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If Jay is quiet too long, Joe will call out "Papa, are you okay?" and then fly over to Jay's shoulder and stay there until he wakes up, kissing his cheek and cooing softly until Jay wakes up.....(SWEET!)

Well, the Brutus kind of has a point: I was moping around and depressed until I got my Grey. Hard to be depressed when you have a Grey!

Hello! We've had a couple more visits with Bella. She seems to be gaining more trust in me specifically. I got kissed quite a few times lol. One thing we'll have to work is hand/arm training. She is a shoulder bird for sure...which isn't a big problem for me but when the niece and nephew are over I'd like for her to stay on their hand or arm. I wouldn't want the initial "freak out" from either of them.

Lovely bird, do look into bird proofing your home. No nonstick cookware, not pots of hot liquid without lids, no candle burning and don't spray household products in her area. Move slowly talk to her often, sing and enjoy the new world she will slowly open the door to for you.

We all need a little show of empathy from time to time (:> better than the alternative bite on the cheek to wake us up.

Yes please-pics!!

Scary and they can hurt themselves falling so do get her to the Vet for some simple bloodwork, you are right to ask questions. Good job!

Harry my Umbie Too who now lives elsewhere enjoyed a spoon as well. After eating it could be used on the cage bars to make "music".

I figured out what is happening. Tyler, the 15-year-old has been moping around and acting depressed. The other day he was crying and feeling sorry for himself when we were talking to him and Brutus flew over to him and reached out his foot and touched his arm. Brutus hates to see people upset or sick. Twice when Dave was sick Brutus stayed with him until he got better by standing on his body as he lay in bed. It was so touching. He just wants Tyler to feel better and he cannot understand why he is so down-in-the-dumps. Tyler is seeing a therapist, but he is a teenager... His father and I will do anything for him but he cannot see it right now. Brutus flies at Tyler in an attempt to correct his mental state. Clear as day for me now. I love Brutus so much!

Thanks chezron.......Fantastic...

Looks good..In our Joe's case, we can't bring out the floor fan..lol

Hi, thank you, don't alienate them, At ten, Brutus is near do for a "Change in life". As a Gray ages, they for lack of a better word, Contemplate their life more, they become wiser, son gray this is the breading age. Just as you saw a change at 1 year and 2 years old they go through this stage and finely the last stage when they just kick back and are quiet and self absorbent...You have always been a good Parront...

Hello everyone! I've browsed these forums long enough...so I joined! My wife and I will be adopting a 6 year old female CAF. Her name is Bella, she is coming to us with everything from her previous owner..cage, travel cage, toys, her diet, UV light, ect. The only thing I'll need or build is a mobile perch for her. We have no kids but do have 3 dogs, a very fat cat, 13ft Burmese python(own room in the basement) and a tegu. We have bird experience but never with a grey. We plan on letting Bella have a spare room upstairs to her self. Now a couple questions... When we first bring her home, should her cage go in her room? Or a family room so she can socialize? I know she's going to be in shock a bit from the move. How long should we give her before simply opening her cage and letting her explore? After she gets settled in, I'd like to keep her cage open 24/7. Again she'll have her own room and it will be shut at all times when she is in there. Good idea? Bad idea? I know I'll have to plug the wall sockets but I have a solution for that already. I know I'll have more questions but I should get back to work now lol. Hope to hear from some of you!

I hope you can help me. My boyfriend and his 15-year-old have lived with me for the last five months. Brutus likes my boyfriend, but lately, he has started to fly at his son. If Tyler is doing dishes and has his back turned Brutus tries to fly at him. One time it looked like Brutus' mouth was open like he wanted to bite him. If Brutus sees Tyler outside he acts frantic with his wings quivering and tries to fly at the window. Does he dislike him or does he like him? It seems aggressive to me. This is a very bad state of affairs and we have no idea what to do. We absolutely do not know what to do. Please give us some advice.

Pictures please!!

How are things going? Please let us know...

Welcome and please go to a vet as Judy suggested, I agree with Judy...A lack of D3 and calcium are of major concern..Get your baby some sunshine and hard boil a egg, cut in half and feed it, egg shell and all. I personally wouldn't give any supplement without a vets okay..

Welcome, Looking forward to pictures and story's...

Yes, she has done it for years and often prefers it to a plate! Thank you Talon for the wonderful picture. Try it with your Zons...When I give her a plastic spoon, she recycles it by chewing it up after she is done...hahahahaa....

I will when I get it. I know it's one with plexiglass and bars. From what I remember, it's definitely tall enough and has a perch in it.

Hello Rowland and welcome to our family. You have been given great advice and I commend you for researching before bringing a grey into your life and thank you for giving her a new forever home. I won't add much more but am glad to hear you will leave her flighted, she is beautiful and I know you can't wait to bring her home.

Thanks! Her cage is definitely going in the family room first.

Maggie, I know a little of what you are experiencing, watching Jay struggle for each breath. Jay, use you strength for breathing.. Love and prayers. Howardine

I couldn’t agree more, they hate being isolated from the family, that could cause plucking, so be careful with that. Better to keep her in her cage in the family room to start so she gets used to the family and sounds of the home.

How beautiful ..Brought tears to our eyes...love you..

You know Jayd you are needed around here. All you knowledge has helped oodles of new members and us established members as well. So you get better you hear!!!

,Thank you, I read your post to Jay

We are bringing her home in May with visits in between. I take 2 weeks off every May to open our pool and get the yard summer ready. I figure that would be perfect for her to come home to lots of attention and socialization. Her current owners are friends of ours and are just a few miles away...luckily.

If she's been clipped a long time she might be like my Dorian. I let his wings grow out but he doesn't know what they're for. He's dependent on mom taxi to take him everywhere, unless he gets startled off his perch and he goes flying. I hope they let your girl fledge before they clipped. She is a beautiful grey. How long until you bing her home for good?

What a pretty girl!

Pretty girl! I agree with what Jayd said. Greys shouldn't be isolated away from their flock. They love to watch, observe, and eventually learn from you! So, if you can keep her primarily wherever you are, that will be ideal. Take things very slow with her. They definitely take awhile to warm up to their new humans.

Her wings are clipped. Her current owner says it's been about 6 months since she has had it done. I don't plan on clipping her wings in the future either. Here are a couple pictures of Bella. We have another visit with her on Friday, can't wait!

Is she flighted?

Thank you my friend.. Keep posting...

Thanks. About the other pets, well the dogs and cat...I don't plan on introducing them right off. Luckily they are all "older" and have been with us since they were weaned. Agree with you 100% about washing hands after handling the snake and lizard. It's been a practice in our house for 12 years of owning reptiles, specifically large breed pythons.

That sound great! Try it and keep us informed....

Thanks so much! Our plan is to have a few stands placed in the family room, dining room, bedroom, bathroom and sun room to have her out with us as much as possible. I kind of want her room to be mainly for security and sleep. Is this good or bad?

We chickened out. He was freaking out because he couldn't come in, so he flew in and totally behaved himself. I am such a softie.

Greetings and welcome to the Grey Lounge... ....including her baggage which at this point you really don't know how much baggage she has. Re-homing for a Grey is extremely life-changing. You almost have to start from anew. I praise you for your efforts. A Grey is usually the head of the group or flock. They don't have an alpha male but they do have a leader of each group and each group consists of one or more families. With your large group, this could pose an identity problem so I don't like to see a Grey in a room by themselves. This could potentially cause social and psychological problems so I would recommend if you are going to put Bella in a room by herself, you might consider getting her a female partner. A possible problem that you need to consider is that each of your pets can be deadly to a Grey but with your experience, I don't see any problems. When you bring her home, start treating her the same as you would later on...just don't push her, just be a little slower and more forgiving. If she has her own room, leave the cage door open 24/7...no problem. Of all the parrots, our beloved Greys have the most psychological and social problems. Some Greys are extremely social and others can be antisocial. If she is in her own room, I would suggest a radio or TV. Under the right conditions, they can intermingle with other pets. You have to remember, after touching or holding the Tegu and python, you need to wash and change clothing etc. before handling your Grey to prevent cross-contamination. Thanks and welcome...Jayd

Interesting take on this situation Jayd. Brutus is 10 years-old. We will try the physical barrier, and dinner will be calmer for all of us. It seems like that is the worst time for him to act up.

This isn't unusual, it's possible he feels Tyler is from another flock and intruding. How old is Brutus? It could be just a "Grays change of life" grays flock in large comunitys but small family groups..His Group might have reached it;s limit...If this is whats happening, the best thing to do is ignore it.... Grey's family lives are a lot different than other parrots. A normal parrot weans and kicks out their chicks of the nest and starts over. A Grey family will have a couple chicks and train them to be part of the original community. They will stay together until they find a mate. At that time, the newly mated Greys will leave home and become part of the same community. An ideal captive home family unit would be to have the parents and their mated offspring in your living room. Most parrots are invaders and leave their family units for areas unknown and start a new family with their new flock. A Grey has more human characteristics than most may realize.

It is so weird, just this morning Tyler was rubbing Brutus' beak with no problem (I wasn't there). This aggressive behavior seems to happen at night. What is different is we are all sitting together. Brutus may be thinking Tyler is competition or something. My boyfriend, Dave, he loves though! Dave and I are always hugging and smooching and Brutus has no problem with it. So this makes no sense. For peace's sake, we are installing a temporary tension rod and curtain panels between the kitchen/office (where they are) and the living room (where we eat dinner). Problem is Brutus will probably just hop down on the floor and stroll in. Oh well, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Maybe tension rods on the floor and the ceiling with curtain panel threaded in both. My boyfriend's son, Tyler, is 6 feet one inch tall, and it seemed to happen overnight, so he is no small kid. Last night Brutus probably flew at Tyler 5-6 times. Poor Tyler. He seems to take it in stride though.

This sounds like the exact behavior we get from our Caique - Toby. He likes some people and then 'small' people are on his shit list and marked for destruction. Toby will fly at them with full fury and evil in his eyes. I'm not sure if this behavior is prevalent in Greys but it's sure what it sounds like. Greycie exhibits a similar behavior towards Toby because she cant stand him. Fly straight at him and try her best to knock him off his perch or grab him and beat the feathers off of him. It would be nice if you could possibly get a video of the behavior. How to curb the behavior and allow Brutus to begin to accept the the son is beyond me. I would definitely be grooming the son not to take it personally and to see if there is some way he can interact with Brutus safely outside the bubble of Brutus' favorite flock mates. If the son starts to resent Brutus you've got bigger problems.

Hi chezron, has your boyfriend changed his shampoo or bath soap or anything like that?, even your boyfriends hair cut?

OMG. Way too much to have on your plate right now. I truly hope you can find some time to take care of YOU.

Welcome Acappella and congratulations on your new position as moderator. I hope you get as much enjoyment being a moderator as I have. I have a lot to say to Corky so I better get started.

Surprise & Congratulations! That thread really is a beautiful thing.

Letss hope she logs on and finds out soon...lol!

Welcome Acappella to your new role! Nancy and Sophie