Leaderboard

Awww, that sweet baby face! Looks like you have a great setup. Once baby gets bigger he'll be able to protect himself. I had to keep the reins on GreycieMae until Huey came out of his shell. He then stamped his authority and he's the only bird she can't bully. Greys can definitely take care of themselves against each other - when full grown.

For now, I am just going to be patient and let them interact under supervision. I will keep reinforcing that Isaac should just be sweet. LOL. It'll take some time, but we have it. i'm doing all kinds of stuff with new baby that I wish I had done with Isaac, showering with me being one of them. Isaac loves the new set up, Casper is as curious as ever. Things are going good. Advice is welcome though.

Okay, so I will be posting some pictures in a while, but I wanted to get the current status of affairs out there. This weekend, I brought a new grey into the home. Casper is just about 13 weeks and beginning to take his first flights. So at first, Isaac was pretty curious as expected. Slowly approaching. Then Isaac seemed to want to feed him. Then like....trying to nibble at his toes kind of...not playfully...but more like not even knowing what this new thing was and probing for a response. Then it looked like he wanted to pry the beak off of Casper. So.....so far have to keep them separate or under heavy supervision. I can;t figure out what Isaac thinks, but I feel like Casper needs to get his bearings more and well as Isaac getting comfortable with a new bird in the house. On all other fronts, Isaac seems like business as usual, the encounters are precarious. If anyone has any advice on how to get Isaac to play nice, pass it along. I'll post some pics when I get back from lunch.

Oh look at that adorable little baby face!! Congratulations on bringing Casper home. I've never tried introducing another bird so I don't have much advice for you. I'm only here to coo over baby bird photos. (And Isaac photos as well, of course!!!) Hopefully as Casper learns more about his environment he can start to stick up for himself a bit and they'll both settle in together.

Congratulations on your new baby and best of luck on the interaction! Having only one, I have no advice for you.

Cuteness overload, what an adorable baby grey, looks like things are going well for you with the new addition, just let things progress naturally and see if a relationship develops between the two.

Oh the poor little guy. Probably doesn't know whether he's coming or going. Does he have a name? I hope he settles in quickly. Are you keeping him or just trying to give him a break whilst finding a forever home for him?

Time and supervision. What an adorable little guy is Casper. Congrats on the newbie.

So glad I posted this, I would have never thought to use my bed. I think she’ll (JoJo) be a decent flyer and may already know how but just doesn’t. When she is startled she will hop into flight but only to flutter to the ground. She has a pretty smooth landing. Just doesn’t seem to be able to take off. My 20yo Maxi however is a different story and crashes anytime she is startled and always lands breast bone first. I’ll try this with her after JoJo gets the hang of it. It may help her come out of her she’ll more. She was not treated well by the previous owner.

Our Grey Huey is 21 and was not a flyer. We got him on Dec 1st of 2017 and by end of January he was flying, not real graceful but flying...lots of crash landings. I started him out by just giving him a toss onto our bed over and over. Once he got the idea, he started trying to fly on his own and we had some scary moments as he had some very hard landings. I spent about a month flying out of my chair to go provide a landing arm for him when he would launch himself because he was not real good about hitting his landing rope/etc. and would then crash hard. Eventually he's gotten very good at hitting landings and rarely crashes anymore. He's even flown down our hallway and turned and came back which is pretty amazing for such a large bird. He'll never be super acrobatic like our Greycie that learned as a baby but he's a flyer now.

Thank you. She is a skilled lander and can avoid obsticles. I’ve also noticed If I ask her to fly while she is on my arm she flaps her wings for a bit and I can feel it pulling my arm up, so hopefully it is not hard to teach. I didn’t think about the bed, I’ll Toss an old painting sheet on there so I don’t get any poop on there and try it out. Can I ask how old the Grey was at the time you took in?

I feel your pain Neoow. Timber won't eat pellets in any brand or any form. Not even in birdy bread (which he doesn't care much for anyway). In the end, we do the best we can and make sure they get some variety.

I have two African Greys with breakfast beards in my food bowl

Hi, Maggie here....Jay and I had raised and weaned four Amazons. Our payment was our choice of one of the four. So, when they were fledged, we returned them, picked the one we wanted and headed back home. We were talking about what we were going to name our new baby and saying different names. During this conversation, our new Zon never made a sound and I mentioned the name Salsa. All of a sudden, she started chattering and making all kinds of noises. Then, we repeated other names and she was silent. When Jay mentioned Salsa, she started up again. We tried this three or four times....this happened every time we mentioned Salsa, this happened. So, this is how she named herself...LOL Also, when we brought Joe, our Grey home, he had come from an abusive relationship so when we brought him home to Spock, we had decided to go with the same theme (Star Trek) and decided to rename Joe "Jim". For a few weeks, all Joe would say was "Are you okay?" and "Where are you?" when we left the room (Joe was 2 at the time). After a few weeks though, Joe put us in our place after we had addressed him yet again as "Jim". He replied, "I'm Joe". LOL....Maggie

Wife is on this weirdo diet, called the Keto diet. Reduced carbs, increased meats and fats and who knows what else. Today's dinner will be a nice red-tailed jungle chicken dish. I got the meat and fat-fatty covered. Me and Huey are anxiously awaiting the result. MmmmMmmmm...goood.

She's actually playing there. We were playing stoopid hooman sticks his hand in the pot and screams game. She will get super fluffly like that hanging from her rope or her net too. When she's on her net, she'll flip over backwards all puffed up and dare you to stick your hand in her fluff...you may lose it You should see how bedtime goes around here. She really gets puffy and bitey then - hates going to bed, just like a little kid.

You can add Ginger or tumeric to mashed sweet potato and add that to your birdy bread. I use eggs and coconut water in my version of birdy bread and natural unsweetened apple sauce. The rest depends on what ever fruits and veggies are in season.

You have begun the journey as a person with a grey, enjoy the experience you may find your bird is a good teacher.

It seems he has had a few names which he shows no response to so I think we may start over if we can find a name he likes. He is amazingly calm and accepting of his new digs. I know these birds can become phobic at this age so fingers crossed all will remain well. He has some feather damage on his back looks like he has been barbering. Hope to get past the feather destruction and the unwillingness to leave the cage. slow and steady he is adjusting to eating sprouted food and enjoying attention. Will see if he is happy with us or needs a home of his own, Galahs have been my dream bird for a long time and we just lucked into helping him. he destroyed a cardboard box today so I take that as a good sign.

Hi every one

Hello everyone - I am hoping someone here may have some insight on training older greys (17 & 20 approx.). More specifically training them to fly. JoJo the grey I'd like to train first is very needy and I'd like to teach some independence and give her the ability to get around with confidence. Any insight from you guys would be greatly beneficial to me. As always, thank you for the help everyone. Glad I came across these forums. :)

Common sense answer, smart person. Roof works as well if you use plastic make certain your greys cannot chew on it.

So very true ❤️

Happy to meet you looking forward to pictures and stories.

Hello and welcome Isha!

Look delicious! 😂

Ah a little parrot stew, not too filling for there is only so much meat on those bones, just don't forget the carrots and onions.

Just add seasoning and voila!

I understand she will taste just like chicken. 😃

To stir up some trouble and thought...lol...this is my opinion and reasons for it. NO ONE has to agree with this.... I had planned to offer a number of post to this thread, but I'll finish with this one... What ever we feed our fids outside the norm we must do so with Moderation in mind...This leads us to Accumulation, THIS is the Killer... OUR fids cannot remove certain mineral and nutrition's from their system, Salt for example, and other overdoses...Yes we overdose our fids. Using a previous post, sugar or supplier of sugar was mentioned nine times in daily foods! The problem lies in the fact we don't take into the amount of sugar for example or salt that is in the both good foods and bad foods we feed our fids.. It isn't the occasional chip or white potato etc we feed them, but the "Accumulation" of every thing we feed them!!! The same thing goe's for Fats (fatty Acids) We must reduce Saturated fats to a minimum... In summary, check out how much sugar is in peas, corn, potatoes, bread etc...How about Saturated fats, Pellets, sunflower seeds, chips, etc. The largest killer of our fids is: Advertising!!! Complete, contains, Vet recommended, Everything your bird need!!!!! What our FIDS really need is for us, their caretaker to learn how to read and research.....Thank you Jayd

To stir up some trouble and thought...lol...this is my opinion and reasons for it. NO ONE has to agree with this....  Pellets: 😜 I have researched the agricultural history of pellet trees, I have contacted the Department of Agriculture in the Congo, I have checked with tourists who have gone on safaris in the Congo, and the elusive Pellet Tree or Bush remains a secret.... Okay, pellets....why do I use these as a secondary treat, not a main meal? For example: directly from Harrison's...their ingredients: HARRISON’S INGREDIENT LISTINGS HIGH POTENCY COARSE *Sunflower Kernels, *Hull-less Barley, *Soybeans, *Peas, *Peanut Kernels, *Lentils, *Corn, *Brown Rice, *Toasted Oat Groats, *Alfalfa, *Psyllium, Calcium Carbonate, Bentonite, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), *Sea Kelp, Salt, *Algae Meal, Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Carbonate and *Sunflower Oil) *CERTIFIED ORGANIC INGREDIENT Guaranteed Analysis: Crude protein (min.) 18%, crude fat (min.) 15%, crude fiber (max.) 6.5%, moisture (max.) 10%. HIGH POTENCY FINE *Hulled Gray Millet, *Hull-less Barley, *Corn, *Toasted Soybeans, *Peanut Kernels, *Sunflower Kernels, *Peas, *Lentils, *Toasted Oat Groats, *Brown Rice, *Chia, *Alfalfa, Calcium Carbonate, Bentonite, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), *Sea Kelp, Salt, *Algae Meal, Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Carbonate and *Sunflower Oil) *CERTIFIED ORGANIC INGREDIENT Guaranteed Analysis: Crude protein (min.) 20%, crude fat (min.) 12%, crude fiber (max.) 5%, moisture (max.) 10%. HIGH POTENCY SUPER FINE *Hulled Gray Millet, *Hull-less Barley, *Corn, *Toasted Soybeans, *Peanut Kernels, *Sunflower Kernels, *Peas, *Lentils, *Toasted Oat Groats, *Brown Rice, *Chia, *Alfalfa, Calcium Carbonate, Bentonite, Mixed Tocopherals (a source of Vitamin E), *Sea Kelp, Salt, *Algae Meal, Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Carbonate and *Sunflower Oil). *CERTIFIED ORGANIC INGREDIENT Guaranteed Analysis: Crude protein (min.) 20%, crude fat (min.) 12%, crude fiber (max.) 5%, moisture (max.) 10%. HIGH POTENCY MASH *Sunflower Kernels, *Hull-less Barley, Rolled; *Toasted Soybeans, *Hulled Gray Millet, *Lentils, Rolled; *Peas, Rolled; *Peanut Kernels, *Brown Rice, Rolled; *Corn, Rolled; Toasted Oat Groats *Chia, *Sesame Seed, *Alfalfa, Monocalcium Phosphate, *Algae Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Bentonite, *Sea Kelp, Salt, Mixed Tocopherals (a source of Vitamin E), Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Carbonate and *Sunflower Oil), *Anise Seed. *CERTIFIED ORGANIC INGREDIENT Guaranteed Analysis: Crude protein (min.)20%, crude fat (min.) 14%, crude fiber (max.) 8%, moisture (max.) 10%. What do you see as the main ingredients? Sunflower seeds, or millet, soybeans, peanuts, and they all contain salt...These are ingredients we tend to not feed our fids except as occasional treats. All the vitamins and minerals are added and then destroyed by the heating process. Other than Top's Pellets, most of the other pellets are worse. It is far better (in my opinion), to use a more natural diet and to use pellets in birdie bread

Welcome to the forums and thank you for taking in a rescue bird. What is his name? He is a beautiful bird! One thing you will learn quite quickly is a little thing called "grey time". This is the time it takes for a grey to adjust and accept changes. This can be changes in routine, toys, location, people etc etc. Your bird has just undertaken a very big change and at a month in everything is still very new. Your bird is trying to adjust to a new home, a new human, a new routine, new sounds, new toys... everything. This can be a bit overwhelming for a grey as they can be a little change adverse at times. It can take days, weeks or sometimes months for a grey to adapt to these kind of changes and come out of their shell. This is what we call 'grey time'. Some changes may be more readily accepted by the bird than others... so there's no telling how much 'grey time' is needed for different changes. The important thing to remember is that the grey will show you when they are ready to accept a change or a new offering. They will also show you when they are not ready. A lot of this is shown via their body language- so pay attention to what your grey is doing... especially if you receive a nip or a bite...e.g what were the eyes doing, how were the feathers being held? There may be some subtle signs that your bird gives you before he resorts to a bite. Given enough time, you will start to be able to read your birds body language and will be able to know when the bird has had enough or is happy to progress. You will have many amazing years together and it sounds like you are already off to a fantastic start. These forums are full of information so feel free to have a look around. Ask as many questions as you need to- there is always someone here who can help and advise!

What a beautiful CAG! As the others have said, they adjust slowly. Just take it easy and slow down. You are off to a great start!

EarLy on I became interested in parrot nutrition, I took class on it , researched it, spoke to countless parrot owners...I am passing on to you some of this info, It is only food for your thought, nothing more... BEANS: Please note that large raw beans - such as Anasazi, Black, Fava, Kidney, Lima, Navy, Pinto, and Soy - can cause toxicities when fed raw, causing digestive upsets for people and potentially for birds. large beans should be cooked to make them safe and digestible. For those who do not want to take any risks, cook large beans thoroughly. Certain uncooked dried beans contain enzyme inhibitors, are indigestible , and may cause visceral gout in birds. These enzyme inhibitors may prevent or decrease the utilization in the body of substances, such as trypsin and chymotrypsin, to produce nutritional deficiencies. Beans that can interfere with proteolytic enzymes are lima, kidney and soybeans. Cooking these beans for at least 2 hours destroys these enzyme inhibitors. Other dried beans do not appear to contain these enzyme inhibitors.

Shortly, I'll make a large post We really have to research what we feed our fids and in what combination. A short example, we never salt our fid's foods. But, chard and spinach are loaded with salt so should be fed at a minimum. One of my favorite, garbanzo or chickpeas, bond certain enzymes depleting them from the fid's system. A favorite, red palm oil, is the largest source of artery blocking food sources on the market extreme high cholesterol. I've always called it the "Red Hype"....I'LL go into that later hehehehe....

Looks like you have a nice setup for him. I would say he's asking to slow things down a little with his new situation. They always settle down, it just may take a while. It took our Huey about 6 months to come out of his shell.

It's really super simple and such healthy nuggets of goodness. The sky's the limit as to what you can add, or want to hide for that matter. Mine aren't pellet eaters in general, but they get their fair share inside the birdie bread! As for thawing, I keep a small container in the refrigerator that's usually a 3 day supply and then replenish from there.

It's really very easy and doesn't require a recipe other than your imagination. The base that I use is Harrison's pellet ground into flour like consistency You can use any pellet of your choosing. Remove to a separate mixing bowl. Then food process anything you want to add to this 'flour'. I always add those things my fids won't eat unless it's disguised. For my crew it's bell peppers, kale and most anything orange or green. I always add sweet potato to all my birdie bread. Add enough water to get it to the consistency that works for you. Add whatever cooked grains you have, spread your creation onto a pan and bake 20-25 minutes at 350. I crumble it, freeze and use as needed.

GreycieMae gets, what GraycieMae wants! You just provide the cash and ship[ping address. Hahaha.

Any chance you'd be willing to share the steps taken to make the bread. I've never made it and I am betting mine would love it.

Our basic go-to daily chop is baby chard, sugar snap peas, sweet potatoes, pomegranate arils, a grape, blueberry or two, banana, slightly cooked broccoli and my homemade birdie bread, concocted using Harrison's pellets as its flour to which I add ancient grains, hemp seed, kale, red bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, and anything else my fids won't eat if offered separately in chop. I also add quinoa, barley, oats and fresh lentils to my birdie bread. In the evening they can have a small serving of high quality large hook bill seed mix without sunflower seeds. I add a small serving of their favorite nuts, including pine nuts and unsalted roasted deluxe nut mix that I get from Trader Joe's.

I’ve had good luck with chop! But, I warmed it up a few times and now I am having a hard time getting them to eat it fresh or defrosted. They simply won’t eat it and choose pellets until the next morning. Today I made some chip using the following ingredients in no particular measures or amounts; I just use my vitamin to wet chop it, drain the water and mix by hand. Broccoli, cauliflower, black beans, kidney beans, collard greens, carrots, (shoot just realized I forgot the corn as I’m writing this), jalapeño, hard boiled egg, rolled oats (to soak up remaining liquid), and tossed in red palm oil. Thoughts on this mix, critiques, anything?! Hers a shot of a helper inspecting to make sure everything is just right.

I have seen so many posts on facebook recently about missing greys. In the UK we are in the middle of a heat wave so naturally doors and windows are being left open more often. Air conditioning in the home is not overly common over here as it's normally too cold and damp to need it. I've seen multiple lost/found bird notices being shared every day over the last couple of weeks and it saddens me every time. I made this thread to try and start a discussion about how to bird proof your home to try and ensure your beloved birds are kept safe. Please feel free to make any recommendations you have and hopefully this will be a useful thread for bird owners or potential bird owners. I in no way intend this to be a judgmental post or aim to make anyone feel bad if they have lost a bird before. I'm just looking for suggestions on how to try and prevent the worst from happening. I am in no way perfect myself... I once didn't close the food hatch on Alfie's cage properly and he spent most of the day flying around the house on his own with the dog until a family member came home and found him. The phonecall I received was thankfully to ask me to come home to put him back in his cage rather than to say the dog had injured him or that he had flown out the back door when it was opened to let the dog out. I was extremely lucky that day. I also was cleaning Alfie's cage out and took both of the bottom sections of his cage out when a cat was in the room. I turned back to see the cat wandering round the bottom of Alfie's cage with Alfie climbing around the top looking worried! Again... I was very lucky! --- I have two indoor cats plus Alfie at home, so I am always super paranoid about potential escape routes. When I moved house I invested in "flat cat" mesh (http://www.flat-cats.co.uk/) for several of the windows throughout the house and also the patio doors. This sticks to the window/door frame with velcro and allows me to open doors and windows then stick the mesh back into place- keeping the animals in and all the pesky bugs out. This allows me to let fresh air into the house and Alfie can also enjoy sitting in front of the doors getting a nice breeze (and some sunshine) without being able to escape. For those of you who are handy with a sewing machine you could probably make your own but I opted to have them made to fit my doors and windows as I didn't trust my own sewing skills! I believe people also rely on their birds sitting on their shoulder or a perch happily and will take them outside in the garden in hot weather thinking they will just sit there and behave. It's only going to take one little thing to spook a bird off a shoulder and into a panicked flight. Even if a bird has had a wing clip, if they get enough of a breeze underneath their wings they will take off and can get stuck in a tree or fly quite a distance. I think it's safer to always take your bird out in a cage/travel cage or on a reliable harness (if they accept a harness). Open doors and windows are a hazard at all times. Again, if your bird is spooked or just being curious it's only going to take them a matter of seconds to find themselves outside whilst your back is turned or whilst you are holding a door open. I've seen other suggestions previously where people use chain/beaded curtains over their doors. This is enough of a barrier to prevent their bird from getting outside (and also helps keep the bugs out too) Anyone else have any other helpful suggestions about how to keep birds safe and trying to prevent possible escapees?

So I just got my grey Ruby Friday she has accepted me very well she does nibble and sometimes bite a little harder but I try not to react and I spend all my free time with her (several hours) daily she steps up to anybody but she tends to bite more aggressively toward my wife even to the point she will “chase” her all around the house and whenever she tries to pick her up she gets a good bite and she is now scared of the bird and I want them to get along. She has started wearing gloves could that contribute to the bites she’s getting? I just want to try to shut this down before it gets too bad Ruby has began speaking to us repeating our words and singing us songs but only here and there. side note: what does the coooing sound she makes a lot mean?

Welcome and thank you! Gloves are definitely a no-no and there's a chance they will never accept them. Greys tend to pick out a human mate who can do no wrong and will tolerate others to some degree. Joe used to pick me when we first brought him home but he has switched to my wife Maggie who he will let do anything for him. I am now lucky if he lets me pet him. Greys are notoriously one person birds who tolerate others by basically ignoring them LOL.... Thinking back to ancient Greece, having a Grey now would be like having Plato as a roommate...A cooing sound is a sign of contentment and affection. Some Greys never shut up while others use words occasionally...Unfortunately, you cannot pick and choose...A funny fact: as Greys get older and they train you better, they learn how to abbreviate....Our Joe uses the phrase, "I want a good nut" to refer to anything he really likes, leaving us to guess, although Maggie has gotten pretty good at interpreting from the time of day, which treat he wants the most...LOL.... Suggestion about your wife, when Ruby is in her cage, have your wife sit near the cage, up to a couple of feet away when it is quiet, and have her read out loud to Ruby. It may take time but you must remember, Ruby can sense your wife's emotions and reacts accordingly. Your relationship is forever...

Thank you everyone. My son's friend who is neighbors with this guy was working late today, so they'll try to speak with him within the next few days. We have an extra cage here, so that's good. My son will be taking him into his room for quarantine precautions if we're able to get him to relinquish him.

Yes, I've tried raw and cooked cauliflower, broccoli, etc. etc. He will occasionally eat raw broccoli so I throw a piece on his skewer a couple times a week. The only thing he will ALWAYS eat is junk food. Pizza, bacon, sausage, cake, you get the drift. Of course he rarely gets to indulge in that. Basically, he's a spoiled toddler

Great diet, have you tried Cook cauliflower?

Timber is extremely picky. You may remember my experiments and failures with every pellet made. After Timber's seizure issues and his weight loss, what is in his bowl is pretty much whatever he will eat. Daily, he gets nutriberries, quality seed mix, a piece of avicake. In his "people" food bowl, he has mashed sweet potato, peas, pinto beans, hamburger, mac and cheese, and cooked Higgins rice mix. He has sweet peas on a skewer, and usually has corn on the cob or an artichoke to mess with. He eats dinner with us, whatever he can (or will) eat safely. He usually has a small (maybe 1/16th slice) of toast with a little peanut butter at breakfast time. I'd love to improve his diet a bit, but he won't eat birdy bread or any chop I've tried (or pellets or any other vegetables etc. etc. etc.). He gets a chicken wing bone every week (sometimes he will eat it, sometimes not) and a piece of boiled egg fairly often. He eats a bite of banana with dad occasionally, but really isn't a fruit eater. As a treat (like most of his diet isn't already a treat) I give him a cashew, an almond, and a couple of peanuts in the evening. Oh, I almost forgot the cheese... He gets a very small piece of sharp cheddar cheese a couple of times a week. I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting, but those are the staples!