DawL

Right now, I am watching The Spongebob Squarepants movie with my kids, and browsing the forum

Hello Vicky, and Gracy. It sounds to me like you are definitely pushing too fast, too soon. You have had her for 2 weeks, and this is a HUGE change for her. You definitely need to understand, while I am sure you are excited to have her home, she does not currently share in that excitement. She has lost everything familiar in her life. You must not push her. Open her cage, but do not reach in. That is her safe area, and you must not invade it at this very delicate time. Give her the choice to come out on her own, do not force her. Talk softly to her, offer her treats through the cage bar, and then work your way up to giving her treats with your hand inside the cage. Do NOT towl her unless ABSOLUTELY neccassary. In the situation with your boyfriend, that is a scenario that I would consider NOT neccassary. He should not be pushing her to come to him, or forcing her out of her cage. If you don't do that, she won't need to be toweled. Also, if she does come out, and gets onto the floor, just watch her. More than likely, she will climb back onto her cage on her own. Do not approach her unless you absolutely have to. Let her get a feel for her surroundings. Her previous owner may have very well left her in her cage all of the time, but I think that will time and hard work, you will earn her trust, and she will make a great addition to the family....more than anything, just tell yourself "patience is a virtue".

I think a major (recent) defining moment for me would have to be the other day when Barnaby stepped up onto my arm from the top of his cage. I know that his cage is his safe place to be, and to know that he is willing to come from his safe area, and spend time with me was a major breakthrough, and I couldn't be more happy about it. He looked me right in my eyes when he put a foot on my arm, and then the other. I know the look you are talking about Ray. I swear it is like they look right into your soul. Another moment I can think of is with the Tiels I have had for a long while now. It has taken a very long time to earn their trust (they were abused). Out of the blue one day, they let me get them out of their cage, and scratch their heads for about 30 minutes. I think I could have went on like that all night, but it was time for me to go to bed. I would scratch, but every now and again, they would turn around and "attack" my hand. It didn't hurt at all, but it was just their way to remind me that they were "watching me". Now they will only allow me to feed them, and we are slowly continuing down our road of success. This was a huge deal for me. They are both 15 years old, and all of us that have rescued, or taken in a bird as a rehome know that older birds can take a very LONG time to build a relationship, IF we ever do.

Once again, some of that gorgeous red tail peeking through! Love it, it really brings the photo to life. Thank you for sharing.

I LOVED the B&W pic, with the red tail! Gorgeous. I also love how great Cocoa does with children. I am a fan, look forward to the next pics

Such a beautiful little girl! You are one lucky parront!

Just wanted to say sorry you are having to go through this, and you are a good parront for wanting to find a great home, and not just sticking him on Craigslist. I wish you, and your little conure the best. Please post where you live, and hopefully someone will be close to you, and able to contact you. Good luck to you both!

I would avoid it altogether, better safe than sorry. Anything that is toxic should be completely avoided.

Hahahaha! I will second that statement! Also, you should the poop of an Umbrella Too in the morning!!

Vacuuming in my house is perfectly fine, except for with Charlie, my Sun Conure. She absolutely HATES the vaccum! As soon as she sees me come around the corner with it to plug it in, she screams her little head off, and will do this until I am done, and it is out of sight. She did the same in her previous home, from what the owners told me. I have found that it helps to yell out "LOUD NOISE" when I am getting ready to do something loud like vacuuming, banging on something, ect. Start off getting your fid used to it by saying the words, then bang on something intentionally. After awhile they will connect these words and the noise that follows. It just gives them a little heads up, this way there is no element of surprise.

This is exactly what I was going to suggest. Works wonders for me!

Hello Charles, and welcome. Glad to hear you got your best friend back!

Absolutely true to you both! When I go shopping, I feel like I need to rush home to my fiddos! So many things in my day are centered around them. I save juice bottle lids without even thinking about it (I use them for foot toys), and am always thinking "oh they would love this" or "I wonder how they would react to this" when I am out doing stuff, looking around online, ect. LOL! They are always on my mind

I remember ATARI, playing Frogger all night as a young kid, and then when the first Nintendo game console came out with the original Super Mario Brothers game, and Duck Hunt!!! So awesome!

Yeah, by far, Kiwi the Quaker rules this house. She fears no one... including Barnaby. She will let them know how she feels about something no questions asked. If Charlie, my Sun Conure decides to get loud, Kiwi will do her best to be louder. Their cages are rather close to one another... it is quite a sight...(and sound).

Weaning with a baby parrot is the same as weaning a baby human...the transition from formula to food. A baby parrot is fed with a hand feeding formula from the time they are pulled from the nest, until the time they are fully weaned, which is when they are no longer eating any of the handfeeding formula, but pellets, veggies, and fruits. There is no time limit with weaning. The bird will let you know when they are ready to cut down on the number of feedings a day by refusing them. Forcing a parrot to wean can be absolutely detrimental. You want to continue with hand feeding formula until they are ready to stop. At 12 weeks your grey would be taking 3-4 feedings a day. When they begin to lose interest on a particular feeding, and they do this for several days, you can then cut out this feeding. Be sure to weigh your bird A LOT during the hand feeding, and weaning process. You will want to keep a close eye on weight at this time. Offer LOTS of soft foods at this age. Are you hand feeding your grey right now? The breeder you got your bird from should not have let the bird come home to someone that is not experienced in hand feeding and weaning. Can you call your breeder and get some help?

Well that is just awesome! Let the official wait begin!!

As the other said, DNA is the only way to determine sex, other than surgically sexing. Do not rely on these old wives tales to determine the sex. You can take "him" to the vet to have this done, or do it your self through this website: http://www.avianbiotech.com/ It is inexpensive, and easy. Good luck.

Best of luck to you Let us know how it goes.

Barbara is absolutely right. Sorry you had to experience that though, Barbara. The kitchen is a VERY dangerous place for our fids. Better to keep them caged while you have the stove on to avoid a possibly life threatening accident. Also, as far as teflon, and other things in the home that are harmful, it is better to avoid these things all together. It will be a big change at first, but believe me, you will get used to it before you know it, and you wont have to worry about hurting your fids.

Honestly I have no idea LOL! It really all comes down to when he is weaned, and they all wean at different times. I am hoping he will be home next month. He is still on 4 feedings a day. How about yours? He had his first flight last weekend though, so he is making some great progress. He is also eating pellets, and fruits and veggies, but still wants the formula as well. It is really just a waiting game. I thought it was really neat that they have the same hatchdate though!

LOVED THIS!! http://youtu.be/UN98NQN5wYg :)

So sorry to hear about the scuffle between Oboe, and Duncan. I remember reading a post of yours not long ago about how Oboe would tempt fate, so to speak. I so hope he won't so this anymore. Also, sorry to hear about him losing weight, I know how worried that can make you. What has the vet said to feed him for now? Will you be feeding him formula? I would imagine it would help hi to gain weight, as it is so calorie dense. I was feeding Barnaby 4x a day, and he has gained wonderfully. I wish Oboe a quick recovery. We are all here is you need any support, I know how hard it can be for someone you love so much to be sick or hurt

I definitely agree with the others, my birds love watermelon! I don't think it has much nutritional value to it, but as a little treat I think it is great. Anyone else have any knowledge of the nutritional value?

Brett- I live in NC. If you don't mind me asking, do you have the website for your breeder? I tried to find one locally, but couldn't. I am curious now LOL.