lisachristine

What a sweet baby girl! I never thought about the band being a danger. Hopefully there is somewhere I can take Rosie to have hers removed. Best of luck with her recovery!

Thanks Nancy. My gut is telling me to hold off. She is just now, as of last week, letting me scratch her head (after two years of hard work). I guess my question is how important is bathing? I keep a pan in the bottom as well, but I've never seen her in it. I do work 8 to 9 hour days, so maybe she is playing in it while at work??? I really wish I had a birdy cam. How fun would that be!

Well, the problem is that she doesn't step up or leave her cage. I've had her now for 2 years and she has made wonderful progress. I can actually "touch" her with out her jumping to the bottom of her cage. I spray her through the bars.

Rosie, my rescue CAG, is not fond of water, however I try to spray her once every couples of weeks. I know this is very important, but I noticed that after I spray her she throws a temper tantrum then pulls a few feather out. She is a former plucker (still has a tiny area on her chest) so I'm concerned that this will trigger her to pluck as bad as she did before I owned her. Should I continue to spray or not?? What do you guys think? She also has nothing to do with me for days after.

Thanks guys! Give Miki lots of space and lots of time and I'm sure things will turn around for you both. I really truely thought that Rosie would HATE me for life and as you've read she is SLOWLY coming around. I can't tell you how many dreams I've had of holding her and feeling her warm feet wrapped around my arm. It's a dream that someday may come true.

Quick update on Rosie. Last night she jumped out of her cage twice! The first time she jumped, she was playing pretty rough and scared herself (or slipped) not sure what happened. The second time I was out of the room so I didn't see what happened. Both times she was able to get in her cage all by herself! She has only been out a handful of times in the two years I have had her and i've ALWAYS had to help get her back in. Every day I open the door praying that she'll find interest in coming out. Could my little girl finally be coming around???

Can you give a Grey a whole cherry?? I usually take the seed out because I wasn't sure if it was safe.

I didn't mention I use water to saute and only do this twice a week.

The other question is how do I get her to put BOTH feet on me? She dances back and forth with just one foot and this has been going on for months. Do I wait for her to put her second foot on me or should I push her a little and bump her other foot that's hanging on for dear life? My biggest fear is breaking the trust that we have built in the past two years. To wait or not to wait, that is the question.

Now that Rosie has started to enjoy my presence, I've decided that it is time for her to learn to "step up". Her previous owner, I'm convinced, ruined this phrase because every time I say "step up" she freaks out so now I use the phase "where's your foot?". Now I have her reaching out with one foot (and only one foot). My question is what is the best way to approach her? Do I hold a fist out where she can grasp onto my wrist or do I offer two straight fingers that she can wrap her talons around? How do your birds step up? She is very clumsy and VERY insecure (she is a rehab CAG). I'm not afraid of her at all, just wanted to know what would feel more physically secure for her.

Veggie scrambled eggs! I know eggs are high in cholesterol, however I only give a small amount to my Grey. First, I finely chop up broccoli, spinach, and carrots. Then I saute the mixture until soft and add in an egg. This is the only way my CAG will eat veggies.

Glad to hear things are going well! Rosie, my 4 year old CAG, never used to eat pellets until I accidentally dropped a few in her water. She immediately went to her water dish and gobbled up the pellets like she hadn't eaten in days. Now every night before bed, I sprinkle in a handful. I think it's great that Chico is even entertaining the idea of eating them at all! Some birds won't touch pellets, which takes away a great deal of nutrition from their diet. Eat away Chico!

For those of you who think your bird will never come around, just be patient!! I've had Rosie (a rehab CAG) now for almost two years and I NEVER thought she would EVER let me touch her let alone let me into her heart. Within these 2 years there have been countless days of handing her food, only to have it ripped from my hand and thrown to my feet, countless days of nips, bites, and lacerations, countless days of stare downs and being ignored. Two months ago I noticed that she FINALLY started to take an interest in me. She would return whistles, take food from my hand gently, and started speaking in my voice. Last week was the topper! One night during her final wind up (talking, bings, bongs, and screams before bed), I walked to her cage to say goodnight. That's when I noticed that she was pressing her head up against the bars for a head scratch!! She started cooing. I decided that this was the time to open her cage and try to pet her from head to tail (MANY attemps before led to bloody fingers). I opened the cage and went for it! And she loved it, for about a minute. Then she let me know that I had over stayed my welcome. Progress for sure. Now days if I leave her cage and she wants me to come back, she will make a fart sound. I never thought I would love a fart sound so much. They always get the last laugh!

Hope you all have a great Holiday! From sweet potato Rosie and the rest of our family!

Today was one of the most amazing days of my life! I've had Rosie now for over a year and just recently all her flight feathers have grown back from a HORRIBLE wing clip. When she came to me, one wing was as long as her tail feathers and the other was nothing but a nub. She couldn't fly, let alone perch that well. The other day I decided to open her cage (we've been trying to incourage her to come out more often) which she hardly ever does. Well, she finally came out and jumped to the ground. As I reached down to get her she shot straight up, flew accross the livingroom, did a u-turn to dodge the window, and landed on the rug from where she took off!!!! My son and I were speechless! We didn't think she could fly! What an amazing site.....Thanks for letting me ramble. You guys are the only ones that understand bird talk

Rosie, my 4 year old CAG, is a rescue bird that has had a horrible beginning to life. Although she is coming around (playing with toys, talking and eating well) I think she hates her name! I know that sounds weird, but every time you say her name she starts to tremble. Is changing her name a good or bad idea??

Thanks guys. I'll dissconnect the subwoofer to see if she reacts differently!

Last week I bought a CD for birds. It's basically a CD of classical music with different bird sounds in the back ground. When ever I play the CD for my CAG, she shakes her her repeatedly, kind of like if a dog has an itch in it's ear. Is it ok to play this CD all day while I'm at work?? I would hate to annoy her ALL day long...

Thanks Nancy. I hope she comes around someday, not for my own personal gain, but because she deserves to feel safe and loved by humans. I'm not 100% sure of her history, but the terror in her eyes tell a story that no animal should have to live. Luckily most of her neurotic behaviors have dissipated such as swaying back and forth (probably from nervousness or boredom) and screaming and jumping to the bottom of her cage whenever people walked by her. I find that being on this forum helps me realize how far she has come. Sometimes I get discouraged and second guess myself that maybe I'm not doing something right or that maybe there's someone out there that she would bond to better, but then I get on the forum and write a little about her then think "WOW! She really is making progress!". Either way she's suck with me! I'm starting to read her better and vise versa. It's the beginning of a beautiful, but distance relationship....

Are there any types of wood that I should stay away from?? I have a HUGE peach tree.

What size perch should I have for my CAG? She prefers to perch on her metal water dish and it looks very uncomfortable. Her nails are also growing VERY quickly. I hate to get her out to trim them because she's just now coming around. I'm afraid all the hard work this year will go down the drain if I traumatize her by getting her out of her cage. Any ideas on perches?

Can't help, but to shed a few tears for you and Twix. I'm sorry for your loss. Nothing worse than holding one of your beloved dying animals until death. A lesson learned for a lot of us on this forum. I will start looking for a avian vet tomorrow.

Yes folks, I finally figured out how to get Rosie to eat pellets! First in the morning I give her fresh fruits and a ration of seed mix. When I get home from work (by this time most of the food is gone and she is hungry), I pour a TINY spoon full of the smallest Zupreem pellets available for birds into her water dish (too many and she loses interest). Right away she starts bobbing for pellets! I believe it has also encouraged her to bathe. She NEVER used to bathe before eating pellets this way. My only question is, if her water has bits of soggy pellets will it harm her to bathe in it? Or will I only have a stinky pellet bird??

Yes folks, I finally figured out how to get Rosie to eat pellets! First in the morning I give her fresh fruits and a ration of seed mix. When I get home from work (by this time most of the food is gone and she is hungry), I pour a TINY spoon full of the smallest Zupreem pellets available for birds into her water dish (too many and she loses interest). Right away she starts bobbing for pellets! I believe it has also encouraged her to bathe. She NEVER used to bathe before eating pellets this way. My only question is, if her water has bits of soggy pellets will it harm her to bathe in it? Or will I only have a stinky pellet bird??

You got that right Ray! LoL Nancy! Rosie girl amazes me every day! I sit for hours watching her behavior from the couch and day dream about the day that we can actually make real physical contact. I know there's a small chance that she will never come around, but I have this gut feeling that she will. She has already "stepped up" but only with one foot. One year=one small baby step...Can't wait to see what next year brings!