Jayd

Welcome and thank you for posting with us... There's no way of truly knowing the age with out the hatch date. Your baby's eye's are dark, and his red tail feathers still have dark in them, so he's somewhat under a year old, sorry...Jayd

Here's a copy of our experience with one of our rescues.....Jayd 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

Thank you so much and welcome, please post more...Jayd and Maggie and Spock

This I feel is the best companion food on the market, http://www.totallyorganics.com/ All there food is human safe, and this treat doe's taste good TOP Tesoro Treats Compare this to any other bird food you wish...

We feed very little pellets to our fids' there diet consist of mainly fresh "when possible".They receive about 1/8 cup, seeds and pellets,[separate cups] from after breakfast till the next morning. The proper amount of seed's are necessary for there health, we serve pellets as a treat.....P.S. stripped sunflower seeds, 1/2 teaspoon a day is smart..... http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190462-We-Feed-Our-Fid-s!!!-Update http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190489-Welcome-PROSPECTIVE-and-NEW-GREY-Owner-s..

No, wrong, a Grey needs "FRESH OFFERINGS MORE THAN PELLETS!".....Zupreem Natural is one of the safest pellets. Here's some posts you might want to read! http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?112983-Nutrition-Diet http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?137487-Top-10-Common-Foods-that-Can-Poison-Your-Bird http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?175904-FECES-DROPPINGS-POOPS-%28all-the-same%29/page2 http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190462-We-Feed-Our-Fid-s!!!-Update

Me to, let me know if you do.....

The advice you've been given is Grey't, Remember, if your baby jumps and lands hard, they can split there breast, you might wish to pad the area around the cage... Welcome:D

Love, You are chosen, be gentle, as has been said, say thank you, and walkaway, Your baby's sexually matured, or close... Remember our Grey's are much more intelligent, emotional, compassionate, and very much aware of love and what it means.. Please don't be repulsed, this is nature, real life....Jayd

What Birdhouse says is true...Volkman and Royal both make a excellent sunflower less seed blend, Give all the fresh veggies you can ,black-eyed peas and brown rice make a complete protein... Crushed pellets help with nutrition, but not with converting to them, as birdhouse said, try different kinds, and if he only eats 3 or 4, grey't. Have you tryed "home made corn bread"[birdie bread], Here' a post on "Abundent Feeding"...Give him the food your giving him, then take it out, put seeds/pellets in 2 separate bowls in his cage, keep them full till the next morning when you take them out, in the afternoon put all kinds of veggies in his cage, leave them there till dinner, feed him dinner, and during the day and evening give him a nut, lets work him off the baby food, it's processed, great for baby's and a little is ok for birds.....http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189769-Abundent-Feeding!&highlight=abundant+feeding

ZooMeds sells a nice bulb, most net pet supply's care it...If you have a Petsmarts around you, and they don't stock the Aviansun 5.0, you can use there Reptisun 5.0 same thing. Here's a reply from them....... http://zoomed.com/Library//ProductDBFiles/aviansun.pdf Thank you for contacting us. The Reptisun 5.0 is actually exactly the same as the Avian Sun 5.0 bulb. You can use the Reptisun 5.0 in place of the Avian Sun 5.0 as long as you follow the instructions that come with the Avian Sun bulb. For your convenience, I have included a pdf copy of these instructions as an attachment. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Kind regards, Ashley Rademacher Customer Service Zoo Med Labs, Inc. 3650 Sacramento Dr. San Luis Obispo CA 93401 Toll Free 888-496-6633 Fax 805-542-9295 http://www.greyforums.net/forums/sho...lighting-Again Lighting! http://www.greyforums.net/forums/sho...um-Food-or-Sun Food And Lighting! http://www.greyforums.net/forums/sho...47809-lighting

Welcome, yes this needs to be checked, just to be safe, Pleas keep us informed...Jayd

What ever you do, what ever you've done has always been right...Love Jayd and Maggie, yes Spock to....

Thanks Azzie, caned, unsalted, roasted,[never raw].....

All our dish's are hand washed with reg Dawn, this soap has been used for years around birds,[it safely removes oil from birds feathers], then, there all rinsed in apple cider vinegar...

We love to hear about Kopi, Thank You....Jayd, Maggie and Spock...

Thank Barbara an and you for all the effort you are making to help Angel....Keep a watch on Angel, anytime something new is tried on our fid's, even a change is food, they need to be watched closely. Each bird is different, and react differently....Keep up the Grey't work.....Jayd

This is good Holistic's for our parrot..... Dimethylglycine (DMG) is a derivative of the amino acid glycine with the structural formula (CH3)2NCH2COOH. Often it is found in beans and liver. It can be formed from trimethylglycine upon the loss of one of its methyl groups. It is also a byproduct of the metabolism of choline. When DMG was first discovered, it was referred to as vitamin B16, but, unlike true B vitamins, deficiency of DMG in the diet does not lead to any ill-effects. In legal terms, it has been deemed not to be a vitamin but a food product and, as such, is available without a practitioner or prescription. Uses The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center says that DMG will "enhance oxygen utilization during hypoxia, reduce lactic acid build-up in the blood during stressful events," and reduce the number of seizures experienced in epilepsy.

Yes, your correct. Fungi usually appears as dull black on the feathers....like you wiped something on them...Thank you Janet.........

Keep doing what your doing, Angel need to clean out his system, this takes time, all you can do is give comforting voice's to him, at this point he's not concerned with trust or with what kind of food he has, when he wants to eat, he wants it there, try seeds to, sunflower/safflower are good at this point, a lot of times they eat in bursts, so keep all kinds of food available at all time's...Don't get any closer to him or the cage then he will allow you, sit back, talk, sing soft..Love you, thanks

You truly have a special baby...Thanks Jayd

Please remember, this bird will never fully recover, but all the effort and time is worth it. Pray you never have to see a bird in this condition.........If? you can get a vet to come to your house, it would be safer.....

It appears there safe for wild birds, please do more research for parrots, Acorns, no...http://nbii-nin.ciesin.columbia.edu/ipane/icat/browse.do?specieId=28

Thank you Cobi. There's a lot of things that are considered baby/human safe, if licked or used to cover food etc, but, they no longer become safe if "chewed" or scratched. A bird can get "Heavy Metal" poisoning from many things that are safe for humans. Zinc is deadly to our fid's.....Stainless steel bolt's of good quality are okay. Think of your reef tank, if someone were to drop a shaving of a penny into it!...Most paint's for example state "Baby Safe", the fine print reads, "If not chewed".....Thanks Jayd