Morana

Maybe it would be a good idea, with potty training, if it isn't trained always in/over the same place. For example..when you see he wants/needs to poop position him over a bin, use your cue word and praise him after he poops. Another time, position him on his favorite perch, in this case maybe on cage... I don't think it is good to hold the poop in :-((

Congrats on bathing your CAG!!:-) My only working method is: put CAG into cage, sprinkle him just a bit with mist spray bottle till he fluffs up. If he needs more persuading i start to sprinkle him some more while giggling and blabbing my ass off in a funny voice and it usually works. He starts to play, fluffs up and lifts his wings. This is the sign he really wants to bathe, so more I sprinkle him, more he fluffs up. At that point, even if I open the cage he doesn't want to go out, instead he chooses to splash me with water from his bowl. When he is so soaked (including everything around his cage) I let him out to fly and dry off. I bought him a shower perch but he doesn't really like it. Nor bathing with me.. Till I develop another method I am stuck with cleaning my CAG and my apartment at the same time :-S ;-) ...so this is another way to try ;-)

You sure have a cuddly fellow:-) I adore this special moments with our feathered friends...:-)

Thank you :-)

One thing is a warning bite, or just a slight bite to express his quarks but it is not normal if your bird makes you bleed. It is not her/his individuality. It is their indiscipline

Thank you for the praises and for welcoming us :-) We are glad to be here :-)

I don't put them in cage (because they would end up as mush in the water dishes ). Instead I bought 100% natural rope so I put the rings on strings so Zakica can swing on them or just tear them apart. Also, that way, the paper ring is always in front of him and I don't need to worry whether it fell on the floor and got dirty. Also, that way I don't need to constantly pick the rings up.. ;-)

Tnx:-) I asked about bacteria and "crap" because I thought I read somewhere that some humidifiers have an option-to add some pharmaceutical product which can be put into water in order to kill bacterias...? Is this true and is it safe for our and our birdies health?

PS: If I know in some situations there may be higher chance he could bite, often I put him away-in cage or in another room just during this activity. I don't want him to associate these activities with going to the cage so I randomly choose how to distract him (in a positive way). If I want to put him in the cage, first I put inside the cage his favorite fruit, new toy or anything which could make him forget why he is going inside this time.. Sometimes I just say :"please be a good bird and go inside because I just need to do______ and then I will let you outside right away" and then he has patience for whatever I need to do.

My experience tells me, if he bites, you are doing something wrong. First make sure he has been bathed; stationed away from draft; played with that day; are you feeding him healthy food, lots of veggies, fruits; does he have a lot of toys which he enjoys playing with on regularly bases-mental stimulant is crucial for having a happy parrot; does he have enough uninterrupted sleep; fresh water for drinking;... If it is not about these basic needs maybe you are pushing him too far out from his comfort zone. IMO it is wise always to be aware of your birds body language. My Zak is extremely cranky when the weather is changing or when someone near him is angry or nervous. Pay attention on a breeding season-the hormones are making him a bit nuts. These are the most common triggers. Since I started to pay even closer attention to these factors, Zak became really good bird in a very short time. If he does something really bed he knows he will end up in the cage with no attention, for a while, and he never disobeys his punishment. In firm voice I tell him he did something bad- never give him satisfaction of screaming or making painful faces. At least try. Most important no flicking him on the beak (or anywhere else) - he must not learn punishment with agression because he will learn to use it himself toward you. Afterwards, everything is back to normal. Also I noticed something interesting.. my mother does not know how to set boundaries for Zak so he is constantly proving his dominance over her and pushing this limit further and further every time. He doesn't want to change his behavior because he knows there will be no consequences for his actions (when he is alone with her). He doesn't behave in this manner with anyone else (because no one lets him).

Can someone please explain to me what is a liquid VICKS concentrate and what is it used for? Also, I see the huge importance of humidity and humidifiers in our birdies lives but from all these posts I do not know, anymore, which would be the best choice for my bird-(?) Did I get this right?-there are ultrasonic, ones that use vaporizer steam, ones that produce cool mist,...? Plain and simple, which features must one have not to allow bacteria and other crap to spread while working? Sorry for the vocabulary

Thank you all for kind words:-) And yes, the toy in the picture is birdie bagel bought here http://www.windycityparrot.com/Birdie-Bagels-Extra-Large-7-In-Paper-Ring.asp and it is his favorite. He likes shreddable toys best. PS: he also likes throwing socks out of the basket. When finished with socks, he throws basket on the floor ;-)

Here are some more photos of my birdie:-) Two are from this Christmas.. When I come home from holiday there will be more.. ;-)

It's a man thing ;-) Maby your grey just likes men better?

Hi and welcome! :-) Please don't feed him with stuff that is not appropriate for greys. My godfather gave his parrot all sorts of food because it seemed he liked to eat everyhing and then his arteries clogged,he had a heart attack and died! My baby grey came with clipped wings and I soon realized that it was extremely stressful time for him because he had an instinct he should be able to fly. I do not even want to imagine how is it for the fully grown parrot regarding clipped wings. It could maby be useful to put some toys (gradually more and more) arround his food bowl so he needes to clime over them. That way he would gain some confidence instead of insecurity and fear of falling that, I imagine, he is experiencing now.. For the beek and "toe nails" I bought safety pumice perch (large) and it worked wonders. Before that Zak needed to go to the vet twice a year to be clipped and had terrible problems with his beak and now it is all gone:-) Less stress, nicer and happier parrot;-)

Uh, please don't do that again! You could loose your beautiful feathered friend for good in a split second :-(((((((

Hello and welcome:-) I wanted to ask...how did you train your Polly to go outside on your sholder and not fly away?

Uh, I would never clip my birds wings and I know his sex- it's a boy:-) He certainly doesn't need beak filing.. He really is fine other than a feather condition. I'll wait for the funds and then get him to the vet. In the meantime I'll keep up monitoring his feathers. I am worried but I hope he'll be fine:-)

I got my Zakica when he was a bit older than 3 months and he was so clumsy it could melt your heart. Unfortunatelly I don't have any photos from that period :-(

Thank you!:-) Is this adorable baby chick in photo your bird?-it is the prettiest baby I have ever seen!

Hello again:-) You were extremely helpfull. Every year in Fabruary I do what you call a work up (except I don't think we checked calcium levels:-S) and last year everything was fine. Of course, it doesn't mean that automatically everything will be fine this time too. Again unfortunately, for money reasons, I will be forced to wait till Fabruary:-( But thank you for the advice. You reminded me that there are much more tests that could be done and determine what is the problem :-)))))) PS: is there somewhwere a specific list what would a thorough work up include?-because I don't think I've been testing everything I sould have. Sorry if I am badgering you. I just don't want to find inconclusive or misguiding information on the web and I don't wan't to relinquish this decision to my vet this time

Thanks everyone for welcoming Zak and me. Happy to be here. And yes, I adore my pretty bird :-)

Wait, I just remembered!- I did buy him vitamins for a year, a few years back but he would not take it. He wouldn't touch his favoruit fruit if I sprinkled vitamins over the fruit and he didn't want to drink water with vitamins in it so eventually I gave up because I couldn't afford the vitamins any more.

The present vet is an avian vet and she is the best I know. The theory of the vitamin deficiency sounds reasonable because he just won't eat the evggies and since in my country there is no pellets my bird has been on the seed diet for ever. Only when I have money I can import pellets from US or UK but since I've known for pellets just over a year, and I am a student with virtually no (stable) income, it is very rarely he gets them so that could be another reason. For the same reason he didn't have the full spectrum lighthing till last month. Recommendations how to get my bird to eat more veggies and which veggies in this case exactly? Could you please tell me more about slightly elevated white blood count and increased globulins? PS: are country and me (until a year and a half ago-and still discovering) are still in the Stone Age about toys, perchis for gooming,... pretty much anything concerning birds (as pets). The literature I read before I got him PPS: when he molts new feathers have maby one spot on them but soon they become like the rest

Thank you:-) Happy holidays to you too:-)