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Alfie loves shredding boxes and it's difficult to keep up with the habit. I remove tape and don't use boxes which are dirty or look like they have been kicked aorund.

Love his non violent protest of bed time. Whisper is a confirmed bat bird can often be found hanging from the roof of her cage to sleep at night.

The dust is the worst for me! Wiping down my grey's cage is a burden. He is constantly chasing and nipping at my cleaning cloth (and fingers!) -- he thinks cage wipe downs are a game. For a thorough wipe-down (and esp a real cage cleaning) -- he has to be caged elsewhere for a moment. He also dislikes newspaper removals -- lunges and grabs at them! Greys are real stinkers! lol

So many great birdie memes out there. Which ones are your favorites?

Wife has a new classroom this year. I thought it was pretty nice of the school to install a nice skyhook to hang a batbird from. She hung there for about an hour before she wanted down. Crazy bird.

Went from one to 9 it does sneak up on you. Now for the cage wipe down simplified mist all surfaces with water prior to wipe down. It settles the dust so you are not wafting through the house when cleaning the cage or changing the paper.

Same here. I try to hit the wet stuff as soon after it hits as possible. I am always amazed at the amount of dry crud surrounding the cage each evening though. For a bird who only weighs about 1/2 pound and doesn't seem to eat that much, where do all these bits and pieces come from? It's a puzzle

I sometimes deliberately give peanuts, nut butters and some seed to my parrot purely for the 'fats' in them. My gut says they need this to maintain a healthy weight. I have a whole-foods attitude. I admit, my parrots diet is largely fresh fruit, veg, and some rice (or whole-wheat pasta). All on low-fat end of the fats spectrum. Should I add olive oil or something to this fresh veg/rice mix??? I don't want to cause fatty liver disease by adding too much oil, but my parrot could happily live on this fresh mix alone. I do realize there is limited amount of fat in most fresh veg (think of where corn oil comes from - veggies do have limited oils in them!!!) But such oils are in dilute amounts in a fresh fruit/veg diet. Cows can live on grass -- but don't parrots require more fat than that??? I also always have a dish with just pellets (mine enjoys them as a crunchy snack) and I figure they're loaded with the needed balance of nutrients/micro-nutrients (like vitamins and minerals -- almost like a vitamin supplement) but it's NOT my parrot's main diet -- more like a snack. Mine lives mostly on fresh fruit and veg -- with some rice (sometimes pasta -- not his fave) mixed in. What do you feed your parrot???

LNCAG that's where the red palm oil idea comes from. Dave said that the red palm fruit is a staple in their native diet. You can't get the fruit here (or I haven't found a source).

Nutiva RPO daily. It's organic and grown on a family farm, so no habitat is damaged through farming.

I will try the red palm oil. (I will search Amazon for it). I know I am deliberately offering the nut butters, peanuts and twice-weekly seed mixes (esp mixes with sunflower seeds) just to make sure my guy gets enough fat in his diet. While we all hate an all-seed diet, at least we know those parrots get enough fats. I always view fats as 'brain food.' (Re: seed mixes: this month my grey doesn't consider safflower seeds edible. It changes from only sunflower seeds are acceptable to only safflower seeds are accepted). I am proud my guy loves fresh fruit/veg/rice/pasta -- many here know, esp with re-homed parrots, that it can take a long time to convert a parrot to a healthier diet. But I can't imagine that in the wild they don't have some sort of fat source. What fatty foods are available to wild greys in Africa? (I've NO idea). But I do know that the fats that occur naturally in fruits/veg, imo, is very low.

An oldie but a goodie -- LOVE IT! One of those 'it's funny because it's true' dealies. This one NEVER gets old! Thanks for sharing it!!! lol And honestly, I'm good at cleaning up 'wet' messes fairly quickly. But the dust a grey makes??? Love the 'flour/sifter' example! I can sweep/vacuum/hoover floors, wipe down all surfaces and literally, the very next day, I see more dust collecting on my surfaces!!! I've got 22 years of near-daily dust clean-ups under my belt. (I use a dampened/wrung out microfibre cloth for the dust). Crazy. Give me poop projectiles, wet food throws, chewed wood/cardboard bits dropped on floor, anything -- and I can deal. But that dust is relentless. I have to change my hepa pre-filter weekly. I wonder why I don't have a serious respiratory illness, honestly (hence running a hepa-type air cleaner!) Gotta really love a grey to not go completely bonkers over dust!!!

This isn't a meme, but I thought I'd post it here since this thread is active. I know someone has posted it here but I just saw it again on facebook and it still made me laugh. A lot of truth in it! 13 Ways to Really Prepare Yourself for Getting a Pet Bird Are you thinking about getting your first pet bird? This 13-step guide will emotionally and physically prepare you for what it’s like to live with one. If you follow this, you will have a fairly good idea what it’s like to have one of these lovely creatures in your house. 1. Take a big bite of carrot. Chew it up well, but don’t swallow it. Now go out to your dining room and spew it all over the wall. Leave it there until it dries. Get a sponge and a scraper and scrape it off the wall. Repeat daily! 2. Go to the bird supply store. Buy everything you need for the month. Then with the leftover money, go to the grocery store and pick up a five-pound box of macaroni, some parmesan cheese and some margarine. These provisions should last you about two weeks, and it’s about all you’ll be able to afford after all that money you spent at the bird supply store. 3. Take a newspaper to the bird supply store. Place it in the bottom of an empty birdcage. Read it while it’s laying on the bottom of the grate. This is how you will be reading the newspaper from now on. 4. Get some pelleted diet, some chopped up vegetables, borrow some bird poop from the bird supply store (they’ll look at you funny, but they probably won’t charge you for it), some parrot feathers, pieces of bird toy parts, some wood chips and some almond shells. Combine in a one-gallon container. Throw some of it on the floor. Now clean it up. Throw more of it on the floor. Now clean it up. Repeat at least twice a day. 5. Get a screwdriver from your toolkit. Make some gouges in the paint on the wall. And while you’re at it, use it to rip one of your lampshades and smack up a couple of picture frames. 6. Make sure you know the meaning of all of these terms: Cloaca, preen gland, PDD, PBFD, calcium to phosphorus ratio, polyomavirus, E.N.D., and boing. This task involves a lot of research. At least you'll be on your phone for a good reason. 7. Measure out a cup of flour and place in a sifter. Move about your house and lightly coat all surfaces with the flour. Now dust all the surfaces. Repeat at least three times a week. 8. Look up some wild parrots on YouTube. Turn the volume up on your phone to full blast and place it right next to your ear. Repeat at least three times a day for 45 minutes. 9. Take some of that bird poop you borrowed from the bird supply store and place it on a spatula. Now reach over your shoulder with the spatula and rub the bird poop on the back of your shirt. Let dry and then go grocery shopping. Count the number of people who either stare at you or tell you that you have bird poop on your back. 10. Do a little dumpster diving and collect odd items like water bottle caps, pieces of raffia, tree branches from bird-safe trees, pieces of cardboard and old plastic clothesline. With these items, attempt to make an interesting toy. You have 8 minutes. You may begin. 11. Save the wild parrot sounds onto your phone and set them as your 6 a.m. alarm. Make sure they are on the loudest setting possible. Repeat every morning for the rest of your life. 12. Get some bed sheets. Now take that screwdriver and make various beak-shaped holes in them. Take some of that bird poop and smear it on the sheets. Launder and repeat at least twice a month. 13. Find a reputable bird veterinarian and make his car payment for him. Repeat at least once a year for each bird you intend to get. Do these exercises for as long as you can. If you can keep this up for at least six months without losing your mind, you just might be ready for a parrot 😂😍😋

Ha, isn't that the truth! He actually knows BEFORE I have snacks. He hears my footsteps cabinet doors etc., and starts his "baby bird" cheeping before I even get the wrapper off.

I put red palm oil on Timber's rice mix. Dave mentioned his support for red palm oil years ago and I added it to Timber's diet then.

I know, should have waited for December to post this one... I am impatient! lol

It's true for me. After getting my second bird the rest of my flock came rather quickly. I now have 13 and holding!

BOY THAT`S THE TRUTH. At one point I went from 2 too 25. And I loved it.

What's yours is theirs. What's theirs is theirs (and not yours). Basically, everything belongs to the birds. 😂

Yep, If you have it they want it. It`s the law.

Love memes and loved these! Thanks for sharing

Sorry about the language on this one but it's too good: And of course the videos people make are even better: TielForce.mp4

Definitely love Bird Memes. That's one facebook group I don't usually get into it with anyone. So many good memes come across that one... Who did it better? (in case it's unreadable, the pull tab reads 'now I have')

Here's another one that we can all relate to:

That's a zon for you!

Crick was the worlds biggest clown.

WHERE DID I LEAVE THAT DUST PAN ?

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT ?? ?

Love parrot memes (well, I like all sorts of memes!)

I've said this elsewhere, but mine will hang upside down off my hand/fingers at bedtime -- pretty hard to put an upside bird on a perch. He's all limp and thinks this is hilarious. I often have to just lay him on bottom of his cage until he lets go of my hand and realizes it IS bedtime. lol

Brilliant photos! Alfie hangs upside down on his rope boings quite often. I call him a "bat-bird" 😁

Corky will also hang upside down for long periods of time also. They are wanabebats.

Hilarious! I've always wondered why they enjoy hanging upside down like that. Guess I'll never know...

Greycie Mae! What a little knucklehead! Looks like a cheap toy that you can replicate for her to 'bat' from at home.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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'd say just keep being active. Some posts get ignored and others will spark an interest. I've posted both kinds, just don't let it get under your skin if no one responds. There is no facebook arm of this forum. I've tried letting people know on the facebook grey groups about this forum but no one ever shifts this way. I used to post a lot of pics and videos of my GreycieMae, I need to get back to that.

I wish we had more than 5 regular posters. I am trying to post more but feel like my efforts may appear as an attempt to dominate the boards here -- and I am just a newly hatched and well aware of such. I would do anything to inject more interest here -- to have people wanting to post more. I just feel like there are so many nice people here (well, any grey lover HAS to be somewhat nice)!!! I am open to any ideas, newbie that I am. I am not a member of any other bird forum on the internet. (Well, I used to sysop on CompuServe for John Benn's Pets/Cats/Dogs/Bird forums (also had a fishnet and a horses forum) -- but that was back in the early 90s when there was no internet to compete with). Plenty of mods here -- but too many chiefs but not enough contributing members is death to forum. I know this well and remember all to well when CompuServe died. I don't mind liking others posts but I am dying of thirst for real discussion. I only have a grey, a multi-homed (somewhat scared and disturbed grey) yet an amazing trusting loving cuddly companion for me I've had since 1997. So, my interest is mostly in CAGs/TAGs these days, parrot-wise. I (notice, so far, every line begins with "I") just want to do anything I can to get people talking. I am not argumentative -- I can take criticism -- I'd like to see all sorts of views shared -- even if yours never leaves the cage and is only offered a seed diet or if your grey has an outdoor aviary and gets fresh fruit/veg every day) we can still learn from each other. And grow. Or entertain each other with silly stories of stuff our greys do. Even if you've already shared your funny stories, newbies (like me) may not have read them yet. Or we can just repeat a million times how special greys are, or how smart, or remark again on those wonderful red tail feathers. Is there a FB page for this site -- some way to let others know it exists??? HOW can I help? I mean, REALLY help? Or should I just shut-up and let a dying forum go? Is there a poll someone could put up and see what people here really want? I will leave if needed, but was just so happy to find this forum and then so sad to see that maybe folks don't realize it's okay to repeat old stories and advice, it's okay -- to newbies it's all NEW! In most forums, I find, most don't search for old threads, they start new ones. Or join in ongoing threads. Most don't take the time to read all the old stuff. If I worked in internet advertising -- this forum would be my new project.