neoow

Ooh lovely photos! Welcome to you and Ash!

He wants to be where you are. So you'll need to put some more attractive perches near you/your PC. Can you move the tree closer? Can you do some DIY and put some perches up above/near the monitor- maybe with a toy or two to tempt him?

It's always difficult going away. I spent 5 nights in London last week on a training course and had to leave Alfie at home with my housemate. It meant Alfie was cagebound for a week as my housemate wouldn't dare let him out (and I wouldn't really encourage him too either) but my housemate did make an effort to talk to him more than he usually does because he felt sorry for him. Alfie was mostly quiet during the week but did offer up the odd hello and beep noise. When I got home, however, Alfie was super excited to see me. I was allowed to give him LOTS of neck scratches and Alfie started dancing, trying to beat box (something we're working on), whistling and saying hello and 'good day' a lot. He's been contact calling me every time I leave the room too. Nice to feel loved! (The cats were more interested in my bags than me!)

Alfie has grown up with other pets, including a german shepherd dog, indoor/outdoor rescue cat, 2 gerbils and now 2 indoor only bengal cats. When I lived at my parents house we had a german shepherd who was as soft as anything. however, I didn't trust Alfie and Ben (the dog) in a room together. Ben always went outside or Alfie went upstairs. Alfie did get out of his cage once and spent the morning home alone with the dog in the house and nothing happened. If anything, Ben was a bit spooked about it (he hadn't seen Alfie fly around the room before then because they were always separated) and he got worried every time I went to open the cage door in case Alfie got out again. However, when Alfie was in the cage, they were fine together. Ben would stick his nose through the bars and Alfie would stick his beak up Ben's nose. He never bit Ben. If Alfie ever panicked in his cage or fell off a toy then Ben would rush over to check he was ok. I always kept them separated when Alfie was out of his cage though, just in case one of them irritated the other enough to earn a bite. My sister brought a moggie cat home who was VERY prey driven. So it was clear that Alfie couldn't be let out when the cat was in the house/room. Though actually, the cat (Busta) never paid much attention to Alfie. He obsessed over my two gerbils when I had them though... that was a whole other problem as the gerbils would chew their way of out their cage...! Fast forward to now and I have two VERY energetic bengal cats who live indoors. They are very curious about Alfie, though they know better than to stick anything in his cage. I know I couldn't ever trust them with Alfie when he was out of the cage. One of them, Widget, would pluck him out of the air. So they are kept separated when Alfie comes out of his cage. There are some members whose pets cohabit perfectly fine, even with the bird out of the cage. I just never wanted to run the risk of the dog having an unpredictable turn and going after Alfie... or, equally, Alfie getting in a grump and going after him or my sisters cat. Even after Alfie escaped into the house with the dog and they survived a morning together I still kept them separated when Alfie was out (Ben was happier that way). With the two cats I have now I know I can't trust them at all with Alfie out of the cat. There's no doubt about that one. Just like I wouldn't leave a child alone with an animal, I wouldn't leave Alfie alone with one either. As others have said, it fully depends on the personalities of all the animals concerned. It IS possible for the animals to all get along fine... just as it is possible for one of them to get grumpy and cause harm to the other. It's up to you how you manage it and it's up to you to judge the situation.

Wow. Just wow. I'm glad things are improving slowly with Echo. It is difficult to know what they are thinking about situations when they act out. Hopefully with time Echo will come round and your relationship will be just like it used to be. Have you spoken to your friend at all since this happened? Has she apologised? I think I would be having a very serious conversation with her- highlighting how she has broken your trust in her and that it will take a while for you to stop being angry about it. Hopefully she'll think twice before doing anything so stupid and reckless in the future. I have to hold my tongue when my housemate's sister in law comes round. She seems to think she is the queen of cats and will go marching up to our two cats thinking they will love and adore her. My cats are super friendly- but they have to come to you on their terms. I explain this every time but she won't listen and instead goes bowling over trying to pick them up and cuddle them. Both of them hate being picked up (one more so than the other)... especially by strangers or near-strangers. They REALLY hate being cuddled. So it's no surprise when they freak out and she gets an accidental scratch as they fight to get away from her. I really struggle to keep my cool when that happens. So I can only imagine how furious I would be if I was in your situation right now. Anyway, sorry... went on a bit of a tangent there...! Just keep doing what you're doing with Echo. It's difficult to know how long it will take. She might wake up tomorrow and decide that you've had enough punishment or she may drag it out for a while. Do keep us updated with it all. If nothing else, at least you can use this space to vent your feelings!

All fixed! Lovely looking toys! Alfie is jealous!

That's amazing! What a clever musical duo!

Alfie's pretty good. I can't remember a time when he's destroyed electronics. I tend to move them out of the way before he gets there. He has a java tree on my computer desk and he likes perching on the back of my computer chair so I don't have problems with him getting at my computer. If he does decide to slide down my arm to take a look, I let him so long as he doesn't bite anything. If he bites anything then he goes back on his tree or the back of the chair. It's worked well so far.

Alfie was pretty good about it. I left it nearby (but away from his cage) then progressed to hanging it outside his cage, then inside his cage. I showed him that there was water in it and ow much fun he could have with it. The main thing I don't like about it is that it is all plastic- so I don't leave it in his cage all the time because I know he'd take chunks out of it. The other thing that interests him is the nuts that hold it together- he likes playing with them and trying to unscrew them. So I have to make sure they are all tightened before I put it in his cage. He mostly ends up sitting on top of it instead of bathing in it! So not a complete success- but he has at least flicked some water around inside it. Maybe one day he will realise he can fit inside it and enjoy himself!

I got Alfie one of these because he always tried to bath in his water bowl... and doesn't fit. http://www.northernparrots.com/savic-splash-extra-large-parrot-bath-prod476055/ However, apart from a few splashes I've never seen him actually go fully into it.

Oh wow, that's good going! It looks awesome!

Wow, they are awesome photos! Someone was having fun!

It's so difficult to know what to do in this kind of situation- especially as it is very painful and difficult to try and ride it out. However, please don't beat yourself up about it. 'Mistakes' will be made and learned from. It is going to be much more difficult for you to know how to handle these situations because you don't know how much baggage Alex has brought along with him. Other members will probably have more experience and better ideas than me on how to deal with this sort of thing. I can't recall a time when Alfie has properly clamped on to me when biting so I don't really know how I would react to this (probably not very well- I have no idea how you could just sit there calmly and take the bite for so long!)

How funny! Are they always so bouncy?!

I just saw this video on facebook and had to share as it made me chuckle. Hopefully that's viewable to everyone!

If they are soft white floaty feathers (which stick to EVERYTHING) these are probably normal down feathers. You'll get used to seeing these floating around your house. Noodles will drop lots of these and it's not necessarily plucking. If you're finding grey feathers mixed in and you see him pulling his grey feathers out then he might be plucking or over preening. Others will be able to give you more advice about this as fortunately I haven't had this kind of problem with Alfie. However, a regular vet checkup isn't a bad idea... so you may wish to book him in for a routine checkup at some point anyway.

I've changed Alfie's cage three times now I think. He had his original cage which was in my bedroom at my parents house then he moved downstairs to a corner cage. When I moved house I got rid of the corner cage (too much vertical space and not enough horizontal space) and he went back to his original cage and was located in a hallway. Then when my housemates moved out I got him the biggest cage I could find and moved him into that. He also moved into the living room at that point. When I bought the house I live in now he moved with his big cage. Fortunately, Alfie is pretty good with change. He has moved house with me twice. I kept his original cage in case he ever needed to stay at my parents house whilst I was away but I'm going to throw it out because it's stuck in the garage and is starting to fall apart. I can't get his current cage out of the room without pulling it completely apart (it doesn't fit through doors) so if he does need to stay elsewhere then he'll go in a travel cage. When I go away on a couple of courses next month my lodger will look after him for me, so no worries there. Anyway, I digress.... Whenever I wanted to move Alfie I put him on the cage, then in it and let him get used to it. As I mentioned, I'm really lucky because he'll sit on a perch and observe everything closely, then he'll explore. He never really freaks out about changing cages/house/toys etc. He just likes to have time to sit and look at everything first. I'm finally at a place where I'm happy with his cage and because I now own my house I'm not moving any time soon either, so he shouldn't have to deal with any BIG changes like that for a while yet.

Wishing your son a very speedy recovery!

I am getting parrot broody from your updates/photos!

My personal preference for Alfie is NOT to trim. He has had two wing clips in his life (he's 12 years old now) and they only trimmed one wing lightly each time when he was very young. Once he'd got his balance back, he was flying just as well and just as far as he was before- so I didn't see a point in putting him through the stress of a clip again. I know I can keep him from harm (and from escaping) and he knows what a window is/where they all are so I see no need to clip his wings. Edited to add: As it's a baby bird, my personal thought would be to leave him/her be (no trim) to begin with. Let him/her settle in, find his/her wings and learn what they are for- then assess whether a clip may be needed later on?

I have to be careful when I pet Alfie. If he flies over to me, I set him down on my knee (he's a non-shoulder bird) and I wait for him to indicate if/when he would like fuss. Sometimes he's quite content just to sit with me, sometimes he wants to wander around and other times he will want fuss. If he wants fuss he will shuffle over, head down and brush up against my hand/arm. I then watch really carefully whilst scratching his head/neck. If he turns his beak towards my hand, I stop and move my hand away. If he wants more fuss, he will tell me. If I tried to carry on when he turns his head/beak towards me, then I'd likely get a bite to tell me enough is enough. Alfie seems to like short sharp bursts of fuss. I think others have given really good advice about the timing. Do not let it get to the point where he bites. Fuss him in intervals. (You could reward if you don't get bitten if you feel that will help.) But don't keep fussing him until he bites. Just stop, move your hand out of the way and see what he does. He may follow your hand and ask for more fuss or he may be content and go about other business.

Hi Kevin, Congratulations on taking in Noodles! First off.... 2 weeks is absolutely no time at all in a grey's world. So please don't think you are doing anything wrong because he isn't noisy or nips you. This is to be expected at this stage. Think of it from Noodles point of view- his whole world has changed. New home, new surroundings, new people, new routine. Greys are super observant and can be change adverse. At this stage he is still getting used to the changes that have happened and probably doesn't trust you yet- which is why you'll get a nip if you try and ask him to step up. Just take a few steps back. Talk to him, sit near his cage, feed him as you have been doing. Get him used to you, your family, your home and your routines. If you try and rush him, he will react negatively. He needs to have time and space to figure things out in his own time. And that length of time will vary. It could be days, weeks or months before he's ready to step up for you. Check out the thread about a parrot called Gilbert (or miss gilbert)- that'll give you a good indication of what we mean when we mention "grey time"! Also, check out some posts by a user called samansad (I think I got the name right!) - he recently took in a grey and has been busy posting questions and videos about his new grey, Alex and how they are adapting to life together. The sounds will come, given time. As will the trust and mutual understanding required for him to step up for you. Patience and respect is key- Noodles will let you know when he is ready... or not ready!

Count to ten and breathe!!

They are REALLY good at picking up on our emotions. I don't know how they do it but they are really good at reading us. Alfie knows when I'm upset and will do his best to cheer me up. They do seem to react to emotions, even when you don't think you are displaying them!

Welcome to the forums! We'd love to have some more information about your new family member. As well as photos if at all possible. (We love photos!) Have a look around at some of the different threads and do post questions as and when you need to. Everyone here is always happy to help!