KevinD

Thanks for your reply, I understand this is legal stuff and some will hesitate to reply, but I will get Sukei home even if I have to take a ship from the middle east around the long horn of Africa...he WILL come home... Thank you murfchhck for a response.

Hi guys, I need a little advice. I have finally found a person that says they can get me the CITES paperwork for Sukie, so I can export him to the Philippines, from there the US has no import ban. I have prefaced this with what I said in other posts, I know its not right what is happening to these birds on the black market, and wish I had done my homework prior to rescuing Sukei, but what is done is done. If I do not do what I need to, my poor Sukei will be left to languish in this hell hole for the rest of his existence, so I am determined to get him out of here. SO my question to anyone willing to help, is what does a CITES paper even look like, I don't know if Ill be buying a piece of paper that isn't worth the ink on it. I need to know what one looks like and includes for just ONE parrot, not a mass export. I've been told there is a difference. Again for those of you with strong feelings towards this kind of things I apologize in advance..... but it is just Sukei. Believe me I have already been lectured about what a dumb*&^ I was and I accept that. What I cannot accept is leaving him here in the sand heap probably to suffer and die an early death. Thanks to anyone that can help me with the information. BTY I googled it and its like a top secret document I found many and different samples, but I cant nail one down for an African grey, I cant find one anywhere. Let me put a face on the problem, maybe it will help you feel sorry for him and me LOL

I have found you can take the grey out of the wild, but you can not take the wild out of the grey. They still have their base instincts, the bites in my opinion are not driven by emotion, but by instinct built into them for thousands of years. Its like a trained tiger, you can train them, and they can be your best cuddly friend most times. I reference the Lion/Tiger acts in Vegas that go bad sometimes, and people get killed or seriously injured. My experience with Greys spans only one year now, but in my humble opinion, that the way I see it. I have a grey that was most probably smuggled into a country straight from Africa as a chick. So I really see the difference between a domestic bred bird and one born in the wild....... Again, just an opinion, your miles may vary. Good luck to you, and time heals all wounds, bites or otherwise.

Well, I just wanted to say, Thank you to everyone here, and I go NO WHERE else but to this forum when I have time. I wish I had the time to be an everyday dedicated member, but it just is not possible because of my circumstances. I wanted to give you a little positive news. While I know this is an "End justifies the means" I think we will have Sukei's CITES paperwork in a few weeks. Again, I understand why it is in place, and some might disagree with me, on how I am going to bypass it, but it is just for just Sukei. Some may say if people were not able to circumvent the system then the black market may go away. To those of you I say your are correct, however, because of ignorance on my part, I am in the situation I am. But if I follow the LETTER of the law then this one beautiful creature will either be condemned to suffering till its end, or he gets rescued. This is through no fault of his own....... So I am going to make the judgment call, and say the end justifies the means..... forgive me for those that do not agree. On another subject, when I got Sukei, he was in really bad shape, and he has progressed soo far...... He is So intelligent, he is now a full flighted grey, he can fly where ever he wants to in the house, but still seems to have problems with windows...... I put his purch by the windows so he can see it is solid, (He taps on it with his beak), yet sometimes, he just decides he is going to fly full speed into the windows, I thought about placing some colored tape on the windows, anyone have any ideas.... Again I apologize for not interacting every day or so, and only posting when I have time, and thanks for any input.

Thanks for the words of encouragement, sometimes, these things wear you down. Sukei seems to have taken no notice at all...LOL, every day there is a new word or phrase. So smart these guys are.... Thanks again.

One last note, I found a huge resource here, I suggest anyone needing info on African greys come here , they are helpful, dedicated and their only concern is for the greys.....and other parrots Thanks again. Kevin

My fight with the export papers continue, but I think I can get him to the Bahamas, I have a friend there. I know the CITIES were put in place for a reason, but were talking about a rescued parrot, not a dozen, not 6 or 5 or 2...... Just one rescued parrot. I will get him out... He is so smart now. I ask him ...Sukei who are you, he answers "I am Sukei, what do you want LOL. I finally got my software and server issues ironed out. This is not a plug for the web site... so no embed. but I wanted to show you his two year old birthday http://parrotfiles.com/picture/Sukei039s-2nd-Birthday/be8636eadbaa9bcebc792990e80b1b2e I love this little guy, the picture is with my wife. My Gov Job does not allow me to put my face up.... Thanks guys for all your support and advice since I got him.

WOW, Ill keep him out of the tree....Although I noticed this particular plant he will not chew the leaves, but in a few other plants he does. That might explain it. Maybe he knows the leaves are toxic. Thanks for the research!

I always like when folks are just starting the journey, they will amaze you each day with new things you never even thought of. Good luck to you and all the new stange adventures you are about to have !

Finally had some time to catch him talking..... And now without great fanfare..... "You Know What?" Watch "You Know What"

Caught Sukei in the tree again..... Guess it comes natural

I knew someone was going to go there LOL

Same thing happened to us, making all kinds of strange noises for a few days, and BAM, out it comes, lol I know you are happy congrats!

I know we have not posted in a while, I was sent on a field trip lol. Anyways, thought I would give a Sukei update. He has started talking And the first words are........ "You know what?" It was funny because I was sitting on the sofa, and typing away on the lap top, and I hear "You know what?" clear as the day is long lol. And I without looking up say "What?" not realizing it was Sukie LOL Anywyas, just thought someone might get a kick out of it... He plays games on the Ipad now too, have to post some pictures do not have them here with me.

I thought it would be a fun subject LOL, but did not mean to disrupt anyone's dinner time.

This has enlightened me on the eating thing, LOL but let me change course, maybe what what makes you a Parrot person more so then a dog or cat person..... I dunno, I think you can be both, I think all you need is a caring compassionate love for these intelligent compassionate creatures. I think there is a mind set that you are a "Dog" person or "Cat" person or a "Bird" person. I just think it depends on your ability to provide for them and the environment you can responsibly give to each. Through this I figured out you cant be labeled any kind of person, just a kind and responsible person that takes on a responsibility that you can fulfill to the best of your ability...

Have not been bit yet, guess Ive been lucky, Ive been beaked, just a checking of the surface. But I also read all the advice here about body language and eye pinning so I don't even make an attempt to mess with him if I notice anything out of the ordinary. When I join the club, Ill post the blood LOL

I'm from Texas, so I have eaten all of the above, but I draw the line on some things LOL

I know, i am very hard to offend, Potato Patato, Filipino Philippino, its all good.

I am married to a Philippine princess, and they try to get me to eat a bunch of stuff... Please take what I say in the manner it is intended, I will leave each to his own LOL

I'm allergic to cats, so I will have to defer to your judgment on that one. As far ad being needed, we are all needed, every live touches another, in ways you will never know (Usually) Your life have changed others in ways you will not know, 1 single event can put a person on a course that changes their whole life...so never feel you are not needed.

I think you hit the heart of the situation, but I think they miss the extra rewards, and as they learn, they start to understand. Just a quick note that is off topic, I hope this understanding leads to more awareness of the plight of these wild caught ones.... I know it is probably a pipe dream, but all things evolve slowly. But back to the original post.

Yes it is, but i is true, you have at least 20 different cultures in each Middle East country, and they WILL eat Dogs, Cats, Birds and any other thing they can get their hands on. I have seen it first hand so it isn't a old wives tale. I do not know your back ground, so I can not presume to say, but assuming you have not been out the civilized world you will find things to make your hair turn grey or fall out.....it is sad.

I thought this might be a fun thing to discuss. Ever since I got Sukei my family is has been giving me the business, saying stuff like, you were always a dog person. I have had two Golden retrievers and loved them to death, but my situation in the middle east made me consider NOT getting another one, because Goldens love to run, and there is no where for one to run in this environment, and if they get out, they can be eaten by the local population(No Joke) So I resigned myself to being friendless/petless, untill the day I saw Sukei in the terrible place, and it was just an impulse to save this poor soul. I had done ZERO research, (Not a good idea I know now) but my heart just went out. I thought in my current environment I could care for a parrot, and just scooped him up and ran LOL, literally. So back to the title of the post.... This is just an observation, but it seems to me, that parrot people are much more involved in every aspect of their parrots life, then dog owners. Maybe that is because Dogs are pretty self sufficient and only require love, where parrots require not only love but specialized attention. I dunno, just rambling, thought maybe someone might have some thoughts. I fully plan on getting another Golden when I get home and can properly take care of one. I guess I am just surprised my family is so surprised I got a Grey, as I send more pictures they are starting to understand the bond developing. Anyone have any similar stories or thoughts?

I do not know if it was mentioned but I found the humidifier setup I put underneath Sukei's cage has helped a bunch. Hope I do not have to go through what you did, and I'm glad Talon is doing better.