DrTak

You misunderstand. A (normal) 5 year old has much more intellect than a parrot. Lulu can fly, and a five year old human cannot. That's about it, I am afraid.

I was not jesting. Comparing a parrot to a human child is a deeply flawed comparison. A human brain, if normal, has a great deal more potential and complexity. I think it is a gross disservice to anthropomorphize our birds.

Diatomaceous earth is another natural insecticide. It is a mechanical killer-- grates the little buggers to death. It works well on anthills and for roaches, but seems less effective for fleas. Cautions with it: Wet, it is harmless and useless. Dry, it creates clouds that should NOT be inhaled -- it can cause lung disease called silicosis. Also, DE is sold for pool filters, and for insect control. They are exactly the same except for price and warning labels. But, if you can believe it, there is a federal law with a fine in the US if you use pool DE for insect control. Don't tell anybody.

Gosh, Lulu has a dozen words and phrases at age 1. She uses the dog's name, Hey, No, all in context. I've seen 25 year old greys with prodigious vocabs, as well. But, as a (deleted because it bothered people that I mentioned my profession) and father of three grown children, I must confess I think you are delusional if you think a parrot talking is like having a five year old running around jabbering. Parrots are bright, they have amazing cognition and language. But if your CAG sounds like your 5 year old, I'd really worry you had an autistic kid.

Salt is not very effective, IMHO. What works best is Boric Acid Powder, available at drug stores. Sprinkle into carpets and vacuum out. Boric Acid is pretty low toxicity stuff -- you might not want your newborn eating off the carpet, but they used to use the stuff as eyewash (in a dilute solution.) A WARNING ABOUT GARLIC AND DOGS: They can only tolerate small amounts. Larger amounts, (and onions) can give a dog hemolytic anemia. Please, no accounts of how you always feed your pooch onions without a problem. The plural of anecdote is not data; just because you can swim alone does not make it smart.

Lulu is not a big leaf lover either, but she likes kale, softened just a bit in the microwave, and chopped.

Maybe the dye thing is exaggerated. I still think fish 'n chips tasted best out of newsprint!

We just ordered three boxes of the U-haul paper (by ordering 3, delivery was free) over the internet. It came about a week later, and it really works nicely, rather than the puzzle piecing of newspaper sections. Thanks so much for the idea!

There are a few infections that are either chronic. or may even be contagious. Psittacosis, for example, may be chronic, but is easily treated. Most of these things are tested for only once or so in a bird's life, as long as it is not being exposed to other Greys (or they are tested and safe, as well).

Sounds like you were hungry and stuck your parrot in an oven bag at 350. Supposedly, crows and parrots are the most intelligent of birds. More intelligent than some of the great apes.

Clearly, people's sense of smell varies quite a bit. It seems to be like hearing, where denial is part of sensory loss. Witness the elderly lady drenched in perfume who doesn't need a hearing aid either. Tweedle, there WAS a study a few years back that found a correlation between nostril diameter and olfactory acuity, so your comment about a big nose may be truth in jest.

Grain, dust, musk -- interesting descriptive words. It appears that there might be less nasal congestion on other forums: http://www.africangreyforum.com/forum/f29/grey-smells-1384/

I think a min max thermometer is a better bet. You can get them with alarms if temps get exceeded. They aren't expensive. For example: http://www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/rt8100mat.html

Actually, Greys can tolerate temps as low as 55 degrees, but they must be allowed to adapt. One degree per day is the rule. More important are temperature swings; if where your grey perches for significant amount of time varies by more than 15 degrees F (8 degrees or so C) in a 24 hour rhythm, your bird will be stressed; many advocate even smaller ranges (10 F/5C) Cold damp breezes are a no-no, but also watch out for warming your bird up too much during the day, if he/she will be having cool nights.

When Quillo, our German Shepherd died at home almost exactly two years ago, I thought I'd wait and get over my grief, and buy a new dog when the time was right. I could not stand the silence and lack of my partner, and ended up with a puppy less than a week later. Goliath is now 2, and is not a replacement for anybody. He is the best sweetest most reliable shepherd I have ever had. I only wish he'd live to 25 or so . . .