Barbara2

Perfect! All pictures worked. And the homemade playstand is outstanding!!

That is sort of what I was doing but I was making a loop from the bigger wing loop. I started with it big enough that it did not touch him at all and then started making it smaller and smaller and then let it touch his neck and left side. I tucked the head loop, leash and the rest of the harness into my left hand and held the loop in the fingers of my left hand while offering the treat with my right. I had to practice just holding onto the whole thing while making a loop with the wing portion before I ever attempted to try to put it over Neo's head.

I'm sticking with the head loop training for at least a week. I don't train on days when the little ones are over (usually Monday and Wednesday) but I am doing this consistently. Today I took extra time getting the head loop over just to make it not so perfect and he did fine. My biggest problem is that he wants to chew on the harness. That's where the stick becomes a handy tool but I am also trying to teach him that chewing on the harness is not OK.

Thank goodness for this forum! I'm glad all's well in the end.

I hear that! I've often said that God put me on this earth to learn patience and at the rate I'm going, I'm going to live FOREVER! LOL!

Hi and congratulations! I have my first grey too, also a TAG but he is not quite 5 months old. They all seem to like to get their food wet before they eat. I have 3 parrots and the grey is NOT the worst of the 3! I have to change the macaw water 3 times a day. The best advice that I have seen for teaching a parrot to talk is to use consistent words for everyday things. Like I say "clean water" every time I change the water. And "do you want to come out?" before I take him out of the cage. With time they begin to use the words to get what they want. If the previous owners didn't do things like this, he probably doesn't have much of a vocabulary except for other things that were consistent. (Like phones ringing and microwaves beeping.) Consistency helps, I think.

Even before the responses were posted I sort of wondered if maybe the "nail trimmer" was covering just in case something happened from the restraint. I'm guessing she had to restrain a little tighter and maybe was anticipating a reaction from the eyes. That's just a guess from reading the opening post.

I'm not really sure that people think it's wrong. I think it's more likely that people figure you already know all the positives so they are just pointing out the possible negatives. I have a hahn's macaw, an african senegal and just added a TAG. I also have 2 big dogs. I wouldn't call that ideal but there is no one that would have been able to talk me out of getting the TAG. I'm just taking the negatives, adjusting and making it work. :cool:

Today's lesson. Check it out! We have mastered the head loop! Who knew my bird would prefer a stick to treats??

There is one in Baltimore that I almost got a baby from but he was sold to someone else before I could get him. They are listed in birdbreeders.com and have a high rating from 15 reviewers. http://birdbreeders.com/babydetails.aspx?ID=40123 The link is for the one Congo that they show available right now. (They have others that are adults. This is the only baby that I saw.)

Nice to meet you JillyBeanz! And anyone who owns a grey has expertise! (Even if it's only your own experiences.)

I have a feeling that he is going to surprise you with how well he can get around within a very short period of time. My little boy doesn't have a broken leg and he still had quite a few falls when he was finding his way around his new home. He still has the occassional fall and I've had him for almost 4 weeks now.

I've had it for about 3 years so I'm not positive but I think I paid $600 for it. The only thing I do not like about it is the weight of the tray. I get my exercise cleaning it!

Awesome pics! That is the exact same cage I have for my Hahn's and Senegal, except I have the divider in. The Hahn's lives on the domed side and the Senegal on the flat side. He looks very, very happy in his new home!

One immediate thought is to work on the command using a new word. Long ago "step up" wasn't as common as it seems to be now. We taught our two now teenaged birds with a simple "up", but it was more sing songy, like "uuuuuupp" with our voice rising at the end of the word almost like a question. Or maybe look up "step up" in another language and try to work with that. He might learn the new command but without the old, negative connotation.

I hope that you are able to decide to keep her especially since you love her. If she has to go back to the family, they will just send her to someone else and she will have to try and get used to another home all over again. You have gotten a lot of good advice here. Please keep us updated and let us know how it is going. There are some really smart people here who know a lot about African greys and they will help you with any questions or concerns.

Goldenfeast

Thank you for the update! That is good to know that Cody is very healthy. I'm looking forward to pictures and more "Cody" news!

The funny thing is that the sisters are the 2 y.o. all the way to the left in the picture and the baby in the middle. The 1 1/2 y.o. to the far right is a cousin to the 2 sisters. Looking at the baby and the cousin, you would think THEY were sisters!

I would need more information. Does hubby have an office in the house? Are the calls coming in all day or are they sporadic? Does Chili respond to being covered? (I have a mini macaw that will start making noise if I have people over but I can cover him and tell him goodnight and he will be quiet.)

grinding beak

I had a bathing breakthrough today also! YAY! I put a 9" X 9" glass baking pan in the bottom of Neo's cage. He has edged around the rim before sort of drinking, sort of playing in the water. Today he got in and bathed himself pretty good. He didn't get the back enough so I'll still need to do that for now but I was so excited that he was actually bathing himself!! (It doesn't take much to make me happy!)

There will be no lessons today. I have a MUCH bigger challenge of the human kind. I have 3 girls with me today aged 2, 1 and 6 months. It is not a conducive environment for bird training. (As a matter of fact, he flew back to his cage this morning in the midst of kiddy chaos.) And I thought I was retired!

We'll be here patiently waiting on the report from the vet.