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Hello everyone, I received an email from a family the other day about a U2 that needs a new home. The email didnt say much, but when I called them, I learned much more. Barnaby is an 8 year old Umbrella Cockatoo. He has been with this family most of his life. He had one previous owner, and was hand fed by her. Unfortunately he suffered crop burn in her care during this time, but luckily, he survived. Now, the mother in this family got him because he was "pretty" and she wanted a bird. Now he has been passed around the family because no one wants to keep him. The father and the step mother cant stand the screaming (although they dont let him out of the cage, and keep him covered up most of the day to prevent the screams) and the daughter is just simply afraid of him, as he has bit her before...so she ignores him. Bottom line, they are doing a good thing by recognizing that they cannot meet his needs, and wanting to find him a home with someone that can, and will. Here are my issues.... I was told by the father that every morning he gives the bird coffee... I was honestly shocked by this. Is this something I should be concerned about health wise with long term behavior? He will be seeing our avian vet right away, but I have never heard of anyone doing this, that is why I am curious. Also, and here is a huge one...he refuses to eat ANYTHING other than seed. He will not eat pellets, fruits, or veggies of any kind. I was told by the daughter in the family that when they try to give him anything aside from his seed, he forces himself to regurgitate it (they didnt say "forces to regurgitate", they said he throws it up... I am just assuming). This is very alarming to me. Has anyone ever heard of this behavior? It really worries me. I absolutely MUST get him onto better food, and I know it will be a long road, but I really just found this ODD. On a brighter note, he does not pluck, or mutilate....although I am certain he is not far off. I am going to be driving 4 hours there, and 4 hours back to go and pick Barnaby up right outside of Raleigh, NC.... but I cannot do it until the end of the month. I have close to 30 people in my home for Christmas, and I think it will be too stressful on him to take in so much at once. I just worry so much about leaving him that situation for another 3 weeks. Dont get me wrong, they seem like good people, just not very knowledgeable, and CERTAINLY should NOT have a Cockatoo. Any thoughts or advice is welcome.

Thanks for the advice everyone...I will be keeping a close watch. They never showed any interest in her until recently, and it is my male cat more than my female. She is a munchkin anyhow, and will remain very small, so that may be why she kind of stays away. Him on the other hand, he is a very large for his age flame point siamese. He knows he is the "big, bad, kitty". I went out and bought a spray bottle, and I spray them when they even think of showing interest in Kiwi, or even her cage. So far it is working well, but I know it will be a long road before they lose interest altogether, if ever. I am also taking him to get fixed in 2 weeks, now that he is 6 months old, and am hoping this may calm down the behavior as well.

Thanks for the advice guys. Kiwi is doing much better today. She is back to mumbling words, and screaming up a storm. She is now in her cage chewing a branch that I made a perch out of for her (sterilized of course). She did catch a glimpse of the cats today, and it didnt bother her in the least. I think she knows that as long as I am around, I wont let anything happen to her. The door will be shut unless I am in there to supervise. I did have a question though, for owners of both birds, and cats. Is this something I will have to be on absolute high alert for forever? I have seen other peoples cats care less about their birds. Is ir because mine are still young, and not yet fixed. I am taking him next month to get fixed since he will be 6 months old, so do you think this might help with the behavior? I am really worried about it. I love my birds, and my cats, and cant imagine being without either.

Congrats on your new feathered baby! My little one is a Christmas present as well, but he wont be home until around the end of January...well worth that wait though, Im sure! It is just so difficult, and seems like time is going so SLOW! So how old is Chickie?

Thanks for the advice... I went and fed her dinner, and changed out her water, and she seems to be eating okay. I sat by the cage and talked to her while she ate, and she talked back a little. After I knew she was eating, and our little convo, I covered her cage. I am hoping that tomorrow she will be feeling better, if not, I will take her to our vet.

Hey everyone, I have a serious issue, and need some advice. I have a green Quaker Parrot named Kiwi. I hand fed her from 5 weeks old, and she is now 7 months old. She is full of life, and an absolute clown...now here is my issue... Today she figured out how to get her cage open... and I have 2 cats that are both about 6 months old. They were both rescues, I got them at 3 weeks old, and they were clinging to life at that point. I nursed them back to health, and they have been with me ever since. My husband came downstairs to get something from the den, which is where Kiwi's cage is, and found her cowering in the corner, with both the cats there. There were down feathers all over my husband's work clothes. He saved Kiwi, and instantly came to get me. I came down and checked her over completely...there are no injuries, no blood, no scratches or bites. While I was holding her, she was VERY clam, and that is not like her. She is usually a mile a minute, being loud, and silly. Now she is quiet, and in her cage. She has not moved from the perch at all, not even to the other side of the same perch...she is in the same exact spot. She is also trying to go to sleep there, even though she normally sleeps in her happy hut. My question is, is this something I need to be concerned about? I figured maybe it just scared the living daylights out of her, and after the ordeal she is very tired, but she is not acting like herself at all. Any advice is GREATLY appreciated...I am VERY worried!!

Thanks for the opinions guys! I will run it by my husband and see what he thinks. Those were the names we settled on, but since he works 60 hours a week, we havent been able to talk much more about it. I will let everyone know!

Thanks for the congrats you guys! I will definitely keep posting with my updates on our little cutie when we get them. Stay tuned!

Hey everyone! I have an update on our little one.... IT'S A BOY!!!!!! :D:D I cant even begin to tell you how excited we are! We were hoping it was a boy, and I honestly had a very strong feeling he was. Lea from Five Oaks Aviary has bee fantastic through this entire process. She got the results back from Avian Biotech tonight. It is going to be so hard waiting for him to get here! I am hoping to have him home by the end of January, but you never really know with these things. He is being abundance weaned, so HOPING its the end of January. He was hatched 10-27-11. We are hanging between 2 names now. Robo, and Grimm. I honestly cant decide. I told Lea I will let her know as soon as we do, so that he can be called by name. I have attached new pics of my little man, these were taken tonight. If you look hard enough you can see the beginning of a cute little red butt!

Barbara, I actually saw the photo journal you did for Egan, and I thought it was wonderful. I was also very sad to read about your loss of Neo. It was so great to follow the story, how Egan turned out to be a boy, and how you chose his name from the 2 parenting birds! It really just seemed like he was meant to find you, and you were meant to find him. I was so happy for you! Thank you for such a wonderful story! Amber

Welcome to you both!

Thank you! Also, that is such a beautiful cockatiel in your photo! I will be getting new pics this weekend, and when I do, I will post them. I would love to use this thread to go from now, all the way through when we bring our baby home and get "him" settled in. I am sure there are so many people out there that will read this that are thinking about bringing a baby grey home, and I think it would be great to show the process from start to finish. I am sure it has been done on this forum before, but I am excited to do it, and if it helps out one person, I am happy with that. How about some name suggestions? We have a few picked out, let me know what you think. As far as girl names go, we only have one picked out... Kaleo. For a boy we have Grimm, Robo, and Ashes. I have a feeling it is a boy, but you never know! I had a feeling my last child was a boy, and I was very wrong...now I have 4 daughters LOL

Thank you! That is actually what I said to my hubby when I got these pics! I couldnt get over those big ol feet!

Let me see if I can put the pics up as attachments. For some reason I cant use photobucket right now!

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting here. My name is Amber, and I live in NC. I am semi new to CAG'S, but not to birds as a general term. I have worked in many pet stores in my life, and was a volunteer at a bird rescue a few eyars back. I used to live in Indianapolis, but relocated to NC 2 years ago. I have taken care of greys in the pet stores, and rescues. I was actually always in charge of the bird room in the stores I worked at. I got my first birds when I was 14. I got 2 male cockatiels, and I still have them to this day...they are now 15 years old. I also have a Quaker Parrot named Kiwi. She is my little green shadow. My cockatiels prefer to not be bothered often. When I got them I was all they knew...now I have kids, and everything else, but overall...they have adjusted well. I wanted to join this forum becuase I am a firm believer that no matter how much you think you know, you can always learn something new. I am expecting my first grey sometime in the near-ish future. I am getting him from Lea and Bob at Five Oaks Aviary. They have been wonderful to work with. When I contacted them, they happened to have one baby left (I had been looking for the perfect place to get my baby for 6 months) so it just felt meant to be. My baby was hatched 10/27/11, so is still very young. We will eventually do DNA sexing, and I can't wait! I am just excited to know, I guess. Everything here at home has been prepared for our babies arrival, and now it is just a waiting game. Lea is very good about updating me on my baby, and I have attached the pics I got of him/her a week or so ago. These are all I have so far, the holidays keep people very busy. I will post more when I get them. It is great to have found this forum, and I thank everyone who has made it possible!