Having lots of fun times in Oregon!

[Sagewolf]

I am very hopeful reading this forum, and everyone's stories. 1st off, we owned (inherited) a beautiful 28 yr double yellow headed amazon. I grew up visiting with her at my grandma's house. My grandma became unable to stay at home and my parents were going to have "Katie" go to the parrot rescue as their house was drafty and they did not have the time or space for her. I have always loved her (like having a cousin) She was handled when she was young, then over time there were less and less visitors to gma's house. I figured we would have our challenges. We live in a different climate (high desert vs. the valley she grew up in), we keep our house usually about 65 - 70 year round. My grandma kept hers at about 85 (whew) not to mention our home gets more activity. We were not able to handle her in the 2 months we had her. I had scheduled a vet appt. and the day was going good. i had the top off her cage getting her more approachable by getting her to play on the structure on top. I had our dog crate and her portable stand already, just waiting for the time to come. I got a emergency phone call that my fiance was in a head on crash on the highway. He was on his way home to assist with the vet visit. I ran through my mental checklist on my way out the door, I remember looking over at her cage and thinking good she's in her cage, let our three dogs back in the house (my two that are open to other pets in the house, and my fiance's dog that drooled every time she looked at Katie. Had my kids standing by to drive his mom to the er if needed, rescheduling vet appt., etc. Well about 7 hrs later we get home around midnight and Katie was dead. It was obvious which one did it, but responsibility rests fully on my shoulders, as i didnt double check her safety and close the cage lid.

After mourning for almost a year, we discussed the good and bad of having Katie. Obviously things that would change and things we could do better. Next we discussed what kind of parrot? I dont think we were very picky, other than we wanted one that had the potential of talking. Age was also not an issue. I advised my 18yr daughter that she may very well inherit whichever baby we ended up with. Good thing she's my mini me and loves animals. We searched different avenues, and finally found a "real" parrot for sale on craigslist. We had to drive about 6 hrs round trip, but willingly done. Her name is Kelly and is somewhere between 10-14 per previous owner. the sad part of her story is that when we got her the temperature was starting to get into the 30-40's. They had put her cage on the back porch all summer, until the room mate urged him it was too cold out there for her. They moved her into the unattached, unheated garage for the week prior to us adopting her. She has plucked the feathers from the top of her shoulder and seemed kinda thin. (But only have memories of a larger amazon for comparison) Also the cage was dirty, water level was less than 1/4 in. and dirty. And she was only fed peanuts in the shell. for at least as long as the previous owners had her. She's a little rough around the edges and I'm sure as soon as i can gauge her moods and temperment better, it will be alot smoother. We have been having fun listening to her extordorinary mimickry abilities. car alarm, low battery smoke alarm chirp, clanking rocks, wow.. in fact on the way back from picking her up, she rode either on Justin's shoulder and transitioned to her wooden nest box that was between our seats. we stopped once for potty break, and readjust her cage in the back. everytime we opened or shut a door on the truck, she'd do a perfect car alarm beep. it scared the kid walking across the parking lot... i could only laugh... We've had her about a month now. We have 2 cages, one in our bedroom (thankfully she beds down nicely and quietly) and one in our livingroom (from our amazon, amazingly the same exact model) as to the dog issue, we have a sign we hang when we are going to be letting Kelly out, transporting rooms, or just playing. That way everyone knows to look out for her safety. as for her diet, we had some from Katie, we called it parrot chow, i think it's pubreen or something like that, it has colored fruit shapes. She loves it. trying new foods on the other hand is trickier. She LOVES fruit.. pretty much every type so far. Veges tho... just about need to be cooked to be in her favs list. Our main problem is she knows she has us buffaloed. we could get her to step up, but after a while as she was stepping up, she would reach over and bite the other finger hanging out, usually the thumb knuckle. she has drawn blood on all of us. mostly now I'll get down to her level open the door. she meets me at the bottom of the cage, and we eyeball each other while im talking to her and moving slow and steady. At least now when i ask her if she wants to step up, she wags her head sideways. like she's saying no. She is better with me giving her new foods to taste, while biting other's fingers. I am looking forward to many lovely adventures with her. as soon as we learn her tricks she is teaching us... like you only take her off your shoulder when she wants off your shoulder.... or hope your hair is protecting your ears. if anyone has suggestions for us, we would appreciate it.

[Wolf]

I read your story, and I really hope that you did not do anything to either of the dogs over the Amazon incident. Although it was a real tragedy, it was not the dogs that did anything wrong, this was an event entirely of your making. Hopefully you have learned and this type of event will never again happen in your household.
We are a strange breed here on this forum as we care about the welfare of your bird as much as we do of our own birds and we try very hard to only provide the best possible answers to your problems relying on scientific sources as well as on personal experience. We will do all we can to help you give your bird the best life that you can provide for it. You will find that what we may lack in tact, we make up for in both caring and honesty.
I love the picture of your bird but I would either rehang the hanging portion of the perch using sisal twine or get some tubing to cover that chain as the links are dangerous for your bird, she could get caught in it and lose toes or her life if that happens and you are not there to help her. She is a beautiful bird.
I do hope that you are aware that you took a big chance with this bird free in the cab of your truck, especially since she was not returned to her cage when the door to the truck was opened. Please in the future use a cage or a harness for your bird whenever she is not safely inside your house or you could easily lose her.
As for diet she needs to be on a low fat and low protein diet, I don't know what brand of pellets or seed mix that you have but it is not a good one. I know this as it has colored and flavored things in it and this always means lots of sugar and additives in it and all seed mixes and / or pellets are too high in both fat and protein to be free fed to any bird, this will result in liver disease. A good quality seed mix or pellet/ crumble should only be fed in the evening for her dinner and should be removed from the cage after she goes to bed for the night. She needs lots of fresh vegetables and some fruit for breakfast and all day snacking, making sure to give her green leafy vegetables , not lettuce, and veggies such as sweet potatoes and carrot or other sources of beta- carotene. She will also need to have a cuddle bone available for calcium and at least 15 to 30 minutes of unfiltered sunshine so that she can get vitamin d-3 from the sun to use the calcium. If it is not warm enough to go outside for sunshine then she will need a vitamin supplement for birds, human one are not good for her. The larger variety of fresh foods that you can get her to eat the better for her.
Here is a link that has a list of things including foods that are good and bad for her,

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12521 The list is the best one that I have been able to locate and I have about 5 or 6 of them. Please read it and make a copy of it for easier reference as it is one of the best too to protect your bird that there is.
Your Grey lady is going to need about 4 hours of free out of cage time each day to explore, exercise (fly ), and to just hang out with you as well as one hour of this being one on one time (physical contact ) with you. This is a minimum amount of time and is very important for a well adjusted bird, especially for a Grey that has started to pluck their feathers. She should get up at dawn and go to sleep at dark and she needs to have full exposure to the twilight periods that occur at dawn and dusk to keep her endocrine system in balance or you will end up with a hormonal bird that is in a lot of pain.
Although Greys are not known as prolific toy players, she does need toys to destroy and also foraging toys to help keep her mind occupied when you are not there for her. Pictures of her cage and play area would also be beneficial, besides we all love pictures of your bird.
Well I hope that this will help you with your bird and help you to build a good relationship with her. Also for the first month or so I would concentrate on bonding and trust building and worry about training later on.

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum. What I would recommend you do first of all (aside from changing her diet ASAP!) is that you take her to an avian vet for a complete physical because, at her age and taking into consideration her diet and the conditions she was kept under before you got her, she has to have medical issues (ask the vet to do a bile acids and a full body Xray as well as the CBC and avian chem panel).

[Sagewolf]

Thank you guys soo much. to address the first persons' concerns - 1. No I did not get after the dogs. I am of the belief that there is a natural cycle for lives in general. I could not punish an animal for acting like the animal that is sometimes overlooked. 2. she gets a variety of foods everyday, not just the (parrot chow) or seed mixture alone. I believe her and my relationship is getting better, she no longer bites when i pick her up. we get semi cuddle time. beak rubs, and today a belly rub and back rub! I was in shock. Im looking for a flight training leash now. And yes she is going to our vet in town very soon.

On a separate observation Kelly always uses her left foot, for her "one foot up, one eye open" is always the left one.What I wonder what numbers prevail for being a righty, a south paw lefty, or ambidextrous. I hope everyones having wonderful holiday season.

Thank You,

SageWolf

[Wolf]

Almost all parrots are lefties, I don't think that I have ever seen any percentages or other actual figures on this just that the vast majority of all parrots are left handed. It didn't sound like you were the type of person to unjustly punish the dogs, but grief can temporarily over ride what one would normally do, so I had to express that I hoped not. Please know that I honestly meant no disrespect to you.
It sounds like Kelly and you are doing very well and having a good time. You have made some very good progress with her and I congratulate you on that, but I must also caution you on the belly and back rubs. Although this marks a large step for both you and for Kelly, you do need to be aware that everyplace except for her beak, head and neck is an erogenous zone and you really don't want to have a hormonal sexually frustrated bird to deal with. You can get away with it once in a great while but it is not advisable to do it. Do you have any new pictures to share regarding Kelly's new adventures in Oregon? We really enjoyed the last picture and thank you for the update.

[Pajarita]

I am glad that things are going so well but, please, take her to the vet for a complete physical. A better diet doesn't always take care of medical problems.