Barbara2

So what did you get for your birthday?

Saturday got here quick! Congratulations on your newest family member!

That is bad news. If the son was such a good option why did they advertise on Craigslist in the first place? I hope your grey is still out there waiting for you to find him/her.

I have a little Senegal that is 19 years old. For most of his life we have never noticed any bareness. The last 3 years he ends up with a pretty bare chest during his molt. I freaked and thought he was plucking. Once the molt was over, he was fully feathered again. I would give it some time and see if the feathers come back.

I did the same research and decided on a TAG for my own needs. Others decided on CAGs for their personal reasons. Some have both and can probably give you a better idea of the realities. All I can say is that a lot of what you read are going to be generalities and the personality of the individual bird will be the deciding factor.

I just took Egan to the vet yesterday. He is almost 4 months old and he was the same with me after as he was before. I don't believe they look at you as subjecting them to the exam. It's more like you are the rescuer once the exam is completed.

That's a good question and I don't know how to answer it. I think you might find as many different answers to that as you might the question of, "How often should you give your children cookies?" I give fruit as treats but not as part of the main meal. I'm sure that others have different rules.

You might consider a cage like this one: http://www.birdscomfort.com/split_bird_cage.html There are a few members here who have this for their grey. It can be used as a single cage or you can put in the divider and it becomes two cages with one shared wall. I have this for my Hahn's macaw and Senegal. If you had this one you could try separating them to see how it went but you could also open it back up as one cage if you felt that was better.

Happy hatchday Kito!

I went to the pet store and went to the dog dish aisle. I got a shallow water bowl with a weighted base and put it in the bottom of the cage. It has been there for a week and Egan finally got on the edge today and explored it with his beak. He didn't bathe but he at least acknowledged that it is there. I have to change the water out every day (sometimes more often because of poop) but I think it's going to work. The plus side for me is that he does seem to enjoy being sprayed if the bath doesn't work.

You can expect of period of adjustment where she learns that these new people are not a threat. It is not unusual for a parrot to reject a treat from someone that they don't trust even though they really want that treat. I have seen my parrots throw something they love to the bottom of the cage if it's from a strange hand. Just keep trying, and try different things. (Grapes are tough to resist.) It is a good idea to not feed too many fruits but at this time and getting her comfortable, I don't think it's a bad thing.

I use a fleece "snugglie". It's really just strips of fleece hanging, long on one side and shorter on the other. I have it hanging over a perch but so far Egan hasn't explored it. He snuggles on his boing.

This is what is really interesting: We also have an exterminator service and we've never had these ants. I just looked and the last time I paid the service was this past December. They stopped coming and we didn't even think about it! (We don't let them do anything inside either.) I guess I need to call tomorrow. In the meantime, we took the sugar/borax mix outside and put it down near what looks like the nest. Thanks to all for the help and suggestions!!

I'm in the "no cover" camp. I've never used them. The birds are in a seperate room but it is right off the family room where we watch TV past their bedtime. They are in the solarium right on a wall of windows. We close the blinds at night but otherwise they are not covered. During the day there is a tree right outside the window and there are birds and squirrels that visit. They seem to like that. But at night they settle down and don't seem to be bothered by the TV or the light on in the family room, or our talking. I got scared away from covers years and years ago when I read an article in Bird Talk about a bird that chewed their cover and a thread got wrapped around the birds toe and the bird ended up losing the toe. It freaked me out so I've never used them.

It is definitely worth a try. Thanks! (I'm trying the pepper and cinnamon first.)

We tried ant cups and they didn't do a thing. (So frustrating.)

From my perspective, this forum is the best for support and education. Some members come here with situations that are less than ideal. I have seen a few people who have no real experience but have ended up with very young, unweaned babies. Members here have supported them with information and suggestions for caring for these babies and helping them along the way to becoming healthy adult birds without encouraging others to take on unweaned babies. As well meaning as we are, sometimes advice can come across as lectures and not only turn people off but chase them away. The advice that I would like to suggest is forget the leg chain. If you are concerned about your bird flying out an open window or door, clipping might be the better option for now until you can get out on your own and have more control over your environment. I don't really know what to say about the cage location and protection from the elements because I'm still not quite understanding the whole set up.

We are having a problem with those tiny sugar ants. I found on the internet that the best way to get rid of them without pesticides is to use a mixture of confectioners sugar and 20 Mule Team Borax. Does anyone know if this is safe to use around birds? If not, does anyone have any safe suggestions for getting rid of these darned ants??

It does take time to gain trust especially in a new home with new people. Speak softly and offer treats! If you find something she really likes, don't put it in her bowl. Just offer it through the bars of the cage so she knows that the family hands bring good things. Talk to her, sing to her and talk to her as if she understands what you're saying. That's my little tid bits. I'm sure others more knowledgable will be along to offer advice. Congratulations!

Egan did the digging thing the first two nights he was home. It was only at night after I had put him to bed and he hasn't done it since. He will be home 2 weeks tomorrow.

Very nice! Impressive work.

I started out with a bunch of stuff in the cage and had to remove some things. I'll put them back as he gets tired of what is in there. The things he liked the best were the rope boing and the rope perches. The type that I bought have two plastic rings with rawhide and small toys hanging from them. He likes the perches and plays with the small toys. I also attached one of those tubular bells to the top of the boing and he likes to play with that. The rope perches are especially nice because I was able to arrange them so that he can move easily around the cage. He's not good at climbing on the cage bars yet.

This is one that my grey liked: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=22375

I knew you would fall in love! (I just love happy endings!!)

Even though I have a baby, I have been giving him quite a bit of "in cage" time for now. He needs to get used to a whole new environment and feel safe there. (I have had my grey for a week and a half.) Since you have one who is a bit older, he has to get used to the new environment plus get used to new people and wondering where his "other people" are. It's good that he is accepting of your wife so that he can be handled. For your part, sit on the floor close to the cage and read a book or whatever and read it out loud in a calm voice. Talk to your guy with reassuraces. It might seem silly but explain things that you are doing, tell him how happy you are to have him in your life, etc. If you find a treat that he likes, offer it to him through the bars. Some have found success with almonds, some with pistaccios. Anyway, best of luck to you and the 3 most important points to remember are patience, patience, patience.