hello Help is needed

[lfcnorman]

not sure if i have posted this before new to all this
hi i am new to all this so please stick with me,we have just had to take my partners mothers parrot who is called Jake by the way
due to her getting ill from the parrot which she has had for about ten years.before this my partner had Jake for about 8 years but
when her marriage failled her mother had Jake as it was hard for her to look after.We have taken Jake in at very short notice so are
a bit unprepared,we have a good cage and plenty of time to spend with him so these two simple things i hope will make it easier for
Jake to settle into our home.I don't want to make this too long a message so i would like to ask everybody just a couple of questions
to get me started as i am a complete novice and never thought in a million years i would have a parrot to care for.But Jake is now part
of the family and deserves the best care i can give him(not to sure if he is a he).

Q1:what is the best book to get to give me an understanding of what we should and should not do

Q2:Jake is whistling alot so i guess he is happy but he is pulling feathers out and seems to shake with nerves

Q3:what foods are an absolute NO NO as my partner will probably feed him treats all the time

Q4:We have a king Charles caviller dog,it has only been 24 hours that we have had Jake all seems ok dog is more
     intersted in the parrots food containers and i swear Jake is trying to copy the dogs Bark.Does anyone think having a dog in the
     house is going to cause psychological problems for Jake.(we will keep the dog away when Jake is out)

  Thank for your time reading this as i said new to this forum thing so may not have asked the right questions please help us
 as we do want what is best for Jake in the long term as i am only 40 i still think Jake will outlive me so i do want to get it right
 i do not know how to attach a photo but i do i do have concerns about his breast feathers and any feed back would be great.

[ukgrey]

Hey welcome to the forum. I would try parrots for dummies if you want a book but you can get all that info here on the forum. The plucking could be due to the stress of moving, do's and don'ts re food see the list in the food section hope that helps

[ukgrey]

Sorry having a dog should be fine

[Janie]

Hi there ~waves~

I must admit to never having read a parrot book, but did trawl the net before getting Darwin.  I have learnt so much from this forum, and if I can't find what I want from other peoples posts I ask...  have never been disappointed by answers given, and the best thing is people do things in different ways so you can find all sorts of things on here.


Foods that are a definite No are chocolate, apple seeds and avocado.  Check out the DO & DON'TS in the Parrot Diet section... this will tell you a lot more Don'ts and all the good things people of the forum have found... that parrots can eat.

We have 3 dogs, all terriers, we never have them out when Darwin is out with us... we would never trust them.  Accidents do happen and I would hate for something to happen.  We have had Darwin for for just over 3 weeks, and they still are very interested in the interloper in the cage  .. put are calming down... accept for on, who insists on sticking his big black nose up against the cage to sniff... Darwin comes over to bite it...  well it is shiny and Darwin likes shiny...  then Welly (the dog) tries to bite back!!!  Hopefully Welly will learn!!!!  We have doubts though...

As for his feathers, I am sure there will be more knowledgeable people around soon to help you.  As I said I haven't had Darwin that long... but in my heart it seems he has been there forever...

hugs Janie xxx

[chip]

Hi and welcome!

I'll have a quick bash at answering your questions but I'm fairly new to all this. I would suggest having a really good read through the forum, your questions are quite common and have been already covered.

Q1:what is the best book to get to give me an understanding of what we should and should not do

I'm not too sure about books, I've learnt most of what I know from this forum and other websites.

Q2:Jake is whistling alot so i guess he is happy but he is pulling feathers out and seems to shake with nerve

Was he pulling feathers before you got him? If so, he may just be bored. Try to build up a good selection of toys over time and then rotate/swap them regularly (I swap Macey's toys once a week. I also swap/rearrange her perches). You'll soon find which type of toys Jake will like. Macey loves to destroy things so I buy her 'shredding' toys and toys made from natural materials (wood/rope/cocnut shell/paper etc). I get most of my toys from here http://www.24parrot.com/. Becareful when introducing new toys though, as some parrots get scared of new things and take time to adjust/accept them.
If Jake has only started pulling feathers since moving in with you, then this could simply be the stress of him moving. Either way, pay him alot of attention and talk to him.

Have a look through other posts regarding bathing/spraying.

Regarding the shaking. Maceys chest feathers sometimes shake/shimmer. I think this is normal. I'm sure i read somewhere that they do this to help regulate their body temperature.

Q3:what foods are an absolute NO NO as my partner will probably feed him treats all the time

Have a look here... http://theafricangreyparrot.com/forum/index.php/topic,5329.0.html
Fresh water at all times.

Q4:We have a king Charles caviller dog,it has only been 24 hours that we have had Jake all seems ok dog is more intersted in the parrots food containers and i swear Jake is trying to copy the dogs Bark.Does anyone think having a dog in the house is going to cause psychological problems for Jake.(we will keep the dog away when Jake is out)

I don't have a dog so can't really answer. But I wouldn't think it would cause Jake any psychological problems. You're doing the right thing about keeping the dog in a different romm when Jake is out.


Hope this helps!

Matt & Macey

[Billcry]

Keeping the dog away is good, but remember parrots are prey animals and a new dog is like seeing a tiger in your living room to you. We have cats and the parrots go livid when one comes around.  We have to keep a sharp lookout in common areas because while the cats show only passing interest in the birds, I suspect that they would attack if they thought they could get away with it. All it wold take is a small nip and you would have a tragedy on your hands.

[hammyloz]

dont want to seem rude but what is the illness??? the reason i ask is just before i got kiki i had a cold during the end of the cold i got kiki and have what is like a chest infection ever since i have seen 2 doctors and they both have said its not an infection but gave antibiotics anyway which didnt work so i am hoping its not kiki causing it,im not asthmatic but they also gave me an inhaler to help the breathing

[feika]

Hello and welcome to the forum IfcNorman from Ali/Captain. Your questions has already been answered by Matt in detail. Try and search the forum for older posts regarding almost every thing and you'll definitely find most of your worries are put to rest by reading through the threads.
Try and mist him by a spray bottle once in two days and put some aloe juice in luke warm water. Please make sure that you do not shoot the spray directly AT HIM rather you should spray over him so that the the water would drop on him like a shower or rain drops.
Good Luck

[jules]

i think just abot everythings been covered here so i'll just hi and welcome to you and jake. i'm sure he'll soon settle with you all and be happy and content

[lucky79]

parrots for dummies, absolutley. find an AVIAN vet and have him checkedout and try to keep him away from the dog for awhile.  see if you can get him a bath as well. spray bottle or a shower if he does not over react to either.