luvgrey

The Adoption and Rescue for Birds, Inc. - Margaret Ouali-Director, is located in Upper Darby, Penna. It is a non-profit organization and they ask for a donation when they take your bird for training/adoption. I first contacted South Jersey Bird Club and they referred me to Margaret. It is called JoJo the Grey Adoption and Rescue For Birds Inc. and the website is http://www.jojothegrey.org which is very interesting. I hope this is helpful if someone has a need as we did.

I received an e-mail from the rescue/adoption non-profit organization that came last night and took our "Makita" - who is now known as "Mollie". This organization is located in Upper Darby, Pa. and the Director, Margaret told me she can tell if a parrot is connecting with a person that wants to adopt it. They are not kept over 30 days because she doesn't want the bird to bond with her (trainer) - by this time they are usually always ready for adoption. The non-profit organization has a website if anyone is interested in it..... http://www.jojothegrey.org ----she wrote that "she" needs socialization and she does not like other birds. Of course, all our bird ever saw was us and our dog most of the time. We have a heavy heart and feel sadness as well over this hard decision. We only want what is best for "her" and pray she will be loved in her new home for many, many years.

After much thought and a heavy heart, we contacted the South Jersey Bird Club and a trainer/adoption lady came and took our 3 & l/2 yrs. old CAG today. We were so happy that she was able to take his large cage as well; it will be hard enough to be in a strange home but much better for him to be able to stay in his own cage. We made this decision after months of him being aggressive and biting us all the time. We feared for the safety of our poodle as well. We felt it was fair to research the best possible thing to do for him and we do miss him, but feel that he will find a happy home for many years. Thank you all for the many helpful hints and comments in the past - this is a wonderful forum.

Our AG is 3 yrs. old and we have had him since he was able to eat food properly. He was so young that he could not climb much, but matured to be able to get around the cage at an early age. He has a large cage with many, many toys inside and out. He seems very happy and talks some, but would rather sound like the dog toys or bark like the dog. He has always been more friendly to my husband, but never to me. I am home with him all day and he has a routine 12 hr. dark sleep time and 12 hours of being out of the cage and able to go in whenever he desires. He also has proper lighting everyday. Recently, he has been much more aggressive with his biting - has always been a biter but not to this degree. While offering a slice of apple, he will be eating it and all of a sudden reach past it and bite. In plain words, we no longer can trust that he will not bite. My husband lets him step up on his finger and he then swings down and around several times...now he swings back up and bites really hard. I always pray he will not fly off the cage while I am here alone, as I would not be able to pick him up. I have offered him a perch to step up on and he bites it. Is there any rehabilitation for this AG, as our patience with him are growing short? My husband was never totally afraid of handling him, but is now. My husband never displays fear, so we don't think he picks up on that emotion. Any suggestions?

Thank you so much for this information - I knew that there is no magic way to stop this chewing/plucking . I did not get the impression you said that Aloe would stop it altogether - I realized you were saying this would help the skin and maybe, just maybe he would stop. I think that he is into this like a compulsive thing now....I will get the recommended product you wrote about. He has always been a biter, more with me than my husband. He is not the type of bird that you would ever feel comfortable holding him for any length of time - no one will never try it except my husband. We are willing to try everything to help him get over this. I appreciate your qualified opinion in all matters - thank you.

I wrote several weeks ago about our 2 yr. old grey plucking under his wing. I had noted that the vet put him on a med like a birdie prozac (vet term). After one week we could not deal with having to towel him and stressing him out. Dave recommended Aloe Vera juice which I found in WalMart $4 cheaper than at Walgreens. I spray it many times a day and he is still plucking/chewing under his one wing to the point it is one-quarter gone. It is hard to spray him because he is like a Boa and can strike out at you when you least expect it; he bites at me all the time and I am the "hand that feeds him." Dave recommended Avitec.com for a spray - which one would I purchase for this problem? Thanks for any help you can give us - we are still trying to help him.

Monax - we just had to give our parrot some medicine and it was nothing but a fight - had to towel him on the kitchen floor every night. It was stressful for him and us, but we couldn't get the med into him any other way. My husband got biten every night - we had to use a syringe too and it is not easy. We hope you do not have a hard time doing this - the bird needs the antibiotic, so you will have to conquer this difficult task for his own good. Good luck.

The medicine is a liquid and we put it into a syringe to administer.....he sees it coming!!!!!

The medicine is Amitriptyline - I spoke to the vet today and he said to increase it to 1.25 from 1.15 - he told us how to administer it, but that is really a fight with the bird each night. We are disgusted with this and will look into the Avitec that was suggested. This vet is an avian vet and told me today that he might have to change the medicine in two weeks if no improvement. We really hate to fight with the bird every night just to give med. I asked the vet if I could put it on a little food and he said it wasn't advisable. We will keep you informed of any progress or change. Thanks for all your help so far....I appreciate it.

Our 2 yr. old grey started plucking & chewing the feathers under one wing in the winter. The vet said it was due to electric heat dryness. We bought a humidifier and used a spray called Rain and then Aloe spray. This worked for about a week or so, then right back to the same plucking. Back to the vet, blood work, trimming, etc. and he was put on a med like prozac - low dosage so far (9 days). The vet said it is now a compulsive habit. My husband has to towel him on the floor every night to get the med into his mouth - plus being bitten by him almost every time. Any suggestions on how to admininister the med. We do not see any difference in this behavior so far. Our bird does not like baths, except in his water dish, so we spray him every day. He is quite bitey and aggressive too, always has been. In plain words - not a nice fellow. He is not a great eater, but I keep trying all kinds of food and pellots for him. I am home with him at all times, he has plenty of toys and open cage all day. He says about 15 things and sleeps 12 hours straight - so that is his saving grace.....we keep trying.

Thenabrd: Thank you so much for this information on your birdie. This makes the treatment sound more assuring as a type of treatment for our bird's picking. We will certainly take him back to the vet if need be. Like our chldren, we will do everything that is necessary to keep them happy and healthy. Thank you for helping us understand the treatment would really help, and not make him sit in a stuper forever as we imagined. It is so helpful to hear other bird owners experiences - thanks again.

Wow, this little birdie sure has done some plucking - it is so sad to see it. Sure hope this improves - we know how the owner feels. Our AG is 2 now and about a month ago started plucking out feathers from his one wing. We were so concerned we took him to the vet. The vet told us it was due to having electric heat and not enough humidity in the air. He recommened Rain, a Aloe spray, and getting a humidifier. We did both and he improved for about 2 weeks, now he is back to picking at the same area. We do not find feathers like before, but he is aggressively going at the same area under his wing. The vet said they can become obsessive after once picking at an area, and the next step would be a "birdie Prozac" - did anyone ever hear of that treatment? Who wants a birdie that sits on his perch in a stuper - we do not want to do this at all!

You are wonderful to even take this birdie into your home - good for you. We find that our AG is happy most of the time, and we feel that part is due to having so many toys to play with and lots of attention. We rotate them periodically to keep him busy. We even got leather shoe strings, braided them and tied them to a pirch - he loves it. He has a play area with a java tree on top of the cage too. We only put him in the cage when he goes to bed or we are going out. He goes in and out at will and is a very happy bird. He only says about 8-10 things so far and he is three. He loves the challenge of getting unsalted peanuts out of the fledging toy. Now, don't get me wrong - he will let us know when he doesn't want to be bothered. Good luck with your bird, and I'm sure he thanks you in his little birdie way for giving him a good home.

Our three year old AG had his beak and nails trimmed about 2-3 weeks ago by a vet. About a week now we have noticed he is constantly picking at his nails. I called the vet and he was to call back - guess what???? no call yet. Could there be some reason for this behavior that I should know about? I clean his many pirches with vinegar and water - he has all kinds of pirches, even a java tree. Otherwise he seems happy and is eating well. I even checked for the three colored poo and that is fine. He is not a big vegtable and fruit eater tho - I give him apples, yams, mixed vegtables, broccoli, potatoes, rye bread and anything else he will eat willingly. Thank you so much for any info you might be able to give us - we worry about our animals like they are our children. These birds can be sick and us not know it until too late we have heard. Our vet just lost his 35 yr. old AG - it had a throat tumor. So, even the doctor couldn't save his beloved pet - too sick before he was aware of it. Thanks!!!!!

We do not attempt to trim the claws of our parrot - we take him to the vet because usually by this time the beak also needs trimming as well. We had his nails done about 3 weeks ago, and about a week now we have noticed he is constantly pulling at his nails, first one foot, then the other. I put a call into the vet about this, but do any of you experienced, seasoned parrot owners know what could be the problem? We have never seen him do this before - he is eating and seems happy otherwise. We have checked his feet and they look good. Thanks for your ideas if you have any at all from your experiences.

Wow, just think - out of hundreds of people on here you live near Bird Paradise - we are about 50 miles south of Burlington, so I order online at times. We have been there two times - it has such wonderful things, anything you could want. I will use the newspaper on the bottom and get some of the other paper stuff that they have - I will try it and see how it works. Anything is better than having these moths flying around. Our local pet store stands firm that they are coming from the bird food - I don't think so now. Thanks for your helpful information - I will look up the coupon they have. I ordered the moth traps from there and received them in about 3 days. Do you ever watch their TV show? P.S. any ideas to stop these little parrots from biting, he is almost two now - ha?????!!!!! I compared him to having a snake - never know when he will bite you HA! Don't get me wrong - never will have a snake in this house - a husband, parrot, poodle & moths are enough for me.

Thanks for your reply. Our cage has a top play area where he sits alot - so newspaper would not work in that area, but would on the bottom under the grate. I will keep trying to beat this problem. Thanks again.

Thank you so much for your input - what type of bedding do most people use for the cage (to catch poop)? I did see on a website (Bird Paradise in Burlington, NJ) that they do not recommend corn cob because the parrots like to eat it. We do not observe our grey eating any of the corn cob, but tonight when we changed the cage, it seemed as if the moths tripled in number, on the wall behind the cage, leading me to believe they were in the corn cob. Bird Paradise uses some sort of crushed, colored paper on the bottom of the cage, ever seen it? Thanks for your help (eke, there goes another one right past my face) and I didn't get it. I did try newspaper at first, but he kept trying to tear it up. Thanks again.

We do not feed our AG seeds, mostly pellets with added fresh vegtables. He does not like most fresh food, but will eat cooked mixed vegtables, apples and yams. We use corn cob bedding in the cage and have just noticed many little brown moths around the cage and other rooms in the house. I do not put many pellets in the bowls so I can change they frequently. I have noticed some powder in the bottom of the bowls at night when I change them. Are the moths from the pellets, as most sites claim, or could the moth larvae be in the corn cob bedding??? I keep the bag of pellets in a plastic box with a tight lid. Should I freeze the pellets for 72 hours to try to kill the eggs? I did get two moth lore traps and have caught about two dozen on them. Thanks for any information you can give me on these pesty little critters.

Our African Grey is 16 months old now and not even attempting to talk. We purchased him when he was just weined. He can mimick the microwave, oven timer, coffee pot, doggie toys, etc. and makes many, many sounds and whistles. We started with the word "hello" and repeat it frequently all day. We say other words to him, but he doesn't seem to be at all interested in talking. Is there a method to teach talking? I know that some parrots talk sooner than others; is there a way we do not know about? He should know the words "stop that" very well also, as he is quite the biter.

Dave: This information is why I just love to read the posts on this forum. You are all experienced bird lovers and know the best way to accomplish having a happy and healthy bird. Thanks again to everyone that answered my question - I appreciate reading everything each of you have to say.

Thank you all for your great ideas and information. We were also thinking of getting the infrared heater like the one you have. We certainly did have the wrong idea about the temperature - we thought because he would puff up and sometimes seem to shiver that he was cold. I do spray him with water every day and he does not seem to be dry. We will try to lower the temperature. Actually we kept the heat about 71o the first winter we had him, so we will now try lowering it again. Thanks so much for your input.

Our African Grey is one year old and is in the living room in a large cage. My question to you experienced bird lovers is the correct room temperature. He seems to like it really warm, but this necessitates our electric heaters to run constantly. The room temperature is around 72-74o most of the day when he is actively climbing in and out of the cage, and I turn it up at night while he is sleeping to between 73-75o. We have been considering a heat panel (found online) or purchasing a oil filled little space heater to have near his cage. Do you have any suggestions for heating or recommend the proper temperature for him? Thank you so much for sharing your experiences on this forum.

Kim: Welcome to the forum! Your pictures are great - I keep saying I wish I could post pictures, but can't figure it out even with instructions on some of the treads. Thanks again, enjoy seeing these wonderful pictures. Donna

Hi, thanks for the beautiful pictures of your bird - only wish I knew how to post a picture, I haven't even figured out how to put a smiley face on here yet. I guess you can tell I am "recently hatched" as well. Your pictures are great, what size is good to post???? I have a 8 mo. old Grey and they told me that only a blood test can determine the sex. I named him Makita, whether it is a male or female is of no importance to me, I am going by what the seller told me. Welcome to the forum, you can learn so much by reading what the experts have to say on here.