeping.<br><br>Post edited by: Summerc25, at: 2010/01/08 16:25

I will try to keep a lookout too and let you know if I see anything, another site similar to craigslist is kijiji.com I think. That is actually where I got my bird from but the lady I got him from had raised him from 4 weeks. Good luck! Praying for you and Sindbad!

It made me so sad earlier. I was looking at craigslist and kijiji actually to see if any new greys were listed for sale in an area where another members bird is lost. There were so so many greys for sale Most of them said had the bird 1 yr love him but no time. I really wish people would really think long and hard about it before they get one. Anyone who asks me about my bird, I say he is absolutely adorable,loveable and soooooo messy lol I always make sure I tell them about how many times a week I have to scrub his cage up and how he poops all over me lol People tend to get carried away on the cute and funny factor and never consider the time and energy it takes to take care of a pet. Now to me, he is worth every second of the cleaning up messes etc. but some people would not love any pet enough for the clean up. To me he is like my kid. It's just so sad for them because they get very attached to their humans. I really don't know what shaka zulu would do if I ever gave him away and I don't ever plan on finding out. I even tell any guys I date up front that they better make nice with the parrot if it gets that serious because he will never be leaving. They will be leaving before he does hehe Okay sorry off my rant now, it just upsets me to see so many people buy them and then don't want them within a few years.

Awww I am so glad to see that Francis has a good home with you now. The most important thing for him I think is to have someone who never gives up on him and I think he found that someone. It seems like the other families he had kind of gave up on him because of the plucking. I think it is awesome that you adopted a plucker. I would never turn a bird away for that.

Wait until she tries to show her undying love by puking on you lol That is what mine does almost daily. Thank god he never really gets anything out but he tries. I think Abby is probably talking because you are not in the room thinking that it will bring you to her. Shakazulu will talk in front of me and does it all the time, but when I leave the room is when he really gets going and it is because he is trying to lure me back with his cuteness and 9 out of 10 times it works Glad to hear things are going so well for you and Abby!

I am so sorry I was hoping we would have some good news. If that guy does have Sindbad he may have discovered that he could make more selling him. Check Craigslist and any listing sites like that in your area for any african greys listed for sale lately. May not help at all but its worth a shot. Alot of people might sell a bird they found rather than keep him. You can still find him, don't give up hope! *hugs*

What a crazy woman! Who has a pet for a few years then decided to dump it in the garage. That is so insane, Thank god yu adopted Sampson Glad to hear things are going well hun. Once Sampson comes around he is going to be soooo much happier

My bird was what someone called a "love muffin" earlier hehe and trust me, he has made me bleed several times. Generally, only if I scared him by reaching for him too fast. I have learned that he apparently HATES coke cans lol Not sure why, maybe the red color. Everytime he has bitten me enough to make me bleed, a coke can was around. Once he was acting really unlike himself and I think he may have been molting because he had a lot of the tiny pin feathers. That was not a fun week. I bled, I cried (not from pain but hurt feelings...lol)I became scared of the beak, he knew it and used it against me. I had to let him just bite the crap out of me and act like it didn't bother me at all or hurt. Once he got no crying or pulling away, he got bored of biting me and since then he is has behaved like the sweet little angel he was before then. Good luck with Abby Hope she is in a better mood now lol

Any news on Sindbad?

Good luck Mills! Karma to you for wanting to give these babies a new, loving home. I hope that you will be able to create a bond with them over time.

I just made sure the water was a nice temperature and turned the water on low so it didn't spray hard on shaka zulu. He still does not LOVE bath time but he tolerates it lol Just use reassuring words too. Like I tell him "its okay" and hold him close to me when I am getting the water ready. He does not freak out but I can tell he is ready for it to be over lol Then I tell him how pretty he is when we are done. He likes that a bit hehe<br><br>Post edited by: Summerc25, at: 2009/12/30 03:41

Thanks and you are right lol I always "Come here" when he calls. Who could resist ?? Lol