Richardsmommy

Clipping one wing sounds like a practical joke...like standing behind a tree and calling a blind dog. A book I have has a different take on how to clip the wings. They say to clip every other feather. This would give him enough flight to get out of the way of a cat, but would not allow him to fly far. I don't know about you, but it's all I can do to trim his feathers straight. It'd be difficult and dangerous for me to clip every other feather...and Richard is as calm as they come.

I'm going to regret this, but here we go:

Tari wrote: Whoa! I haven't heard that one! I have a self-cleaning oven, but I've never self-cleaned it (I only use it for Thanksgiving and Christmas). Are you saying that USING it is bad, or cleaning it is bad?

OH! And he also likes to play with metal clips...like you see on keychains and hanging off mountain climbers.

Or you could try draping it over a rope stretched from one end of the cage to the other...but he might pull that off. Richard's phone book is sitting on top of his cage with 1/4 of it hanging off the side. He rips pages out and throws them on the floor. I've also put entire rolls of toilet paper and paper towels in his cage...hanging from a rope...but he goes through that pretty quickly. I also buy him cat toys with bells and dog toys with ropes. I make sure there aren't any dangerous pieces, though. I like the bottle idea...ll'have to try that. OH! I bought him a cheap bubble gum machine from walmart for $4.00...hoping I could teach him to work it, but the handle would be too difficult for him to turn. I put jelly beans in it since he LOVES jelly beans. But next I'm going to fill it up with that colorful food that smells fruitilicious enough to eat. Richard gets bored with his own toys and heads for the knives and electrical cords. There's never a dull moment around here. But I did happen to find a parrot beany baby (named "Jabber") he likes to "fight" with.

Wow! I'm so glad I didn't see this thread until after the bird was found. I'd be worrying all night over him. I am SO glad this thread has a happy ending!

Wow! I'm so glad I didn't see this thread until after the bird was found. I'd be worrying all night over him. I am SO glad this thread has a happy ending!

I haven't seen a picture of you yet, Talon. What's good for the goose...er...African Grey...

I posted that not realizing there was a second page...these are all beautiful pictures!

Oh, sure! NOW you want me to FORFEIT the money! [grin] Naw, seriously, I was just saying we would have had fun either way. And don't worry about me. I'm relaxed. My posts are all made lightheartedly (including ALL of this one). Man, I hate not seeing us face to face.<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/06/13 23:10

LOL! I'm afraid to post, now! I seem to cause problems everywhere I go and I don't intend to. Wy do we even need a prize? I think a contest would be just as fun without one. [ducking and running]

You didn't offend me, Tari. In fact, you did what was expected...you saw the warning and decided not to click on it. I had no intentions of starting any problems. I erased large paragraphs because it doesn't matter what I say to explain, it's going to come back to bite me. All I have to say is I'm new here. Don't make rash judgments against me based on one post or you're missing out on one decent friendship, if I do say so myself.

Talon wrote: Talon, my post was made lightheartedly.

I edited the post so no one can visit the link. My intention was not to cause rude remarks and responses. I want this to be a happy place, also. I would have hoped the anger would have been directed toward youtube. But, whatever. I'm sorry. And by the way, I DID WARN YOU that it wasn't pretty...I didn't put it in all caps...maybe I should have. It's not like I posted the video directly in here. You had an informed chioce and you made it.<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/06/13 19:37

Brandi, I don't doubt one bit that you'd make a good CAG owner. You're studying up on him before you actually buy one and you're taking the time you need for preparing a good home for him. That says a LOT to me. It tells me you are patient, so you're going to be able to handle his habits. It says you're loving because you're putting the welfare of the bird before your own desire to own one. You're smart because you want to read up on him first, so you'll know what to expect. Richard isn't my first bird, but he's my first parrot. I did the same thing...I got all the information I could before I went out and purchased one. I also went to my parents' house to visit their bird so I could get an idea of how the bird was going to react. I also visited stores and watched, played with, and interacted with the birds so I could observe their different personalities. By the time I got Richard, I knew what to expect. Here's a few tips (which I'm sure you've probably learned by now): 1. The CAG will live for 50 - 70 years. You'll want to try to preview your life and how he will fit in. You will also want to add him to your will unless you're very young (and if you are, don't rub it in). 2. The CAG has intelligence of a 5-year old. You're going to want to find creative ways to keep him stimulated. Richard has already figured out what makes people in the family tick and what makes me give into his wants. If I have food in my hands, he'll come over to me, put his zygodactyl on my hand and then bow his head down into my chest...similar to when they want to be scratched. When he wants to be fed and I'm not holding food, he'll make a sound like the microwave beeping. He's already reasoned that when the microwave makes a sound, we get food and eat. 3. The CAG's emotional Quotent is that of a 2-year old. This means you're going to have to watch him very closely because he's going to want to get into everything. Richard is very close to me (and suffers a bit from seperation anxiety). He yelps when I leave the room, showers with me and even sleeps with me. One day I held Richard up to see Patches, my parakeet. With Richard on my right arm, I held my left finger up to Patches, who was nibbling on my fingertip. Richerd reached over to my left hand, with his beek he pulled my hand away from Patches and then put his head down on my left hand for me to scratch him. I'm not sure if he thought he was saving me from Patches' nibbling, or if he was jealous (I'm guessing he was jealous). 4. If you have pots and pans with teflon in them, you'll want to replace them. If you can't do it all at once, then at least try replacing them individually, starting with the pans you use most often. I lost a parakeet because my husband boiled a pan dry and the smoke from the burning teflon got to the parakeet. The cage wasn't even close to the kitchen, and there wasn't much smoke in the living room, but aparently it was enough. I'm not sure if cooking with teflon without boiling it dry is safe...or if teflon is even hazardous to CAGs at all, but I didn't take any chances. 5. Interview your parrot seller. You'll want to know how the parrot was raised from his hatchdate. Was he hand-fed and did they interact with him often? Did they hold him much, or did they keep him in a box with all the other hatchlings? Interview their clients to see if their birds were healthy. I didn't ask them for their client list. I spoke to people as they came in the door. I asked them if they had purchased any birds from them, were they happy with their decision, etc. Richard was hand-fed. I watched the workers as they interacted with the birds there. Richard was very close to one worker, and that scared me because I thought He wouldn't want to be with me, but he warmed up to me very quickly BECAUSE of how close he was to the worker. I wouldn't hesitate to get another bird from that store. I hope some of this helps. But, as I said before, I don't doubt your parotting skills (Hah! Parotting skills! Get it? I made that one up myself!) I think you'll do great! Keep us posted!<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/06/13 19:22

I wonder if girl poop is different than boys? Just curious. Mine goes a LOT compared to my mother's bird. But Richard loves to drink water and loves to eat EVERYTHING. His color ranges from green, to brown, to white. I heard somewhere that we should only give our birds spring water instead of tap water because tap has lots of chemicals, menerals and metals in it. Is this true? I was also told birds can eat anything except chocolate, caffeine, and salty foods.

A few questions: 1. Will your cute little neice be entering the contest? 2. Can females choose a giftcard to Circuit City instead of Victoria's Secret? Why should my husband benefit from a contest I enter? 3. Do we still retain the rights to our pictures? 4. Is there a limit to how many pictures we can enter? 5. Where do we send the photos?

Or, maybe I can. I can understand that it's natural for cats to eat birds, but I would think it would also be natural for humans to intercept the capture or at LEAST try to train the cat not to pounce. I dunno. I've owned cats and I fed him catfood (and, yes, I DO know how they make the catfood, but I don't go in the factory filming it). Here's the video...but BE FORWARNED! If you can't handle seeing animals eat each other, you may want to refrain. I will say that at LEAST the humans waited until the bird was dead before they pulled out the camera...but I cried anyway. Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/06/13 17:55 Edited both time because I posted the wrong link. Sorry. HEY EVERYONE.. CEASARSDAD HERE. YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO WATCH THIS VIDEO. I DIDN'T WANT TO REMOVE THE POST BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE IN CENSORSHIP BUT THIS IS REALLY AWFUL. YOU MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A PASS.. Post edited by: CeasarsDad, at: 2007/06/13 18:14<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/06/13 19:23