Morana

Did you get something for that (both) from your vet? Did he recommended anything? Hope your birdie will be great in no time! :-)

I still can't decide what humidifier (and maybe) what purifier to by and now I came across this: AIR-O-SWISS 1355N. Is this type of "machine" recommendable? How to know is it strong enough, safe for my bird, if it pics up birds dander (because it is not specified by the manufacturer and sellers will say anything to sell)..and there are so many other questions in my mind troubling me and I don't know how to proceed. How to choose? How to know which is best to remove the allergens and pollutants from the air we breathe without producing more harmful byproducts in the process? We don't have rabbitair here. I didn't see we have ones with such "Bio characteristics" like I saw with rabbitair. The best and most common I found here were air purifiers/humidifiers (or both) from AIR-O-SWISS BONECO. Does anyone have experience with their products? Something to recommend to suit (our bird like) specific needs at this end of the world? Please help!

Have no idea where I found this picture but this is how a soaked bird looks like;-)

Just a thought about submerging a bird is scary to me! I wouldn't suggest that. Try spraying the bird, simulate the rain. IMO it is not enough to put his back under the shower stream for a few minutes. When my Zak doesn't want to bathe and I know he must, I even resort to putting him (with the cage) in the shower and shower him all over (like rain) and he stays dry after an hour of this if he doesn't want to fluff up., So few minuter will surely not get him soaked if he is not fluffed up and willing to bathe. If he fluffs up than he probably wants to bathe and few minutes is still not enough. Zak and I have our ritual of spraying till he is so soaked he doesn't want to do it any more and it takes quite a while- maybe 15-20 minutes (I don't ever look at the clock so I couldn't say exactly), but it takes an hour altogether. He is not ready for bathing the minute I start spraying him. We have our routine till he gets in the mood, then he fluffs and the fun starts. Also I spray him a lot from in front of him. I don't spray his head this way too much because water gets to his nose and bothers him but it is probably the only way to get him soaked under the wings and on the chest. I spray his "shorts" from in front/below him kind of angle. The bird must be soaked under the wings, her shorts, chest...(please help with right terminology) not only on his back.

Manzanita wood is great. Have a lot of knobs and it is very hard wood. I have manzanita perches for my Zakica.

He looked soaked more than sticky. Now he doesn't look sticky at all:-) Fortunately :-)

I also think that pure aloe vera juice is very heavy so maybe that feeling spooked him. I can tell you, for sure, he wasn't overly excited after his bath. He was anxious. He was very excited while bathing but when bathing stopped I think he got a bit scared/annoyed with this heavy feeling and I got paranoid because of the conservatives. I still want to know is this harmful to him. I will probably use aloe vera juice mixed with water from now on. However, Zak is fine now:-) Talking cheerfully and playing :-)

I bought, as it said, 100% pure Aloe Vera juice and today I sprayed Zak with it and he seemed to enjoy it while it lasted but afterward he seemed so anxious. He was acting really strange like something is irritating/bothering him,very much unlike after a normal bath. First I used pure juice and the last spraying was Aloa juice with some water. He looks very soaked. I am worrying because regardless it says 100% Aloe Vera juice it also says lemon acid and preservatives: sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. Is this in any way harmful to my bird? He is a talking now but still shivering a bit. But the initial reaction was something I never saw before. He was acting very strange. His wings are still down. Please share your thoughts.

I agree. The avian vet should be No1 on your list. Do you already have an avian vet?

To answer your question-yes Zak bit me. The story is long so I wont get into too much details but I'll refer you to read about a part of my story in the tread http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?191930-Yoshi-s-Future-Trying-to-find-a-good-home&p=219702&highlight=yoshi+home#post219702 Because my faulty care Zak became a beast! I just couldn't figure out what was wrong because books I read and sites I found talked about parrot problems in general. Not a specific fix for a specific behavior. I don't know how to explain it better. Far as I was concern, Zak had best food, toys, loving home,most of the day out of the cage, etc.. But that too was so general and far from what he needed. The things I didn't know, for example,is that not all parrots like the same type of toys. Further more, he didn't know how to play with the ones he had. The best food we have here in Cro for parrots was a seed mix. The best I could find, but still just a seed mix.. And so on.. There is/was a long, long list of things I do/did wrong. He was unhappy and he couldn't communicate so he bited. Now I do understand but now he doesn't bite -except you really push him out of his comfort zone. My boyfriend still pushes him far out of his comfort zone because he still doesn't understand, but I am trying to talk to him and warn him every time I see he is about to do that. Mayor problem is that for him Zak is "just a bird" and I'm not sure if this is ever going to change. But back to the biting part.. I remember most vividly how Zak once bit my ear. We were watching TV, he was on his perch and then, out of the blue, Zak lounged and bit my ear so damn hard that it bled and bled and I was screaming in agony.. But the funny part is, I'm not at all afraid now that he'll do that. He is very often on my shoulder sitting there, preening, playing and we are doing great. Since I changed my perception towards him, Zak became a new bird in the matter of days! But somehow I am mortally afraid he'll massacre my hand. When I want to offer my fingers to pick him up I experience a rush of panic and then I give up because I know he can feel it. I picked up courage just once and I was really afraid so Zak acted accordingly-he bit my fingers, not hard, but it was more than enough for me to panic again. My boyfriend picks him up on his fingers and even puts him in the cage like that but he is not afraid at all. I read many useful posts like how to make a fist so he couldn't bite, or the one you said, but it doesn't give me courage. I'm in dilemma: to mentally overcome fear and then pick him up, or to act flowing advices I read and work my way through the fear that way.. Since the first one is not working I'm inclined to try the other thing.. The best part is..when I offer my forearm for him to clime on we never have a problem. So lately I started to offer part of my forearm closer to my fingers so he, maybe incidentally step up on my fingers ,but I think he chooses the forearm because he knows that I'm afraid and doesn't want to scare me any further just now.. I may be out of my mind, but I really think he calculates where and why he is gonna climb on to.. ;-) Because of all my mistakes (from the past) I first wanted to read as many posts/blogs I could to understand him better so fear would go away. I love him so much and that is why I'm never gonna give up on our relationship, but it does feel like I'm taking a bit of a detour... I could read and act as I go, but I always feel too scared when we come to the part with stepping up/and biting hands..:-S PS: I don't think I would figure out what was wrong any time soon if there wasn't that parrot tricks add I found. Afterward, It was just a matter of time till I found this forum. Before it was like I was blind and didn't realized it at all.

Today I found out that all the rest of the Zak tests came back negative!!! He is a healthy bird!:-D No chlamydia, no bacterial infections, no anything!!!!:-) And no more pooping funny!:-) He is very active, very playful birdie...:-) Further more, I finally I found who sells Calcium-Lux in Croatia and tomorrow I'm going to get it:-) I had to reserve it, for it was the last one.. And the carrier is back in the game... We'll learn Zak to be a carrier proof parrot;-) No, what I want to say is....I hope we'll achieve soon that Zak is not afraid of the carrier any more..:-)

Pure aloe vera gel and juice bought:-)

So today is the day that I start my first TM batch! :-) Here are some pictures of stuff I bought but don't ask me to translate any beans names..it would be painful, both for me and you reading it.. :-P Now is not the season of peas so I bought frozen ones but I don't think that is such a brilliant choice. Can anyone please comment on that? There is also no sweet corn (and especially not frozen one). I did 10 circles around market and nearly found nothing so I circled the town for bio stores and found one. They are very scarce here.I froze my a.. off! Most of the stuff were bought there. Sweet potato also. No wonder I never saw it before! Lol We don't have that on markets.. I have almonds at home (our own).. Bought also soy germs but I didn't figure out on time that it isn't just soy beans in it.. There is also a bit of brown sugar, walnuts,a bit of salt, and natural aroma of vanilla and cinema!! I'm not really inclined to use that.. I know!-how could I bought that in the first place!? Well, I didn't read whole content. When I saw it said soy germs I was so ecstatic that I forgot to check..:-S ..and it was the only thing there with a name soy germs so.. :-P Didn't find any kidney beans tho... Wish me wisdom and luck not to poison my beautiful Zak! :-D PS: that is also why I didn't buy lima beans.. I'm still a bit too paranoid for that..;-) PSS: and people..any comments would be appreciated ;-)

Lol.. well we feed that to the horses as well ;-)

There is nothing harsh about your words. I know Zak can sense, even too well, my fear of getting bitten and I know I must get past that but I am making slow progress. (Probably) to slow. When I say I don't know much, I acknowledge my mistakes but I fear of repeating or, better yet, making new ones, which is also here restricting me. Training may be a tool for me to overcome my fear and in that way to bond further with my birdie. Another thing is, Zak and I are doing really good last months and there is also fear of breaking this trust.. So, the problem is fear! one way or another.. PS: I had a parrot before Zak, and maybe it can't be compared, but with that birdie and I had a relationship the way that lady (from the video) may now have with her birds. There was so much trust and love between us that I could hang that parrot by its tail (but of course I didn't) and he really wouldn't object/mind. So I know how is it supposed to feel-the bond, the trust, the not biting but somehow along the way I lost that..

I am so very sorry about Linus. I thought everything will be fine now,that he is pulling through.. These are devastating news:-(

Tnx Dave. To explain why I was associating harness with training..I was hoping to train him to lift a wing or do something on command so he would be used to accept certain aspects of "putting on the harness" before it actually happens so he wouldn't be so traumatized. I don't wanna force anything. I imagined that with training we would bond more and learn to trust each other more which I think is very important before trying something like harness. And about the nuts...he doesn't like them...not now anyway.. I read so many posts of people and how their CAG is doing great-not fearful as much.. Mine won't go into a carrier.. I just wanna get used my CAG to change so it becomes normal. I know he would almost fly into a wall if I would present him with a harness now.. :-S With this, I'm not saying I wont try anything. I'll try with clicker training to get harness close as it can without him being scared. But I am not inclined to put it on without covering more ground. He has to be able to trust me, not fear me. It was exaggeration when I said he'll be just looking at it for a year. I am able to touch him on various parts of his body, but wouldn't be useful to get him let me handle him all over the place before sticking him into a harness? I watched many videos about aviator suits and how to put it on bud I don't fell like an expert;-) I watched your video and I can tell you I would lose my fingers in a heartbeat if I tried what was that lady doing with Dusty! Lol I kinda wanna avoid that.. So am I making sense? PS: Dave is this type of harness you were talking about? http://www.windycityparrot.com/Flying-Bird-Aviator-Harness-Leash.asp

But how to tart immediately when I don't know anything about it,to be honest, when I don't know much about anything..? I had in mind first reading all or most of Shanlungs blog, convert zak to better diet and start training with simple stuff before harness. He is timid towards new stuff. Well, much less than he used to, but if you read the fiasco with the recent vet visit I'm sure you'll know what I am talking about. And about diet.. It is hard to offer some treats like seed when that is what he basically eats. :-S And the rest he doesn't wanna eat! I didn't give up on it but I m not that sure that it will happen tomorrow. So how can I start immediately?

I didn't forget to put a bell on my list.. I think that Zak and I would be out of a roof over our heads if he would start to ring that thing, so unfortunately, for now, he'll be without the bell..;-)

So that glorious day has finally come!-yesterday graduated from college and now I finally have time to breathe!!...and of course come back to my favorite forum..:-D I got some money for my graduation so I'll be spending a part of it on my feathered friend..:-) Unfortunately we don't have much here in Croatia to buy from, to start with, so I'll be ordering everything from UK and mostly from US. So please, now while I am at it, share your thoughts on what would be mandatory, what would be great to buy and then just for fun.. There are a few things I was thinking about.. Of course the money factor will be a limitation to all my wishes but don't think about it while writing your thoughts down.. Oh, one thing I'll be buying here in Croatia.. A humidifier:-) This AIR-O-SWISS E2441 is the one I'm thinking of uying so if you saw reviews or you have personal experience, or know better one also from this firm, or whatever,... I'd like some thoughts about that too.. :-) I'll be buying, calcium supplement, Aloe Vera juice and gel here in Croatia too..:-) MY LIST: -first aid kit, -t-perch for a scale, -red palm oil -reflector for his light -Quaker oats (I saw their web page and have no idea which one to choose!-please advise;-) -harness (but just to be look at for a time being. I want for him too look at it even if it means for a year.. and when will are ready, to be around. I figured it is a medium size but what would you recommend. Emphasis is on safety and comfort) -lot of toys, mostly ones for shredding, foraging,... -Nuttieberies? -haven't really decided about that but if I'm going to train him I'll need something to reward with. Is this appropriate? I read it on this forum that birds like them but never saw it in person.. -book: CAPTIVE FORAGING from M. Scott Echols (do you know is it a good book?) . . . PS: if you know good on line stores that ship to Croatia do mention:-)

Tnx! :-) I finally finished the presentation!-it took me JUST 10hours!!!! :-( I'll revise it tomorrow..

I'm losing my mind over here!!! I need to graduate university on Tuesday and we have soooooo much to learn for this final day/exam + I need to have a presentation and it is killing me! I just can't watch power point anymore! It is going too slow and I'm probably gonna be up all night..-again.. :-S So I can't read forum :-(((((((((((((( -which is also driving me nuts.. I just log in for it gives me pleasure..-I know I am pathetic.. ;-P ..and then I see so many new members and so many new post and I must not start reading or I loose track of time...as always...:-) Guys, I miss U all!:-) Zak is my sturdy support but he also recognizes that I am losing it..Lol

Tnx. I don't understand how just one can be ok but thank you for checking. I'll try to correct them in two days or so. Then you can check again and tell me whether is ok:-)

It is a great picture and a great job you did. Also, great looking Grey:-)

The photos are very small. Try this: Register at http://register.photobucket.com/ Then when you are logged in, choose "Upload now". Than it gives you choice to select pictures/videos from your computer to upload it. When the picture is uploaded you choose "Save and continue to my album". When in album, go with the pointer above the picture you wish to put on this forum. Under the picture it says "IMG code" and you left click the box with the code and then it is copied. Paste in your thread and that is that! :-) Of course, the picture will be as big as original if you haven't re sized it. If you have more pictures, do upload them too. And Karin, if you haven't noticed, you can't get answers to your question until you answer ALL our (mine) questions first. This is my last time that I am reminding you of that. From this point on, it is up to you. Good luck! :-)