JDS5607

AHH! I can't wait to meet your baby! Please post pictures as soon as he is settled in!

Thanks for the update! Can't wait to hear how he is doing this morning!

I bought Sully the harness that is similar to the aviator, but goes around the neck, through the wings and around the back and chest.. (I know it sounds the same, but it's not! lol) Anyway, Sully ends up rolling over and biting the thing... it was NOT successful at all! Do they make an ankle harness? Kind of like they do for training hawks and such? I just don't think Sully is the type to like anything that goes over the chest or under his wings! Oh- Good luck Barbara! I hope you have more luck with the harness next time you try!

Whatever decision you make regarding your baby's wings is YOUR decision. Do not let anyone else try to pursuade you otherwise, and do not feel you have to explain your decision. If your vet argues with you, explain that you have made your decision, and if he pushes you to choose another option, that you will find another vet. We personally clip our birds wings because that option is best for us. However, bird owners can only make the decision that's right for their flock, and I think it's GREAT you are so set on keeping your bird's wings fully flighted If you really believe that having your baby fully flighted is what is best for your bird, then that's what is best for your bird!!! Hope the vet doesn't give you any grief!

Woo hoo!!!! I don't know much about kopi, but I hope to hear lots of good things in the coming days!!!

Salt did nothing to my carpets... I wouldn't imagine it would do anything to yours at all! Try it on a small patch and see!

Thanks for the advice! I'll have to watch the video later- it wouldn't pop up for me!

Prayers for Kopi! What a FIGHTER!!!

Hi Boom! Thanks for the pictures! What a great cage! I hope you enjoy your new addition! Congratulations!!!

By the way- I really value everyone's opinions, and they are all useful to me! Jayde, Dan, Dave, please don't stop responding to my questions! I really appreciate all of your advice! <3

Thanks for your advice on training my bird everyone. I really appreciate any advice I can get on intentional training, because all the "training" i've ever done was saying something over and over to Zoe Ann or Joe until they started mimicking it. I have decided to try broken up pieces of banana chips. Ones that are all natural with no-added sugars and tiny enough to eat in one chomp! I'm sorry if I have ignited some sort of quarrel between a few of you, those were not my intentions. I was simply saying I had seen Einstein on youtube. I really hope that beautiful bird is not being starved! I certainly won't do that to Sully! When he wants to do the "tricks" or commands, he can... I just wanted to teach him that these trainings that I am doing with him are positive, then he can decide when he wants to do them Sound about right? Oh! And we started saying "bye bye" whenever we leave the house, and we're hoping he will pick up on that soon! Then we will start with "hello" in a couple weeks Thanks again everyone! OH! And one more thing... which is better to "train" on? A Table-top T stand, or casually, like on the door of his cage or while we're sitting on the couch? I've heard positive things about both

I feel kinda goofy, but Sully will be SIX MONTHS OLD on the 14th!! / Since my hubby and I cannot have children, Sully has absolutely become somewhat of a child for me, even more so than my other fids... and I can't believe my baby will be 6 months OLD!!! Anyway, I noticed his eyes have changed from pure black to a grey/ silver, and they seem to have a little tiny yellow tint to them already! When does the full yellow normally happen?? I thought that it was way after their 2nd birthday.

I chose a grey for a number of reasons. First, I have had two lovebirds, and two different species of Conures, and I felt as if our flock was missing something... I didn't know what though. So, we went searching for other birds. I would love to say that a grey was my first choice, but it wasn't. We were looking at larger birds. Hubby wanted a cockatoo (which I KNEW would be too loud for our apartment), I wanted a B&G, but my hubby wasn't too impressed with them...then I found something we both liked, and we found one on craigslist that needed adopting...so we went to adopt a Harlequin Macaw. Looking back, I was OUT OF MY MIND... He was a 19 year old BIIIG boy, with a "little" baggage. He was a fairly nice bird! We went to visit him, and I had been speaking with the lady about how I had wanted a B&G since I was little, however he was beautiful, and I wanted him so, she said she would sell him with his cage to me for $300!!! It was amazing, and we went to go pick him up! When I got there... HE WAS HUUUUGE. He was eating a crab claw, and cracked that thing like NOTHING! I spent hours with him, and he cursed, and screamed, and did everything that I was told Macaws did... but it was different than I expected. Anyway, I decided NOT to take him. I knew I would be scared of him, and the "little" baggage I was warned about, was more severe, including the fact he had been beaten. SO- I went home and started researching prices on baby B&G's, and I stumbled across a youtube video of a baby grey. That was IT. I fell in love, and before I knew it, had read everything I could get my hands on about greys. I guess what did it for me, was 1. They have personalities like no other bird. 2. They are managable, they don't need an entire room to habitate. They don't need MASSIVE toys (which ended up being what we got Sully anyway, lol) 3. I'm not gunna lie, because they have the best vocabulary. I wanted a bird that I could talk to, and would do more than just "peep"! Looking back, I would STILL purchase an african grey. I would STILL opt for the Timneh, and I would STILL pick Sullivan, with his big goofy eyes, and his formula covered beak

oh- and make sure NOT to use advanTIX, use advanTAGE!

SALT!!! I used foggers- which is dangerous because of the film it leaves on EVERYTHING... Not to mention, the residues left in the air. We had to take all 5 birds and three cats to my mothers for two days, and left the windows open. Also, foggers generally don't work on fleas. We used to foster kittens, and they were INFESTED with them. We had it so bad that our birds were chasing them on the floor, and I couldn't let the birds out for a loooooong time on the floor Anyway, we got all of our cats on ADVANTAGE. Frontline didn't work for us. Then, we bought 3 or 4 things of salt, and COVERED the floor in the morning, went to work, and came home and vacuumed the floors, and laid down more salt. It's the most agonizingly frustrating process EVER. The trick is, that the eggs are laid in the carpet, and the salt kills the eggs and any fleas on the floor. The advantage kills off the fleas on the dogs or cats, and stops them from becoming a safe zone from the carpet, not to mention cats and dogs will roll in the salt, thusly killing more fleas. The entire process took us about 2 months to completely RID our apartment of fleas... of course, that included trial and error. Even after you see the fleas gone, keep doing the salt thing for a week, and the advantage for another month. IT WORKS! Good luck!

Roseanna, I totally get what you're saying! With Sully, When he would honk, I would put some mushy food (just about a teaspoon) in his feeding dish, and let him eat it. That way, if it was the mushyness he craved as comfort, he could still get it. I was worried about him becoming dependant on me being able to feed him when he honked... so I tried that, and it worked! I still fed him in the evening, and after a couple of days he stopped honking! They say greys are like babies... wonder if sometimes they honk for attention?

Lol yaaaaaaaay! She certainly sounds like a happy Happy!

That's great!! lol, sometimes you have to experiment to see what they want! Another thing you may want to try is feeding her a little warm food (pear, carrot, etc.) right before bed. It's comforting to Sully, maybe it will be to Happy too? So glad you found something she loves!

Lol, I wrote this while you were writing your response Jayd Something I learned from you- iron in abundance is noooo good Why is that exactly?

Babyfood is fine, but actual veggies smashed up by you is better. Baby food is super high in iron, something Jayd has been quick to point out is not good in large amounts! Right Jayd?! The Smash is wonderful, and I use pumpkin instead of sweet potatoes... Sully cannot imagine a world without sweet potatoes Roseanna, a couple of days ago I posted a video of Sully honking... if you want, take a look and see if it compares to Happy's sounds http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?191075-Honking-and-trying-to-be-fed...

Dave- Grey't suggestions! Thanks! Jayd- I youtubed it before I got Sully, and was amazed at einstein.. the one who does all the tricks and talks on command! If sully can do just one word he will say upon cue, I'll be ecstatic! But I'm only expecting him to love me unconditionally forever and always. Not too much, right?

Dave, perhaps "tricks" isn't the term I want to use... I don't know, maybe more of commands? (well, requests...Lord knows you can't "command" a grey to do anything ) I don't know what I want to do, I just want to focus his attention on positive things, and perhaps give us something we enjoy doing together. He very much enjoyed learning to touch the stick today.. and the shrieking of myself saying "good boy sully-man!!!" and petting him and trying to fumble with my video camera to capture it!

Hi Roseanna! Welcome to the forum! Happy is absolutely wonderful! You're doing everything perfectly! It sounds to me like she may want some warm food... Sully made those noises too. I handfed him until he was about 4 months old, and just a couple weeks ago he started honking again. He would honk ALL DAY... even while eating Everyone pointed out to me that Sully may just be wanting some warm food, be it formula, mash (look in the foods forum) or something like that. We chose pumpkin, and he loves to eat it warm. It quieted that honking right away. I know that when greys come to a new place, and they feel uncertain, they often wish to be handfed again for a little while. If you haven't handfed before, I would suggest just warming up some oatmeal, pumpkin, or something soft (with no sugar) and feed it to her on a spoon Let us know how she's doing!

I'm ashamed :eek: I have fruit flies (or gnats)...I KNOW it's because Sully takes pieces of fruit or whatever and hides them UNDER his cage when I leave his door open... Clever...right? yeah.... something that I wish he WOULDNT do Anyway, Anyone have a clue as to how to get rid of them? Sully hates them too because when he's sitting on his cage, I will see him snapping at the air trying to catch them. There aren't A LOT, but enough to where when I put his food in his cage in the morning, they are there when I pull out the veggies at 10 or 11 o'clock. Annoying, dirty, and GROSS! Any help ?

Hi everybody! As you all know, Sully has been as absorbant as a sponge lately, and since I finished classes last week I wanted to begin training him to do simple tricks. Well, to my AMAZMENT, Mr. Sullivan picked up the "touch the stick" trick within 2 minutes. I'm unbelievably proud of him... but I had NO clue he would pick it up that quick! He's been hitting those "testing" moments where he knows he isn't supposed to do something, but he does it, looks at me, and does it again. As cute as it is, I think re-directing his negative behavior may be the trick to a better-listening Sully. Can y'all share the first couple of tricks you taught your fids? Also, can you suggest treats for him when he does a good trick? I gave him sunflower seeds today, but he is a SLLLOOOOOWWWW eater, and I had trouble getting him back on track after he took his time eating the ONE sunflower seed...and I want something I can give him tiny pieces of. I was thinking maybe rice krispies (no sugar). Thanks, as always, y'all are the best!! <3