skmunson

Thank you all so much. I really appreciate your advice. I have been trying to woo him rather than order him around and that does work until it's cage time. He clearly does respond to sweet talk but when his mind is set on something--biting something or not wanting to go to cage, he still goes into fighting stance. I will be patient and keep trying. He has been to the vet for his routine check up and blood work and all was fine. Hopefully, like your baby, Jill, he will move past this phase. Thanks again for all of your insights. It means a lot.

Omg. Over the last couple of days, he has been out of control. We will be doing our normal routine and he just lunges and bites my hand. He attacks his toys with anger it seems like. If I am scratching his head he will suddenly turn and bite my hand very hard. He will fly from his perch and chase my hands around in an effort to bite. He's always been a bit of a biter but this is really out of the ordinary. When I have to put him back in his cage, he wants to make it an all out a war with his wings spread and sqwaking at me, attacking my hands. I don't know what to think. He is just one year old. Is it an age thing? He is just not his normal loving self. He has recently started talking up a storm, is it related to development? When he acts this way do I send him away from me or re-cage him? That turns into a battle. Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you

Yes. I am very relieved. He turned one year old on 4/5 and I knew that I have become very attached over the last year. But when something is going on and you worry about the baby's health it is a great reminder of how much you care. So he's fine and I've had a reminder not to ever take him (or any of my loved ones) for granted. Thanks for the replies!

When I got home for work, his eye was perfect--bright, shiny, and wide open. He also seems completely like himself.

I noticed last night that Benji seemed to be favoring one eye. It seemed a little swollen maybe and the skin around it was a little pinkish. When I spoke to him and he looked at me it was wide open as always. But when he was just sitting it looked liked he was squinting with that eye. The other eye is wide open. He is acting like himself. He is flying around, talking, eating, being affectionate. So I gave it till this a.m. and when I first looked, he was still squinting. I fed him his morning fruit. When I came back after showering, the eye looked fine again. I'm not sure how it would have completely improved in 30 mins? I think he may have accidentally scratched it with his nail when scratching his head. But there are no visible scratches. It's not runny or anything. He, otherwise, seems fine. I'm at work now so haven't seen it since this a.m. and hope to get out early to go check on him. Should I take him to the avian vet or if it looks fine now, just leave it alone? Any ideas what it may be? Thanks

My DDs tend to go in cycles of shows to watch. They love them some Sponge Bob too but for now it's Scooby. I would love to catch him on video. I'll try if he starts to say it more regularly. Today, he's stuck on imitating the beep of setting the security alarm with an occasional "Go lay down" that is apparently meant for my sweet doggie, Stella. But I'll work on it!

My DDs love Scooby Doo. (btw it's amazing how I still remember the "plot lines" from over 30 years ago). Anyway, they watch one or two episodes for their tv time in the evenings. So, as a result, Benji gets to listen to the show fairly often. The other night DDs were watching it in my bedroom and Benji was hanging out with us. The show starts, the intro song plays, and, out of the blue, Benji--in Shaggy's voice--says "Scooby Doo!". Needless to say my DDs were delighted. He hasn't said it again but now "Scooby Doo" is offically his fourth or so clearly audible phrase. I never would have imagined.<br><br>Post edited by: skmunson, at: 2010/04/01 05:17

I had the door open to the patio to take some things outside. Shortly after I let Benji out of his cage. Apparently a little brown ant had made his way in when the door was open and was crawling up the wall. Benji saw it immediately, swooped over and snatched it up and ate it. I assume this is ok. I mean in the wild I'm sure they eat bugs, right? It was amazing how quickly he went into action.

We are going to begin painting ou living room tomorrow. That is the room where Benji's cage is. I am moving his cage two rooms over to the family room. That is thru the kitchen and then into the family room. But the floor plan is fiarly open and there are no doors in between. His cage would be about 20 to 25 feet from the living room where we will be painting. Is that a sufficient distance to keep him from any paint fumes or should I put him upstairs in his smaller, bare bones, cage that I keep for these potential occasions? He hates that cage and we'll be painting and it will be drying for a day or two. I'd rather avoid sticking him upstairs but I don't want to risk any harm with the fumes. Any insight? Thank you

Well you can forget what I said about Benji ignoring the bread. I left a muffin in his snack bowl this am and it was completely gone when I came home--not a trace of it in cage or anywhere. So I guess the Harrison's is a hit overall.

I'm happy he likes it. I only bought the small bag to begin so I could see what he thought of it. Today I've ordered more. I skipped the birdie bread this time though. lol

Obviously that wouldn't be the proper term but that's what it looks like. Right in the center of Benji's chest two or three little down feathers puff out more than the others. If he ruffles up then they blend in; but, otherwise, they stand out. If you tug gently on them, one will sometimes come out (I orginally thought they were loose feathers just sitting there). But, generally, they are well attached. Any ideas? No big deal, I suppose. Just curious.

The Harrison's that is. His breeders fed Zupreen and he loved that. But I read so much about how good Harrison's is for Greys, so I ordered some. The second it hit his bowl, he was chowing down. I mixed some with the Zupreen and he hardly touched that. I also bought him Harrison's birdie bread and baked him some mini muffins which he ignored. That may be my fault though b/c I just put a new foraging box in his cage and he was quite preoccupied with that. Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the Harrison's!

Just to be clear, I wasn't considering giving this to my Benji. I was just shocked that such a product existed and wondered if people actually used it. I was sort of disappointed that the site even had it for sale so I took my business to another bird site.

I was on a parrot shopping site today looking for some xmas gifts for Benji and I saw a product that is designed to "quiet down" your bird. It is some herbal or medicinal stuff that is described as quieting a bird and making it less aggressive. Do people really do this? Are there instances when you can justify giving your bird something to mellow it out? I mean isn't that like suppressing the bird's very nature?

Just over the last week I've noticed two poo poos in Benji's pellet dish. He likes to perch on it a lot and I think he's just letting it drop. Of course, I empty and clean the bowl when I see it. But is it strange that he would have no aversion to pooping in one of his food bowls? I've never noticed his doing it before. He has like five other perches in the cage so he's not lacking for places to hang out when he's in there. Anything I could/should do about this?

No pictures and apparently it's very good there is no audio. I tried it out on my sweet doggy and she seemed to love it. Of course, her taste is a little less discerning. Benji watched me sing to her and just pulled his leg up and went to sleep--done with both of us.<br><br>Post edited by: skmunson, at: 2009/11/10 02:51

I was just doing my best to serenade Benji while he was sitting on my chest. He listened for a minute, cocked his head, chortled in distaste, and gestured as though he was going to bite my lip. Okay, I'll leave the singing to him.

Tom, thanks so much for the response. I sort of suspected it was some sort of feeding thing. This is my first grey and he's only 6 months old so I'm constantly fascinated by new behviors I discover. Thanks again.

My tag, Benji, will occasionally wrap his whole beak around one of my fingers--taking the whole width of my finger all the way to the back of his mouth--and, without applying any pressure, will move his head forward and back furiously. What is this? It seems like some kind of affectionate thing not aggressive or hostile.

Apparantly this is controversial in terms of feeding or not feeding. Is anyone feeding asparagus to their greys? I have a lot left over from a party and had it ready in Benji's bowl and then thought I'd check first.

So Benji is sitting on the computer desk right in front of me as I do some work on the computer. One of the kittens jumped on my lap. I immediately grabbed her to put her down b/c I'm very leary of interaction btwn. them. But even b/f I got her all the way down, Benji lunged at her. Then he walked a few inches away on the desk. I reached out to pet him and he turned away and "stomped off." He gave me a horrible look. Normally, he pays no attention to the cats and he's never lunged before. I wonder if he's just getting more of a survival instinct as he gets older (4 mos.) or if he was upset that kitty was intruding on our quality time. We've made up now but he was clearly annoyed.

You all know the people I mean. The people who made [insert facial expression] shocked or disgusted faces when they heard you were getting a bird. The people who feel compelled to express their [insert ridiculous opinion] opinion that birds are "dirty" or "mean." The people who love to tell [insert make believe story] stories about a friend of a friend who had a bird and it crawled out of its cage one night and ate the baby. To those people, I love to say--now when they ask with [insert annoying facial expression] with all-knowing derision on their faces "how's the bird?"-- I love to say: "He is absolutely awesome. I love him. He loves me. He is the sweetest baby ever and I am so happy I made him part of my life." [insert stupid facial expression] And now to their shocked or disppointed faces, I can say, "Put that in your mind-your-own-business pipe and smoke it." But don't smoke around my bird or I'll kill you.

Yes it was a wheezy "huh, huh, huh" sound, exactly. And your suggestion would fit his mood. Thank you. I suppose I should print the list and pin it up.

I panicked on the tomato. I usually double and triple check the dangerous food list b/f I give him anything. Next time he can keep the tomato. Someone came to the door so I put him in his cage, and he immediately starting beating up a toy. So I think that's a sign that he feels good and feisty. Thanks.