dw310 Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Hi! My sweet, 5 month old CAG Morgan has arrived! I've had him about 2 weeks now. He is such a sweetie. I have two questions. Sometimes when I walk up to his cage, he stretches out one wing and the leg on the same side. Sometimes it's his right wing and leg. Other times he does it on his left side. Is he just stretching, or does this mean something? He's eating fruits and vegetables well. He LOVES grapes and tangerines. He also likes his seeds and nuts, but I'm not sure he's eating any of his pellets. Should I be concerned? Thanks in advance for your advice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinner Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 No worries...Morgan's just taking a big stretch. It's kind of a trademark move for Greys Are the pellets separate from the other foods? If not, keep them separate so you tell if he's eating any (minus what they throw on the floor of the cage). And....Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Congrats on bringing Morgan home. Dave is right, they do that to stretch their wings and legs at the same time, you will see it several times a day. The pellets should be in a separate bowl and available at all times as greys are snackers, you do not want them tainted with any moisture from the fruits and veggies so your grey should have several food bowls in his cage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Yep, your baby is loosening up in the perfect "Ice Skate racing" position....looks like anyways. It's good to hear he is doing so well and you are so observant. Would love to see photos!! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Congrats on your new baby CAG, Morgan! Can't wait to hear about Morgan and see some pictures!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dw310 Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 OK Great. I do have the pellets in one bowl, the seed/nut mix in a second bowl, and the fruits and veggies in a third bowl. It just doesn't seem like he's touching the pellets. Should I not give him the seeds/nuts for a day or so? Or just let it be? I'll post some pics soon. Thanks for all your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtreme575 Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Did you find out about his diet from the breeder? What was he eating there? I went as far as finding out the exact brand of pellet and flavour in order to try to make him feel as comfortable as possible. The breeder admitted that she wasn't as happy with the brand of pellet that she uses, but she couldn't afford any of the more expensive pellets. I fed him what he was used to as he became more comfortable in the house, and then slowly switched him over to a higher quality pellet. I still can't get him to convert to Harrison's, but I think I have him on a quality pellet, and he eats it like crazy. Is there any pellet pieces on the bottom of the bowl? After Paco has finished eating pellets there is always a substantial amount of pieces of varying size (some as small as dust) in the bottom of the bowl along with the pellets that he hasn't gotten to yet. I'd still offer what he is eating, that way you know he is eating! Measure the pellets that you give him at the beginning of the day, then measure it again at the end, see what the difference is. I'm not much help, my parrot was really easy to switch over from the breeder's pellets, and has always been a voracious appetite. Perhaps some of the more experienced members will be able to assist you further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearllyn Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Congratulations! Morgan sounds lovely! Would love to see some pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dw310 Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 My brother raised Morgan, and I have gotten exactly the same brand/type food he was raised on. I just changed out the pellet bowl, but I will check for crumbs. Thanks for the idea!! Here are some baby pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Great baby pictures of Morgan. Love the little red tail peeping out!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dw310 Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Morgan is eating 3-4 cups of fresh veggies and fruits a day, but maybe only 1/4 cup of pellets with a about a tablespoon of seeds. Does this sound like a good balance? Seems good to me that Morgan eats so much of the fruit/veggies, but I wonder if he needs more of the pellets? Thanks for all your help. I'm learning so much from this forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtreme575 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 3 -4 cups of fruits and veg and 1/4 cup of pellets!?!? Sounds like a good balance, but a lot of food! I need to keep in mind that my parrot is clipped, so he may not need as much food as a flighted bird. I feed 5 - 6 tablespoons of pellets and 3/4 to a cup of veg, but he never finishes either... I keep trying seeds, but other than raw sunflowers in the shell, he can't be bothered with any others... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dw310 Posted February 20, 2010 Author Share Posted February 20, 2010 Morgan is not clipped, but he also doesn't fly around all that much. I let him fly maybe 3 times a week. Probably a good 1/2 cup-1 cup of his fruits/veggies end up in the bottom of the cage. Today, he has hardly eaten any of them. Thanks for your help. Morgan is my first bird, so I have really no clue on so many issues. Again, this board is so very helpful!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittykittykitty Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 What a darling baby! Just keep an eye on him and if he doesn't return to eating soon you may want to have him checked by your avian vet. Also weigh him daily to be sure he maintains his weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JillyBeanz Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 dw310 wrote: Morgan is eating 3-4 cups of fresh veggies and fruits a day, but maybe only 1/4 cup of pellets with a about a tablespoon of seeds. Did you say this was a baby grey PARROT or baby grey ELEPHANT!! Morgan surely can't be eating this much - it would be the reason he doesn't fly much - he wouldn't be able to lift his fat belly from the perch! The veggies are more important that the pellets - as long as Morgan is eating lots of veggies and enjoying them I wouldn't worry. There has been a lot of discussion about pellets lately and what they bring to a grey's diet - after all, they don't have them in the wild. It's good that Morgan is trying lots of different things - that's the first step on the road to food success. Your photos are gorgeous too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Your doing fine with Morgan. :-) He sounds perfectly normal food wise and tossing 80 percent whole or semi chewed pieces. All birds will eat things one or two days, then turn their nose up to them the next day or two. Thus a changing variety, way they are prepared, raw, cooked, half chopped, finely chopped, whole etc. Your young baby is learning and experimenting with his preferences food wise and you will learn over time what those preferences are. :-) If you are not weighing him to get a good "Average" of what his weight range is. It would be good to get a digital scale and do so weekly, right after the first morning HUGE poop. This will ensure you are getting body weight before he has ingested and unknown quantity (weight) of food. It is a good indicator of health and sometimes a first sign that something isn't right. A fluctuation of upto 1 to 3 percent is normal. Unless they are fledging, but your grey isn't at 6 months old. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dw310 Posted March 2, 2010 Author Share Posted March 2, 2010 Thank you for all your suggestions. Now I wonder how I would get Morgan to stand on a scale. I live in a barn-style house, and when he was allowed to fly, he would go up to one of the beams, either 1 or 2 stories high. About a week ago, he hurt himself, so I'm not letting him out of his cage these days (he is in a 28x42" cage, so he has plenty of room to play in.) I'm afraid he's going to chew on an electrical wire and really get hurt. I pet him multiple times daily and talk to him alot, but I'm not handling him outside of his cage, because I'm afraid he'll go to the beams again. Any suggestions? You guys and gals are the best! I so appreciate all your help. You are so right about the variety of foods. One day he loves brussel sprouts and the next day he doesn't touch them. Same with broccoli, carrots and squash. He always loves grapes and a variety of lettuces, and usually loves tangerines. I think he is eating well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JillyBeanz Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 When you were choosing a parrot where did you think it would fly? They choose to fly to the highest point - it is where they feel safe and secure. You have two options - to clip or not to clip. You will read many a debate about this on the forum - just try typing it in and watch for the flares! It is a personal choice ~ but if you feel that you cannot retrieve Morgan(you can train them to fly to your command - also Morgan will come down when he wants to) then clipping Morgan's wings may be the option for you. Either way - you really need to get Morgan out of his cage or a lot of problems will arise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 You have one of two options: 1. Bird proof your home. 2. Clip your Grey. I am against clipping totally, but if not clipping your Grey means staying in the cage 24-7, then clip. It is cruel to have any bird caged all the time. Especially a Grey that needs to be with the flock and interacting personally with them. Being caged 24-7 is worse than clipping. Besides, what good are wings if they are cage bound? You will need to think seriously about which path you will take and hopefully find a way to make it best for your Grey. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I always observe Issac stretching his wings too. I always say, "Ohh wow...pretty bird!" I also give all of his feathers a look over as well. As far as clipping. I was in your shoes a while back and ended up making the choice to leave him flighted. It is not an easy decision and your dilligence will have to increase quite a bit. I would not recommend it for anyone who has to have their attention drawn away from the bird for long periods of time throughout the day. That is just my limited experience talking, but it's quite an undertaking. However, I rather enjoy the responsability of keeping an eye on him while he enjoys his primary method of locomotion. So far, Issac is out probably 95% of the time I am home...and I always know exactly where he is. Regardless of if you clip or not. They do want to explore and will take to the floor if needed. It's like making sure your baby doesn't 'get into trouble'. The big one is making sure they don't get away. This is paramount to the well being of the bird. In the five weeks I have had him, he likes to fly indeed. Mostly to me. The things i discourage flight to seem to be less of an attraction to him as I go on. Anyway...my two cents. Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/03/02 22:26 <br><br>Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/03/02 22:27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dw310 Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 This is not a tough decision to make: I want him to fly. However, I clearly need help on training. In the last few weeks that my brother was raising him, he said that Morgan spent most of his time playing on top of his cage. He wasn't really flying around the whole house. At my house, Morgan goes straight to the beams. I have a playstand for Morgan, but he stays on it about 5 seconds.... Anyway, what do you think of these videos for helping me learn how to train: http://www.goodbirdinc.com./parrot-store-dvds.html http://www.birdtricks.com/training_parrots.htm Or do you have other suggestions? Clearly, I'm the one who really needs the training here. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 The first one yes, the second one don't waste your money on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dw310 Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 So tonight I let Morgan out again, and he did just fine. He went back into his cage well and it was a good experience for him. Phew! He is so sweet. I also ordered the 4 DVDs on training from goodbirdinc. Hopefully, I'll get better at all of this. Again, thanks for all your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Your pictures of Morgan are just the best! You will learn his "currency" to keep him enticed down from the beams in time. I don't know how high your beams are, but maybe you could put something up there to discourage Morgan, such as those plastic owls that they have in the hardware store. I have high ceilings and my smaller bird would go to the top of the windows. I have one of those telescoping paint roller handles and if I just point it at her, she flies down. She hates the stick. After about a week of testing me, she quit going up there altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JillyBeanz Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 dw310 wrote: This is not a tough decision to make: I want him to fly. Yay! Right decision Good luck with your training Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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