alpenglow

Thank you, I'll do this.

I'm brand new. I'm still poking my way around. But I think that what you're saying is beautiful. "All I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten." Play nice. Love one another and remember, beyond all, we're all in this together! Why be a hater? Too much energy, I think. Let it go. We don't have to be as territorial as our birds can be...we don't have to hide behind our cage-drapes and call names because we feel unloved. We're humans, WE ARE the teachers, right? Greys don't come back to you after you give hate or negative reinforcement, and good people don't either. I may not know much, but I know love is better than anger or resentment. Christopher

Like I said, I'm new to all this forum stuff, and don't know where to go next. Is there a hangout? I saw the Grey Lounge, and some of the other rooms for specific stuff, but I just am unsure the etiquette and what's proper...any advice/help?

Thanks for all the praise for my little dude. I think he's a cutie too. I'm still working on better pix with better lighting. I'm a little stuck right now with some remodeling of my house, but he's taking it pretty well, even with the noise. He's pretty mellow. But he has his moments, for sure! Thanks for the thoughts on the clipping...I've had other birds, and some were poorly behaved and bratty when unclipped (very domineering), but as soon as they were clipped, behaved like perfect little angels because they knew they had to rely on me to get around. Roscoe flaps all the time, even without urging, and his breeder said that he was flying before she shipped him to me (but she doesn't ship unclipped birds). It doesn't seem to me like he resents his wings clipped, and I can pet/examine his wings, under his wings, feet, and pretty much any part of his body. And he especially loves having his beak rubbed and cleaned after he's made a mess out of it in his food dish. But I'd love to see him fly, and I'm sure I'll just let him grow all his feathers out. I just don't want him getting into trouble, and I know that I'm going to have to be extra watchful. One more question: Any input on full-spectrum lighting? I've been reading about it, and I'm sure it couldn't be a bad thing, but is this totally necessary? I think it helps with vitamin absorption, but I'm just not sure how important it is. Thanks again, Christopher:cool:

Can't seem to find what I'm lookin' for to get pictures on here, but Melissa helped a ton with her post on the welcome board. So here I am again. And this is Roscoe, but only the ones I have so far. My camera is buried under some remodeling, and I can't get to it yet (and I DON'T DO cellphones at all). Also, don't judge his cage by the first day dowel perches, they are not even in use anymore, and he's living much better now that he's shown me what he wants (and I had some time to make some safe perches for him). Anyhoo, I hope you like him as much as I do, and I'll update as soon as I can. BTW, all of my misgivings about his behavior have recently vanished, as he has been the best little dude I could hope for in the last 40 hours!! We had our best training session ever, and he's really starting to show his spunk and independence. And he's beginning to respond to his name and come when he's called. But he's also extremely sweet and affectionate, and his bites are almost always exploratory (unless he's cranky, but they're still mild and cautionary). And now he's actually starting to play with his bells and toys in his condominium, so all is good!! I have a big question for everyone, though...to clip, or not to clip? I've had other parrots, and I've always had their wings trimmed, but it seems that popular consensus may be changing on this. Any input would be terrific. Christopher

Sorry, I've been gone awhile. I'll give you a couple I have of my little Roscoe, but they're not the best...they're from his second or third day at home. But he doesn't look like a baby, he's always been pretty big (he's about 400 grams right now for a 5-month). A little more time, better pix, ya dig? Thanks a lot for the welcome, it makes me and Roscoe warm and fuzzy inside. Your're right, though, perfect name. By the way, it's not just Roscoe, his full name is Roscoe P. Coltrane! Had to do it. BTW, tryin' to figure out all the picture stuff, so it might be a minute...still new to the technology (I'm an animal).

Thanks a lot for the reply. I guess it's just really easy to second-guess yourself when you want to do everything right for your little buddy. Once I get a bit of extra time, I'll post some pix of Roscoe. By the way, any thoughts about the eating like a dog and not holding his food thing? Just curious.

I just adopted my little Roscoe 15 days ago. I had him shipped to me in Salt Lake City from San Diego (there are very few good breeders here) and he came nearly weaned at 4 1/2 months of age. I kept up his hand-feeding for the first few days, but he was already eating veggies and pellets, and he pretty much told me that he didn't want his hand-feeding anymore...even at night, even earlier tonight. So I figure he's pretty well weaned. He eats ALL the time. He seems to be pretty independent, but he also seems to eat for entertainment, rather than playing with his numerous toys. Also, he doesn't really hold his food with his foot, he just eats like a dog and throws the stuff he doesn't want right away out of his dish(es). His primaries are cut, but the breeder told me that he was flying before he was shipped, and he flaps alot, knows how to control his landings and hasn't gotten into too much trouble. He tries to follow me sometimes when I leave the room (and don't take him with me), and he seems curious, but not overly so. I'm wondering if he's just still settling in, or if I could be patterning him to be sedentary. I'm trying new things with him, taking him with me when I make his breakfast and outside (while it's still warm here), and he's okay with it, but he still seems a bit reserved. On the other hand, he's very easy for me to touch and pet, and his step-ups are usually right away, and he already raises his foot to elicit a step-up sometimes. What else...He babbles his baby noises, but never really to get attention yet, and I'm wondering if this is a bad thing? He seems like he tries to make sounds, but I've only heard his call once (this morning) and he's been pretty quiet mostly, from my experience. Am I doing anything wrong? Or is this just a slower developing grey? I had two greys before (when I was married and had to sell them through the divorce) and they were talking at 5-6 months old. By the time I sold them at 2 years old, they already had a 40 word/phrase/numerous sounds vocabulary. I know Roscoe likes ME, but he growls at other people in the house, even though I've tried to socialize him with them from the beginning. Is he just being nervous? Will this pass? Is this lack of playing with his toys a lack of me properly showing him how to do it? I'm trying to spend a lot of time with him, but I don't want him to get too dependent on me and develop separation anxiety. Where's the line? Any advice would be great!! Thank you so much.

Hi, I'm new to all this forum stuff, but I have a new baby CAG and wanted to get into some discussions. I'm in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, and there's not much to tell...I've had my new bird for only 15 days now, and I'm just trying to get a gauge of whether or not I'm socializing him/adjusting him properly (although I've done this before 15 years ago). Anyhoo, just thought I'd say hi.