Leaderboard

Right now we're just introducing one new food at a time, so I can watch his poos and reactions. He's regularly eating pellets for breakfast now, if somewhat reluctantly. Veggies are next. Until yesterday he was even refusing plums. Luckily I work from home so can take frequent breaks to coax him. Also, he gets to throw his discards at me while I'm trying to work. 🤣

Right. It had never crossed my mind that he could forget me, unless there's a Grey version of dementia. Not parrot related, so please forgive me; but one of my most satisfying "yes, animals have memories, too" experiences was with my best mare (had her from when I was 14 until she passed when I was 31). Now granted, this mare was off the high end of most charts, but this moment stood out: I had just moved her to a new pasture closer to my new home (she was 22 at the time), and the property owner wasn't too experienced with horses or their behavior, so he invited all his friends to see the new addition on the day of her arrival, without informing me that there would be a welcoming party. I pull up with the trailer, and my mare is none too pleased, *at all*, to be greeted by an entire crowd of new people. She exits the trailer with an angry flourish and promptly goes into full blown show-off fake tantrum mode (strong, ancient Arab/Saddlebred lines, so she's a pro at showy tantrums). She's successfully scaring the crap out of everyone watching, who all expected some old, used-up mare, and she and I are just having a blast. I'm letting her scream and run in circles around me, she's doing her best demon impression: teeth bared, nostrils flaring, neck tense and high, eyes rolling, legs flashing, effortlessy gliding, and everyone just keeps backing further and further away. (I was in control at all times, this was not unsafe, and no one, including myself or my mare was in any danger. Purely psychological fear, no physical threat or chance of injury- just to be clear. This was typical of her. All show. If I had asked her to stand she would have calmed it down to slowly trotting in place instantly.) Then all of a sudden she just stops and stares at one lady. The stare lasted maybe a split second, and back into show-off mode she goes, but it grabbed my attention as it was totally out of character. A few minutes later I grill the woman my mare singled out, and it turned out she met her once, just prior to my purchasing her, to try her out. The entire test run had lasted five minutes before the lady decided the mare was too hot for her and declined. So, my mare remembered her from one brief test drive eleven years prior. So, yeah, never doubted Willy would recognize me immediately.

Due to my work schedule. I buy a variety of frozen veggies and greens, cook rice, quinoa and pasta, mix it all together, freeze it in small portions for daily use. It’s easy and quick to give them in their “snack” bowl.

Greys never forget people in their lives. I have read so ma y stories of grey. Ding reunited with their first owners after many many years....they’ll always remember....just like dogs and horses do!

Yes, that's another brilliant way to get them to eat something: eat it yourself. And for added affect, act like you don't want to share it 🤣 😂

Holy heck! Froot Loops! They're not good for anyone! If I'm going to have sugar for breakfast I go for a cheese danish, lol. Not that that's much better. Thanks to your advice and some Google searches I've now got him to eat pellets for breakfast! I take his feed out at night, and give him pellets first thing in the morning. I ate a few in front of him the first day and then offered to share. Worked like a charm! Also, they're delicious- he may have to fight me for them. 😉

When Huey came to us he was on Fruit Loops for breakfast and who knows what else. I dumped the Fruit Loops on day 1 and his mission in life was to eat what was served or watch GreycieMae eat it all in front of him. It didn't take long and he was digging in. He is now a good eater and really looks forward to breakfast. I only break out the treats: seed mix, nuts etc for special treat time. Otherwise I don't give them a choice to throw all the hard work stuff on the floor and eat only goodies.

We have chickens and guineas too. The guineas are a riot! My daily go-to parrot buffet consists of the following: - sprouts (china prairie or the bird mixes from sproutpeople.org) - cookable (Volkman featherglow soak and simmer AND Volkman Featherglow Birdeez Buffet 15 Minute Soak and Serve) - If I have frozen peas,corn(not much), or other veggies, I throw them in the cook - Fresh choppables: banana, jalapeno, sweet potatoe (toss in the cook), bell pepper, brocolli, cauliflower, whatever else I may have - Sometimes I mix in soaked and cooked bean mix too. It looks like this usually and they go nutters over it. I generally make a 2-4 day supply.

Oh yes, we have had horses for 25 years...I know exactly the scenario you right about...witnessed it several times. I find horses and greys are very very much alike in their behavior, their reactions, etc. No two other species are more alike.

It saddens us greatly that only 3 members responded in more than 2 days.....A wish is just a moment of time and the time we have in our lives is but a fleeting moment. In the passing second, I said a prayer for each of your health and happiness. We lost a moment but we gain so much more. I love you all so much. Rev. Jayd

Hoping he is back to normal and you have a more secure storage place now.

Wow, that looks good! I'll have to order the Volkman mixes. Thanks for the recipe, I will give it a try! I'm a little reluctant to go through too much prep initially, as he refuses all veggies. He picks them out if I mix them in his seed mix, and throws them on the floor in a mic drop sort of move. He was always like this. Even the fruit he'll take is limited. (He just threw plum all over the floor because it was not an orange.) Have you had any experience with this sort of dramatic refusal, and conned a picky eater into loving veggies? He has such a limited palate. As for guineas, our neighbors hate them, but we had zero fleas or ticks this year. 😄

Thanks again for the welcome, everyone! Willy's doing really well, talking up a storm and seems overall relaxed and playful. Right now I've got him in my studio (attaching pics from his view- forgive the plant mess, I just moved everything back inside for the winter, and am placing everything painstakingly), as I'm generally in there working. He has a rolling play stand, and I'm setting up a flight cage in our living room for him, too, so he has a cage besides his studio bedroom cage, and can be more in on the action after he's settled a bit. He's going through his sounds to see what gets my attention when I'm not in the studio. I am ignoring anything I don't want repeated fifty times a day. 😊 We took a nap together yesterday during a nice autumn thunderstorm. (After I managed to get soaked wrangling the guineas and chickens back into their coops, lol.) Only issue I'm having so far is trying to get him to accept pelleted food and veggies. Always was a seed and fruit junkie, and that has not changed. I'd like to balance his diet, though. Any tips?

Haa, I get goosebumps just reading how you found him. The birdman in me says it was just meant to happen. I know how much these guys mean to some of us. Would love to see more about Willy.

That must have been rough, divorce is no fun. (understatement) That's great that you got to see Odie again- bet it was a heck of a reunion! I developed a habit of clicking on every ad for a Grey I saw on CL, just looking for him. I saw the pics first (my profession is very detail oriented, and relies on my ability to see subtleties and differences in individuals, so I'm something of a freak when it comes to seeing.) I saw the pics and just knew it was him by posture, mannerisms, and colouring (gave me goosebumps and all), then read the text, saw the name, and dialed the phone as fast as I could.

Most parrots in the wild are quite familiar with getting high (pun intended)...besides just by flying. My concern is not what he ate but how much...in the wild, parrots eat fermented fruits, berries and foods. Some actually seek it out and make it part of their staples. A vet is the best route....we send our prayers. Jayd and Maggie