My Timneh African Grey Parrot got out of my house Aug. 27 and I haven’t
seen him since. I live near Louisiana College in Pineville, La. If you
or someone you know has seen or found him, please contact me. He is a
large gray bird and is very tame. I really miss him. Thank you.

Additional information received:

Contact info:
Cell: 452-8392
Email:  rojaperra   @   aol   .com

Thank you for doing this.
He’s a very sweet hand raised bird and I handle him every day to keep him that way. He talks his head off.
It should be very easy to catch him.

Family’s pet parrot survives encounter with hawk

By ANNE GEGGIS

ORMOND BEACH — African grey parrot Bogart can talk, but he hasn’t yet said
a word about an incident most of his kind never live to contemplate.

What happened between the time a hawk ripped him from a screened-in porch
and when his human — the one he calls “Mom” — Elise Ewaniuk found him lying
under a tree in the thick woods probably went beyond words.

On Bogart’s seventh visit to the veterinarian in a row Wednesday, the
prognosis for survival was good — even if he might always carry the scars. His
veterinarian, Dr. Mark Andersen, isn’t sure whether Bogart’s neck will ever
straighten.

And Ewaniuk hasn’t quite recovered herself.

“Four days have been like four months,” she said.

It all started in the early afternoon Aug. 2 when Bogart was sitting on a
perch on the Ewaniuk family’s screened pool deck of their home in north Ormond
Beach. Then, Ewaniuk heard screaming — but she didn’t know it was her
beloved “little man.”

“It sounded like something scared, something being attacked,” Ewaniuk said
of what brought her from her home office to investigate. “I came walking out
because we have a bunch of baby (wild) turkeys back there.”

What she saw, though, was beyond her imagination — and something she still
sees when she closes her eyes: her pet in the talons of a hawk.

“He was just heading from the screen into the sky,” Ewaniuk said. “I
thought, ‘He’s gone. He’s got him.’ ”

The hawk, it appears, had been able to burst through a small tear about the
size of a softball in the screen and grabbed the bird known among the Ewaniuk
family’s friends for asking, “You talking to me?”

Ewaniuk said she ran back in the house for her shoes, ready to run into the
forest behind her house.

“I guess I was going in there to see if I could find him eating him,” she
said.

She ran 20 feet and saw her feathered child lying under a tree.

“I couldn’t believe it. I don’t even know what made me run in that
direction,” she said, explaining that she had seen the bird fly in the opposite
direction.

Bogart was rushed to Ravenwood Veterinary Clinic in Port Orange. There, he
received oxygen, antibiotics and painkillers. He spent a few nights in an
incubator.

“He certainly is lucky,” said veterinarian Andersen. “Most attacks like that
. . . I’ve seen birds with the wings torn off, their legs torn off.

“The bird (hawk) was probably startled by screaming and yelling,” Andersen
said.

He advised people not to leave their exotic birds on a porch or outside
unattended.

“If they see a bird in a cage, they will reach right into the cage,”
Andersen said.

For now, when Bogart’s not resting on her chest, Ewaniuk keeps the feathered
patient in a makeshift structure formed of blankets and pillows on the sofa.
She can’t wait until he’s back to his old tricks: chasing people out of the
kitchen while laughing, attacking her husband even as he mimics Bogart’s
voice and insisting that Ewaniuk take a shower.

Tuesday she knew he was back on the road to recovery when he took the first
sip of his favorite liquid treat: hot coffee with cream and sugar. Hope that
he would be back to his old self blossomed moments after Ewaniuk brought
Bogart home.

“I put him down and he said, “C’mere.”

nuh-uh, no bananas for Katie! lol

Video credit: TKTandLLS

When you invite an African Grey parrot to share your home, you are taking on a long-term responsibility to provide a good diet for that parrot for 50 years or more. Many owners fail to do this, even for a few months. Believing that bird seed is enough, they purchase a large bag of mixed seed, and feed their African Grey. Seeds are cheap, so bird food companies push them.

African Grey parrots’ food must not be only seed, however. Such an incomplete, imbalanced diet is likely to cause illness. Seeds are high in fat and carbohydrates, and your African Grey will probably pick out its favorite seeds, making the diet even less balanced.

Most parrot experts agree that an African Grey parrots’ food needs can only be met with a formula diet supplemented with a variety of other foods.

Organic Pellets

What is a formula diet for an African Grey? Organic pellets. I say “organic” pellets because many of the conventional pellets have unhealthy ingredients. Some have even been noted as containing potentially toxic ingredients.

African Grey parrots’ food should never contain menadione. If the pellets you are considering for your African Grey list menadione as an ingredient, read on. The FDA requires a warning on every bag of food that contains it. That warning must read, “Person who handles needs to wear protective outfit, gloves, mask, and glasses.”

Menadione may be added to give your African Grey additional vitamin K. A better option is to provide full spectrum light for your parrot. An African Grey will get vitamin K from the light, just as it would if living outdoors.

Organic pellets also let your African Grey avoid the high quantities of sugar in colored pellets. Most African Grey parrot owners care enough about the bird in which they’ve invested so much money, that they don’t want to give it a diet that is high in sugar.

African Grey parrots’ food that is based on organic pellets will be free of contaminants that might be found in other pellets. In the U.S., government regulations force companies making organic parrot food not to use pesticides or other contaminants.

In addition to a basic, formulated pellet food, African Greys need many of the same food you eat.

1. Fresh vegetables: Offer your African Grey a wide variety of vegetables, raw or cooked. Think bright, deep colors for the most nutrition. Most vegetables that offer high nutrition to you and your family will be good for your parrot as well. Cooked legumes such as beans and lentils are good. Sprouted seeds are also good. Your African Grey will love them. To avoid contaminants such as pesticides, you may want to use organic vegetables for African Grey parrots’ food.

2. Fresh fruits: In the wild, African Greys eat fruit freely. The trick is to keep your parrot from filling up on its favorite food and neglecting pellets and vegetables. As with vegetables, choose bright, rich colors in fruit for the most nutrition. Also, purchase organic if possible.

3. Other supplemental foods: African Grey parrots enjoy cooked eggs and small amounts of yogurt now and then. African Greys are more prone than some parrots to calcium deficiency, so you may leave the egg shell on the hard boiled egg, if you wish. You should not need to give your parrot calcium supplements if you are using a good organic pellet food. You may give a few seeds as a treat, but go easy on them.

No, Thank You

African Grey parrots’ food dishes should never contain avocado, chocolate, or rhubarb. They should not contain any human junk foods or processed meats either. It should go without saying, but your African Grey should never be given anything containing caffeine or alcohol.

Water, Please

Remember, when thinking of your African Grey’s dietary needs, that it should have fresh, clean water in its cage at all times.

Helpful Tip

For healthy African Greys, be sure you clean the food and water dishes every day. If your parrot decides on an impromptu bath, wait until it is done, wash the water dish, and give it a fresh supply of water.

©2007, Anna Hart. An avid reader and researcher, Anna explores many parrot breeds and offers more information about African Grey Parrots and their care at http://www.parrots-of-the-world.com. If you are interested in learning about parrot food made at home, you won’t want to miss the information Anna shares on that subject.

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Note: If you are interested in purchasing organic parrot food, may we suggest [this link].

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Tags: parrot | video | parrot training | birds | parrots | tricks

Do you own a parrot that bites? Would you like me to share some proven principals for getting your parrot to stop biting? If so, you’re about to discover how to get rid of your parrot’s biting, using a strategy I call “Target Training”.

Never heard of target training? I’m not surprised. Most so called parrot behavior “Gurus” have been so busy standing on their soapboxes, preaching to everyone that “if we just loved our parrots more, they’d start to be nice” – what a bunch of garbage! And what they’re preaching couldn’t be further from the truth.

Let’s face it. When most people buy a baby parrot, it’s just been hand fed, it’s still a baby, not yet strong enough to bite, and it’s the cutest, cuddliest little thing in the world. And they actually stay that way, for several months & even years.

But then every parrot eventually comes into what I call their “Teenage Years”. It’s basically puberty for your bird. Its hormones are a wreck, it starts wanting a mate, and just like your teenage kids, parrot’s tend to become a bit troublesome during this time, and there’s no amount of love that can turn their behavior around. Instead the magical fix is to do what every therapist says to their emotionally challenged clients when their relationships are in a mess – “work on strengthening your communication”.

And that’s exactly what “Target Training” does. It develops a level of communication with your bird that both of you can understand.

Here’s how it works. You train your parrot to understand simple commands from you, or cues. Then you teach your parrot that whenever he follows these cues, he gets rewarded – usually with a really tasty treat! The more commands you teach your parrot, the better the level of communication and the more your parrot will trust you, and cease to bite you.

The very first and most basic level of target training is teaching your parrot to touch the end of a small wooden stick, or wooden dowel. You reward your parrot every time he touches the end of the wooden dowel by giving him a treat each time, even if when he touches it, he’s lashing out at the dowel.

And with time, the parrot realizes that you’re calling the shots, and that you’re actually opening up a new level of communication to him that he never knew existed. He’ll start to realize that if he follows your cues, and touches the end of the stick like you’ve asked him to, that you’ll reward him… and reward him well.

Your parrot will start to trust you so much, that a well target trained parrot, can be known to actually be trained to do whatever it takes to touch the end of that stick, even by flying or walking over your entire house, just to obey your cues.

By focusing on training your parrot to “Target” or touch the end of a stick, you’ll open up that level of communication it takes to get your parrot to realize you really are a nice person and that he doesn’t need to bite you to get what he wants after all.

For more information on target training, or other tips and tricks for teaching your parrot to stop biting, sign up for Chet Womach’s “Parrot Training Newsletter” where you’ll get free videos and monthly tips for fixing the behavior problems in your parrot.

parrot+training parrot parrots macaw cockatoo amazon conure grey gray

Parrots of the World
An Identification Guide
By: Joseph M. Forshaw

$7.00 off regular price.

Key features:
� Easy-to-use geographic guide

� Covers some 350 species

� Color range maps for all species

� Lavishly illustrated, with 120+ color plates and additional illustrations

� Ecological and behavioral information

From the macaws of South America to the cockatoos of Australia, parrots are among the most recognizable�and endangered�birds on earth. But until now, no easy-to-use guide existed for the identification of all species and subspecies of these colorful creatures.

Enter Parrots of the World, the most comprehensive handbook for distinguishing some 350 species of parrots from throughout the world. Lavishly illustrated, with more than 120 color plates and additional illustrations, the book covers parrots in homes, zoos, and in the wild, providing detailed descriptions of their key identifying features.

By allowing readers to easily narrow their search to specific geographic areas, the book will prove especially useful to those interested in parrots of a particular locale. Descriptive distribution maps show the geographic location of the different species, and an entire section is devoted to ecological and behavioral information relevant to identification. In addition, the guide differentiates Old World and New World species and points out significant sex or age differences in plumage coloration.

Parrots of the World will provide enormous help to those engaged in gathering important field data and monitoring international trade, two initiatives that are of critical importance to the conservation of parrots worldwide.
Clear, complete, and colorful, this is one guidebook that no museum, research institution, zoo, or bird enthusiast will want to be without.

Click the picture above to purchase this fine book!

parrot | parrots | book | Joseph Forshaw

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The African Grey parrot is the most popular pet parrot kept today. They are extraordinary speakers and are also very lovable and sweet. However, they do require lots of love, patience and time. Make sure they are the right bird for you.

The African Grey parrot originates from Central Africa. It is medium grey in color and the feathers on the head have white edging. It also has a bright red tail and a solid black beak.

One of the things African Greys are most well known for is how well they speak. Their speech is very clear and easy to understand. They can even learn over 2000 words and can mimic any sound! However, don’t buy an African Grey just for this reason. Some of them never speak at all.

African Greys are extremely intelligent. It is said that they have the intellectual capacity of a five year old child and are probably the most intelligent of the parrot species. Some have even been known to understand concepts like color and shape. This also makes them very demanding pets. They require constant attention and many toys to keep them busy.

African Greys form very strong bonds with their owners and can even respond to our different emotions. When you are sad, a bonded African Grey will comfort you. They learn so much from their owners! Once you win the trust of an African Grey, they will be your best friend. They are not very outgoing with strangers though. They are very loyal and dedicated birds.

The minimum cage size for African Greys is 18 inches long by 18 inches wide by 30 inches tall. Try to get the largest cage you can. Place the cage in a well lit area that is free from any drafts. You will need to get plenty of toys for your bird so they can get the mental stimulation they need.

A good diet is very important for any bird. Seeds should not be the only thing you feed. African Greys need a good pellet diet as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. Some fruits and vegetables that are good for them include broccoli, green peas, black eyes peas, brussel sprouts, banana and cantaloupe.

A major problem that many African Greys develop is feather plucking. This is actually a form of self mutilation. It can be caused by many things such as medical problems, behavioral problems, or stress. If you see your bird doing this, take him to the vet as soon as possible before it becomes really bad.

The hardest thing about keeping African Greys is the amount of time you must spend with them. Once your bird bonds with you, it will not want to be without you. Your bird will demand attention from you all the time. If this bird doesn’t get enough attention or mental stimulation, it will likely form behavioral problems. Make sure you aren’t going to be too busy to spend time with this bird before you purchase one. This bird is not right for everyone.