Xtreme575

He doesn't need to interupt my sleep to do that! He already does! So far so good, no more nocturnal ringing, however he is still squeaking like his tennis ball on a fairly regular basis. It sounds like I have the most playful dog in the world around here. Yesterday I was on the phone when he rang, I actually looked for my phone to answer it before I realized it was in my hand...

Where is he plucking? I can't even see it in the picture, and I think he looks great! I'm off to another vet tomorrow, again trying to find out why Paco keeps shredding his feathers directly below his crop. Good luck to him getting better!

I'm struggling with the harness too, but persevering. If Paco get's me a little hyper from trying to take my arm off, I first distract him by snapping my fingers above his head to get him to look up for a second. I then make my hand into a fist, a hard fist, to make the skin really tight on the back of my hand. Then I put the fist forward, he tries to bite the back of my hand and can't. I don't know why, but this calms him right down and I can then get him fastened up, it also calms me down because he can't hurt my fist, and then stops trying to hurt my fingers. Taking off the harness is usually my bigger struggle too, the only different tactic that I use is to offer him the "loop" as soon as I get it far enough away from his body that he can pull on it himself. He seems to take some satisfaction in getting himself out of it, especially the neck collar, he does that totally on his own.

Robin, that was a riot!!! I killed myself laughing at your captions too, you really got into Dixie's head for those. The only time I've seen Paco react to music has been to "I Need a Hero", he doesn't dance, but tries to sing along. I can't catch it on video though, as soon as I go into the room he stops.

Jill, you are an evil girl. It's a good thing you create some retribution by offering good advice when we need it. I love how you noticed Stephen's countertops, but I must admit Stephen, I was pretty impressed by the shine you have going on as well. Paco will have to continue to settle for palm oil on his pasta and beans. Perhaps I should start lobbying the Canadian Government to change the import laws around palm nuts... I just don't get it, we have juvenile palm trees growing all over the place now anyway.

Love it! I hadn't thought of any of this since Paco doesn't fly yet. This will be amusing during dinner parties!

Haha Jill! You will notice that Jay lovingly pushed me along. I normally throw something like that out there in the hopes that he and Dan, our resident researchers will allow me to continue to be lazy and just wait for the answer! I think everyone is starting to catch on to my ways! Anyway, strawberries are now on my nasty list, and will no longer be served, Hydrogen Peroxide or not. I thought the apple cider vinegar was going to solve all my problems...

Perhaps you made it through the nasty period Jill. That may have been in, and now Harvey is more of who he will be when he is fully grown. Hahahahahhahahahaha! Sorry, I couldn't keep a straight face on that one! I read somewhere that Dave posted the 5 year mark for mature bird. Your little Harvey is still far from that, but if misery likes company, Paco has started biting me now if he is feeling intolerant of anythang that I'm doing, or not doing! He'll attack my "scratches hand" if he is on me and not giving him scratches when he wants them, or he'll bite my thumb if he figures we are going somewhere he'd prefer not to go, ie. the shower... Yesterday putting on the harness caused me to nearly lose my life, although he was happy the whole time he was out hanging around in the magnolia tree...

Haha! She does sound like you Janet! That is a really sweet video, I love the playstand you built, great job!

Dan, thanks for the your curious mind! I'm so thankful for the research you do. I feed cooked beans to Paco almost everyday. But after having read about the beans on here some time ago I got paranoid and doubled the cooking time and rinsing them well with distilled water before feeding. I never knew why, but I wasn't going to take any chances.

Thanks Jay, you might have ruined me for life, if I hadn't already sworn them off due to their high uric acid level and my ability to pump out enough kidney stones per year to recreate the Great Barrier Reef! Janet, remember, I'm in Canada, the majority of our produce is imported at all times except for our short growing season, and often not until late summer/fall when it is our harvest time. It could be something like that, and the fact that our berries have probably been on a boat for weeks! Jay, this is what I came up with... I cleaned the berries, but they were still stinky! "STRAWBERRIES - Cleaning Strawberries are frequently highly infested with tiny insects although they may appear to be insect-free. The trained eye can find these on the outside of the berries and particularly on and under the green cap. 1. Either: 1. Cut off the green leaf with about 1mm of the fruit, or 2. Carefully twist off the green, Don’t pull, otherwise you’ll make a hole into which the tiny insects can fall. 2. Cut off any mushy parts as well as deep folds. 3. If in the process of doing this you’ve reached the cavity, cut the strawberry in half and check internally for worms. 4. Rinse the strawberries in very soapy water, gently rubbing under the green leaves. 5. Rinse the soap off under running water."

Howardine, that is a fantastic agreement in your family. My bird-sitter's family had the same kind of situation with their grandmother. She had two amazons, when she went, the agreement was that someone in the family would take the birds, and they would keep them together. The sweet part of the story, the family fought over the birds more than they did the house or the money. The birds are still around, living in northern Alberta, they are estimated to be in their 30's now. These are the kind of stories that take my breath away!

Hi Paul, Murphy et al! Welcome! I too hope that Murphy offers you as much satisfaction as Jill's Harvey, I'll look forward to the funny posts for sure! In all seriousness though, I'm glad you all joined us. It's a great place to come whenever you need to laugh, cry, celebrate, or comiserate, and not just about your bird either! Parrot people are the best people, and the cream all come to Grey Forums.

Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry, I can't offer any advice to you regarding your baby, I got mine at 4 months, and the only handfeeding I had to do was to hold a spoon with adult grade formula in baby form for him to eat from. I would follow Jay's advice for sure, at least until you hear from Dave007 or Spinner, both are experienced breeders who are very well respected for their knowledge on this forum. Keep posting new threads, and don't be afraid to PM anyone for assistance if you have questions, you will soon learn whose expertise lies where and on what subject.

Logan, my motto is to be safe rather than sorry. I live by the lists on this forum, and if I'm unsure of anything, I post the question on here. Before buying my baby I read a number of books on parrots, and greys in particular. I still argue that I have learned more on this forum with a couple clicks of my mouse than I did with the books. In any event, yes, Yay for you for recognizing that regurgitation early, my parrot has been doing it for months, and I thought he was dancing, so I stupidly started dancing for him at the same time. Now I just say, "I love you too Paco" and walk away for awhile, but it does feel good to know I'm that loved. BTW, welcome!

All I can say is welcome! I'm not experienced enough to offer you more, I have a baby male... He has definately become a one-person bird, I tried to introduce him to others and get him to accept them, but to no avail. He'll sit on others, but only while he is trying to figure out how to climb over to me...

Welcome, I love when experienced birders join us, your experience and knowledge will come in handy for all of us! Thanks for introducing yourself.

Ha ha Jill! I was waiting for you to bust me! Actually, we don't even really get that much snow, and when it does, we all go into a panic and stay home. We had to have the snow brought in from the interior by dump-truck and helicopter at astronomical costs. Jeanna, your weather is our weather, that's how close we are.

So this morning Paco and I had to make a road trip. Rather than holding us up I decided to offer him breakfast in his travel cage, figuring it would give him something to do while we made the hour long trip to my campus to pick-up the books I need for the upcoming semester. I offered him peppers, brocolli, different lettuces, carrots, spinach and decided that I'd give him a treat so I cut up one small small strawberry to mix in for a bit of a change and to add some sweetness to his usual breakfast. We made the trip, I think it was enjoyable for both of us, and Paco devoured his breakfast. Upon delivering him home, I put his travel cage in the spare bedroom and went out to do some shopping. Later, while Paco and I were hanging out together on the couch I noticed a foul smell that reminded me of the sour smell of brocolli/cauliflower fileds in the fall (anyone who has lived near a brocolli farm knows this is the most horendous odour ever!). I was suspicious of the smell as I had just done a major cage cleaning yesterday, which also involves moving all of my living room furniture so that I can steam-mop the hardwood floors. I even resorted to sniffing around near Paco's.. ahem, poop, worried that perhaps he might be sick and that it was his movements that were giving off the odour. Nope. Finally, my sister phoned and I complained to her about it as I was sniffing around the house trying to figure out where the nasty smell was coming from when she asked if I had strawberries. I told her that I had given Paco one earlier, and that I had completely forgotten about cleaning his small cage after we had used it. As soon as I walked into the spare room, the foul smell hit me like a ton of bricks! I actually gagged!!! I had to hang up from my sister so that I could deal with it immediately. I scrubbed the cage and all the perches so hard it would have satisfied Jill! I now have the air purifier on full blast and the windows all open airing out the place. I had no idea that strawberries spoiled so fast, nor did I know that they got so nasty when they did! I'm not supposed to eat strawberries anyway, and I can't imagine that they are so beneficial to Paco that I would need to keep offering them, so I threw the whole works out, and I'll stick to grapes as his sweet-treat. I'd much rather scrape grape skins off the wall and floor than to put up with the foul smelling strawberries... If he gets them again, it'll be while we are outside with the harness. So, with spring here, and strawberries coming back into season, for those of you who might be wondering what the foul smell is, check to see if there is even a remnant of the berry anywhere in the vicinity. Yuck!

Wow, I need to smarten up how I speak to him. Literally. Instead of repeating simple terms, I'm going to turn it up a bit, just to see what happens. Thanks Dan...

Great news Stephen!!! I'm so jealous!!!!!!! We can't get them in Canada, so Paco has to settle for palm oil on pasta and beans.

Hahahahahaha! Jill, it's a good thing your on the other side of the pond, I have a feeling that we are kindred spirits, if I'm not yelling at the kids, I'm calling the police, and I don't turn 35 until May! My family all call me the cranky, eccentric who only has nice things to say about my parrot. I curse like a sailor too, but my baby grey has never heard it!

I'm hoping that I've timed it well enough that Paco and I can go near the same time... I turn 35 this year, he turns one. So, if I can hang in there to nearly 80, I'm hoping I don't have to worry about it. Being a realist though, I know that accidents can and do happen. In that regard, my mom loves Paco, and would love to have a stronger relationship with him. My dad would prefer not to have a pet, but knowing Paco was mine, he'd be all to happy to have my mom take him on. From there, my youngest nephew is Paco's next favourite after me. He is 7 now, so I figure worst case scenario, he'd get him between 25 - 30... Barring that, the breeder I got him from will rehome him for me, a promise she asked me to make when I bought him from her. I'm certain that I've taken enough provisions to make sure that he will be ok if I am not. It's good to be real folks, I've had my will done since my early 20's, and I keep it on my computer so that I've been able to keep it current - remember, it must be printed with two witnesses to be considered valid and legal in most countries.

My condominium is down the hall from our common exercise/meeting room. The other night we had our strata's annual general meeting which I decided I would go to. I arrived, checked in, took a seat and visited with my apartments adjoining neighbours trying to find out if any of then could hear Paco, or had any complaints that I might be able to smooth over. All assured me that they could only hear him when they were in the hallway, so none really cared! While this was going on, I noticed that an elderly gentleman from down the hall came in. This fellow could only be best described as a cranky, old man, he argued about signing in, refused to sit with anyone, citing the importance of being able to hear his telephone, so he had to sit at the back, close to the door. As the meeting progressed, this neighbour kept interupting, and bringing up irrelevant issues that had happened two years ago, and been taken care of. My being the patient person that I am, (sarcasm) remained calm and tried to be respectful of this gentleman. As I felt my irritation grow, I observed him abandon his gripes, running (with a cane) back to his apartment. A few minutes he returned putting his card up to ask a question or make another point. Before the moderator was able to get to him though, he'd jump up, and go back to his apartment. By the time he returned, the discussion and normally the vote would be over, our meeting was really moving along. The cycle continued to repeat itself, and I could hear my neighbour muttering when he came back when it suddenly dawned on me that I could hear Paco wolf whistle from where I was sitting, before I heard his mimic of my phone. On cue, the elderly gentleman got up and headed back to his apartment. He was mistaking my bird for his phone! I nearly wet myself when I realized what was happening. I lost all interest in the meeting by this point, and was paying attention to Paco running through his "sound" repetoire which was long enough to bring the neighbour back to the meeting, allow him to settle down before another ring could be heard. The meeting quickly concluding, I came home and gave Paco lots of cuddles and play time before we both went to bed. At about 2:15 that morning, my phone rang, causing me to wake up... It only rang once and stopped. I layed there, cursing the kids who might be "pranking" me before getting up to bring the phone closer so that I could jump right on it if it rang again. Finally after about 15 minutes it did ring again, I grabbed the phone immediately and noticed that it was not lit up like it normally was it was getting a call. Exhausted I tried to slip back into a sleep, but tossed and turned for most of the night. The next morning, as I was preparing Paco's brekkie, he started ringing, I realized it was him right away, and then it dawned on me, it had also been him ringing in the dead of night... He is picking up noises so quickly, and doing them so well now. I showed him a squeaky toy once last night, and he has been mimicking it exactly all morning.