MarcusCAG

They are all very healthy-looking and lovely in the pictures I looked over. Was that a blue in the one corner? I used to have albino rats, agouti rats, and I had one rex rat once. Mostly males, but once I did have a female whom I named Portia, who ended up arriving at our home pregnant--and then she had a double-sized litter of kittens! They were quite a bit to care for... your pics make me miss my boys, but I'm glad all of your rat friends are able to give you so much joy right now.

Wow. I see what you're talking about. Marcus' new pride and joy is a playgym that a friend of ours found for him recently, and the other day when Beaker was all riled up about 'strange' people being in the yard next door, he shot angrily across the boys' room--straight at Marcus--and poor Marcus flapped around wildly and essentially fell off the top perch of his new playgym! (He's not quite flighted yet, himself.) I really didn't think of that when I replied earlier, but now that you mention it, I can see your concern with this sweet, clipped Amazon. But maybe if you all take things slowly, Jimpster will be less likely to pick on... Pancho, was it? Especially as... ...if you can give him a better quality of life, then that's the wonderful goal it sounds like your striving for. I'm sure, even if there may be one or two altercations in the beginning, with enough time and patience and love shown to all three as needed, your little flock could all grow happily together.

How sad! The one Grey must have missed his buddy so much that he just stopped eating... tragic... I'm sure the owner is devastated! I'm so sorry to hear that!

Wow! Thank you so much for that thorough review, k9nurse. I really appreciate you letting me know about all those itty-bitty details that can really make a world of difference.

Oh, after reading your post I feel a touch of MBS coming on for me... we just adopted our two new little men to (hopefully) be buddies for Beaker once the quarantine's over... but there's a beautiful Yellow-Headed Amazon on CL who is in desperate need of a good home... I know we can't bring in another parrot already but, yes, I understand where you're coming from! I grew up with an Amazon and they are so beautiful! That being said, when we brought home Marcus, Beaker was pretty curious about the 'other bird' in the other room. He really wasn't aggressive with him when we finally introduced the two. They could hear each other in their separate rooms, and before we brought Marcus' cage into what is now officially the birdroom we paraded Beaker in and out of the bedroom where Marcus was kept so they could view each other. "Beaker, this is Marcus, your new friend!" Or whatever we said then, haha. I take it you got your little Quaker after you got Brutus? Beaker has really shown signs of the infamous Quaker napoleonic complex to Marcus only once (that I was there to witness)... when he landed on Marcus' cage top the one time and, such a stupid brat, lunged forward and ripped out some of Marcus' chest feathers. Oh, I nearly died!!! Marcus' eyes pinned and it would have been game over if I hadn't leapt up and shoved my arm between the two, and then there was all this flapping and Beaker--totally full of himself, I might add--flew back to his cage. But in all the time we've had Marcus, I've only ever seen Beaker do that once. And he was stupid enough to try something similar the other week, and Marcus almost got him that time, so I think he's learned his lesson because he keeps a safe distance from him now, the silly thing. Soooo... I think if you end up getting this Panama beauty then just follow proper quarantine procedures, expect a lot of calling between the parrots during it, and then when you can finally introduce them all, do it slowly and with respect for a certain little somebody's heightened sense of importance. You'll probably have no major problems in the end, parrots are flock animals and as long as it's not a jolt of an introduction, and maybe you use everybody's names together in conversation in the weeks leading up to their formal meeting, it'll be a piece of cake.

...Play together in a field! (I don't know if they ever end up going to sea together in a beautiful pea-green boat. Hahaha!) Anyway, I just came across this online as a Purina-company highlighted animal video. It's pretty neat! I thought I'd share the link to the vid at YouTube, if anyone else is curious: It's a bunch of clips of this barn owl and his kitty cat friend, where they play together and hang out together and et cetera. My first thought was, what about the gram positive/gram negative issue that might arise if their play gets a bit rough?? Seriously, I wonder! But it's a cute video regardless, and I hope they can stay such good friends for a long time.

She's beautiful! Thank you for sharing your photos.

Apparently there's some war online between bird cage companies who say that their competition produces lesser-quality equipment (of course). Until a few minutes ago, I was unaware of this war; but considering we're in the market now for some new bird cages for a few of our boys, I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience with the different brands and would like to share the pros and cons? I really don't want to buy a cage new and then have it fall apart in a year or so. That being said, I know there are A&E cages, EZ care bowfronts, HQ brand... I'm sure there are others too. Thanks in advance for any input!

Everyone, haha, the bite really wasn't all that bad... not like some of the ones he's dished out in the past! (When he starts "sawing" on a finger is a killer!) But it did bleed, and maybe seeing the blood and hearing me insist that it hurt was what prompted the apology. *Shrug* Either way, it was quite unexpected but really very nice of him, whatever his motivation. Hehe, that's a good excuse, isn't it? Yes, he must have lost his mind from the little knock he gave himself, the poor baby! (It's all but healed up by now, btw. Yay!)

I kept a number of fancy rats as pets when I was younger, myself. I'll admit it was a shock to me when I first realized how intelligent and loving they can be. My first one would respond like a dog and come running to me when I called him by name. I worked with him everyday, but it didn't seem like work, really we were just playing and spending time together. I was so devastated when I came home one day and he was dead in his cage. My time with him was so short, but after I grieved for him my newfound love of rats pushed me to invite many more into my life. Because of having all of our parrots now, and our dog and cats, my husband and I think it is best not to have anymore rats right now (because he learned to love them, too). But someday I would like to have another little furry rat-friend in my life. I don't know if I would compare rats to Greys quite like you have, however, despite their intellect and their capacity for love and affection. Greys are long-lived, complicated creatures; they require a lot of care and patience and, most importantly, love and respect. Just like with rats or any other animal, each Grey is different with a different personality. There are a number of threads in the Health room that cover issues such as showering your parrot, and another room in these forums is dedicated to Cages and et cetera. Peruse them and read all you can and ask all the questions you want, and you will get a better idea how to best interact with your possible Grey of the future.

So Tybalt and Bunsen are still in quarantine, but they are apparently making the most of our bedroom while they're in it. Tybalt, it turns out, is an excellent flier and it is beautiful to watch him circle our room for fun; and after the aloe vera juice/water spritzing I gave him and Bunsen the other day (in their cages) his colors are absolutely phenomenal, almost iridescent! He is a little nervous about us though, he shrieks whenever I get close to Bunsen or ask either of them to step up. Bunsen is quite the charmer though, he won't step up for me from his cage yet but when he's outside his cage he's quite accommodating. He's taken to pellets already, too, and he's full of cheery chirps and whistles and things to fill our house with lovely sounds. Bunsen is just a little sweetheart and I'm really enjoying getting to know him better and work with him. So I just thought I'd share how things are coming along with our two new little men.

Annie is beautiful! I've never seen a cast on a parrot before so that photo is interesting to me in that regard, too. I hope she can find a wonderful, loving forever home even if it ends up not being with you. Blow her a kiss for me the next time you see her!

I'm so glad Sully found such a well-fitting new parrot with this young man, it sounds like they adore each other already! I'm sure a part of you misses him, but it was obviously a good choice to let him go...

Ohh! I just love that photo where he's standing up! And aren't you a sweet mommy to bring him a new toy?

Very neat! Thank you for sharing this.

Neat and thought-provoking post, Ray P, and Zoom--your reply almost gave me goosebumps. There's so much about the natural world that we just don't understand yet!

Being the cautious Mommy that I apparently am, after his little accident this morning, Marcus ended up spending most of the day in his cage. When his Daddy got home from work tonight, however, we both went into the birdroom to spend some much-needed time with Marcus and Beaker. Blah, blah... my husband brought in some tools to fiddle with while Marcus was out wandering around the floor and Beaker was up on his Boing. Marcus, of course, was curious about these neat metal instruments and although we offered him toys, he wanted Daddy's toys. At one point, Marcus got a little bit cranky about being told "No!" again, and he lashed out and bit the first knuckle of my index finger. I gasped a little and my hubby asked if he bit me, and I said that he did. So I told Marcus that he really needed to go back in his cage now, and I started herding him in that direction. Marcus, being Marcus, was resisting a bit (non-biting) so I told him he had to go back, because "Marcus, you bit me, that hurt!" and I turned to show him my finger, which by that point had a little globule of blood formed on the skin. Marcus looked at it and lowered his head, muttering "sorry" in a barely discernible voice. "Did he just say 'sorry'?" I asked, surprised. "He did, he's sorry, don't make him go back now!" my husband insisted, ever the soft one. So Marcus got to stay up a little longer, and things were very nice until he and Beaker finally were put to bed a few minutes ago. But I think it's cool that he apologized to me! Who knows if it'll ever happen again, haha, so I thought I'd "transcribe" the incident here for posterity.

Just a little update: Marcus is acting pretty normal, good appetite, very loving, and very much enjoying his music. I didn't want him wandering around on the floor today, considering, but since he didn't want to go to his playgym either, he's pretty much been in his cage all day (ah, well). The gash looks like it's scabbing up a bit at its 'deepest' point, thankfully. Hopefully the worst is past! Thank you, everyone, for all of the kind thoughts sent his way!

Thank you so much for your warm thoughts and advice, everyone. Marcus did give us quite the scare this morning (I texted a pic of him to my hubby at work, right after the incident), but I just peeked in on him again and he was eating and, as I talked to him, he moved over and started drinking too. I put on one of his favorite records and he started "snapping" along with it... so I think he's on the mend. There's still a definite red U-shaped line between and over his nares, and a little one above his eye, but hopefully that will heal up within a few days. I will be keeping an eye on him today and let you know...

This happened at around 10:00 this morning (it's about noon here now). I had just showered from being in our bedroom with Tybalt and Bunsen and cleaning them out, and I was going to go into the birdroom to be with Marcus and Beaker, clean them out, give them new food, etc. Just after I knocked on their door and opened it, someone knocked on our front door and our dog started barking like crazy. It was still relatively dark in the birdroom since I hadn't opened the shades yet, and Marcus started flapping around like mad. I didn't even think about it, I just grabbed a bathrobe to run and see whoever was at the door, but they were getting in their car again when I got there, so I just grumbled it off and went back to the birdroom. When I got there, I turned on the light and opened the cage doors, and Marcus and Beaker climbed out. It took a few moments for me to realize that Marcus was bleeding... there was a small gash between his nares, and a little gash above his left eye. There was also a little blue spot above his left eye. I presume that this injury occurred while he was flapping around when our dog started barking, I assume it startled him badly. I immediately tried to discern how deep it was, if it was gushing or anything. He was acting perfectly normal--he let me hold his beak gently but when he saw the rag coming at him he got a little squirmy (I had put aloe vera juice on it), so I just decided to "shower" him with some aloe vera juice to rinse the cuts out a little. Then I gave him a birdie cookie as a treat for enduring the shower, and I switched out his pellets and changed his water. I put a small amount organic apple cider vinegar in the water because I thought it might help with any possible infection (and I've put ACV in the birds' water before, they don't seem to mind the taste). Then I got the idea to put some spirulina in some organic baby food (which I use as treats sometimes, it's all fruit), which Marcus gobbled up immediately. So he seems to be in good spirits, he's very chatty this morning, but is there something else I should or shouldn't be doing? My husband has the car at work with him, and Marcus isn't bleeding anymore, but I'll be keeping an eye on him today and would appreciate any pertinent thoughts from anyone here. I know I've read other Greys have acquired little cuts and bruises when they're learning to land and bang into walls and things, and they end up okay, so I'm not totally freaking out, but any input would be appreciated if I'm missing something, thank you.

Paco is beautiful! I'm so glad he stepped-up for you. Have the shots of tequila given him any long-term problems?

I must admit, I watch tons of your little videos without posting anything... I send them to my hubby while at work and they make him smile. Thanks for sharing your lovely flock with all of us here!

I feel like I'm intruding here in this thread for some reason, haha, but I just wanted to say thanks for posting about the ACV. I've been doing some reading on that recently; I keep the organic stuff in the house for myself, and I clean with the lesser-quality generic kind, but until recently I only started hearing about it being used to benefit parrots as well (internally). I spray it on the dog and cats regularly to help keep the fleas down in the summer, and it works wonders for them (I'm sure they consume some of it when they lick themselves afterward), so it's nice to see that it can be so helpful to a flock as well.

We have a Rainbow. They are expensive brand new, but you can also buy them used but overhauled as well. It works great in our house, considering all the fur and feathers we have here; and we've had it a number of years already. The one my mom had lasted about 20 years and my parents, while I was growing up, had more pets than we do!

He's a darling! Thanks for sharing that pic.