ZivaDiva

I haven't yet but I will try it. She won't even take food from me that I'm eating. Well, she's eaten one tortilla chip but nothing else. She just wants her fruit, veggies and favorites. Thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks for the reply. I bought some dehydrated veggies but realized they have chemicals in them so I am going to run to the store for something better. I will go get some walnuts and give that a try. I just don't want her starving while I'm at work. My daughter is home the next couple of weeks so she is able to put in fresh food during the day for now. She won't eat safflower or pumpkin seeds but she likes cooked and raw corn. I do leave the radio on when I'm gone and it doesn't seem to make a difference as far as the screaming. I am still leaving it on anyway so they get to have some sort of entertainment during the day.

Phoebe (hatch date 3/15/11) will not eat seed. She eats fresh fruits, veggies, cooked & raw pasta, pistachios, etc. Her favorite things are the dehydrated papaya chunks from the seed mix, edamame, pasta, brown rice and cooked sweet potato. I know some people work really hard at getting their birds off seed but I'd like her to eat some as I'm gone for 8-9 hours a day and don't want fresh food sitting in her cage rotting. I bought dehydrated papaya and she won't eat it. She wants what's in the mix only and it's a pain to pick out. Any suggestions on what to do for food when I'm gone? She eats a lot and she eats good food, but I'm not sure what to leave in her cage all day long. She wakes up screaming and frantic for food and doesn't calm down until I feed her. Behavior issue is that she screams whenever we're not in the same room. She lives in my bedroom along with my other CAG, Z. (different cages) I do call out to her (when she's not screaming) to let her know where I am but it hasn't made a difference yet. I often take her with me from room to room but can't always do that and she freaks out. It's not a little scream either, it's an ear piercing dinosaur scream. She also does it whenever I leave or come home. That's not real fun for the neighbors if I'm walking in or out at 2am. What's the best way to solve this. She's still young so I'm hoping it will be easier and quicker to take care of these issues. Thanks in advance.

He's adorable! Congrats on your new baby.

I've been a vegan for decades and so are my parrots. Well, except for my lovebird, who eats her own eggs at times. I don't have eggs and bones, etc. in my house and it's not going to happen. I feed them a well rounded diet like Salar posted above. Protein and calcium are found in cruelty free foods so there's no reason to worry about them not getting enough.

Phoebe did better last night. She screamed at my daughter when she got home from school but then didn't scream when I walked in the door. We had her out on the dresser and walking around on the bed while I read and napped. I put her back in her cage while I did some housework and she didn't scream and was able to entertain herself. I moved more of her toys down towards the bottom of the cage. She is using a flat perch on the bottom of her cage that is a large square about 9 in x 8in to sleep on. She is also figuring out how to climb up her boing by using her beak, and then slid down the cage bars to get down. She still falls but not as much. She didn't scream at all when I left this morning and I'm sure the neighbors were happy. Hopefully, she will continue to improve and I will be able to figure out how to place things in her cage that make it easier for her.

Thanks. She is a sweet little baby now. She was a biter a few weeks ago before I brought her home but stopped that behavior a few days prior. The nails are missing and her toes are kinda stumpy so it is causing her problems. She hates sitting in my lap and wants to be on my fingers, flat palm or wrist but she also really wants to sit on my shoulder, which I won't allow. It's so sad when she is on my hand and loses her grip/balance and down she goes.

Oops, typo above. She's 14 weeks old. Yes, we spend several hours a day together. I say hello to my other grey, Z, first as to not make him feel ignored and then let him out on top of his cage. Then Phoebe gets to come out. She's either on my hand, the bed or the dresser. She's out with me from about 6-10 nightly and my daugther brings her out and gives her love after school for a little bit. I have 8 other birds so she has to share but she is out. I eat dinner and share with her, etc. I just need to find someplace for her to be out on that is safe while I am at home.

Thanks so much for your reassuring words. She is 17 weeks old and weaned. She's not begging or crying and had been off handfeeding for a week at her choice. She would be in a cage at night and I would find her on the grate in the back corner. She had low perches but only climbed over them. For 6-7 hrs a day, she was on a playstand but would just stay on the branch she was put on by the food dishes and she'd fall off a few times a day. She was out to be socialized. Her daily schedule has changed and now I'm gone all day and she's locked up and she comes out at night. That's opposite of what she's used to. She was not carried around but does want to be out as much as possible. I just can't figure out where that should be. I don't want her falling off high perch/playstands and she prefers to just sit on my bed or the top of my dresser. I may set up the top of my dresser as her area but toys just roll off since they aren't attached. I don't feel like drilling holes in to my expensive solid wood huge dresser to hang toys! I also wish you lived close! You'd be more than welcome. I almost didn't make it to work today because I'm so exhausted. I'm going out to dinner Thursday night and am not sure what to do with her. I might bring her along!

Thanks. I am trying to do that and have many perches in there of varying sizes but she climbs up the side of the cage and slides down - over and over and over again. Two sides have vertical bars and 2 have horizontal. She wants to climb the vertical bars instead of horizontal for some reason. The bar spacing is appropriate for her. I have most stuff set up on the bottom or very low but being a bird, she wants to hang out at the top of the cage even if there aren't any perches. I think I might try more perches and see if that helps.

Phoebe was saying "hi" at 10 wks old. She's now 14 weeks old today and has added "hello" to her vocabulary. Her sister was saying both by the time she was 10 weeks old. I have no idea if this means she will have a large vocabulary or not. My other CAG, Z, has a huge vocabulary but I didn't adopt him until he was 7 yrs old. I'm sure he'll teach her a few things!

We've named her Phoebe and we brought her home on Friday. She is in my bedroom next to my other CAG, Z. Phoebe is missing 50% of her talons and that includes her 2 "thumb" talons so gripping is an issue. I set up her cage and she is still having problems climbing and perching. She wants up so badly but gets on a perch or boing and can't figure out how to come down and just falls. Sometimes it's from trying to climb down, other times it's because she just loses her balance. She does the same thing while on my fingers, hand, wrist. I can feel her losing her balance and down she goes. I have set up her food & water on the bottom of the cage. She often sits and sleeps on the bottom after several tries of getting up to the dish holders so I figured that was best for now. I have several different size perches along with toys spaced apart hoping she'd be able to kind of use everything as stairs to get to the next level but that hasn't happened yet. I'm going crazy because I've not had much sleep. She tries to climb a lot at night and falls, or she sits on the bottom of the cage and scratches with one claw. Then during the day, she sits on the bottom of the cage and sleeps. And yesterday, she started screaming. I've had Z 2 1/2 yrs and he's never screamed. She sounds like a macaw and is really loud. She does it when she wants out or whenever I leave or enter the room. I do talk to her when I'm out of the room so she knows where I am but she continues to scream. I would love any and every suggestion and piece of advice you people can offer. I feel like a new mom. I'm exhausted, shaky and weak from lack of sleep. I'm tempted to move her into the living room so I can sleep at night.

Time for an update - we still haven't named her. Nothing feels right. At the moment, I'm leaning towards Phoebe. That might change in 32 seconds. She will hopefully come home on the 17th. She's still being handfed small amounts. One of her sisters already went home and her other sister will leave this week. I had decided 2 weeks ago that I probably wasn't going to take her because she was attacking me when I was holding her. She got a little worse after my last post and I just couldn't handle it. They told me it was probably just a phase, she's still trying to figure out how to perch, she's attached to her sisters and to my friend who is feeding her. My friend said that he would have her out more and with her sisters going home and her weening, that she will change. It has started to happen. The birds are kept out in the open on perches so they are well socialized and it has helped her. She has nipped me a few times but I think it's out of frustration because she tries to perch on my hand and then wobbles since she is still trying to figure out how to grip without her talons. I let her sit on my arm which seems to be too big for her at this point and sometimes she will perch with one foot on my wrist and the other one on a finger. I've been joking that I want to make some kind of necklace or baby sling for her that includes a piece of flat wood for her to perch on while I carry her. I'm still visiting her several times a week and she is back to making baby sounds when she sees me and walking up to me. She put her foot up for me to pick her up for the first time last week. We've been working on "step up" and she's doing great. The "step down" thing isn't happening yet.

Thanks, Judy. I'm a little freaked out that I'm gettting a hand-fed baby and she's an attack bird. I do think some or most of it is because she can't grip all that well. She's quite mellow when she's sitting on my chest. She kind of sinks into my cleavage and chills out. But, she has been climbing up my chest and getting onto my shoulder. I don't want her there because she has already leaned over and bit me on my chin and cheek. They weren't bad bites but they did hurt. She seems to like to strike at my face. I don't wear my glasses when holding her and when she's close to my face, she looks like a grey blob and it's difficult for me to see what she's doing next. She's also really pissed off that they clipped her nail and did labs. She goes after the woman who did it and growls and lunges at her when she approaches. Her biting seems to have started after the nail clipping. Her 2 clutchmates are doing the same thing when the woman approaches. She's done labs on thousands of birds and has never had this type of reaction. She's also a friend of mine and I know she's great with birds. I'm hoping she'll chill out from all the trauma/drama. I know grey's are usually really cuddly and that's fine but I'd really like to be able to handle her without it being too difficult. Hopefully, with some training, we'll get there.

She was born that way. She's a "special" bird or as we refer to many of my birds - a spird. She's missing 50% of them including her "thumbs" so she's learning to grip and hold on.

DNA came back and she's a girl. She won't be home for about 2 more weeks. I continue to visit 1-2 times a week. This past week she was a pain in the behind. She wants to get on my shoulder and I don't want her there. I am trying to teach her to perch on my hand and step up. All she did was bite me. She used to be a snuggle bird and now she's an attack bird. I have no idea what is going on with her. I'm hoping she's a little different this week. She is having trouble with getting used to perching since she's missing so many talons. I'm sure she'll adjust with time. I am having a lot of trouble coming up with a name. I had several boy names I liked but none for girls. We are Stevie Nicks fans in our family and my teen wants me to name her Stevie. I'm not thrilled with it but I don't have any other ideas as of now. I'm hoping something jumps out at me that fits.

There's lots of poop soup at my house and I change water dishes frequently. My CAG, Z, will say, "Get me some water!" when he wants fresh water. He also says it when he has fresh water as he thinks it's funny that I get up for no reason. I have thought about having a water bottle and dish to have it covered either way but I don't find it as easy to clean the bottles and drinking tube as it is to clean the dishes. So, yes, poop soup is not unusual and it won't kill them if they sip out of it every now and then.

I've been visiting my new baby 1-2 times a week. S/he is almost 12 weeks old and so damn adorable. He's (just gonna say he for now) missing 50% of his talons and the rest grew in normally. He's missing both on his "thumbs" and one of them is looking really strange. He will be having surgery on it this week or next to remove the head of it and to try and make it a more normal shape so he can use it to grasp/perch. It kind of looks like a piece of the human male anatomy right now! I'm a little worried about surgery, even though it will be a small procedure and then his recovery. I hope they can fix it so he'll be able to use it.

When you're done, can you come do my entire apt? I am so envious.

That's gorgeous! I wish I could do that but I live in an apt and the owner would kill me. It's a white wall only apt. I know my CAG, Z, would freak with the orange line around the branch. He'd yell it was a snake and to watch out. Not sure where he learned all that. I hope the desensitizing goes quickly. Such lucky birds!!

I went to a huge feed store that is like a Costco and found a cage this weekend. I paid for it and will pick it up tomorrow. The baby bird won't be coming home for another month or so but I'm glad I found a cage. The store is so much less expensive than everywhere else around here. It was $150 less than what I've seen. It has a playtop so we'll see what happens.

That is great news! Congratulations!! I've had Z for 2 years and was able to rub his head while out of the cage for the first time just last week. He'll let me do it in between the bars of the cage but that was it. It 's such a great feeling. Hopefully, both of ours will be asking for regular head rubs soon!

I went to PetCo to pick up some cat food and noticed a parakeet in a cage by the front door in the adoption section. There was paperwork stating a woman had left him the night before. The paperwork had check boxes and one asked if a vet visit was needed and the NO box was checked. Then the notes below said the bird wasn't eating. I looked at him and his beak was very overgrown and touching his chest. His nails were circular and then faced forward. Some of the nails circled twice. The poor baby couldn't perch so he was hanging on the bars. I said I wanted to take him and they said I had to call later in the day as the manager was out. I told them I wouldn't wait as this bird needed attention right now so he could eat and drink, etc. They finally let me take him and I went directly to my mom's. I couldn't take him home because of my birds and she doesn't have any. I clipped his beak, nails and flight feathers. He went right into the seed dish and chowed down. He's a little thin and his poops showed he was dehydrated. His feet are dry but no signs of mites, etc. I took him to the bird store on Sat. and had them pretty up the grooming I'd done and check him out. They said his poops were looking better but they noticed his nares were blocked. They picked his nose for him so he can breathe easy now. He wasn't drinking much water so I syringe fed him some apple juice and water. As of this morning, he's now drinking enough water out of his dish that we don't need to be concerned and his poops are near normal. I set him up in a cage with toys and he just sits like a statue. I'm sure he's getting used to the new surroundings. The dogs and cats are sitting on the floor, staring up at the cage while trying to figure out what he is. Originally, I'd asked my mom to quarantine him at her house while I look for a home for him. She emailed this morning and said to hold off on finding him a home as she's considering keeping him. I hope she does as I'm already attached to him and would love to visit him there. I need to go back and buy cat food as I totally forget it when I saw him!

When I take my birds in, they always do bloodwork. Just looking at the birds and noting their weight might not really show anything. I can't remember exactly what labwork was last done on Z but it was the basic stuff and it was just under $300 for the labs alone. I think the visit was $90. But, this is Los Angeles where prices are always high. Hopefully you're prices will be a lot cheaper. The new baby I'm getting will already have labs done for several things. The bird store I go to will clip a nail, take the blood, send it in and get the results all for what the lab charges, which is $55.00. They will do it on any bird you bring in as it's required for boarding your bird there. So, at least the baby will have the basic stuff done ahead of time. Vet bills are a killer!

I've know people who use them and really like them but none of them have birds. I looked up reviews from people growing lettuces and they seem to really grow a lot. I buy lettuce a couple times a week for my bunnies and would love to have some back up and fresh lettuces. It still makes me nervous even with them saying it's safe. I was concerned about the grow light but then remembered that many people use lights on birds for Vit D and they are safe so it is possible to have a safe light for the AeroGardens. I was hoping someone on here had used one and could say it was safe. I'm so nervous about using anything in my home because of the birds.