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Hi I got Rosie my African grey in December her wings were clipped they have obviously grown now and I am not sure whether to trim them. Is it cruel she is now flying round a bit and I am a bit scared she will hurt herself. would really appreciate some help. Regards Tilly44

Hi and welcome to the Grey forums to you and your companion Rosie. Most of us here feel that full flight is in the best interest of our Grey and it makes for a happier parrot. However you must be more vigilant for open doors so they don`t get out and open cabinet doors so you don`t shut them when your grey is perched on them so as not to injure them. In the bathroom make sure the toilet seat is down so they don`t fall in and get trapped and drowned along with open water in the kitchen sink. Windows and mirrors should be marked with decals so they don`t fly into them along with some pants that are poisonous. Their safety is up to us, but you will have a very happy parrot. Their is a sticky in the health room on safe and poisonous plants. P.S. They will get into everything so enjoy

If you have the safety precautions in place to allow Rosie to fly, flying is best for them. - no or slow ceiling fans - toilet seats down - nothing she can get into which goes for non-flying birds too - make sure she knows where mirrors and windows are - it helps to put something on them till they learn their bounds - exit routes must be protected at ALL times Your biggest issue will be making sure you don't lose her out one of your doors. It's happened to a lot of us, myself included. I have several safety measures in place to ensure my risk is as low as possible.

Ileo=KevinD Been real busy, but if the board has any issues, email me at kevin@maildeploy.com Ill check it. But everything looks good. Keep up the good work helping. Thanks Kevin

Her life was a short but she obviously knew love. Fly high lil birdy.

A loss a sad one, she was lovely.

In our home all the birds come from other backgrounds, some very good and some traumatic. They each adapt to their new situations in their own way taking what ever time is needed to learn a new households rythms, sounds and sounds. He looks more settled now and is observing quietly I think he will be more comfortable as more time passes. With a Grey never say never.

Oh my, she was adorable. I am so sorry for your loss. This is heartbreaking..😥

This is what we did to keep our birds from flying into the windows in their aviary, including our 12ft double sliding glass door. 1 - hung wide gift wrap ribbons hanging loosely so they move when there is air movement nearby 2- Rustoleum Frosted Glass spray paint and some stencils to paint some designs on the windows It's been 5 months and they clearly know where their bounds are now so I'm going to remove it all soon.

Welcome....Pictures pleases.... Okay, I have given you two Trophy's, thank you so much for joining...Your next 3 posts will each receive a trophy...We are all ears...Jayd

Thank you so much for the advice, I did not really want to touch her wings. I have sliding glass doors that separate my room so will hang things down in front of them that she can see the glass. once again thanks. Regards Tilly44

Thankyou everyone for your kind words. she definitely has left a great hole in my heart..in time I will definitely rescue another beautiful grey. Xo

I am so sorry to hear of Aura's passing, please don't feel guilty as there is nothing you could have done but even though you had her such a short time I am sure she touched your heart greatly. Please consider looking into rescuing another grey for there are plenty looking for good homes.

Hello Tilly and welcome to our family. As others have already said please don't clip the wings as they were meant to fly, just take the precautions mentioned. We would love to see a picture of Rosie.

I am so sorry to read this.

So, I brought this up in my initial post. The only time she will put a foot on me is when she is being “inappropriate” and I am trying to discourage the mating behavior as much as possible but here is a picture of her holding my finger during one of these times she’s shown mating bahavior.

Thank you! I appreciate you saying that. This is my first parrot that I personally have adopted and she is my only. I’ve worked for years with parrots in captivity though, which is where my knowledge comes from. As for photos, I’ll find a few and post them up for you guys! I am guessing that she will just take her time in stepping up, which worries me but we will hopefully get through it sooner rather than later.

Thanks for the advice! Unfortunately I’ve not found anything that she goes absolutely nuts for. Her favorite foods are pistachios and peanuts, in that order. I do use those as treats BUT something I’ve noticed is that she will not go out of her way to get them, especially if it means doing something she is not comfortable with. She will definitely wait me out on that front. She may have that one treat that she goes crazy for that I haven’t found yet. She was never given a varied diet and only ever ate a nut and seed mix from a jug. So we’re experimenting with new foods. Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it.

Hi, I have a feeling you are quite knowledgeable about parrots; and you have already been given oodles of advise. So, I look forward to hearing more about your grey and your other parrots/birds. So please post more about your flock. Pictures are always appreciated. (hint, hint)

Yes, katana600 and Miss Gilbert are good examples. They've taken 7 years to get used to each other, and their situation was quite bad at the start. Gilbert was a very fearful, untrusting birdy when she first arrived in her new home 7 years ago. They are a good example of what we mean by "grey time". Katana600 decided they were going to let Gilbert make all the decisions as far as how fast they moved, although there were a few times there was a chance to take a leap forward which sometimes paid off, and sometimes not. Through it all we were here to guide and encourage them and they're both quite content, I think, in their relationship now, although there's always room for improvement. We can be here for you as well if you'll let us to encourage you along the way. Maybe it would be a good idea to keep a journal of how you're doing so that you can look back and see the improvements. At least keep a video journal. This video is a big improvement over your last one. Keep up the good work.

Hello all - so sorry for the delay in replying. I’ve been pretty busy with work and Maxi. She is quite the character. She is making progress daily, she has her moody days just like any of us do and on those days she gets a little more “alone/me time” but most days she’s a real gem. She loves to be out and about on her cage, she will even come off her cage if it is close enough to the countertop she is next to and she will walk all around on it and play with her toys, eat, etc. something I’d really like to work on with her because she has not yet done it nor show interest in it, is stepping up. She will not allow me to hold her, she does not even attempt to step up and while I know nothing with African greys goes quickly and patients is key, I do worry about the safety aspect of not being able to move her from place to place of needed. I’m not sure she’s ever been held to be honest. I’d just like to be able to get her on my hand to move her if needed and introduce her to different areas of the house down the line. Any thought or tips on how to start this training, she is terrified of anything new like perches so I can’t use those to pick her up. I can walk up to her and put my hand to her chest and she will either walk away from it or give a warning nip. In my personal opinion the step up command is really going to open doors for her development and growth, but I bow to the experience here and will gladly take any advise i can get. Thank you everyone and sorry if there are typos, this is typed on a phone. Thanks again.