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I saw and responded to a thread from a new member asking about parrot ownership and just thought it might be useful to have a thread on the best parts of parrot/grey ownership as well as some of the worst. A lot of videos and social media sites always seem to promote the best things about parrots and maybe sugar coat some of the 'bad' or undesirable parts of parrot ownership. So... what would be on your good, bad and ugly lists in relation to living with parrots? Good Greys make great companions. It's a very rewarding experience. I've been learning about training the last few years and getting a successful recall or when Alfie asks to play our little colour game is very rewarding. Bad The mess from dust, dropped food and shredded toys is never ending. You can't be too house proud with a parrot around 😂 Poop. Everywhere. Ugly The occasional 'unpredictable' bite which can really hurt your feelings! And of course, some parrots WILL draw blood. (I'm very thankful Alfie is not one of them) What would you add to these lists?

HRH Inara detests any kind of dish that sits around. She will tip it and dump it lickitysplit. Fixed her wagon with these: https://www.caitec.com/birds/bird-cages/accesories/exterior-feeders-3/ Not only does she like them, she loves to hear her own voice in the one that I have that holds her drinking water dish. She does radio free Inara broadcasts from her little sound chamber often of a late afternoon. I like them because they contain the eating mess, and if I need someone else to come feed and water her, the outer plastic chambers slide up and the dishes come out from the outside of the cage since many birds do not take kindly to people reaching in and out of their homes, HRH included! Really, I would not worry about putting a food dish in his cage since he eats plenty outside of his cage and is free to roam, as long as he has plenty of access to water. Do you close his cage door at night for him to sleep? If so, maybe some type of clamped on dish that you can stick a couple nutriberries or some type of non-spoiling food for overnights in case he gets hungry. HRH calls them her "night night cookies" as she gets one in her beak and one tossed into her external feeder when I put her to bed. You are not a meanie or a terrible hooman. She also detests it if I change *any* toys in her cage. She likes her exact ones, in their same exact places, and when they wear out, she wants the exact replacements. I get it. It is her house. I wouldn't want someone coming into my home and rearranging things all the time. So your buddy keeps trying to tell you to keep that @#*(# thing out of his home. LOL

He has full flight capabilities, He goes wherever he wants when he wants. He eats when and where he wants to. LOL I dont know why it bothers me. Maybe the wife has spoiled him to death LOL

My King's cage has doors for the 3 food bowls, and when the little doors are closed, the bowls are locked in place. So mine can't remove his bowl. And Snickers rarely tosses food out of his bowl, thankfully. Not to say he won't pick up a piece of food, take a small bite of it, and then drop the rest of the piece! Anyway, sorry you have this dilemma. [Now my Sami (b&g macaw) will stir her food with her foot, wait for eye contact and then toss the whole footful as far as she can! So wasteful, esp when you know it's food they like!]

I've seen birds of all ages up for adoption, younger birds as well as older birds. People rehome for many reasons - some people don't do their research and realise how much time birds need or how messy and noisy they can be. Some people start a family and can't cope with managing the pets as well as the new baby. Some people have a change of circumstances- they might have to move where they can't have pets, they lose their job and can't afford it etc etc. Maybe their jobs change and they are working so many hours they can't provide what the bird needs any more. Some people sadly pass away and their friends and relatives don't know the first thing about bird care and aren't interested to learn. Some people get ill and can no longer look after the birds. Personally, I would prefer someone rehomed an animal if they weren't able to provide the care it needed instead of holding on to it and making it's life a misery- like in Sydney's example above. I've been in the situation where I had to seriously think about rehoming Alfie. The idea crushed me but I wasn't giving him what he needed at the time. My work/life balance was non-existent (all work), I was trying to study in the free time I did have, I had some personal issues going on, I shared a house with people who had no interest in Alfie (and one was terrified of him) so it was difficult to manage his out of cage time. I decided to make a determined effort to make the changes needed to make it work for Alfie. And if I couldn't do it, then I would have rehomed him in the hopes that someone else could. It took me a while to turn it around but we're in a really good place now and I wouldn't be without him. I'm fortunate enough that I was able to make the changes needed at the time. Otherwise Alfie would have been yet another bird in a rescue centre and there was no guarantee that he would have found his forever home. Apologies for the essay and for derailing the conversation somewhat. 😕

After he throws it out, does he climb down and eat it later? Sometimes Alfie will throw stuff out of his bowl only to go retrieve it later. You can get some bowls which click into place and the bird can't pick it up and tip it out... doesn't stop them scooping it out, however. Does he like foraging toys? You could put the food into a foraging toy instead of a bowl. Might slow him down a bit! 😂 Like you say, he's not starving himself. He gets plenty of food elsewhere. It's obviously just a little quirk of his.

Totally agree. I'd add expensive and time consuming to feed properly. I don't think some understand how much it costs to take care of a parrot correctly. I know I didn't! Also, Avian vets are not readily available in a lot of areas, and are expensive as well. Anyone considering adopting a grey should understand that it takes substantial resources and time for food prep. I can't think of anything to add on the "good" but that's mainly because I struggle to express it. I've never been as attached to a "pet" as I am to Timber, and I've had many that I've loved. There is something different about a relationship with a grey and words fail me. Under the "ugly," you've listed the worst one, and the hurt feelings are a real thing. If you have a lot of "traffic" meaning people who don't live in the home passing through, you have to be very careful. I've had to grab someone's hand before they stuck it in strike range several times, people often don't understand that greys aren't going to just "let them pet them" like a cat or dog might. Also under ugly, there are cases where your bird may take an active and sometimes belligerent dislike to a household member. I'm probably overthinking this, but just my thoughts!

ahh, you laugh now, but when they're done and nothing is built correctly, they're going to blame it on Alfie and his mis-measurements 🤣

I'm in the middle of some house renovations in the house (having the kitchen replaced and some other bits of work in the living room/dining room). So I've had lots of contractors coming round and measuring up. Alfie likes when they use the laser pointers to measure, as they make a little beep noise that he can mimic. He managed to confuse one contractor a couple of times because Alfie was making the beep noise before he'd pressed the button to get the measurement. 😂

Alfie does exactly the same- he'll throw or push something off his shelves and make the 'oop!' noise that I make when I drop something. 😂

Another Dorian-ism. He loves strutting around my kitchen counters throwing stuff over the edge. He usually says "oops" as the item hits the floor.

As I read this post I can see Corky in every comment. As of right know I can hear her in the other room going through her repertoire of songs words and whistles. It`s hard to believe that that she has been with me for 21 years.

Lets just say for the sake of argument, that everytime you put a food bowl inside the cage, filled with everyting, IE peanuts, sunflower seeds, fruit, high dollar parrot feed. Your loved one never eats it ........ever..... He just throws it on the ground and when he gets to the bottom, throws the bowl out the door. NOW, Logic dictates he probably doent want/like it in the cage. Or so one would think. But a kind hearted human soul in the house says it would be animal abuse IF you don't put said bowl in the cage. THUS my quandry. He likes to eat outside of the cage. BUT im a bad person for removing the bowl before he throws it out the door. Keep in mind, I feed him ALL day OUTSIDE the cage, and he eats all day on the perch. It's not like im starving him. He just doesnt like it inside the cage. Any thoughts? Suggestions ? Am I a bad person ? It just seems logical to do what he wants. Since COVID hit ive been working out of the house. Thats close to two years. In case you havent guessed Im a network engineer or thats what there calling me these days. The Kind hearted human works off site...... ok you guessed the WIFE LOL I dont think Im a bad person, I think, Im just doing what he wants. There are a bunch of toys in the cage he plays with the door open, AFTER he tosses the bowl. If it were me, I wouldnt appreciate food in the bed...... I dunno. Maybe im too methodical in my thinking.