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So Luna looked out a window today...


MiracleAces

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I found the following comical (knowing there is a serious tone to the matter of course). I was actually more surprised that I didnt realize Luna would react this way.

 

Luna has been outside and to my work a few times, but in her traveling cage and I always have a blanket over the cage because its been very cold. Once in the car, the blanket comes off.

 

Anyway, her cage is in front of a bay window. I (shamefully) did not realize that Greys need a lot of natural light. I've just had the lights on in the living room for her this whole time. Yesterday I pulled the curtains back on the window closest to her cage. She was outside the cage on her playtop. She immediately stood straight up with her feathers tight against her body. I tried soothing her with quiet talk and being positive. Her 'fight or flight' kicked in (even with her splint on) and she flew all the way into the kitchen back wall. It's about 40 feet away.

 

Here I was thinking she would love seeing the outside and it freightened her. I put her back on the playtop. She made a few noises. I talked to her some more and then closed the curtain which made her calm again after a few minutes. I'd really like her to have the advantage of seeing outside. Should I not attempt this again? I dont want her to see her cage as a place to be scared of.

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Luna may have been associating going outside to her vet visit and trauma. Also, she just may have been surprised at the change from curtains to the "great outdoors" coming into her home. I would try smaller doses, like putting her on a perch in another room with a window but not getting too close to the window so you could acclimate her a little a time. Then as she is in her cage and feeling secure, talk to her and tell her what you are doing if you open the curtains a crack and see how she responds to that. Small changes and watching her reaction will give you answers to what is best for her and how to accomplish that. Gilbert had huge adverse reactions to the vacuum cleaner when he first came here. It took a lot of talking to him, telling him before I turned it on, staying far from his cage at first and gradually he has gotten used to the "big noise". Now it doesn't bother him a bit when I show him that I am going to turn it on.

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Great informative post by Dee.

 

Greys are meticulous and have memorized EVERYTHING in their home. I mean down to you placed a throw rug back a half inch off. The smallest change sometimes makes them very uncomfortable sometimes. Evidently I assume that drape has never been open with her in that room? If so, that is a huge change for her or she may see something in the field of view that scares her, which could be anything she is not used to seeing.

 

This makes me think of this weekend, we went out and purchased a new throw rug for our kitchen to replace one that had become a little worn. When Dayo first noticed that once we got home, placed the rug down and let the birds out he took off flying into the living room and perched on his tree stand in there. The rug is exactly the same size as before, but the print is different with apples and birds on it. Anyway, this is what I am using as a parallel to your experience . A small change affects Greys differently than other parrot species. Our conure didn't give a hoot. :)

Edited by danmcq
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Some birds just don't need to be in front of a window for they see things moving outside and if there are any birds flying around it scares them because they think they are predators, my sun conure is always startled by anything she sees out the window like a bird flying by and even the limbs of trees if the wind is moving them so just use caution about putting them in that situation unless they are ok with it.

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Miracle, there is no way Timber could get enough natural light "naturally" considering our home's location, the weather, and the window set up. I ordered an avian light and put it on a timer for him. He really seems to like it. When he is out, he will get on the perch atop the cage and sit right under it and preen. When he is in the cage (which he usually isn't if I am home but I watch him on a cam) after he has eaten, foraged, played or whatever he positions himself right under the light to nap or preen. The point I'm trying to make is that an avian light is a good choice if you can't get their 15 minutes of sunshine a day in!

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hhhmmm... Never heard of an Avian light. Sounds like a great idea. Are they safe to leave on while not home? I have a light that I use for my sculpting that is very warm/ hot that Luna loves to have on, but I wont leave it on when I'm not home. If the Avian light is safe, I will definitely look into it.

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  MiracleAces said:
hhhmmm... Never heard of an Avian light. Sounds like a great idea. Are they safe to leave on while not home? I have a light that I use for my sculpting that is very warm/ hot that Luna loves to have on, but I wont leave it on when I'm not home. If the Avian light is safe, I will definitely look into it.

Sunlight,UVB2 Full spectrum Lightning is a necessary requirement to the health and and life of our parrots, no exception. Here's a starter thread on the subject, this we'll make you aware of how important it is..

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?157511-UVB-LIGHTING-IT-S-IMPORTANCE

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That thread Jay posted is the reason I got my light. It doesn't put out heat (not like a heat lamp) and I feel that it is safe to leave on when I'm not here. It really resembles a fluorescent bulb. Like any bulb, you don't want it touching anything for safety's sake and be sure to read the instructions. There is a "burn in" period and the appropriate distances listed from the bird.

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Don't thnk a grey wil love the window. I have lots of windows in my house. My amazon will spend hours on the windowsill watching the outside. My greys get scared and fly off me if I try to show them the outside thru the window or front door. They also don't enjoy sitting in the sunshine, but my amazon can't get enough!

Just use the avian light and it will be fine. Be careful tho, Talon got a severe sunburn on her right face and eye frm one. It took 2 vet visits, antibiotics and none of it worked. Took me 2 weeks to figure out it was the new avian bulb, threw it,it and bought a different one. Sunburn went away right after.

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Thats funny Penny. I guess due to every grey being different, dayo is just different. :)

 

His and Jakes cages are both in our family room. It has a huge sliding glass door over looking our backyard and pool and it is open from sun up to sun down. They both love looking outside and watching whats going on. In the summer time the door is open all day long with just the screen door. Dayo loves to sit and observe. He will talk about crows when they fly by, the pretty flowers, comment on my cleaning the pool because it's "dirty" and kim watering the flowers etc. He and jake both love seeing outside from every room in our home. From our living room, dayo watches and comments on the cars he sees going by, whistles at people and blows them kisses etc.

 

Of course, we roll both their cages outside everyday on our patio in the summer time and they spend four to five hours enjoying it. They both will ask to go outside and eagerly await it. Dayo basks in the sun light directly, versus jake thinks it is evil and sits in the shade portion of his cage and will only venture in to direct sunlight after a shower and he is drenched. Once dry, it's shaded portion only again.

Edited by danmcq
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Well Dan, we all know Dayo is the exception. He's been incredibly raised by two wonderful parronts who have gone above and beyond to turn him into a more human like grey due to the love, and patience you shower him with, whola allowing him to be his trueself. He is a one of a kind celebrity here.....:)

 

I love following his life.

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our girls cages are on either side of the large window in our living room. the front porch is there as well, so they have some "protection" in their minds. we have a middle school just across the street, we're along the side of it, not the front. athena has always liked looking out the windows and makes her sounds of wonder and amazement whenever she sees something that interests her. she also goes into alarm bird mode with some of what she sees. kallie enjoys watching out the window as well and once in a while will wolf whistle, say wow or make some other acknowledgement of what she sees. she's not a big talker, but does let us know her moods/interests as best as she can. the school buses intrigue her very much-sometimes i think she thinks the buses are "eating" the kids in the afternoon, hahahahaha!!!

 

that said, on windy days or if big storms are coming, i leave the sheer curtains closed. we do have flags that hang from our front porch, all of which flap like crazy in a strong wind and that seems to make the girls nervous if the sheers aren't closed. i think the sheers let them feel there's an added layer of "protection" between them and the world. every night i'll tell them i'm closing the curtains. i try to remember to tell them when i'm opening the curtains in the mornings, but if the coffee hasn't hit yet, i usually forget, lol!!! i also sometimes do not open the curtains wide open, but leave them open slightly, depending on the weather, as well. i just use a combination of things - sheers left closed, curtain wide open/slightly open, sheers open, etc. there are days though, that if the girls seem nervous for no reason i can figure out, i'll make adjustments as well.

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All greys are different. My greys, a TAG and a CAG love to see outside and sit in front of the windows and patio door all the time. They know that if I get the travel cages out, they are going outside and are excited. I would continue to open the curtains, just let your grey know what you are doing and talk calmly about what is out there.

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Tango is next to a window, but also has the AvianSun light. Windows block out most of the helpful UV rays that African Greys need to absorb calcium. I found this out the hard way when Tango had bloodwork done and his calcium was low despite being placed next to a window. If you can take yours outside in warm weather 15 minutes in the sun is equivalent to having the light on all day. Tango loves sitting outside in his "travel condo" as I call it! If you get the Avian Sun light make sure to change the bulb every 6-12 months depending on how frequently you use it.

Good luck.

 

EDIT: I forgot to mention, sometimes Tango doesn't like when I add new things to the house. We recently got a new rug for the living room. I didn't think it would be a big deal, but it was. Any time I took him out of the cage he would freak out as we started to walk over the rug. Just a funny side note.

Edited by itsjustnikki
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Gracie loves to go outside in her travel cage when the weather permits. Windows are hit and miss. One tme there was a dove sitting on my balcony and Gracie kept swooping toward the window until it flew off. I have a full spectrum light set up in front of Gracie's cage and it is on almost 10 hours a day. I'm surprised it is still shining after a solid year. As far as new things, Gracie sure notices anything new or any tiny changes. It is so funny to watch her. When she spies something new, she first cocks her head and stares for a moment.Then she slowly and cautiously begins to investigate it--getting closer then stopping---closer then stopping. Within 5 minutes she is beaking whatever the new object might be. She doesn't freak out thankfully. On occassion if she doesn't like the new item, she might knock it over as she did today with a small knick knack I was given for Christmas. I have now moved it out of her line of sight.

Edited by JeffNOK
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Happy New Year, Yes, it is advised to replace them on a yearly basis. Everything depends upon how many hours they were on etc, I don't have that info, and you can't tell by looking. What you can do is use them in your bird area as a general lighting. Good post Jayd

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