Community and Hello!

[kmuldrow]

I've just joined -- but I can already see that Maggie is right! I would love to see some regular participation on this board....to participate in an on-line community of mixed-species families.

My husband is a pilot and I am a Spanish teacher. We have four human children (now ages 20, 19, 16, and 15), and several non-human family members (two dogs, two cats, and - admittedly our best buds, two parrots..., Munya, a 5-year-old blue-front Amazon, and Sam, a year-and-a-half year old Congo African Grey). Sam goes to school with me daily, which makes my room a favorite stopping point of K-5 students. The children are teaching him Spanish. Sam is handled by dozens of students daily....and thoroughly enjoys the attention! He began vocalizing at a few months, and said his first intelligible words at about 10 months (Hola, Hi and Hello). In the last couple of months he has begun talking quite a bit. At this point, while his goal is clear (attention), his use of human language is not always contextually appropriate ("Good night night" in the middle of the morning at times when he is not trying to rest, for example.)

Sam has a health issue (specifically, his sinuses don't drain properly). We have the world's best Avian vet - who tried a relatively new procedure of doing surgery and inserting (temporary) catheters that were supposed to help widen the drainage tubes. The six-week period with the plastic tubes was uncomfortable for Sam, and, unfortunately, the surgery doesn't appear to have corrected the problem. I still have to suction his sinuses (typically a couple/few times daily). We haven't given up on finding a solution ... after all, he has several decades ahead of him and it would be nice to take the suctioning-process out of our relationship. In the meantime, if anyone out there has experience with this, I'd be curious to know whether you've found a way to "make it all better".

SO - Hello everyone. I'm glad to be here. And I look forward to meeting you!

Karen

[Maggie-]

Hi Karen,

Welcome. I am thrilled that you wrote!

How old is Sam? Sometimes Greys practice phrases often, without being in context...then use them appropriately later. My Merlin got lazy. She used to ask for individual foods. Now it is, "Want some apple." Apple has become the word for food. Then they got lazier and just would say, "Want some."

What Spanish phrases does Sam, say? That's really col that he speaks both languages!!!

Would the sinus issue have anything to do with the feather dust? Does he have an allergy to something? Or is it the way in which the sinuses work? I'm so sorry you guys are going thru this problem.. It is the first time I have heard of it. Thank God you have a great vet!


Maggie-

[allie]

Hi Kmuldrow, Maggie,

I have a TAG with the same problem, only not as severe. The condition is rare, but mostly found in Greys, my vet said. It is called Choanal Atresia, which means that the point where the sinuses drain into the throat is narrowed to the point of being a tiny hole that barely allows drainage.

Luna's is not as bad as your Sam's is, it sounds. I brought her to the Avian vet because she sneezed constantly and the sneezes are productive so I did what I was always told to do---take her in....after about 3 months of this. The first vet, as resident, didn't know what her problem was but said she seemed healthy despite the sneezing. The Avian Boarded Vet then saw her and knew immediately what it was, and told us not to worry about it. She just has a lot of sneezing and wet nares that I don't have to freak out about now that I know why it happens. Her choanal opening is narrowed, but still open enough to allow drainage so that we don't suction. However, she always has puffy eyes, but she's just fine, as Sam sounds to be!

I hope you can find a way to avoid suctioning, but Sam sounds like such a trooper! Luna is a timid Timneh!

Allie

[Maggie-]

Allie,

Thank you for reporting this. Greys are extremely dusty birds, so it is even more important for us to remind ouselves to have their rooms as clean as possible.

I have the birds' room painted with oil-based paint so that whoever cleans can wipe down the walls to get the "chalk dust" from the birds off the wall. I'm also having an exhaust fan system installed in the ceiling so that it sucks up a lot of the feathers & feather dust out of the room. We use air filters but the dust just keeps coming. This may be something that causes this problem for the Greys.

GREY'T Blessings,
Maggie-

[allie]

Maggie,

I envy your exhaust fan system! Yes, we have a filter and I open doors and windows a lot for fresh air, but it does just keep coming.

As for the choanal atresia, it's a developmental defect, in other words, something causes the choanal slit to close up instead of opening as the chick develops in the egg. I don't think they know much more than that because I asked, then, if it was a genetic defect, and my vet just said, "developmental."

Surely the dust makes it worse. I was so glad when I first got Luna that you pointed out to me that I needed to cover her and leave spaces open for ventilation. I had been wrapping/sealing her up in a box of dust!

Now I leave one air hole at the top of the cage and leave about an inch or so around the bottom open so she can get fresh air and maybe move some of the dust up and out. I also change the top layer of paper daily even if there's no poop or food on it (she really only sleeps in there)because it always has a layer of dust and bits of quil.

It blew my mind the first time I saw her scratch in the sunlight---you know, the powder cloud that arose from her was amazing! My family and I have notoriously bad allergies, and I feel so lucky that neither me nor any familiy have had any allergic reactions to her powder down.



Allie

[Maggie-]

Allie,

You are very lucky! I am amazed to see the amount of dust that attracts to electrical appliances, such as the TV and my hair blower.

One thing that does calm down dust is moisture in the air. A humidifier helps....but then you have to be careful about the HEPA filters in air filters to make sure they don't get bacteria in them from moisture in the air. It's a balance act here.

Also, I had the room painted with semi-gloss paint (birds not around to get smell). But now, I can have the walls wiped down every week to get the dust off.

Ideas for moisture are:
humidifier
fish tank with wonderful fish friends
spray water in air some from spray bottle
little waterfall....Greys LOVE the water sound and the water does get in the air
get away from the desert (LOL! that's where I am right now)


Does anyone have other ideas? What are you doing to control the dust?
Maggie-

[aimige]

That is so cool that Sam can go to work with you. Once Earl is feeling better and out of her collar I am thinking of taking her into the office with me for more one-on-one time with her. Plus I work for my parents so they don't care.