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A lot of what you've said resonates loudly for me. We've committed to providing our fids with the best 'captured life' that we could possibly provide them. At least that's the way I've always looked at it. They give to us so much, and it is our responsibility to provide them with the best living environment we can possibly provide to them. If only more bird owners embraced their care the way that you have. I, too, agonize over the amount of 'in cage' time they must endure. With that being said, I'm also in the process of building an outdoor aviary that I hope will enhance their worlds. Nicely done, SR Seed Burners! Nicely done.

Me and the brats finished net #1. Only 5 more to go haahaahaa!!!

So thrilled to be back! I missed everyone! I have added to our flock since the last time I'd posted. I'm also now owned by a fantastic Scarlet named Dexter, bringing our flock to 11! He was an owner turn in at the ripe young age of 18 months. He's an absolute love bug with an incredible ability to pick up language. Maalik continues to steal our hearts with his antics, mimicry and his love. Looking forward to being back. Thank you, Talon, for the re-add! :-)

Welcome back!!!! Now for some pics! Way back when I had three birds and that was it for us. Now at 6 birds I say, what the hell, they've taken over!

I almost made it....zzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZZzzzzzzz!!!!

Happy NewYear!

Looks so good!

Does anyone watch Animal Cribs on Animal Planet? I am hooked. Did you see the episode of the Parrots rescue? That’s my dream set up...it’s a great show, if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. ?

Happy New Year my bro's and sisters, Bless you and yours.. Rev Jayd John Denver "It's About Time There's a full moon over India and Gandhi lives again. Who's to say you have to lose for someone else to win? In the eyes of all the people, the look is much the same, for the first is just the last one when you play a deadly game. It's about time we realize it, we're all in this together. It's about time we find out, it's all of us or none. It's about time we recognize it, these changes in the weather. It's about time, it's about changes, and it's about time. There's a light in the Vatican window for all the world to see and a voice cries in the wilderness and sometimes he speaks for me. I suppose I love him most of all when he kneels to kiss the land, with his lips upon our mother's breast, he makes his strongest stand. It's about time we start to see it, the earth is our only home. It's about time we start to face it, we can't make it here all alone. It's about time we start to listen to the voices in the wind, it's about time and it's about changes and it's about time. There's a man who is my brother, I just don't know his name. But I know his home and family because I know we feel the same. And it hurts me when he's hungry and when his children cry. I too am a father, and that little one is mine. It's about time we begin it, to turn the world around. It's about time we start to make it, the dream we've always known. It's about time we start to live it, the family of man. It's about time, it's about changes and it's about time. It's about peace and it's about plenty and it's about time, It's about you and me together and it's about time.

You have done a really nice job on this Steve and your fids will thank you each and every day they get to enjoy it.

Your right...Rev Jayd

Saw something on FB about it. Might have to investigate further!

Thank you. Howardine

I am so sorry for your loss. The two of them will be waiting for you at the Rainbow Bridge.

Here you go @Ray P: two quick and dirtys. I'm in the middle of making some cotton climbing nets so don't have time to edit or anything... * Sorry about the size of the video. I haven't figured out what tags this new forum supports yet so I'm stuck with direct embed of the link and it does whatever the heck it wants with it. *

Sorry, the last few weeks Jay has been under the weather and we missed a lot on the Grey Forum. A few days ago, I woke up and Buddy was gone. We do not know if it was because he had lost his BFF, Pistachio, but we think that may have been part of it. It was funny, but I had checked on him the night before and he was good...I had a dream early the next morning about Buddy being in an open cage in the middle of a field and he had been so calm when I changed his dishes that he had surprised me. When I jumped awake, I realized there was no sound from him and he had always been better than an alarm clock. I think he was telling us he was now at peace...

Wait! You have another grey now? When did that happen? What's his/her story?

The forum is sure looking great and working well. I just wanted to say thank you to KevinD and any who may have helped. What an improvement!

I am so sorry for your loss.

Happy New Year!

In the parrot species there are No " Alpha males" ...Please take heed to the advice the others have given, Many of them also raise dogs. I just lost a bird from some one pulling feathers, please read my Forums post, Pet Memorials Pistachio Fly's "Over the rainbow" [No more pain.]

Greetings, All great advice. STEP-up, step-up, you might want to place as number one. If your baby flys, you might want to set-up poop stations. Make it fun, set-up feeding stations and feeding times and don't forget, NO and YES, train them the difference! Even if their wings are clipped, you must teach them how to land. When he starts flapping or trying to fly, hold him at chest level spread pads/pillows 10 to 15 feet in front of you. When you're all done, leave the room and yell, pull out hair or scream. Remember, you're learning too, Patience... # Like Ray said "SOCIALIZE"

Good luck to your friend! Try reaching out to Dee, she knows every rescue there is.

No, I don't have cable or satellite, but it sounds interesting.

I am very sorry. It must have been his choice to join his bff. They leave such an empty place, however, even if they do wait for us.

There is PEAC near Cleveland. Parrot Education and Adoption Center. They have a facebook page if you want to check them out. They have been around longer than I have had Peanut. The fb page says they are in Cal. but when I google them, they still show up in Cleveland. I have no idea what is going on.

AMEN!!!

Loved the videos! It was definitely worth the time and expense, they seem to really like it!

Thanks Howardine (I hope I remembered that right!). Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your Precious too! We are currently in the build process of the first of several cotton climbing nets to adorn the facilities. Now that my back porch is part of the aviary, I have help - lots and lots of help As with anything I do, the design takes agonizingly long compared to the actual build. In case anyone wants to know, a climbing rope box knot sucks up 5 inches out of every 12 on 1/2" rope Net looks kind of small in the pic but when done it should be 5'x5' with some overage on the ends. You know how danged expensive good climbing ropes are online and they're so small! Foster's & Smith current price on a 30"x30" is $45. I'd need three of those to cover the area of this one net I'm building. Plus their holes are too small for Greys.

OH! OH! OH! How special is this!!! Merry Christmas to you and you fids.

IMHO I would say start with SOCIALIZING so your family and friends can enjoy your grey with you.

Construction is finished and the paint is dry!!! Looks better with all the tools and stuff gone! We're not sure about the paint color though. I'm thinking of two-toning the wall the darker grey in a strip near the bottom. I still need to wire some lights and cameras into the soffits. We're totally in love with it. The birds - well Rio hates it. GreycieMae and Toby are exploring. Rio thinks his place is in the kitchen and it drives him bonkers that he can hear momma in the kitchen and he's not in the middle of it. Now I need to outfit it with safety screens and hang some toys/perches/ropes plant some safe plants, grow some rye grass... The double sliding glass door and walling in the existing porch was the smartest thing we did. Those weren't originally in the plans. We love it. GreycieMae's sunroom/aviary is now open for business!

You cannot punish a grey to get good behavior, it just doesn't work that way. You need to gain their trust to be able to handle them and yes sometimes they will bite, especially the young ones as they are exploring their environment. The more you work with your bird and learn the body language you will find out what they like and dislike and that will serve you well in avoiding getting bitten.

Birds are not dogs. They are not domesticated animals like dogs and cats. They will behave and respond differently to domesticated animals. I personally do not advocate hurting a bird to 'teach it a lesson' when it bites. Some biting is caused by a fear response- if the bird does not see a way out of a situation they will sometimes resort to biting to try and make the perceived threat go away. Barbara Heidenreich is an animal trainer who has a lot of resources on parrot behaviour and training. It may be worth looking up some of her articles and books. She sometimes hosts webinars that you can pay to participate (or pay a smaller fee to watch back a previously recorded webinar). I'd strongly recommend doing some research on positive reinforcement and parrot behaviour before trying anything or letting others try anything. Invoking a fear response by hurting a bird or trying to dominate a bird by trying to be the 'top dog' isn't going to get you very far and you'll probably end up being bitten more often as a result. On the days where your bird is trying to be independent and do his own thing then your best bet is to sit back a little bit and let him explore at his own pace. Don't attempt to force him to do things he clearly doesn't want to do. If I try and scratch Alfie's head and he's not interested then I know I am asking to be bitten if I keep trying to scratch his head. Body language is key with African Greys- you have to watch carefully at the subtle messages they are trying to convey. The bite is often the last resort... basically a "I've been trying to tell you to back off... now BACK OFF" response.

Dogs don't even react well to punishment. Dogs training works a lot better with rewards and most importantly praise. That's what dogs are all about.

Not a good idea you will loose trust and that is important, birds do not react well to punishment they are not dogs. Physical punishment like that may not only damage your relationship with your bird but can cause a start to feather plucking please do not allow that to continue. Your bird is still a baby trying to learn about his environment his beak is like your hand in may ways it is a sensitive tactile organ to feel surfaces, discriminate items and share touch. His behavior is a normal part of his development, just tell him no if he is too rough when beaking people and put him down or back into his cage. You can also try giving him a toy to play with rather than a correction move, perhaps something soft like aq sock to play tug of war with. maybe something he can manipulate like foot toys or a paper roll. Like a toddler keep that bird and that beak busy to avoid the problem behavior rather than a correction. Hope that helps I know we have some further helpful suggestions to come.

Walls and roof are fully enclosed on the 'littles' room as I call it. It's trimmed out on the inside but still needs some finishing on the outside. Also waiting for the tiling tie-in and then it can be painted and the door put on. Inside: Outside: And the Greybie GreycieMae's room. Did I mention that working with insulation is an itchy job?