African grey parrot - Leeds

YorkiePud_3

dianetheartist, please don't think I am saying "do this, don't do that" ... cos I don't want to come over all bolshy and know it all!!!! It's just that it was horrendous seeing my friend's bird die that way and then finding out what it was that caused it ... so if I can give just one person the heads up about it, then I am chuffed ...

That Nutribird that Elvis is on ... it's the Nutribird P15 Tropical ... I did try him on a Harrisons pellet diet (but it was the colour of sludge - not very appetising!) and I tried another I can't bring to mind - oh I can .. Pretty Bird ... this one is all shapes and colours and I put a small dog bowl of it on the floor of the cage every day so he always has access to it. Drives you batty, all the chomping *L* but it seems to have done him well, and with that giving him everything he needs, the fruit and veg I give him is just an added bonus if you see what I mean, so if he doesn't eat so much fruit or veg, it doesn't matter!
It's just a matter of trying them with a small bag and seeing which they like ... also if you put it in a separate bowl they don't associate it with being food, think it's a treat and tend to be more interested in it.

Banana chips are better for them than a bit of real banana I reckon ... too much of normal banana and they get really errr ... how can I say this delicately .. ?? Bunged up .. ?? Poor things end up having long trails of you know what hanging off them and it drives them wappy (not that they need any help with that) ... !!

Since my friend's parrot died, I have been thinking back about other parrots I've known of who have died the same way, and am beginning to suspect that's why they died too ... none of them had post mortems so we'll never know, but it seems likely.

I am really pleased you've got the Calcivet though ... when I got Elvis, they said he MUST have it cos most parrots who don't have it are found to be Calcium deficient, which can cause all manner of problems. But read on the bottle the right dose though, cos too much can be as bad as too little!

I tell ya, if we had known all this at the start, would we have still got em?! *LOL* ... yeah, I know, the answer is yes!!!

Right, I guess I should go clean out my little horror ... !! I have a big sack of the 24parrot premium seed from Northern Parrots (the biggest one they've got - typical!) that I am slowly feeding the wild birds now to use it up!! Ha ha!!

dianetheartist

Thanks for that Yorkie.I bought some zupreem Avian maintaenance fruit blend from Northen parrots to give paddy a change from the dull brown pellets food hes on. Not that it seemed to bother him to be honest! We have tryed jake today as well and he seems to like them, so he has a mixture of those and paddys pellets in one dish and some tidy mix in another. He tends to leave the small seed in his dish , so we are not going to change the seed and see what happens. Hopefully he will take to the pellets and the wild birds can have the tidy mix.
The zupreem bag states that it has all the minerals and vitamins the bird needs and not to give any extra as it could be harmful to the bird.
Would you still give the calcium drops?
I agree about only having a home bred bird-we think Paddy was a wild caught bird-took over a year to get his confidence-he had been passed from pillar to post over a period of time, dosent talk and not likely to now-we think he was at least 5 or 6 when we bought him as he was sexualy active!
What do you give your birds as a treat when training--Im loath to use the roasted peanuts in shells now-they both hate dried fruit.They are like humans to certain extent-they like the things that are bad for us like crisps! They
can hear a crisp packet rustle 2 streets away!

YorkiePud_3

GGgrrr, three times I tried replying and it said I wasn't logged in when I was! The darn thing!!

Yes, they do tend to want what is bad for them! Crisps are shocking though, salt wise and with them being cooked in oil. I even know one lady who used to make a complete Sunday dinner for her bird then wondered why he ended up with heart problems!! She kept saying, "but he really enjoys it," ... !!

Calcium supplements are absolutely essential for them so yes, definitely give them those weekly. Their bodies have a hard time absorbing calcium from their fruit, so they need that extra to help them get a level that is necessary for them.

As a training treat ... hhmmm, that's a hard one ... I usually chop up carrot a few different ways or clementine. Actually, clementine is a good one because you can cut it in segments and then halve them (to take any pips out) so they would go a long way and, of course, they can eat as much of it as they like, so that would probably by the way to go!
And it's odds on, anything messy and they will love it!!

I would have said the yolk of a hard boiled egg (I boil mine for ten minutes) mixed with a tablespoon of cottage cheese, but you should only give them that once a week, so no good for training.
I think your best bet would be fruit really ... you could always give them diced pieces of apple (never let them loose with a whole apple though, or the core because the pips are poisonous to them).

Awww poor Paddy ... it takes them such a lot to get over any bad experiences in the past. Say for instance, whoever caught em in the wild was wearing a green jumper, it might cause them to freak out whenever they come in contact with anything green ... it's amazing what they take in and they never really forget.

I remember reading about a Grey in USA and the owner had a Cocker Spaniel called Mephistopheles ... well, eventually, the dog passed away and from that day on, the parrot stopped calling for him.
About fifteen years later, the chap who owned them both decided to get another cocker spaniel, so he went to the animal rescue and got an adult cocker spaniel, the same colour as his old dog.

When they walked through the door, straightaway, the Grey piped up with,"Hello Mephistopheles, I love you!"

They really are amazing!! *S*

dianetheartist

Hi yorkie, have got jake on the calcium drops now.He has been to my friend for a few days while we went away-was a bit worried cos first time he has been moved since we had him nearly a year ago. He was fine, talking all the time, but glad to be home I think!
My friend had a lady next door with an african grey, it broke a leg on tuesday, they dont know how it happened, but it died while under the anesthetic-they are heart broken.I had only told her about the extra calcium the night before. He was only 7 years old.
Will try the carrot, and maybe celery and peppers for training as he loves them.

YorkiePud_3

Hi again *S*

Ah, I'm glad about that ... when you think how they play so roughly with their toys and throw themselves about, it doesn't bear thinking about that their bones might be weak ... *shudders* ... your poor friend's neighbour ... it just goes to show though that they need that extra boost.
I guess calcium is just one of those things we don't think about until a problem arises with them not having it. Poor parrot ....

I'd go steady with the celery as treats ... it's something I don't give mine because it has a very high salt water content. I know a lot of people who give it now and then just in with the general food, but to give often might cause a problem.

*L* sorry, sounds like I'm the voice of doom all the time!! It's worse than having kids, isn't it?!!
The carrot should definitely go down well ... I have yet to meet a parrot who doesn't like them, and if you cut some in chunks, some julienne strips, some thin slices then it will keep your parrot amused and entertained, thinking he is getting something different just because of how you've chopped it!

Oh, and while I think on .. something I learnt the other day ... feeding lettuce can give em very runny droppings ... !! I'm sticking to spinach from now on! *LOL*

Great news about Jake being ok with your friend though! Elvis is soooo the other way. Even though he isn't overly affectionate with me now (bolshy adolescent that he is!), he will NOT allow anyone else near him or to clean his cage out, give him food etc, so that's me stuck, unless I find someplace I can take him with me!! I think I need to buy a caravan ha ha ha!

YorkiePud_3

... something else too .. those metal grills that some cages have are absolutely LETHAL.
I know they are there so the bird's droppings fall through them onto the floor of the cage below, but a lot of birds have been getting their feet stuck in them, struggling about to get free and breaking their legs ... some of them have even had heart attacks and died with the stress of being stuck in them ...

Just made me wonder when you said about that lady's bird who broke a leg ...

dianetheartist

We cover the metal bars up with newspaper as the bars were a !!!!!! to clean! So he has a full newspaper over the top.
Will go easy with the lettace and celery too! He loves peppers and carrots, grapes, apples and pears so should be able to treat him with those!
I was dubious of leaving Jake withh our friends -he has seen them a few times but not weekly. It was a toss up of leaving him at home and have the pet sitter call in to feed twice a day for a few mins, when she does the cat and fishes or send him to my friends. Paddy is ok left at home-but was worried that Jake might start plucking if he didnt have enough company-glad I sent him, he was loved to bits--and we know what they were talking about while we were away!

YorkiePud_3

Ah right ... well I took the grill out of mine and I put newspaper (two or three sheets thick) in the bottom of the cage. Elvis loves playing round with it, tearing it up and throwing bits of it about!!
A lot of people put sand on the floor of the cage, but with parrots being bottom feeders by nature, I hate the idea of em eating dropped bits of fruit etc that is covered in the sand, so I just stick to the newspaper.

Peppers, carrots, apples (with the pips removed) and pears are fine ... the grapes are just water really so no nutritious value but if you've a bird who doesn't seem to drink much, then they are okay to give them *S* if you follow the basic rules to wash everything under the tap, peel what you can and de-seed or de-pip, you should be fine.

I can imagine what you were like about leaving Jake! You just don't know how they will take to the change, do you? With them throwing tantrums and really understanding about anything that is different, it's a major worry but thank goodness he was okay!
Like you say, if he had been left at home, he would probably have had no rest at all because he would have been looking for you coming home and he might have fretted ...at least at your friends, he had the comings and goings of a normal household, so no long periods of quiet and nothing happening, no noises of people being around ....

Oh gosh yes, you have to be soooo careful what you say! I remember after an argument with a so called friend, I was relating to my Mum on the phone what had been said, and I actually said, "yeah well, stupid Sarah, eh?" and a few days later, Sarah actually came round to see me. She stopped and had a coffee and Elvis started off chatting away, then all of a sudden, he said, "stupid ... " and omg, I held my breath, fully expecting him to follow it up with her name, but thank God, he didn't! He just broke out into a cackle of a laugh and for all the world it was like he was laughing at me, knowing I was in a state worrying he was going to get me in trouble!!

My telephone's in another room now, and I always make sure to shut the door so he can't hear!!!

dianetheartist

Yes they can be embarressing-Jake is always saying things and we havent a clue where he has heard them-he hears stuff on tv and us talking and he puts them together--at the moment he is saying Carl(stepson) or Bill (hubby) get off her-naughty boy-stop it-and laughs like a lunatic!! We have worked out the laughter--thats the tena lady add where she falls off the bed laughing--naughty boy-he has heard that off us but the get off her is a mystery-and how does he know to string them all together?
When the cat walks into the room, he says ''come on sparky,good boy''and blows him a kiss!
When I have a painting class at home-he has the students so amused they want to listen to him rather than paint! I will swear he understands things-hes so bloody spooky sometimes its unreal!
he cracks us up everyday with the stuff he comes out with bless him!
and yes we keep the bedroom door tightly closed after one really embaressing incident where we heard all sorts of noises being reproduced one sunday dinner time!
Bill told me that the wire grills havent been in bottom of cages for ages-just the flat bottoms covered with wire-you can see who cleans them out cant you!
He is an absolute darling and i wonder what he will be like when hes 10 years old-hes only 2 now and hes so clever!