neoow

There is no such thing as too big when it comes to a bird cage 😂 The bigger the better! Looks good- and it looks like you already have all the approval you need already! Now comes the fun part.... toy arrangement!!

I'm afraid we are not trained vets so will not be able to offer much advice about what's going on here. If it were my bird in that situation then I would visit an avian vet for a checkup. Changes in behaviour like that could potentially indicate a problem.

Welcome to the forums! I love baby grey photos! Look at that cute little ball of fluff! Do feel free to ask any questions- we have lots of members who will be happy to help and advise!

Welcome Alex and Riko! There is a wealth of information already available in these forums, so please do take a look around. If you do have any questions then go ahead and ask, there are a lot of people here who will be able to help and advise.

And I thought I had my hands full with three animals. I don't know how you all cope!! 😂

I brought Alfie home when I was 17 years old and still in school. Of course, as a teenager, I knew everything.... or so I thought.... I wasn't in a situation where I couldn't leave Alfie with family because they did not bond with him. They tried at first but they were wary of him and couldn't quite understand the differences between the family dog and cat to Alfie. (I mean absolutely no disrespect to my family here by the way- just telling it how it was). I was the single caregiver for Alfie. He started life living in my bedroom until I was able to move him downstairs in the lounge/dining room, safe in the knowledge that neither the cat or dog would bother him. My family would try and socialise with him often enough, but were too scared to handle him and would try and avoid him when he was out of the cage where possible. To this day, whilst my parents will look after him if I'm in a bind, he would always be in the cage and they wouldn't dare let him out if I wasn't there. Life moved on, as it tends to do and I moved out into a rented house with two friends- neither of who wanted much to do with Alfie. The only place he could live was in the main hallway, so he saw a lot of foot traffic but not enough regular attention. He wasn't in the main room in the house. Again, things changed and my two housemates moved out, allowing me to move Alfie into the living room of the house. But I was studying as well as working full time and gaining more responsibilities at work, which meant longer hours. I didn't give him the attention he deserved or needed and I will be the first person to hold my hands up and say that I was failing him as an owner. In fact, when I first joined these forums, I had gone through the agonising process of trying to decide whether I should rehome Alfie. I had actually contacted a possible rescue organisation but (thankfully) they never returned my message. Since then I decided that it was MY failings, not Alfie's and it would be unfair to turn his world upside down because of my mistakes. So I started making small changes here and there with a view of improving Alfie's lifestyle. A bigger cage, moving furniture around so I was in the same room as him more often. Making more time for him and working on fixing our relationship. When I was looking to buy a house I went in to each one with a view of where Alfie would fit in and making sure he would be the centre of attention in the house (which he now is). When I moved into my house I put Alfie in the centre of the lounge/diner and I put my desk next to his cage (I don't own a dining table to allow for this). This means that even if I'm working or drawing or playing games etc, I am with Alfie and he can come out and play or watch what I'm doing and get all of the attention he wants and needs. The difference between my situation and yours is that it sounds like you have a family who will happily look after your flock if things do get a bit hectic. That option alone makes a big difference. So if you do decide to add a grey to your flock, I would strongly recommend making sure your family are on board and are involved with the bird as much as possible.

Personally I think if you have the space, budget and time for a second bird then go for it. you know your bird better than anyone else so you'll be the best judge as to whether the two birds will happily coexist. However, don't forget to have a backup plan... what will happen if the two birds DON'T get along together? What if they can't be out of the cage at the same time? Can you give them both the individual care and attention they may need? Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

I hope all goes according to plan with the resuce! Hopefully the owner will be able to understand the situation and let the bird go to a better home.

My housemate very kindly looked after Alfie whilst I was away for the week. Although he wouldn't let Alfie out of the cage (which I totally understand as he's still a little wary of Alfie and would probably have difficultly getting him back in the cage) I was safe in the knowledge that Alfie was being looked after in a familiar environment by a familiar person instead of having to find him somewhere to reside for a week whilst I was away. Made it a lot easier for everyone!

Lovely photos and such beautiful birds! Thank you for digging the photos out. I love the close up baby photo. Looks like a bird with attitude... and a mohawk!

Ah yeah- I could see that taking some time! Happy to have very brief introductions though!! 😂 Bengals are amazing cats. I've never really been a cat person until we got these two. Their personalities remind me of dogs more than cats. They are crazy, energetic, curious and strong willed. But they are also incredibly loyal and affectionate (in their own way). neither of mine are "lap cats" but they have their own way of showing and receiving affection. Widget will wait for me to come home from work and come trotting down the stairs to say hello and get a bit of fuss. I was away this week on holiday and according to my housemate he would wait on the stairs watching the front door waiting for me to come home. Their fur is incredible as well. It feels so soft and silky smooth. They do keep us on our toes though. They are smart, like you say and will often finds new ways to get into mischief!

He was- I was trying to convince him to go in his travel cage so he could see the new aviary for the first time. He wasn't having any of it!! 😂 I had a lovely break away but I was glad to get home this evening. Alfie enjoyed lots of head scratches!

What an adorable photo. Thank you for the information as well. I'd love to be able to see/witness some baby parrots growing up. I've only ever seen photos and videos.

I've been away on holiday for a week and travel home tomorrow. Thought I'd post some photos of Alfie as I'm looking forward to seeing him when I get home.

Seeing as I started this I'd better participate! Pet name: Alfie Species/breed: African Grey Age: 15 years old How long have you been owned by this pet? Since he was 11 weeks old. He came home in 2003 Character/traits of your pet: prefers noises over words... The louder the better! He knows the perfect time to mimic a laugh. He has a secret bromance going on with my housemate. He likes head scratches but only when he wants them. Pets favourite thing/activity: dried banana chips are a favourite treat. He likes to shred cardboard and toys. He likes climbing. Pet name: Widget Species/breed: Bengal cat Age: 7 years old How long have you been owned by this pet? He came home with his sister Pixel at 13 weeks old in 2011 Character/traits of your pet: energetic and playful. Extremely vocal with a very unique meow. Makes demands for food, play, fuss and bed time (he yells at me to go to bed so he gets his bed time fuss). Not overly food motivated but will devour tuna. Refuses to wear a collar or anything similar. Indoor cat. Very loyal. Agile. Can catch a fly in flight. Pets favourite thing/activity: chasing and playing with his sister, Pixel. Bed time fuss. Early morning fuss. Tuna Pet name: Pixel Species/breed: Bengal cat Age: 7 years old How long have you been owned by this pet? Came home with her brother Widget at 13 weeks old back in 2011 Character/traits of your pet: energetic and playful. Vocal but not as loud or demanding as her brother. Very affectionate. Will come trotting across the room for a bit of fuss. Clumsy. Very solid build and makes a lot of noise when she lands. Pets favourite thing/activity: she has a green/yellow sheath from an earth cable which she stole from my dad's tool kit when she was a kitten. This is her favourite toy and she carries it around and plays fetch with it. Seems to favour green or yellow toys the most. Likes going outside in the aviary or wearing a harness Included some photos. Widget is on the left and pixel is on the right... They wanted to go outside to the aviary so were standing up at the back door yelling at me!

Just because it's been a little quiet around here lately I thought I'd start a thread for everyone to share a little bit about their birds and other pets. Feel free to include photos Maybe start with something along the lines of: Pet name: Species/breed: Age: How long have you been owned by this pet? Character/traits of your pet: Pets favourite thing/activity: ---- Add any other interesting information about your pets!

Haha poor Salsa. Not surprised she threw a fit. Naptime is serious business! 😂

amazing photos and so many beautiful birds. Thank you for sharing!

Really good advice for anyone considering bringing a bird home.

Anything new in a grey's world is out to kill them (in their minds, anyway). You may notice that they are incredibly observant. Sometimes they will sit and observe for a while before being brave enough to edge towards the new thing and give it a prod. Sometimes they may need to observe 'the thing' for a few days before they finally realise it's not actually going to kill them. In regards to the hair... Is she attacking your hair (e.g lunging at it and acting aggressively) or is she just having a gentle poke at you to see what that fluffy stuff on top of your head is? Alfie likes to play with my hair on occasion. They will 'beak' things when checking them out. I'm just curious if it's aggressive or curious behaviour. Sounds like it's aggressive from your post though.

Alfie doesn't swear. I'm amazed he hasn't picked up the odd word or two as people do swear in front of him (myself included, though I try not to). I'm not really keen on him learning to swear as I know he'll most likely use it at the most undesirable times. Then again, Alfie isn't really a big talker. He prefers noises and sounds over words.

Yes he was doing a lot of exploring yesterday and so lots of climbing. I got him in and he went straight back into his cage, had a bit of a preen and then it was feet (or rather, foot!) up and rest for the remainder of the evening! 😂

Alfie got to go out to the aviary again today. It was his second outing. There was a lot less faffing around today - he went into his travel cage quickly and spent most of the day outside. I set things up the same as I did last time so everything was roughly in the same place. He was happy to explore within minutes of getting out of the travel cage and was moving around a lot more this time.

@ILeo / @KevinD might be able to help with this. An alternate option would be to upload to youtube and then post the link here.

Too right. Alfie does a real good evil eye!