Timbersmom

Timber tolerates my husband as well. They have a relationship, just not like the relationship I have with him. More like sibling rivalry, ha. I think Timber resents any attention I give hubby as attention that should be directed at him, but if I'm out and about Timber is perfectly willing to let hubby feed him, change his papers, and do the scut work. He will also whistle for him and, occasionally, call him asshole

I don't think it's rare to see some red feathers. Timber has a few and has had them since he came to me. Some have more than others. As Greytness said, it gives them character!

Love your videos! Your girl is just full of character.

Amazing how quickly they become the center of our lives. Excellent post.

Awww... beautiful!

Happy Hatchday Maalik!

Several on the forum have harness experience and I'm sure they will respond. I have none, sorry.

Lucy is a beautiful bird!

I know some who wrap their manzanita perches in vet wrap for the very reason. Others sand them to make them less slippery. I've always been told they need a variety of sizes and textures for perches, so I have an assortment.

I get mine on Amazon, I can't find it locally.

I think they need direct light. I use an avian sun lamp, and leave it on several hours each day. If you buy one, make sure you get the right bulb. Sometimes places will sell reptile lights and say they are fine for birds but they are not. The Avian Sun doesn't generate any heat, just both sun components (UVB and UVA I believe?). Like people, they need direct sun or a light that provides it to metabolize certain nutrients.

If anything could be done, the avian vet would probably have mentioned it. Timber also has a "bad toe" so I don't think it is that uncommon. If I recall, the vet said it could be a birth defect or an injury, hard to tell at this point. No comfort I know, but sometimes it just is what it is...

St. Louis, MO area, Dr. Kersting is great.

Hello and welcome to you and Lucy! I know what you mean about being the "mate." A little unnerving, but what can you do? Timber gets along OK with the husband, but I'm the favored one. Looking forward to hearing from you and seeing some pics of Lucy. It sounds like she's full of personality, as most greys are

That's interesting about Alfie not wanting your food. Timber would try dirt if he thought I was eating it. He might fling it, but if I eat, he thinks he must share. He gets quite upset when I'm eating something he can't sample, like chocolate or avocado. He doesn't like pine nuts either. In fact, the only nut he truly seems to crave is the dreaded peanut. Not even a real nut but a legume for goodness sake! He will eat nuts sometimes, especially if they are in the shell (I have to start the cracking process because he's lazy), but they certainly couldn't be used as a training treat. They are as individual in their tastes as people.

I just remembered, it was called "Rescue Remedy." The old wheels turn slowly...

Wow, that's frustrating!

Same here, that is a problem I haven't dealt with. I'm trying to remember, there was a long time member here who used something and said it worked. Was it Dee? Maybe if Talon sees this she will remember. At any rate, if it isn't harmful (and I'm sure you've done your research) and it works, that's great news!

And a lovely family photo it is!

They are escape artists. We had to zip tie Timber's doors and had a little lock for the main door. That was a really poor design but I don't know what the brand was. It came with him when I rehomed him.

If it weren't for bribery, I would have made no progress at all with Timber, ha. With him at least, positive reinforcement is always necessary when I'm trying to encourage a behavior. Hope the vet give you the OK to get them in the same room tomorrow. Even if they aren't out at the same time, I can see where jealousy on all sides would happen. They'd rather know what's going on and what the competition looks like I imagine.

Hello and welcome to you and Vannah! As Greytness said, I would give her plenty of time to adjust before pushing anything. Most greys adapt very slowly to change, and trying to rush can end up creating trust issues and make the process take even longer over time.

Glad to hear he's doing well! I've never heard of the amount of discharge from cameras being harmful so I wouldn't be concerned about that.

I thought the same thing Greytness.

I really feel for you. Timber suffers from seizures, and I have to medicate him twice a day. He has seen an avian vet and was tested for everything. Sometimes, as with Timber, birds have seizures for unknown reason, like human epilepsy. It must be very frightening not to have access to an avian vet. He has not had a seizure for two years now, since we got the meds adjusted. I'll share some of the things the vet had me do until we had his seizures under control. When Timber's started, he would have one every few weeks. I hope and pray that your bird never has another, but you might want to take some precautions in the meantime. 1. Lower his available perches. If he seizes he will fall, and that can injure him as much as the seizure. 2. Make sure there is a towel or some type of padding under him so that if he does fall it is cushioned. 3. I actually put Timber in a hospital cage (very small cage) until we had the seizures under control. His old cage was large and if he had fallen from the top of the cage (he would climb all over it even if there wasn't a perch) to the bottom, bouncing off perches and toys on the way down, he could have hurt himself. The small cage was easier to cover with toweling and kept him from falling much of a distance before hitting the towel.