Amit Gomes

Hi guys n gals, I hope all of you are well & your fids are chattering away. I havent been on the forums in a while & thanks to the great advice & information I have received earlier for a lot of you my fid, Smokey is doing well & has been healthy. I have noticed yesterday that he lost a couple of tail feathers & about 8-10 smaller feathers (not wing feathers). I did instantly panic cos I suspected feather plucking but while scratching his head a few more feathers just came off. Not quite sure if this is normal & if it is a usual molt. He is about 1.5 yrs & has been with me for a year. He has not had a molt yet. He is quite normal otherwise, diet hasnt changed, has just started to talk & chatters on the whole day & everythin else seems good. I have my 2 sisters who have come to live with me since a week & I am not sure if a change in the people he usually interacts with could cause stress. He seems quite happy & even goes to one of the girls & lets them scratch his head. So I dont think stress of new people being around is there but still I would like your opinion. Could anyone let me know wht they think? I did call my regular vet today however he is on holidays & the others here in the UAE are pretty much quacks who deal with dogs n cats & arent proper avian vets. I would rather hear what you guys have to say first before taking him to a vet I dont trust.

Dude how did u get the pipes through the wood base & do you have like a slightly bigger plastic base that is screwed to the end of the pipes at the bottom to keep the stand level....I'm not a regular handyman, have hardly assembled or made any stuff on my own so i'll need sum guidance for making mine....

WOW!!!! Tht looks fantastic bro....I was just thinking yesterday that I need to make a playstand for Dexter & signed in today to get some ideas & saw ur stand....Its a fantastic piece of work man....I'm truly inspired...did u manage to get the untreated rope in the hardware store as well??? it looks like jute if i'm not mistaken...I'm sure DJ loves it...gotta visit the hardware store in the evening & get started & if i manage to do half the job u've done I'll consider it a success....Thx Ismail

Thx Twix... I will call the vets n check out the websites... BTW have you got DJ dna tested yet??

Hi Guys, Dexter says a big thanks for the lovely welcome...More pics to follow

Hi Monax & Twix...thx for the advice... Thx for the info on sprouts Monax, I will try that... Twix I did order zupreem fruit blend pellets from the same website, I will try the natural diet...Will be ordering it this week n mixing it with the fruit blend n a few seeds initially to see if he likes it....

Hi Guys n Girls, I've recently brought home a beautiful 6 month old CAG - Dexter. I was hoping there would be other members in this forum who are from Dubai, UAE & would be able to give me names & addresses of any avian vets that they know of. I do know of a couple in Sharjah but I am not sure if they are reliable vets or just quacks. I refer to dexter as a boy but I havent got the dna test done. Have any of you in the UAE done a DNA test for your fids & where. It would be greyt if you'll would be able to help me. I need to make sure I take Dexter to a good vet for a health check. Thanks in advance people. Amit

Hi Guys, I recently brought home a 6 month old CAG, Dexter. The pet store owner had been feeding him mainly sunflower seeds with an occasional apple which of course is not a healthy diet. Since getting Dex home I have been feeding him as much fresh food as possible. He loves green chillies so that is a daily food for him. Along with chillies he loves carrots, cucumber, apples & capsicum. He refused to eat a banana & some watermelon that I offered him. I feed him fresh food twice a day. He also has a seed mix, with has sunflower seeds, wheat, peanuts (which I toss out) dried red chillies, a few banana chips n some other colour dried food which looks like its probably dried fruit. Along with fresh food I have been feeding him zupreem fruit blend pellets which he seems to eat only occasionally n only if I do not put the seed mix in his cage. I had a few questions about his diet & what I can do to improve it. 1. He loves sunflowers seeds & mostly eats only this out of the seed mix. He ignores the wheat & coloured food. I have read that only sunflower seeds are not healthy & he should be eating other stuff as well. Could someone recommend a good seed mix. 2. Are the fruit blend pellets fine? I do not want to make pellets the primary diet, I prefer to have the pellets & seeds in his cage once he has eaten fresh food. What would you'll suggest? I have seen other people recommending the natural & nut blend but have also read that nuts & seeds are high in cholesterol & are not good. I will be purchasing a different pellet mix in a couple of days & wanted to know what would be the best. We have zupreem, harrisons, kaytee available here. 3. Dexter doesnt seem to drink enough water & I see him drink water only after he eats fresh food & at times I have to put the bowl under his nose for him to drink. How would I know how much water should my CAG consume. 4. Can i give him him toasted sliced bread? The reason I ask this is cos he will keep looking at us & seems interested in what we are eating when we have our morning toast but doesnt seem to bother wen we have other meals.

Hi People, Hope all of you are Greyt After a lot of contemplation, reading through forums, talking to people & a lot of helpful advice from this forum I finally decided to commit myself to owning a CAG & providing the care & nurturing they need. To be honest, I was a little doubtful if I was going to be able to take care of a CAG but after a few visits to pet store around here & after seeing & hearing about the way some people handle the birds here in Dubai, I realised that a bird had a better chance of having a happy & fruitful life with me than at one of these pet stores, living in a small cage with only sunflower seeds to eat n water to drink. So without any further ado..Please meet Dexter...My 6 month old CAG.. It was love at first sight with Dexter, who seemed friendly n looked healthy as well. I couldn't bear to see him in a little cage with no space to flap his wings n I brought him home immediately. Its been two weeks since I got him & I've been spending all my free time with him hence its taken me so long to even log in & post some pics of him. He seems to be a happy camper & has adjusted to me & my wife pretty well. I am amazed by how smart he is. On day one he only growled n made a soft birdie noise. Today, just two weeks in, he makes a variety of sounds & noises & also attempts to say words. He isnt able to pronounce anything clearly yet but I am sure he will start soon. He's already learnt how to step up & gladly jumps on to my hand at times even if I dont ask him to step up. His favourite perch though seems to be my shoulder n loves to sit n nibble my ears while I am working on the computer or reading. Let me end by telling all of you, its such a joy to have him with us & we have had to make adjustments to our life & schedules but it is so worth it...I know its only been two weeks & a CAG is a lifetime commitment but I am sure we will be greyt parents to our sweetheart Dexter.

Thx Dave, Judy & Cheebamaster... some great advice & has given me a lot to think about... Just to clarify, my desire to own a CAG isnt something that has just come out of the blue...I have been fond of parrots all my life & have taken care of 3 indian ringnecked parots before. I have been contemplating owning a grey for the better part of a year now & have been reading & researching about the bird for 2 months... I am totally aware of the amount of time I would need to give the bird & I know its a very long term commitment. Just thought I should say this out loud cos I dont want to be misunderstood for a person who has simply taken a fancy to CAGs & doesnt know what he is getting into... I may not be able to give as much time as a lot of you manage to give your fids but I am confident of being able to give the grey whatever it needs to have a healthy life. Dave - Dogs are definitely out. I read up more about CAGs being around other animals & u were right. Judy - Points noted. I think you got me wrong, I work 8 hours a day as well however the commute to & from work & other chores do keep me away from home for another 2-3 hours & hence the total of 11 hours. This leaves me with atleast 5 hours of free time on a work day out of which I plan to dedicate atleast 1.5 hours of the time for direct interaction & training the bird & another 1.5 hours around the bird while i do basic house chores, eat dinner, watch tv etc Cheebamaster - Thanks for being encouraging & reassuring. I am one of the young'uns too, well not exactly, 26 yrs of age doesnt qualify for young atleast by my standards & glad to know that people younger than me are taking care of greys as well. I will check out the book & purchase it shortly. Once again thanks to evry1 for giving me so much information & spending time to answer my questions & offer advice....

Thx Ray & Ariel

Hi Twix, I am so glad to speak to someone from Dubai who is a fellow bird lover... I would never buy a bird from the Sharjah market....My first & only visit there was so upsetting & depressing, seeing the horrific conditions those inhuman people keep their bird & animals in will make any1's heart ache....I would not even buy bird seed from there... I have infact written to newspapers to create an awareness of the unbelievably poor state of the animals there.. I was initially thinking of purchasing a bird from petzone which is well known to provide healthy & happy animals however it seemed quite costly (7000 dhrs for a CAG). I did visit the satwa market & it was recommeded by a few friends as well.. .The birds there seem to be quite healthy & I found a couple of places who keep their birds in really a good environment.... I would be more than happy to speak to & purchase a bird from a breeder but never managed to find anyone. It would be great if you could give me the mobile number & I will speak to this person & make my inquiries. I am sure the birds will be much healthy & taken care of. I would also like to pick your brain in regards to bird care in Dxb if that would be alright with you. Thanks for your warm gesture to help. It is much appreciated Regards Amit

Thanks again Dave. Just to clarify...Do u think that the time I have mentioned is sufficient for a CAG if such a routine is followed for say 90% of the year (excluding 10% for busy periods like the holiday season). Also I just had a conversation with a friend who lives next door & has a bulldog. She is more than happy to spend time with the bird when we are not around at home but I am unsure if it is advisable as the bulldog may harm the bird. I've read that CAGs & dogs do develop an understanding of each other however this would be a dog who does not belong to me & will not spend that much time around the bird. what are your thoughts on that?? Another question: Since we do not live in our own country, we take short vacations of 2 weeks twice a year. Although I do have a lot of friends who are willing to take care of my bird would this be an advisable thing to do or should I re--think my holiday schedule if I do get a bird? I am reading up as much as I can & even if I dont end up getting a CAG right away it will be really helpful for me in the future wen I do have more time & sufficient resources to take care of a bird. I half wish there was a test that I could take after learning about these birds which could tell me if I was competent enough to take care of one

Hi Judy & thanks for welcoming me with arms, or should I say wings wide open...i have been reading various topics on this forum in my free time & have found some extremely helpful posts & threads. The people have been sweet enough to promptly reply to my questions as well...I am enjoying every bit of my time here & getting to learn a lot....A big thanks & kudos to you & the other moderators for running such a helpful & interactive forum... Cheers!!