dw310

Thank you, I will try that! Morgan thanks you, too!!

He's beautiful!!! I like your stand, too. Is Murphy thinking about going fishing??? :laugh:

I got Morgan a food kabob, and gave it to him for the first time yesterday. He LOVED it. He had loads of fun playing with it and eating the veggies and fruit. When I came back about an hour later, I saw that he had removed the pop-off skewer that was supposed to be bird proof. This revealed the pointed tip, used to skewer the food onto the rod. Obviously, dangerous to a bird!! Here's a link to the product: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=5791 I'm upset, because I haven't seen Morgan enjoy anything as much as he enjoyed that skewer full of veggies. Just thought I'd share, because I wouldn't want someone's bird to get hurt by one of these things.

Morgan is trying to talk in phrases!!!! About 2 weeks ago, I couldn't tell if he was saying "Morgan" or "morning." A couple of days later, he started clearly saying "Morgan." Now he's "speaking" in phrases. I have no idea what he's saying, but it's definitely not his coos, clucks, or whistles, but some kind of syllabic babble. It is SOOOO cute!!!! Just had to share. Kinda like a baby's first steps! I got the Goodbird Inc videos, and they really are very helpful!! Thanks for the advise.

Does anyone know if the veg-tanned leather used in bird toys is, in some way, specially prepared for birds? I do leather working as a hobby. I have lots of veg-tanned scraps, and am wondering of they are OK to use in toys for Morgan. Another way to ask this might be: has anyone ever bought leather from Tandy LeatherFactory to make your bird toys and, uh, is your bird OK? :silly: I know the tanning process has all kinds of chemicals involved, and suspect that any other kind of tanning process is toxic to birds. I'm just not sure if there is a special veg-tanning process when the leather is knowingly going for bird toys. I know. This is a bizarre question, and maybe no one knows the answer. But just thought I'd ask. Thanks!

I just measured my cage. It is 7" from the top of the grate to the tray bottom. I have a Featherland 2842 cage.

My sister-in-law also likes the ez care cages. I got a stainless steel featherland cage that is 28 x 42. I'm going to post a review of it in a separate thread (so it is more easily searchable.) I agonized over buying a cage for several months, and I'm pretty happy with this cage. A few things I learned: First of all, stainless steel is VERY easy to clean--stuff just wipes off. That's a real plus for you and your bird. Clean is good. I also got the exterior feeders. Not only can I feed/clean bowls without opening the cage door, but it keeps Morgan from throwing the food out of the cage as easily. The bigger the cage, the better. Bad news is, stainless steel cages are expensive. I got one hoping it will last Morgan's lifetime. I'm not sure that it will last that long, but it is pretty good quality. The best cage out there that I'm aware of is the Freedom Cage. If money is not an issue, they look really nice/well made. I bought my cage from a company that mainly breeds birds, and they only sell stainless steel Featherland and Freedom cages. Maybe that means something. I am a new bird mommy and certainly no expert. These thoughts are just my 2 cents.

Here's a baby pic of Morgan after a feeding! (I love this thread!!) <br><br>Post edited by: dw310, at: 2010/03/07 00:53

Thanks again. I actually think my house is great for a bird. I have a cathedral ceiling and the highest beam is 2 stories up. If I were a bird, I would love that. I don't mind that he goes up there, I just minded when he wouldn't come down/ stayed up there for 2 hours. But I think that is mainly a training issue. So we will work on that. Fortunately, the lure of a grape is effective, at least for the past few days!

Thanks for all your help, folks. You are the best!

So tonight I let Morgan out again, and he did just fine. He went back into his cage well and it was a good experience for him. Phew! He is so sweet. I also ordered the 4 DVDs on training from goodbirdinc. Hopefully, I'll get better at all of this. Again, thanks for all your help.

This is not a tough decision to make: I want him to fly. However, I clearly need help on training. In the last few weeks that my brother was raising him, he said that Morgan spent most of his time playing on top of his cage. He wasn't really flying around the whole house. At my house, Morgan goes straight to the beams. I have a playstand for Morgan, but he stays on it about 5 seconds.... Anyway, what do you think of these videos for helping me learn how to train: http://www.goodbirdinc.com./parrot-store-dvds.html http://www.birdtricks.com/training_parrots.htm Or do you have other suggestions? Clearly, I'm the one who really needs the training here. Thanks again!

That is precious!!!

Thank you for all your suggestions. Now I wonder how I would get Morgan to stand on a scale. I live in a barn-style house, and when he was allowed to fly, he would go up to one of the beams, either 1 or 2 stories high. About a week ago, he hurt himself, so I'm not letting him out of his cage these days (he is in a 28x42" cage, so he has plenty of room to play in.) I'm afraid he's going to chew on an electrical wire and really get hurt. I pet him multiple times daily and talk to him alot, but I'm not handling him outside of his cage, because I'm afraid he'll go to the beams again. Any suggestions? You guys and gals are the best! I so appreciate all your help. You are so right about the variety of foods. One day he loves brussel sprouts and the next day he doesn't touch them. Same with broccoli, carrots and squash. He always loves grapes and a variety of lettuces, and usually loves tangerines. I think he is eating well.

when you say corn on the cob, is it raw or cooked? thanks!!

Morgan is not clipped, but he also doesn't fly around all that much. I let him fly maybe 3 times a week. Probably a good 1/2 cup-1 cup of his fruits/veggies end up in the bottom of the cage. Today, he has hardly eaten any of them. Thanks for your help. Morgan is my first bird, so I have really no clue on so many issues. Again, this board is so very helpful!!

Morgan is eating 3-4 cups of fresh veggies and fruits a day, but maybe only 1/4 cup of pellets with a about a tablespoon of seeds. Does this sound like a good balance? Seems good to me that Morgan eats so much of the fruit/veggies, but I wonder if he needs more of the pellets? Thanks for all your help. I'm learning so much from this forum!

Do you all use UVB light on your bird? Seems like it would help with the calcium issue. Just curious what all you experienced folks are actually doing. Again, thanks for your thoughts!

In the US, UHaul sells newsprint for packing. Each sheet is 20x27". I use two sheets daily. A 10 lb box is about $9 I think.

Beatiful!! This makes me wanna cry! Great job helping Beau recover!

My brother raised Morgan, and I have gotten exactly the same brand/type food he was raised on. I just changed out the pellet bowl, but I will check for crumbs. Thanks for the idea!! Here are some baby pics.

Here are a few of Morgan's baby pics. Lucky me, my brother raised him, so I have tons of pics.<br><br>Post edited by: dw310, at: 2010/01/31 01:53

let's try again... (sorry--having trouble with posting pics)<br><br>Post edited by: dw310, at: 2010/01/31 01:48

Here's a collage of some of Morgan's baby pics. I hope this works.... ;-)<br><br>Post edited by: dw310, at: 2010/01/31 01:20 Morgan1_bmp.bmp

One other thing. Continental will only fly pets in cargo if the plane has a heated/pressurized cargo area for them. Even though Continental flys into Manchester, NH, I had to go to Boston to get Morgan. The planes they fly into Manchester (smaller, I assume) do not have the correct cargo holds. When I went to get Morgan, there were several other pets also traveling. Those owners had come from far away as well. So my bottom line: I think Continental is very careful with pet shipping. Morgan's water BOWL (not bottle) still had its water in it! So I give Continental thumbs up for Morgan's trip.