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Hi everyone, sorry for not updating sooner! It was canary pox. Her mom originally had it and passed it on to her baby. There wasn't anything the vet could do put prescribe antibiotics. Unfortunately, the baby didn't make it and died this morning. On the bright side, her mom who had the wet version of canary pox (blisters in mouth) is doing a lot better. Thanks for all of your help! I really appreciate it.

Hi, this is my baby canary! She was doing so well for the past couple weeks, but this morning I found her looking like this: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/715/img0490gn.jpg/ There are swollen bubbles all over her body. I checked up on her again tonight, and the swelling has gone down, but the bubbles are still there. Can someone please tell me what's wrong? EDIT: She is still active and alert.

Actually, never mind. She's okay now! Maybe it was too dark in the room and she thought it was still nighttime. She's playing outside on her perch and getting some sun!

So some of you have seen me gushing about my new CAG, Buddy! Everything has been going swimmingly, and she is the most active bird. However, today she's not talking as much, she's sleeping a lot, and she doesn't want to come out and play. I sometimes see her fluffed up with her leg up, so that means she's relaxed, right? But she's still sleeping right now.... I guess I can come up with some reasons why she's sleeping so much: 1. It was particularly cold today as fall/winter is coming in. 2. She didn't sleep well last night. I guess she wanted to play too much. She slept around midnight? And now it's 1:30 PM the next day, and that's less than 14 hours so maybe she's still sleepy... Can she be sick?

Haha, yeah! We can scratch her on her head, and she'll be really cute about it, but then in the next second she'll turn back and attempt to nip at us. But it's okay. Her bites aren't as ferocious as before (unless she's sleepy and in a particularly grouchy mood), but more of a little nudge away. She learned how to say no in context, and instead of the clicking sound she always used to tell us she wants to be left alone, she now says "no!" Everyone is a lot happier to be around her now, and we find her very funny. Even my dad - the person hardest to please - can't resist her charm!

Wow! For the past couple of days I thought Buddy was just a quiet, nontalkative bird, but I guess not. This morning on her outside perch, we turned on the music, left the room and recorded her, and boy was she "singing"! She continually whistled along with the song until it ended, and refused to talk again until another song played. Oh, and we finally got to pet her head today. Progress!

Don't feed too many fruits? How much is too much?

Okay, thank you. I think she is more of my bird than my parent's bird. >.> They seem to think she's aggressive or something, but it's more because we don't understand her well enough. We do leave her alone when she gets like that, but a little bit later she is fine.

Hi guys! Thank you for all of your comments. I have another question... so a couple of days ago, Buddy was pretty sweet and shy, but today, even though I thought things were getting better, she started getting a little bit more aggressive... or maybe she didn't like the treats we bought her because when we handed it to her, she kind of made a fast darting movement like she wanted to bite... Is this normal for her to get moody?

Thanks everyone! And Eshana, there are some other toys for her but she doesn't really like playing with them, and at the time of the pictures, she just happened to really like those balls that she already broke in half. We're going to go get some more toys for her later today. And just an update, I think she is getting more comfortable around us and we have learned how to get used to reading her body language. She loves walking around is almost never inside her cage, but it is a bit difficult getting her back in because she just loves to play so much.

Thank you, Barbara! Yeah, we've been feeding her some grapes and some sunflower seeds and she just loves eating. Even though she can be shy, whenever she sees food she's climbing over the bars just to get some.

Hi guys! So you might have remembered I had an old post about whether or not I should get an African Grey and at that time I had a lot of problems regarding where to put the cage and how my parents weren't that cooperative. But anyway, that was a few months ago, and they have made concessions and the cage is now inside the family room. We are all very excited and we have all agreed to take care of her (actually, I'm not sure if it's a boy or a girl, but we are going to assume she's a girl). Her name was supposed to be Buckbeak (Harry Potter reference), but my parents found that too difficult, and we have taken to calling her Buddy. The reason why Buddy's with us now is because my friend could no longer take care of her, and so she gave her to us, including the cage and all of her toys and perches. It's only been a day since Buddy started living with us but we love her already! She is 3 years old, which is still relatively young. She seems to be adapting well, no plucking, she can talk, but it's not very clear. We can touch her beak, but that's it. When she was with her old owners, we could hold her, but after getting her home, she doesn't want to be held and makes attempts to bite us. She eats well and already loves destroying things. Pictures! Awww, she's so cute! I love it when she carries things with her talons. There are no problems with her, but I do have a minor concern and I would just like some reassurance. She won't act this distant with us forever, right? I know this is a new environment and all, and I really hope that she will be able to open up so we can actually hold her and actually pet her without fearing that she'll bite us. That's the only reason why my parents are still kind of weary about Buddy.

Hi guys! Just an update. Well, we decided to get a cockatiel. I thought we were going to get just one, but the person selling them was extremely generous and gave us two, plus the cage! Yay, I'm so happy! They're still kind of nervous, and if I were them, I wouldn't want people gawking at me 24/7, so I stopped staring and let them adjust. Aww, they're so cute. Once again, thank you all for replying.

Thanks everyone! I read all of your answers and I agree that it will probably be best if I wait until I have my own place. I think having a Grey is equivalent to having a child, so if I wouldn't have a child at this age, I probably shouldn't invest in a Grey just yet! I think I am going to settle for maybe a smaller bird and build up on my experience so I can finally get the bird of my dreams. Thank you all for your opinions and I really appreciated it.

Wow, thanks for all of your replies! Well, regarding the location of the cage, we finally agreed that the bird can stay inside the house in the living room, which I'm very happy about. Morana, thank you for your very detailed answers, and yes, I have started thinking about cages, playstands, toys, vets, etc. However, I think I have been overestimating the size of cage that is needed. All of this stuff gets pretty pricey, but worth it. Haha, all of my younger siblings and I have told my parents that instead of going out or buying something for us for doing well in school, we just all want one bird. As for leaving on vacation, we have family members that live very close by so that they can just stop by our house to check up on the bird and talk to it (but I don't think we'll be going on vacation much...) Yes, I am still in school and will be off to college in a couple of years, but hopefully by then, the bird will learn to get along with everyone in the family so that it won't miss me too much. My parents are willing to get the bird and spend time with it, but they are just wary of buying one online. Around 4 people have tried to scam us with the exact same story about their nonexistent birds, and it's starting to get annoying to tell you the truth. I'm still looking around for an avian vet, and I wouldn't get a bird before finding one! The problem right now is that my mom still thinks that the issue with nonstick pans is just a bunch of baloney, and that the internet is just making a big deal out of nothing. I keep insisting that it really is a big problem, and it's probably not good for us either. Then she goes to say that she wouldn't heat it to the prescribed "500 degrees F" but I don't want to risk anything. Sigh, by the way things are looking, I'm probably not ready for a grey and will probably have to wait until I get my own place (which might be a while, but good things happen to those who wait, right?). I will keep all of you updated on my current situation, and I will most likely ask more questions as I read more about these wonderful birds.

Hi! So I'm new to this forum and I'm not yet a Grey owner (I really hope to be one, though! But I have to slow down and make sure I am very prepared) so that means I will have a lot of questions. I hope you guys don't mind. I have been reading a lot of the threads on this forum for a while, and there is a lot of useful information! I have been previously posting my questions on Yahoo Answers, but I think that I would get more advice and more personal stories to help guide me in my decision for getting a grey. Anyway, these are some of my more pressing questions regarding Greys: 1. One of the things I'm really worried about is about nonstick pans. They contain PTFE, and when I told my mom to stop using these nonstick pans, she refused. So I checked the brand of our nonstick cookware set and it's Kirkland Signature. Does the Kirkland Signature nonstick cookware contain PTFE or anything else that's harmful? 2. Another question I have is about location of the cage. Currently indoors, there aren't any suitable places, and my parents don't really want to have the bird inside. However, we do have a sunroom that is connected to our living room. It basically has three walls of just windows, and one solid wall. It is very well lit, but sort of hot in the morning. There are blinds on all of the windows, and even if we close them it's still brightly lit but I guess not as hot. I can open the doors and cool air will come in. It's kind of humid compared to the rest of the house, and truth is, none of us really go out there in the morning due to the heat. I do plan on taking the bird out to socialize with the rest of the family most of the time though, so it won't have to spend most of its time in the cage. Sorry, that was sort of roundabout, but the question is: Will it be too hot for my bird to stay in the sunroom, and is it recommended? I'm really scared about the heat. Based on past answers for these questions, mostly everyone agrees that mostly all nonstick cookware will contain PTFE, and that they wouldn't risk using it around birds. I agree, but how am I supposed to convince my mom to switch to the more expensive stainless steel alternative? It is the reluctance of my parents to change some habits that is holding me back from getting a grey; I wouldn't want to bring my bird into an unsafe home. Regarding the sunroom, others have answered that it is probably not best for a grey because: 1. It might be too hot. 2. They need to be around the family a lot. I don't plan on letting my grey stay inside its cage all day; I would want it to join the family in the living room and the cage is just for sleeping purposes, or when we have to leave him for a bit. I really have fallen in love with these birds, but I feel that my current situation isn't ideal at the moment. Are there any suggestions as to what to do?