Birdnut

Oh my, Louie is so beautiful when he spreads his feathers. He does seem to be having a good time and very comfortable in his new home. Have you thought about bringing in a translator to see what it is he's saying?

Yeah, Pepper is a looker, and he so knows it!

So sorry for your loss.

Elvenking, I have noticed the same thing about the forum and relatively young birds. Maybe it's just the enthusiasm of the new bird that tends to bring people to the forum. You know, like parents tend to have tons of pictures of the kids as babies, and as they get a little older, the parents are less into taking a picture of every cute thing they do. I have met a CAG who's at least in his 30s. He's sort of the store pet and lives behind the counter at the pet shop where I trade. It's my understanding he was a wild caught bird. He belongs to one of the store managers, who inherited him from a family member. He seems to be healthy and doing well.

@Jayd: Please don't shut up. I rely on your input. Thanks for the very informative link. Judy, I have certainly considered it. I just worry about it lingering in the shop, losing its tameness. The link Jayd provided mentioned that they need constant handling to maintain their tameness, and this baby is not getting that. When she (I think it's a female, but not sure at what point the beak colors differentiate) was first put out, people picked her up and admired her a lot. She's a very handsome bird. But you know how it is, if the bird doesn't come to them, or immediately allow them to pick it up, people just move on to a friendlier bird. (Like one of the amazons clambering for attention ) And, like I said, it's an expensive bird. For what they're asking, a person could get an amazon or a grey or one of the caiques clowning around in the next pen. They used to have staff in the bird area of this shop that did a much better job of handling the birds and keeping them well socialized and tame. I think they also did a better job of informing potential buyers about the birds. But I just feel like I have enough birds to take care of and to give them the attention they deserve. I know my husband would strongly discourage me from acquiring another. It's just hard to watch this sweet, gentle bird lingering in the pen, losing its tameness. Sigh. I wonder if this type of bird can be retamed successfully.

Has anyone had any experience with Derbyan parakeets? There's one in our local bird store that has been there for a while. It's become very shy for lack of handling and runs away from your hand. I can get it to play with me if I pick up a toy, but it won't let me touch it. I'm a little concerned about this sweet little bird, as it's very expensive due to its rarity, but not doing a very good job of selling itself. I always had to see these babies linger in the store for very long without finding a home.

Birdhouse, thanks for sharing these photos. Kura is certainly a beautiful bird. I found your story very interesting, as I have a blue-crowned conure female who has been doing a similar thing. She bites the green feathers off a small patch on her belly. It's not really like plucking, as the grey down feathers are still there. She also does this in the spring. This feather damage will suddenly appear. She just does a small area, and then she stops and doesn't do it any more. Then when she does her big molt in late summer, the feathers come back in and she is fine until spring. We have been through this cycle twice now with her. I was wracking my brain as to what was going on with her. First I quit caging her and her brother separately and let them roost together, as I thought she might be frustrated by the separation. Then I was afraid she had been bitten by an ant or something. Her vet examined her and found no problems. But now, after having seen this cycle happen more than once, and after reading about your experience with Kura, I am convinced that it is related to the breeding cycle. I hadn't noticed it associated with a change in behavior, but I will watch more closely for this. You have certainly had a much greater problem with Kura. I hope some of your research will yield some helpful measures for you to take. Also, thanks for your response to my inquiry about female ekkies. Kura certainly sounds like she is a very sweet bird when she's not being hormonal.

It has been really interesting reading about amazons on this forum. I had no idea they could be cuddly. My impression from some of the amazons I have seen in our local bird store had been that they are a tough bird to take on. In fact, my husband got a couple of pretty good bites from amazons there. But right now they have several lovely blue front babies there that are really sweet. And they have a yellow head there that answered my greeting when I walked in the other day. You're so right about the different species being so different, Jayd. If I had to explain it to a non-bird person, I'd have to say it's not like the difference between breeds of dogs; it's more like the difference between a dog and a cat, or a dog and a horse. Totally different.

Why, Jayd, a person could get the impression that you like amazons!

Now, Jayd, you're makin' me want a zon! LOL! (No more birds - repeat - no more birds!) This does sound like a good choice. I guess I was thinking of smaller parrots with liability issues in mind, as the larger parrots are capable of a more serious bite. Part of the learning experience in this classroom would need to be how to behave around a parrot. I imagine 5th graders are capable of learning this very well.

Hmmm. I am thinking that an African Grey might not be the best choice for your classroom pet. They are one of the more challenging parrots to keep and manage. I don't think it would be comfortable with the quick movements of children; many of them are uncomfortable around young children. Would this be your pet that you would bring with you to the classroom? A 5th grade class is going to be there for a term, and then they will move on. I wouldn't get a parrot for a classroom project, unless it is going to be your bird that you are committed to keeping and caring for and then sharing with your class. If that is the case, I would suggest something more like a conure, whose energy more matches the energy of children. Sun conures are beautiful and playful, and blue crowned conures are clownish and can be wonderful talkers. Show your class the movie "Paulie." Just my opinion. I am very interested in what others think about this ....

Yeah. Our birds went kind of weird during and following the recent tropical storm and floods in our area, especially the cockatoo. I'm guessing it's probably the weather. I'm thinking they can probably sense the change in atmospheric pressure.

Happy Hatchday to Kito!!! (Love the name toy!)

What a clown!

I just want to thank Dave and Jayd for the useful information provided in this thread. This one had me getting out my little notebook I keep for the birds and taking notes. I realized I have not been offering Moussa enough protein foods. Will correct immediately. This forum is like a continuing course in bird keeping. They should offer continuing education credit for it!!!

Yep! For some reason, colder water seems to stimulate them to bathe. I've noticed that with all my birds. It makes me wonder why, since there can't be much really cold water available in these tropical climates. ???

Elvenking: Looks like a great toy! Thanks for giving me some ideas.

Thanks, Dan. I will certainly never forget that day.

Moussa is a big, handsome boy who weighs between 440 and 450.

Jayd: You know, I think Pretty Bird has changed the formula on the African food. I have a bag sitting in front of me right now. It's called "Pretty Bird Species Specific: African." The ingredients are mostly the same as what you quote, but instead of the BHT, it lists Rosemary Extract and Mixed Tocopherals. It still contains the artificial coloring, which is certainly not ideal, but it does look like they've taken out the BHT.

Moussa came to me eating Pretty Bird African Special, and he has shown little interest in other pellets I have tried to introduce. But he also doesn't eat many pellets, so I have not been too pushy about it with him. I have introduced Zupreem Natural, at your recommendation, and have had really good acceptance of it from the conures and the pionus, especially. I have been gradually phasing out some of the other pellets in the bird room. I have left the Harrison's high potency, as a couple of my conures are doing their annual major molt right now. I encouraged our bird store to begin carrying the Zupreem Natural and they are offering it in their bulk section now. Moussa's cage is in the living area of the house; not the bird room. I have been adding the Zupreem in with his seed and nut treat in the evening to see if he will begin trying it. I did read the ingredients list on the Pretty Bird African Special, and I did not see BHA. Did I maybe fail to recognized some long fancy scientific name for it? Or maybe the African Special is a different formula?

Sounds like Yoshi enjoyed her stay at the pet shop, followed by a very happy reunion. Yoshi certainly sounds like a very confident, outgoing grey. It sure must make things easier and reassuring to know you have a place you can leave her when you need to be away where she is comfortable and happy. (There's just this little naggy voice in the back of my mind that worries a little about whether she might have a chance of being exposed to some disease there).

Some of mine play this same game with their toys, throwing them on the floor and calling out, "Uh, oh!" Then they expect me to retrieve it for them so they can toss it again.

Boy, what a confusing issue these pelleted diets are! I think Harrison's is supposed to be an excellent pellet. There have been some heated discussions here about problems with the presence of soy in the diet, and there is soy in the Harrison's. But I know there are some parrots on this board who are thriving on it. Most of my birds are loose in a bird room during the day, and they are fully flighted. I have feeding stations around the room with a variety of pellets and also pans of fruit & veggies, or cooked mash. There is such a variety of birds in there (parrotlet to cockatoo) that I offer a variety of pellet types and sizes, including Pretty Bird, Roudybush, Harrisons, and Zupreem Natural. In a situation like this, there is no way I can control the amount of pellet that is consumed by each bird. I weigh each of the birds periodically to be sure they are getting enough to eat and maintaining a healthy weight. I do think 1.5 to 3 tablespoons doesn't sound like much for a grey, even though we know Tobie is also eating other healthy foods along with the pellets. And we all know that not all the pellets are consumed; many are tossed or only partially eaten. I think you can probably just keep pellets available to Tobie to eat what he wants and just check his weight periodically to be sure he is maintaining a healthy weight. I'd be interested in what others think about this.

So maybe there's hope for Moussa, 'cause he hates to get misted.