Life is Greyt

How neat. My baby is 6 months old and she was my first bird since having budgies when I was little. It has been quite an experience. looks like you guys have quite the neat little family

Welcome wolf! Your birds are beautiful. How old are they?

That's what Chickie will have soon, and all the other animals are covered with similar policies too. It saves a ton of money in emergency cases.

OMG I love my pet insurance! It saves me TONS!!

What a cutie pie!!

Congrats that you finally get your place and your new fid!!

As far as beads go, my breeder told me to buy "pony beads" to use on Chickie's toys. I'm not sure about the other stuff, but hopefully someone else will know.

No!No!No! Make is stop! Make it stop!! Her reaction was hilarious. I just watched it again today.

Hi JillG! As you already know, you found the right place for help and support with Penny when needed.

She's one smart little girl.

You guys are great! Thanks so much for the help! Eshana-I'm so sorry about your poor Shane. It's just not fair that he has an ailment like that simply due to humans mistreating him. How do you cope with him licking his paws like that? chezron-I probably should have stated that I am a fairly active member of the rescue greyhound group that I adopted Kirby from. I used to be a foster parent and also helped with the adoption process. That's where I got Kirby from-she was my foster failure because I just couldn't let her go. I have asked them and they have given me a lot of what I have already tried. Unfortunately, it's just a difficult situation with her age. ChelseaB-I'm so sorry about your Annie. I try to prepare myself for what I know will eventually happen, but I know I will never be ready for it. As far as my vet goes, I'm not sure if my vet is certified or not, but I know for sure that the vet that did the original plate and screw placement is. We have spoken with him and he said that all we could do was try and see if she would tolerate the surgery for a new plate and pins, but at her age there's no way I would put her through that. I haven't heard of the bite-not collar, so I'm gonna google that in just a few. She has both the hard plastic lampshade and the soft and, unfortunately, neither one can keep her off of it. It's just like you said, she will use her long neck and body to contort herself to get to it. We ususally keep her on the antibiotics anywhere from 3 weeks to the longest has been almost 2 months. When she's on it the wound will start to granulate and clear up, but as soon she's done with it the wound opens back up. Also, never heard of the Zymox cream so I will definitely be Googling that one too to get more info on it. You have given me so many ideas to check into! I can't thank you enough!! Talon-I haven't tried a donut with the cone, only the soft cone with the hard cone, and that combo unfortunately didn't work. Maybe a donut one would help hold the cone at the top of her neck so she can't push it back. I have never heard of a Kangen water machine but I will definitely be checking into that one!! It sounds really promising. I cannot thank you guys enough for your help! You have given me some wonderful ideas that I will definitely be checking into. I just want to make sure that I have tried everything I can to help my girl. Thanks guys.

Thanks Ray. I know it's definitely off the topic, but I thought I'd try

You're in the right place. There are tons of knowledgeable people on this forum. I would say to start by reading through some of the older threads and especially the sticky topics in the rooms. Feel free to ask any questions that you have. How did you acquire you grey and what's his/her name?

I can see how this would be really upsetting, but I think CLB gave you the right advice. Try to relax because if you are tense she will know it. Give her time to settle in and just continue to be with her. They do tend to pick favorites, but I have been told that the favorite can change back and forth. She doesn't know how highly anticipated she was, so try to relax and let things unfold. Keep us posted on how things go.

Ok, here's a little backstory to my question. I have a 13 y.o., soon to be 14, greyhound that I adopted when she was 9. When she was 5 and fresh off the track her back left leg broke in 3 places and she had major surgery to repair it. She has a plate and multiple pins that hold the bottom of her leg together. She has never gotten around very well, but has a "normal" gait, for her. I adopted her at 9 and every winter that leg has progressively given her more and more trouble. Last year, a wound opened up over the plate and we had it cultured and it was positive for Staph. The infection basically resides on the plate. Since then it has been an uphill battle. The wound has never closed. I doctor it at home and every few months we put her on a round (a few weeks) of Simplicef to keep the infection at bay. She is too old and lacks the strength in her other legs for surgery either to replace the plate or possible amputation. My vet and I are at a loss as it seems we have tried everything. She wears a lampshade almost all of the time when we're not home to keep her from licking it, but she still does. Nothing seems to work...if I wrap it, she tears off the bandages. When I put bitter apple spray on it, she licks it anyways. I have tried Vetricyn, Neosporin, homeopathic sprays, anything that has been suggested and nothing seems to work. Luckily, the infection is only localized, but it is always a concern that it might spread. I clean it with chlorhexide soap and flush it with betadine solution to keep it clean but that's all I can do. The area cannot be stitched closed, even if we could get the infection under control, because greyhound skin is extremely thin and tears easily. Also, the area that it's in would be nearly impossible to stitch. Other than her leg problems she is a very happy girl and very healthy for her age. Ok, so finally to my question...any ideas? Has anyone ever dealt with something similar? I'm probably grasping for straws, but I thought I would throw it out there and see if anyone might have any thoughts. Thanks, in advance, for any help anyone can offer.

Where did you get it from???

Oh, also you can try looking in the baby aisle at baby toys. I have been told that they are bird safe because they expect babies to try and eat them-the same way the grey will. I forgot to say that if you sew stuff, like the buttons onto fleece, my breeder told me to use cotton thread and not acrylic or polyester. I rarely buy baby toys, only the ones made in the US. Stay away from the toys add in China, they can be toxic, as has been all over the news in the past year or so.

I ususally just try to copy toys that I see online or in the stores at home. You can use plastic link chain to build toys on, and also strips of anti-pill fleece. One of my Chickie's favorite toys is simply strips of fleece that I sewed buttons onto. She LOVES to try and pick the buttons off. Also, you can go to the craft store and get what's called "pony beads" and string those. She loves to chew on them. I don't think there's an exact number of perches needed, but probably enough so that she can move around on different levels. Also, you won't know until you get her what kinds of perches she prefers or where she prefers to sleep. It's kinda trial and error at first to get the cage set up right. You'll also find out once you get her in it if your configuration is good or not as far as her pooping on her other perches. I had Chickie's cage set up months before she came home and just tweaked it after I saw how she moved around in it. I was the same way-I wanted to have everything ready ahead of time.

I'm 30 and my baby I just got could possibly outlive me too...so I don't think it's fair for you to rule yourself out as a new mommy for mai tai just because of your age. Greys really are pretty adaptable...if it feels right to keep him, then you should. You're forgetting to look at it from the other side of the coin-i.e. that you have bird experience and work from home which is really probably an ideal situation for him because he will get lots of attention between you and your clients. There are LOTS of people that get a grey in their 20s or 30s only to rehome them a few years later...so age has nothing to do with how loving a parront you could be for him. Teddy will be ok-One of my dogs, Buddy, is jealous of my Chickie, but I try to make him feel extra special when I notice it. I, too, worried about the extra possible vet bills, as I have spent a small fortune already trying to keep my 13 y.o. greyhound going, but the desire to have my Chickie in my life was stronger than the worry about "what if." He doesn't need a custom cage, and he really doesn't even have to have a cage on the main floor if there's not enough room. You could just get a tree stand or a table top stand and he could hang out on that during the day. His cage could be on another floor and that's ok since he would really only be in it when you're sleeping or gone. I think the fact that you are worried about all these things and show so much concern for mai tai means that you are exactly the kind of person that would take excellent care of him.

Everyone has given great advice. I think as long as you reassure your baby, and let them know they're ok then it should be fine. If you don't react to it then they probably won't either.

I feed Roudybush, but I have heard that it's not available everywhere.

Thanks for the info guys. I definitely don't encourage her "freshness" but sometimes she tries to slip one in on me.

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your new family member. Judygram gave you excellent advice, and I hope all goes well for you guys as Pepper gets settled in. Keep us posted.

So true...I had someone ask me the other day if I was some kind of a "bird-freak" and the funny thing is that I wasn't offended at all. I told them I had recently added a Grey to our zoo and liked to be well informed.

YAY for good news!!