Sarasota

He climbs to the top of the aviary from his boing and hangs there. I swear he's part bat.

Burt hanging around like a bat in the aviary....and Sondheim chewing on the dog food box. Just another standard evening at my zoo!

Oh geez. That's a lot to handle. I'm so sorry.

Heck yeah! I love when other members have pigeons. I often get that "glazed over look" from people when I talk about my pigeons. For some reason, they are discounted...and they are amazing! You are 100% correct there. I've got my pigeons on wooden eggs right now...and they will fight me to the death when I get near their nest bowls. Thank goodness they don't have massive beaks! And toucans.....fugedaboutit. I call them velociraptors. Breeding season with my male can be quite a challenge!

Oh! You're the poster in Ann Arbor. Try Feathered Friends. I bet they can help. Or, some rescues even have boarding facilities. http://www.featheredfriendsrescue.org/

Beautiful, Ray. Is there anything more wonderful than the unconditional love and acceptance we give our birds? I try to extend it to every animal I encounter. ...and some people too.

Oh heck yeah! Imagine two flying parrots, two toucans and two dogs. I recently bought a iRobot Roomba and a Mint. While the animals are in one room, the machines are cleaning the other. And I STILL have to sweep and mop constantly. Ahhh....what we do for love.

My cages are HQ and used to be made in the US. Unfortunately, they are now made in China. I believe Cages By Design are US made - but they may not be your cup of tea: http://www.cagesbydesign.com/t-majesticbird.aspx. Also, there is Corners Unlimited. The website doesn't show much, but I've seen a few examples of cages in homes and they are pretty amazing: http://www.cornerslimited.com/

To ease your mind, call the company and find out what kind of chemicals they are using. Anything questionable and the bird should be removed from the house. If you can't do that - use the bathroom you suggested and put a rolled up towel under the door and leave the windows open - maybe even use a fan.

That kind of stuff scares the heck out of me. I'm glad everything worked out for you! And it's a good reminder for me to back up my computer.

There is Feathered Friends of Michigan. They have amazing speakers, etc. I believe they also have programs and teachers, or could at least refer you to someone. http://www.featheredfriendsrescue.org/index.html

Love! What a cutie!

This really needs to be a sticky.

That's why I recently did. I LOVE the laminated floors. That is, until I got a un-housetained dog. Little puckers at the seams of the floor where he made his mistakes. UGH!

I often get questions about my pigeons - I have 12 in a loft. I laugh. I use a scraper to get the perfectly formed poo off a wooden floor/nest boxes. It's SIMPLE compared to parrots and toucans!

They are quite beautiful!

LOL! I really need to get some good photographs of Toucan poo...especially the delightful Morning Poo. They eat all fruit....delightful splatters everywhere...even on the ceiling.

Not fighting, biting to draw blood. And it's parrots in question, not other birds. Please refer to: Brice, February, 1994, Munn, July 1998, Gilardi, February, 1999, English, November, 2000, May 15, 2001. In 35 years of field research, only two researchers ever heard of a parrot biting hard enough to draw blood. Positive reinforcement does not mean you do not set boundaries for your birds.

So sweet! Burt loves to take a bath in his water bowl too!

Absolutely. I don't clip my birds - parrots, toucans or pigeons. But it's a big commitment. When the toucans are out, I crate the dogs. They are much flightier than parrots and my puppy will often chase them - way too stressful for the birds. My CAG has nipped the dogs when they get too close to his boing...they steer clear of each other now. That said, I live alone, so I am in controls of all the windows and doors, toilet seats, boiling water on the stove, etc. If I lived with several children and had to constantly monitor everything...it might be very different.

She may just be molting...

Jeff, I also boil cinnamon sticks. Delish! Greys do have a slight odor. I love it. Not nearly as potent as a macaw. Daily sprays with a bottle and drenching at least once a week takes care of any extra powder. Try putting little bowls of baking soda around the house. They absorb odors wonderfully without harming creatures. It could also be a old fruit/veggie issue, so change the bowls at least twice a day. For poop - papers need to be changed at least once a day, twice if you can - and use a distinfectant like AviClean or Poop Off (although, I don't like the Poop off smell). If you don't like the smell of either, you can always use white vinegar and water, or baking soda and water in a spray bottle.

My TAG is indifferent. My CAG will dance and "Whooo! Wow!!!" over certain songs. He loves opera (can sing Queen of the Night from the Magic Flute as well as any Zon), musicals (well, he IS named Sondheim), and a bunch of other odd songs. On my Time Warner Cable I have several music channels. I alternate between different types of music to see what they like best. If you leave it on during the day, keep it low. They can still enjoy it, but not so loud they don't get any rest.

I don't know how old your new bird is...baby or adult? LOTS of things to chew. Boings are a favorite in my house. A good cage cleaner and disinfectant like AviClean. Extra bowls (you will need them, trust me!). Tons of paper towels and a good broom.