FirstPenguin

I too got a fledgling that was on Zupreme Fruit Blend. I feel the big thing for them is texture. It seems like all the zupreme pellets are manufactured the same way and share a similar texture. I switched my 7 month old to Zupreme natural and give him a mix of zupreme natural and totally organic pellets. I've yet to see a significant dent in the TOPs I've been giving him. At least for now he's eating something with out the heavy dyes.

Sounds like baby honking to me and seeing by how dark those eyes appear (though hard to tell with the quality of the video) it's just the baby grey version of "FEED ME! FEED ME!"

Thanks, I am enjoying it. Especially since I got my girlfriend and I into birds and one and only Senegal was bonded to her. My girlfriend has been reporting that when I have to go out and she's alone with him he seems to be looking for me like our Senegal does when she's away. So I'm crossing my fingers he's going to stay this attached to me.

We've had Elwood for almost 3 months. He's been great so far. He's very social and at thanksgiving spent time with my mom, brother, and as usual my girlfriend. At 7 months old he now says a fairly clear, "Hello" and, "How are you?" So polite he is, hopefully NYC won't rub off on him. Thankfully he doesn't really have a middle toe, so he could never be a true New Yorker. So far he's not a biter, gives me a light squeeze sometimes to tell me he doesn't want to be picked up a certain way etc. Here is Evie and Elwood in their homes away from home patiently awaiting the humans to stop cooking and get to eating on thanksgiving day. Post Bath Time I see you!

I'm not really concerned with any of that. Mainly, whether the warming feature will help ward off any micro organisms, and if that heating element will be teflon coated.

I spent a lot of time looking for a rehome and never came close to a situation that I found that ideal. Have either of your birds been to a vet? I thought you were supposed to quarantine a new bird?

Great pictures. Welcome. Have you tried giving her actual popcorn? what does she call that?

Any thoughts on something like this that gives you both options, it's using the ultrasonic method but can also heat the air. Is that the worst of both worlds or the best? http://www.amazon.com/Air-O-Swiss-AOS-7147-Ultrasonic-Humidifier/dp/B004FO9P8U/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1353898911&sr=1-2

I can't speak to how the tests are done, but i would imagine they're done the same no matter how they're paid for. The vet I go to has a reduced price they negotiated with the lab for a complete panel. It runs around 300 dollars for us.

I go to a avian and exotic animal specialty vet that we go for nail trims and boarding as well as yearly checkups. They require a specific set of lab work to board there. We also get the same set of labs done every 2-3 years based on their recommendation. It's a risk, but I'll trade the small risk for the expertise and access to boarding.

We use TOPS and some zupreme natural our CAG eats both. We'd like to get him off the Zupreme as well but he's young and was weaned on the Zupreme.

Maybe we should have directory of the recommended avian vets we use, or better yet a google map of some kind. I worry people will call up any old cat and dog vet who will tell tell them they treat birds when really no one on staff really focuses on birds. Is there a good way to even find a directory of board certified avian vets?

We just got our CAG Elwood who is joining our first bird Evie, a Senegal. We're slowly working up to having them both out at the same time. One method we've resorted to is using travel cages so that when one can be out they're not always in the cage and feel like their still in the mix of the flock. So while one is out and playing the other might be in a travel cage with treats and toys seated on the couch right next to me. The alternative would be the Senegal in her cage making a racket. In the travel cage 10 feet closer to us she's more content. The reason I mention this is you could put your bird with a few toys in closer proximity to you so you can see and hear each other better and interact easier with out the risk of him or her landing on your cutting board. We use this when we're visiting family, we take a folding tray table and sit the travel cage on it next to the table as if they were seated there. This makes them feel like they're a part of the action and not left out. It's no supplement for training and encouraging independent play but I think it has it's uses.

I imagine the people in the worst of it won't be able to check back in till their hooked back into the grid. My parents are turning their cellphones on only a few times a day till they get power back. Hope people and birds out there are well.

I live on the Upper East Side area of NYC. It's business as usual here. I never lost power or internet. However friends and family in CT and NJ are still with out power. Last year Irene had my parents with out power for a week. My parents town is completely with out power currently. The Avian Center (our vet) has been closed since Monday. My girlfriend and I haven't worked all week since our offices are in lower parts of Manhattan. Besides a few reactions to the wind outside the birds were fine through out. However a coworker in the same area (closer to water) heard something explode, had to be evacuated and currently can't return to her apartment.

Looks like a lot of messy fun. What do people do to save pumpkin seeds for their birds?

Sounds like baby honking to me. I have a 5 month old CAG, when I got him he would make baby honks all the time on top of his practice talking, which pretty much sounded like Scooby Doo talking. they've got voice boxes that can produce sounds we can't dream of making. Unless these sounds are accompanied by sedentary or "sickly" behavior I wouldn't worry.

I like her version. Makes me think of that CAG that made the news when someone tried to get it to say it was going to vote for Obama. Tough to change these birds views whatever they are. That would be Youtube gold if you got it on video!

Greys are known for changing their personal preference when they start to mature but 5 months old generally isn't when that's been known to happen. In some cases "trying really hard" can be misconstrued by parrots as aggression depending on what he's doing to try and interact with him. A new bird might be docile for the first few weeks you have him and once feeling confident in a new environment may start to express their true preference or behavior. Use small tokens of kindness to win a bird over. If it doesn't want attention. Leave a treat in reache and walk away and then eventually work up to handing it to them directly. Being to hands on to quickly can create greater issues.

You have to remember that both birds are fully flighted and know it, the Senegal is a bit on the defensive since we got the CAG. The Senegal also is an ace in the air and the grey, while slower, is no joke for his age. Point being, we can't move fast enough if one of them lands next to the other, if one wanted to do some damage who knows if we'd get to them in time to break it up. It's not worth the risk. It's only been a month and when I stand outside the Senegals cage with Elwood, Evie (Sennie) will lunge towards Elwood if he get's to close. I'm not saying it won't, but there are enough horror stories out there I don't want to be telling another one.

Great Pics. I love to see a full set of flight feathers. How long a lead do you keep? how do you manage if he takes off at all?

Admittedly I've fallen off the radar. Between work and Elwood (5 month old CAG) I've had little time for forums. On top of that my laptops wifi screwed up so my lounging and browsing has been limited. I thought I would start a new post to share the adventures of Elwood since then. All his labwork came back with flying colors. Overall things have been good. Great even. Elwood is everything I had hoped for. Which is a relief since I got him from out of state, with out an in person visit. The breeder had 3 available and told me the differences between them in personality. The reason I went with that is because I wanted a breeder who was pro-flight and wouldn't clip. Elwood is a surprisingly good flyer. We don't have a ton of space and he navigates it really well considering his age and size. He seems less barrel chested as other greys. His climbing has also become quite good. He navigates vertically within his cage quite well. I've been reading and listening to lectures. A few things I've decided; there is no fighting it, I like having a shoulder bird and he likes being one. literally the second we got him home he flew out of his carrier and landed on my shoulder. However, I've decided he doesn't get head scratches or food/treats while up there. those only happen below my neck on my hand, knee, or a perch. He loves climing on nets, except he loves being on our Senegals net. We got him one but he still lands on hers So we're going to reconfigure the net we got him more like hers to hopefully be a better choice. However, he has finally figured out which play gym he's suppose to be on. He still lands on hers occasionally but we take him off right away. I've also implemented the policy that if he follows me into the kitchen (flies and lands on my shoulder) I walk right out and put him on his playgym. I was able to cook for a decent stretch this weekend and he stayed on his play gym just out of site. Other than the vet he's taken 2 trips to my parents place outside the city. The first trip he was nervous on the train and car and moved around a lot. but by the second round trip he was super chill about traveling and relaxed shortly after arriving at my parents place. On the talking front he is a chatter box. Only 2-3 words are remotely recognizable, everything else sounds like scooby doo talking. Our biggest problem is really our Senegal. We try going to different rooms each with a bird since they can't be out together, but the Senegal hates it. She'll be good in her cage for a while with him out but we're not sure how to deal with her.

Damn, why didn't I think of training an army of lovable sun conures to steal money for me!

Will any PVC pipe or pipe part be bird safe? What about stainless steel parts you buy at home depot in the hardware section?

We got a hold of one the remaining get a grip nets in the size we wanted. Now we'd like to hang it. All we have is a large stainless steel washer protecting the spot where we attached our other net to the wall which is fine to keep our Senegal away from the joint. Any thoughts what I should use to keep a CAG away from the mounting point on the wall?