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Good to hear from you and Alfie again. Been really quiet around here. I'm guilty of that as I only come around when I want something, kind of like my Greys 😆

If you haven't seen my original post about Odie: https://greyforums.org/topic/26222-my-long-lost-odie-podie/#comment-282822 Odie has finally come home after 30+ years. When I went to see Odie in 2019, my aunt told me she wants Odie to come back to me. She actually put that in her will. So when she passed away a in April, I asked my mother who lives in the area to go get Odie. Four weeks later I hit the road to New Mexico. Unlike last time when I met Odie, Odie knew who I was right off the bat. There was no shyness, or acting like he was unsure if he wanted to be on this 'new' person. In 2019 he didn't know who I was until I started talking to him the way I used to and you could see the light come on. He looks like he's in terrible shape from all the feather plucking. My aunt told me this started when TIgger died who was his buddy bird that was also another bird I had way back when. Odie is full of personality. We believe he's male although I've never tested him. Has huge feet! He reminds me so much of Huey that I accidentally call him Huey all the time. He loves to work on cardboard, just like Huey. Odie is a talker. He talks in my aunt's voice. He was not a talker when I had him years ago. He loves to tell my mom's bird, Kiwi, to 'shut up' and 'stop it' all the time when Kiwi gets into his squawk mode. After a while we were all telling Kiwi to shut up and stop it with Odie leading the chorus. He will ask 'want to go outside, hmmmm?' in my aunt's voice. He has rattled off some other sentences in her voice that I just can't make out. She always talked in a frail little voice so that's what he does. Odie loves to give kisses and loves a good head scritch, but if I do it too long or try to cuddle him to much, he will tell me to 'stop it'. 🤣 He's been fed a junk diet of bird store seed and peanuts his whole life. He transitioned well to the sprouts/cook that I feed. He acts like I feel, an old bird, seems to sleep more during the day. Loves to watch TV, I guess that's what he did with my aunt in the later years when she retired. He also spent a lot of time outside in the garden because he asks to go out a lot. He's not much for my wife, still shy around her and really doesn't want to be touched by her. I suspect that will change over time. With me, he seeks me out wherever I am. He can't fly so he gets on the floor and hikes it. GreycieMae is being a brat about it all. The second day I had them all in the living room, she did one of her fake screams and a hot lap around the living room from the kitchen and got Huey and Odie launched. Odie ended up hanging from my pant leg and Huey was doing circles around the living room. Greycie did this when we introduced Toby for the first time. She is such a spoiled diva. Odie seems to have busted airsacs. Whenever he whistles/talks and has his wings lifted I can see an air bubble under the skin that blows up and pulls back in. THat really bothers me. No idea how long that has been going on. Going to head to the vet about it and a general checkup although I'm not sure I want to hear any bad news. We'll see. Hopefully I can give Odie a happy life from here forward. I feel really bad the condition he is in but all I can do is give him the best from here on. He seems to be a happy bird so I'll take that. Odie with sleepy eyes at 2:30am sitting in the truck about to head for Texas: Odie cute as a button working on his cardboard. e8d7442a-91c8-4f95-90f6-0073874d510b.mp4

Odie had a vet appointment a few days ago. Still awaiting blood work results. The vet agreed with the ruptured air sacs. She said it doesn't seem to be affecting his breathing at all so she's just going to leave it be. He got his photo taken with the vet. He has settled in really well. He's about as naughty as can be. Loves to secretly get into stuff and seems to love getting caught. I used to feel bad for him that he would always say "Odie you're a bad bird" but after watching him he seems to relish getting caught being naughty. He ripped up some carpet next to my wood stove. He also snuck onto a table where I was doing a puzzle and dismantled 3/4 of the puzzle. When he got caught doing that he let out a human giggle and ran back to his cage top. Hard to be mad at this little guy, so he gets away with murder. Now we strategically place things on the table that he can get into and we will ignore him for a while and then pretend to make a huge deal when he gets 'caught'. He loves it. He really excels at talking. A couple examples: - Greycie was being her usual bratty self and throwing stuff around on the countertop in the kitchen as she does when she's had it with waiting on breakfast. I started talking to her and saying "...you hungry Greycie? Are you hungry baby?". Odie then said "you got some food Daddy?". I nearly fell on the floor. I've never witnessed a bird speak in such context. First he interpreted what I was telling Greycie. Then he strung that sentence together. And I assume he used to call my aunt's husband 'Daddy'. He's not a bird that sits around talking constantly. He just blurts out words and statements and most of the time they are in perfect context to what we are saying. He's a very smart birdy. - I put him in his travel cage and I pull him around on top of a wagon. He works with me in the garden and mostly under the carport working on truck/side-by-side/whatever I got going at the time. I am always playing my Soundboks listening to classic rock or classic country. Odie love to sing in a deep voice and also he uses a high pitched baby-talk voice that I'm sure he stole from my wife. One day it was getting a little hot and I said to Odie "it's getting hot Odie" and he immediately countered with "I Know!". Another fall over moment. Some recent pics of the little nut

Hi all! Apologies for being a bit radio silent recently. I do check in every so often but haven't responded to posts for a while and haven't started any new discussions recently. So I thought I'd just check in, say hello and see how everyone and their flocks are doing? Alfie and I are doing good. Work is crazy busy at the moment for me but life with Alfie is good. He had a routine vet appointment last week to have his beak burred (it grows out wonky so he has to have some help every so often to keep it in check). He was the best boy, as usual. Pretty sure he gave the vet a bit of a run around first off but they all seem to love him there, so I don't think he was TOO boisterous!! He also got to go in my new car, which he wasn't too happy about at first as it's a different size, shape and colour to my previous one. So that warranted a short adjustment period for him. I'm very thankful that Alfie is not change adverse and takes a lot of things in his stride. I've got a ticket to go to the 'Think Parrot' show again this year in June and this year I decided to book a hotel to break up the driving. So I'm heading down on the Saturday, going to the show on the Sunday and returning home on Monday. Alfie is coming with me for the whole trip so that'll be an experience for him. I double checked with the hotel that they're ok for a parrot to stay - I paid extra for a 'pet' but they probably normally expect dogs so I figured I'd better check to make sure we didn't get turned away! Alfie also turned 22 years old on April 16th. I didn't get him any goodies for his birthday- I'm saving up for the parrot show to buy him lots of toys/treats and various other bits and pieces. So he'll get some belated birthday presents then! Hope those of you that are still hanging around and checking in to the forums are all well and good? Hope your flocks are all good too, of course! Aaand of course, got to remember the photo-tax! 😁

HI ! I check in but when I dont see any new posts, I dont log in. I appreciate everyone checking in here! My Nilah turned 16 last week. No special presents for her. She is celebrated and spoiled every day..so.I did sing happy birthday to her, but she didnt care! My flock is good, of course with springtime, my amazon is yelling her head off, but this too shall pass. Here is a few updated pics! I rarely get the 3 together in 1 pic, so I am happy with that one!

Aww, handsome Alfie! Not much to report bird-wise from my world. Am looking into options to help dampen the noise in our home. We don't have any carpets, so I'm hoping to find some sort of sound paneling that I can move across the bird area as needed. With 10 birds, no one can hear what the other is saying when they all decide to have a little birdie conference!

Look at that handsome boy! Very nice aviary for your spoiled boy to enjoy!

He is top naughty. After my last post he got another spot in our carpet so he's now on no out-of-cage time unless he's being closely watched. Greycie's not this destructive. She just likes to toss stuff off the counters, run around on the floor and ankle bite for fun and take an occasional chomp out of the top of a door or cabinet. So she gets watched closely too. Huey is indifferent, doesn't really care. Odie however would love to start a fight, he thinks he's a brawler. Btw...we still play the same games on top of the fridge with Greycie, she loves it.

What a story and what a blessing that you have him back! I can imagine Gracie's reaction. Hope the vet visit goes well.

What an amazing story! I'm so happy he's now back in your care. He will have a chance to eat well and to be loved again by his very first human. Love everything about this! And that GreycieMae...So like her to make such a grand statement! I sincerely hope the air sack issue will not be of concern.

We are all good here at Timber's house! Alfie takes a beautiful picture. You are blessed that he isn't change averse. Timber gets a mad-on when I change the color of my nail polish, ha. Good to hear from everyone!

I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine how you feel, though I remember how I felt when I rushed Timber to the avian vet and didn't expect him to survive the night. People who do not own a parrot don't understand the special connection we develop with them. I've had and loved many pets over my many years, but until Timber I didn't understand the special connection I developed with him that I hadn't experienced before. I'm sure you will grieve, just as we do when we lose a close family member. There will probably be harder days and easier days, and hopefully at some point you can begin remember the joy your bond brought Brutus and you more often than the crushing weight of loss. God bless, my prayers are with you.

I'm late too but Happy New Year! GreycieMae actually tanked up on eggnog news years day. What a piggy.

So I think I have managed to create a bit of a 'problem' with Alfie and stepping up. It's not major- but am just looking to see if anyone has any advice. Over the years Alfie has been known to lunge and bite if he didn't want to step up. We went through a time when our trust broke down a bit and I had to re-evaluate if I was the best owner/home for Alfie. Long story short, I was able to make some changes to my life and living arrangements to improve things for us both. I am still sometimes a bit wary of Alfie lunging/biting. Although he doesn't normally break the skin it still hurts and I feel it sets us back. So I always try and read his cues and avoid the possibility of a bite. It's been working well. One of the things I did during this time when we were rebuilding our trust was use a wooden dowel perch for him to step up on if I needed to transfer him somewhere else or get him back in his cage. That meant if I read it wrong and he decided to lunge, it would be the stick that would get the damage and not me. When I was more confident about things I would use my arm (he doesn't step up for a hand, only my wrist - always has). This was generally fine. Alfie gradually learned that he didn't need to lunge to tell me "no" - he could just turn away and I would respect that and back off. I've now noticed though that more often than not, he will refuse to step up on my arm but will willingly step up for the perch. So I'll offer an arm and say 'step up' and he'll back off/turn away. I back off (because otherwise I know I'll get bitten). I go and fetch the wooden dowel and he hops straight on it before I've even said "step up" Very occasionally he will step up on my arm and I will heavily praise this and offer a treat. When he steps up on the wooden dowel he gets a treat and a 'good boy'. It's not a major problem - but I would like to try and swing it back so he's more reliably stepping up on my arm- as this helps if we're visiting my parents or elsewhere where I don't have a wooden dowel handy. However, I know that if he refuses the arm and I go back and ask a second time, he's probably going to lunge... especially if I'm not confident in my movements and ask. (He seems to be able to read me SO well!) Any advice for trying to improve this?

Love the pics! He's adorable!

Sorry to hear about the recall. Found it humorous that your birds have you feeding them frozen waffles and only a certain brand. Who's running that show anyway?!? My birds have me trained on Honey Grahams. And we call them 'cookies' around here. They go wild when I ask 'who wants a cookie?'. GreycieMae will hang from the cabinet door where the cookies are stored.

Found the FDA SKU list: https://www.fda.gov/media/182860/download?attachment

Are you able to research the SKUs being recalled and compare those to what you have? Hopefully all will be okay. Fingers crossed.

Darn. But I'm not surprised, seeing that greys usually perceive new things as evil.

Quick update on the Corey stroller experience. Corey does NOT like the moving stroller. Apparently, moving the stroller makes the stroller evil. She even flies out of the stroller [and lands OK on the ground] in the house and she is very reluctant flyer. Hopefully, we can get her through the "the stroller is evil" phase. P.S. I will post a picture of the finished stroller when we get there.

I have two Bengal cats, Widget and Pixel who are both indoor cats. They will be 14 years old later this year but are still quite energetic when they want to be. They co-exist with Alfie quite well and both learned from a young age to leave him well alone. They pay Alfie no mind and don't harass him whilst he is in his cage and I separate them when I let him out- they typically get the upstairs and Alfie gets the downstairs. My living room door handle had to be taken off and put back on upside down to help with this, as otherwise Widget could open the door and let himself in. Anyway, this works well as the cats have everything they need upstairs and it gives Alfie enough room to fly around, get some exercise and generally cause all sorts of mischief. The other day, Widget was asleep on the sofa in the living room and I needed to let Alfie out so I woke Widget up, gave him some fuss and then shooed him out of the room. I let Alfie out as usual and he flew over to his tree on the dinner table. Then he immediately flew over to his standing tree at the other side of the room. He then flew back to the original tree. That was a bit unusual as he usually stops somewhere to stretch and preen first. All of a sudden, Pixel scurries across the room, looking a bit worried. Last time I'd seen her, she was upstairs and I obviously hadn't noticed her wander in to the living room at some point. Alfie was still flying around because he knew it wasn't right that she was there. Thankfully, I was able to get Pixel to stop running around and picked her up to remove her from the room. Phew! Alfie then settled ok and we carried on with our evening. I think Pixel was too scared of all the flapping to know what to do but I'm just so glad she didn't try and chase Alfie - or spot him before he spotted her. The stupid thing is, I normally do check around the rest of the room to make sure I got both of them out. That one moment of complacency could have ended very badly... although I'm honestly not sure who would have come off worse with that one... either way, I felt very guilty for a good while after! Have you ever slipped up/made a mistake and had a near miss as a result?

I've done similar in the past- it was quite a few years ago and I was cleaning out Alfie's cage. He was in the cage as the cats were about. I took the bottom tray out and started cleaning that, then for some unknown reason I then took the grill out of the bottom as well and took that outside to wash it off. I heard some commotion because Alfie was jumping around his cage and knocking toys around, walked back in and saw Widget in the bottom of his cage having a good sniff around. I think it was a similar thing to your Wilson - he wasn't phased by or interested in Alfie, he was more interested in this space that he normally can't get to. So I quickly ushered Widget out from the bottom of the cage and put the grill back in place before apologising profusely to Alfie! 😬

I've had more near misses than I like to think about. In this case, all's well that ends well, and I suspect it won't happen again. Things like this will happen, but when it does I think it makes us even more vigilant. I have two maine coon cats. For the most part, they seem more curious about Timber than predatory, but that can change in a heartbeat. Timber on the other hand, is frighteningly fearless when it comes to the cats. I remember once when Timber was in his very large cage (about six feet tall, about 6 inches off the ground. Timber was out as usual and I had went in the bathroom, which is only feet from his cage. I thought the cats were confined to another area as usual. I came out of the bathroom and there was Wilson (one of the cats) inside the bottom of Timber's cage. He was not looking for Timber, just curious about what was in that "forbidden" area it seemed. Timber was rapidly making his way from the outside of the cage (he was on the playtop) to confront the trespasser. I grabbed Wilson and returned him to the other room. I think I was more terrorized than either of them!

Summer in the UK so far has been a bit of a washout. Most of the hot and sunny days have been when I'm stuck at work. But this weekend we finally got some lovely sunny weather! Today I did a bit of gardening, scrubbed down the aviary and then put Alfie out there to enjoy the sunshine. This is only the second time he's been out there this year. He absolutely loves it out there... so much so that he's a right pain to get back inside. 🤣 But all that sunbathing, climbing, preening and watching/listening to everything going on around him obviously tired him out! 20240728_135615.mp4

He definitely has a 'tude! If he's in a grump about something then stay well clear, because he will be damn sure to let you know otherwise! And he is SO quick as well.

Alfie looks like he has some Huey'tude. He has that grumpy old man look just like Huey.

Alfie spent some more time in his aviary yesterday after his routine vet visit to have his beak filed back. He has crossbeak and needs an appointment with the vet every so often to help keep it in check.

Super nice! Love the pics!

That is so cool! He looks like he's enjoying it

Well, it seems he has decided what he likes & what makes him feel most comfortable. Maybe just continue to let him dictate his step up comfort level & don't try & do anything different. In time you most likely will find that he decided to change things up once he feels totally secure & trusting that you will always do the same thing each time. It can be frustrating for you, but he is probably frustrated that he never knows how your gonna try & get him to step up. when he is ready, he will let you know by doing something different. I think patience is the key...:)

Totally 100% agree with you! If they aren't fully trusting you, that is an issue for sure. They need to feel secure when they are perched.

I think there is a lot to the "unsteadiness" of an arm. Timber has a hand thing so hands are out. It has to be my forearm. I've noticed when he's on my arm he's adjusting to keep balance and fight slipping. I usually grab the bottom of my sleeve and make sure the surface he steps on is tight, which really helps. I can see that being at least a part of it.

I totally get this! He has communicated to you he doesn't like things from behind & it is great you underatnd that & respect it. There is no nail polish or a ring he might not like on your hand or wrist? When you ask him to step up onto your hand, what part of your hand are you using & where do you place your hand? Also, he will feel your hesitation, so always be confident & if you do get bit, don't react, they love to get emotion out of you & that will quickly reinforce his biting behavior when stepping up. Sometimes when I expect a bite, I will lay my hand flat & strong, palm down. I always place it at the belly just above their feet, placement can be everything. Let us know

Have you tried offering him a favorite treat while positioning your arm or hand behind him so he'll be distracted while stepping back onto you? Whenever my greys put out a spicy mood vibe, I'll grab a snow pea pod, offer it and while they're taking a bite they'll automatically step back onto my waiting wrist.

Gosh, I dont know what to advise. If he likes the dowel, I would just use that until he is so comfortable with that & time goes on that he forgets about stepping up on you & biting. can you take the dowel with you to your parents? Als, my 2 greys & my 1 amazon will step up onto my arm, but really don't prefer it as there is nothing to really grab onto, and your skin can slide..grap your arm tight with your hand & twist it, your skin isn't firm & it's easier for them to lose balance & fall. they prefer something they can dig their claws into if need be. He might like the dowel because he can wrap his claws & hold on tight making him feel more secure. I offer my hand in moments of being unsure about getting bit, but ALWAYS make a fist, if you have a tight fist, there really isn't much to bite or latch onto. I would contiune with the high praise & reward when he does what you like, but replace your arm with a sturdier item. keep us posted & Good luck. remember be patient as we live in their time which passes slowly vs our hurry up world!

I know this probably gets old, but I’m trying to give examples. He was in a bad mood tonight, and maybe you can use this. When your Grey is in a bad mood, they will let you know , and you can avoid flesh loss. Sukie won’t bow his head and makes a click noise when you try to scratch them. You should avoid being bitten. A lot of people post in the Parrot bit me thread. You can avoid being bitten by recognizing your Grey’s mood. I know Sukie That’s all I have. Have a good weekend.

She misses you. And something changed with your environment. I’ll bet misses you is top of mind.

This is a picture of Corey playing with my husband. John wraps her up in a t-shirt and bounces her above the bed in a birdie sling. She loves it: makes chicken sounds. It's only taken us 20+ year for her to be willing to be on her back. When we first got her [as an adult] she would NOT step up to our hand. It "only" took about 6 months before she was willing to come out of her cage onto our hand. Like you guys say: it's "grey time".

Thank you for the update! So has he pushed Greycie into the second place naughtiness category? One of my all time favorite videos from many years ago is when you and your family were playing games while Greycie was on top of the refridgerator. She was so full of sass and enjoying every minute of attention! What does Hughie think of his new 'friend'?

Aw that's amazing news! I was waiting for the update! Hopefully Gracie settles down with the change soon enough. Can't blame her for being a bit grumpy about some added competition!

Beautiful birds! I love seeing pictures.

I’m so sorry for the loss of Brutus. I know what you mean by his being your soulmate, and that the bond you shared was incredibly special. It’s okay to feel this pain—take all the time you need to grieve. Everyone here understands how African Greys create deep emotional connections with their person, and I feel deeply saddened by your loss. Please tell us a little bit about Brutus. How did you meet him? What cute quirks did he have? What were his favorite vocalizations to make? How did he enrich your life?

I'm a bit late to the party but happy new year everyone!

Take it slow with lots and lots of praise and her favourite treats. Hopefully she'll come round eventually!

Yes, they do see new things and change as evil, at least initially. That is the way Timber is anyway. Good luck!

I think this is a great idea and I have seen a few people do this. Some modify it and attach a dog crate onto the frame. Others do what you have suggested have have a mesh screen over the top. I have a couple of options for Alfie when I take him out. I have a small metal cage for him when I take him in the car- e.g to take him to the vets. I use that if we're going to be out for a long time, as it has food and water dishes he can't remove. I often take him with me when I visit my parents, as he absolutely adores my mum and it means he's not left alone. I also have a little camping trolly/cart that the cage fits in, so if I'm taking him somewhere where we'll be moving around (e.g a couple of parrots shows I've visited in the last couple of years) then I can pull the cage around in that. If I'm just taking him out for a walk then I have a backpack carrier for him which has a single perch in it. It did come with food/water bowls but they are just attached via velcro, so the first thing he does is rip them off and drop them... which means I end up with water running down my back! 🤣 Alfie has the same attitude about harnesses. I do have a harness for him and I did try and start harness training a few times... but he hates his back/wings being touched and the loop to go over his head is so small we never progressed that far with it. I never forced the issue because I'd quite like to retain all my fingers! 😁

My tag does this. she lures you in with her sweetness, then BAM, she takes a nip! She has always been a jokester & lives for outsmarting me. I never fall for her tricks, cause I will get a bite! They have such different personalities.

It isn't Timber's warning sound either. We "click" at each other all the time, and he will also do it when I give him a treat he wants.

very accurate, that's how I live & believe...if I get bit. it's always my own fault for not reading their cues.

So cute! She's very comfortable and trusting! There's definitely something to be said about 'grey time', that's for sure! My son does something a bit similar with Maalik. He'll pick him up, lay him on his back and then hold him up to his ear as if he's answering a phone. Maalik loves it!