particle77

So I've been looking into getting a larger cage for Earl, and came across CagesByDesign Does anyone have any experience with these cages? Or another company that makes high quality custom sized walk-in cages?

Ramsabi, although I have no first hand experience with this, I've read that African Greys will sometimes temporarily end up with scattered red feathers if they were taking antibiotics at the time the feathers came in.

Jill, have you played with the item yourself, in front of Harvey(since its a foraging toy, you can give him treats that you get out of it after playing a bit)? I find this usually peaks Earl's interest and helps him figure out what he's supposed to be doing with something.

I usually look at what Earl is doing and decide. If he's eating, or playing I typically turn the TV on, if he's napping, I leave it off.

These are the two products I'm currently looking at: http://www.nunoorganic.com/product.asp?organic=fingerpaint&cat=toys&groupid=428 http://www.kidbean.com/livos-salis-natural-hemp-finger-paint-set-for-kids.html

So I happened across this: http://chicagopetsdir.com/blog/2009/01/07/linus-the-african-grey-artist/ and it got me thinking(I'm sure this is a great way to end up with bird footprints all over my sofa, etc...). However, it seems like it might be fun too. I'm wondering if there are any special safety concerns I need to consider, or would any non-toxic child safe water color, also be bird safe(since Earl is likely to taste just about anything he comes in contact with)

When you start looking at floor plans for new apartments, even though you HATE moving, because maybe if the furniture was arranged just right you could fit that 8ft. diameter walk-in aviary you saw online into that apartment...

This behavior is not specific to greys, as I've seen all kinds of parrots do this. The rest of this is just speculation on my part. I doubt they are born with an instinct to dip food in water, as it seems unlikely to me that they are presented with a scenerio where such an instinct would be particularly useful in the wild. (what would they be soaking in the wild, and how often would it be conveniently next to a water source?) I suspect instead that they are just born with a preference for soft moist food, and having easy access to pellets and water 24/7 they are bound to eventually drop a pellet in there water dish and discover how to make soup.

Ok, just wondering if anyone elses grey does this. I was just sitting here and noted that Earl was making crunching noises with his head turn backward and stuffed under his wing right where his shoulder blade is. I was curious, and got up to make sure he wasn't damaging his feathers(had just finished reading a post about feather plucking...), and he looked up at me with nothing in his beak. Then he turned back and pulled a pellet out from his shoulder blade! Anyway its kind of cool that he has something like a pocket under his wing to store food in, but it surprised me. Do most greys stick things back there?<br><br>Post edited by: particle77, at: 2009/11/12 05:47

luvparrots wrote: I have no idea whether visits are allowed, but the only quarantine facilities for pet birds entering the US are New york, Miami, and Los Angeles. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/animals/nonus_pet_bird.shtml

The only thing I'd be worried about with a microwave is the possibility of a nasty burn. Food often ends up with very hot spots, which may not be immediately apparent if you aren't cutting it up/stirring it.

RudysMom wrote: Out of curiosity why are you wondering if you need an air purifier? Are you having allergy issues? If so are you certain the birds are a factor? (just curious about whether you have actually observed an issue that needs addressing, and what that issue might be).

I think the real issue with removing dander is going to boil down to the CFM rating of either the exhaust fan or the filter. For example I can easily find exhaust fans with a much lower CFM rating than my filter(250 CFM), and I doubt that in that case those fans would be more effective. I do agree that if bird dander is the only concern, then a good exhaust fan is probably more cost effective than a filter.

Ok, so several people have now asked me if Earl will get much bigger, and I've been saying he would, but I'm not entirely sure. He is 16 weeks old and fledged at 12 weeks. He's currently small for a CAG, which is why I've been indicating I thought he'd still grow more. But at 375 grams, I guess he's at the very bottom range of what a full grown CAG might weigh. It doesn't really matter to me, but since people keep asking... At what age can I expect that he's probably not going to grow much more? Anyway, I searched around and there are great posts on psychological development time frames, but I don't see any on physical development(maybe I missed it). I should have asked the vet last week, but it slipped my mind, and we won't be back until next month.<br><br>Post edited by: particle77, at: 2009/11/02 22:49

Ok, unedited, so this contains lengthy breaks to munch on papaya between tricks... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2BRJjYsvUQ

Well, I'm actually using 2 commands: Pick up the <x> Give me the <x> I started with pick up the <x> by just placing what I thought he might pick up on his own right next to him, saying the command, and then giving him a cube of dried papaya(his absolute favorite) when he picked it up. Once we had that working, I started sliding my hand under the object as soon as he picked it up, and saying give me the <x>. If it landed in my hand he got his treat, if not we tried again. eventually I started placing my hand so that if he just dropped it the item might fall out of my hand, so he got the idea it needed to stay in my hand to get the treat. then we got to the point were he would reach his neck around to place the item, and finally to the point were he would walk to retrieve the object and walk some more to place it in my hand. I got most of this from reading "Parrot Tricks" by Tani Robar and Diane Grindol. Its good to have several easier tricks like turn around, shake hands, and step up/down, to intermix when training, cause otherwise he will get bored. he will also get bored if I let him fail too many times in a row, so its important to manipulate the environment to make a particular trick easier at first if he's having trouble.

Yay! I've been working on having Earl retrieve objects and drop them in my hand, and we really had a break through today, as he has in the past only been willing to pick things up if they were right next to him, and would only drop them in my hand if my hand was also nearby. However today he walked across the table to pick-up a pen cap, carried it back and dropped it in my hand. He did the same for several other objects, some of which he hadn't seen before today. I'm pretty excited with his progress at 16wks old. (he can also turn around, shake hands, wave goodbye, and fly to his cage) Now I'm going to start working with dropping 2 different objects and getting him to bring the one I name.

I couldn't find any videos of a jay talking, but did find this video of a jay making cellphone noises. http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=2607026731970927510&hl=en&fs=true%20style=width:400px;height:326px%20allowFullScreen=true%20allowScriptAccess=always%20type=application/x-shockwave-flash

both blue jays and starlings can mimic human speech. I wasn't sure about blue jays, but the comment from SamsDad caused me to look it up. I found this paragraph: here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/lifehistory

I agree potty training is great, and around my apartment I have no use for such a contraption. That said, I make a point to make sure Earl gets to spend at least 45 minutes somewhere outside my apartment every day. When the temperature is warm thats easy, but when its colder we have to find other indoor places to explore, and those choices are limited. As such I considered a flight suit to open up additional places to explore. Unfortunately, I don't like the design of the flight suits. In particular I was very concerned to discover that the leash attaches to the suit with velcro, which I don't consider secure. So at this time we just stick to the feather tether, and explore the places that don't mind an occasional accident. That said, if a safe product came out, which worked, and which Earl didn't mind wearing. I'd certainly consider it to open up new possibilities for him.<br><br>Post edited by: particle77, at: 2009/10/30 02:44

Just to be clear, thats saying determining the color of a dino feather has not been done yet. Which I also said in my original post. It is not saying that there is no evidence that dinosaurs had feathers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathered_dinosaurs#Fossil_evidence

danmcq wrote: I beleive I said that too. Doesn't change the fact that dino feather fossils exist (I saw them when they were touring the museum circuit) I was just adding that the possability for determining feather color based purely on fossils exists.

danmcq wrote: There actually is fossil evidence of feathers for several species of dinosaur. In addition, because of the way feathers produce color, some feather fossils actually contain enough information to identify the color of the feather (as far as I know this has only been done with extinct birds, not dinosaurs feathers) That said, the main point is correct. the dinosaurs in Jurasic Park appear bird like because they were modeled after birds during movie production.

Scientific knowledge in this area is still incomplete, but I believe all birds are currently thought to be descended from a family of dinosaurs called "Dromaeosauridae" (the raptors in Jurassic Park belong to this family). However there is also some debate about whether Dromaeosauridae should be classified as dinosaurs, or birds...

alot depends on the grey. The harness I use requires me to put a loop around my greys neck, and pass another loop under its wings and across his belly. Some greys are not crazy about this kind of interaction. I would recommend working on handling before even trying to put a harness on, to make sure your grey is comfortable with being touched in all the places you will have to touch. So far I've been lucky, and Earl was willing to allow the harness from the start. Now he actually helps, by poking his head through the loop on his own, and raising his wings.