Mama CJ

I think I will freeze them so I can use them as needed. I haven't worked with the shells yet but they as so hard I would think it could be easily drilled for hanging.

I make a "birdie bread" and put in pureed broccoli, carrots, bell peppers kale, zucchini or what ever I have that they won't eat. Basically it's corn bread mix with added veggies. Also egg with the shell and chopped up almonds and pellets because they toss those too! I try to make each batch taste a little different by either add peanut butter to one or extra corn to another. Maybe spice one up with hot peppers. This last batch had a good deal of squash since I have several left from the garden and cinnamon. Now that they eat the bread easily, I leave a little bigger pieces of veggies for them to try slowly. Keep the mixture wet so it's not crumbly like regular corn bread.

Congrats! I made my first batch of chop about a week ago. I had lots of veggie from my garden that I wanted to use so I didn't have to purchase too many. Mine was like the "autumn chop". My greys and zons are starting to pick at it more and more, but the parakeets devour it!

Thanks for the reply birdhouse. I thought the cotton was questionable but wasn't sure about fleece.

I have a couple of black walnut trees in my yard beside a creek. Are they safe to feed to my parrots? I know then need to have the outer husk removed. Do they also need to be dried and cured? Are they nutritionally worth the effort? Any info would be welcomed.

Hi all, I have a question about fleece and cotton fabric. Are they safe to use on parrot toys? Lately I've seen large metal hoops with either strips of cotton or strips of fleece tied in knots around it. Also, I've seen the large plastic chains with strips of cotton or fleece tied to it. Any thoughts or experience using those? I've made several quilts in the past and have tons of fleece and cotton, some already cut into strips! Thanks, Carla

Wow! They are just so amazing. I usually get better and more intelligent conversations from my greys then from my hubby!! (shhhh, don't tell him I said that)

I saw these at a local pet store..... http://www.windowalert.com/index.html

I got Millie, her cage and toys for free from my husband's ex-sister-in-law. She knew I would take her in and care for her. She came with some issues from being neglected and ignored for many years but we love her just the way she is. I paid $650 for Rocky and his cage/toys.

Thank you for the info. I've seen all kinds of food do's and don'ts for greys, but not much on amazons.

Is the Zon's diet basically the same as a Grey's? Is the do and do not list of safe foods the same? How about a hard boiled egg? There are a few things I'm not sure about with grey's, like radish (not just the greens) or red cabbage. I have fresh veggies growing and I need to know what is safe for sure before we share!

Thanks for all of the replies! Rocky pulled a trick on me this morning. I heard him move around his cage about 5:30 a.m. When it was 6 a.m. I didn't hear anything out of him. By 6:30 he was still quiet, not even moving about the cage and it worried me so much that I had to get up and check on him. Of course, as soon as he saw me he says, "Here kitty kitty kitty" right on cue. So the one morning he let me sleep in, I was too worried about him to go back to sleep! I don't mind when he gets me up early in the winter, I get up to get my son ready for school anyway.

I've had Rocky for about 5 months now. He just turned 5 years old. He wakes up every morning, about 5:50 a.m. with a very loud "Here kitty kitty kitty" then rings his bell. We don't even have a cat! His previous family did. Anyway, I close the curtains and blinds in the room at bed time but light comes in from a nearby sky light in the morning. I tried covering him at night but he hated it. He would freak out by every little noise and would bite at the cover through the bars. Any other suggestions? I've love to sleep in a little longer since the kids are out to school for the summer!

Looks great! I have to ask, where do you get some of your ingredients? Like golden flax, millet, and pepitos? Can these things be found at the grocery? I have a Trader Joe's about 40 miles away, would they have these ingredients? I live in the country and the closest grocery stores are Kroger and Walmart. I make an occasional trip to the bigger cities......Thanks, Carla

I am so sorry for you loss.

Will do! Thank you for the great advice!

Thanks so much Dave. Yes, 10 years old and first time plucker (from what I've been told, she was a family members bird). I think what may have set her off was a new bird added to the flock. This behavior started just days after. I don't know how to fix that without losing a bird and that really isn't an option. Maybe she's jealous the other bird can fly and she doesn't. I don't know if or when she ever flew. She came with wings clipped and her other owner said it had been a few years since she was even out of her cage. She is now out on a daily basis, several hours a day but she just climbs all over her cage. I will start the cooled juice bath in the morning. She doesn't fuss much for her misting/bath but I have a hard time getting under her wings. I've had a hard time keeping the humidity up in the house even with a humidifier cranking 24/7. Thanks again, Dave. Carla & Millie

Well, Dave, it wasn't what I wanted to hear, but now I know. I will be picking up aloe vera juice in the morning. What are the chances she'll stop plucking? I don't know what to do to fix the situation. I couldn't imagine having to rehome either bird. :confused:

Thanks for the reply, Judy. I don't see any bare spots. This has slowly been going on for about 6 weeks. It started with the tail. She lost all but a few tail feathers in just a few days but they are coming back in now. Some are in quite a bit, some just coming in about an inch long, the pin feathers. She seems to be leaving the tail alone but has moved to the chest and some under her wings.

How old is he? Both of my CAGs have that awful ear piercing, attention getting sharp chirp. If it goes on too long I try to give them something else to do. Sometimes I turn on the radio or move the cage. Hope it passes for you and your sanity! haha

Thanks for the reply Barbara. I've felt so bad thinking I've done something that upset her this much. I've only had parakeets, tiels and love birds and they never went through much of a molt. Well, my keets have to be the messiest birds I've ever had. Tiny feathers on the floor ALL the time! I'm really hoping that some of it may be due to the better diet she's on now compared to what she was getting before. But that was back in September. Her feathers were pretty dull but she was only fed seed most of the time, and junk food.

Thanks Shelly. I have a ranch style home. I could put Rocky in the spare room so she can't see him but anywhere in my home he can be heard. And she gets lots of extra attention from me, my son and hubby.

Now after I got the first post completed with pics and took a quick phone call, this is what I found. She's fine all day then I find feathers like this in about 20 minutes....

I need some advice and/or opinions. I have a 10 year old CAG, Millie. I have had her since mid September. She has always been a very laid back kind of bird. She came to our home and fit right in without skipping a beat. She even spent 2 weeks over the holidays with my daughter while I was out of state, no problems. We have parakeets and 4 dogs, no problem. She has never let us handle her, we just go at her pace. She seems to roll with the changes...... Until we brought home Rocky, a 4 year old male CAG. Within 3-4 days I noticed many tail feathers on the bottom of the cage. Not chewed, no blood, just seemed to be old ones.They are coming back in now. But now she is really working her chest area. Not just the white fluff, but the other ones too. Sometimes they are chewed off but no blood. All seem to be old ones. I did see 1 pin feather pulled about a week ago. After we got Rocky in January, I made sure Millie was cleaned, fed, showered (misted) and greeted first. The only thing I can think of that might upset her is that Rocky can fly but Millie had her wings clipped and does not fly. Rocky never gets on her cage. They pretty much ignore each other. Sometimes she'll make a loud sound and he'll tell her to shut up, but she just laughs at him. She is eating great and plays. She has been a little quieter. Just not as talkative in the morning and evening as usual. Droppings look normal. I took a few pics of her. A couple from last night and the others from today. Any help would be appreciated greatly....Thanks, Carla

Congrats! Rocky's name was Rafiki but the hubby didn't like it so he started to call him Rocky. I started to call him Rocky Rafiki then slowly dropped the Rafiki. Seems to be ok by him!