Inara

Thanks 2 birds. I don't boil the vinegar. I soak a paper towel with boiling water, then spritz that with vinegar and use it as a wipe. I keep a spray bottle of a vinegar/water solution and use that for thorough cage cleaning (wiping down every nook and cranny and every bar) at least once a week. I didn't word it very well Yes, as far as I know, boiling vinegar, especially white vinegar, and/or putting it into your dishwasher or other appliances where it will be at high heat for extended periods of time will cause it to emit toxic fumes. Using it (diluted) for a safe and efficient disinfectant, however is excellent, and is what both of my avian vets use and recommend.

Thanks guys and gals for your kind words. Sterling, just keep reminding yourself, take some deep breaths or have a drink and relax a bit and know that this too shall pass. You've got so much experience (let alone with HUMAN kiddos) and you know what to do. Miss GreycieeMae will be surfin' the sweetness wave again before you know it. Remind yourself not to take it personal, and maybe consider limiting Greycie's time out when Baby Rio is out? Just for awhile perhaps until her little beak is no longer out of joint.

smile.amazon is a great way to donate -- thanks for posting this Sterling! I have been using it to donate to one of my favorite charities. They stop reminding you after awhile to log in via smile.amazon instead of regular amazon, so just a head's up to bookmark it or just get a memory

Mr. Peck is just moving along at light speed, isn't he? What a beautiful video! You can see his joy in flying, and can hear your own joy in sharing that experience with him. He's comes such a long way in such a short time. You two were just meant to find one another! HRH Inara will often ask for "tickles" (her word for scritches and kisses combined) rather than a food reward. I agree it really is nice when our companions do things because they want to and enjoy it. Although, that being said, food is a great motivator. Heck, you should see what *I* will do for a brownie!

Brutus is a doll ! How wonderful that he has internalized the positive things you say to him with love in your voice, and has now bestowed them back to you, at such the right time, too!

How wonderful and heartwarming! Your heart must have just been ready to burst with all kindsa love for Sully. One's name is one of the most important things in our lives as humans, and to hear it said by a companion whom we cherish is just priceless.

Sounds like a very cute toy -- while it lasted! :D alex2014, Inara's favorite toy is her little wooden shoes that we got from Carolz's shop. She L O V E S it. I put "cookies" she calls all dry foods cookies into some of the shoes each morning, and if I forget she will remind me by saying, "Get the cookies." or "How about the cookies?" She also loves to chew on the shoes. Her 2nd favorite foraging toy is a plastic carousel with several boxes on it, each with a different type of lid to open. She figured it out in no time flat, but never is bored with it. I positioned it near the bottom of her cage (out of the poop zone) so that she can stand on the grate while she twirls it around and opens each box for a treat. I usually put special items into the box such as almonds in the shell, pieces of parrot cookies, and a mixture of sunflower seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds.

It's also prudent to have a "go box." (I'm sure this has probably been mentioned a scrillion times already. Ours has: 1 bag of our dog's food 1 3lb bag of Nutri-berries Several bottles of water a towel a first aid kit a copy of vet records on both Dezi and Inara + ID tag/band numbers a recent photo of each a reminder pasted onto it to get Dezi's medications Our human to-go box is similar with a list taped on the outside of it of things to grab in case of evacuation.

hahaha -- great laugh!

Time flies and so does HRH Inara, the bird formerly known as __________________. In just three weeks-ish, Inara will be three years old. She came to us a couple months after her 2nd birthday, and to the credit of her former humans, while they put her up for sale on Craigs List, they did not sell her to the first people who were willing to pony up the cash -- but rather looked for the best home they could find for her. I will be forever grateful that that home is ours. I was looking for another CAG, had visited several, when this beautiful little TAG completely stole my heart from the first moment I handled her. Just seconds after I picked her up, she laid her little cheek against mine and held it there. Her people said they had never seen anything like it. I knew at that moment that we were going to bond -- but I did insist on driving home and thinking overnight about this commitment, because I had made that same commitment twice ('zon and CAG) before and it was literally until death(s) we did part. What is adorable, and wonderful during those first few moments, days, weeks, months may turn into something quite different over a 25+ year span. Like many people who think that "babies are great because you can hand raise them," her humans weren't prepared for that cuddly little ball of fluff that they got from their breeder to turn into an active, demanding, adult bird whose instinct drives it to begin separating from its parents and wanting to leave the nest. They weren't prepared for that same instinct to drive her to demand attention from them after the cute stage wore off. They weren't prepared for *her* to decide when and *if* she wanted to be picked up or whether or not she wanted to interact with them. When I asked them how often they used their outdoor cage (as I had noticed one on their front porch) the reply was, "When I just can't stand listening to her any more." This was clue number one as to what the real reason(s) for selling her were. Clue number 2 came along shortly after, when one of them said, "She's really been pissed at me. She bit me so hard that now I will have a scar. " She proceeded to show me the mark on her finger. Naturally, she had become wary of handling Inara any more and I could see her hesitation while she was taking Inara out for us to become acquainted. It became apparent that the main reasons for their putting Inara up for sale after having invested so much time and money into her (they bought her from a breeder, and helped in her weaning process at the breeders) was not for "economic reasons" or "we just don't have the time to spend with her that she deserves," as stated in the Craigs List ad, but rather: 1) We weren't really prepared for how much she would change over time from that cute, snuggly baby; we had no idea that "hand raised" is meaningless when it comes to bonding as the bird matures 2) We weren't prepared to get severely bitten when we kept demanding that she be something she is not 3) We weren't prepared for the amount of attention that she would require and would demand after *we* had trained her as a baby to be given hours and hours of our undvided attention when we first got her, then went back to our usual routines when her novelty wore off 4) We weren't prepared for how expensive the avian vet visits are; how expensive it is to feed her properly; how expensive it is to house her properly. 5) We weren't prepared to have a creature in our home who is not like other domestic animals that do what we say, i.e., our dogs our cat and our horses 6) We expected her to fill our own emotional needs like a baby would; and/or our need for an animal status symbol and were disappointed when that was not the case as she matured. All of these are the true underlying reasons as to why Inara and many other Greys (as well as other species) are put up for rehoming once they start maturing, or worse yet become abused, neglected, and wind up in a rescue facility. Buying a baby bird is no guarantee that they will love you, deeply bond with you, trick train easily, talk, flourish, be happy, be less likely to pluck, or fulfill any other expectation that you may have. They will change over time (click here to see Danmcq's excellent thread on this) and *you* are the one who will need to do the adapting. Bonding and training have less to do with whether a bird is hand raised and more to do with experience, knowledge and temperament of the humans involved and the temperament of the bird involved. Ask your breeder if they are willing to take the bird back if you find yourself wanting/needing to rehome the bird. A breeder who truly cares about the breed and their birds should be more than willing to keep their flock members out of a series of "forever for now at least until we see what we've gotten ourselves into" homes. Think looooooooooong and hard about why you want a Grey (in particular) look at the above reasons why so many Greys are given up and ask yourself each one as a question: Am I prepared for _____________________. Give yourself cold, hard honest answers. Read Luvparrots' post So You Want To Be Owned By A Parrot here. There are thousands of non-baby birds in need of great homes. Birds who are more than capable of deeply bonding, whose personalities are known, whose quirks are known, and who can and will make fantastic companions. Babies are wonderful for experienced and committed Grey humans but not necessarily the best way to start out for people new to the world of companion birds. Just my ten cents and my own personal views. There are other good and valid opinions that differ from mine. Namastgrey, Inara's human

Iam also a CL fan. Every Saturday morning with my coffee. What asweet deal on that cage. Loved the piccies!, The most wonderful CL deal I've ever gotton was/is HRH Inara. So glad that I saw her!!

Muse, very well stated. My wild caught 'zon and CAG were my wonderful teachers. HRH Inara is now reaping the benefits.

Namastgrey.

I so loved these videos! Sully is so adorable and very clever. Isn't it grand that you two have so mny years ahead of you to share?

Good for you. It is great to have a checkup done and to introduce Rocco to the vet and vice versa. How is Alex doing with a new guy in the hiuse or do you have Rocco quarantined?

You certainly have *two* stinkers on your hands! (I am trying unsuccessfully to join you in making a stern face.)

What a beauty! And how fun for you. Thanks for sharing the fun and the gorgeousness!

Thanks Ray! That looks great!

How wonderful that Alex followed his natural instincts! Inara has two water dishes, one she drinks from and one thst she sqeezes herself into to bathe. I've offered her large dishes at the bottom of her cage but she ignores them. I do intend to try the suggestion of putting greens into one to see if that is something she might enjoy. At some time in the future you might see if Alex likes to be spritzed when he is flapping his wings during his bath time. Inara loves that and it helped her get over her trepidation about being misted. Yay for Alex!!!

What a handsome guy Rocco is, and I am really looking forward to updates!!

That is really encouraging! Perhaps leaving Levi for short periods during the day (even if it's just you going outside to read a magazine for an hour or so then coming back in) may help Levi understand that when you leave, you *will* come back.

What a lovely story, and understandable how Megan has brought you to tears with her sweetness right now, especially. What a treasure.

Agree! They do train us as much as we'd like to think we train them. We have " the airlock " which is our entryway area. Two doors one internal only and the other goes to the out doors. I' m used to always checking, but being new to flighted birds Joe needs reminding at times. Now that HRH is loving her wings, she has been landing on my shoulder, on the edge of my tablet, the edge of my laptop, and I am just waiting for her to discover some of the high ledges. I do always make sure that if she is out after I have cooked that there is a thick towel over our flat top stove. I would be devastated if she ever did a landing while there was residual heat.

Seems like a meant to be situation. Perhaps it will be positive for Alex to see how relaxed Rocco is. Keep in mind that Rocco may get confused after a few days as to where his former person is. Although saying that, HRH Inara never looked back. She and I bonded from the start and she settled right in. She was two years old so perhaps it was her instinct to leave her nest of origin anyway. Can't wait for pictures and to hear all about how your two guys and you flourish.

Great news about Cotay's foot. Glad the vet gave it the all clear!