Birdnut

Some may disagree, but a bird training expert in whom I have great confidence assures that there is nothing to the height issue, as far as dominance goes. However, getting your Tui down, if he doesn't want to come down, is another issue. We have a hanging cargo net and other toys hanging from the ceiling in our bird room. The birds love to hang out on these. So far, we have not had much problem with getting the birds down, as they will come down to us on their own because they want attention. In the past, when we have had a hanging gym and needed to get an uncooperative bird down, we have stepped up on a little stool and unhooked a corner or two of the gym and gently lowered it. Perhaps you could design your gym to hang from a frame that can be lowered, if needed. You could also work to teach Tui to come to you when called. Moussa is usually quite willing to do this if he knows that we have a pine nut treat for him. He will fly to us from across a room for this reward. Teaching Tui to fly to you from the gym when called would be a great step toward recall training. This brings up the question, does Tui fly? I don't remember if you have said. If he does not fly, or at least flutter strongly for a good distance before going to ground, I think I would hesitate to put a playgym up that high. You certainly wouldn't want him to have a fall from that height.

Thanks to Malikah for this link. Whether you agree or disagree with Dr. Mercola's positions, it is certainly a good practice to "consider the source" of information.

I made the Mike's Manna Mash recently, with a few alterations, and have been offering it to Moussa. He seems to like it and spends a good bit of time munching at it. He also seems to pick out his favorite bits. Blending is probably a good idea, as then all the components are mixed well and the bird would get a more balanced mix of foods. I'll have to try that. Moussa loves to be fed from a spoon and would probably enjoy some that way. (I think it makes him feel babied.) Another tip I saw is to mince the greens up really fine, so they stick on everything and are more likely to be consumed, rather than rejected. I have also been reading about Shanlung's procedure for making his Tinkerbell Mash, and I want to try some version of that. You can just google "Tinkerbell Mash" and find those recipes. I also fix Jayd's "smash," and Moussa really likes that. It is certainly a big job to make these mashes, but they do make a nice big batch to bag up and last for a while, and then it is very convenient to feed. I am trying to prepare and offer more of these home-prepared mashes and more fresh fruits and veggies, and less of the commercial pellets (although the pellets are available at all times, if he gets hungry for a snack). I laughed at what you said about your sister-in-law. Actually, we would probably all be better off if we just ate the same healthy foods that we prepare for our birds!

And bird lover lovers!

Yes. I have started making and serving a similar mash. I would like to move away from feeding commercial foods and focus on fresh fruits and veggies, and home-prepared mash, with a few seeds and nuts as treats. So far, Moussa has been very willing to try whatever I offer him. I think this is good advice for feeding people, as well! (leaves and goes outside to smell roses.....)

Greetings Ray, and welcome! My, it sounds like you have a regular zoo there! I'll bet you do have some great stories to share, and I am looking forward to them.

@Shanlung: Your post cracked me up. Thanks for sharing this alternative viewpoint. Certainly no one can say that your birds have not been in excellent health. It sounds like you do agree that it is probably best to avoid the commercial products with soy, as surely they do not have the knowledge and have not taken the care to prepare the beans properly as you describe.

A few suggestions (not sure if any of this will be new information to you): Spend time around the bird without looking directly at him; just hang out. Occasionally, look up at him and talk to him from the other side of the room. No pressure; just hanging out. Blinking your eyes is reassuring to a bird. I read an article that said that making "shhh" sounds is soothing to a grey; I have found this to be helpful at times when meeting a strange bird.

Hi babysweet. Whew! What a difficult problem. I'm not an expert by any means, but thought I'd share the impressions/thoughts that came to mind on reading your posts. As Dave suggested, anything could have spooked and terrified this bird. It's going to be helpful if you can talk to the past owner, but it sounds like the owner may have no idea what happened, either. Here are the images that flooded into my mind: Something, whatever, so terrified this bird that he panicked and did the instinctive thing, which was bolt and fly away. But here he encountered the fact that he was in a cage. The cage that had been his secure home suddenly became a trap. The harder he struggled, the more trapped he felt, and he struggled even harder. His terror became focused on the restraint of the cage, itself. His panicky thrashing caused injury which seemed to be inflicted by the cage. (Have you ever seen a wild animal in a trap?) His struggling ended only when he was so exhausted and so flooded by fear, he was immobilized and helpless. Haven't we all had nightmares like this, where we are confronted with some terror and unable to run away? This is a regular theme in nightmares, which suggests to me that it draws on a deep level of the reptilian brain, which parrots would share with us. If there's anything to these impressions, then the cage itself is now a source of terror -- like someone that has suffered torture in a small, windowless room, and now experiences panic attacks when they find themselves in a similar room. I say this, because from what you say, it sounds like Jakob feels the least terrified when he's out of the cage. Would it be possible to manage him without confining him to a cage and see how that goes? If he is on a comfortable perch and the lights are turned out, he's unlikely to move around until daylight. You are certainly a hero if you take this poor creature on. My heart goes out to you and Jakob.

My conure sings a song. She sings it all day long. "John Jacob Jingleheimer," She seldom gets it wrong. New word: cage

I like this Paradise Perch and Go travel carrier. It's acrylic on the sides, but has stainless steel bars on front and back for good ventilation. It fits nicely on the car seat and straps in nice and secure. The handle also doubles as a perch. Don't know about its availability in the UK. http://www.birdsupplies.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=CAI50002 Tweedle: The adventure pack you got looks really cool. How big is the door opening? Easy for a nice big grey to go in and out?

No, no, no. Don't beat yourself up. You were doing what you thought best at that moment. Take it as a learning experience. And one of the things you learned is she is not the vet for you! Take the lesson and move on.

Tweedle, I didn't read your post as supporting punishment at all. And I agree that withdrawing one's attention is an appropriate consequence of undesirable behavior. If that's a type of punishment, then I agree that type can work. I will turn away or walk away from the bird, but just for a minute or two; then I return and greet them happily like nothing happened. I've noticed that it is very effective with some of our birds, and not with others. But like you, that's as far as I want to go with punishment. Oh, and thanks for the book recommendation, I'm downloading that one on my Kindle as I type. I agree, GoDiego. After all, it was us humans that went out and captured these creatures and forced them to join us in our lives.

I don't know all about the "theory," but in real life, I have found that punishment doesn't work with birds. You can choose not to use punishment because you think it's the wrong thing to do. I don't use it because there was a time when I tried it, and it just doesn't work. Birds are very smart and quick and are really good at working their way around any punishment you might attempt. Any negative interaction with a bird tends to get escalated. Here in the central Texas area, we have a resident training expert: Barbara Heidenreich. She promotes positive reinforcement as the way to train and manage any behavior issues with birds. She has applied her techniques to training birds for free-flight shows, zoos, and many other facilities around the world. She teaches parrot owners to be kind and gentle with their birds, and to focus on building a relationship built on trust. If you wonder if she knows what she's talking about, try googling her name and check it out. I think I'll take Barbara's word for it.

What an awful experience! We put so much trust in our vets, and it's so disturbing when we're let down. Elvenking is right. Never hesitate or feel embarrassed to just snatch your bird up and head for the door. Surely you'll have a much better experience at the avian vet. But it's always good to ask around and get some opinions about a vet, if possible.

My birds love Caribbean Bounty from Goldenfeast.

Thanks, Tim. All very useful information. As you say, why take a chance on feeding something questionable at best, when there are other options? I've been using lentils a lot for some time and am glad to hear it confirmed that they have a good protein content. I have been cooking a grain and rice mix and adding lentils and split peas to the mix. This is the "base" I have used to add other cooked or fresh veggies and fruit to. The lentils and peas are really convenient to use, since they cook right along with the grain in my rice cooker. I am definitely going to take this information into consideration in choosing pellets to offer the birds. I have some of the TOPs pellets on order, and we'll see what they think of those. I was discussing this issue with the proprietor of the bird store we deal with the other day, and she commented that these questions are a very good reason to feed fresh foods.

GoDiego, you are very wise to look into this question. We cannot assume that just because something is being marketed for birds, that it is safe for our birds. Ultimately, we are the ones responsible for what we hand to our birds. Glad to hear the cinammon sticks are okay. One of our birds seemed to enjoy chewing on them when we tried the Cockatoo Supreme mix.

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I've noticed that just about every commercial bird pellet includes soybean meal as a primary ingredient, including some premium pellets like Harrisons, Zupreem Natural, etc. Do you think this is a problem in this form? I did note that the TOP (Totally Organic Pellets) pellets do not contain soybean meal.

I read Alex & Me and loved it. Some of the anecdotes are amazing! I love the one where Alex purposefully gives wrong answers when he's tired of working or being obstinate. BTW: We were in a local jewelers today, who is also a bird lover, and he mentioned that he read that Einstein had recently died. I wondered if anyone else had heard of this.

Congratulations! It's a boy! Blue balloons! We have a boy, too, so I guess we'll find out what that's like, too. Maybe we can commiserate together and shake our heads and tsk! tsk! tsk! over our boys' antics.

This news sounds encouraging. Thanks for the update. I think everyone here realizes what complex creatures these are and that a plucking problem can sometimes seem to come out of the blue. I think your first molt theory is about as good as any. Try not to be too stressed and anxious, as Tui can pick up on that. That's a really cool story about your mom. Sounds like the universe is trying to give you a message. I dropped Tui's name in the "Miracle Jar" at church last Sunday evening (along with a couple of other of "our" birds here on the forum who could use some healing). Never hurts, huh?

Most of our birds love cashews, so a cashew bit works well for us as a training treat. For Moussa, I have been using pine nuts. Pine nuts are really expensive here, but a little bit goes a long way, if you only use it as a training treat. Also, the pine nuts are a nice small size, so Moussa consumes them quickly, which is important for a training treat.

I can't answer your question for sure, but I do know that cinnamon sticks are included in the Cockatoo Supreme treat mix made by Goldenfeast.