brdiecat

Yes- definitely. If I'm not either in the room or in the room next to it, she's in her cage- which is HUGE, BTW. Like I said, I trust the cats more with her than a smaller bird, but not enough to leave them all loose together alone. Also, like I said earlier, the cats are afraid of Willie & accept that she's part of my flock- they almost always ignore her, unless she's on my shoulder- then they look disgusted & stay away from us. Willie takes EVERY chance she gets to bite them.

This is pretty common, actually- it means your bird LOVES you & looks at you as it's mate/head of it's flock. Mine does it to me all the time. I've heard of birds going through with regurging (bringing food up) with their owners. DON'T 'yuk out' over it- it is a sign of trust & love from the bird towards you & 'yuk'ing will be a rejection. Praise, praise, praise... then play with your bird as usual & count yourself lucky that your bird is showing so much affection towards you.

Let's see: I started out with a Maine Coon Cat that weighed over 20 lbs when I got my first bird- a cockatiel. When he showed more than passing curiosity, I would sternly tell him "NO! Mommy's bird!" & physically (but gently) turned him away & pushed him the other way. He was smart & it took only twice to train him. Other cats I've had I've used either that method with or what I call the "surprise" tactic- if they're trying to get to the birds or acting aggressive, I either threw a book so it would land loudly in back of the cat (the sound will startle the cat) or squirt them with a squirt gun. Funny how one squirt of water makes a cat decide to leave something alone. Occaisionally, I needed to repeat the squirt, but usually just saying the cat's name & showing them the squirt gun worked just as well. And I didn't even need to squirt it directly- letting it fall on the cat like rain worked also. Of course, you can NEVER leave a bird of ANY size out alone with cats around- the risk is just too great. But I DO know that my cats have a healthy respect for the bigger birds, because they tend to go after the cats when given the chance. Nothing like having Willie out & playing with her on the floor when Willie runs toward a snoozing cat. The cats jump & run immediately without ever getting close. It's not that the cats wouldn't eat birds if they were outside cats (they aren't), they just seem to understand that indoor birds are OFF LIMITS! I've never had a problem leaving caged birds in my house with my cats, but I also know enough not to tempt the cats by leaving the birds loose while I'm not around.

For years most of the birds I've taken in/bought have been abused or totally untrained or mishandled & have emotional problems, and I have been able to retrain all of them over time. Some words of advice: do everything you've been advised to do by the other members PLUS: never EVER hit, slap at, scream at or poke at your bird. That will only teach him to be bad to get your attention or cause him to not trust humans & be aggressive. Praise your bird for being good & hold off on the peanuts- only UNsalted ones & only as occaisional treats! Find a source of pelleted foods in your area & slowly switch your bird over to the pellets. If you're unsure how, let me know & I'll tell you. I use Hagen, but whatever brand you use, make sure it's free of dyes & other chemicals. Feeding only peanuts or sunflower seeds & allowing your bird to ignore pellets & veggies/fruits will have a good chance of resulting in fatty liver disease. It's like putting ice cream & veggies in front of a hungry child. Guess what the child will eat all up & ignore the rest. When I got Willie, she was badly abused & bit down to the bone. I broke her of it within 24 hours of getting her- by letting her come out of her cage and showing her that I wasn't afraid of her, and by 'beak wrestling'. She'd go to bite me & I'd grab her beak gently but firmly & slightly shake her beak back & forth. She wasn't sure what was going on because she didn't get the negative reaction she'd been getting from others & after a while enjoyed it. When she did it without trying to bite me, she got a treat. When she tried to bite me, I'd turn my back & walk out of the room without saying a word. A few times of doing that cut the biting efforts way down, then out totally. Punishing a bird doesn't work, but rewarding them works great. Want to punish a bird for something? Turn your back & walk out of sight for a while. African Greys are EXTREMELY intelligent & will figure things out fast & are like 4 year olds. If the best way of getting attention is being bad, they'll do it, but if being naughty causes you to withdraw attention, they quickly learn that being good will get attention & they'll stop being naughty. BTW- the hissing is from fear & possibly being in pain from the hurt toe. Get that toe checked out, & be reassuring. Your bird will come around & become your best buddy in no time. Just let your bird get comfortable & trust you. I believe you'll do very well with your bird, especially since you show such concern & caring for him already. Keep us posted! Oh, also get a special light that supplies UV light as they need it for their bodies to manufacture B vitamins, which enables their bones to absorb enough calcium. I have a bulb in one of those silver hoods & put it over Willie 3-4 days a week for about 4 hours each time. Cockatiels need the light for the same reason. Obviously, if you live where you can put your birds in an outside aviary most of the time, you don't have to worry much about it, but I live in a COLD part of the US (northeast) so need the light for the birds. SUE<br><br>Post edited by: brdiecat, at: 2007/02/08 01:30

Willie is WONDERFUL & a big character. I forgot to write that I'm giving her antibiotics twice a day & cleaning off her butt until she doesn't need me to. She used to pop right out of her cage every time I opened it, but knows I'm going to clean her & make her drink her meds, so stays at the back of her cage until I coax her to the front- then we have a tug of war as she grips her perch while I try to get her to let go. While I haven't pushed her to learn anything while I've had her, one of the things she's picked up is hysterical. I've always had cats & for years I'll tell her to call the kitties & she'll let out this realistic "meowwww" that cracks me up. She also has excellent taste in music- LOVES the Allman Brothers & music along those lines as well as Rock & Roll. She's very gentle, also, especially considering what she's been thru before I got her. My 5 year old granddaughter gets kisses from her & I have no hesitation trusting her not to bite. I'd get another Timnah any time!

Thanks for the replies! I went to a petshop yesterday & spoke to the manager who also has had a lot of experience with birds & breeding them, especially parrots. He said that the slight bloody show is normal, & gave me a referral for a vet, who checked Willie out today & said she's fine & healthy. I will be moving the cockatiel to the other side of the room to try to keep her from laying any more eggs. Vitamins, her special light, some treats (grapes & some nuts) have settled her back in & she's a happy parrot again. That & cuddles from me always makes her happy!

I just found this site after doing a search on African Grey Parrots. I have a bit of a problem (hence the search) & am not sure what to do. I've had TAG for about 15 years, after rescuing him from an abusive situation & retraining him. We recently moved & he's now in a room near a male cockatiel & they seem to sing to each other. This morning I uncovered Willie & found an egg in the bottom of HER cage. (surprised me!!) There is a small amount of blood on the egg & around her vent, but VERY small. (not actively bleeding- from passing the egg) Is this normal? is there anything I should give her? I've bred & raised MANY smaller birds (cockatiels, parakeets, lovebirds, finches...), but not parrots. Any words of wisdom? BTW- I'm THRILLED to have found this forum!