Some quick questions ...

[missy702]

So Kino is now 5 months old and already starting to talk! He is sooooooo messy when he eats though! He throws everything around! Will that ever stop?

 

We heard that teflon is not good for humans and especially my Kino! What are good alternatives? I have all teflon and I need to get rid of it!

 

I bought Kino a bunch of different foraging toys ... the 6" wheel .. a push and pull ... something that he has to spin .. stuff like that ... But he doesnt want anything to do with them ... is he still too young?

 

I might have to start work in a month or so will he be ok in his cage for 6-8 hours? I feel bad

 

and one more question

 

I bought him some beets ... but how do you cook them?

 

I appreciate your help! Thank you

[vlmuke]

As far as cooking Stainless or cast iron work personally I prefer Stainless, the problem with teflon is when it gets overheated it can give toxic fumes and also if you use metal spatulas and spoons it will scrape off the coating so if you cook for your FID don't use teflon coated pans so as long as you don't over heat them, they are safe where you need to watch is baking dishes but if you FID is far enough away from the kitchen you should be OK too, smoke from cooking can also be hazardous

 

I have had Fergie for 4 months and she is almost 3 yrs old and doesn't really show any interest in any foraging toys either

 

Kino should be Ok just make sure you let him out when get home and once you start winding down give him some birdie time, another suggestion is to leave a radio or TV on.

 

Beets boil them like a potato and peel them like one too slice and enjoy.

[Jayd]

Teflon fumes can kill your bird anywhere in your home. They can kill a Macaw in under 20 minutes, smaller birds a lot quicker. This is a fact, not an opinion. It is not safe to use Teflon in any environment that contains birds.

Alternatives: Stainless, cast iron, glass, corning-ware, and a new product called Green-ware but I don't have the address for that product yet.

Thanks, Jay

p.s. Hairdryers, electric toaster ovens, toasters, space heaters also contain Teflon. There are a lot of good threads about alternative products that members use. Just do a search. Self-cleaning ovens are extremely deadly.

[judygram]

You better get used to having a mess for birds are notorious for being messy with their food.

I use stainless steel pans now also as the teflon ones are a no no, they clean up nicely if allowed to soak in some warm water for a bit.

Don't worry about caging your grey while you are at work, many of us members work full time and our fids spend those hours in their cage but if you leave them toys to play with especially foraging type ones to keep them busy then it should not be a problem, besides they might be so glad to see you when you get home the time you do spend with them will be so much sweeter.

I have fresh beets out of the garden right now, I leave about 1 to 2 inches of tops on and put them in a pan large enough to hold them covered in water, bring them to a boil and cook until they are done, drain and then cover with cold water until they have cooled off enough to handle and slip the skins off, then slice them the way you want. My grey loves beets and when she eats them the next moring her big poop is purple.

[missy702]

Thanks guys! I have foraging toys but he doesnt seem interested in them ... I wonder why??

[Brendon.]

You might want to try enticing him to dig through his foraging toys by making the "treats" more obvious. My bird didn't want anything to do with his foraging toys until I stuck sunflower seeds around the outside so he learned that he had to work at it. It can also be helpful to make a few holes yourself at first just to get them going.

 

You can also start by making some really easy toys to forage, and then gradually increase the difficulty until it starts to take more time to dig through.

 

Stuffed egg cartons are a great place to start. If I ever have a sock with a small enough hole in it (so long as it's clean) I'll stuff bottlecaps, paper, legos and treats in there too. You can try cardboard boxes, cardboard tubes, foraging balls, etc.

[Timbersmom]

Timber's favorite thing in his cage is a plastic forage ball that hangs from the ceiling of his cage and has a bell on the bottom. It was in his cage for a week and he ignored it. I put his favorite treat in the ball with him watching and about an hour later he was hanging upside down on the ball working it out. Now he will go ring the bell when he wants a treat put in it. Not much of a challenge for him now, but it is still exercise and something for him to do while I'm at work. I think the key for him was watching me put it in there so he knew it was there somewhere and would look for it. Previously, I had taken the ball down, put something in it then hung it back up. That time, I did it where he could see exactly what I was doing.