Mawnee

Very cute! Thanks for sharing! Cosmo looked like that when we started! Now hes got better things to do than take formula form me

LOL!!! Thats awesome!

yep, been there. I had a cockatiel named Leo for many years. SHE eventually started laying eggs......so we just said Leo was short for Leona

lol thats why we chose a unisex name. I dont have the heart to have blood taken to find out for sure. Cosmo's personality certainly gives me a boy vibe though I agree with the others, keep the name! Your bird is used to it!

Glad to hear the good news!

That looks like fun!

^ I cut one over a week ago when Jay advised me to on the 11th(From 3 to 2 feedings). But it looks like it'll be time to cut another one soon. Lol its cute when Cosmo is like "leave me alone! I want to go play on my gym!" little guy wont even give me a chance to clean his face. I end up chasing him all over my desk with a washcloth

Cosmo has been on two feedings for a week now. He is still taking less and less formula. Usually after a few spoonfulls he just walks away to go play and/or squawks angrily if I offer more. I would say he eats less than 25cc per feeding. Then minutes later will happily munch away on his pellets and seeds He eats lots of pellets throughout the day. He is 10 weeks old today. Just a few weeks ago he would charge across the room and tackle me for the formula at feeding time. Now he is completely uninterested...hes got things to do! I'll continue to offer two feedings for another week. If he continues to refuse them I'll go ahead and cut him down to just a night time feeding.

Me too. It certainly is a special bird. I hope it lives a long and happy life At least we know it will be given ample opportunity to......procreate

um, all the negative effects in your post are said to be possible causes of random red feathers, not the other way around. Nothing there says that a bird born with red feathers should be any more inclined to have any such problem. Mutations in and of themselves are not defects or weakness.

You guys are making alot of negative assumptions. For the sake of your arguement you are suggesting that every bird that shows the red pigment has some kind of negative trait. Unless the breeder comes out and states that he is purposely breeding siblings or cousins that is a bit of a reach. Whos to say that red grey wont live to be 80 years old and be the kindest and most socialable bird ever seen? And please keep in mind I am not trying to upset anyone here. Simply trying to understand differing points of view. I respect and appreciate everyones input

Are you saying we should just not breed those birds with shorter lifespans, leser temperment ect? Is such a trait is directly tied to a particular color then we should jsut stop breeding that color alltogether? If he is mixing birds with low lifespans with birds of higher lifespans then its just a "cup half full arguement". Some would say he is shortening the lifespan of breed "A" while some would say he is lengthening the lifespan of breed "B" As far as the "mules", unless he is taking them out back and shooting them I dont see a problem there either. As long as all the birds bred are properly cared for who cares which bird they are allowed to breed with? The only way I'd have a problem with it is if he were to go out and release a bunch of reds into the wild population and pollute the wild gene pool.

I fail to see how any of that is different than the process used to breed our greys. How would this be any different than than me deciding to breed my grey. Then someone who got one of my babies deciding to breed that one....... and then one of those babies being bred. Yes he selected offspring who were best for breeding a desired trait(color). Then selected from those the best to breed and so on. I fail to see how that has any direct effect on full age, temperment or personality..... However, are you suggesting those traits are more "correct" to make breeding selections on over color? That would just be a matter of opinion, based on the assumption these birds should only be bred to be companions to humans.

But its not a hybrid. They are breeding greys with greys. Its not like they crossed it with a macaw or some such. They are simply choosing greys that show some red feathers to breed together. Its no different than the breeder that chose two healthy birds of a certain size or coloring when they put together a pair to breed your grey.

Forgive me for being the odd guy out....but I dont see the problem in this? You guys are acting like they dipped the bird in paint or something? It was born like this, not subjected to some coloring torture. They simply paired birds that had a chance to have a baby this color.

awww, what a cutie! Thanks for sharing!

Here in Florida they go for around $1000. * I paid $550 for Cosmo at 4 weeks old. But I can attest that it is not easy handfeeding and raising a baby through weening and fledging. It requires a life altering time commitment. The added cost to get one fully weened and fledged is well worth it. I would not recommend buying an unweened bird to save money.

This must be so exciting! Hopefully he starts speaking to you clearly soon Our Cosmo at nearly 10 weeks does lots and lots of jibber jabbering trying to figure his voice out. Lots of random sounds smashed together like croaks, coughs, raspberries, burps, "oooooooh!"s and "errrrrrr!"s. The only thing consistent so far is a cute gizmo sounding "uh oh!". I cant wait for him to find a real voice and start trying words

Gald to hear Charlie is home!

So glad Emma is safe and sound!

Anytime. And remember....patience! It will take time for your baby to learn. So dont get discouraged if you dont see results right away. Be calm and be consistent

All greys definetly dont hate touching. Its how it was raised. My baby is 9 weeks old and I can touch him anywhere. Under his wings, play with his toes(to clip the sharp tips off!), pet his whole body and even hold him upside down on his back. He runs up and cuddles with my hands and even likes to fall asleep resting his head on a hand. I dont imagine this will change in the next 7 weeks. He may want more time to play on his own, but I dont think he'll decide he hates hands out of nowhere at a certain age. Your breeder may have hand feed them, but that doesnt mean the baby was given the handling time and training necessary to be a well adjusted bird as soon as you take it home. Given time any bird can learn though, do not be discouraged. At 16 weeks your bird is still a baby As for treats keep an eye on what seeds your baby eats. I noticed mine tears into pumpkin seeds. So when I want to train I will pick most of those out when I feed him and offer them for positive reinforcement. With my cockatiels it was always sunflower seeds or millet.

I may be out of line here. But I feel the towel and touching game are both traumatizing ways to force contact with your grey. The touching game seems like something that can be fun for a bird that is already hand tame....but not so much for one that doesnt trust your hands yet. I would think both would give your bird the impression that being touched will always be accompanied by a forced or antagonistic situation. I would suggest finding a treat and offering treats while putting your other hand as close as the bird is comfortable with. Then offer more treats as the bird allows you to get your hand closer. This will let the bird know that your hands will always be accompanied with a good thing.

omg! Cute overload! good luck with your new baby

Keep trying! I'm sure you'll figure a great toy for George! We found something similarly scary for cosmo the other day. My daughter found a couple of those plastic easter eggs while cleaning her closet. My wife washed them and offered them to Cosmo. Lots of puffy bird growling ensued.