Myfidzmomi

My son Danny has been christened into the bite club this past weekend. Thankfully it was not one of our fids that did it to him. We were at the bird store doing our weekly fid shopping spree and I had warned him several time not to try to pet any of the birds. Well he did not listen to me and tried to pet an older cockatoo who was sweetly sitting on his perch saying "hello, I love you" to everyone who would pass. He bent his head for a scratch and Danny reached in before I could stop him and...... Got him good too, lost a chunk of skin from his finger tip. He learned the hard way that mom meant it when she said to keep his fingers out of cages or he would get bit. For the rest of the time we were there, the bird was imitating Danny's scream.

I'm sorry I don't have any advice on buying cages off of e bay, but I have also been scammed before buying a purse from there. I think I would rather go to a reputable bird supply site. It may cost a little more but at least you know what you are getting what you paid for. Once you find a brand and model you like, do a search on it to price around.

That is a great photo and I agree with Dan. Submit it to a magazine.

That's a handsome grey you have there. Congratulations!

Congratulations!! Our baby CAGs are about the same age. My little girl was hatched on July 19th. This is going to be the longest 48 hours of your life

I feel that how an animal reacts to things is all in what they are introduced to. I have also heard that Greys don't like change but thought that if change happens all the time, they will accept it as the norm. Knowing how my family is and how things change for us all the time I thought I would introduce Rose to change right away. I don't want every little thing to stress her out so I change the layout of her cage every week when I do a big clean. I rearrange things on the outside of her cage often too. Each day we do different things, sometimes she hangs out on her cage, others she is on her play stand in the family room, or the kitchen, or the dining room. Most of the time I am home and she is out of her cage, sometimes I am not and she has to stay in her cage. I've even been taking her for rides in the car when I pick the kids up from school. I am trying to keep her accustomed to change especially since I never know when my hubby's job will need us to move again. She does not start the day with any expectations. Which with my lifestyle is best since I never know where the day will take me. Last night I decided right before bed time to put a baby blanket in the corner for her to sleep on. Thought about it after that it might have made her uncomfortable to have something new in her sleeping corner and felt bad thinking that she would not sleep well. I lifted her cover a little to take a look and make sure she was Okay and found her curled up on it fast asleep. It seems that change does not bother her one bit.

Thanks for your input everyone. I am going to order it today. Harvey looks so spiffy in his harness. Too cute Thanks for sharing.

I am looking online to get a harness for Rose and was wondering where everyone who uses one got theirs? I have searched all the local suppliers and no one carries the Aviator, only the cheap ones which look complicated to put on and uncomfortable for the bird. There seems to be such a large range in price on the web so I am not sure where to buy from. I am in the states by the way Thanks in advance for your input

Rose still sleeps kind of curled up in the bottom corner of her cage. At first this concerned me, but after watching her doze off one afternoon on her perch and she almost fell off, I realized that for now sleeping on the floor of her cage was more stable for her. Skittles sleeps high up on his tree branch perch. I still want to get him one of those cozy tent things. How hard are they to keep clean?

He is doing much better today and is back to his loud squawkey self :)They both got to spend the entire day outside of their cages and seem happy with that and he has stopped trying to fly off. I think he was just enjoying himself playing into the guilt he knew I already had. Probably trying to see just how many extra treats and scratches he could get

I hope this will be the last time I need to clip him. It is a very long clip and he can fly a short distance, just not through the entire house like he used to. His flying to and attacking the new baby was my biggest concern, I don't want either of them to get hurt. He was clipped when I got him and it bothered me that he didn't get the chance to fledge which was why I let them grow out when he molted. I was very torn to do it but feel it is only temporary as he is due to molt again soon. And hopefully in that time him and Rose will become friends. I will say it is easier at the moment to be able to have them both out at the same time and not have to worry about him flying over to her to attack. And no one needs to be jealous that the other is out while being in the cage. His attitude has gotten a little better as the night has gone on. I left the room for awhile to do some school work and when I came back he started to call to me so i guess all the extra treats are helping

I feel like such a bad birdie mom. After much debate over the past few weeks I decided to trim the flight feathers of my sun conure Skittles. Part of my reasoning was that I was afraid he would fly out the door with my kids who are in and out all day. Another reason is he has been extremely jealous of Rose ever since we brought her home. He would often fly to her cage and try to peck at her through the bars. I also hated having the need to cage him when I cook dinner because he would continuously fly to me in the kitchen and I was afraid he would get hurt. Anyway, he hasn't been himself since and he wants nothing to do with me at all. he won't even look at me. I thought the clip went well, he sat on the table for the most part while I did it, with out much of a struggle at all. He seemed calm through out the whole thing. But once he tried to fly and realized what I did, the attitude started. He just seems so depressed today. I feel like I took his birdness away. I know I had to do it for his own good, but I still feel terrible. I'm glad i could come here to vent about it. My hubby thinks I am nuts.

I am so very sorry for your loss. <<<hugs>>>

Welcome to the flock I am also new here and to the world of African Greys. It is great that you adopted an older grey. That was my original plan but after looking for awhile I got too impatient and got a baby. I look forward to getting to know you and Bailey.

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome. Skittles is definitely a character. He is currently at the bottom of his cage giving hell to a ball with a bell in it. Throwing it around, squawking at it and trying to drown it in his water dish. Rose is just looking at him like he is insane :laugh:

Thank you I think she is very pretty to but I may be a bit biased

I thought it may be foraging behavior but one of her times during the day to do it is in the morning right after I have changed her paper, cleaned her cage and fed her breakfast. She will ignore her new fresh food for at least 20 minutes to dig in the corner first. And she does it with such intensity. I keep telling her I am going to get her a birdy treadmill because that's what is looks like she is doing LOL I'll have to video tape it some time.

I don't remember reading anywhere in all my research before I brought Rose home about African Greys liking to dig. But the last couple of days Rose has been clinging to the corner of her cage by her beak while 'digging' on the bottom with her feet. I try to distract her with toys and cuddle time but it seems that when she gets it in her head to do it, she will go right back to it once she is back in her cage. I hope this is not going to become some sort of neurotic behavior LOL. Anyone elses bird do this? Is it normal?

I wanted to put up a few pix of Rose showing off her red feathers. She is not sure what to make of the camera though.

As I write this Rose my 12 week old CAG is nestled up under my chin all fluffed and making the most adorable cooing sounds, hiding from the big bad thunder storm outside. They are such sweet little cuddle bugs at this age. A bonus I did not know about before I brought her home

What a sweety

Lets try that again :whistle: <br><br>Post edited by: Myfidzmomi, at: 2009/09/11 22:45

Thank you for the warm welcome Judy. I only have the one other bird. My conure is a Sunday Conure. His name is Skittles, named by my 3 year old who calls him "his bird". Skittles is a very active little guy who is into everything. We have had him for almost a year now. He is fully flighted and will fly around the house seeking me out when he is out of his cage. I am hoping that one day him and Rose will be friends but for now we are dealing with a lot of jealously issues. In addition to the birds, we have 3 dogs, Amber Jazzy and Sydney and three cats, Elmo, Comet and Keiba. And I must not forget my human babies, Justin, Andrew Daniel and Alex. I will post some pictures of Rose soon, she is hard to photograph because she will not sit still for a second but here are some of my oldest son and Skittles.

Thought it was time for me to jump in and post an introduction. My name is Michelle. I just brought my CAG home last Friday. Her (I think it's a her but I'm not sure) hatch date was July 19. I have been calling her Rose because of some extra red coloring on her chest and wings. I know she will most likely lose those red feather when she has her first molt. I think she was a little young to come home but the store told me that she was weaned and ready. I had been visiting her every other day for the past few weeks so that she would get to know me before the big change in routine from the pet store to coming home. She does great with her pellets and is loving the sampling of fresh fruits and veggies I have been offering her. She still gets into the low position bobbing her head and flapping her wings like she is looking to be hand fed when I first take her out of her cage. I am wondering if I should supplement her with some type of spoon feeding. She seems to be eating fine, maybe she is just still going through the motions out of habit. Will it affect her psychologically that they weaned her so young? Other then that she is doing great. I only have a rope perch in her cage for now that I have near the bottom of her cage because her clumsiness scares me. She has been playing with her toys and she is becoming more and more vocal by the day. In fact the other day my conure was doing his fox whistle which I am trying to change to the whistle I use to call the dogs. Well he is being stubborn, but now when he does the fox whistle, she does the other whistle. LOL I am excited to get to know everyone here. I have been lurking for awhile and you all seem so nice and helpful. If there is anything you want to know about me just ask