caseyandmikey

I am so sorry to read this. Everything I have read suggests looking high and low, make familiar whistles and try leaving a small cage out with treats. Does she like your dogs? If so maybe bring them out to call for her. Another member on here lost his bird in December and is still looking. Don't lose hope you will find your baby just don't give up. You have my prayers stay strong. www.birdhotline.com may be of some help. Good luck

It is so sweet how they ask for those head scratches. When Mikey doesn't feel like stepping up he just puts his head down and knows I will give into that little face. It is nice to just hug their bodies and have their soft feathers next to you. You have a beautiful little baby. Good luck with him.

You are still in my thoughts as well. Keep the faith

Thank you for the advice Elvenking. Mikey is actually doing well with the potty training. We have gone 2 days without an accident. He gives kiss on demand and shakes his head when I ask within about a weeks time. I have a feeling I may be in trouble with a bird much smarter than any of the humans in the house. Congratulations on your little baby as well. They truly help you feel less lonely. It is so beautiful to watch them grow. I wish you many many happy and healthy years with your sweetie. Thank you again for your reply

I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through wth your sweet Spock. Do all you can to try and stay strong for him. That is easier said than done but I am sure he is doing things to make you smile every day. You are giving him the best care that anyone ever could. Good luck with him. My prayers are with you.

Thank you for the advice Robin. He does get more interested when I eat the food in front of him. I guess if you make it like they can't have something then they feel they must have it. Thank you for that. Thank you very much for your kind words Dee it means a lot to me. I truly hope all is going well with you and your family. A few more questions if you guys don't mind: 1) Today when he was playing with his toys he started screaming like crazy. I made sure he wasn't stuck or anything and he seemed fine. I have read it is normal for them to yell at their toys and sometimes fight with them is this true? 2) I have a feather tether for him to wear but it seems complicated to get on. Do you know of any videos or anything to help get it on him? 3) He doesn't like to take a bath by being sprayed or going in the sink. Any ways to get him more comfortable? Thank you again everyone for helping me get through this first week. I hope all is well with everyone and their fids. Take care

What a beautiful baby. That is an awesome atom toy. You taught her to speak very well.

Thank you very much for all of your replies you have all helped me feel so much more comfortable with him. I don't know what I would do without this forum. It is such a great feeling actually having him here and now being able to join in on sharing stories. I read about the chest vibrating in one of the Grey mannuals. It says if their whole body is shaking it is fear but when it is just the chest it is contentment. I sure hope that is true. This morning when I took him out for breakfast he didn't seem very intrersested in it. He did eat his pellets and treats though and is still vocalizing and snuggling. Maybe he just didn't feel like the food I made him? I am just worried about his health until the avian vet is in on Friday for his full check up. Also there is a blizzard here and we have the house up to about 70. Do you think that is warm enough? Thank you all again. This site doesn't say anything about the chest vibrating but seems to have some more about body language than the books I have read if you are interested http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1795&aid=3334

Mikey finally arrived on Feb 7. He is 5 months old and is settling in nicely. He makes a lot of baby noises and likes to fly onto my head. He is sitting on my shoulder now checking out the laptop. Everything is a toy to these curious babies. It has been 2 days and nothing has been destroyed yet that is a good sign He is a good flyer. He flies from his cage to my hand and head. I love him so much already he is a great little guy. A few questions I have about him: 1) How do you go about training them to go potty on the newspapers or their playstand while they are out with you? 2) I have read that when their chest vibrates it is a sign of relaxation. is this true? He did it a few times when he was getting comfortable after fluffing out his feathers. It wasn't his whole body just the chest. 3)After I take a shower is it okay for him to climb on my head when my hair is still wet? He likes to bite on my hair. I got worried that the soaps might hurt him so I covered my head with a towel. 4) He is not big on stepping up. I can get him up but he yells and beaks a lot. Is this because he is young and still needs training? Any ideas on making that a little easier? When he gets back into his cage I give him treats. is this okay or a bad habbit? I am sorry I have a lot of stupid questions but a lot are slipping my mind right now Now that he is here I am so worried I will do something wrong. Thank you for any help in advance. Any other tips for a baby would be appreciated.

"yeah he's a special kind of grey dog with a beak and wings that just happens to be sitting on my shoulder." don't you just love new yorkers? Did you give her a response or were you speechless?

Wonderful pictures of a beautiful bird.

Aww I am so sorry it turned out this way. It is such an upsetting situation that just sends you in circles. I'm sorry your going through this. Please try to stay strong though. It must feel so hopeless but you have to keep the faith. There is always hope just remain persistent and determined. You and Sindbad are in my prayers.

Every sign says this is Sindbad. This is good because he is safe and you will get him. It is hard to stay in the right state of mind. I know if I was in this position I would be in jail. I am sure you are having urges to break the law for your baby. Just keep in mind that you will be of no help to Sindbad from jail. Are you on friendly enough terms that you could show up at his house to see what's up without it being suspicious? I don't know if this could be of any help but this group is called rescue ink. They are tough motorcycle guys who rescue animals and scare the abusers. Maybe they can give you advice or go over there and scare the guy. I am sorry it is a hard situation to give good advice on but it's worth a shot http://www.rescueink.org/index1.10.html. You are in my prayers.

I am so sorry you are in this position. I am emotional just reading it. You are very strong for staying so calm all this time through it all. Something surely seems off with this guy. Why would he ask how much they are worth and then be so quick to give his up for the exact price you told him? I know it must be hard to not go over there and ring this guys neck but I do believe you should stay calm and friendly with him. Dan has given good suggestions. Talk to him like a bird person and see if he can share stories about his bird. Try to feel him out to see if he's truthfully talking about a bird he loves. It is a good idea to ask if you can check him out before you buy him. If it is Sindbad and you don't have the money for him just try to string the guy along so he doesn't try to sell him to someone else. It might be dangerous to get the cops involved but should still be considered. Some cops are not always happy to help when it comes to pets. Try to stay on this guys good side. Remain as strong and calm as you can. If this is Sindbad at least he is in a home instead of outside where you have no idea where to look. If this is your beloved bird you will get him back it may just take time

The Petland up the block always has a CAG in their store for sale. From the time I have been going in there I have seen about 3 or 4 different ones who have all seemed fine. The most recent one in there is very small and is said to be 3 years old. A few weeks ago I was visiting him/her every day just to be around them. One of the days they seemed to of started plucking slightly on their chest. The next day he/she was sticking their tongue out, refusing to open their eyes and keeping their mouth open. I got a worker to check on them whose response was "Oh he's probably just dehydrated" as if it happened every day. She said someone was with him that morning and at this time it was almost 8 at night. The worker told me he is "weird" he curses and bites and no one likes him. Before I left I asked the manager to keep an eye on him. By the end of the night the whole work crew was giving me dirty looks. Every time I go in there I play the blinking game with him and he seems to like it. I mean he is starved for affection. I have put in an application to work there and put on it that I would even like to just spend time with the bird without pay. I just want to do something to help him. He used to cost $1500 and they have dropped the price to $999. If I had the money and didn't have Mikey coming I would take him in a second. My concern is if I do get to work with him how can I be sure I don't bring any diseases home to Mikey and vice versa? Do you know of any way I can report this to someone who will help the poor bird? Thank you in advance for any ideas.

lol thank you catib. They know that we will spoil them like crazy and use that to their advantage.

That is a good idea Judy thank you. And Dee thank you also that means a lot to me.

I have spent a while trying to get Mikey's cage together just right. I am having some trouble deciding on how many toys should be in there at a time. As of now he has the 2 perches the cage came with plus a bee pollen perch and 2 pedicure perches. From everything I have read I know there should be enough toys to keep them busy but does this look overwhelming? I do have more toys I am saving for rotation. As of now there are 2 foraging toys, 4 destructables and 4 others with bells and blocks. There is also a tent, rope swing and a ladder. Or should I add more? the bottom seems pretty empty but I assumed he would spend most of his time up high. Any opinions on how to improve his living area would be appreciated. Thank you. Inside: http://i831.photobucket.com/albums/zz231/nsscjl/insidecage2.jpg http://i831.photobucket.com/albums/zz231/nsscjl/insidecage3.jpg http://i831.photobucket.com/albums/zz231/nsscjl/insidecage4.jpg http://i831.photobucket.com/albums/zz231/nsscjl/insidecage1.jpg Outside: http://i831.photobucket.com/albums/zz231/nsscjl/outsidecage.jpg<br><br>Post edited by: caseyandmikey, at: 2010/01/10 23:56

Thank you everyone I hope you all had a great holiday. Mikey seems like he is going to be a silly boy who bites his own foot lol. They are adorable birds and great characters

This is another site like craigslist where you can try posting http://www.kijiji.com/?change=true good luck and keep the faith

Do you guys use cuttlebone? Is it something good to have in all grey cages or can it end up giving too much calcium? I used to hear great things about it but some people reccomend staying away from it. Also do you feed a seed mixture with your pellets? I don't want him to end up eatting just seed and refusing everything else. Thank you for any advice.

Yes please be careful of that guy. Sadly people will go to extremes to take advantage of others especially pet owners. They know we will give anything to have our pets back. Just be careful. Good luck and stay in high spirits. You are in my thoughts.

What beautiful pictures. Cocoa always goes on the best adventures. I hope you all had a great holiday.

There is a chance he is still out there. He won't be hiding from you but he may be scared and be hiding in general if he is not hearing your voice. There are people who have lost their birds for weeks months and even years. Some people believe that once they have freedom they like it a little too much. I am not saying that this is what will happen I am just telling you why you may not of seen him yet. It may take time but I have hope you will see him soon. Just hang in there and keep the faith. Don't give up and keep looking. Maybe post an ad in the local paper. Good luck stay strong.

I am so sorry to hear that the search was unsuccessful. Just remember it has only been about a day or so which means he can still be out there and is hiding. If he is out there he will soon come out to sing in the early morning and late at night. If someone found him let's hope they are kind enough to return him. There is another forum you can post about him on http://www.africangreyforum.com/forum/ you are in my thoughts. Please stay strong and don't give up.