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Jay and I came up with the idea of a Parody of Julio Iglesias/Willie Nelson “For all the Girls I’ve Loved Before”… Sing this to that tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naPVHcAx5X8 TO ALL THE BIRDS WE’VE LOVED BEFORE For all the birds I’ve known before Who’ve flown both in and out my door I’m glad you came along I dedicate this song…. To all the birds I’ve known before. To all the birds who pooped on me And to all those who just went…wee wee I might have yelled and screamed And even sounded mean You always meant the world to me. The hormonal changes are always going And every time I tried to stray I always came back to you Please don’t ever drift away. To all the birds who shared my life I know sometimes you called me wife The regurgitation was fine That’s why I now drink wine I never really flew that way. To all the birds that cared for me I’ll never ever set you free You’ve always owned my heart Right from the very start You’ll always be a part of me. Your moods are always changing I never know from day to day If you just wanted seeds and fruits Or a piece of toast with some Parkay. To all the birds we’ve loved before Who’s in our hearts forevermore I dedicate this song I’m glad you came along To all the birds I’ve loved before….. To all the birds we’ve loved before If life went on there would be more They just live so damned long I’m glad you came along To all the birds we’ve loved before….. The End

That's a damn shame. I'm glad I don't have neighbors like that. I was down at the barn and all of mine were in full chorus....I could hear their racket clear down there. Our new neighbors told me my guineas were roosting on their roof. I said, yeah, guineas do that. I argued with the City of Allen not to let them build 10 ft from our barn. So sorry (not).

Welcome and thanks for re-homing. Sounds like you have a bird like my Dorian who was never allowed to fledge and therefore doesn't really know what his wings are for. I think the hanging on and flapping is adorable and a good indictator that he may fly one day. As for the stepping up, it took Dorian over two years to step up onto my hand. He came out of a pet store where many children, and frankly some adults, used to poke cat toys and fingers through the bars of his cage, so he came to me very afraid of hands. He would also step up from the floor but never from his cage. My first success was very much controlled by him. He decided that one of the outside perches on his cage was his step up perch, and that when he went to that perch he was ready to be picked up. I don't remember how long it took me to realize this, but the dumb Hooman finally clued in. Just continue to offer your hand as an option to him, and if he doesn't choose to step up that time just tell him that's ok and walk away until the next time. Your wife took an absolutely gorgeous picture of Smokey. I mean, yours were good, but . . . Of course, you both had a good subject. Smokey is beautiful. Keep browsing around the forums, asking questions, and tuning into grey time. Again, welcome.

That's a hit if you ask me. There is more truth than fiction in that song. After having parrots for 46 years the lyrics really hit home.

They're pretty unreasonable, and we've had our share of battles over what I would say has been minimal loud outbursts. All Dexter had to do was belt out a macaw call a couple times in a row, and there she was, hanging her head over our fence line, asking me to bring him inside. It got to the point where I was beginning to have concerns that she'd file a formal noise complaint. Now I only bring him outside when I'm absolutely certain she's not home, but that's not easy to ascertain. In order to protect him, I actually made an appointment with my son's former therapist requesting a letter that designated Dexter as his ES pet, and she did! So...if anyone were to complain, he now has letter that designates his presence in our home as being medically prescribed. I haven't actually showed them the letter, but did let them know that he's an ES bird, medically prescribed for our son, and that his emotional well being comes first and foremost. Haven't received any more e-mails from them, or heads popping up over the fence line ever since. She's a teacher, so I know that she'll soon be home every day, which will make things more complicated. She doesn't have any issues with my other birds being out there; just Dexter. And Dexter loves, loves, loves being out there.

That can become an escalating challenge. Hubby and our U2 had a back and forth for about a year before hubby mostly won.

Thank you, Yes, freely, words are meant to be shared...

All true and wonderful! I saw No shame on those birds faces🙉

Beautiful Jay and Maggie Thank you! Can i share this please?

Dexter is lovely so sorry your neighbor has such a difficult time with his sounds and giving you her negativity. Your new Bird palace is grand and my flock now want to move to your house. Sigh🙄

Ray Just thanks.........

Our prayers be with you...

Did not get a call back this weekend and today I have a trip to Michigan so I will try Tuesday to get in touch.

The more you describe Smokey, the more I think you have our Huey's identical twin, brother from another mother haahaa... Regarding the flying issue: that's exactly what Huey did. Low, flap, then leap and crash land. It took him about two months and he started actually flying. We coaxed him A LOT to come in the kitchen from the living room. He also saw our other Grey, GreycieMae, fly into the kitchen constantly and he couldn't stand being left so he practiced a lot. I spent about two months bolting from my current position to try and catch Huey so he didn't hurt himself. He had way too many crash landings for my liking and we're lucky he never broke a wing or something else. He's well past that point now and can fly and land pretty good. He's not graceful and sometimes will screw up a landing but I don't have to chase around and give him a safe arm to land on anymore.

Yes I have, he just runs away and when i get too close he starts cleaning his nails lol and looking at my hand. I do the 4 fingers with the thumb tucked in he test the perch so hes not biting me but won't come up on to my hand. Then he goes for my nail... I've only had him for about a week and all I've been able to do is give him treats by hand and scratch his head ... hes very territorial but surprisingly he let's me scratch him up top on his cage but he let's me know when he wants me to touch him he brings his head down pretty much giving me the ok.. also when I put him to bed he hangs from the top of the cage and brings his head in for a head scratch but I'm touching him outside the cage putting my finger in to him .... only time I got him to "step up" has been from the floor he does it with no problem but its not easy to get him down there or getting him off his cage

I say go for it, you know you can handle it and your heart is ready and willing, hope things go your way.

I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope it all works out for you (and of course the parrot too)

Hi , new to forum. I have a 26yr. old African grey. She has laid 2 eggs in last 2 weeks. I've read a few things online but was looking for advice thru experience. Thanks

Are these the pictures you wanted from the back ? Jayd

Miserable bureaucracy for certain, so sorry you are having to fight so hard just trying to get the help required. Golad you are both so tough and mostly positive thinking people it does help. Hugs to you both and positive thoughts headed your way.

Thank you for joining this forum and bring Smoky also. I.m in love with him!

Hi, Smokey doesn't look overweight, and hanging low and flapping is normal, yes he wants attention, he communicating with you, this is great. Years ago and still to some extent, breeders wood hand feed the parrot and as soon as they ate, bam up for sale, never fledged... To fledge is the final step before the baby is kicked out of he nest. To fledge is to fly, the breeder would clip the wings at a early age, repeating and the bird would never learn to fly. If you can, please post a photo from the back..Have you tired "step-up" when he's posing on his cage?

My wife obviously takes way better pictures than me 😂😂😂

Fine looking bird, Thank you..

Wow, he looks a lot like our Huey. Our Huey has had some abuse in his past too. Not his previous owner but before that. It took Huey about 3-4 months for the real Huey to come out which I guess is really short for a Grey. These guys bring so much love and joy with them when they blossom in the right care.

Hello Roy and Smokey- welcome to the forums! Congratulations for bringing Smokey home! They are amazing birds. It sounds like everything is going well so far. One of the things you've probably seen mentioned on the forums is something called 'grey time'. This is the time it takes for a grey to accept new things or to cope with a change in their environment. 'Grey time' is different for every grey and it's important to understand that early on. An example would be if you were to introduce a new toy to the cage. Some greys can be very change adverse and will see the new toy as a threat/predator. Therefore you may need to leave the toy at a safe distance outside the cage so the grey can observe it before moving it closer and eventually putting it in the cage. The time it takes to get this toy from outside the cage to inside the cage is "grey time". So for example my grey, Alfie, would typically take a day or two before I could put a brand new toy in his cage without him getting scared or anxious. Other greys may take a couple of hours. Some may take a few extra days or a week.... etc. Either way, it's important to move at the pace that's comfortable for the bird. If a change or an action is clearly upsetting them... take a few steps back and try again a bit slower, to give the bird time to adjust, observe and learn. At this point, Smokey has been removed from everything he knows, is in a totally new environment surrounded by totally different people. He'll need a bit of 'grey time' to adjust to all of that. It sounds like he's doing well so far. Just keep talking to him, getting him used to your routines and socialising with him as much as possible. He'll eventually learn how good he's got it and start bonding with you and your family.

Such beautiful Fids, Your a good Parront....My friend...

Your aviary is amazing! So happy that you managed to get it built despite all the hiccups along the way. I would have loved to build mine off the back of the house but unfortunately the layout of the house and garden didn't suit. So I am going to have fun and games convincing Alfie to get in his travel cage each time I was to get him out there. He likes to give me the run around before eventually relenting and getting in it. 🙄 I'm not sure what to suggest about the neighbours. I wonder if you could invite both neighbours over to discuss the issues and work out a plan with them? Like you say, perhaps work on a timetable when the birds can be outside of that's at all possible? Depends how unreasonable they are I guess. I would hope they would come round to the idea if they know you are willing to work round them at much as is reasonably possible (obviously without too many restrictions on your birds playtime!) Ironically enough Alfie is pretty quiet compared to most birds so I haven't had complaints. I reckon I'd get a complaint about my two Bengal cats before I got a complaint about Alfie. They are extremely vocal cats and also very loud!

Jay has been put on synthetic marijuana pills for pain and anxiety. Probably marinol (synthetic THC) I.wish it were the real thing. I don' know what the laws are in Arizona but I am eating, not smoking, real bud at night time. It is the combination of low THC and CBD that provides the best results for pain and sleep. CBD works for seizures. I do have a card. so I saw a MD.. .

Jay has been put on synthetic marijuana pills for pain and anxiety. Thanks, Maggie

I think I'm starting to see why your country has so little faith in a health system administered by the government. They really need to come up here and see how we do it. When I said we haven't the best record with our vets I meant annoyances like the leg/no leg thing I mentioned. I wish you could come to Canada and get care. Forget being a vet, just being a senior would get you better care. I'm so sorry you have to deal with all this stress on top of not being well. I'm seriously sending good thoughts your way. Love, Marguerite

We have a political satirist up here named Rick Mercer, and he does a bit every week called Rick's Rant. One week it was about how we're treating our veterans. He has a friend who lost his legs below the knees in Afganistan. In order to get disability benefits, every year he has to prove that he's still disabled. Think about that for a second. It's like every year they're asking him to prove that his legs haven't grown back! When my dad was palliative with me the last year and a half of his life it opened him up to a whole lot of care. In home nursing, physio, PSW's twice a day, doctor's calls, oxygen, no cost prescriptions, anything we needed. There's an emphasis here on quality of life in end of life care. It's better than the care you get if you're NOT dying lol. The fact that the VA and your politicians have forms and procedures for complaints about the VA speaks volumes about how often they get complaints. What about trying to get the media involved. A story on the local news might light a fire under their butts.

Thank you Howardine....we have filed a complaint with the Patient Advocate at the VA....the wheels turn slowly...When they took away Jay's portable oxygen, he could no longer stand to get into the van for exercise. He has not left the house since he came home from the hospital in January. His oxygen saturation at 5 constant litres is 88-91...if he talks, types, moves, or laughs at a good joke, it drops to the low 70's and the he hyperventilates until he can get his saturation back up...maggie is upset if its ok she'll finish this later jay

The behavior of that technician is the rankest criminal inhuman action possible. I would send him to solitary confinement for life for attempted murder if only I could! You are entitled to vent!!! Love you (and Jay). Howardine

You might talk to your vet about trying Haloperidol. I have a bird that is on it. I hate using meds on birds but with my guy, if I don't use it, he'll tear his feet up enough that he'll get infections and eventually it will kill him. We've also considered trying a prozac type med too but decided against it since what we use now is working.

I may have to send my neighbor flowers after reading this. She was worried she wouldn't get to see my birds anymore once I built the new house-attached aviary.

Here's a pic of the aviary that I took while I was decorating it with birdie toys. The far property line is where the neighbor lives. Directly above where the back of the chair is, lies the 'chute' where I put the birds through from the house. It now has a door.

How frustrating!

Well, yes, our neighbors are being a complete turd. She says that she suffers from misophonia, which is a condition where certain sounds trigger immediate feelings of intense rage and anger. I am not able to leave my macaws outside for longer than 5 minutes if they start squawking; otherwise she'll report us. So...I now have her work schedule, and keep the macaws outside on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays for as long as I darn well please. Her anger has rained on my happiness big time. Frankly I wish that she' get ear buds and listen to some music. The neighbors on our other side love the aviary. The people in back are siding with the complaining neighbor, per what she's told me.

My son and his wife built my aviary off the birdroom so the parrots can fly in and out the window. The birds love it it makes life very easy for me. No cement on the ground just grass and it cleans itself. Bottom half of the aviary is wood so dogs/animals can't break in.

Looks great!

Thanks! Note the Suntuff panels going up there? Thanks to you!

Well, here's a sneak peak at my new aviary!!! They could have everything completed, except for a minor alteration, by the end of today!

Trust me, you'll want that oversize safety area. I built mine too small on my outdoor aviary and it's a pain in the butt. I'm going to rebuild it and make it double or triple the size. I get tired of having to shuffle things around and squeeze things through.

All the panels have been brought over. They'll begin installation on Monday! The only thing that isn't the way I'd envisioned it is with regards to the double door holding area. It's huge. It's the size of a small aviary. I'll post pictures next week. Very excited!!!

Even cooler! So you're waiting is nearly done! Did you ever decide on a camera [system]? I'm still fumbling around with getting electric and LAN cabling out there. We have graduated to leaving our two mids (Caique & Jardines) out there during the day. They have the smaller of the three sections. I had a guy give me a quote on steel reinforced security screens which I'm going to need before I can leave the Greys out there $3300!!! At that price I'll get my own welder and do it myself. Also got to have something before the heat comes along because mine will definitely overheat with no airflow. But even with just the two mids out in the aviary, that has freed up my bird room to where my Greys are loose in their bird room, and the two lils are just loose in the house. So we're technically cage free right now.

Nope. By the following day. It was fabricated into sections elsewhere and will be installed in a day. My aviary won't have closed walls. All SS mesh, with steel corregated panel for half of the roof, and the other half the Suntuf panels you'd recommended that I use.

So 5 weeks from Monday it should be done?

I hour your contractor is faster than mine regarding his own time estimates. We were told 4 weeks, 5 max. 12 weeks later we were wrapping things up. Normally we would have said something but his work was such high quality with attention to detail - I just shut my beak. Keep us posted with pics.