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So I bought a new carrier for Alfie back in June. He hates getting in his kings travel cage and it's fairly heavy and difficult to move around if you want to travel further than the car/house/aviary. So I bought him a backpack style carrier which he was VERY curious about. I kept rewarding him with a treat any time he went near it, but he didn't actually need much encouragement. I have managed to take him for a walk in it too and I'm hoping I'll be able to take him for more walks once the weather figures out what the heck it's doing. 😂 So I figured I'd start a thread and show off some photos of Alfie enjoying his carrier. I used it to get him out to the aviary once and took him for one walk (so far). If I take him to the vet then I'll revert back to the kings cage. Similarly, if I'm going to my parents house or anywhere where he needs to remain caged (and not walking) then I'll use the kings cage, as I don't want him to chew his way out of his backpack. My only complaint is the thickness of the perch- it's really thin... probably to accommodate several different bird species. I'm going to attempt to wrap it with rope and also attach something to grab hold off whilst we are moving so he can steady himself whilst on the move. Packed and ready to go! Trip out to the aviary (see what I mean about the thin perch?) First time I got him in it with the door closed- ready for his first walk. Just hanging around! I stopped mid-walk to check on him and hung the back on a tree branch. Food and water had been spilled because he kept trying to find things to hold whilst moving around. He seemed to be ok on his walk. My housemate came with me to keep an eye on Alfie and we kept chatting to him. He made a few beeps and whistles which is a good sign. A lady went past with a baby and he whistled to them as they passed so she pointed him out to the baby and said hello. So all in all, this has probably been my most successful purchase ever! Alfie took to it like a fish to water. Hopefully we will get to go on a few more adventures!

I can't believe it has been 5 years either Ray! Cricket is gone but never forgotten. I firmly believe that we will see our beloved pets in the afterlife.

I have a similar backpack for Timber. I bought it for the same reasons, but he has never taken to it. It sure is convenient for trips to the vet etc., but when I try to take him outside for outings he doesn't appreciate it. Good for you and Alfie on your success!

It1s good to travel around with your Grey. Corky has traveled all across the U.S. with us. She has traveled in our SUVs, cares, Trucks and our motor homes. She has also stayed in hotels, motels the homes of friends and family. It was nothing for us to pick up and go some place with Corky in tow. On one of our trips to W.V. in our motor home to see my wife brother we were coming up to toll both on the P.A. turn pike I herd the flap, flap of her wings and she landed on my shoulder as I was paying the toll she leaned forward and called the man taking the money a DORK. We had just bought her a new travel cage and she watched me put it together. Well she disassembled the top part of her cage and removed the top and got out. So much for letting her watch me put things together' She has a mechanical aptitude

Incidentally, when I asked earlier if this forum had a FB page -- I meant a FB page to direct folks here. I have no interest in a grey FB page for posting. I like THIS forum. FB can draw out a bit of everything -- sometimes TOO much diversity there.

LOVE THIS!!!! Now my Snickers would freak the freak out if I took him out of his usual environment. I've moved twice in the 22 years I've had him, and he acted like each new house was a threatening demon! I can't even move furniture around or buy a new throw pillow without causing him great distress, seriously. (Multi-re-homed parrots like my CAG with (apparently) bad past experiences is just so heart breaking). So happy for Alfie!!! New adventures await!!! You are an amazing person, seriously -- best of luck and fun with this!

Glad your grey understands the difference in a little nip and a serious bite -- and that he lets go quickly! My injury sure caught me off-guard! So unexpected! Macaws (well, I got mine as a babe) but mine was a gentle giant. I cried out at bites once I felt she was old enough to understand. In the wild, a biter is going to be shunned and I wanted her, by age 2 or 3, to know it hurt. Crying out and ignoring her a few moments fixed it all -- she learned. She was capable of a serious bite and yet always controlled her pressure when nipping (usually playfully nipping, at that). Seriously -- a cockatiel bite hurt more than my macaw's. Snickers (my CAG) has bitten a few family members (my husband took the brunt of his hate) and Snickers not only bit with 100% of his strength, but he DID NOT LET GO! I felt horrible how much he truly hated my husband (who passed away 2010). My husband bore a few scars from encounters with Snickers. I've read the bite of a bulldog is 450 pounds of pressure and a macaw has 900 pounds of pressure in a bite. Wow (assuming this is accurate info). A macaw really could remove a finger, or damage a wrist to the point the hand is useless (know a true story of this happening to someone). So my macaw really was gentle -- never bit with her true strength. Just a gentle giant. Suspect also it's how they're raised. She sure made a LOT of friends at the sanctuary -- with the other macaws and with people. She is a fave there.

My activity here is always in fits and spurts. Sometimes I only get time to read posts and not reply. Other times I have the luxury of being able to reply and start new threads as well. I try and stay active but unfortunately life gets in the way sometimes.

Hmm. Hoovering doesn't set Alfie off either. He just watches. Do I have an imposter? My family always said Alfie was a pigeon with a painted tail... perhaps I don't have a grey at all? 😂

Cricket was a beautiful bird and I always enjoyed reading your posts about her. It's always exceptionally hard when we lose a beloved pet. It's no different from losing a family member.

I remember your Cricket and how close you two were with one another, the pain from her loss is still deep but you two had such a special relationship so keep those memories alive with fondness, she took a little piece of your heart with her when she made the journey across the Rainbow Bridge.

Tried the ice cube in water bowl trick -- it made crackling noises. Snickers peered into his water bowl but then climbed away, unimpressed. It's mostly melted so I went ahead and removed last fragment. Maybe males just don't have the same interest? He did take a sip of water after ice cube remnant was removed (probably because me removing ice remnant gave the water some attention). What guarantees mine will bathe in his water dish is me hoovering/vacuuming. It must send some message to him of "we're cleaning up now" -- works a lot as your ice cube does! Can't imagine how cold it would be to sit on an ice cube!!!!

How peculiar! I'm afraid I can't offer much advice. I did spot some similar behaviours with Alfie though- certain toys will set him off and he treats them like eggs and sits on them. He is totally indifferent about ice cubes. I have no idea whether Alfie is male or female either. I just assume male.

Snickers doesn't like bedtime or ANY cage time. He won't bite me when I put him in his cage at night, although sometimes he will exert a little more beak force on my hand/fingers (more pressure -- not a true pinch bite or drawing blood or anything) just a "I'm really not happy I am going to bed in my cage" alert. (If you've had a real bite or a pinch bite -- you know the difference!!!). I suppose I could use a handy wooden perch to hold him but I prefer to only use hands with him. He had a bad past with multiple homes and can view 'objects' as scary. So, hands I use. It was 10:30 pm, sorry, but past bedtime for Snickers. His nighttime routine, after caging, is to go immediately to the bottom of his cage and take his rage out on a flattened paper towel roll. He basically stands on the flattened roll and pulls bits of cardboard off each roll quite aggressively. Tonight I noticed he was down to his last roll, already a bit chewed, so I decided to give him another one. (Yeah yeah, he has other toys hanging in his cage, but the flattened paper towel roll is just his choice for his evening "I don't want to go to bed yet so let me destroy something" routine. I flatten a new paper towel roll and am slipping it between the bars so it will fall to the bottom. Well, he grabs it from me so it can't drop. The problem is, I didn't fold up the roll, only flattened it -- so he can't get a good grip on it and he keeps letting it go a second for a retry - basically just trying to re-arrange a too-large object in his beak. Why I didn't just open the door and toss it in is beyond me. Temporary insanity? So, between the bars, I foolishly stuck my finger in, with the intention of pushing the flattened PT roll out of his beak when he let go to re-position his grip on it. I lost. I don't know if he accidentally bit me or if I scraped my finger myself on his beak. I know I am missing a small (but thick) piece of epidermis just above my fingernail and it bled a lot (not on the PT roll itself, just bled on ME). My effort did have the desired effect, the flattened roll fell to the bottom and Snickers is happily standing on his new roll and destroying it as we speak. I am on my second plaster/band-aid and bleeding has finally stopped. I do have missing flesh though, small 2mm strip of top skin gone and red meat showing (sorry, that was a gross but accurate description). I think this will take at least a few days to heal over. It hurts. (whining). I don't think he meant to bite me (if that's what happened) or if he did bite me he probably doesn't realize it -- or perhaps he deliberately bit me on purpose as part of the 'dropping a flattened paper towel roll game'. I do imagine he thought I was playing a paper towel tube game: Goal: him to hold it, me to fail dropping it to bottom of cage. Who knows really? -- they're so smart! I've just never been bitten by him before like this! (Another story one day of the only bite I ever received from him and it was a complete accident on his part -- he thought my hands belonged to someone else). Snickers isn't a biter -- well, correction, he never bites me. Maybe he thought I was playing a game with him, maybe he was just angry it was cage-time/bed-time. I just can't imagine he thought this one through. I often push flattened paper towel rolls through the bars for him at night for him to chew on. I also often just open his door and toss a flattened roll in. (Wish I'd done this tonight!) My feelings aren't hurt. Snickers is a good bird -- cuddly, sweet -- he just hates bedtime or cage-time. If I was a CAG, I'd hate bedtime too! But man, now the next few days will mean a sore index finger for me. I think, with the missing skin chunk, it has to heal from the inside out. Could take a week or more.

Neoow that isn't a Brit thing, that's a human nature thing! We do the same here in S. Illinois. Too cold/hot/wet/dry etc. here also!

Timber bites with intent at times, and I have not been successful in reading his body language. It comes out of nowhere. Thank God it isn't often. He will bite others routinely if they put their hands where he doesn't think they belong (anywhere in his space). He was rehomed and I think he had some bad experiences with previous owners. I've had him about 7 years, and the bites have become less frequent with time thankfully. I tried to tell myself that he didn't really know how much damage he was doing, but he also knows how to give a pinch so that excuse bit the dust. Wish I could read his mind! Sounds stupid, but it hurts my feelings when he bites me. I spend so much time working with him and taking care of his medication etc. (I'm whining now). What an unappreciative little critter he is. Then he puts is head on my stomach for scratches and makes his baby bird cheep and all is forgiven. Yes, I'm a sucker...

I usually don't catch a mistake until seconds after I post it. I wish the "reason for edit" could wait 5 minutes before kicking in. Sometimes I am actually adding additional info to earlier post, and then it makes sense to give the reason for the edit. But sometimes I have just hit "submit/post/send" and see I made a silly simple error within seconds of posting -- and I just hate not to correct it. Like writing "my my parrot", or "I'll look in into it" or even something silly misspelling I missed. Why are mistakes so much clearer after you post them than when you're writing them? I swear I try to proofread my stuff before hitting send/post/submit (whatever it is).... lol

I made a stupid grammar error on a twitter post the other day. You can't edit a tweet (or at least I can't figure it out), so I had to delete it and repost. So annoying.

Nickraph, he/she literally carries the cube to a spot and sits on it. I knew he/she was a real weirdo... He will have bloodwork at his next annual checkup, I think I'll bite the bullet and have the gender check. I'll also ask the vet about it and see what he says. The vacuum really annoys him. He follows me around on his cage trying to attack the vacuum (got me once instead).

One more, me and Kodak -- my very first parrot -- a cockatiel -- got him in 1996 and he is still alive and flying free (well, more of a ladies man cuddling with his new 'loves') at the sanctuary. Photo probably taken in 1996 or so, he was an adult when adopted from a (gasp) pet store. I can't believe I was ever this young, really. The computer in background really tells the age of this pix. lol

Great forum whether the 'edited' thing can be fixed or not @KevinD -- guess I am just a perfectionist and want to conceal my most stupid errors quickly! Just don't want anyone here to know I am a mere human or anything!

It can be a shock- especially when blood is drawn! Alfie does bite when he is feeling cranky or doesn't agree with something. He tends to just leave a mark or a slight bruise. Only time he has ever drawn blood is when he got my mum on the ear and again on the nose when he was a baby. However, I don't doubt that he could draw blood quite easily if he wanted to. He tends to grab and let go rather than clinging on for too long (thankfully!) It's usually quick and sharp. You know damn well you've been bitten and it's sore for a short while but there's no blood. Macaws seem to be gentle giants. The size of their beak is intimidating but from what I've read from macaw owners they seem to know exactly how much pressure is required. I've never really got up close and personal with a macaw, though I did hold one back in June. It was at the annual think parrot show and was a very tame green wing. She stepped up on my arm and sat there quietly for a few moments before being returned to the owner. I also saw some other macaws in aviaries at the event but I was a bit too nervous to stick my fingers in to give them scritches, despite the fact other people were. Greys? I don't think any bird bites quite like a grey does. Alfie is so fast and so accurate. He also gives off 'warning shots' at times where he deliberately gets the cage bars as opposed to the person (or cat). This seems to be his way of saying "back off or lose a limb!" and it works pretty damn well. The cats know better than to mess with him. (they never mix when Alfie is out of the cage and they know better than to stick a paw or tail in or near his cage!) I don't think you over-reacted by posting. I think sometimes they'll do something that catches us off guard and makes us wonder what the heck happened to warrant the response. Their behaviours are so subtle at times they can be difficult to read!

Haha that's fair enough. I guess I've never really given it much thought before. No idea if it's possible but @KevinD is probably your man for making that kind of change. 😊

>>Difficult to tell either way but possibly just an accident - he was probably just going for the cardboard tube and your finger happened to get in the way.<< True! This is what I now suspect. I used to get lots of tiny impish bites from my macaw who was playful but did little harm with her nips. (I would often play 'beak wrestle' with her using a crook'd index finger -- she was a sweetie and very gentle). I've even had her hang off my finger by just her beak when I was walking to carry her somewhere (she chose to hang this way -- not me! -- lest it sound horrible when it was really cute). Such a big baby she was. And I got lots of bites from my Amazon -- sometimes I think she did it for fun, sometimes she would just be in a weird (sort of mean) nippy mood. Some bites hurt more than others. Even my cockatiel sometimes would nip me, it hurt but never caused much harm. Now they are all free at the sanctuary, I guess I have just forgotten what a real parrot bite is like! Crazy but true. I am just not used to ever being bit by Snickers! He's just not a biter (for me -- anyone else is fair game though). Even when Snickers tightens his beak grip on my fingers/hands when I am taking him somewhere he doesn't want to go (like to his cage or into his carrier for the vet) -- it's just pressure -- never even a pinch-bite. I over-reacted by posting. I was just so caught off guard by it. Today, we're both either pretending nothing happened last night or Snickers may seriously be unaware anything happened. lol

On some boards, if the edit is completed within a couple minutes of its original posting, the system won't indicate the post was edited. If I just corrected a minor mistake, guess I'd like the system not to mention I edited anything. After a post has been up a while, then it makes sense to let others know a post was edited (esp if post has been commented on or reacted to). Whether the poster explains the reason for the edit should be optional, of course. But if I made a significant change to my post, I'd prefer to just say why in the edit note. Sometimes I just want that 10 second rule to fix something without it being noted as 'edited' I guess. lol

Difficult to tell either way but possibly just an accident - he was probably just going for the cardboard tube and your finger happened to get in the way. I have had a breakthrough with Alfie and bedtimes in the last couple of years. Well, I say I've had a breakthrough... he's basically just done it all himself and I'm celebrating. Bedtimes or back to cage times were always tricky with Alfie giving me the run around. However, I think this was mostly because he wasn't getting enough out of cage time previously. Now we've spent quite a few years having regular out of cage time and establishing a better routine I think he now realises that he will definitely come out again tomorrow so is more willing to accept going back in his cage. I have to use a wooden perch to get him to step up as he's usually on top of his shelves and I can't reach so well (there is a sofa in the way too). So I ask him to step up on the perch, which he does nicely. I then take him to his cage and ask him to step up on the perch on the cage door and he does so willingly. I then close the door and give him a treat. Occasionally he will grab the perch and give it a bite first, but he still reliably steps up on to it. Very occasionally he will give me the run around by climbing to the top of the cage (which I can't reach) but I use the long wooden perch to guide him back down. It's just a bit of a game to him sometimes I think. We've even got to the point that Alfie will sometimes put himself back in his own cage. If it's getting late in the evening and I'm doing other things he sometimes flies to his cage and climbs right in to have his bedtime snack and drink. He also sometimes tops his off by saying "night night" - a hint for me to let him sleep! I never thought I would see that happen. 😂

I just checked by editing the above post and you don't have leave a comment. You can edit your post and save it. The post will still show as edited but won't have a comment as to why.

Hah, funnily enough, I have spotted some absolute corkers in my posts recently- usually when I read back through a thread. I always wonder how I missed it the first time round, as I always read back what I have written before posting. As for the reason for editing box... isn't it optional to leave a comment? Or has that changed?

I was redressing my wound when it hit me, only the top part of my finger injured -- no bottom beak action. I am thinking either I accidentally scraped my own finger on his upper beak or he was trying for a better beak hold on the flattened tube and caught my finger with his upper beak in error. It looks mostly like a deep scrape.

YOUR NOT ALONE. Some times when I proofread my post and I submit my post and I read it when it comes up in the thread I think to my self OH sh*t (when I make that silly error) their going to think I dumb. Or how about when you read your post or your reply a day or two later and there are 10 other reply`s after yours and that's when you see your badly misspelled words that you missed.

OH they know how to get their point across and some times they do over do it. It`s the only way they know for sure how to get your attention. Are they sorry ? No, but they did get their point across.. You gotta love them.

So extremely sorry. Amazons are amazing, boisterous, brave, dominating, determined, smart -- an exceptional breed. I can't imagine your loss. So sorry but thankful for every second you had with your Amazon. (((huggs)))

The vacuuming is another thing that will start them doing the bath thing.

A lot of practical and helpful responses. I realize no one has the power to force a forum to become busy and active -- it just has to happen on its own; and it has to feel effortless and be enjoyable for everyone. And yeah, life does get in the way sometimes of being active in a forum. A woman can dream though: maybe one day I will come online here and there will be too many active threads for me to even read them all!

Funny you should say that... if I somehow managed to make enough money that I could give up working full time then I would love to start up a sanctuary/rescue centre. Yes British weather is often talked/complained about over here. We're never happy. It's always too cold/hot/wet/dry etc etc 😂

The one thing about this forum is that the members care, but often get tied up with life in general and their post will come and go as they work their way through life. I know and understand as my personal in the last two years has been filled with tragedies that has taken up a lot of my time. I am getting back to posting again as this forum means a lot to me with the friends I have made. Some times a post will lack response but others will have many. I often will bounce round different subjects until I find one that spark a response. My did you know post are meant to give tidbits of info as food for thought. Others are just stories about my grey, or trying to be help-full to members in need Some times you hit a home run and some times you strikeout out. It`s all part of the game This forum is needed and we are the forum.

One of my greys loves ice and prefers really cold water if she is getting a bath or shower.

Greys have this thing with ice cubes. Put a ice cube in Corkys bath water she will jump in nd take a bath, put a ice cube in her drinking water and she will take a bath in her water dish. I have read that they have this thing with cold water and ice. Get a large bowl of water and put in some ice and watch what they will do.

Hey Everyone - This is JoJo and I patiently awaiting our vet appointment in the car.

SO strange. Sounds like brooding behavior BUT are they physically carrying the ice to a spot on the towel or just tossing it out of the bowl and then wandering down to go sit on it. I am thinking brooding behavior of they are tossing it on the floor and then noticing and 'egg like' shape down there to sit on. If they are carrying it to the bottom of the cage, I have no clue.

I've noticed the same as most. Facebook is IMO the cause of the decline in Forums. I was a moderator on another forum for years and as FB groups became more prevalent, participation dropped significantly. I, like most, signed up for this forum and really honestly hoped it would be a busy community of people full of knowledge and participation but it seemed like the "Facebook effect" had already taken hold. However I would hate to see this site and all of it's valuable information be archived. I'd like to offer my assistance if it is needed. I have time I can dedicate if needed and am very technically minded.

I can`t believe its been over 5 years that I lost my loved Amazon Cricket. .Its still very hard for me to talk about her as we shared a very special bond. Not every one can get along with a Zon as they are strong minded and are said to the most difficult to get to know and understand. The one lesson that Cricket taught me was that she had respect for me and people that had self-confidence in them self. When an Amazon forms a bond it can be so strong that nothing can break it..