Greywings Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Maybe Destiny should be her name, it looks like love with those heart wings. It is so wonderful when the bird gets the chance to decide who to live with-congrats. Though now I will forever wonder about the little Goffins, if I was closer I would go rescue her and get her as I have a soft spot for self mutilating Too's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffNOK Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 (edited) Can't wait to hear the next chapter be it here or in a new thread. Your new grey looks very beautiful. I also think of that poor little Goffin. I have no experiencer with Toos, but I am praying for both your new fid and that little Too. Edited May 9, 2013 by JeffNOK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aw64 Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Well said, Im new to all this had Alfie from a baby now 13 months old, time has been mentioned, Alfie has taken over my life, Is it all I throught it would be, no way, does he do all that the books say, not at all, has it been worth it, best thing I'v ever done! Living with a grey of any age is no easy task, I get bites, I get loving times, he talks to me, he bites my table, poops on my bed and then says hello ann and I melt, but there is hell of a lot more to it than that after a year I still have so much to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Congrats to you both! Those wings look like shes hugging you, grey style! I like Destiny as a name, it fits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogsBirdsFish Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) Can't wait to hear the next chapter be it here or in a new thread. Your new grey looks very beautiful. I also think of that poor little Goffin. I have no experiencer with Toos, but I am praying for both your new fid and that little Too. Here is a picture of the Goffin. She/he was very active and trying to get my attention as well. If it wasn't for my spouse, I would have taken both birds. I named the Grey Emma after my mom. My preference was a male Grey and I had a couple names picked out already. So when this female showed up in my life, I decided to name her after the person who had the same interest in animals (my mom had dogs, birds, and fish when I grew up) and had the same passion for birds in particular. The person who dropped off the birds gave no names or other details about the birds. My first challenge is trying to change her name without confusing her. Edited May 10, 2013 by DogsBirdsFish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogsBirdsFish Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) Help!!! I'm no match for her. She is talking up a storm and trying to teach me to speak. I do not know how to respond to many of the words/phrases she is saying. So far I only understand about 1/3 of what she says. I'm afraid that by not responding, or responding incorrectly, may cause her to stop saying the many things she says. Some of the phases are very passionate and/or loud. I haven't figured those out yet, but I better soon...lol. She was only home an hour when she said "want some" when I started to put food in her bowl. A few minutes later I was petting her head and she said "I love you". A couple hours after that I was on the other side of the room and opened a bag of unsalted pretzels. She said "May I have that?" I was totally stunned (so polite); so of course I gave her a piece of pretzel. Three more "May I have that"s and I hid the bag. She taught me to say Wake Up when I first come downstairs to greet the birds. The caiques are probably confused because I have been saying Good Morning to them for the past two years. Every time the phone rings she says "Hello", but only after the second ring. I misted her yesterday and she said "Want to take a bath". I didn't know what to do. Should I take her to the shower or was she just asking for more misting? I knew taking care of a Grey would be difficult; however, I never thought about how difficult it has to be for Emma to train me....... Edited May 10, 2013 by DogsBirdsFish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyparrot Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Well done GBF. Now your training as a slave to a Grey has begun! Emma is a great name and she is clearly a smart girl. She will learn from you as you will learn from her. Congratulations. Steve n Misty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 LOL! Emma will probably find you to be a slow learner as most of our grey's do. However, they can be patient when they have to be Isn't it fun though? All those things you CAN understand are so interesting. It never ceases to amaze me how they can use language appropriately. It's hard to say what she wanted when she said "want to take a bath." That would on what she was used to in her previous home. I always say "want to take a bath" when I spray Timber (he always wants to be sprayed). But, he doesn't take a full bath until he is ready. After I spray him, if he goes to his water bowl and starts tossing water over his shoulder, I know it is time to get the pan for him. You will learn by trial and error. Take Emma to the shower and see how she reacts. Who knows if she bathed in shower, in a bowl, or in a pan previously. A lot of it is hit and miss, but you are doing well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I look forward to the adventures of Emma and her dad as they get to know one another but it looks like its going smoothly so far but be prepared for a few setbacks as they always come, think in terms of small steps, sometimes we have to take a step back but it all works out in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogsBirdsFish Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) How do I tell the difference between stress-related feather plucking, post mishandling grooming ( i.e., pulling damaged feathers), and normal seasonal molting? When I picked her up on Tuesday, she had quite a few mangled feathers and a few spots where feathers had been plucked (upper leg area, center of chest, and a couple spots under the wings). Nothing too bad; in fact the feathers on the chest have already started to grow back. Since she has been home, she has been grooming quite a bit and her outer grey feathers are 100% better. However, she has been plucking the white down feathers (fortunately not from any one area). The worse was on the first full day home. She groomed for hours and I only saw a couple white down feathers on the floor. However, I had an hour long conference call later in the day, and when I went over to the cage, there were about 20 down feathers on the floor. She only plucked a few down feathers yesterday and today but I'm also interacting with her more so she has less chance to groom. Edited May 10, 2013 by DogsBirdsFish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 How do I tell the difference between stress-related feather plucking, post mishandling grooming ( i.e., pulling damaged feathers), and normal seasonal molting? I don't know the answer to this question but she needs to be kept busy with things to chew or foraging opportunities, things that will keep her busy and not thinking of her feathers, especially when she is alone, look thru the toys and playstands room for lots of ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) Emma is a great name for your new companion. Since she is a talker, if there is another name she prefers, she will let you know. Two of my parrots know who them are and do not fail to remind me that, Sterling and Louie are around. You should just relax and let Emma slowly show you what she wants. As for showers/baths a little experimenting is at hand. Looking forward to reading more and seeing how Emma grows in her new home. Edited May 10, 2013 by luvparrots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyparrot Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 How do I tell the difference between stress-related feather plucking, post mishandling grooming ( i.e., pulling damaged feathers), and normal seasonal molting? When I picked her up on Tuesday, she had quite a few mangled feathers and a few spots where feathers had been plucked (upper leg area, center of chest, and a couple spots under the wings). Nothing too bad; in fact the feathers on the chest have already started to grow back. Since she has been home, she has been grooming quite a bit and her outer grey feathers are 100% better. However, she has been plucking the white down feathers (fortunately not from any one area). The worse was on the first full day home. She groomed for hours and I only saw a couple white down feathers on the floor. However, I had an hour long conference call later in the day, and when I went over to the cage, there were about 20 down feathers on the floor. She only plucked a few down feathers yesterday and today but I'm also interacting with her more so she has less chance to groom. It seems to me she is happy to be in her new home but it may take a while for her plumage to come back into condition. The white down feather loss is probably normal moulting. Regular spraying with aloe vera will help with her general skin conditioning. I would certainly recommend a visit to your vet to be sure there are no parasites that are irritating her and for a general health check up. Steve n Misty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogsBirdsFish Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 She had a busy day today. More confident, more talkative (at least 50 difference phrases), and way more active. She looked like she wanted to fly most all day long. I tried a number of times to encourage her to fly over to me, but she just wouldn't do it. Well a few minutes ago I was doing some heavy multitasking (Polish multitasking: breathing, beating my heart, and answering an e-mail) and she flew across the room and crash landed into my head and shoulders. We both survived, but while flying one of her long flight feathers fell out. I assume it will be about a year before that grows back. I hope next time she gives me a warning when she does that again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyparrot Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Losing the occasional flight feather is no problem. It will come back relatively quickly. The problem starts when several are lost at once like in a clip as it takes more resources to grow several at once. Because I helped Misty to re learn to fly when his flights grew back he usually calls out "Fly Misty" as he takes off so I get a fair warning. Steve n Misty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) How do I tell the difference between stress-related feather plucking, post mishandling grooming ( i.e., pulling damaged feathers), and normal seasonal molting? When I picked her up on Tuesday, she had quite a few mangled feathers and a few spots where feathers had been plucked (upper leg area, center of chest, and a couple spots under the wings). Nothing too bad; in fact the feathers on the chest have already started to grow back. Since she has been home, she has been grooming quite a bit and her outer grey feathers are 100% better. However, she has been plucking the white down feathers (fortunately not from any one area). The worse was on the first full day home. She groomed for hours and I only saw a couple white down feathers on the floor. However, I had an hour long conference call later in the day, and when I went over to the cage, there were about 20 down feathers on the floor. She only plucked a few down feathers yesterday and today but I'm also interacting with her more so she has less chance to groom. Hello my friend, what you need to do is send a PM to Dave007 and ask if he would respond to you inquires, Dave is our Plucking expert with good solid advice from years of experiences. Does Emma have "Stress Marks"? Feathers in general can take a long time to come in depending when they fell or were plucked out, look in the range of a year, the little white feathers are a continuous occurrence 24/7/365. Thanks Jay Edited May 11, 2013 by Jayd correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingy Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 During a molt flights usually fall out in pairs, one from each side, so you should see another within a short while if the loss is naturally occurring. My guy is a baby yet and is working on his first molt. He recently lost his 3rd pair of flight feathers. His come out within about a day of each other and take a few weeks for the new ones to grow in. With the first one he lost I was holding my breath when I only saw 1 but felt much better when he lost its mate on the other side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Thanks Wingy, I corrected my post, old age, sorry....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingy Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Thanks Wingy, I corrected my post, old age, sorry....... I was only repeating what I read here. If it wasn't for that extremely useful information I would have been convinced that my baby had some disease or would be naked by morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Lol, i remember the first molt here. I came home and it looked like i was going to find a bird eaten by a cat or dog, i came straight to this website for peace of mind! It sounds silly but i have kept every feather these guys have lost, cept the ones that got pooped on. They get put in a vase and it really is a great decor, white, blue, gold, grey and red. Now all 5 seem to be shedding their winter fluff getting ready for summer! Emma is a beautiful name choice, and she is training you well. Keep updating us, i love reading the progress! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 She had a busy day today. More confident, more talkative (at least 50 difference phrases), and way more active. She looked like she wanted to fly most all day long. I tried a number of times to encourage her to fly over to me, but she just wouldn't do it. Well a few minutes ago I was doing some heavy multitasking (Polish multitasking: breathing, beating my heart, and answering an e-mail) and she flew across the room and crash landed into my head and shoulders. We both survived, but while flying one of her long flight feathers fell out. I assume it will be about a year before that grows back.I hope next time she gives me a warning when she does that again. LOL @ Polish multitasking. All that you describe in terms of the white down feathers is normal (Like snow flakes every where) and when they have feathers mucked up from being possibly toweled, frightened and bashing cage bars with them etc. they will preen until every feather is back in to it's proper position. I look forward to hearing updates on how she continues to become settled in her new loving forever home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogsBirdsFish Posted May 11, 2013 Author Share Posted May 11, 2013 Emma and I are off to a great start. You would think we were together for years. She has spent three days out of the cage (all day long). Getting her in at night is just a matter of offering her a bird cookie She flew over to me twice. When I want to move her to the play stand or somewhere else, she steps up, and generally gets off at the new location (sometimes she wants to hang on my shoulder a few minutes before she moves to the new location). The excess grooming she did the first day has subsided now that she has her feathers back in order. I ran the vacuum cleaner and she did not react at all. No fear of the two large Goodlendoodle dogs. She is interested in the caiques, but not enough to fly over to their cage. She does seem to enjoy watching them run all over me when it's their turn for play time. She often says "Oh Stop It" when they make too much noise. She is very gentle. Always lets me rub her neck; gently grabbing my finger if I go too far. She says I love you more than any other phase. I'm starting to figure out the "Do you want a bath" signal (that means come over here and spray me). She looks at the fish border often and also shows interest in the large (real) fish I have in three aquariums. I (hopefully we) could not be happier at this time. I don't know why you folks have so much drama with your Greys; these guys are easy........(winking while fingers crossed and knocking on wood)....lol. Here are a couple pics of her by the fish border and one of the caiques by one of the fish aquariums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyparrot Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 ................................................. It sounds silly but i have kept every feather these guys have lost, cept the ones that got pooped on. They get put in a vase and it really is a great decor, white, blue, gold, grey and red. Now all 5 seem to be shedding their winter fluff getting ready for summer! Emma is a beautiful name choice, and she is training you well. Keep updating us, i love reading the progress! How many do you need before you can make a new parrot? Steve n Misty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 ....... I don't know why you folks have so much drama with your Greys; these guys are easy........(winking while fingers crossed and knocking on wood)....lol.. Mind yourself, you may be eating these words in a few days once Emma R E A L L Y settles in! LOL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogsBirdsFish Posted May 11, 2013 Author Share Posted May 11, 2013 Mind yourself, you may be eating these words in a few days once Emma R E A L L Y settles in! LOL!! What! She's not going to stay like this????? We just woke up from an hour long nap. She slept on my chest. She did a little preening and her first words were "I love you". If you watched the movie Groundhog Day, I wouldn't mine reliving the past three days over a few more times. I hope this will be a long honeymoon; I'm spoiled. BTW - It's a good thing I didn't raise Emma. If I did, we would both be in therapy and on medication. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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