alexispolicastro

I wanna play with the toucan! Theyre so beautiful... I'm sure the poop is interesting tho..

Lmao!!! I've had such a bad day... its amazing that reading about poop is making me laugh! Thank u everyone! :-)

Awe poor baby! She's lucky to have you.. I don't think there's anything wrong with changing her name.. especially if she associates it with fear or upset.. unless u add a "sweet" or "baby" in front of Rosie... sometimes if they were screamed at by their previous owner they will think their name is a scolding instead of their name.. dogs are like that too.. whatever you do its a million times better that what she had before you and she'll start to know that just by the tone in your voice.. good luck and let us know how you make out... Alexis :-)

OK this thread is specifically for anyone who has experience with hand feeding a grey ... stormy is giving me a hard time this past week.. she is on 3 feedings a day and has started on solids and pellets.. although she is 10 weeks now I'm afraid to eliminate a feeding as she is not eating abundantly yet on her own and seems very hungry but uninterested at all of her feedings... my concern is that last week her empty weight was 403 and each day she goes down instead of up.. today she was 396 and I'm usually able to get her to eat at least 50 CC at each feeding and the past few days I'm lucky if I get 30 CC down her.. I know theyre supposed to lose a bit while weaning... but I'm worried.. I'm by no means a novice at this but it is my first grey.. and its been a year since I've weaned a baby.. so I need some moral support and advice please.. I have introduced brown rice, collard greens, yellow squash, brussel sprouts, broccoli ,corn, green beans, oatmeal, applesauce , blueberries, banana, strawberry, peaches, cherries, and Harrison pellet and roudy bush pellet and nutriberries as a treat only... her hand formula is zoopreme embrace plus... private message me with any help you have to offer... thanks a million!

A glass of wine! Lol relax and breathe ur doing great.. how bout lighting? Full spectrum at least 2 hours a day especially now and winter ... now its too hot stormy is spoiled by AC.. and winter although we live in florida still gets too cold to sit outside some times.. kings cages has a nice set up... u may want to check that out..

Congrats on ur new baby! I personally keep all sizes in stormy's cage... she is 10 weeks today and she stays on her cement perch most of the time.. that perch is a large and was specified for African greys... I also have a grape wood perch size medium... and a smaller calcium perch at all different heights so she can explore... its important to offer all sorts of textures and sizes so their feet and legs strengthen ... aswell as the basic wood perches that come with the cage.. and I don't know about babies not having super grip strength... lol mine has quite a grip already.. :-)

Hi Sophie its me stormy... has sunny gained any weight yet?

Hmmm... well there is the bonding thing... they let u know they love u that way... lol but I don't know what age they start that... I think the eclectus I fostered was almost a year old when she did it... and that was with real food.... yuk... but I'm supposed to feel honored... lol as long as her weight doesn't change dramatically I wouldnt worry... she should be coming home soon... :-)

Hi sassy... stormy is 9 weeks old today... and I hand feed her as u know... she has started doing this also... it can be one of 2 reasons when they do this.. one is when theyre over full.. the other is the food is too cold... they get really picky about temperature... I feed stormy between 106 and 103 Fahrenheit ... if its but a degree less she'll turn it away or regurgitate... mention that to the person weaning her... I hope that helps... and other foods like oatmeal are great too.. but that may be the reason with the formula...

Hi sunny its stormy... give ur rom extra kisses to let her know u will be OK... parents always worry.. my mom weighs me before and after every meal! Its so annoying.. its just cus I'm a baby she says... but u are a mature bird whatever that means... so u just eat all the good food rom gives u and u will be 22g heavier in no time... hang in there friend... :-)

Sophie! Its stormy! Its been crazy around here! My mom put me in this big metal thing the other day! Freaked me out! Mom says its my house... I didn't like it the other day at all... I just wanna be in my basket! Then mom caught me climbing out of it... I think I freaked her out! So she puts me in the big metal thing I mean my house everyday... but still lets me sleep in my basket for now ... omg I woud love to have a sleep over! I live in florida! It would have to be by me cus I can't fly yet... I just got my chest feathers in this week! Mom will have to post this weeks pics.. mom is sad.. when we went to see my doctor she said im doing great... but when she found out about punky she said mom should strongly consider getting him a new home.. she tod mom that love birds and parakeets carry certain diseases that can be deadlly to other bird breeds... and being that im a baby it was necessary ... so mom met a lovely lady who is gonna be a real good mommy to him.. but mom is really sad... im gonna give her extra kisses tonight when she feeds me ... ok im sleepy again.. I'll write again soon!

Thanks ray... stormy is not ready to swing yet.. lol but I have intentions of a swing... and that's a great idea.... they've gotten a little better... she did let me file them... but she'll do better when its in her cage and she gets more active... :-)

The eclectus female I fostered did this... I think Ava is bullying u... although she is only with u a short time ground rules have to be made... she's testing u to see what she can get away with... my husband suffered mostly from her and once he took the bite... bled like a gutted pig... and continued working with her she stopped... u can break her of this aggressive behavior ... a trick I made my husband do was to sit in a dark quiet room with her spectrum light on and put her on his chest and hum softly... then start petting her below the neck on her back.. soft gentle long strokes down the length of her back to her tail.. if she nips say no or a distraction sound but continue humming softly... when she looks calm .. try again.... and repeat the process don't push it though... sit for about 20 minutes to start.... and do it at night when she's full and getting ready for bed... be consistent and patient and show no fear of her bite... do this every night ... it worked for us...and I'm happy to say she is happy with her forever family and loves everyone... good luck... :-)

Hi.. (whisper) its me stormy.. mom is inside watching this thing with people in side a big square ... its weird... I pretended to sleep and watched a little bit but I ate like a piglet today so I was really sleepy! I ate so much I felt like I was gonna pop! Mom warned me I was going too fast this morning but i didnt listen...I guess she is smarter than me... for now... so I finally figured out that the weird tweeting sound I've been hearing is actually part of my family... mom said he's a love bird.. his name is punky and boy is he annoying... daddy brought him to the table after I had my lunch yesterday and he just sat there staring at me... how rude... I don't think I like him... I showed him... I lunged at him.. lol I think I scared him... I can't wait to mock him when I can talk real good... mom probably won't like it... lol but I know how to get out of trouble already.. all I have to do is run over to her and rub my face against hers... putty in my wings I tell ya! Awe poo! I've been caught... these naps are really annoying... mom keeps telling me I need them but I'm not tir...........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz oops... I fell asleep.... I guess I do need those nap things... yaaaaaawn OK ... bye friends! I'll sneek on soon! :-)

Its the most fun for me... I love raising babies... and she did let me file them.... but I couldn't get the inner back ones .. of coarse u know those r the worst! And she just met punky my lovebird face to face for the first time yesterday .... once she realized he was real she lunged at him... lol I'm trying to upload pics of the encounter.... I'm so illiterate with computers... lol

Uum... hi? I don't know if I'm using this tablet thing right... mom said I could say hello to u guys... she watches everything I do cus I'm a baby... tomorrow is my birthday! I'm 8 weeks old! In wonder if mom will get me a present... so mom has been telling me this Is a big week for me... my cage is coming and I've been eating those pellet things... I think theyr more fun than food... I like the way it sounds when I crunch them.... oh and I started sitting on this perchy thing... it makes my feet feel good... and it makes me taller! I can almost see out of my basket... I'm still so little so I can't do all the fun stuff u guys do yet... but I'm taking notes! I really love mom, she's so cuddly... after I've had enough formula I let her clean my face then I run into those big fluffy things on her chest... I love when she kisses me.... then we play with my ball, it jingles when I roll it... its really cool! I can't wait to fly... I flap my wings really hard but I don't go anywhere yet... I guess I need more feathers.... OK well mom said its time to nap cus I grow while I sleep... she's always thinking ! I'll talk to u guys real soon.... bye! Btw... I was so excited to talk to everyone I never told u my name.... its stormy .... mom and dad named me that because I'm a beautiful grey and look like a storm cloud..... and when they picked me up from the people who hatched me it was a "stormy" day....mom said we live in florida ,it storms a lot in the summer.... OK I really gotta go now.... I'm sleepy.. :-)

Hi Robert! Congrats on ur lovely Lola! I had a similar situation with my female Siberian husky Sasha.... you were brought to her for a reason... enjoy her... I have an 8 week old baby cag and I am also new to the site... I can tell u this her cage is definitely too small... even if she's only in it to sleep, it should be at least 35 inches wide by 45 inches high on the inside... I just bought a beautiful cage from kings cages and waiting its arrival... they are expensive but worth every penny... good luck with lola.. she is beautiful!:-)

Thanks guys! Im gonna try later.. and yes judy she has an orange fluffy in with her and her ball that she likes to play with... and I leave my ipod playing a humming lullaby for her when im not with her ...

Good morning all! So I just wanted to share some baby fun... this morning after stormy's feeding she comes waddling over to me as she always does for snuggle time... well she puts her neck all the way out and starts rubbing her head and face into my cheek and pushing her face into mine and cooing.... it was so cute! On the other hand ... those nails are killing me! The concrete perch that she's beginning to sit on isn't doin what I'd hoped... any suggestions? Or just endure it? My thought was to slightly touch her nails with a soft file just so the edges wouldn't be so pointy.. not enough to hinder her grip tho... any thoughts?

Thank you! :-) your crew is adorable! I also have a bunch of furry and feathered kids... I have 3 Siberian huskies and a silly little love bird ... I'll have to figure out how to get more pics up of my bunch... I am having a great time with my stormy... I absolutely love this stage of development... I love watching her grow and get new feathers and get stronger every day.... although I second guess myself at times like any new mommy... which is why I'm so glad to have found this site...

Hi judy! Thank you for the warm welcome... believe me I know all the horrors with hand feeding... if I had no experience I wouldn't have taken her... luckily I grew up in a house hold which raised larger birds and was comfortable in the fact that I could handle her... but its not something to be ventured into by just anyone.... so I more than agree with u! I am enjoying her completely... she learns and grows everyday .... I have ordered her cage from kings cages and it should be here within the week... I'm so excited... she is already starting to sit on her concrete perch! Thank god because her nails are like needles! I also created an album for stormy so everyone can watch her grow with me... :-)

Hello everyone! I just wanted to introduce myself... my name is Alexis and I'm new to this site and African greys... its been a while since I weened a baby so I'm a little nervous and will probably be summoning all of you for some help now and again... my stormy is now 7 going on 8 weeks old and we are doin fabulous! 3 feedings a day and she started nibbling on pellet 2 days ago... as of this morning she weighed 387 grams before feeding and is consuming 35 to 50 ml of formula at each feeding depending on her mood... if anyone has advice or helpful hints they are welcomed and appreciated !

Hi everyone! I too am new to this site and African greys.. I have a 7 week old Congo named stormy which I fall deeper in love with every day... although she is my first cag I have a lot of experience with all different bird breeds. I grew up raising macaws and cockatoos.. then eclectus... I'm already noticing a lot of differences in their mannerisms compared to the others I've hand fed, and I have to say I'm smitten with this baby... the personality alone is amazing! I'm so happy to be part of this forum, I must say being that she is my first grey I am still a little nervous and will have questions for the experienced grey owners! :-)