Morana

Welcome!:-) Yes, yes, we love pictures! Do share!;-) And we also want to know more about your Grey and you:-) How did your love start?;-)

Welcome!:-) Do tell us more about your Grey:-) Her name, age, history,... And btw, we all adore pictures so we would sure like to see you Amazon, as well as a soon to be new member of your flock:-) It is not just your parrot who likes pencils, highlighters, ...even rulers, books,.... Everything that may lay on the table is so very interesting;-)

Tnx so much. Great advice! :-) I must admit...I never heard about flavored oat before, but I'll try to find it:-) About my oat..When I cooked it, it looked just a bit bigger/lumpy than when it was raw. A bit softer tho. I don't think it can get much more lumpy than that.

I wasn't trying to go crazy. I just wanted for him to eat the oatmeal and thought he'll be more incline to do so if I put in it some fruit he likes. I agree vegetables are more important. Unfortunately, we are still fighting that war too.. I'll leave out the fruits next time. But as easy it may look to you, I still don't understand what is the difference between those two oats in given pictures. Is it ok for me to stick with the oat I have?

Ok, I thought it was regular out. I don't know what is rolled oat but I found some pictures. This is what I have , and this is what I find on the Google search for rolled oat . So is my oat "wrong" kind of oat? So I figured that I have to blend it to get a mash type of a meal. It didn't look like mash before that at all. Everything was very separated so i figured he's not gonna eat it that way. I still think it is not really like a mash because he can, sort of, eat a grain at a time..:-S Any ideas?

Today I cooked oat, added a few slices of tangerine, few rings of fresh banana, a bit of a kiwi (not a bird ;-) ), few dried raisins of cranberry and blend it all together in a blender (maybe you call it liquidizer?) and then heated a bit (because he wouldn't even touch cold oatmeal). Is this way to do an oatmeal? (I understand everyone will put their own mix of fruits in it..) What else do you put in? I can tell you,...Zak wasn't that thrilled about it:-S I made yummy sounds, even pretended I'm gonna eat it all without him, but didn't help much. Most of it went on the floor.. If I can't get him to like a nice fruity oatmeal, how do hell am I gonna get him to eat Thinkmash!? :-( And another question.. When you cook too much of the oat, can you put it in a fridge for another day? What about when fruit is already inside?

I'm in no way implying that this store is not reputable and that they do not love their birds. It may just be the case that no of their birds ever caught something from a peanut, and there might just as easily be that no bird in that store will ever get ill, but that is beside the point. Shells of the peanuts are carriers of the fungi and bacteria and it is definitely NOT a good idea to offer them to your bird. Maybe owners of the store aren't aware of that, or they never had a bed experience before so they let their guard down a bit, and because of it don't warn people. I don't wanna speculate here any further.. I didn't know about that unshelled peanut problem either till I read it somewhere and then asked my avian vet and she confirmed, and now I see also other members saying the same. So, my only advice to you is: better safe than sorry.

Didn't I say that from the start?! Well, now you are confusing me to! The peanuts with the shells are no good unless they are human grade and roasted that are in supermarkets. They're not raw and don't carry bacteria and fungi. You gave shelby the one with the shell, right?

I doesn't matter whether you grow them in your back yard. The point is that unshelled peanuts may have mold on it which can really harm your bird.

Shelby is just too adorable! :-) Great pictures!! I noticed in few pictures that Shelby was offered peanuts! I strongly advise against that. Here is just one quote/a word of caution, but there is lot more about peanuts on this forum if you are interested. To quote Dave from another thread: "What you SHOULD get rid of is all the unshelled peanuts in the bag. They're raw and the shells can carry bacteria and fungi on them. The best unshelled peanuts to give a bird ( if you want to) is human grade roasted unshelled peanuts that are in supermarkets. They're not raw and don't carry bacteria and fungi. They're consumed by people."

Don't be discouraged!:-) He is a child who needs your patience, love and perseverance. Right along with your support, no matter how long or short it takes, he'll be thriving and you'll be proud:-) I just wanna say this too, take one day at the time and we'll be right there with you:-) What kind of UV lamp did you buy? I take it you bought avian lighting?:-)

Yes, as Acapella said, Welcome and obsess away! ;-) Pictures please!:-)

Welcome back!:-) I look forward to getting to know you and Bella:-)

I have a wallpaper behind Zaks cage that is waterproof. I don't know exactly how to call it. It is shiny and you just wipe out with a wet cloth or a paper towel what ever it is stuck on it. It matches nicely with the wall so everyone is happy ;-)

Hi Kevin! Just wanted to say...IMO it is kinda not very probable that previous owners got her to avian vet, for her yearly checkups. In other words, do you know if they ever took her to the avian vet? IMO it would be wise to take her to the avian vet (although you are far from one) for a thorough check up to rule out all sorts of problems which you may not even be aware of, not to mention, problems that may, in any way, influence you or someone else in your household. Just to be on the safe side and to protect all your loved ones:-) And then, all what had already been said: bathing, spraying with Aloe juice, sunlight, good nutrition, maybe some vitamin supplements (I was recommended Nekton S), red palm oil, learn her how to play with toys, foraging and very important-bird scale! It can be regular scale with a home made t-perch but (in my country we say) it must be in grams (I hope you understand what I am trying to say). And Sherrie, about that question whether they remember their past. I really think they do, but check out this awesome link that someone else already put on the forum, but I'm not sure anymore where it is so here it goes again: http://www.dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=798

Well, eating is always a good sign:-) I hope from this point on things can go just for better:-) Of course, fingers & toes crossed that she starts to work back toward her normal diet and that the next update will be even better!:-) we are all here rooting for you both!!:-) Please keep us updated and take care you both!:-)

You have a point there. Sit by her cage, read something to her, talk to her to calm her down. Offer treats and IMO that will be just fine. She will still have her space but won't be alone:-)

There is nothing quick about this kind of procedures here at our end of the Universe:-S

Why would you start to smoke again if you haven't smoked in 25!!! years?

Wow! I never new that something like that even existed! I'm very glad that it does:-) Seeing this aviary I'd wanna live there also! ;-) The videos are going straight to bookmarks! Tnx Dave :-)

Very happy for you!:-) Of course we want pictures!! And updates! :-D Congratulation on your new family member! :-)

I'm sure he can. They are very sensitive to our moods and emotion. When I am sick, Zak sure does act differently. He is more gentle, cuddly and considerate towards me and he acts like he wants to protect me. You have a very good boy there, looking after you:-)

Wow! I never seen anything like that! It is enormous! Whose is it? Yours? And the surroundings, nature!...I was in awe.. It is so beautiful! Is it normal for some birds to look so bald? And as it seems, bald ones stayed on the lower perches and on the ground. Is it part of the dominance? Order of things? Tnx for sharing! Zakica loved the sounds! Watched very attentively ;-)

My vet is avian vet, in whom I have complete trust, and they have newest and best equipment in Croatia but that still doesn't mean that there is no difference in the size and purpose (cats and dogs) of the microchip along with the procedure of implementing it. Regrettably, I think there is a big gap between our technology ant the one of USA. Maybe I'm wrong, but we are behind in many things, so why would this be any different :-S

My Zak bit when he had trust issues. If your Grey had previous owners that just might be the clue. When I learned Zaks body language, started to respect his wishes (for example when to be left alone, ..), took better care about his needs, he stared to change. I can say honestly that I thought, at the time, I was doing everything right, but now I now I didn't. He still bites my boyfriend when he can't communicate with him. They are bites of warning but if my boyfriend would persist in bullying him I think it would get ugly. But in that case, my boyfriend very well deserves it. However, a while ago, Zak was biting for real! Like your does. Lounging, attacking for no reason-at least to me it appeared for no reason at all. The core issue with Zak was mistrust and that was my fault. Be sure to offer proper care, be consistent, patient and learn to read his body language. IMO you first need to build trust,and it could take a while, but it is gonna be worth it.