harmar

Hi I noticed last night that sashas one foot is a bit orange, almost like it stepped in something, The black scale part it still black, but the skin that seperates the black bumpy parts has orange tinge to it. The other foot looks normal. I tried washing his foot and giving it a bath but still orange. He still acting just like he always does, poops the same, so not sure what it could be, I know people skin can turn an orange tinge if they eat too many carrots.. I feed sasha about 1.5 baby carrots a day, don't know if that would be enough.

man I feel so lucky with my bird. It doesn't try dominating at all, it loves its pellets, loved being around me since the 2nd day, likes eating vegetables (except beans), doesn't hate baths (however doesn't like them either). never bites (it did a bit first and second day, after that it doesnt, unless it starts losing grip, but can't blame it for grabbin onto my skin to try to keep itself steady). Only thing is I wish I could figure out how to potty train it, it poops everywhere! It gives zero clues it has to go either. A lot of the time I will be holding it, then after a few min pick it up and there is poop, im like when the heck did you poop I had my eye on you the whole time.<br><br>Post edited by: harmar, at: 2009/10/26 15:47

We have thermostat set to 66 right now, and sasha doesn't seem to mind it at all. I asked breeder about it, she said it can depend on bird, but generally anything above 60 is fine. When I take it into bathroom in morning it can be 50-55 in there. It shivers a bit but I am not sure if it is because of the cold or because he knows it is bath time! (the shower heats up the room really quick)<br><br>Post edited by: harmar, at: 2009/10/21 15:00

Sasha loves sitting on my shoulder. He rather do that than anything else. He also behaves, he tried nibbling on my ear once or twice, and as soon as he does that I take him off my shoulder, do 3 step ups, and say no bite in a clear stern voice.and then not let him sit on my shoulder for 15 min. After 15 min I will let him sit on shoulder again. First day there was a fair bit of ear biting, but now (4rth day of me having him) he never bites me at all. If he wants my attention he pushes his head against my cheek and make a quick chirping noise. He always steps up when I ask him, never had a case where he was stubborn He loves doing everything on my shoulder. Playing, sleeping, just chilling, etc. Thought he would get bored on my shoudler but nope!

Hi, we have an apple tree on the farm, it has never been sprayed with pesticides. I took a small branch from it which I want to let the bird chew.. it won't be used as a perch. How do I properly clean the branch? Do I just wipe it down with hot water? I thought I remember reading somewhere about baking it but now I can't find where. Thanks

ya he seems fine eating. feeding him peppers, broccoli and coliflour he seems to like it all ok, likes the green and red peppers the best though. I am a little worried about his drinking though, doesn't seem to be drinking much water... I put him in front of dish he takes a sip or two then stops then wont drink any more until about an hour or 2 later.. or is that normal?? I also took him in the shower with me today. I wouldn't say he liked it, but didn't seem to hate it either. He was cowering a way a bit but he wasnt getting mad and biting.

Here is Sasha chilling in his cage this morning Here is Sasha playing with his favorite toy Sorry it a little blurry and quality isn't best. I am a newb with the camera<br><br>Post edited by: harmar, at: 2009/10/18 15:30

brought home my baby today. will post some pictures soon. Sasha started to look tired after a bit so i put him in his cage, he had no problem going in, but once in he just stands still, doesnt move, wont eat or drink, and starts shaking, which means he must be nervous I left him for a little while see if he would get used to it, also tried playing with him while he inside cage and giving him treats and stuff, but still was shaking. I took him out and put him on a tree stand thing i got, and he is very content on that, loves it. I also have a bunch of toys for it, but his favorite one seems to be a Popsicle stick hahahaha. Just hope he will be ok tonight when it is bed time. Anyways so happy I got my new buddy! we having so much fun together. Will post pictures tomorrow.

depends on how much a dna test costs, I forgot to ask them. If it $50 or under I will for sure, if it more then $100 then I will have to think about it. Not like it matters a whole lot on what the sex is. I dont have a name picked 100% but I am leaning towards Sasha, which is a unisex name anyways

Yes it is a TAG. It was already clipped, although they did have a few 6 week olds that were not clipped yet so if I really wanted to I could have got a non clipped one. But in my other thread where I asked abotu clipping i was uncertain about which I wanted. I was doing a bunch of research and looking at both sides of the argument. While I think I would prefer fully fleighted, I do not think that is reasonable in this house, we have too many dangers. tons of doors, wood stove that will be constantly running in the winter, a ton of windows that when they are cleaned is almost impossible to tell there is even a window there, it also a huge house so it if went upstairs it would be hard to find it, assuming it was trying to hide. Oncce I move into an apartment I will most likely allow the feathers to grow back in. I am very excited, but nervous at the same time, since I will be a first time bird owner.

well put a deposit on one yes, haven't picked it up yet

http://elite-pets.com/A19.asp is one I was looking at second site, although the bar spacing is a little wider a part. It is also farther away and more expensive. If you think the first one is fine, I may go with it since I would like to keep a good relationship with the breeder, and help support them<br><br>Post edited by: harmar, at: 2009/10/10 23:02

I went back to the breeders today, wasn't planning on buying one, but there was this one that came walking right over to me chirping at me, staring at me. I asked if I could hold it. It was very alert, and loved playing with me. We played for almost 2 hours. It is a clipped bird, but I was leaning more for clipping it to begin with. I may let the flight feathers grow back in later. We seemed to be bonding very well. The breeder said it is ready to go home now if I like. I told them I wasn't ready for it yet, but will be within a week or two. I put down a deposit, and the breeder put a band around it's ankle so they can keep track that it is mine. I believe for me right now having a clipped bird is the best choice. the room it is going to be staying in has a door to the outside that people are constantly going in and out of, as well as plenty of windows. I will be moving into an apartment within the next year so will be able to control the surroundings a lot better, which will be perfect for when it's feathers start growing back in. I will decide at that time if I want to continue with the clipping or not. Anyways I am very excited and will be bring it home either next weekend or weekend after. I will post some pictures once I get him/her.

Hello, I am looking at cages between the breeders cages, as well as other online stores for a Timneh. The bird is 11 weeks old. The breeder said http://www.exoticwings.com/shoppe/product_info.php?cPath=73_55_276&products_id=2140 is their most popular one for the african grey. There is also a cage place that is about 1.5 hours away from me http://elite-pets.com What do you guys think of the EZ one? Or if you see another cage at their place that would be good, let me know.

i appreciate everyones replies very much! One question, you guys mentioned supervised.. what exactly do you mean by that? My plan was to take bird out of cage when get home from work, and then put him back in when it is bed time. However, I would always be in same room as it, with doors closed. But my eye might not be on it 100% of time. Is that good enough for supervised? Not like I would take him out of cage then leave the room for 2 hours.

wow just so hard. When everyone here so far said flighted is better, but the breeder, along with most of his customers say clipped is better. I have no experience with birds which makes it such a hard choice. I see valid points to both sides. I was in today, and he said that he just had a customer call up this morning that had a bird fully flighted and just lost it. Flew out the door and they been chasing it since, putting up posters, etc. He is obviously trying to pressure me into getting it clipped cause he thinks it is 100% best interest in the bird. He was also saying if they an fly then they think they are in control of the house, where if they are clipped they dont. Once a week I hear a bird fly into the window beside my computer, scared that the grey would do the same. Although it is an option to maybe clip it now, then when they grow back, leave it.. Or could do the reverse and have not clipped, then clip later on if I think it needs to be clipped, but that seems really mean taking something away. Thanks everyone for your replies.

Sorry this is a repost. I posted other thread in wrong section, so if mod wants to delete the one in other forum section please do. Anyways, If you saw some of my other threads, you will know I am looking at getting an African Grey, and that the local breeder clips all birds. He does have some younger ones that haven't been clipped yet, and is my decision if I want it clipped or not, but if I dont I need to let him know ASAP. He says he HIGHLY encourges everyone to get it clipped. I know this is a huge debate and personal preference. He said that sure a few people will have success with a non clipped bird, but he could line up customers 50 feet long who got a bird fully fleighted, and came back within a year and a half wanting to get it clipper, or having a horror story about the bird getting killed or mutilated. He said he had a few customers where the bird was standing on top of a door and owner didnt realize it, they shut the door and chopped the birds feet off. He has had some that landed on a hot stove, some that fly out the door as soon as it is opened. He had one where the person was a huge advocate of flighted birds and went on and on how clipping them is taking away natural ability, is incredibly mean, your typical arguments. A year and a half later she came in and got it clipped because it was causing too much trouble. He said they aren't outdoors, they don't need to fly, nor have the required space to. There are too many dangers (windows, walls, ceiling fans, stoves, open doors, etc) that can severely injure if not kill a bird. I talked to a few customers in the store, even 2 that have an African Grey, they said they would never get one that wasn't clipped and can't imagine having one that was fully flighted. These are people that have multiple birds. He said there are local bird meetings, and if you stood up and said fully flighted birds are better, you would get booed by the other members. He has a very convincing argument. Wonder what other people thoughts are. This is a guy who sells hundreds of birds a year.. a couple dozens of them are greys. So he must know sort of what he is talking about. Just wondering what others thoughts are

If you saw some of my other threads, you will know I am looking at getting an African Grey, and that the local breeder clips all birds. He does have some younger ones that haven't been clipped yet, and is my decision if I want it clipped or not, but if I dont I need to let him know ASAP. He says he HIGHLY encourges everyone to get it clipped. I know this is a huge debate and personal preference. He said that sure a few people will have success with a non clipped bird, but he could line up customers 50 feet long who got a bird fully fleighted, and came back within a year and a half wanting to get it clipper, or having a horror story about the bird getting killed or mutilated. He said he had a few customers where the bird was standing on top of a door and owner didnt realize it, they shut the door and chopped the birds feet off. He has had some that landed on a hot stove, some that fly out the door as soon as it is opened. He had one where the person was a huge advocate of flighted birds and went on and on how clipping them is taking away natural ability, is incredibly mean, your typical arguments. A year and a half later she came in and got it clipped because it was causing too much trouble. He said they aren't outdoors, they don't need to fly, nor have the required space to. There are too many dangers (windows, walls, ceiling fans, stoves, open doors, etc) that can severely injure if not kill a bird. I talked to a few customers in the store, even 2 that have an African Grey, they said they would never get one that wasn't clipped and can't imagine having one that was fully flighted. These are people that have multiple birds. He said there are local bird meetings, and if you stood up and said fully flighted birds are better, you would get booed by the other members. He has a very convincing argument. Wonder what other people thoughts are. This is a guy who sells hundreds of birds a year.. a couple dozens of them are greys. So he must know sort of what he is talking about.

thats what I thought, but for some reason the breeder said bread makes african greys sick which kind of shocked me since I didn't read anything about it. Kinda had me worried about the breeder, but all other questions I had I verified and they were all correct. Except for maybe the clipping, but just reading on it a lot of people debate, although now I kind of wish he didn't clip it. Heard a lot of good things about this place though. Unless I misheard him and he said a different food, but I don't think so.

thanks this was very reassuring! I was very worried a grey might not be right for me just based off of my work schedule. Everywhere I looked it says 10-12 hours a night, and napping during the day does not make up for less sleep. But glad to hear others are successful with less. Ideally, I would like to spend 10-20 minutes in morning with it (changing water, give breakfast, say hello, etc) Then when I get home at 5 take out of its cage until about 9 at night then put it to bed, which would give it 10 hours of sleep. I am not really a vacation person. I take maybe 1 couple day vacation a year (This year went to Niagara falls for 3 days, but that was only time I was gone longer than 12 hours from my house this year). I was planning on going to Florida sometime next spring for a week, but other things in my life has changed and that is now most likely not happening (I will be moving next summer, so need to save money.. although saving part might disappear if I get a parrot hah). Although me moving, will put me closer to my work, so the 30 min drive might only turn into a 5 minute drive, so may go home for lunch and see how the grey is doing. Plus I work at a small company, other people occasionally bring in their pets, I may bring my bird to work. I have 1 other question. Right now I live in an old house, it gets a little chilly in the winter. What is a suitable room temperature for a bird? When I move it won't be an issue, but in this house it may be.

Hello, I am currently researching African Grey and if they would make a good companion for me. I have one pressing issue left that may be a show stopper, and want to get other peoples opinions. From what I read, African Greys need 10-12 hours of sleep every night. I usually wake up at 7:30, and at work by 8:20. I leave work at about 4:15, and get home just before 5. I rarely ever work over time (maybe 2 or 3 times a year, and usually only an hour... maybe 2), and never work on weekends. Is it realistic to own an African Grey with this type of work schedule? If it needs 12 hours of sleep, means I would have to put it to bed at around 7:15, barely giving me any time to look after it after work. Or is it possible to put it to bed around 9:30 and not do anything with it in the morning? Does anyone here work full time, where you are gone 9 hours a day and still have an awesome relationship with your bird? I know it isn't the ideal situation, I am just wondering if the bird can deal with this situation if it has a lot of toys. If people think it would be a horrible idea for me to get a grey based on my work schedule then I am fine with that, and will take your advise and not get one.<br><br>Post edited by: harmar, at: 2009/10/06 20:09

is bread ok?

Been thinking about it for a while, and decided that I am going to get an African Grey parrot. I have never been a bird owner before (unless you count 2 chicken pets a bird owner heh) so going to be interesting. I bought 2 books (For the love of greys and African Grey Parrot Handbook) that I am reading through now, finding out a ton of good info. also been lurking this forum for a while for info. I am extremely nervous of getting one though, just for the fact that I think I might screw up raising it. Not knowing everything, etc. I went to a local bird place, and they have some TAGs (which is what I wanted anyways) that are 12 weeks old. He said they will be fully weaned in 2 or 3 weeks. He said wings are already clipped. He said he doesn't like selling them unclipped because he heard too many stories of birds flying into walls breaking their wings, or flying out a door. I was looking at both sides of the argument on clipped vs non clipped, not exactly sure which I would prefer, but guess now I don't have a choice so... Now he also said CAGS are better for people who are already settled into their life (i.e not going to be changing such as getting married, moving, having kids etc) and TAGs can cope easier with that sort of thing.. I was trying to look it up, but couldn't find any info if that is true or not. Is there any truth in that? I am going back there next week to meet with a few of the birds and see if any stick out that bond with me. Anyways if anyone has any good pointers let me know, new world to me looking after a house pet but I am excited