snoepgoed123

I'm officially in trouble now, Archimedes has figured it out... and worst... he's used it... against me... puppy dog eyes! My kryptonite... Yesterday when we were at the breeders everything is going well, we were having a blast, but I could tell he was getting a little tired/overstimulated so I brought him back to his cage where he ate 2 pellets and looked at me wanting back out... and he used the puppy dog eyes... Well my father couldn't stand for it and let him come back out... eventually he went back in but boy oh boy those puppy dog eyes are gonna be something when he actually gets home... and not a puppy dog eye face but a cute picture of him yesterday none the less...

I think he's still on 2 feedings a day, though I'm not sure, all I know is he's just nibbling on his food. When I was there on friday I gave Archimedes a sunflower seed thats mixed in with his food, and he took it and knew how to de-shell it, which is a good sign, though I'm pretty sure only 1 crumb was actually eaten. When Archimedes is home, he'll be fed TOPS and veg mash, though I am thinking of mixing TOPS with harrisons, but idk yet... TOPS isn't sold near us, so I'd have to order it online, but I figured if I mix it with Harrisons (also harrisons offers things tops doesn't) that if I were to run out of one, the other one won't shock his digestive system as much.

ahh it's almost time for archimedes to come home. he's (or she still waiting for test) is 12 weeks old (hatch date was 11/10/11) Earlier this week he was moved from the aquarium to an actual cage. He's starting to use his wings a couple of times, but no takeoffs yet. I told my breeder that I didn't want him clipped PERIOD and he said that he won't clip archimedes which I'm really happy about. Archimedes still isn't eating big bird foods yet... but I have seen him munch on some big bird food, though it's more tasting rather than eating. Ahh I'm just ready to have my baby home... edited to add: forgot to ask... right now Archimedes is squeaking all the time, it sounds like a contact call, but all baby voice like... at what age do the baby squeaks disappear and the big bird sounds appear? (i love the little squeaks so i'll be sad once their gone)

I am really excited to start this journey with Archimedes. The studies from Dr. Irene Pepperburg were so interesting to me, and I read Alex and Me... that really peaked my interest in a AG... I used to have a cockatiel that was just so incredibly smart (who I miss dearly) and I'm just so excited to have another feathery friend back in the house again. I've taken a lot of human development classes, specifically for children from birth to 10, and even though I know that parrots are not humans, I think it would be fun using my education and apply it to Archimedes... specifically piaget, (the guy that did the stages of development) as well as some other theories that could be modified to fit for parrots... I would only be applying it to get a better understanding of my CAG and not go much further... since my interest is really in human children education haha

today I went to visit archimedes, and like a proud momma I video taped him/her using my cellphone. I have iPhone 4 where you can record like a mirror. So when I faced it so archimedes could see himself (herself) in the screen he/she was a lot more interested in whats going on. Afterwards, I was curious and I played it back to him/her after a couple minutes, and that was something! He could hear the birdy in the phone, and kept looking behind the phone to see where the bird in the phone was... and the little squeaks were going back and forth, like he was talking to the bird in the phone. I don't know, i thought it was cool, so I figured I would share with you guys, he/shes just under 12 weeks old and I'm amazed by the intelligence that he/she has already.

so I feel like I'm making the rounds to all the forums asking questions... Do African Greys get food allergies... I'm asking because I'm planning on making chop in a few days so I can have it ready for when Archimedes comes home... and as I was making the list of what I wanna put in, I realized... what if he's allergic to something... not only would I have to throw out all the food (that would stink, but so be it)... but with all the chop mixed together, I wouldn't know what he is allergic to, and I would have to reintroduce that possible food again... then again, I could just be overanalyzing stuff like I normally do so my questions... 1. Can greys be allergic to foods 2. if they are, what are foods that they can be allergic to 3. what symptoms would they show if they are allergic (food and nonfood) 4. are there any nonfood items they're allergic to? now I'm not talking about the no-no list (chocolate, caffeine, etc) I'm talking about safe foods that they could be allergic to (peppers, brussel sprouts, broccoli)

thanks for all the suggestions guys! I think I'm gonna wait to see if he actually wants to go up there like chezron says... then if he does, maybe start off by getting the fishing pole out of storage... and if that won't work put something up there to deter him... man, can't believe that he'll be home soon!!! (or she, we're finding out if its a boy or girl in the next week or so)

even though that's a good idea, I don't think thats gonna happen... I'm scared of ladders, my father is afraid of heights, and my mother is afraid of her own shadow... So nobody in my family would be able to get up there... I'm looking of a solution that we can do from the ground preferably

Since Archimedes will be coming home within the next couple weeks... (10 weeks old now) I'm planning on not clipping the wings. One issue that we'll have is we have vaulted ceilings and we have a window around 20 ft up that's not reachable by any means besides grabbing a tall ladder... point is... I don't want Archimedes up there... not because it's high up and all that, but when we used to have a cockatiel, he would LOVE to fly up there and eat the walls... and the only way he would want to come down (and we tried many) was to use a fishing rod in the area to startle him off. I don't want to use a fishing rod, so I'm looking for suggestions to get Archimedes down. I could care less if he's up there except for the fact that I don't want him to eat the walls and paint. I know people have suggested putting something in the area to deter, but that's just not possible. Also our house has an open floor plan so it's not like we can detain him to just the living room.

spring chicken.... I remember having 1 tv in the house, and having only 10 channels... I remember that we only had one phone... and it wasn't cordless, I remember going to my aunt's and uncle's house, they had a computer... and only 1 game... the guy that moves blocks around... I remember getting our first computer, and having to shut off the internet... because someone MIGHT call...

ahh thanks so much guys! I was worried when I read it at first thinking oh geez... I have a day to day routine that I follow... but I like knowing that it's ok that I have it...

he wasn't too big, but he was bigger than a severe macaw... I'm horrible at knowing all the macaw breeds, but he was green, I think it might have been a yellow collared macaw... He was very friendly, and the bite was a play bite... luckily not a vicious bite... like I said, it was my fault for not realizing his beak strength...

well... I'm part of the club... when I went to bird paradise I was playing with one of the macaws, cute green guy... he was stepping up, and down and up and down, and he kept nibbling on my jacket... then he grabbed hold of my finger, and I just pulled it out, all is fine, playing some more, he grabs hold of my finger again and just clenches down... now I have a lovely bruise, fortunately no blood... but that hurt! like getting your finger caught in the car door kind of pain... well you guys all know! It was 100% my fault, I knew it's a risk I took when I played with him, and I don't mind... (its almost like a reality check)

I've been doing a lot of reading, and every place states that you shouldn't get into a routine with a grey, because if you can't keep it, all hell can break lose. I'm curious, how long can you go without a routine being established, like for example if you wake up at 8 every day, they'll expect that, if you clean their cage ever other day, will that become a routine? What about something every 4 days... or something once a week? Will they catch on to a shower every monday night... I'm not planning on setting a set routine... but I'm just wondering how far they can go without realizing a routine has been established.

so after finding out this place from you, and finding out its near me... (hour away) I went... you're right, its like you're in heaven! This was my first real bird shopping trip, getting branches, first toys and such (still don't have my baby yet) and we spend a pretty penny! The birds that were out on the stands were hilarious! some of the macaws would jump on you if you had your back turned (my poor mother freaked out, so did another woman) and the cockatoos were out there too and they were just big snuggle bugs! I can't wait to go back!

So since Archimedes will be coming home faster then I know it (still probably a good 7 weeks away) I wanna start stockpiling toys... One thing that I realized, (I don't know if I missed it, most likely) was a safe toy product list, or an unsafe product list... I was wondering if anybody could point me to one. another thing I thought about was using baby toys, I know as far as wood products, melissa and doug is an awesome brand for babies, I wanna make sure it's safe for my future fid as well. what about those balls with the holes in them, I guess they're made of some type of squishy plastic, I think they also have them for dogs if I remember correctly... I was thinking if these were safe I could give them to Archimedes for outside of cage play, and then leave the bird toys in the cage. I just wanna ask here before I buy something I shouldn't. (oh and the baby toys aren't meant to be pure destruction toys... but more one on one interactive toys with him, though destruction is expected of course!)

Ok, I did forget to mention that he is still at the breeder, so I'll see if he would be ok with leaving a few toys in there for him. The breeder is very easy going so I don't think that should be a problem

ok thank you for that response! I'm still in the process of learning, so he shouldn't be handled much until he's around 12 weeks old? besides being fed and such

I've been reading all the stickies (and learning lots) but I have a question... it said when a bird shakes/shivers it means it's scared. So the other day I took Archimedes out of his box (he's around 7 weeks old) and he was shivering... this was the first chance that I held him, but since the box was 82/84 degrees and the room itself was only 70 degrees, I just figured that he was cold. I'm sure that he was probably a bit scared too, because like I said, this was the first time holding him. But I'm just curious, can shivering also mean they're cold?

ohh great! I'm still getting a handle on all the rules, I'm guessing it's the same as most forums... but just like any, all forums have their own little tweaks

haha trust me, you'll be seeing plenty! (btw is the picture too big? idk how to resize)

I hope this will work, this is my mom holding Archimedes

I would love to post a picture, but like I said, I'm still new! haha so once I figure out how it works... trust me! pictures will be coming! edit to add: he's locally, there's a bird shop around half an hour away from my house, and the guy that owns it is also a breeder, he seems very knowledgable, and he's letting me come in any time *during store hours* and lets me hang out as long as I want, and has all the time to answer all my newbie questions

hi everybody! I found this site as I was searching for more information on greys, and after reading for a few weeks, I couldn't help but join. So far all the information I've found has been very helpful. I just put a deposit down for a baby CAG, right now he/she (haven't found out yet) is around 7 and a half weeks old. And I am in love! This is my first real parrot, but I've had birds when I was younger. I'm excited to join this forum, and hope to learn many new things!