Leaderboard

It is with such a heavy heart that I report that Jay Sheppard passed away yesterday at home after being on hospice care. I had been taking care of him for a while and he was such a fighter until the end. I miss him terribly and hope he made a mark on the topics of parrot care. I just wanted to let everyone know because, although he was unable toward the end to contribute, he still enjoyed hearing all the new posts. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart... Spock (Maggie Sheppard)

Vannah seems very healthy, active, talking, attention seeking, etc... I am trying to understand her behaviors, but this one is mystifying me! She starts be getting me to pick her up, then leans in to me. Not sure if she likes the snuggle or is looking for stability. Usually I go sit down with her and let her choose to snuggle, play, flap, or what ever. The following video is what she does at some point everytime I pick her up. Today as soon as we sat down she started. **edit** I know she is asking for a cracker in the video, but she always asks about crackers, ever when she has one. She either likes the word, or She was a cracker junky... What do you think about it? Do any of your fids do something like this? What does it mean for them? 20200719_095151_1.mp4

Photos of Lucy spanning 15 years..... She comes on holiday with us whenever possible. We originally used a basic cat cage (with a perch) for travel, but then had it modified with a side door and gaps for food & water bowls. The side door is great as it allows access for food etc without lifting the main lid and allowing instant escape! We also have a flat pack dog cage which is much larger for destinations such as rented holiday accommodation which sits on a camp table. She is loves chicken bones out of which she get the marrow. .

To Luvparrots. I will post more pics later, but I did give my experience about dogs and avians with pictures and comments to the person who was concerned about bringing a grey into a home with an existing terrier type pooch. At one point we had two dogs (lab and ridgeback) a guinea fowl and a duck, then later the guinea fowl and Lucy. Under the right conditions a half kilo parrot can totally dominate a 53Kg Ridgeback and an overweight labbie.

Hey, hey welcome! Pictures are always enjoyed, hint! hint!

Thank you. After my last response, my little conure scared the begeezees out of her and she took off from my lap. She made it about 3 or 4 feet and landed next to the coffee table. Not too smoothly. She is definitely wanting to try. I'll try making some soft spots for her to work on it. My husband is worried about keeping her fully feathered if she's going to learn to fly. There is an outside door in the room where she is. It is used infrequently, but as he reminded me, it only takes once for her to get into the trees around our place. I am worried about taking away what she wants to be able to do. I am hoping to teach her safe places and maybe screen in tge porch outside the door.🙂

Welcome to the forums! Sorry, I saw this post a while back but for some reason didn't respond at the time... but better late than never I guess! I look forward to hearing more about your grey adventures with Lucy!

you mean this one? https://greyforums.net/forum/9-off-topic-discussions/

Natural sunlight (not from behind glass) is the best- so taking your bird outside in travel cages (or having an outdoor aviary) is the best source for this... or whilst wearing a harness if your bird is harness trained. Either way, they should be secure so they can't spook and fly away. However this obviously depends on weather and temperatures in your area! The next best thing is an avian safe UV light. Make sure it's an avian one and not a reptile one though. You can locate these above the cages or above their favourite perches.

I can't watch the video unfortunately - I just get a grey box with a play button. Will try a different device later to see if I can get it to work. In regards to flying- if she's not used to flying it will probably take it out of her to begin with... imagine trying to for for a run if you've done no exercise whatsoever for months on end -you'll be out of puff to begin with but the more you do it, the better you'll get. If you encourage the short flights she'll start building confidence and will slowly build up her strength too and will start to take longer flights. She may even get the confidence to start flying round obstacles/corners etc over time. If you are worried about her crash landing and potentially hurting herself then you can try and stage the initital flights over soft furnishings such as beds/sofas or put some blankets and cushions on the floor.

I'm so so sorry to hear about Jay, Maggie. I always appreciated his posts and applaud his tremendous will to live. Praying for comfort and peace as you learn to live life without him. Rest well, Jay. ❤️ You made a difference.

So sorry to read this Maggie. I'm sure he had a big feathered escort when he reached the other side! My God give you peace and strength. He will be missed.

I'm so so sorry to hear this Maggie. Jayd was a very valuable member of these forums and offered lots of sound advice over the many years. I offer my deepest condolences.