Birdnut

Miss you, Jay. Come back and yell at me some more. I need it to keep me in line.

Maybe you can just continue to visit Betsy in the store and keep an eye on how things are going. It sounds like Betsy is in good hands for now. If you continue to visit and check on her, you will be able to ascertain if things start to go downhill with her. You might even find, with time, that you and Betsy begin to make a connection. On the other hand, I don't think anyone here would think of you as a "hoarder" if you decide to take her into her home.

All love and good wishes to Jay and Maggie, and anxious to have them back with us.

Wow! That's quite a story. It does sound like the bird gods were looking after your Baby. But sure sounded like a rough time for you! So glad to hear everything got sorted out in the end and hope the new job is going well.

Well, now, come on, guys. There are some pretty hot grandmas out there. (And I don't mean hot flashes.)

Yeah!!!! Good example of how a relentless search pays off.

Thanks for sharing this information. I will keep Jay in my prayers.

I will hold your Baby in my thoughts today. I will be stopping by the church to drop this prayer into the Miracle Jar, as I always do for these lost ones. Everybody, hug your birdies today. I think the idea of having fliers pre-prepared is actually a pretty good one.

Ah, yes. One for the bird toy graveyard. Sometimes you can pull those rejected toys out later and add some new twist and then they can be a big hit.

Thanks for the update. Sounds like things are moving in the right direction.

Was Cody confined to his cage for an unusually long time in the afternoon? These Greys don't like to poop in their cage sometimes and will hold it until they get out. Sometimes the poops can have a bit of an odor when they've been held for a while.

Kaleah: That's what's cool about the forum. We love to hear everyone's cool stories about their birds. And I love the Timmy updates ... keep 'em coming.

He's probably got a touch of red factor then. Red feathers can sometime indicate health issues, but with his red toe, I would think that what you're seeing is some evidence of red factor.

How about Maya, Flora, Nina (little girl), Chel (Maya for rainbow), Lima

Barbara, that's interesting. I think I have seen where greys with red factor can also have red toes or nails. Does Neo have any other unusual red in his feathers? My Moussa has a pale, salmon-colored red on the tips of the feathers around his legs. I think it's called "grizzling."

My Grey Moussa came to me eating Pretty Bird African Special, and he will still eat that. But if he has both the Pretty Bird and Harrison's high potency in his cage, he will choose the Harrison's. The Pretty Bird African Special must be pretty palatable, because the other birds will all go after it when they find it in various food cups on play stands around the house. My birds also like Zupreem Natural. Same as Barbara, they took to it immediately, so it must also taste pretty good to them. Birds are kind of strange. They can ignore a pellet and have nothing to do with it for months or even years, and then one day they just suddenly start eating it. So don't give up. I know you just need to get your bird started on something as soon as you can right now. But if there is a pellet you'd prefer to feed, go ahead and offer it along with whatever else you're feeding and keep it available.

I will leave cooked food for a couple of hours, but not much more. The way I think of it is I imagine a family holiday dinner. How long would I leave the food on the table for folks to come back and pick at before I would pick it all up. Or how long would I leave something out and feel comfortable eating it. I will leave raw fruits and veggies longer -- probably most the day, depending on what they are, as long as they stay clean and not contaminated with poop or anything. You can try putting these in some type of foraging toy, like the buffet ball or a kebab, to make them more interesting. But if you do so, be sure that you can thoroughly clean the foraging toy after each use. Stuff like eggs or cooked meat-type things I don't like to leave for more than an hour or so. Like Barbara suggested, try some different types of pellets. Also, try moistening pellets with a little bit of apple juice. You can't leave the moist pellets for long, kind of like cooked food, but it's a good way to get them started on them. Do you offer some nuts? You don't want to overdo them, but nuts are nutritious and a good way to get some weight on the little boogers. Good nuts are almonds, walnuts or cashews. I buy the raw or roasted, unsalted nuts in the bulk bins at the health food store. My birds are offered 1 to 3 almonds and a walnut half (depending on size of bird) along with their seed treat in the evening. They love cashews, so they get cashew bits as treats. They also get pine nuts occasionally as treats. You could also try mixing a tiny bit of natural nut butter in with cooked food; they seem to like the taste. They're more apt to try new things if they see you eating it (or pretending to). My Grey prefers to have his cooked mash from a small plate on the kitchen table while I'm sitting there on the computer or something. (I tell my husband Moussa prefers to have his food served in a civilized manner ) They also seem to be more inclined to eat when you're eating; like a social activity with the flock. Those are just some ideas I had. Just continue to offer a variety of foods and experiment with ways to present them.

I'm with you, munch. It's been a real challenge trying to find a way to get Moussa wet. He'll play with a dish of water, but he gets everything wet except himself. I've sprayed him gently with a spray bottle and he screams and carries on like I'm spraying him with acid, and then he's mad at me for a while. He will sit on the shower rail while a take a shower and so he does get a good dose of humidity regularly. He hasn't taken the plunge to fly down to me in the shower, but I figure if he just sees me in the water, maybe he'll conclude that the stuff isn't deadly after all. Sigh. They sure don't make it easy, do they?

Wow! That's all beautiful. We almost never see beautiful sights like that here in Central Texas. But we do have plenty of deer.

hammco: Thanks for the smiles. Isn't it amazing how these little dinosaurs can light us up!

Very worried.

Yes, that's it! Thanks. I figured it must be something like that. Poppies are also worn to commemorate war dead in the U.S., but it's done on Memorial Day in May. Also, the poppies look different.

Wow! What a beautiful, lush area. And some great photography. Who is the lovely wooden(?) figure near the water tap?

dw310: Did Morgan settle down and act normally after his initial reaction? I have read that one should not go off and leave a Grey for an extended period of time (I believe it was referring to time periods like a week or more) until after the first year. That's some reaction from Morgan after only a few days. He certainly had not forgotten you in that time, so he must have been mad at you.

A couple of days ago I was watching the BBC World News on TV and noticed that the news anchor, as well as several UK officials featured in some of the stories, were wearing these red pins on their coats. They looked like a red apple with a green leaf. This really got my curiosity up as to what the pins represent, and I thought maybe some UK folk here could shed some light?