New Members

[plant]

got a picture? My double yellow is OLD-almost 40-she has a very yellow head.

 

[plant]

best advice I ever had-parrots only bite out of fear. Second best-parrots don't understand fingers. They are pea brains.

 

[mamcrae1]

Hi everyone - just registered - Calypso is my Greenwing macaw - just lost my white bellied caique Zeke to an unexplained illness - many vet visits, treatments, no cure - so sad - still can't decide what to do - I'm leaning toward a rescue bird. I also lived with Hooter ( male eclectus), Yoda (Gullah) Harley (Hawkhead) for 20 years, but they live with their dad now.

Callie and I would really like another bird - Callie is 12 years old and healthy and happy - but puzzled re "WHere's Zeke??"

Would like to learn about rescue birds and how to pick a good source before I decide.

 

[one_true_scarlet1260]

wow this is my first day here. Not to sure on how to get around. Thanks for who ever made this possible to share our world with other bird loves!!! Cindy in Frostproof Fl

 

[kyla1987]

Hi i'm kyla. we have decided we want to adopt a cockatoo and had no idea where to start, after looking the web over i found this site. i'm really hoping that you guys can help point us in the right direction for how to adopt. or maybe where to start looking?

 

[wentcountry]

Hi, I am new here and I have one Blue and Gold Macaw that I raised from and baby and since I moved to Mo. I have adopted a Blind African Grey, 2 Quakers, 2 Sun Conures, a Cockatiel and then just a few days ago 2 Eclectus. I also have 2 dogs and 3 horses, I love spending time with all my animals, I love to go riding in the morning before it get hot or just go out in the field and hang out with them, and then spending the afternoon with my birds and then in the evening with my dogs, sometimes I would rather stay inside and play and talk with my birds.

I do have a question about Eclectus Parrots, I have a male and female and the male is loving,gentle and loves to be held loves to give kisses but the female on the other hand is mean and wants to bite and wants to be alone. Is there anything I can do or try to get her to warm up to so I can hold her and give her the love she so wants, she watches me hold and love the other bird and you can tell she wants it but she is afraid to let me get near her. Can anyone help me with this.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Welcome Kyla,

I don't know any good sources for Cockatoos, but if you let us know where you are from it may help identify sources.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Welcome wentcountry,

There are a number of things you can do to get her to warm up to you. But if I read that right it was just a couple days ago that you brought her home? If so my first suggestions would be to do nothing - just give her some time to settle in.

After that if she doesn't warm up to you on her own the main thing I'd recommend is a shaping technique - when when you come right down to it is the fancy way of saying take baby-steps. While treats are not the only, nor the best reward, they are handy and easy especially in the beginning. If you can find a treat she really loves (dried fruits are Auggie's favorites) you can offer some to her - set down the treat and walk away - let her take it with no string attached. Then do it again but put the treat farther out of the cage or closer to you, etc. but only by just a tiny bit. Do this OVER and OVER and OVER until she is coming out farther and getting closer to you.

Eventually you could get up to where she is coming over right next to you to get a treat, then you could hold it in your hand, ... odds are though that you wont really need to go that far. Once she sees that you are a source of good things, and that you are not a threat she may warm up to you on her own.

This is just a very rough overview, there are many things you can do - but again I'd recommend for the moment to just give her some time. With all those animals I'm sure you've had plenty of experience with some who were shy at first. The one's who take longer to open up usually are the more loving in the end - their friendship means something as it's not given away for free. In all such cases the key is to be patient and let the animal approach you, not the other way around - but you can use rewards to make it enticing for them to approach you.

 

[ermanie]

New Grey owner and lovin it. Honey is 8 months old and amazes me daily with her smarts. She has me laughing constantly...

 

[wentcountry]

Thank you Auggie's Dad, I have been letting her come out on her own run around on the floor and she will take treats from me but you don't want to walk around in the front room without shoes on cause she is good about hiding and running out and trying to bite you but she is starting to better about not hiding so much now I have a female Quaker that I adopted over a year ago and she to this day will not let me get near her or touch her but the male on the other hand now he is very loving and when he wants his attention he will let you know.

None of my feather childern live in a cage they are cage free but I do have a couple of cages in there area for when they are being mean to each other they get time out and I do keep my grey in a cage at night cause she is blind and with the two new ones I don't want them picking on her, even tho my grey is usually the on that picks on the others cause she likes to hang up side down and try and grap one of them and swing them my their legs and pull their tail feathers out. I guess you can call her my trouble maker cause she is the one usually starting everything,specailly when they are all at the bird bath playing in the water. Yes they have their own bird bath that shoots out water in their play area,people say they are spoild lol

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Yeah, sounds like they are spoiled - but that's the only way they should be.

I'm curious though if it may be a bit of 'culture' shock for her. How old is she? Do you know about her previous home?

If, for example, she has had a cage her whole life this new set up is most likely quite disconcerting for her. Freedom is great, but some parrots do need their own spot, their territory where they can go, a safe spot.

Even for humans too much freedom can be a problem. Freedom is great, as long as a place to call home.

I'm not implying that anything should change about your set up, sounds like a great life for most of them - but perhaps the new one isn't used to all that. If she feels threatened and has no safe place to sit then its no wonder that she hides wherever she can and attacks when someone comes by.

 

[wentcountry]

Yes, I put her cage in the area so she knows that she has a safe place to go. Her first tonights here I would towel her so I wouldn't get bit and put her in her cage to sleep when she would say lucy nite nite and then in the morning I would open her cage so she knew she was aloud to come out and go where ever she wanted. Now when she is ready to go to be she will go over and get on her cage sometimes she will go in and sometimes she will sleep on the top. I try and let her decide what she wants.

 

[Mitilda and Banjo's House]

Hi! This is the Schnock Family pets T-bone the 8 year old Beagle/Lab mix mutt who is currently living in a lap of luxury in Jacksonville FL with Grandpop Bob. Mitilda who is 9 months old female and is a Western Long Billed Corella and 5 Month old Banjo who is male Galah. Mitilda came into our lives two weeks after Easter and Banjo has been with us for just over a month. After much research we purchased two Princess parrots. Sad to say some of the info for exporting these birds out of AU was incorrect and we had to find a new home for them. Happy to say we did. I have to say I am happy with the end results. Our masters are a joy to be around. Banjo will say hello once in awhile and is very quite. Mitilda is more vocal and screams when she hears my husband come up the street on his motorcycle. She will be quitely sitting in her cage and all the sudden she works her way to the top of her cage and out the top and will start flapping her wings ready for the party to start. She will sit on his shoulder and make a crying sound that I am told is her purr. I have to say that is can be rather maddening, but beats a bird that screams all the time. Both birds will let everyone in the family handle them as well as lots of our friends. I have to say that we lucked out on these guys. (We also have 8 very smart chickens that went to chicken school taught by my 9yr old daughter and her friend. They are part of the reason why we decided to move up to parrots) The only thing I am concerned about is the flight back to the states next year and the visit to go to the FDA for 30 days quarantine in FL. If anyone has advice or knows away around the whole quarantine thing or how the time can be shorten please let me know.
Thanks

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Did you get the birds while you were in the US and you are returning, or did you get them there in Australia and wish to bring them back?

If its the latter I don't think there is any way around the quarantine; if the former there may or may not be. The laws seem a bit ambiguous there.

 

[Mitilda and Banjo's House]

We purchsed them here in AU. It is going to be a great pain in the A** to get them out. But it will be worth it. I plan on flying from Jacksonville to Miami at least twice to see them. We are working on getting their diets over to pellets from sprouting seeds. With there being some Army personnel stationed down in the area, I am hoping that I can find someone we know to pop in and make sure they are getting lots of fresh veggies. I know that it will work out in the end. We still have a year here and I have already started to worry. LOL So Mom like.

 

[bizzybe01]

Hi Everyone and thank you for the warm welcome! This site is wonderful and In the few days that I have joined I have already received some great advice and feed back. I am the proud mother of 2 Cinnamon GreenCheeks. They are the sweetest and funniest little birds with big personalities.. Paulie is 3 ys old. He has a great vocabulary and plays peek-a-boo.Peete is 2 years old and is not as verbal but he loves to wave hello.
Peete has also been sick for the last past week with a bacterial infection. He is on medication and I am praying that he will be well again soon. Well, Just wanted to say hello.. and will be visiting this site for a long time to come... Jill

 

[Barry88]

hi guys anthanks for the welcome, im barry baz for short from ireland, only have one bird Kujo the rosella parrot STILL trying to tame him but he`s only young so ill get him soon half way there i suppose, if anyone has any tips that would be great, hand feeding is ok but petting him is impossible i can get close but as soon as i pet him moves away, anyway thanks guys

 

[Bess]

Hi everyone, I am new to this so please have patience with me. I have a 5 year old African grey who has a vocabulary of over 300 words and is a gourmet. He sings to me, gives kisses, asks for pepperoni, popcycles, noodles, rice and a number of other things that he likes. I have had him since he was 2 months old so I had to complete his weening. He reminds me when he has to go to the dr to get his toenails cut. I could go on about him for ever. He is always amazing me. When he sees I am going out some where he tells me he wants to watch cartoons, I always leave the TV on when I am gone. I put the dogs (2) out when I let Gabby out. He follows me around saying walky round walky round. or this way.
He is the second Grey I have had. Skeeks developed a lung tumor and I didn't notice it until it was to late. He wasn't a year old when he died. The vet said it looked like he had been born with it. I didn't want it happening again so I have 2 room purifiers now. I would like to get to know people here in NC that have Greys.
I was given an Albino Ringneck (Boo Birdy). She is a beautiful bird and very loving. There is a great story about her. Gabby is always telling her to be quiet or that she is a noisy bird.
I will stop for now and hope to talk to others who have Greys soon.

 

[aries]

Hiii my name is Becky i am ownd by 2 parrots a beautiful congo grey aries my baby, and a beautiful senigal parrot, and 6 children and a husband yes 6 lol im a busy mom... aries is one in a million boy "o" boy the other day i was scolding my daughter and she ran off crying aries started crying just like her same pitch and all. It was hillarious me and a girlfriend were sitin in the liveing rm and almost fell off the couch laughing, lol....

 

[Spiritbird]

I have talked to a few of you already and love this place. My day is not complete unless I read what is going on. My name is Dianne and I have a young Timneh. I pose a question I have been wondering about. I notice my bird has been mostly using her right foot to hold things. Do they have a dominent side like people do?