Jayd

It took me a while to find this in my personal arcives, but this is a good article on moulting.....http://www.2ndchance.info/molt.htm Will My Parrot’s Personality Change While It Molts? If your parrot lives indoors in artificial light and molts only an occasional feather, its personality will not change. If your parrot has gone through a normal summer breeding cycle during which its sexual hormones surged, it will quiet down and become less aggressive during its subsequent molting period. Many parrots become less active and moody while molting. Your pet may not be as affectionate with you as it normally is. Parrots will scratch themselves more as the new contour and head feathers sprout.

Great Question, both responses were accurate and to the point. In the past few years, avian nutritionist, some vets, pet food company's and parrot owners are all for increasing protien during molting and other stressful times. If we lived in a perfect world, and new for sure [especially for a new caretaker] that our parrot are truly receiving what they need in their diet, nothing additional would be needed, unfortunately no magic agreement has yet to be reached. With the many varied diets and treat we feed our parrots, compounded by outside induced stress, a little extra protein can only benefit our parrots. "The times they are a changing"

Due to care and concern from loving members like those of the Grey Forums, knowledge of our Greys are advancing in leaps and bound. We've started treating these birds as individuals, getting away from "Human Psychology" and developing "Avian Psychology". Just recently we've discovered that "Pinning" doesn't mean the same thing from bird to bird, and that it has a completely new meaning. This has been brought about by you and people like you, who notice things that don't seem normal. Our road is only going up, don't close your mind, listen before judging...

NO NO NO NO NO, You thread is wonderful, We just have to research deeper sometimes, her techniques, style and the point she was trying to make is all proper and correct, no harm in anything she said. She uses key word to express the same thing as something I might write using a few hundred more words....This also keeps the reader interested and not bored. Please Your a very intelligent person and I've always respected you for your ability's to seek what is right, to you.

:DHere's a example of reusing a thread/post, the archive is worth it's weight in gold...

Joe, where do I start? words flow like honey, were behind on his updates. Okay, how about "I want that" Joe will fly or walk to something he see's, he'll say "Want that or I want that" and fly back to his cage with it.....When Maggie takes the veggies to the small birds, Joe will ride on her shoulder,when she gets to the cages, Joe will climb down her arm and ask them "Want some" hehehe lol....

It's "The Attack of the Pterodactyl" Remember, parrots won't be domesticated [like dog's cat's and husbands] for over 200,000,000 years, their still wild...

Parrots bite for many reasons, jealousy, attention, wanting something, saying no, dislike and feeling you like them to bite and playing. A Grey fears very little in captivity, unless they've been abused. You can find many cases on the net of "Unsocial Greys" right from birth, they're so ornery they won't even let you hand feed them, there's special rescues for this type of Grey....Thank you Jayd

Do what your doing, remember, Rome wasn't built in a day, there are so many useful posts on the forum, check out the nursery...The forum is slow on the weekend. Thanks Jayd and Spock

No one makes bigger bloopers than I do...

Thank you, The longest time our fids go with out food is from bedtime to morning feeding........

jbsmomto1 and all other concerned members...Nancy has given misinformation. There is no scientific or other basis to support her findings. Please continue taking care of your companion as you are doing now. You are doing nothing wrong and are supporting proper care. Keep on doing what you are doing. You know in your heart what is right. All parrots need to be kept on the "Abundant Feeding method" with more than enough food available to them at any given time. If a Parrot, let alone a Grey is hungry, feed them.....A Grey (especially them) can develop a phobia about not having or getting enough food, to the point of dying because of the fear. Lack of abundant feeding can also cause stunted physical growth and affect them mentally. This can lead to further complications throughout their life. We chose the dark side of avian companionship, taking in rescues, physically and mentally handicapped birds due to abuse, lack of proper care, proper diet, exposure to drug use, and owners who failed to care for them due to misinformation. The deaths and suffering we have witnessed will mark us forever. To have a bird die in your hands because someone just didn't feed them right is beyond even talking about. Thank you, Jay

I know I'm going to raise eyebrows, but I'm going to post anyway...Ten or more years ago, when a breeder sold a baby Grey, you could almost be guaranteed that this bird was fully weaned and fully flight fledged. So when one of these babies would make a overt reaction to you, he was requesting more than likely, attention, even in the form of one warm bite of formula, which they would proceed to spit out now that they had your attention. Let's fast-forward to today...we have what I call unscrupulous breeders. Because it is cheaper and it saves them money, they will sell un-weaned, un-fledged, immature Greys to unsuspecting wonderful owners with the minimum of instructions on their continued feeding and fledging. As in Nancy's case, sometimes this works and in the majority of cases, it doesn't. In the case such as Nancy's where a devoted owner successfully raises this poor baby, it gives the owner a false sense of security and knowledge of what they are doing and in turn, they pass on the belief that since they did it, others can do it. What is so sad is that most of these good people have done it only once. Another sad point is the new owner doesn't know the routine and technique on when and how the baby was fed before they got it. An experienced person would know if the actions of the baby bird was for food or attention. Nancy's and others replies were excellent. Always give love and attention regardless. But in a case such as this one, you should always feed too. One feeding every night, same time, before bed! Get some formula and mix up 30cc's, heat it up to 109 degrees (Fahrenheit), make up a water bath so you can keep the formula up at 105-109 degrees, get a narrow plastic spoon and put it in front of your baby and see if he eats. If he eats the whole 30cc's, make up another 30cc's. He will tell you when he is done. Now, if your baby does not eat this formula, you can mix it in with your birdie bread, etc. If you have other birds, a 60 year old never refuses a warm spoon of formula. Now, Abundant Feeding...a must practice that is not practiced enough is called abundant feeding. Always have more than enough food at all times available for your baby, be it formula, seeds, pellets, veggies. They are not like a dog or a cat where you feed them one time a day. They can develop a phobia that can actually kill them if they feel that there is no food or not enough food and they will never get enough again. That is why it is so important to take seed husks, skins, etc. out of their cage so they believe that everything is fresh. So sorry if I ruffled any feathers...this is my belief, this is my opinion. I have derived this from decades of avian breeding and observation and the actual physical practice of this. All my statements are backed scientifically. If I had my way, breeders would be put in jail for selling any un-weaned, un-fledged birds and counseling would be given to anyone buying a new bird. One more thing before I get off my soapbox, hand-feeding does not necessarily make a better companion or better bonded bird. Thank you. Jay

I'm a known trouble maker lol, Greys should have very little friut, only a small piece a day, if they have fruit, it fills them and they won't eat enough of what they need. Fruit also goes straight through them causing wet stools, and flushing. Too much white potatoes is bad for parrots, once or twice a week, sweet potatoes you can feed daily.....Big question?????? Why no nuts??????? I'll respond now: Nut's, [not peanuts which are not nuts but Legumes.] are nessary for proper health to our parrots. Nut's, almond, walnut, pistachios, Brazil nuts ect, contain EFA's ie:Essential Fatty Acids, which are necessary for a healthy life. Nuts contain fat, true, they contain the good fats, mono, unsaturated etc, which help reduced bad cholesterol.....At a minimum, a parrot should have 1 almond a day. Looking forward to your reply... Thanks Jayd

Hi, this is a list Ray P posted on members birds, interesting....http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?195671-Other-honored-fids-of-the-grey-forum

Use pure aloe vera juice, don't dilute, Aloe juice every other time. Try misting, when a parrot reacts to misting it's not because their afraid, it's because it's new to them, maybe your baby has been misted for the last 18yr's and likes it. And remember only a small piece of fruit a day.......

NO no pit.........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry, you did nothing wrong and your question was great.....I was just trying to give a answer, some members don't know that we have new bird rooms.....Thats why I put a big "LOL" I'm so sorry.......I'm so ashamed, your posts are always top-notch, please forgive me Jay

Simple answer, We have two TOO's lol. Research, the name of this forum is Grey Forums with photos of Greys on the main page. if you search the net for parrots, it will be listed as Greys, not "All Parrots", or "The What you got " parrot forum...lol Up until recently we only had "The Other Bird" room, then the "Zon room" and now the new rooms. Most people keep Greys singular, as a one bird family as opposed to MBS...The Grey Forum has tired to spread the word that were a "Mixed bag" of parrots......

Hi, I've posted this before, I hope it might help...... Rescue #1 JOEY Joey: Congo African Grey Parrot Present Age: Four years old Abuse Type: Mental and Severe Psychological (No visible sign of Physical abuse) Background: We know the pet store that Joey had originally been purchased from. He had been weaned and clipped, never allowed to fly. For the next two years we had no record and we have not been able to speak to the previous owners. After purchasing Joey and with some help also with help from Joey himself, we have been able piece together some of his past history and his previous owners. His previous owners were a well-established young couple. The female was never fond of any types of pets, did not fit her lifestyle. Joey had favored the male and there had been a bonding but it wasn’t a healthy bonding. Shortly after getting Joey, which brought problems to the marriage, the male was more interested in maintaining harmony than integrating Joey. This brought about bickering over Joey between the two owners with the female getting more and more agitated, putting him in a small room by himself, being ignored by both of them except for cage cleaning, food and water. There was a lot of arguments that took place within earshot of Joey, possible marital abuse, yelling at Joey by both of them, cage being tapped, arguments about whether to keep Joey or get rid of him. At this point, the owners decided, (not mutually) to get rid of Joey. So, at this point, Joey and his cage was taken to a pet store where the owner agreed to hold him for awhile and let Joeys owners visit him for a while (which was wrong). They only visited him three times over the next six months, arguing in his presence each time. At this point in time, we took Joey into our hearts and home. The Homecoming: We didn’t know this young Grey’s name, so we called him Jim (Kirk) to go along with Spock. At this time, we had enough birds for everyone in the city. He was a quiet bird and would sit in his cage in the back and be soundless. He would let you change his water and food (he had been on seeds only diet). He would also shake if you came near the cage and would constantly head-search while chewing his toe-nails. He was extremely neurotic…he was a small bird and looked like he might have been stunted from lack of a proper diet. We introduced him to everyone and we did not attempt to hold him. We talked to him and talked to our other fids in front of him. If we saw that he was being extremely nervous, we would go out of our way to stop and talk to him with a “Hi Jim” etc, and we were slowly discovering the depth of his psychological and mental abuse. We left the cage door open whenever we were home and awake which at this stage was 24/7. One day, Jay left the room and in the most concerned voice, Joey called out “Hello! Are you okay?” When Jay came back, Joey was standing at the open door looking down the hallway, looking for Jay to come back. He would also say “Hello”, “How are you?” at this time. He also started talking to himself…bringing up his past two years. While shaking badly, he would say things like “Are you going to feed me?” “Get a lawyer”, “You can run but you can’t hide!” “LIAR!” He would make crying sounds…he would do this while we were not in the room (plus other things too sad to say). During this period, we were introducing him to all sorts of fresh veggies and fruits. (It has taken over a year to get him to eat veggies and fruits) Besides his ruminations, he also started talking, calling to the other fids, calling us by name, singing but always reverting to his old self and chewing his nails and shaking. Out of nowhere, as Jay and I were walking by his cage, he looked Jay straight in the eye and said, “I’m Joey, NOT Jim”. He told us this twice (imagine us with our jaws on the ground) and we had to start changing his name on our threads. Now and into the Future: Joey lets us hold him and play with him more each day. He is coming out of the closet so to speak…he is an ideal parrot in a number of ways but it is all from his abuse years. He has built his life on his own routines. He eats at the same time each day, he talks at the same time each day, he preens himself at the same time each day…he definitely has obsessive-compulsive tendencies. For the last two months we have not heard him say anything from his abusive past. He has a growing vocabulary and strong cognitive abilities which we believe has roots in his abusive years. He lets us hold him when he wants to. At times, he is very cage-territorial and he stays on his cage. He will perch and let you take him from his cage for a few moments only. We have a perch on the outside of his cage and he likes to spend most of his time looking out the window. He is extremely vocal and interacts with Spock and Salsa and lets both of them eat and drink from his bowls and he plays tail-chase with both of them on his cage. He is very insecure anywhere away from his cage. It is an ongoing process to try to get him comfortable enough to stay away from his cage. He has attempted to fly on four-five occasions to fly and they have been disastrous. This is definitely due to the fact that he was constantly clipped. (We have set out pillows on his common landing areas that is more often missed than hit.) At times, he will revert to something that triggers his bad memories and will pin his eyes and draw blood out of the clear blue. Once he snaps out of it, he is very affectionate and loving. The Future continues: On-going Progress: In the last couple of weeks, Joey has made some amazing changes. To everyone’s surprise, when you open his cage in the morning, he will hang from the top of the cage, wait for you to support him with your hand and involve you in beaky play. He will hang with one foot and grab your hand with the other (Yikes!) and play roughly while talking to you. (Non-Sexual) He’s molting and he’s also found out that a human finger is excellent for rubbing the pin feathers at the bend of the leg where it touches the body. In the few moments that he lets you hold him, he has leaned against our chest (on his own) and cuddled. Now and Beyond: Daily, you can still see the pain that he has endured. When he thinks we are not observing him, he reverts to his shaking and nail chewing to a lesser extent. His most recent trait that the past is still current in is memory is when we have to leave, he will let out a couple of loud contact calls and puff up to almost twice his size and stare and you and call while you are leaving. It is so sad… They NEVER forget…any abuse is a major and daily part of their lives and they live with it….it is always there to haunt them. Jayd and Maggie

Smart, that works:D;)

Sorry, this isn't the best for your parrot, oil is bad unless its Red Palm oil or a slight amount of Olive oil. Egg's should be givin no more than once or twice a week, it's better not to give veggies then give them this way...It can be a long process to train your fid to eat veggies, be patience...

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189753-Bathing-possible-method-1 http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189752-Bathing-possible-method-2

Hi, and welcome to this forum, pretty baby. The diet change sounds good, just a small piece of fruit a day is plenty. It's very important especially during the winter months to bath your fid a couple of times a week and spray them with Aloe Vera Juice which you can get from Walmart, this is great for all your birds...Let them air dry, never use a hair dryer. When we say bath, we mean really wet them, no drafts, and your birds will be happy around 72-76 degrees year round........Thanks More photos, You might want to get a Vet Well check up from a true Avian vet....I hope his baggage is light......

Thank you and welcome, your heart will lead you........