Bigwick70 Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Yes I did say Rocks. I know when I raised chickens they had to have access to small pebbles and such. According to my understanding it aided in grinding all those grains into digestible mash inside their Craw. Do Parrots even have a craw? Anyway was wondering if anyone knows if the do, and if so, what to buy for him to fix that. His previous people didn't really say much about how to feed him, what to feed him, or what he needs to stay healthy. I'm learning it all on the fly. I think they all just got tired of the poor feller and banned him to a life of segregation on the car port. At least they had the decency to give him to someone who will care for him till me or him dies. He seems to be in good health though, and sure isn't afraid of anyone lol. He really loves grapes and cherry's in fruit, but I cant get him to eat any other. He wont touch vegetables either. He loves pistachios a lot and they are his favorite. I give him sunflower seeds, cashews, Peanuts and what the previous owners gave us which looks like bird seed and he dosnt touch it and I don't blame him either. He wont eat almonds either. He seems quite the picky eater and tosses unwanted foods out his can, but he seems healthy and eats a variety of fruit and nuts daily. If there's anything you think I should do or know, please tell me as I am a new Parrot Parent. Thank you... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Hi Bigwick. First things first is your grey dose not need rocks or grit in his diet. The second thing is go easy on the fruit as they have lots of sugar and have little nutritional value. Offer a good seed mix along with pellets and vegetables fresh or frozen (depends on time of year) , not to many nuts as they are high in fat. Keep offering the vegetables even if he won`t eat them as he may try them in the future and like them. Greys can be picky eaters. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 The only way Timber will eat raw vegetables is if they are hanging on his skewer. They make a metal rod which screws into a holder which hangs in the cage ("skewer"). He seems to like it's swinging motion and pecks at the vegetables. Not sure how much he is eating, but I know he gets a little that way. I really had to do a lot of experimenting to find anything he liked. You also have to keep offering things that are good for him. Like toddlers, one day they will eat it and another they won't. You might try cooked sweet potato in his bowl, that is one Timber will eat a bit of. You might try offering it to him on a spoon first. Timber likes his a bit warm but not hot. For some reason, probably his handfed history, Timber will try just about anything I offer on a spoon. It may end up on my face if he doesn't like it and gives the beak shake, but at least he will try it. Another thing to try is to thread raw and well washed greens (like Kale) through the cage bars. Whether it is just because he doesn't want them on his bars or because he likes them, he will usually pull it out, getting some in his beak as a result. Remember that grey's are foragers by nature. Most of them love boxes and paper sacks. I put a box or sack (make sure you remove any tape) in the bottom of his cage. I put shredded paper and other safe stuff in there, along with things like a cracked walnut (I have to get it started or he won't crack it) or other items I want him to try in there. He loves to root around in the box, chew on it, and look for the stuff hidden there. There are all sorts of foraging toys you can buy, but Timber's favorite is still the box or sack. He loves corrugated cardboard like shipping boxes, and will spend hours shredding it into fine bits. As Ray said, you need to try some pellets and keep the fruit consumption low. You can also give him the whites from boiled eggs (I give Timber a little yolk as well but not much) and boiled chicken wings. There are several threads about diet you may want to check out. When it comes down to it, each bird is different in their likes and dislikes. You just have to keep experimenting until you find a balance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Great thoughts and comments from Ray and Timbersmom! Getting your Grey to eat various veggies is trial and error and each grey has it's own preferences. Another thing is, they may not eat certain veggies one day, but will the next. Try, cooked, raw etc. Just keep placing in one of their food bowls each day. yes it's wasteful, but you will see they eat some at times and other times you dump the majority or they sling them out of the bowl on to your floor, walls or the bottom of the cage.... they always keep us busy cleaning and trying to figure them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 You can try fixing different vegetables in differing ways, raw, cooked, shredded, mashed, chunks, cold, warm and whatever ways you can think of for sometimes they have a preference, for example they may only like carrots raw or broccoli steamed and keep offering for they may turn their beak up for days or weeks and then one day eat them. Another thing that helps is for them to see us eat them, act like they are so good and make yummy sounds for they usually want some of what we are eating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 [ATTACH]24236[/ATTACH] Yes I did say Rocks. I know when I raised chickens they had to have access to small pebbles and such. According to my understanding it aided in grinding all those grains into digestible mash inside their Craw. Do Parrots even have a craw? Anyway was wondering if anyone knows if the do, and if so, what to buy for him to fix that. His previous people didn't really say much about how to feed him, what to feed him, or what he needs to stay healthy. I'm learning it all on the fly. I think they all just got tired of the poor feller and banned him to a life of segregation on the car port. At least they had the decency to give him to someone who will care for him till me or him dies. He seems to be in good health though, and sure isn't afraid of anyone lol. He really loves grapes and cherry's in fruit, but I cant get him to eat any other. He wont touch vegetables either. He loves pistachios a lot and they are his favorite. I give him sunflower seeds, cashews, Peanuts and what the previous owners gave us which looks like bird seed and he dosnt touch it and I don't blame him either. He wont eat almonds either. He seems quite the picky eater and tosses unwanted foods out his can, but he seems healthy and eats a variety of fruit and nuts daily. If there's anything you think I should do or know, please tell me as I am a new Parrot Parent. Thank you... Lots of info here THE BIRD FOOD ROOM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwick70 Posted August 21, 2013 Author Share Posted August 21, 2013 Hi Bigwick.First things first is your grey dose not need rocks or grit in his diet. The second thing is go easy on the fruit as they have lots of sugar and have little nutritional value. Offer a good seed mix along with pellets and vegetables fresh or frozen (depends on time of year) , not to many nuts as they are high in fat. Keep offering the vegetables even if he won`t eat them as he may try them in the future and like them. Greys can be picky eaters. Hope this helps. Yes it was helpful Ray, and thank you. In just a short while, Wilbur has stole my heart and I will continue to find new ways to help him. I cant wait to wake in the morning to uncover his cage and talk to him ... I forsee a long friendship in the works cause I think he feels the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwick70 Posted August 21, 2013 Author Share Posted August 21, 2013 Wilbur is quite the "Ham" as you can see from my Avitar pic lmao. He really cracks me up... He loves having his picture taken and will try to take the camera if you let him ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Wilbur is a sweetheart in reality. At least I think so from the interactions you have with him in such a short amount of time. I suspect you do not know how lucky you are. We have some members here with rehomed bird that are not near the level yet you are with Wilbur and they have had their rehomed greys for a year plus. Thanks for all you share and ask. You are going to be a GreYt flock member for Wilbur to enjoy life with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwick70 Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 (edited) You know danmcq, I suspected the same thing reading some of the other members stories. I particularly enjoyed the one the Man wrote about his bird saying "it just decided to go off on them gradually, and would fly into them and bite the hell outta them as he perched on them, Wherever it perched on them, neck, head, arm, rear... ROFLMAO. He said the bird would be sitting calmly on his/ her knee and CHOMP, and they would have to run get a pillow because that was the only thing the bird would step onto. Yes I feel very fortunate now, and thank you so very much for all the help you everyone has given me. I know I wouldn't be anywhere with Wilbur if not for that because of my ignorance with Parrots. I am somewhat experienced with Cockatiels and Chickens but Parrots are like nothing I've ever seen. So much intelligence in them it amazes me. Wilbur Thanks you also. He's sitting here with me now "CALM"...He is such a gentleman now and hasn't bit me hard at all in days. I realize now I was pestering him into biting me, with my trying to get him to do things. I would have done the same in his position lol. I'll post more close-up pics of the perch for you. Here are a few more we took. I did it kinda like you do a wreath. Started with an "X" for the actual perch, cut a "V" cut in the ends for the loop to rest in, then just wound the smaller vines over and tacked them in. A brad nailer is the bomb on these projects. Later my friend and if you need to ask anything specific about the building of the perch, I'll be happy to help... PS: Couldn't resist throwing in a pic of Wilbur loving life on his perch. He climbed out on his own to it today ... I think solidarity was one of his problems...Oh and I hope you have plenty of vine because its gonna take it. I'm still not finished with this one lol... Oh and if you do facebook im "Brad Wicker- gilbert wva" " Wilbur is a sweetheart in reality. At least I think so from the interactions you have with him in such a short amount of time. I suspect you do not know how lucky you are. We have some members here with rehomed bird that are not near the level yet you are with Wilbur and they have had their rehomed greys for a year plus. Thanks for all you share and ask. You are going to be a GreYt flock member for Wilbur to enjoy life with. Edited August 22, 2013 by Bigwick70 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Wow, that is one heck of a stand! Thanks for the additional photos. I see Wilbur was striking a pose for you. Well, there are many huge grape vineyards around me here. Wonder if the farmer would mind if I stripped a few vines.... I think I will refrain from that thought. Getting a load of Buckshot just flashed in my mind... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwick70 Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 No, don't get yourself shot lmao... That's one thing I love about Southern West Virginia, It's mostly wilderness. If you never been here before, you need to visit once in your lifetime. Thanks for the complements... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 No, don't get yourself shot lmao... That's one thing I love about Southern West Virginia, It's mostly wilderness. If you never been here before, you need to visit once in your lifetime. Thanks for the complements... West Virginia is a beautiful state with lots of mountains, I-64 is a lovely drive especially in the fall when the colors change, I will probably be heading that way when that happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwick70 Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 We live in southern WVA, Near Logan. Hatfield n McCoy feud territory lol. Its wilder than Ginseng in these parts. I-64 runs from Huntington to north towards Morgantown I think. I'm about a 2 hour drive from Huntington on the KY-Virginia border. For some reason Tourism had exploded here and everyone is freaking over Hatfield n McCoy history. I always knew this forgotten wilderness had potential lol... My back yard is strait up one Mountain and my front yard is back up another, Deep in a holler lol. My wife is a Hatfield and distant relative of the feudist clan lol but I wont allow her to keep a gun. West Virginia is a beautiful state with lots of mountains, I-64 is a lovely drive especially in the fall when the colors change, I will probably be heading that way when that happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 If your wife dose not own a gun, how will she protect you ?? My wife has a brother that lives in Romney WV up in the NE corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Ray, she probably keeps the Mossberg pistol grip hidden to keep the hubby happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwick70 Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 True Ray, but sometimes I like to sass her and will not shut up when she demands I do so I'm not trying to get shot either lmao. If you guys get a chance watch the new show on "History Chanel- "Hatfield N McCoy- White Lightning". It's filmed here in Mingo County WV and sometime in my town of Gilbert WV. I know most of those folks on the show. I've heard of Romney but not sure where it is exactly. There aint nothing here in the south but mountains and coal mines. Up north in the state is where all the big city action is lol. Think i'll go check under that pillow. If your wife dose not own a gun, how will she protect you ??My wife has a brother that lives in Romney WV up in the NE corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 I-64 runs from inside the state limits of Virginia up thru Charleston and further west, we used to take that and then get on I-77 at Charleston to go to Parkersburg where my son used to live and that's no where near Morgantown which is much further northeast. I have heard about the Hatfields and McCoys but wasn't sure where they were from, now I know. If people want to see beautiful mountains they should give the state of WV a visit as you won't be disappointed and the interstates take you up and down them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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