DawL

LMAO!! That is hilarious!

If it were me,I would allow at least 30 minutes in the morning if you can. Since yourmom lives with you will she be allowing out of cage time while you are gone? You said that when you get home you eat dinner, take a shower ect. If it were me I would have my grey eat dinner, and shower with me whenever possible. These are 2 great things to do when wanting to spend quality time with your fid. Hopefully this gives you a general idea, but I wouldn't necessarily set up an exact schedule.

That is very true! At least I can think of it this way... I am at least half way there!

So very well said! This video was tough for sure, and I have also seen the video of Greys being trapped in the wild, and it was awful. BUT, as you said, the happy parrots they show in this vid are so wonderful to see. It is as if they are trying to say, "this is what you should be doing, I am worth all of your love". I am online sometimes late at night, and there are sometimes up to 50 guests on the forum. These people could be thinking of getting a grey, or any bird for that matter, and I want them to see what not taking proper care of your bird can do.

I agree Talon, believe me. It is very hard to watch things like this, and some people really can't bear to see it. I hate to see suffering as well, but I am glad videos like this exist. It raises awareness for people that would not normally think that problems like this exist. There are a lot of people out there that do not keep parrots that are not well aware of the problems with wild trapping in other countries, and the bad conditions some people even here in our country keep birds in. I think it is a good thing to have these materials so readily available to educate the general public so that they can get involved. I also encourage people to visit the World Parrot Trust website at http://parrots.org to take action, and get involved in helping stop wild trapping of Parrots. They have a "Save The Greys" fundraiser that I like to be involved in, and they also have other ways to help besides donation, like spreading the word about the problem so that more people can be aware. They actually were just successful in the rescue and rehabilitation of 1200 trapped Greys in Camaroon, and are now trying to save 500 greys that were trapped in the Congo. I suppose I just try to stay informed as much as I can so that I can help, but I do understand that sometimes it is very hard to watch things like this. Hopefully it will inform just one random person that happens to visit this site.

Once again thank you! I love this site as well!

That is definitely not molting. If it were my fid, I would schedule an appointment with my avian vet asap to rule out any problem there, and also increase his shower time every week. Be sure to give him a shower early in the day, so that he can dry off completely by his bedtime. Also be sure he has plenty of toys, including toys for preening to try and distract him from this behavior. Good luck!

I saw this video earlier, and it really made me upset... but seeing this makes me proud to have rescue birds, and it shows me what a difference in a parrots life that we can make! This is happening every day, all around us! I wanted to share this with other rescue parronts so that we may all get a reminder on why we do what we do, and why what we do is so very important!

Hey Birdhouse, I had a typo in my last post which may have led you to think I was not going to be handfeeding anymore. It was this sentence: "He has done with his feedings and meds today as well". What I meant to type was "He has done very good with his feedings and meds today as well". Sorry about that! NO, I will absolutely NOT be stopping his hand feeding any time soon, if at all. I enjoy the bonding experience, and I like to know that he is definitely getting enough to eat. Also, I love your little "sick ice cream" recipe! I was thinking of possibly giving him some plain yogurt anyhow to keep him from getting a yeast infection from the antibiotics. I think your recipe would be even better, and he will get even MORE extra calories from this little concoction. I am definitely going to give it a shot (after I consult my vet). I upped Barnaby's feeding a bit ago to 20ml from 10ml. My goal is to get to 40ml in one feeding, and offer this 3-4 times a day. I am taking it slow because since he hadn't been fed correctly for so long, his crop has shrunk significantly. I am just so glad he has taken to the hand feeding so well.

Well it is great to hear this! I think she certainly understands you in her own way ie. tone of voice, body language, reading your moods and feelings. Congrats on your progress! Enjoy!

No words yet, as Grimm is not home yet. Barnaby talks to me, but seems to say the words correctly every time. I have seen a lot of greys make up cute words out of the words they already know, so I am wondering if this is something that is more common to greys? Anyhow, Straw-Paya is adorable

It is awesome that you get to play tabletop ect! I would too if I didn't have my kids to take care of! I really dont have a lot of free time LOL! I am glad you like the site! I am checking out ThinkGeek right now, and love it too! Guess we have some things in common besides loving birds!

Thank you He does look like a big guy doesn't he! I am glad he is doing so well, and I hope to have him home sometime in the next couple months, depending on him, of course

I used to play "Vampire: The Masquerade" when I was younger, but I played live action. What games are you into? I have one really neat thing in my kitchen. It doesnt really have anything to do with birds, but I love it. Here is the link to it: http://www.perpetualkid.com/the-ex-voodoo-knife-set---red.aspx I get a lot of neat things from a website that I really love! They have a page for ice cube trays I will put in the link here: http://www.perpetualkid.com/ice-cube-trays.aspx I will share one of my favorite things in my bathroom too. I have inserted a link to it http://www.perpetualkid.com/blood-bath-shower-curtain.aspx Hope you like this site if you have never seen it before! BTW: LOOOOVE the skull and cross bones ice cube trays! I would buy some, but I have an ice maker in my fridge, and I LOVE crushed ice!

Thank you so much CLB I am very happy with how things are going, and feel like things couldn't be going better for us. He will be going to the vet next week for a weigh in, and check up, and I am hoping he has put on some weight It will be a slow process, but any gain for him is a good thing, and a step in the right direction!

Thank you so, so much luvparrots! I am proud of my little guy for being so tolerant of me, and such a trooper through all of this! It had to be scary for him. A new house, new people, first trip to the vet, yucky medicine, ect. but he has taken it all so well! He just makes it so easy to love him. Thank you so much for your compliment on my parronting! It means a lot to me, and is so encouraging to hear it from other people that share my love of birds, and animals in general.

Hey everyone! There has been a lot going on at my house here lately, but I would like to take a moment to update everyone on my baby Grimm. I just got his 8 week pics, and he is getting so big! His hatch mates are both older than him, but I was told that he is ALWAYS the one to try new things first, and they follow along behind him. He is now in a baby cage learning to perch, and will be moved to his toddler cage this weekend. He is eating his soft foods very well, and is extremely inquisitive when it comes to just about everything! I am sure he will keep me busy after he gets home! It is crazy to look back through my pics and see him when he was just a hatchling. He has grown so much! It will be wonderful when he comes home! Here are a few pics:

Hello everyone! I have another update on Barnaby: Today has been a good day. Barnaby has taken to me so well. When the kids are up, or the husband is home, he stays very quiet, and just sits on top of his cage. When hubby is at work, and the kids are finally in bed, I will come back into the living room, and once he figures out that it is just us he starts talking up a storm, flock calling a little bit, and then earlier he even came down off of his cage onto the floor! He only stayed down there for about 30 seconds, but it is definitely progress. Once he really tries to walk around on the floor, he will no longer be aloud to though. He has done with his feedings and meds today as well. He actually really enjoys the handfeeding. I hold him like a baby, and I will put some formula into his mouth, and once he is done swallowing he will reach up and beak the syringe, and pull it towards him. I made him birdy bread, and he wouldn't touch it, but I then put some veggies and fruit into my food processor and sliced it down really well. I mixed it in with his seed, and he was actually willing to try it! I am keeping an eye on him to make sure he is eating some, if not, I will remove it for now. Also, I looked over him earlier, and his vent area is CLEAN! I was so incredibly happy, and feel like he is really making some progress. I was going to take a video of him being silly and talking but he decided he didn't want to and chewed through my usb cord for my camera Guess the shelf was too close to his cage LOL! I will see if I have an extra and get some pics and vids of him now that he is feeling better, and more comfortable with me. Right now he has bitten an entire large wooden block off of his toy skewer, and is sitting on top of the cage chewing away! Seems to be feeling much better!

YAY! Looks like I found Barnaby a new toy! Thank you!

Well that is good news in a way, but I am sure they miss him. They are such a joy to have around

Thank you for that quote birdhouse. I learned so much from just that small paragraph!

I use poly rope for a lot of my wooden bird toys, but I order it online from a bird specific store. As far as getting it at home depot, I don't think there would be an issue with that, because anything in there that is treated with chemicals must be labeled "treated". People buy wood and other things from these stores to make toys with, also untreated, and have plenty of success. I would imagine if the wood is safe and people use it, the poly rope would be as well (But don't hold me to it). Pet stores, online bird stores, and places like Home Depot have some of the same wood products, and rope, and they get it from similar manufacturers. People also use PVC piping from Home Depot for play stands and things of that sort. You just need to be absolutely sure the products you buy are untreated, and bird safe. A lot of people don't feel comfortable going to the hardware store, and honestly, I don't...not so much because of safety, but more because I love to shop online. I would research this as much as possible before buying anything from there though. I am not an expert on this subject, and am sure someone will come along that knows about this a little more. I get my supplies from mysafebirdstore.com and also makeyourownbirdtoys.com

Oh, I didn't take him to the vet yesterday, but I did call and talk to her. He ended up having an emergency visit on Monday. I posted about it in the "Barnaby had an emergency vet visit" thread. If you havent seen it yet, it has a lot of info in it about what is going on with him. Thank you so much for asking, and being concerned. It means a lot to me

It does look very neat! It almost looks to be in the cage. Love it I am sorry your Cockatoo is gone, did you decide to rehome him, or did he pass away?