Gizmos

The vet thinks Gizmo got a scare, he couldn't see anything wrong and Gizmo was being a bit jumpy. That would be quite understandable considering all the changes Gizmo has gone through over the last year. There was nothing visibly wrong with Gizmos mouth or beak. Although the vet couldn't rule out anything more serious he said he was happy with me just keeping an eye on him and taking him back if anything changes. Thanks for your replies. I'm so glad I went as I now feel a lot more confident. That was the first time Gizmo had been to see an avian vet rather than a general vet and it was well worth it. Not only because of the vets reassurance but seeing the way he handled Gizmo has given me more confidence handling him. As soon as I got home I did exactley what the vet did and Gizmo stepped up. I also found out Gizmo is 10yrs old, it was on his foot ring, I wasn't sure if it was his birth year but the vet said it was. I also got lots of good advice and I'm feeling quite positive about looking after Gizmo now

A couple of nights ago he got hold of a measuring tape, my friend had it and he pulled the tape out. When we tried to get it off Gizmo he got a fright when it retracted. Then I'm not sure but he might have picked something up from the rug but by the time I got a look I couldn't see anything. he stepped up for the first time and I put him on the sofa. When I went back to try again I noticed blood on my hand but don't know if it came from his beak as he went to test my fingers or if it came from a scratch on my hand from his sharp claws. So I was really worried and called the vet. They said to keep an eye on him as it would be traumatic to bring him in unneccesarily. So I have been and I'm not happy. He is eating and drinking but not moving around his cage as normal, he won't come out the cage. He is spending most of his time sitting on the one perch. He is being vocal, not as much as usual though. He seems to be eating from one side of his beak, I really can't remember if he's always done that, and he's chewing his claws a lot. He came out of his cage once but went straight to the top and turned his back on me and sat there the whole time. I've been leaving the cage door open but he won't come out. He has played a littile with his toys but not much, not even his favourite paper shredder. I don't know if he got a fright with the tape measure of hurt himself with it, or swallowed something he shouldn't or is just under the weather. My rug is a deep pile one and although I hoover it a lot I might have missed something. I'm going to replace it with something easier to see what might be lurking. I'm hoping he's just having a couple of off days but I know that he might try to hide if somethings up. I'm quite worried. i've got an appointment tomorrow with an avian vet. Is it normal for african greys to have quiet days? Do they seem to prefer one side for biting food?

I just got a look at Gizmos leg band it says 01, is that the year he was born? Maybe my brother was wrong about Gizmos age. Not that it matters, as you said he's at this stage of his development regardless : ) Yes, he is very hot blooded at the moment, thats the impression I was getting! I noticed that even his regurgitation has a lot more intention in it. I suppose I'll just have to wait to start training until he calms down : ) Unfortunately its affecting the amount of time he's getting out the cage, its usually 3-4 hours but there is only so long I can manage to have him constantly at me. We are geting about 2hrs out at the moment, I know thats not enough but with 2 cats and an autistic son its all I can manage when he's being so clingy. I hope it passes soon as I feel cruel not giving him the time he needs. On a positive note he isn't doing the wing drooping and whining as much. Since moving to his new cage he has only done it 3 times in 2 weeks!

I just found out Gizmo is 7yrs not 9yrs. I don't let him regurgitate on me, as soon as he starts to do it I move away. He has started to do it everytime I go near his cage too, I always walk away. I read somewhere that birds can overbond(?) Is there such a thing and might this be the case? Last night everywhere I moved to Gizmo ran to keep up and if I stayed still he would do the digging thing. At one point I sat down and when I was geting up he ran to the space on the floor underneath me and started doing the digging. Also as soon as I let him out last night as soon as he flew down he ran up to me and pushed his body against my leg, sort of like he was stroking me with his side, if that makes any sense? I did block off under the sofa as there was a sharp bit that he might have hurt himself. I've also got toys down to try and distract him but he is not interested at all in anything but following me and doing the digging. I seriously think he is a she though, from what I have read. I know without dna its difficult to tell. I'm getting a bit stressed as I really want to train Gizmo to do step up and other important things but can't even get started while this is going on as all he wants to do is dig and regurgitate.

Gizmo has started doing something strange. He always climbs down from his cage and is more interested in exploring the floor than playing on his playtop. He is obsessed with trying to get under one of my sofas. I even moved it across to the other side of the sitting room but he still goes to it. When I sit on the floor he comes right up to me, checks me with his beak and then starts doing digging. He holds onto the rug with his beak and digs with one of his legs. I tried moving back a few inches, he then moves closer to me. If I move anywhere, even the other side of the room, then he stops and comes over to where I am and starts again. His head is usually touching my leg or clothes when he is doing this. Last night I just stayed in one spot and after 15 mins of doing this he finished and started playing with my fingers then regurgitated. When I finally managed to get him back in his cage he grabbed my fingers and regurgitated on them again. I know regurgitation is meant to be a sign of affection but I was wondering if it was connected to the digging? I know the digging is a normal behaviour, he used to do it in his cage sometimes. I'm going to provide some floor activities for him to try and distract him but does anyone know why he might be behaving like this?

I got Gizmos cage a few days ago. Its huge, which is a good thing, lots of space for Gizmo to spread his wings. I put it up and just let Gizmo see it. He didn't fly to it until yesterday and with a bit of coaxing explored it a wee bit inside. He's been happily flying from one cage to the other and for the first time I've closed the door and kept him in his new cage. I'm not sure if I should leave him in there for a bit. He seems fine, having a good explore around. I've uploaded a few photos and will upload more as I add to the cage. Thanks for all your advice

I'm getting a new cage, is the Montana brand good? I'm thinking of getting this one http://www.cagesworld.co.uk/p/Montana_Castell_Play_Parrot_Cage.htm I can get if for nearly £100 less from another website but this one has best picture. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

Thanks for all your replies, the water dish has been a disaster so far, emptied out everytime. I'll keep trying though : ) I'm slowly trying to introduce new things for him. He seems to really love the soaked pulses so I'll keep that up. Still not made mash for him but plan to do so this weekend.

I'm getting a bit overwhelmed with what to do next, there seems to be so many things that need changed for Gizmo. I'm trying to make things better for him but don't know where to start, so I'm starting with his diet. He's on a parrot food mix but I just discovered it has artificial colours in it and monkey nuts. I pick out the monkey nuts incase of mould and I've found a better food which is all natural but it will take a week to change him over. Also my mum fed Gizmo on the parrot mix with mainly fruit and a few vegetables so I'm trying to change that around to mainly veg with less fruit. I bought a pulses and brown rice mix which I soak overnight and cook for him, he loves it. So I'm considering making him mash, how much would I feed him daily? Would the mash replace the parrot food mix or would it be in addition to it? Additionaly Gizmo also gets a little bit of whatever we're having, if its safe to do so. If you eat in front of him without sharing he is not happy and will try to tip his dishes over . My other diet worry is his water intake, My mum was told that if she gave Gizmo a water dish he would drown, so Gizmo uses a water bottle and needs to be given drinks throughout the day. I don't like this because he may not be getting his needs met especially if I have to go out. I tried him with a water dish yesterday and he just dropped lots of food in it, he didn't drink any (but he loved tipping it over, twice ). I have tiny little expresso cups and Gizmo loves to drink from these. I've discovered he loves apple juice and peppermint tea : ) Again, how much should he have? I'd say he drinks about a couple of tablespoons, maybe less. I only give him any once a day. Thanks Debbie

My name is Debbie and I live in scotland. I have just recently taken over care of my mums african grey called Gizmo. I think he is about 9(ish)yrs old and is very lovely. My mum died last summer so Gizmo has had to deal with her loss just the same as the rest of us. He was staying with my brother but he found it difficult to afford the food Gizmo needs and give him the attention he needed so I have taken Gizmo, he has been with me for 2 days now. During the last 3 months of my mums life I had taken over responsibility for Gizmo so he knows me well and even though he hadn't seen me for 8 months he appears to remember me and has been regurgitating and doing little dances for me. I think maybe I have the same voice as my mum. Anyways, I'm glad I found this forum as I've already had some much needed support to let Gizmo out of his cage. I'm sure I'll have lots more questions, probably by tomorrow morning : ) I have a couple of photos but they are a couple of years old, I'll take new ones soon....

I found out from my brother that Gizmo would not leave the door of his cage whenever he let him out, so wasn't sure how he would be. I was pleasantly surprised : ) I let Gizmo out and all was well. After having a look around he decided he wanted to sit on back of the sofa, think he wanted to be close to where everyone was. I'm qiute happy with him doing that but get nervous when he flies as I'm worried he'll fly into something and hurt himself. He did fly across the room and land on my sons toy ambulance but climbed down and just walked across the floor. He also happily climbed onto my sons hand, so maybe I'll have a go at letting him on my hand tomorrow. The main problem was getting him back in the cage! Tomorrow I'm going to let him out during the day for a bit longer, and he's getting a bath : ) Thanks for the encouragement, I'm sure I'll have lots more questions to follow : ) I've got a couple of pictures but they are a couple of years old, I'll take some new ones soon and post them.

Thanks, I'll let him out tonight. Gizmos loving his new toys today, don't know if he's had any new ones since last time I seen him but he's having fun just now anyway : ) I'll get some photo's up soon, thanks again for your advice.

Hi everyone, not sure if I'm posting in the right area but I really need some advice. My mum died last summer leaving her lovely 9(ish)yr old african grey, called Gizmo. My brother was looking after him but I found out he wasn't looking after him properly, so I have taken him. I have looked after him before for 3 months and have helped my mum care for him so do have a little experience. Now that I have him here though I'm suddenly scared that I'm going to do something wrong, I don't have my mum to call to ask any questions anymore. So just now my main worries are: How much should he drink every day? He drinks from a water bottle. How long before I can let him out? He has been here for 2 days, it feels cruel not to let him out but I'm scared its too soon. I know he's missing my mum, he loved her very much. For the last 3 months of her life I had taken over all his care up until my mum died and he went to my brothers. Gizmo had started to do those special things for me, e.g. regurgitate : ) As soon as he arrived here he started doing them to me again, do you think he remembers me even though its been 8 months? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Debbie