Greywings

Congrats Corky you have them firmly in your talented toes.

She is broody sounding and it is the short daylight length, yes hormones raging.

What are you feeding this bird besides veggies?He is looking a bit thin. Is he or she getting unfiltered Sunlight? How often is he or she getting a bath or shower with plain water? We need more information so we are able to help you.

The drama Queen at her most flamboyant. Maybe next time she see's it you may get an entirely opposite reaction. It sounds like Koko got an early Christmas and your description of her face is adorable.

Loving the progress report, good job.

If it helps to know I have been cancer free for over 8 years now, so thinkig good sailing ahead for you too.

I think maybe you and Gil bird are growing simultaneously, she is helping you as you coax her along, symbiotic relationship and it is lovely. I can empathize with your situation as my Mom broke each of her hips one at a time about 8 months apart. She suffered from advanced dementia and had an upper stomach cancer that was identified many months after her hips had healed. They do not handle pain very well or any new situation that is not a positive one. So difficult to watch them hurt and be so unhappy. Best wishes for healing and the holidays being brighter.

What fun lets make that hatchday last!

They are very complex little elves, into everything always active unless asleep, smart, creative and ready to test any boundaries. I love them but enjoy visiting those that live elsewhere.

I posted some pics for you in your in your meeting Ajani thread.

Looking good.

From Macaw and Cockatoo Rescue of New Mexico: To most people it makes sense that a parrot hatched with a deformity would be better able to learn to get by. After all, it has never known any other way. But how could a parrot that lost a foot in an injury learn to adapt when everything a parrot does involves its feet? How could a blind parrot learn to navigate it’s cage without hands to guide him in the darkness? The answer to these questions is quite simple: a parrot makes the difficult adjustment because it must in order to survive. And frankly, it is a lot easier for a parrot to adapt because they don’t suffer from bouts of self pity the way humans do. They don’t waste time or energy thinking “Why me?”, or considering “If only…” They see a task ahead of them and they get to it. The footless parrot plots out another means of getting from point A to B. The blind parrot learns to rely more heavily on its other senses. This is not to say that we shouldn’t do everything we can to make the cage more practical for our special needs parrots. Our highest priority should be in the matter of safety. Until which time the bird recovers or has adapted to its infirmity, we must be certain they are not in danger when perching or moving around the cage. Footless african grey photo by Anna Sloan A few years ago, a friend took in two handicapped african greys. Shortly after hatching, their parents bit off their feet, for reasons no one will ever know. If I remember correctly, the breeder’s solution to the problem was a river and a bag of rocks, but fortunately someone stepped in and they wound up in the care of my friend. Each bird had a different degree of “disability”. One had remnants of feet, one had only stumps. They both needed special considerations for their care. Obviously, the biggest obstacle was finding a way to offer comfort and stability in perching. Below is a photo of a starter cage that my friend modified to suit the needs of one of the birds. The cage is large enough to encourage active play, but small enough to prevent injury during a fall from any real height. Everything is padded for comfort, while offering help with balance. The climbing ramp is wound with rope to add traction for footless-ness. Aside from the obvious special caging and perching needs of the greys, some unanticipated problems arose, such as how to confidently step up a footless bird. It is difficult for a human to be a stable perch for a bird with no toes to grasp fingers or wrists. This resulted in some trust issues as the birds struggled to feel secure when being held by humans, but it was sorted out with patience and diligence. There is more to tending to special needs than meets the eye but the birds did remarkably well and have since gone on to new homes. Photo and cage modification by Anna Sloan Recently, someone contacted me because her bird was going blind. She was very upset, but I explained to her that this was not the end of the world – for her or her bird. She sent me some video footage of her bird’s cage and in the end we decided to change nothing. Her bird had been in that cage for its entire life and was quite aware of where the food bowls were and how the perching was laid out. As its vision declined, the bird was showing that it was quite capable of navigating the cage without any problems. I think one of the biggest challenges with having a special needs parrot comes from within ourselves. Very often, their physical shortcomings are a bigger deal to us than it is to them. Birds are very reactive to the stress levels of their people, and wouldn’t it be ironic that while we fret over making their lives livable in the face of their handicap, that we are actually making it more tense with our own stress?

We need a video of the next one!

Ah, an honorary Too.

Ah tradition and the holidays.

Sweet moments they share with us alien beings.

Thank you for letting us know the good news.

How very wonderful and heartwarming this should be a very special Thanksgiving. Blessings on you all.

Ready for the annual Thanksgiving math quiz? QUESTION: How large a turkey do you need if you are expecting 12 guests (but possibly 14 if Aunt Sue hasn't broken up with her loser boyfriend and his tagalong mother by then), one of whom will only eat birds raised on a gluten-free diet, three of them are likely to get into a fistfight over the dark meat, and two others insist the stuffing be made from free-range bread? ANSWER: Bourbon. QUESTION: If you bake two pumpkin pies, one apple pie and one berry tart, how long will it take for your sister's bratty daughter to sneeze on two of them? ANSWER: Gin and tonic. QUESTION: If three guests insist the potatoes be made from heirloom spuds, two request "mashed" cauliflower (because it "tastes just like the real thing"), and your brother always bogarts at least six servings, should you use an old fashioned masher or an impossible-to-clean ricer? ANSWER: Red wine. You didn't pass? That's OK. When it comes to Thanksgiving, survival is more important than correct answers So relax and enjoy the holiday.

You are way ahead of me. Got to clean house & cages still, working on stuffing to at least get ahead on food prep. we have a small oven in a big house such poor planning by the builders. Got the pumpkin, cranberry, hazelnut, walnut birdy bread made yesterday as it keeps well in the fridge and freezer. Plan on them all getting a little turkey & sweet potato for the big Thanksgiving feast.

That darn Pat is just a rival to be driven off, sigh.

Bongo the stalker?

A friend of mine accepted two like that from a breeder and she made a chinchilla cage over for them. Wrapped the wire ramps in Vetwrap to pad them preventing pressure injuries to those stubs. Added a corner shelf for them to rest on as well and they thrived.

I know that push pull reaction of fleeing in fear then stepping up to feel safe again is showing how conflicted her feelings are right now. She will work through it with your patience and understanding until she feels safe again.

That is a great video PBS has some wonderful pieces like that, nature works when allowed to.