Kaleah

Just this morning I rearranged my living room, and then moved my desk and computer in there, so that I am now always where Kaleah can see me. And the noise continues. Yes, I realize parrots make noise, and I want her to be vocal, but this screaming for attention is almost more than I can take. It honestly is to the point where I am (sadly) considering rehoming her if she does not stop soon. I will not raise my voice to her, as she is a rescue and her former owners had been abusive...at least from what I was told. Because of whatever she experienced before me, Kaleah is a plucker and feather chewer. Aside from that, she's also very bonded to me. Any time spent perched on my shoulder she just regurgitates on me...almost non stop. Her wings droop and she whimpers. Because of this, I limit the time she spends on my shoulder. I do spend a lot of time with her, playing with toys with her (out of the cage of course), and even when I'm not in the same room I sing and talk to her, and mimic the songs she makes up. It doesn't seem like it's enough for her, though.

My CAG, Kaleah, has just started doing this. She's always been a quieter bird. She makes happy sounds, whistles her made-up songs, and uses the few words she knows...but recently she started making this chirping sound that is so loud and shrill it goes right through me. She mostly does it when I'm out of view, but will occasionally make this shrill chirp when I'm in the same room as her. It has a very demanding or urgent edge to it, but the second I move to where she can see me, or I tell her that's enough, she tells me 'hello' and the noise stops -at least until she loses sight of me again. I don't want to encourage this kind of behavior, but seeing as I live in an apartment I find myself doing as she pleases just to keep her quiet.

Kaleah has a thing for coffee. It's not good for her so I only allow her to have a sip once in awhile. She also like root beer, apple cider, milk, and has become skilled at drinking out of my bottle of water. And yes, they do have such a sense of entitlement. It's like "what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine and if you try to keep me from it I'll bite you!" Well, at least that's how it is in my house.

Yay for Timmy! It's great that he's talking. And you were so impatient about nothing at all. Can't wait to hear what else comes out of his mouth

She doesn't fly yet, so she's safe from those damn bottle for now . When she does learn to fly, then lots of things are going to have to be moved.

That was sooo cute! I'm always trying to get Kaleah to dance with me. Sometimes she does, sometimes she'll just ignore me. I'm not much for hip-hop, I prefer rock and metal, but Kaleah loves the hip-hop so she has her own little playlist that she likes to jam out to.

I was just doing dishes and decided to let Kaleah wonder the counter. Whenever I clean i always put her in her cage (as I don't have a play stand yet) so that whatever I'm doing doesn't freak her out, so this is a first for us both. She was enjoying herself a lot. Trying to break my coffee maker, trying to push clean dishes on the floor, knocking glasses over...just having a blast and being mischievous. A few feet down from my sink is a little shelf that holds wine. She started playing over there, trying to push bottles around with her beak. The more I heard the bottles knock together the more nervous I got. I looked over and saw her messing with the one nearly empty bottle. All of a sudden the bottle began to teeter with Kaleah right below it. I lunged for the bottle. She moved when she saw me coming, I must have looked like a mad woman, but the bottle fell. I grabbed the neck in time but the bottom pinned her tail feathers down for a second. She screamed and I had a mild stroke. After a thorough look over, Kaleah went back in her cage and I finished the dishes alone. I really need a play stand... Also, the wine has been moved to the top of the fridge.

I know most people are going to say that fresh is always best. But, I don't see why the frozen can't be just as good, right? Economically the frozen are a great way to go. They are cheaper than fresh and keep a lot longer. Fresh on the other hand is obviously great because it hasn't been cooked so it has more nutrients in it than it's frozen counterpart. Which do you buy? And is there really any difference between the two?

I love your posts! Always so much humor and love for your bird. But I agree with everyone. Timmy was too worked up from his move and his new neighbors. With the best intentions you tried giving Timmy a kiss, but Timmy had other intentions in mind. He was probably a bit overwhelmed and wanted to show your nose his displeasure with the situation. Almost like a little tantrum. Usually my Grey is very affectionate and a bit of a snuggler, but if I do something to piss her off big time she lets me know. I've had lots of bites and nips, but so far nothing major. I had a nice mark on my arm once. I bright red little indent with a crescent indent about an inch below it. I'm lucky she didn't put more pressure behind it because that would have probably required stitches.

I also have plastic baby toys. So far none are shredded but they are pretty banged up. My Grey loves playing with plastic bottles too. the only ones I ever give her though are water bottles. She likes taking the cap off and then the little plastic ring. When she gets one it's supervised play only. I'm worried about the possibility of choking so if I see that she's going a little overboard with the shredding, it goes in the trash.

I started off with Harrison's Adult Lifetime Course. I got it from the vet but Kaleah hated it. So I got some Zupreem fruit flavored pellets. I started mixing them in with her seeds last week. She always pushed them aside or put them in her water dish and went for the seeds. Over the last few days she has started eating them more than the seeds. I'm happy about that but now I wonder just how beneficial the fruit flavored ones are versus the regular or natural. It's got to be better than the all seed diet, which she was on when I got her.

Over the last few weeks I have been trying to transition Kaleah from her all seed diet to an all pellet diet with seeds, eventually, taking the place of treats. I started with the bag of Harrisons I got from the vet. She hated it. So I tried going another route. I bought a bag of Zupreem fruit flavored pellets. Thinking she would like them I've been giving her some mixed in with her seeds everyday. Usually they end up in the water dish or on the bottom of the cage. Over the last two days though I've noticed that her pellets are disappearing faster and the seeds seem to be eaten last. Yesterday's poops confirmed my thoughts. In stead of the usual greenish poops she gets from the seeds, her poops are now taking on a reddish brown tinge. Now I have to ask, how healthy is the fruit flavored pellets in comparison to regular pellets. The bag claims it's for daily feeding, but I'm not sure. Should I continue to get her accustomed to her current pellets until I can take out the seeds all together, wait a few months, and then begin transitioning her to regular pellets?

I never thought I could have this kind of love for anything. Sure, I love all of my animals, but it's a different kind of love I have for Kaleah. I can only imagine this is how parents feel when they bring a new baby home. I've worried so much about the simplest things, and I haven't cried this much in awhile. Yes, cry. Like when I took Kaleah to the vet a few weeks ago, I had her all ready to go in her carrier sitting in the kitchen. I was in the living room and walked passed her cage and just stopped. Seeing her cage empty made me feel uneasy. It made me think back to before I had her and I wondered what life would be like for me now without her. I burst into tears. In the short time I have had her she has already become such apart of who I am that I can't imagine a day without her. I love her so much and I tell her constantly throughout the day. I'm laughing right now because were I to say this to any of my friends, who aren't really "bird people", I would get lots of eye rolls and be told I need to get out more. But i know there's some people who understand me when I say that I feel guilty about leaving to go ANYWHERE, especially when it's for anything but work. Kaleah will scream for me as I walk out the door and it makes me feel awful. To rap this up, yes I am utterly and completely head over heels in love with my Grey. She adds a brightness to my day I didn't know was missing until I got her.

Thanks Dave. She has never pulled out feathers while being sprayed with water but she did while being sprayed with the aloe juice. I wonder if it was because of the smell. The action and feeling she knows but it didnt smell the same. I read somewhere that for misting Greys it's best to be close to them so that they can see what is spraying them. So that's how I've been doing it. She doesn't seem to mind getting wet, but I think the feeling of the water hitting her is what freaks her out.

It sounds like Timmy is doing great! If he was at all stressed out by what is going on around him, I doubt he would be as vocal as he is now. Keep up with the good work. I love Timmy updates and getting the sense of your enthusiasm with him. ALL people should be that stoked about their birds. I know my friends are to the point where they would rather choke me than hear another story about Kaleah. LOL

I think I'm going to try just wetting my fingers in it and scratching her. She loves scratches from mom and would let me do it all day if I allowed it. Sometimes she will bathe herself on her own in her water dish. She goes to town dunking her head in then whipping it up and flapping her wings, but it's not an everyday thing. I hate misting her because it upsets her but I know she needs to have it done.

Like some of the others, I too am a new parront. I have had Kaleah for almost 6 weeks now and things are going great! I'm not sure what advice I can give as far as him not wanting to perch on anything besides his cage and yourself, but I do understand what you are going through with the regurgitation. It was only a few days after I brought Kaleah home that she bonded with me. She panted and whimpered and did the "sexy wings" as you put it (lol loved that). It escalated to the point where I couldn't even enjoy our time together because of the constant advances from her. I even had to start putting cotton balls in my ears other wise I would have an ear full of slimy half eaten seeds. I took the advice I was given, which was to ignore the behavior and distract her. It took awhile, but I've noticed in the last week or two she only puts the moves on me maybe once a day.

Found the aloe juice and all the birdies got "bath" with it. The 'tiels loved it (of course) but Kaleah hated it. She got so mad she ripped out a feather . Not what I was going for but she seems less itchy now. Might try with another misting again this afternoon.

Well, I have been scratching Kaleah off and on for nearly an hour. I tried a few times to help pick off the keratin and got myself warning nips. I'm going to stop at Walmart on my way home from work tomorrow and get some colloidal oatmeal and some aloe vera juice if I can find it.

I do have some aloe gel that I got over the summer for a sun burn. I can use that? Never thought about using it before, but I'm more than up for giving it a try. Anything to make her feel better. And no, Birdhouse, I didn't think I should try to rub the sheath off, so I never have. Also, the ingredients on the back of the aloe gel bottle are: aloe vera gel, triethanolamine, tocopheryl acetate, carbomer 941, tetrasodium edta, dmdm hydantoin, diazolidinyl urea. It is alcohol and fragrance free. This is safe to use on her or should 100% aloe vera gel?

I don't have a sleep cage either, mostly because I don't have the room. I just cover the cage at night. I also got one of those sleep tents. Got it Friday and so far it is being avoided. Also, Malikah, that play stand is awesome. Did you make it?

As everyone said, I don't think there is really a difference in personalities between males and females. I have a 4 year old CAG and I am her second (possibly third) owner. She did come with some baggage that her and I have worked through but she is still VERY timid and a little aggressive when it comes to strangers. She bonded with me within a few days of having her, but I believe this is an exception to the rule. I got lucky. I think choosing to rehome or adopt a Grey as opposed to buying a baby is great. Yes, the babies are very sweet and cuddly and don't come with any baggage, but getting an older one comes with the advantage of knowing that you are giving this precious soul a chance at a great home and a wonderful new life. One it may have never had before. They all require a great deal of attention and commitment, no matter where they came from or how old they are, but what you get in return from them makes it worth it.

I have had Kaleah for nearly a month and a half. When I first got her she had plucked her neck and chest almost bald. Since bringing her home she had stopped plucking almost completely. Now she is full of new downy and pin feathers. The pin feathers seem like they are driving her crazy though. She is always scratching at her neck and loves for me to scratch it too, but I've noticed that some of the pin feathers are being pulled out. She doesn't seem to touch the down feathers at all, but she over preens the pins to the point where she pulls out one of two. Where ever she pulls one out I can see more more of the feather coming in behind it. She hasn't bled at all, as I know the pin feathers can have a blood supply running to them, so I haven't been overly concerned but I am worried that if she keeps it up she is going to fall back into the plucking habit. Something I obviously don't want. If I catch her messing with the new feathers I will scratch them for her, to keep her from wanting to pull on them. I mist her a few times a week. She hates it so I haven't tried with a full on shower yet, but I thought that might help with the itching too. Any suggestions? I love that she has so many new feathers coming in but I don't want her to be uncomfortable either. What can I do?

Sorry about the allergies and asthma, aside from the health problems you already have. I was born with asthma and I am also allergic to just about every animal there is. When I first got my Grey her nails were really sharp and whenever I held her I would end up with scratches that turned into hives. It's gotten better since her nails were trimmed though. I have also been told to get rid of my little "zoo", but I refuse. So I take a combination of Flonase and Zyrtec for my allergies, so I can enjoy my animals without difficulty breathing and chronic itchy eyes and runny noses. To me having pets out ways any allergies they may cause, so good for you choosing to keep your Grey.

Welcome and congrats on your new addition, Brody. Have fun with your new little guy! And lots of well wishing to your aunt.