Joe Bachi

Thank you for the advice, I was actually planning on doing this and I do hope that he will get well soon

Hey guys, Do any of you know whether or not pepinos are good for CAGs? I tried to Google it but I only found results concerning the pepino tree wood which is toxic for birds Thank you for your help Joe

Well there are good news and bad news: Good news: __________ Mikko has stopped plucking his wings Bad news: _________ He stopped because there are almost no more feathers on them and apparently he has started plucking his back Good news: __________ Now I don't have to go through the dilemma of whether or not I should have him clipped Bad news: _________ He's not doing a good clipping job Good news: __________ I am now sure that Mikko's beak is still strong and healthy Bad news: _________ I know that because he's been chewing his wooden perches (which took some time for me to make) (I'm sorry but at this stage dark humor is the only way for me to stay a bit positive and not over-stress which could make things worse ) Regards Joe

Guys, I noticed something today while examining his plucked feathers: none of them were removed from the root, it's as if he is breaking them with his beak as opposed to actually plucking them here is photo: So am I right or is this how plucking usually looks like? I'm starting to think that maybe he's just itchy (maybe he has mites) since he is so calm during the day and even when he plucks he'll still respond to me (he doesn't look mad), but I'm not that experienced so what do u think? Thank you Joe

Ok, so I won't train him daily but you should know that by training I mean practicing the step up for 10 mins in his cage and I usually stop when he stops responding or gets a bit distracted and I always end training by giving him treats and praising him (never thought that it would be a problem) Thank you for your replies Regards Joe

It used to be 3-4 times a week now it's almost everyday, why do you ask?

I scheduled an appointment with the vet on Monday, but getting Mikko out of his cage and into his travel cage will be a big problem (He never comes out of his cage ) so basically I'm going to go by myself and talk to the vet in order to figure out what's wrong with him (that's what he suggested), though he thinks it's just stress Wish me luck and hope Mikko gets well soon Regards Joe

I've had him for just about a year now, and no there were no noticeable changes with his beak it's been like this ever since I got him

His beak has been like this ever since I got him, and no we don't have a Walmart here though I can check the pharmacy. I usually trim his nails but I never thought that his beak needed trimming (That's gonna be hell for both of us) Thanks Joe

I live in Lebanon and summer is just starting here, the only change that may have caused this problem should be the hot weather, aside from that I am leaving his cage open all day now to encourage him to come out since I am now home all day. As for his age, I am not sure but definitely around three years old Thank you for your response Joe

Hi, It's been 2 or 3 weeks now and Mikko's feathers are falling like crazy, he has lost almost all of his flight feathers and I fear he may be plucking What am I supposed to do? I am sure this is not normal! Regards Joe

Seems that you've uncovered a training technique! I've actually read about this in a book (the african grey parrot handbook), and it says that teaching by example is one of the best ways to train AGs as they will want to compete with their rival(Puffers in this case) for your attention and do what they just witnessed. Some jealousy is always good when it comes to training and progress......(also applicable for humans )

I don't want a free breeding pair, all I want is for the people who are making statements to put there money where their mouth is. I was 100% sure that no one was going to send me a pair (which btw I didn't even want) and you all proved me right. So in conclusion, I would like to thank you for helping me prove my point.

As I said before talk is cheap, lecturing is cheaper. When there's a will there's a way. *Still ignoring the evident rudeness and under-estimation in past posts * Regards Joe Sometimes this place feels like some sort of a cult where outsiders are prone to attacks and ambushes every second....

Well in my case I bought Mikko for 300 $ which may not seem much at first but just keep in mind that the salary I got from my summer job working with kids in a summer camp for one and a half months was 400 $ (and that's because I had two years of experience... my first ever paycheck was a mere 350 $)

To all of you who want to help the situation and stop the smuggling of parrots I give you a solution: Talk is cheap............................parrots are not so if you want to help you can try to send me 2 breeding couples so that I can become the first local breeder in Lebanon and perhaps inspire others to do the same and stop this corrupted business. I would have loved to do this on my own but I'm still a student which means I have no job which means I have no money. And as some of you may know, Lebanon is not exactly the richest country in the world and unfortunately my family is simply middle class. So in an attempt to actually do some changes in this world I hope to see you all cooperate with me since writing on this forum alone will never really accomplish any real major goals Regards Joe

Mikko still doesn't trust me enough to let me pet his head or maybe he just doesn't like contact.......... Hard to know

So sorry it didn't work out for you, but hey at least you had a 1% possibility of it actually working...........The glass is always full: half water half gas

Grey are very smart, unfortunately I have discovered that they are equally stubborn and will try anything to get their way. Sometimes I think that my grey enjoys trying to trick me lol

I'm with you on this one

I must agree with the others here, if there is a possibility of buying an already tame than you do just that... if not... it's going to be one tough relationship to build

Aww that's really lucky, enjoy it and I truly hope it lasts

I'd rather not, it's all water under the bridge now, but I just wanted to be safe (thanks for caring though)

This is the story of how I got Mikko and all the events that have happened since, I am publishing it because I believe that it may be helpful to some people who might be going through the same situation I was in. My name is Joe and I live in Lebanon. Last year I decided to buy a CAG for a pet, so I did all my research and went to many different pet shops trying to find the perfect grey. Unfortunately, none of these greys fit descriptions on the internet, they were ALL wild caught and they only imported mature(yellow iris) or semi-mature(white iris) parrots because the young fids needed much more attention and were therefore considered a bad investment. Of course there was always the option of buying one online and having it imported, but the costs were far beyond my budget. So I ended up buying a grey from a pet shop that had me wait 4 weeks for the parrots to be imported. As I later discovered, Mikko (my parrot) was a wild caught parrot (with pale yellow irises) smuggled from the Nigerian forests and into Lebanon. Most of his wing feathers were either broken or damaged beyond repair due to the aggressive way in which he was caught and handled. When I went to the pet shop to pick him up(on June 6th 2011), there were four cages on the floor each containing a frightened Grey. The first screamed at the top of it's lungs every time I got near the cage along with two others who would start to scream as soon as they heard the first one. Mikko stood out as the one grey who was quiet all this time and looked the calmest, so I chose him thinking that he might be more cooperative in training. By the third day I was already feeding him seeds through the bars of his cage, and come day four he was eating out of my hand while inside his cage. From then on things progressed slowly as I tried may different ways to get him to step up without really knowing what I was doing. I did make some progress however as he was soon stepping on my gloved hand(since he had been unexpectedly biting at the time) and I was able to get him out of the cage and back in. During August, I took Mikko with me when I started to go stay with my parents every other day in our country house(a 40 min drive) and he adapted rather well to the car ride (he would shred the newspaper at the bottom of his cage) and to the new setting (the other house). Things changed however when I got him a bigger cage and tried to transfer him. He was able to escape and fly off into the nearby land where there were a few trees and bushes, and after a 5 hour chase, my dad and I were finally able to capture him and bring him back home. I was surprised to find that Mikko wasn't affected by this dramatic incident and showed no aggression or fear towards me or my father. It was at that time that I purchased a bird training DVD set and started using their techniques. Fast forward five and a half months and here I am having a good relationship with Mikko who steps onto my bare hands without biting(but only does so when in his cage), allows me to clip his nails while perching in his cage, and sometimes tries to talk and say his own name (when I am out of sight). My goal now is to get him to exit his cage and enter my room where I am sure the training will go faster and more efficiently. In conclusion, I believe that a wild grey can be tamed, but such a thing requires much hard work and dedication. Though if I personally had the option of buying an in-captivity bred baby grey, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. Regards Joe PS:Comments are welcomed, lectures on how I should have acted and accusations of me being a bad grey owner who is selfish and hates his pet are not (Sorry if it sounded rude but I have been down this road once and I don't wish to go there again)

No most of them in his cage and the others were taken in my room