Xtreme575

Thanks for the assurances. I'm certain that we'd be further along if it hadn't been such a tough semester at school. I keep him close at hand, but tend to just answer his "Hello" and contact calls while "we" are working on papers.

Thanks Jill! It was funny, Paco was on his tree chomping away at the feathers under his crop until the music came on. I stopped, hunched down and is now listening away while grinding his beak happily. I'll mark this site as a favourite for sure!

I'd look at the packaging as well. Often these batters, although quick and easy, are full of all sorts of chemicals. I find it really funny, I'm willing to put my own life at risk by ingesting the additives and preservatives, but my baby only eats the healthiest and most natural that I can get him to ingest. It is inspiring me to clean up my diet a bit, but only after I finish eating the Easter chocolate...

That is sweet that she said, "I'm sorry" in context. I understand your snapping at her, I've done the same when I see a dangerous incident about to take place. It's just so hard to do it in a way that is positive and still get their attention to stop what they are doing. I ssshhh'ed Paco for the first time ever yesterday. He hated it, and by his reaction, so did I. I was dozing on the couch for a bit and he started to really scream at a toy. At first it scared me half to death, but then it angered me that he was being so noisy, and with such a horrid noise that I just let the shush go... It startled him so badly that he nearly fell off his perch. He stayed quiet for an hour while I felt such horrible guilt...

Aww, poor Joe and Isaac, I've wondered about that for Paco, we live in Vancouver BC, which is also on a fault line. Considering how he can freak out from the deaf lady upstairs who sometimes slams doors when Paco's cage is covered, I'd expect a similar reaction, thrashing and screaming. I hope both birds move on and don't associate any of the rolling earth with their parronts!

Wow Robin! That is great! Good for you for thinking of that. I hate to admit it, but I don't think I'd ever get bored enough to take on something like that. I can't even make a "build-a-box" with all the instructions printed right on the cardboard...

Well, he just had a heavy misting and his is shattering away in Parrotese, a few Hellos and I think he may be working on something new. He's doing the real throaty thing. They are the most amazing creatures... Thanks for the words of encouragement, I just didn't want to be stuck on Hello for the next 40 years!

So, as many of you will remember, Paco started to talk a few months ago, and I thought he embraced it with a gusto. Now I'm starting to wonder. He went from a number of phrases and words, and now its seems like we are just back to "Hello". It's all I have heard him say for weeks now. As background, it has been a really busy time for me, I just finished up another semester at school and still keep working full-time. So, having had a number of papers due, and all, I may not have spent as much time on "talk training" as I would have liked. Now that I'm finished (just one more paper to do), we will have blissful month of me just working without school to distract me from Paco time. Has anyone else experienced this? Paco will be 10 months on April 10, he was saying a lot of phrases during his 8th month, and now its just hello... Thanks for your help.

Congratulations! I was out of my mind with anticipation when I was in your shoes. Everytime I looked at the cage I felt my blood pressure rise with excitement!!! You have done all your homework, you will make a greYt parront!

Brittany, I'm thinking of getting on the Celltei Pak-o-Bird for Paco for this summer as well. I have a great travel cage, but it is to heavy and cumbersome for bigger outings. There are a number of reviews about it on here. They even make a Pak that is AG specific for the body shapes of our birds so their faces don't smash against the netting. From the research that I've done, the biggest drawback to the paks is that they can get warm and stuffy for the birds, so I think that you'd have to find a spot with some shade and a mister with cool water. Here is the website, I'm impressed with their forthrightfullness in addressing their drawbacks. http://store.celltei.com/pakobird.html

Oh and Jay, thank you for the advice on the canola oil and peanut butter, that's good to know if I can't get Sun Factor...

Stephen, don't bother with the Sun Factor if you have Palm Oil, its the same thing. It's really hard to even get palm oil in Canada, I think we can get the Sun Factor because they list the ingredient as palm fruit nut oil, I'm sure it confuses customs. Jill, I'm a Canuck, so I wasn't involved in McDonald's, although we do still sing God Save the Queen, does that deserve an illegal nut or two?

I agree with Jill, I don't think they will let themselves get starved, but it must be disconcerting anyway. Good luck!

Great new Robin, congratulations for the acknowledgement of being a good Parront! Although after following you and Beau for quite some time now, there was never any doubt! Glad Dixie is in great shape as well!!!

Wow Spock! Jay and Maggie sure are good to you fids! That's an amazing spread that is offered. If only I could eat like that, I might lose some weight!!! Stephen, keep in mind, breakfast and dinner are the big dinners. I don't know about Isaac, but Paco's dinner time is between 8-9 pm. He likes to eat classy (to late for me!). He finishes his breakfast whenever, and doesn't eat many of the pellets I offer during the day. I just have the food there for him to munch if he wants to, but the pellet crumbs are only evident after he has them for his dinner.

I was thrilled when someone posted about the Harrison's Sun Factor, and Dave responded that it is just Palm Oil. Living in Canada, even getting Palm Oil is nearly impossible! However, under the name Sun Factor I was able to get it at my vet's office, they carry all Harrison's products. This morning I measures some out and put it on his cooked beans and added it to the steamed veggies he insists on over raw that get ignored. He ate it! Paco eats no seeds at all, and not a whole lot of pellets either. He finishes all veggies I offer now if steamed, but does like to have a few pellets before bed. Since discovering the steamed veggies he has lost weight, going from 490 kg to 476 kg, which is good, the vet told me to work on getting him back down a bit. I think it was all the pellets he ate before finding the joy of me cooking!

Alright, I'll try to capture it next time. The problem is, as soon as I move he stops what he's doing. He is a horribly nosey little bugger, so the slightest move from me makes him think we might be having a new adventure, so he abandons whatever he is doing to make sure he doesn't miss out on the fun. Yes, it'll be nice when he's flying again, hopefully then his little falls will be more gracefully caught! Stephen, I have a hanging parrot gym with three different swivelling parts, I'm astounded at the antics he gets up to on that, luckily no falls from that yet. I think he takes it more seriously than he does than his cage. Wouldn't Isaac be able to right himself and fly if he slipped from the atom?

Everyone is giving excellent advice, but even by saying "No" you are giving attention and reinforcing the behaviour. Just truly ignore it. If Paco is doing something I don't like, and I'm heading to work, I will wait for a silent moment to put him back in his cage. I don't even want him to think he's getting that attention for making noise. The jumping... I too go through that. Paco was overly clipped and I'm impatiently waiting for the flights to grow back. I also have padded the areas of the floor where he hops down from to save him from breaking his keel bone. Lately he has figured out that a small jump from the seed skirt of his cage is no big deal and I often hear him clucking behind me like a chicken on the loose.

I feed the Pretty Bird for Greys as well. When I first got Paco he was on Zupreem. I tried Harrisons (all sizes), Roundybush with zero success. He just ignored them. Pretty Bird was love at first taste, and he prefers it over Zupreem now which I only buy if I forget to get Pretty Bird on time as I have to order it online. In addition I feed the Pretty Bird Birdy Banquest which is a cooked bean, rice, veggie, barley mixture fortefied with some vitamins. This is served with a mixture of steamed veggies (won't eat raw). I have a follow up vet apointment in October, so we'll get a calcium test then. But from all accounts, the Pretty Bird for Greys is supposed to be a very good pellet and they don't use citrus sprays on the pellets either - causes liver damage.

I also use the whisper method. I find that it stops my parrot in his tracks because he is a nosey little beast! He is dying to hear what I'm saying in case it's something else he wants to do! I have also found that just having him in the room, close at hand makes a difference. If I'm in the kitchen, he has to be on his T-stand right next to where I'm working. Homework, same thing, right next to me. Otherwise its, whistle, scream, holler, whistle and repeat. When he's close, he talks to me in a really quiet voice.

So, Paco's entertainment seems to be the newspaper that I use to line his playtop. He has found a way to drag the paper through the tray and the frame of the cage, has pulled it all the way onto the edge of his door where he is now perched precariously shredding the newspaper and dropping it on the door. I know that we are going to have drama shortly, he is getting a little to involved with this new "toy" and will surely take a fall soon. He has been getting way more involved in his entertainment lately and has dropped down off his cage a few times lately. It always results with him looking at me from the floor a little dejected and worse for wear, but luckily not really hurt. Oh lord, no he is under the paper like it is a cage, this is gonna be quite the show soon!!!

That is a riot! LOL! We recently had our fire alarms/smoke detectors tested as well, I took Paco to the office with me that day! However, he still embarrassed me by wolf whistling every time someone walked past my office. He went home at noon!

And thank goodness for the diversity of this site! Some might discriminate against our fids for being Grey!

I'm glad you are getting some experienced agreements Jill. I would have done the same thing if I didn't go to the vet first and insist the world was coming to an end. I expect to be banned soon, I've been in a few times. :blush:

Woohoo! Congrats! Thanks for letting us share in the experience again!