Leaderboard

That's a great photo. Looks like he's digging in! What did the bowl look like after? ❤️❤️❤️

I’ve had good luck with chop! But, I warmed it up a few times and now I am having a hard time getting them to eat it fresh or defrosted. They simply won’t eat it and choose pellets until the next morning. Today I made some chip using the following ingredients in no particular measures or amounts; I just use my vitamin to wet chop it, drain the water and mix by hand. Broccoli, cauliflower, black beans, kidney beans, collard greens, carrots, (shoot just realized I forgot the corn as I’m writing this), jalapeño, hard boiled egg, rolled oats (to soak up remaining liquid), and tossed in red palm oil. Thoughts on this mix, critiques, anything?! Hers a shot of a helper inspecting to make sure everything is just right.

What ever decision you make will be the right one for the present conditions...

Thank you. I'm torn over this one. Part of me is considering going ahead with the filing earlier in his rehab, before he's slowly learned to trust us. Another part says to just allow him to chill and become acclimated before we introduce something scary.

Your a good parront..This is a question I've seen go both ways my friend, it's one only you can make...

2/3 consumed. Very happy to see that he took to fresh food so readily. I have a birdie groomer coming over tomorrow to clip my fids' talons. Sydney's nails are pretty long and was thinking of having his filed back as well. Do you think it's too early to do something like that considering all he's been through? He's demonstrating cage bound behaviors at this point in time, so I don't want to overwhelm him. The good thing is that someone else besides me would be doing his filing..

Not too big! I buy macaw cages for my greys. Rabbit toys are cheap, just make sure they are bird safe.

Like the others have said the bigger the better, they need plenty of room to be able to open the wings and flap without touching the bars. I second the addition of a nice heavy duty bell, no grey should have to go without a bell, they will ring that thing and play fight with it, even take out their frustrations on it, a definite must for a grey. You can also check the baby section of stores for toys for your bird, lots of them are safe for birds but sometimes just ordinary items in a home make good toys, sometimes just a box will keep them busy for a while.

I usually buy toys to get the parts, like the one you see in the pic. Then it's simply cutting wood blocks or whatever to refill. Since my Greybie is a wood block chipper, I refill with wood. I have another one that loves to chip cardboard. As you can imagine, she's easy to make toys for out of a plain old cardboard box.

It's really very easy and doesn't require a recipe other than your imagination. The base that I use is Harrison's pellet ground into flour like consistency You can use any pellet of your choosing. Remove to a separate mixing bowl. Then food process anything you want to add to this 'flour'. I always add those things my fids won't eat unless it's disguised. For my crew it's bell peppers, kale and most anything orange or green. I always add sweet potato to all my birdie bread. Add enough water to get it to the consistency that works for you. Add whatever cooked grains you have, spread your creation onto a pan and bake 20-25 minutes at 350. I crumble it, freeze and use as needed.

GreycieMae wants to know if you ship?

Our basic go-to daily chop is baby chard, sugar snap peas, sweet potatoes, pomegranate arils, a grape, blueberry or two, banana, slightly cooked broccoli and my homemade birdie bread, concocted using Harrison's pellets as its flour to which I add ancient grains, hemp seed, kale, red bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, and anything else my fids won't eat if offered separately in chop. I also add quinoa, barley, oats and fresh lentils to my birdie bread. In the evening they can have a small serving of high quality large hook bill seed mix without sunflower seeds. I add a small serving of their favorite nuts, including pine nuts and unsalted roasted deluxe nut mix that I get from Trader Joe's.

Those look good enough to eat! Any added sugars?

My 19 year old just laid two eggs on Tuesday (her first). I was surprised but not shocked since I knew she was female due to DNA testing done when she was a baby. Recently she had definite behavioral changes and started aggressively chewing furniture in the dining room where her cage is. I've had to barricade the room for the last couple of years since she took to wandering around the first floor and making mischief. She had never hurt any furniture past using it to climb. I practically emptied the DR and put cardboard moving boxes around for her to chew which she promptly started destroying gleefully. BUT, what I realize now was nesting behavior started and she would sit in the mounds of cardboard pieces inside the boxes. Sometimes it was hell getting her out to go to bed. (she doesn't go in her cage except at night) None of my reference books have any real info on gestation or behaviors or anything that might help ease my mind about this experience. I would just like direction as to where to look on line for really complete info. While I don't need textbook veterinary level explanations, I couldn't find anything above pretty simplistic stuff. I'm sure I wasn't looking in the right places. Any help would be much appreciated. I'm wondering what to expect and if I engendered the behaviors, and thus the laying, by giving her all those boxes. She's watching me type this now and is trying to decide whether to poop or just put holes in the shoulder of my Tshirt. You all know what I mean. Many thanks. I'm glad to have joined this site.

My 20 year old Lilac Headed zon laid an egg. I just took it out after a few days.

Oh I am soooo happy!! You guys did great. What a sweet bird and so lucky! Thanks for the pics! How heartbreaking to see how he was kept. You are a true angel. Please keep the updates coming!

Good morning everyone! A bright new day filled with endless possibilities has begun! Breakfast is served! First go-to food item on this menu? Pomegranate arils! Num! num!

Oh the poor thing. Such horrid conditions. At least he is safe now and will get all of the care and attention he needs. I'm sure he will settle down eventually and quickly realise he has landed on his feet!

Haliperidol is very very bad, it must be with-drawn very slowly.. Once a parrot learns that it's own pain relieving brain chemicals also relieves anxiety, the parrot becomes addicted to self-mutilation. Boredom is one of the emotional causes of parrot biting feet. Safe aids such as Avicalm, Herbal Relaxation Formula or simply brewing up some Chamomile Tea. The irritation caused by the infections is one of the main reasons why parrots excessively bite their feet as a reaction to the irritation. Other causes include diets low in Vitamin A & E, excessive use of grooming perches, lack of exercise, and exposure to cigarette smoke. You can try, Collar for birds. https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=collar+for+birds&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=78065376853724&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_8w3pajlicq_e

I have seen so many posts on facebook recently about missing greys. In the UK we are in the middle of a heat wave so naturally doors and windows are being left open more often. Air conditioning in the home is not overly common over here as it's normally too cold and damp to need it. I've seen multiple lost/found bird notices being shared every day over the last couple of weeks and it saddens me every time. I made this thread to try and start a discussion about how to bird proof your home to try and ensure your beloved birds are kept safe. Please feel free to make any recommendations you have and hopefully this will be a useful thread for bird owners or potential bird owners. I in no way intend this to be a judgmental post or aim to make anyone feel bad if they have lost a bird before. I'm just looking for suggestions on how to try and prevent the worst from happening. I am in no way perfect myself... I once didn't close the food hatch on Alfie's cage properly and he spent most of the day flying around the house on his own with the dog until a family member came home and found him. The phonecall I received was thankfully to ask me to come home to put him back in his cage rather than to say the dog had injured him or that he had flown out the back door when it was opened to let the dog out. I was extremely lucky that day. I also was cleaning Alfie's cage out and took both of the bottom sections of his cage out when a cat was in the room. I turned back to see the cat wandering round the bottom of Alfie's cage with Alfie climbing around the top looking worried! Again... I was very lucky! --- I have two indoor cats plus Alfie at home, so I am always super paranoid about potential escape routes. When I moved house I invested in "flat cat" mesh (http://www.flat-cats.co.uk/) for several of the windows throughout the house and also the patio doors. This sticks to the window/door frame with velcro and allows me to open doors and windows then stick the mesh back into place- keeping the animals in and all the pesky bugs out. This allows me to let fresh air into the house and Alfie can also enjoy sitting in front of the doors getting a nice breeze (and some sunshine) without being able to escape. For those of you who are handy with a sewing machine you could probably make your own but I opted to have them made to fit my doors and windows as I didn't trust my own sewing skills! I believe people also rely on their birds sitting on their shoulder or a perch happily and will take them outside in the garden in hot weather thinking they will just sit there and behave. It's only going to take one little thing to spook a bird off a shoulder and into a panicked flight. Even if a bird has had a wing clip, if they get enough of a breeze underneath their wings they will take off and can get stuck in a tree or fly quite a distance. I think it's safer to always take your bird out in a cage/travel cage or on a reliable harness (if they accept a harness). Open doors and windows are a hazard at all times. Again, if your bird is spooked or just being curious it's only going to take them a matter of seconds to find themselves outside whilst your back is turned or whilst you are holding a door open. I've seen other suggestions previously where people use chain/beaded curtains over their doors. This is enough of a barrier to prevent their bird from getting outside (and also helps keep the bugs out too) Anyone else have any other helpful suggestions about how to keep birds safe and trying to prevent possible escapees?

I too have noticed that it seems to be a lot of escaped birds lately and many of those seem to be in the UK and for exactly the reason you state, more open windows due to the heat wave. I also have screen doors and screened windows but my windows are rarely open as its too hot in the summer, must run a/c as I can't take the heat like I used to. Our children are gone so we have no little ones running in and out but for those who do they must be vigilant about those doors when the birds are out and about in the house.

Seeing as how you are in the U.K., you can easily get the chain fly screens over there. They work wonders to stop a bird from flying through an open door. This is what we used on the back door where I lost Tinkerbell twice. Once I put the chain screen up, she won't fly through the door. In case you're wondering, she flew through the door trying to find me. Once I was in the back yard cleaning cages with the door open and she managed to pull her bird room door open and flew out of the house looking for me. Fortunately I was about 50 feet outside and she flew right to me. The second time I was going through the door and had no idea she was in the living room. She landed on me as I was exiting the door.

I really need to start making my own toys. I usually just buy them from the local parrot store and spend a fortune. Any ideas on where to buy parts and pieces online for toys?

Screens on all doors and windows works for me. I have had my flighted greys since 2007.

Mandatory: a nice stainless bell (bird safe type). Maybe some stainless hanging spoons. My GreycieMae's favorite toy is one I use a miter saw to refill all the time. She can destroy it in a day. It's made from wood blocks and straws on a stainless skewer rod. I don't have many toys in their cages as my birds are rarely caged but here's a shot of the toy I make for her and the little nibblets she leaves behind 🤣:

Yes, I agree. No raw potatoes, no garlic, no onion, no avocado, no mushrooms, and no salt...although I do let them have some chips on occasion with sea salt. Sugar is a no no as well...but they get an occasional sweet snack... i didn’t know for a long time that unlike us humans, birds can never get rid of the salt and sugar we feed them, it just accumulates until the harm is done.😢

My flock gets a bird feed mix all the time in their bowls,changed weekly. They also get a breakfast bowl on the days I work, blueberry waffles, bagels, either a cinnamon or apple toast or a hash brown, all are cut up into finger foods for the. They also get a snack bowl that usally has a veggie/rice/quinoa mix I make once a month & freeze for convenience, I usually add a piece of bread with butter, leftover chicken or sprinkle some cheese on top to entice. Once a week, they get junk food: cereal, peanuts, almonds, 2-3 tortilla chips, plus a min ice cream cone filled with yogurt. They also eat off my plate every dinner whatever I eat they must eat.

Yes, I've tried raw and cooked cauliflower, broccoli, etc. etc. He will occasionally eat raw broccoli so I throw a piece on his skewer a couple times a week. The only thing he will ALWAYS eat is junk food. Pizza, bacon, sausage, cake, you get the drift. Of course he rarely gets to indulge in that. Basically, he's a spoiled toddler

Timber is extremely picky. You may remember my experiments and failures with every pellet made. After Timber's seizure issues and his weight loss, what is in his bowl is pretty much whatever he will eat. Daily, he gets nutriberries, quality seed mix, a piece of avicake. In his "people" food bowl, he has mashed sweet potato, peas, pinto beans, hamburger, mac and cheese, and cooked Higgins rice mix. He has sweet peas on a skewer, and usually has corn on the cob or an artichoke to mess with. He eats dinner with us, whatever he can (or will) eat safely. He usually has a small (maybe 1/16th slice) of toast with a little peanut butter at breakfast time. I'd love to improve his diet a bit, but he won't eat birdy bread or any chop I've tried (or pellets or any other vegetables etc. etc. etc.). He gets a chicken wing bone every week (sometimes he will eat it, sometimes not) and a piece of boiled egg fairly often. He eats a bite of banana with dad occasionally, but really isn't a fruit eater. As a treat (like most of his diet isn't already a treat) I give him a cashew, an almond, and a couple of peanuts in the evening. Oh, I almost forgot the cheese... He gets a very small piece of sharp cheddar cheese a couple of times a week. I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting, but those are the staples!