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So we rough-n-tumble this morning like we always do, GreycieMae loves a good wrestle. Later on I was just laying there with her on my knee and noticed she was missing something... So just like when I lose my keys, or my marbles, I go back to the last place I saw them....the wrestling blankey. Oh, looky at what I found! So I break out the needle and thread, super glues and some duck tape and she's good as new!

The only new thing Timber accepts without stress is perches. I'd do them one at a time, so if he needs to adjust he has the old ones to use until he adapts.

I have a weird request. 😂 Has anyone got photos of underneath their grey's wings including the body? I've always suspected that Alfie 'over-preens' that area, as the feathers on his body underneath his wings always look a little tatty and he often preens under there- more so that other areas. I'm just curious about what that area looks like on other birds. His wings look ok from what I can see (I only ever see them when he stretches as he doesn't let me handle his wings). I don't think he is plucking, as such because the whole area is covered in feathers and doesn't look patchy or sore- the feathers are just never as neat as the rest of his body. I also don't have a pile of feathers left at the bottom of the cage.

Well, it's a good thing I got that head back on. I'd sure miss my evening sweet sweetums....

Omg! I LOVE that!!! So clever!

That definitely looks like some over-preening there. I wouldn't worry about it though. GreycieMae barbers her tail and wing feathers. It used to annoy me but I figure once they get into a naughty habit it's just like us biting our nails or some other habit. I'll get a pic of her barbering when I get a chance.

I managed to get a sneaky photo as Alfie was stretching and getting ready to sleep. It's not great but hopefully helps to show what I'm going on about. When his wings are down you can't see these feathers. But he preens them a lot and you can see they are quite separated and tatty compared to his other feathers. I don't think he's plucking them out as I can't see any bald areas. I'm fairly certain any feathers that do drop out are due to a natural moult and not being pulled/plucked. I've never noticed any damage to the feathers I have checked after they fall out. It's been like this for as long as I can remember and he's always preened himself a lot in that area (on both sides). He preens the rest of his feathers too but nowhere else on his body looks like this. I'm not sure if this is anything to worry about. He baths in his water bowl (refuses to bath in anything bigger despite my best efforts of finding an alternative!) and I try and mist him regularly- though perhaps I need to do this more often. Under the wing is the trickiest part for me to get as he rarely opens his wings for me to mist and he will always put his face in the way of the spray.

Amazing, thank you! I knew Greycie wouldn't let me down! 😁

GreycieMae does weird requests! Second photo came out a little blurry... Huey looks nearly identical to her.

I bought an aloe vera plant recently (mainly because they are supposedly easy to look after and I'm not normally very good with plants!). I've had it several weeks now and it hasn't died yet...!! I have read about the qualities of aloe vera and know you can use 100% aloe vera juice/gel with birds. Can I use the plant itself for Alfie in any way? I've seen mixed comments about birds eating the whole stalk so I'm not likely to try that. But I'm assuming there is a way I can safely extract the... sap(?)... from inside the stalks? Can I then mix that in Alfie's water occasionally? Or mix it with water and spray him with it? ...Or am I better off sticking to buying gel and juice and keeping the plant as a decorative feature? 😁

Cosmo has been a member of our family for 25 years. Nothing has changed except for some reason he suddenly he decided to chew up his perch’s and we had to purchase new ones. Need advice on how to introduce them so he accepts the changes with no stress. Thanks Karen

If Cosmo strongly reacts to the new perch you could try leaving it nearby within his sight (but at a distance). I've found this sometimes helps when introducing new toys that Alfie doesn't like. I'll leave them near his cage (but not in or on it) so he can check them out and make sure they're not going to kill him. I usually find it's easier to then add the toy to his cage. I've never really had a problem with perches though. I usually just add them in to his cage and he accepts them readily enough. Hopefully it all goes smoothly for you! (and Cosmo)

It's so cute when my GreycieMae reverts back to her wild roots and lets out with the African Grey growly-growly. Every summer I have to put a bamboo shade on top of their outdoor aviary to provide some shade. She absolutely hates it and really lets the neighborhood know it.

Thanks. We will introduce the new perch in the morning so he will have plenty of time growl and pitch a hissy fit.

He is cute. Those lil TAGs always look so cute. Love those baby eyes.

Aw he's a cutie!!

Well I know this is an old post but on Friday I adopted Auras brother! Tau.

Do any of you have a social media account for your birds (or other pets)? I usually post regular photos of my cats and Alfie to my own social media accounts. It might seem a bit daft but I recently decided to start a twitter account for Alfie - which is written as if he is posting the content. I have actually found it to be quite fun and I have connected with several other pet accounts (and regular human accounts!). It allows me to share some of Alfie's antics and see what other people's pets (mostly birds) are getting up to. I just wondered if anyone else here does similar?

Oh my! That's horrible Prayers for no permanent damage.

Our typical breakfast: Cookables that I mentioned on the left in the glass casserole dish, sprouts on the right. Those are the base mix that I use daily. On the chopping board is whatever I have fresh available - today's cuisine: - Pink Lady apple - banana - brocolli - sweet potatoe - jalapeno (greycie loves her jalapenos) Customer approved!

Remember, there are over 400 species of aloe with each plant providing unique health benefits.

FANTASTIC!! Thank you! Great kick in the side...😂

I don't have one, but I do participate in a couple - mostly Felix on Facebook. I feel like I'm actually talking to that silly birdy. I also participate in Einstein the Texas Talking parrot's page.

Hahaha! I love the relationship you have with your birds- especially with greycie.

Thanks everyone. I’ll post pictures of him when he arrives next week.

I don't see a problem with you doing that. That's what many people do to use on themselves. It's a great idea in my opinion!

Exactly the right attitude- work at his pace. If he's showing signs of fear or aggression when you're up close then take a few steps back until he relaxes and is comfortable. Get him used to you and your family being in the room with him and moving around him. Get him used to your voices as well- so just have a chat with him and let him know what you're up to and why. If he's not used to being handled much then this is going to be quite new and probably scary for him - so always watch closely to see how he's reacting and back off if needs be. Slowly build on it bit by bit, getting closer- hands closer etc. Maybe offer him a tasty treat and see if he comes towards you to take it/investigate. The feather chewing can be caused by a number of reasons - it may well be a habit that is going to be difficult to break or he may settle in with you and stop doing it as it may just be a stress response. Others here may have some extra advice on this. There are lots of threads about plucking/feather chewing available on this site so it might be worth searching through those to see what others have suggested previously. Don't forget- he's probably trying to figure you out as much as you're trying to figure him out!

I'm so sorry for your loss. She was beautiful.

Oh I'm so sorry to hear the bad news. It is never easy to lose a beloved pet.

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.

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

We had a scare yesterday, a tiny storm went by and left Bullhead City BLACKED OUT... Jay Is on oxygen, without electricity his concentrator doesn't work, and on top of that, the cell towers went down, the electric company wouldn't answer their emergency phone lines. When the phones came back on, the police said there was a lot of damage to the city..... Jay's on 7 liters per hr of oxygen, he had 3 portable bottles of oxygen, the fire department had no oxygen and the hospital was packed... His oxygen supplier had no emergency number and at night it was 107 degrees and it was unspeakable in the daytime...Jay ran his bottles at 3 it per hr but this dropped his O2 to 88 or less, which is really bad because the minimum for his O2 is 91...17 hours passed and finally, he was delivered 3 portable bottles and in the next couple of hours after that, the power was restored...It appears he lost some eyesight and he's almost deaf, we won't know of any permanent damages until he has tests.done. How was your weekend?