KiwiandSally

WOw you made a hard choice to take in am older bird that doesn't have allot of contact but there is hope. I brought in a 15 year old grey that hadn't had allot of contact outside of its cage in a while because the owners simply didn't have time and held a daycare in their house. So I came here on this site for advice and got so much but my mission isn't over it is a constant transition. SO here you go with my advice. Keep the birds cage open and sit by the cage do not pressure the bird to step up or come out until it is comfortable and used to you. No matter what their trust makes the difference. Put the cage where the fid can see you at all time or where the most action is and talk to it lots. Use it food to your advantage and one tip if one person is always feeding them they tend to be the person they will more trusting too. Food is the way to a greys heart. One you have gained trust which can take weeks or months then work on step ups, kisses, and anything else. Also make sure you give the bird lots of stuff to chew and play with. I cannot stress enough by what i have learned from the pro's on this site to give the bird time that is sosososo important. Good luck and read read read.

Well our beloved babies can be very picky eaters. I would always keep pellets in the cage but like you said he needs to eat so also offer some seed but make it harder to get too. Also when you are home offer plenty of hand food, fruits and veggies. The seed isn't going to kill it just isn't the best choice. I also have a bird that loves seed and I have tried every pellet on the market with no luck but I always have it in her cage and she does eat it sparingly! Good luck and hope that helps.

I have that same cage for Kiwi and am pretty sure that I ordered it from that same guy. It is in black vein and your baby will really like it. It is big enough for everything you will need and the price is great compared to stores. I was really surprised when I got it cause I have low hope being that I ordered it fro ebay and didn't want to be disappointed. I was extrememly happy when it came! Hope you like it aswell, Lots of great deals on ebay;)

Kiwi imitates everything from my conure screaming from another room, my 5 year old crying, the dog barking, microwave beeping, phone conversations and ring, and the cat meowing (which drives me crazy). If you can tolerate her imitating your other birds and she has time to escape the noise if she needs to then I see no problem with it. Also grey's can get irritated with noise that bothers them so giving them a place to get away is good. The grey definitely needs to have its own cage cause I notice below that you said you have one cage, you don't plan of joining the grey in that same cage?? That will probably not work if you plan to do that!

That is so funny I can actually see it all play out. Poor Blue but I am that Dixie got what was coming I wonder if Dixie will do it again! HMMM Keep that camera handy!

I cannot even keep my grey and conure in the same room for this same reason. My conure feels that she would like to be in or on the greys cage and the grey gets very aggressive. Some greys will tollerate other birds but mine don't fit in that catagory. Split them up or definitely don't let them out at the same time. My conure is in a seperate room and is out all day long with free rome and she is flighted. My grey is in the living room so she can see everything but she is caged for about 5-6 hours a day and then out until bed time. They have no or very little contact with each other! Hope that helps!

Their behavior can sometimes be tough I have learned that the hard way. Like you I attend school full time and have a full time job and three kids. I know that sounds crazy but we have a routine which our bird got used, try to do things the same everyday. I read everything on this site and I use it! One thing I have found out is that if I talk to kiwi like a normal person the bad behavior calms down. I also do my homework with her either in the same room or next to her cage.Your not a failure at all they just take a while to come around to our change. Make an effort to have a routine and stick to it.

Ow wow now that is something I haven't tried and think I might avoid. To get that out go of your carpet go get a can of Spot Shot it works wonders on red stains! Thanks for the info I will make sure that isn't a choosen food! Wen

You can also go to Lowes, Menards, or home depot in the flooring section and they have clear plastic runners that you purchse it by the foot. That is cheaper then the plastic mats from staples!

I love when Kiwi does this and when she beats the crap out of her toy she sounds like a seal at the zoo. It always gives me a laugh, I call her bat bird.

Ow i am sorry for your loss, that is heart breaking news!<br><br>Post edited by: KiwiandSally, at: 2009/09/15 15:41

Kiwi came to us at 15 and eating seeds only. After taking her to the vet after bringing her home the vet suggested putting her on Harrison's pellets. Excited because I read about them here I ran home to let try thme out. Well she hates them and I have tried two different flavors but both are dumped on the floor as soon as I put them in her dish. Next we tried Zupreen which she likes except for the green ones which make up most of the bag for some reason. I am being tested here and have run out of ideas on feeding. She also won't eat veggies or fruit of any kind. Does anyone have any futher suggestions, tricks, or maybe a different brand I didn't try? Any advice will be accepted happily!

Well Kiwi is just fine and acting normal, definitely not injured. She tried again this morning doing the same thing so I went in the main door and put her food in her bowl. She then made fart noises at me which she does constantly when she doesn't get her way. I believe at this point the first time was a mistake and she lost her footing but the second hmmm must be for attention. :silly: Thanks for all of your comments though I feel more at ease knowing that she is fine!

Some here know my story but I have not been around long but here is a recap. Adopted a 15 year old CAG and our relationship has bloomed into a great love for each other. Anyways my question is this morning she fell flat on her back off her perch and I am really paranoid. We have this ritual in the morning about 6:30 when I wake her up or she me and we give each other a kiss then I feed her. Well I opened her food door and lately she has been trying to pull it back before I have had a chance to finish putting her food in. Well the door was not closed all the way and she lost her footing and fell flat on her back. I picked her up and she seemed find and then she did it again almost immediatly after i reperched her. She has never fallin before since living with me and she seemed ok. I stayed with her for sometime before even leaving the room and she was going about her business as usual talking and such. Should I be concerned or take her into the vet or since she is acting fine maybe she is ok. I know that they can be clumsy but that kind of scared me. Please advise.

Wow,I have done research and her feathers were not even because she was either chewing or over preening. Some looked chewed but since being rehomed at my house I hadn't actually viewed her chewing. When we took her in she was cage dependent only and never came out. So with all the freedom at my house she was trying to fly and since flying into walls cannot be safe we choose to have her clipped. This is an issue many have a problem with but there are plenty of people on this site who clip their bird and I have yet to read anyone getting quite a response like this. I wanted to know if this response was a normal one but apparently it isn't and i have done something that is not right in your eyes but hey we all have an opinion. People come to this site for advice and I have viewed many post on here about wing clipping. I think it is a personal choice and the vet was a qualified avian vet. Thank you for your response any how!