Post by shadowulfd on Sept 20, 2016 7:23:37 GMT -7
Hello!
My wife found this message board and it seems to us that the information here is quite good and the patrons very knowledgeable so it is my hope that you would be willing to answer a few quick questions on a few different topics. There is quite a lot of opinions out there and at the end of the day we ant to make sure we are doing the best we can for our new guy!
We live in Ontario Canada and we have re-homed a 7 year old grey named Smeagol (photos attached) and he is doing very well. He has had two previous owners and has a bit of a unsettled time Since he is 7 we were prepare for a lengthy trust and bond process however he immediately bonded with my wife and is very affectionate with her. He like me as well and allows me to handle him, feed him and scratch his neck but Lisa is definitely his favorite
The lady we purchased him from took excellent care of him however his cage was a different story, there were several items in there that should not have been but it does not appear that he has suffered from them. We have removed those items, purchased a few things he needed and setup the cage properly, he can navigate it well and he sleeps through the night without issue.
I have a few questions if I may
1. Correcting behavior
There seems to be two schools of thought, both agree you should never physically discipline your grey (beak tapping etc) however there seems to be a disagreement as to whether or not you should actively correct behavior. As I said Smeagol prefers my wife Lisa over me and he will bite me at times when I try to have him step up.
School #1 says I should back off and try again when he is ready, reward good behavior but ignore bad behavior
School #2 says that I should not let him back me off because I lose dominance, I should firmly tell him NO and continue trying to get him to step up, otherwise his behavior will continue
2. Out of cage time
Once again there seems to be two main opinions on this. My wife is home during the day so there is plenty of time for our of cage time. All opinions agree that quality of out time is the most important, that when he is out you should spend as much time interacting and training your grey as possible to enrich the experience however there are disagreements on format. Right now he spends several hours out of his cage split between two times one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
School #1: out of cage time should be limited and routine, a few hours each day, some in the morning some in the afternoon, around the same times each day.
School #2 says that your grey should be out as much as he would like and able to freely explore as much of his environment as possible
3. Diet
This is a big one. There are SO many opinions on what is good, what is bad, what is quality and what is junk that it can be somewhat overwhelming.
His previous owner seems to have had him on a diet of wild bird seed, cooked pasta and some fresh fruit and veg here and there.
Right now we have him on Tropican Lifetime Formula enriched pellets and a variety of fresh veggies and fruits (apples, pears, oranges, green beans, broccoli, sweet potato, carrots) This seems to be the standard that everyone can agree upon. for treats we give him shelled almonds, we plan to pick up some unshelled almonds and walnuts for him at the organic food store this weekend.What I would like to know is
1. Thoughts on quality of Tropican pellets?
2. any specific fruits/veg he should absolutely have daily
3. what makes a good treat, right now we are using almonds but is that too fattening?
4. should he be given mixed seed as a treat from time to time?
4. Night time lighting
Smeagol seems to sleep very well at night, what I would like to know is how dark should it be, should we allow for some ambient low lighting or should we try to keep the light as low as possible? If lighting is ok, is there any specific type of light we should provide or avoid. He has plenty if direct and indirect sunlight as he is by our back patio door, a spot he seems to enjoy.
5. Temperature
Once again I find far too many opinions on this. Some say they must be kept above 60 deg F at all times but below 90 deg f while others say they are fine with temperatures between 30 deg F and 80 deg f. One site said plainly, as long as we are comfortable so is he, would you folks agree that is the case?
My wife and I are both very experienced pet owners, we have both owned birds in the past and her father owned a grey so we know generally all the things we need to do but the devil is in the details as they say and we want to make sure we do not do anything unwise or unhealthy as we want to make sure Smeagol has the best health and experience possible and bad habits, no matter how well meaning, are hard to break once formed.
6. Conditioning / pumice perches
The previous owner had several rough perches in the cages, some sites recommend them for beak maintenance but we were told by one owner that those perches are bad for them as they can tear up their feet and they will get infections. What should we be providing Smeagol to keep his beak healthy and how often should he be taken to have it trimmed?
7. Baths and Showers
The previous owner has told us he loved the shower however that has not been proven to be the case, he does not seem to like to be sprayed at all. How often should he be bathed/showered, some sites say daily, some weekly,some monthly, and any advice to introducing him to water as a good thing?
I hope I have not asked too much, Thank you in advance for your time and advice in this matter!
Chris and Lisa
Smeagol's forever parents
My wife found this message board and it seems to us that the information here is quite good and the patrons very knowledgeable so it is my hope that you would be willing to answer a few quick questions on a few different topics. There is quite a lot of opinions out there and at the end of the day we ant to make sure we are doing the best we can for our new guy!
We live in Ontario Canada and we have re-homed a 7 year old grey named Smeagol (photos attached) and he is doing very well. He has had two previous owners and has a bit of a unsettled time Since he is 7 we were prepare for a lengthy trust and bond process however he immediately bonded with my wife and is very affectionate with her. He like me as well and allows me to handle him, feed him and scratch his neck but Lisa is definitely his favorite
The lady we purchased him from took excellent care of him however his cage was a different story, there were several items in there that should not have been but it does not appear that he has suffered from them. We have removed those items, purchased a few things he needed and setup the cage properly, he can navigate it well and he sleeps through the night without issue.
I have a few questions if I may
1. Correcting behavior
There seems to be two schools of thought, both agree you should never physically discipline your grey (beak tapping etc) however there seems to be a disagreement as to whether or not you should actively correct behavior. As I said Smeagol prefers my wife Lisa over me and he will bite me at times when I try to have him step up.
School #1 says I should back off and try again when he is ready, reward good behavior but ignore bad behavior
School #2 says that I should not let him back me off because I lose dominance, I should firmly tell him NO and continue trying to get him to step up, otherwise his behavior will continue
2. Out of cage time
Once again there seems to be two main opinions on this. My wife is home during the day so there is plenty of time for our of cage time. All opinions agree that quality of out time is the most important, that when he is out you should spend as much time interacting and training your grey as possible to enrich the experience however there are disagreements on format. Right now he spends several hours out of his cage split between two times one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
School #1: out of cage time should be limited and routine, a few hours each day, some in the morning some in the afternoon, around the same times each day.
School #2 says that your grey should be out as much as he would like and able to freely explore as much of his environment as possible
3. Diet
This is a big one. There are SO many opinions on what is good, what is bad, what is quality and what is junk that it can be somewhat overwhelming.
His previous owner seems to have had him on a diet of wild bird seed, cooked pasta and some fresh fruit and veg here and there.
Right now we have him on Tropican Lifetime Formula enriched pellets and a variety of fresh veggies and fruits (apples, pears, oranges, green beans, broccoli, sweet potato, carrots) This seems to be the standard that everyone can agree upon. for treats we give him shelled almonds, we plan to pick up some unshelled almonds and walnuts for him at the organic food store this weekend.What I would like to know is
1. Thoughts on quality of Tropican pellets?
2. any specific fruits/veg he should absolutely have daily
3. what makes a good treat, right now we are using almonds but is that too fattening?
4. should he be given mixed seed as a treat from time to time?
4. Night time lighting
Smeagol seems to sleep very well at night, what I would like to know is how dark should it be, should we allow for some ambient low lighting or should we try to keep the light as low as possible? If lighting is ok, is there any specific type of light we should provide or avoid. He has plenty if direct and indirect sunlight as he is by our back patio door, a spot he seems to enjoy.
5. Temperature
Once again I find far too many opinions on this. Some say they must be kept above 60 deg F at all times but below 90 deg f while others say they are fine with temperatures between 30 deg F and 80 deg f. One site said plainly, as long as we are comfortable so is he, would you folks agree that is the case?
My wife and I are both very experienced pet owners, we have both owned birds in the past and her father owned a grey so we know generally all the things we need to do but the devil is in the details as they say and we want to make sure we do not do anything unwise or unhealthy as we want to make sure Smeagol has the best health and experience possible and bad habits, no matter how well meaning, are hard to break once formed.
6. Conditioning / pumice perches
The previous owner had several rough perches in the cages, some sites recommend them for beak maintenance but we were told by one owner that those perches are bad for them as they can tear up their feet and they will get infections. What should we be providing Smeagol to keep his beak healthy and how often should he be taken to have it trimmed?
7. Baths and Showers
The previous owner has told us he loved the shower however that has not been proven to be the case, he does not seem to like to be sprayed at all. How often should he be bathed/showered, some sites say daily, some weekly,some monthly, and any advice to introducing him to water as a good thing?
I hope I have not asked too much, Thank you in advance for your time and advice in this matter!
Chris and Lisa
Smeagol's forever parents
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