Lambert58

My Leo has a great musky scent that's all his own. Love burying my nose in the nape of his neck after he's just dried off from a bath

I'm going to piggyback on jayd's comments: but before that: I'm going to be an internet nazi and ask you to PLEASE use carriage returns and short paragraphs when you post. Walls of text will make folks just stop and not read. Leo and Willow (and now our conures) have gotten a taste for various things they shouldn't be chewing around the house. I've found that the key is to make them want something else more. We've become master toy makers lol. When our fids get bored, they want to do what they want to do instead of what you want them to be doing. It's really that simple. Our fids don't understand "no!" anymore than they understand "multiply!" It's just yelling and they won't associate your anger with their behavior... they'll just think you've gone mad and you run the risk of just making them upset. They're not dogs. Better is to just offer a more enticing alternative.

for the last year, I've taken Leo and Willow in the shower at least 2 times a week with me, sometimes more. Until today, they tolerated it. TODAY, though, I turned that knob all the way to "holy freaking cow it's freezing!" Willow could not get enough of it. She dove back onto my shoulder for 3 more dips after the first and flapped her wings and just had a ball! I'd read here in other posts that colder = better, but I didn't believe it until today. GO COLD!

I get sad when I think about this. We're both 42, and our greys are only 2 years old. I wish I'd known I was a lover of greys about 20 years ago. I constantly worry about the fate of our fids once we die. I'm sure I'm not alone.

Thanks for the kind words. She's not really a monster, but that's what I jokingly call her... and when I call her that she gives me "the eye"... you know what I mean

Our greys live with 2 GCCs and 3 Sun Conures that harass them daily. We have massive windows that expose them to all kinds of hawks, finches, quail, and various other birds that fly by the house. They live in a constant state of: "OMFG REALLY?" but we take them into the bedroom for about 5 hours a day where they're unmolested and where they do most of their relaxing. They've adapted to craziness somewhat, but we still make sure they get many hours of "private time" and that's where they do their relaxing and talking.

Our Monster from behind.

You've done great Tweedle. Pippa looks fantastic! I wish all fids got that level of love and care. I hereby award you the Monthly Golden Beak Award! (yes, I just made it up, but it seemed appropriate )

We weaned both our greys. Rescued them both from a chain pet store where they were kept in a fish tank with a military macaw We got Leo at 4 weeks old and Willow at 6. I was scared spitless, but was convinced I'd learned more about weaning by doing my own research than the clowns at that pet store so we brought them home. They both slept in a little cage right next to the bed until they were about 10 weeks old. I'd get up every 2 hours to check on them...didn't sleep much It all worked out just fine. I still have the feeding spoon I fashioned with a blow torch and pliers lol. I'll have to take a pic of it and post it.

I'll put our 3 Sun/Jenday/Gold Capped conures up against a Macaw in a noise making competition any day!

Shades, That looks like a troublesome crack! We give our flock a cereal mix every day that consists of: 1) 1 part baby parrot food (kaytee) 2) 1 part harrison's fine adult food 3) 1 part instant oatmeal 4) 1 tsp red palm oil 5) 1/4 tsp finely ground calcium (vet recommendation) 6) touch of cinnamon, or peanut butter... we change it up a bit Mix all that in hot (edible hot... little too hot for a baby fid but not by much) water until it's the consistency of oatmeal. It's easy to eat and we find it the best way to give the calcium and red palm oil. Might be a good way to make sure Tui gets a solid nutritious breakfast and/or dinner until his beak heals. Our greys, green cheeks and sun conures gobble it up like it's candy.

you should bathe them ASAFP. Get 'em wet, let them know it's part of the daily routine as early as freaking possible.

I really hadn't meant for this thread to devolve into a discussion over whether we're bird "owners" or bird "companions." Sorry if my choice of words offended. Lighten up people!

I missed the "d" in the title... sorry I was... inspecting

My wife and I are both 42. We realize our greys will outlive us, and we deal with the same issues you addressed. Our situation is actually near a point (with many other factors added into the equation) where I will likely stop working and just be a stay at home dad. I'm going to likely give up a six figure salary so that my wife can fully devote herself to her work and she'll never have to worry about our kids. And by kids I mean our 7 fids and 2 german shepherds. Our thinking is that life is too short to spend it slaving away so we can...pay taxes? Nope.

I live in Colorado... but if that's a Steelers poke I have 1 thing to say: SIX BABY! SIX!

Yeah... we went all full steam ahead and wanted to literally potty train everyone. But given that we have so many fids, the math came out to 28 poops per hour lol. A little much. so we just try to catch the first one in the morning and then after their afternoon naps. And as an aside: this is why we tore out the carpet and only have hardwood floors and tile now

Your fid drops a nugget on your arm and before wiping it off you inspect it to make sure it's a healthy poop.

" Readinger searched for her high and low, with the aid of a psychic, a pet detective, two bloodhounds and400 fliers. On traveling billboards stationed across Silver Lake, she offered a $2,000 reward for the parrot and described Lola's taste for "almonds, oranges and ice cream." Of course I'm glad Lola got home but.. "She had filled the house with her energy," said Friedenn, 71. I... Um... really? I'm so glad I don't live in L.A. WTF?

I hope that works out... Our greys think that a spray bottle is the Devil Incarnate. We've never done anything that would make them scared of it, but, lo and behold: they see the red nozzle and trigger and flee like it's a zombie hawk coming to get them. I actually had the nerve once to try and show them that it's harmless, and sprayed it in an un-offending direction...they F R E A K E D. So now, we place the spray bottle in places we don't want them to go (stove, top of the fridge, etc). So I guess it's useful after all.

Chilly's visit for her pedicure was only $13 US. It took all of about 5 minutes. Merlin and Maddox came along for moral support, and I think they all actually enjoyed the "adventure" of the trip to the vet in the pet carrier

That's a great post, and explains why Willow looks like the result of someone setting off an M-80 inside a pillowcase. We call her "cotton ball." What's interesting is that Leo, only 4 weeks her senior, looks all smooth and perfect. As a side note, has anyone else noticed that if you're around fids enough you can pretty much tell their sex just by observing their behavior? I guess it helps when there are other fids in the flock, but when we got everyone DNA'd, there was only one we were wrong on, and that's Dusty, our GCC that had his wing broken by our german sheppard, we thought he was a she. The other 6, when the vet called, we were like, "yup, figured."

I'm such a sucker for baby pictures! I'm going to say, but I'm sure you know: please do your best to educate the owner on baby fid care. Heck, volunteer to wean this precious fid for him? That is such a precarious stage, and we all know how quickly things can go wrong. Keep us updated because now I'm totally invested in this little guy's future

I'm a super weenie about nail clipping on the fids. Dogs? gimme an axe! Birds? I'm so scared I take 'em to the vet. Our youngest conure has 1 nail that likes to curl under so she gets frequent vet visits (last one was two days ago). I'm sure you already know, but strategic placement of conditioning perches works wonderfully. My other 6 fids have exactly 0 nail issues due to the conditioning perches, but Chilly just refuses to perch on them...maybe she likes going to the vet?

Yeah, lol, I sort of thought as much. We try to stereotype their behavior, but I'm constantly reminded that they're all just as much individuals as we are, and the answer is: "It depends..." Just like human children, though, I think that if you provide them enough direction and love early on, they'll develop in a healthy environment and will behave likewise. I'd thought this thread would be a mile long...as long as my uncertainty is about being a parront...but I guess it's just that simple.