Azzie

I think it's wonderful when they're practicing flying. The way they clamp on, lean forward with such a determined look on their faces! Cleo can fly, and she's getting pretty good at landing, but she still does the flight mode practice, and it cracks me up.

Aww he's SO cute in that pic! A bath might be nice for his skin with all those prickly little feathers coming through as well.

They call me the crazy bird lady...I don't know if they mean *I* am crazy, or if my birds are.

Had a look at some of your other videos there too. I really like the parrot in the playground ones. Hope I can get Cleo to accept a harness as well.

Yeah she doesn't seem to be afraid. New toys don't faze her, and neither does experiencing new things. Cleo is one adventurous bird!

I hear that, about not wanting to waste a single moment when they're so young and affectionate. I am pleasantly surprised how quickly Cleo trusted me though. She's been with me 10 days now, and from what I have read I expected it to take many more weeks, possibly even months. I guess the breeder did a great job on getting her used to being handled and what not. She's flying and landing very well now too. Cleo's feathers sure look an aweful lot better now after her shower.

Oh yeah heh when a person is fully relaxed, THAT part relaxes too and things sometimes slip out. And aah...sometimes men experience another issue too when they are being massaged. Just an involuntary reflex.

Ooooh lol sirens! I hadn't thought of that! I was more concerned about chef Ramsey's terrible cursing and Cleo repeating that in his voice. Haha thank you for the advice! Maybe I'll get her to watch Doctor Phil instead, I like his accent.

My rowing machine and eliptical cross trainer sure look good sitting there! I've had those for several months now, but I've not managed to lose any weight. What I didn't realise when I bought them was that you are supposed to use them, as in, get on and do STUFF. Just looking at the equipment is enough to make me feel tired.

Sabian I know you can try to stop the bleeding with some corn starch or flour. The real issue is why she is chewing her feathers, but I'll leave that to the experts here on the forum to comment on.

Cleo and I showered!!! From my point of view it was a huge success, she got pretty soaked and did not appear stressed at all. If anything she appeared more puzzled. Cleo insisted on staying on my shoulder the whole time, which was no mean feat once my skin got wet. I think I can feel the blood running down my back lol. Cleo became curious about the water, so she stuck her head out and drank some of the shower water coming down. I then slowly turned round and got her tail feathers wet which resulted in some vigorous bottom shaking. She didn't flap or try to get away, so we just did a few circles and got most of her feathers nice and wet. After the shower she spent some time wrapped up in my very warm dressing gown to dry off a little and keep warm while I got dressed. She is now back in her cage, doing some pretty hard core preening and shaking. We'll try again in a few days YAY!<br><br>Post edited by: Azzie, at: 2009/04/09 02:29

I've started to introduce Cleo to other rooms in the house. We were in the bedroom last night and it was a bit chilly so I hopped under the blankets and invited Cleo to join me. It took very little encouragement for her to crawl into the little hollow I made out of blankets. She promptly snuggled into the warmest spot, completely covered, and went to sleep there. It was the cutest thing ever, her lying on her belly, beak resting on my hand and her little eyes closed. But what broke my heart was the amount of trust she has in me. How willingly she went under the covers where dangerous predators may well lurk (well not likely in my house but you know what I mean). The way she greets me in the morning, and the way she lets me touch her anywhere and everywhere on her body. And I love the way she sits there with me and watches tv. She seem to like Cops and Gordon Ramsey of all things! Today I am going to take Cleo into the bathroom and let her watch me have a shower, in the hope she'll be keen to try this too. Sorry about the long rambling post, this is the only place I can go to pour my heart out. Everyone else just looks at me strangely, that it's just a bird and what's all the fuss!

I've also found that different methods of preparation can make a difference between acceptance and rejection. Madame Cleo abhors raw carrot, but if they're steamed they're a big hit. Good luck with your birdie = )

Thank you all for the advice! A shower with Cleo sounds like an awesome idea, especially if it's made into a game as suggested. Once we have that down pat I'll go on a hunt for Aloe juice. Thanks again!!!

Back to Google for me lol. Found this, not totally what I was looking for but worth sharing still I thought: http://www.african-grey-parrots.co.uk/parrot-articles/african-grey-parrot-diet.html http://www.greyfeathertoys.com/html/safefoods.html Both sites mention parsley is ok, but then I found this: "The plant is said to be fatal to small birds and a deadly poison to parrots, also very injurious to fowls, but hares and rabbits will come from a great distance to seek for it, so that it is scarcely possible to preserve it in gardens to which they have access. Sheep are also fond of it, and it is said to be a sovereign remedy to preserve them from footrot, provided it be given them in sufficient quantities." (http://www.koro.com.mk/Products/medicinal_plants/Parsley.html). I guess parsley is also off the menu for my flock.<br><br>Post edited by: Azzie, at: 2009/04/08 01:42

How absolutely terrifying that would be for me, to have such a tiny delicate and fragile creature in my care! My hat off to you! Thank you for posting regular pics. Fascinating to see how they grow and develop.

A follow on question from that. Cleo is dusty too, and won't shower or bathe. She detests being lightly misted with a spray bottle as well, and tries to run away in her cage. I've tried warm and cold water with the same result. Do I just persist in what I see as terrorising Cleo with the water bottle in the hope she will accept it? How important IS bathing/spraying for greys? I understand they produce a powder they use to preen and don't produce a lot of oil for conditioning the feathers. I'm rather stumped on this and I would really appreciate some advice. It's never been a problem with my 'keets, they just plonk themselves in the kitchen sink when I fill it with cold water. Thanks guys!

What amazing colours! Mother Nature sure knows what she's doing = ) Thank you for sharing!

Ya can microchip a bird? I had it done with my puppy, and they used a HUGE needle. It wasn't so much a needle as a hollow steel tube with a wicked sharp point on it. It hurt her when it went in, and bled a bit. Is it safe for a bird?

One CAG named Cleo. One...for now hahaha

That brings tears to my eyes. Going away on holiday, never coming back and just abandoning the bird? That makes me want to say a lot of bad words! I haven't been away on holiday for many years, simply because I don't want to leave my babies! And it's a small sacrifice I gladly make. If I lived in the States, I'd gladly drive across the country to get little Bud and give him a home. Where did I put the tissues....

When Cleo moved into her new biiiiig cage, I bought a bright red plastic container that hangs on the side of the cage. The first few days after I filled it with pellets I made sure she was watching me, showed her the pellets and stirred them around with my finger so they rattled. That really got her attention, and I kept rattling whilst I was hanging the container. She very quickly learnt to associate the removal of the red container with its return with some yummies in it. As soon as I remove it now, she's hanging around the space it usually hangs and inspects it the moment it is back in place.

Dorian! Like Dorian Grey! What a clever name!!

Ooooh he' so little and cute!

Every day she does something to amuse or amaze me! I was just trying to clean some food scraps off her beak with a wet paper towel. Cleo totally regressed into a chick being hand fed, complete with the jackhammer head thing and little sucking sounds! Right now I'm a little melted puddle on the floor....