Spinner

Quick thinking to use the flashlight for Cocoa's landing lights.

Can you elaborate on how you helped Cocoa develop her outdoor manners? And, as a reminder to others, this is a good example how even a bird that is very comfortable being outside can easily be startled into flight.

Dave, great list. I have two other items in my "crash kit" that are for restraint and transport.

1 - A roll of vet wrap is an essential item - it is a simple way to wrap the bird to restrain an injured wing. Remember, not tight - just loosely wrapped. Have a couple 12-18 lengths pre-cut. A sock is another method, but I find the vet wrap to be easier to put on when dealing with an injury.

2 - A couple of towels - one a soft bath towel, the other a thinner kitchen towel.

Good words from everyone!

And remember, our greys aren't vindictive and don't hold onto bad feelings like we do.

Jasper needs a helmet - all the cool kids wear them.

It sounds like he's making progress - congrats!

Ollie's full-flighted wings aren't the issue, so thank your friend for the idea and let Ollie keep his flying status.

Ollie's behaviour is pretty normal for a four-month old. Many of them will decline as he gets older, but these antics represent a great training opportunity that will yield great returns later on. Ollie needs to have some kind of motivation to go into the cage, whether it's quiet time, sleep, food, toys, whatever. He may have some, but it sounds like the desire to get right back out is getting in the way.

Our birds go into their cages without fuss because they've been trained to do so. Ollie needs the same attention. Take his favorite treat and use it from outside the cage as a lure to go into the cage on his favorite perch. Two or more treats initially is ok, and using positive verbal reinforcement is a requirement every time. Over time, you can reduce the treats to where you won't need them, but again, be sure to reward with the verbal positive reinforcement.

Also, don't turn around a leave right away. That action on your part teaches Ollie to beat you back outside so he doesn't get left behind. Take the time to sit and chat for a few minutes (only if he behaves). If he acts up, just sit quietly until he calms down, give a treat and a positive verbal response and begin chatting. In time, he'll discover that cage time doesn't have to be a bad experience. In fact, continue the training so that he'll fly back to his cage on command and go inside for the evening. It's a pure joy to watch our birds fly from their cage to us and return when asked to do so.

A question: do you have any kind of outside-cage play area adjacent to the cage? If not, you may want to introduce something. It's another way to improve the "cage experience."

Hope this helps!

Well, she looks like a perfect Pippa to me!

I am of the opinion that you don't have to explicitly "train" a bird.

You don't say how old Elvis is, but be patient. Training really starts out as a set of consistent behaviours by you. For example, you mention saying "up" whenever you pick him up - that's perfect. As you do more with Elvis, such as when you provide food, couple a word with each action. If you're consistent and do this every time as you do with "up", then over time the training will happen.

Beaker says "what's for lunch" and "there you go" when the food goes into the cup. He didn't just come up with those words himself.

Another example - you can "train" Elvis to not climb up on your head by gently blocking his path every time he wants up, along with a gentle "no." Consistently doing this over time, and you will have "trained" Elvis to not climb on your head. More importantly, picking a consistent set of words such as "no" and "good bird!" goes a long way. In gently saying no when Elvis tries to climb on your head is training him to understand "no" as a cue for not doing an action (such as head-climbing), and you open hand as a physical cue for not doing something. In fact, I have found the physical cues to be stronger than the verbal ones.

So, take your time, interact with Elvis consistently, and don't explicitly train - just interact.

This works well with Greys; When there is an unwanted behaviour such as squawking, simply say in a soft voice "that's disgusting" and turn around or walk away. You must couple both the words and the body action. And, as Judy pointed out, it's important for both you and your wife to be consistent with this response.

Coupled with consistent positive reinforcing responses from both of you, the "it's disgusting" non-positive reinforcement works very well.

Now, that said, I'd also be looking for what started the squawking behaviour in the first place. We had a squeaky drawer in the kitchen that started it with one of our birds. Picture this - the squeak happens around the time we prep food for the birds. Drawer opens, squeaks, utensils out, squeak, mix food into bowls, feed birds. And we all know how much food can be a reinforcer :eek: Fixing the squeak and then the behaviour gave us a permanent fix.

As said by others, sooner the better. I train all of our aviary babies to readily accept flight harnesses so they are ready to go. In fact, one of our family birds starts hopping around when the harness comes out - she knows a trip is afoot!

Let your bird be your guide as to how much to introduce, and how quickly. Just be ready to regularly entertain your baby with new things, because once introduced a bunch of new stuff, they seem to thrive on it.

This suggestion might cause many on the forum to faint, but I use water bottles on all my cages. I prefer the better quality Lixit bottles, as they have stainless mounting hardware that is impossible for curious beaks to remove.

I do, however, place a heavy crock with water in two or three times a week for a nice splash bath.

Beaker shows his cognitive skills when he calls our dog and then laughs when it runs into the room!! True story.

Never underestimate what they know and what they think.

Pine nuts

Almonds

Rice Chex!!!

Cheerios

Pasta

Banana

Whole apple

Corn on the cobb

Interesting.....

This thread has gone from someone looking for specific answers to one about the merits of paying or not paying for an "unsaleable" bird. I'm reading into the thread that this is about someone looking for assurance to move ahead or looking for rationale to walk away, along with some tools towards success.

If you want to rescue this bird and feel you are competent to do so, commit and get on with it, regardless of conditions. If you can't commit (for whatever reason), then you've done all you can.

What specific questions remain for you that we might be able to answer? And, thanks for bringing us this thread - it reminds me to feel lucky to have such wonderful pets and friends.

One observation as I read your original post is the notion that Romo is "attacking" you. And I'm sure it feels this way. Rarely are greys malicious towards their owners. Rather they often react to our feelings and approach to them.

Try to change that thinking towards Romo, and work with him so he knows his limits. Continue to be patient with Romo and be sure to reward the good behaviour.

Try working diligently on your approach before resorting to physical changes like wing clipping.

I understand that Cheerios grow on small bushes in their native habitat...right next to Rice Chex trees.....they must be ok for them.

Something to keep in mind if you use a cover. Don't sleep in for the whole morning and find a grumpy grey waiting for you impatiently

And look out if we ever have to skip the ritual! We'll pay for it the next day with a friendly, nippy reminder.

:eek:

I've looked at the california blend as I use the Roudybush pellets mixed about 4:1 with Higgins Celestial mix. I like the separate products as I can vary the mix ratio depending on season, health, etc.

The Roudybush california blend is a good mix for Greys, but you'll want to watch that your bird isn't going exclusively for the goodies. For example, one of my Greys will throw aside the pellets looking for the yummy Celestial goodies Needless to say, she only gets the pellets with an occasional treat of Celestial.

Please stay away from split (open) bands. They are a known issue and should not be used. I'm an advocate for closed bands but not the open bands. Closed bands aren't an option, as your bird has grown too much to be able to get the band on. I put them on at 3 weeks when their legs and feet are much smaller than at maturity.

At this age you really don't have many options for identification bling.

It's called Dove zen

Awesome - your excitement is infectious. I really wish your were a bit more enthusiastic about it

Thanks for taking the pics and to Jayd for posting them! The babies look perfect! All three of you are doing fantastic.

We have our birds in our wills, so there's no question about our wishes regarding our Greys. We talked it over with our family members and made the decisions as to their future homes (they will statistically outlive us).

Our lawyer was somewhat surprised. As an ex-probate lawyer for the State, he thought he'd seen it all.

I think you need to ship your new oven to me and I'll make sure it's safe. Oh, it might take a few years to really verify its safety

I'm sure your vet knows his/her stuff, but I would challenge the use of a collar as they are a last resort (in my opinion). If it's a must-do, I'd ask if a tube-type of collar would be acceptable rather than the typical e-collar. The tube-type doesn't dig in like the e-collar, but still limits access to the body. A simple tube collar can be crafted from some toilet paper roll or better yet, a light foam tube, and covered with vet wrap.

Either collar type requires frequent removal and checking the skin underneath. And, I would never leave a bird unattended with a collar on.

Be ready for Mo Jo to be a terror and feel traumatized for bit after the collar goes on. Take your time getting it on him.