Xtreme575

Thanks for posting this, and thanks for the response Dave, I have wondered this myself and chose to boil the eggs instead just to be safe. Looks like I'm making omelettes now...

Depending on the sauces, they can eat them as well. Paco loses his mind over a curry stirfry dish that I order from a Thai place... I think he'd like it hotter, but I can't handle it any spicier than it is. My biggest success is "Birdy Bouquet" from Pretty Bird, he loves it! I am making a batch right now, it is beans, dried fruits and veg with a vitamin fortification. I make a big batch and freeze it in ice cube trays which allows me to serve one cube per day with his "salad". I have found that by burying it under his salad warm, he is now eating more of his veggies than he was before. You could easily make a version of this "mash" from the bulk section, but I love that this is all pre-measured with the vitamins all in it.

Wow Jill, now that we see the stand in context, it is huge!!! It's amazing!

I read this as well... Apparently the kids were treated really well by the people who gave up the cockatoo for them. Maybe it's too bad they can't stay there, with the cockatoo back as well. They sound like desparate, but good people.

You should both find greyt success in getting your parrots used to the harnesses. Both are still so young and trusting, and you have the start of the season to get your parrots used to them. I don't know the specific temparature to take the birds out, my rule is to be comfortable without a jacket, but I've read that it's the cool breezes that are harder on the parrots. You'll both be surprised at how the parrots react to any wind, make sure you always use the wrist band! Paco is clipped, had it not been for the harness last year, I'd have lost him, a bit of breeze and away he went, so I can imagine your flighted birds!!! Enjoy the fun in the great outdoors, and yes, get ready for funny comments, and lots of requests to touch the bird - I always say "No, he bites", but Im just afraid that they might have dirty hands, or nicotine on their fingers.

It's cute, but I'd never take the chance, one nip from the cat and it's bye-bye birdie! I just prefer to not take chances where my parrot is concerned.

Spock, you are still magnificent to behold! Now, get into the food and get well! We can't wait to hear your observations on the flock you have infiltrated with your superior knowledge and skills! I love hearing how you outwit Jay and Maggie! Go buddy!

Ha ha! Glad I'm not the only one to suffer with the harness, misery loves company! I can tell he loves being out, and being able to climb around on the trees and pull out nice green grass, but ugh, the horrors of putting it on and taking it off! Janet, I had considered using it a few times over the winter, but then I figured I wanted im to associate it with a fun trip outside, so I thought I'd be better off not putting it on him at all until we could go out. Oh well, I will persevere, it's worth it for both of us when he lets out a wolf whistle while hanging from a branch in the fresh air! Paco hates the towel too, Rana, so your lucky with that. As soon as he sees a towel he runs up my shirt with his beak taking full advantage of my shirt, hole, hole, hole....

Well, as many of you may have seen with the coverage of the winter Olympics, Vancouver has been having fantastic weather! Today is no exception, sunny and warm, which I'm loving. Anyway, last fall while the weather was warm enough, and not raining I started Paco on his harness training. He was about 4 months when we started, and although his didn't love the harness, he seemed to accept it, and loved being out in it. Now that he is 8 months, and after not having seen the harness for a while, boy does he hate it! I take him to the church grounds next door where I can be assured a quiet time in a park-like setting where there are no obvious cats, dogs, or predatory birds to be concerned with. Anyway, getting the harness on him is no problem, but it's tightening it that is the problem. He tries to pull on the buckle and bites with increasing pressure as I try to do it up. Once outside he calms down a bit, but tries to run up my arm to my shoulder which is never going to happen while we are outside! I value my eyes, ears, and lips to much for that to take a chance on a fright! Once we got to the church Paco enjoyed climbing around in the cherry trees, ripping off the buds and playing in the grass, so much so that he refused to step-up, concerning in case I ever had him out and a predator were to come around, looks like we need to work on that! He loved hanging out in the sun, and let out a few high-pitched screeches before really tearing through the branches, and climbing up. Getting the harness off is the hard part. As soon as I reach for the buckle, he bites quite hard, then as soon as I get a bit of slack, he tears into the harness pulling on it, usually the wrong way! :blink: Finally, after a hand full of scratches and nips we got it off and he is now sitting on his perch in the sun preening. I guess he is starting to move beyond the "baby-stage" where he would accept things easily and readily. I've noticed that he is much more strong willed since he began speaking, I think I'm going to have to accept my baby is growing up, and I'll need to work on my patience level now...

Welcome James, you have just joined the forum with the most knowledgable AG owners out there!!! Feel free to ask any question, I look forward to seeing you in The Nursery with me and my baby Grey as well!

Great post Janet, hopefully we will get a lot of responses that may save some Greys from getting out into the wild. Paco still isn't flying, so although I have considered these precautions, I haven't actually done anything yet. Since I live in a condo, and also live alone, I have good control of the doors, the two doors that lead to the balcony are my biggest concern. One is near his cage, the other is in my bedroom. Both have screens, but my condo gets hot in the summer, even with air conditioning, this is causing me some concern as the a/c unit that I am allowed to use must be vented out a door or window, to use it in the living room where Paco and I spend the majority of our time requires that door to be unsecured with it being cracked about 8" for the exhaust hose. Previously I had hung a curtain, but it will still leave the top of door, behind the rod exposed. Quite honestly, I finish university this summer, I'm seriously considering a move to another place that I can buy with a parrot in mind, ideally with central air, and doored mudroom so there are two doors to get through...

I agree with Dan, you didn't permanently disable Pepper. You can join me in my club of waiting for the primaries to grow in. In the meantime, perhaps you and Pepper will find some temporary advantages to the clip? I don't know, never having seen my bird fly, but maybe you will after experiencing a flighted bird. Have you harness trained? Maybe now will be a good time, to getter Pepper used to it before flying again. I've been doing that, he loves going out on warm days. I'm curious about the tail, is it a feather issue, or do you think it's something else?

Brittany, I'd follow Dave's advice to the letter and contact the vet as soon as possible. There were an awful lot of "big" happenings for Pepper over the past day, it's bound to take a bit of time to recover, just the stress alone would be a lot. A quiet area and lots of rest are probably in order. I hope your not letting Pepper go high after just getting a wing clipping. It may take Pepper a bit to realize that flight is no longer an available tool, so you don't want a take-off that results in a fall. Paco still tries to take off every now and then, and he was clipped last summer! You don't want a chest or keel bone injury. I sincerely hope all is good with Pepper!

Wow! I just saw this post, I'm so relieved you got your baby back! I can't imagine what you went through, but I'm sure glad you kept a clear head and didn't give up!

So, finding a bird-sitter has been a big stressor for me over the past few months... Let's face it, we don't have an easy animal to care for, both with the requirements around the knowledge required for keeping a bird, as well as meeting their emotional needs. I looked into the possibility of using a "commercial" bird-sitter, there are two in the area who will mind parrots (experienced)in my area. I haven't actually gone to investigate the premises, but I found them to be expensive at approx $80.00/day, and of course I can't help but worry that I am exposing my baby to parrot/bird diseases as well as wondering how much actual attention my bird will get while he stays with these people... Major problem for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm no jet-setter, I actually dislike travelling, but it will need to happen inevitably for some reason, and there will eventually be a trip that I will not be able to take my bird on. I wanted to be prepared for this. So, a few weeks ago one of the ladies who I work with was telling me how much her husband had always wanted a parrot, and that if I ever wanted them to bird-sit for me that they would love to do it. The only reason they never got a parrot was because she is allergic to their powder, but that her allergy wasn't bad enough that she couldn't be exposed to it for short (under a month) term visits. Her husband has been so excited about the prospect, so tonight after work Paco and I took a trip to their house, they are a few blocks away... Anyway, after about half an hour, Paco started to stretch and preen, and I could tell he was getting quite comfortable in the new environment so I encouraged a step-up with my co-workers husband Rick. Sure enough Paco went to him well, and spent some time perched on his arm just checking Rick out. I kept track of time, and was able to amaze both of them with Paco's pooping on demand to avoid a "mess" on Rick - funny how that seems so common-place to me now. Anyway, to make a long (great) story short, it seemed to be love at first sight for these two. Rick was just enamored with Paco, and Paco with Rick. After a half hour he climbed up onto Rick's chest (he is a big man) and demanded a kiss before he started to preen Rick's beard for him. Rick was calm and comfortable with Paco, they had a lot of trust in such a short amount of time. I am thrilled!!! Paco won't be a year until June, and our anniversary together will be in September, so I'm not planning on taking any holidays until after that, but even for times when I know I will have long days at work, or any unforseen issues, it'll be great to know Paco is going to be hanging out with someone who he seems to love and is comfortable. We are going to keep up these visits over the next few weeks, this will be to further Rick's knowledge of parrot keeping, and handling as well as to give Paco more of an opportunity to get to continue to build trust. I am looking forward to leaving Paco with Rick for a day alone (Rick is retired), while I'm at work, I have a feeling the two will have a blast together!!! I can't tell you all how thrilled I am! What a relief to find someone that both Pasco and I are going to be comfortable with!!! Thrilled! Ryan

Glad to hear he is swishing his tail! That must be a good sign, isn't it? He'd need to use his back to create the movement, I'd think?

3 -4 cups of fruits and veg and 1/4 cup of pellets!?!? Sounds like a good balance, but a lot of food! I need to keep in mind that my parrot is clipped, so he may not need as much food as a flighted bird. I feed 5 - 6 tablespoons of pellets and 3/4 to a cup of veg, but he never finishes either... I keep trying seeds, but other than raw sunflowers in the shell, he can't be bothered with any others...

Have you tried to use bribery? I know there are mixed feelings about training with treats, but coming from someone who is chronically late, I swear by it. You might want to try to offer a treat (I use raw sunflower seeds or pine nuts), combined with what Dave is suggesting with the "small steps". What I mean is, hold the seed beyond your other hand to encourage the bird to actually "step" on your hand while you give the command. Hopefully it will be so busy trying to get the seed that it won't bite. If it does everything in one step, great, if not, you may need to break it down more. I'm usually able to coax my bird out at anytime with the promise of a seed, this has saved me from missing so many appointments!!! Good luck, and I hope that Dave offers further advice, or a more experienced member chimes in to help you out more.

Wicked stand Jill! I laugh at your Harvey stories! He can't be afraid of anything, how else will he tease and torment you the way he does! LOL! It's impressive he was so into the new stand that he didn't make you fake a text again!

Penny, I sincerely hope you are over your guilt for opening the Amazon room. When it first happened I thought, "Oh, ok, good for Jay for taking on the responsibility" and that was the end of it... Then one night I ran out of updated posts to read, I think Jill went to bed (kidding!), anyway, I decided to check out the Amazon room. Wow! I gotta say, what a fantastic room! Everyone involved should be congratulated on how well the room is being managed and the wealth of information that is already available on there! Also, it has convinced me that when I am ready to adopt another parrot, it will be an Amazon - amazing birds, I've fallen in love again!

I agree with all of the experienced posts in here, and am in the same mindset as Jill. I wouldn't even consider doing the hand-feeding myself, I'd be suicidal if anything happened! I got my parrot at 14 weeks, the breeder would not let me have him until he was off of formula all together and eating an adult diet. I did buy an adult formuala in baby form that I used for the first few months (morning and night), but I didn't even do a real "spoon feed", I only offered it by spoon. He took it well, but once he pushed it away and didn't want what I was offering, it was over. Really, I don't think it would have made a difference to my parrots disposition. Any chance they could get another bird from the same breeding pair that gave you Pepper? Perhaps DNA is more the issue.

He looks so amazing! It's nice to know that they age so well, if only the same could be said about me! Blue is older than I am, yet he looks as good, if not better than my baby! Me on the other hand... God, I need more sleep before I start tripping on these eye bags! 5.5 more months of full-time university and full-time employment! Yay!

Ha ha! Sounds like fun! Now that my parrot is speaking, I really have realized that it wouldn't have mattered, I love him so much that it doesn't matter. He isn't using anything in context, so it's been about reading his body language anyway, the relationship is still fantatstic, and it seems you are well on your way!

Here here! Mine was clipped before I got him, I have stayed in contact with Paco's breeder, she and I have agreed to disagree on the clipping aspect... She thinks I'm nuts that I'm going to let him grow out, warning me of the dangers of a flighted bird in the house...

It is a great video, it makes Paco go wild with vocalisations every time he hears it... Which does leave me with guilt. I reconcile my guilt with how spoiled he is, and with his general happiness that he displays, but at the same time I see how he looks out the window... I'm afraid I'm not qualified to say which life would be a happier one for him, here with me, or flying fee with a flock. What I do know, he was bred, I had no control over that, someone was going to get him, and it just happened to be me, who could offer him a good life, which then causes me to consider that by my wanting him, I create a market... What a tangled web.