Inara

Nope. HRH Inara is too much of a busybody to tuck in like that

Exactly. She is learning to use her beak, and the strength that goes with it and when we get intimidated/nervous they sense that and as prey animals, sensing a tension or nervousness (which can be interpreted as excitment) can signal to them that you are a predator and are to be feared or defended against. If she begins to bite down a bit harder than you feel is acceptable (which biting down in general on your fingers shouldn't be acceptable) just roll your finger down and out of her beak. If you pull forward, it will be natural for her to want to pull back harder on your finger. Sounds like your breeder is willing to give you some advice that she and you feels will be helpful, and that is great! We all have different opinions and methods of how we build our relationships with our birds and each is often as unique as the two or more creatures involved. Can't wait for more Popppy stories and more photos!

I have a small grooming perch attached to the inside of HRH Inara's cage door, and it is from this that I invite her to come out onto my arm. It is also to this, that I return her to her cage, and then simply have to gently swing the door shut while she is on the perch. Without fail, every single time she steps from me to her little perch on her door, she gets a small piece of her favorite in the world treat. Therefore, she always looks forward to hopping off and getting onto the "time to go home" perch. I wait to give her the treat, until I have shut the door. If she does not see a piece of the treat in my hand after this many years, she will hop onto the door perch, look up at me, and says, "Cookie." I go get it for her, and we are both happy as little clams. She also has a tree and 2 mobile perches that she can fly to at any time she does not want to be handled by hoomans, and we never handle her in ways where she might feel that she cannot escape us. Some birds are simply not snugglers or cuddlers and don't crave a lot of up close body time with their people. Inara has always been a busybody bird who likes to perch upon me in the mornings to hitch a ride throughout the house, or likes to perch upon my Joe now for short periods of time to "read the news" with him in the mornings after breakfast -- but those sessions last at most about 10 mins. The rest of the time, she prefers to be "near" us -- i.e., in the same room on one of her perches, or just wandering around on a walk about. It is her personality, and we respect that. She used to nip at Joe the first few months we had her, and had bitten the crap out of her former humans as she moved from a cuddly little baby to a 2 year old. I have never been bitten by her (or any birds in my life for that matter). It's important to get a sense of your bird's temperament and personality, learn their particular body language signals, respect that they are not like dogs or cats, that they explore their worlds with their beaks, and that younger animals of all species have to learn over time what appropriate pressure from their teeth/beaks/mouths is when they are interacting with other living creatures. Treat her now with the respect and patience that you would a new friend, and keep the mindset that she is your companion, she is a baby, and so "baby steps." Some day you just might wind up with a birdie boomerrang like Sterling's Miss Greycie! if the personality is right. (HRH Inara will never be that bird, nor will she be a snuggler like Isaac -- but she is loving and deeply attached in her own style). So keep her away from your face (as Dave said, remove temptation), wear long sleeves when interacting with her - a lot of birds aren't so fond of naked human flesh to step on to, and always make going "home" a rewarding and pleasant experience. For now, try keeping your interactions with her very brief, positive, and send her home wanting more rather than want to escape.

Hi everyone! Many of you know that HRH Inara is now 5 and has lived with us for 3 of those now. During those 3 years, I have never spent a night away from the house. My Joe travels a lot, so he comes and goes for varying lengths of time. Whenever one of us leaves the house for a short duration (anywhere from going out to the yard, to being gone for a couple of hours) we'll say, "Bye Bye. I'll be back!" On work days, Joe will say, "Bye bye, going to work. I'll be back later." I say the same things on the two days a week that I volunteer. Now on mornings where Joe has taken a shower and then picks up his car keys she will say, "Bye Bye, go to work." So she gets it and is very comfortable with us coming and going in that respect. BUT since I am her primary caretaker and best all around buddy (although in this last year in particular she also has become very attached to my Joe or "big bird" as she has named him), I had a wee bit o'trepidation about leaving her. However, this weekend, two of my dearest friends and I had arranged to have a reunion which meant my leaving early in the morning on Friday and not getting back until late yesterday (Saturday). This of course meant that Joe would be left in charge of seeing to all care taking duties as well as fulfilling the capricious whims of HRH. As I headed out the door, I said, "Bye bye, I will be back later." And hoped for the best! They both made it through with flying colors and had a greyt time! She was happy as a little clam when I arrived home. Joe stuck with her basic routine, and yesterday morning for her breakfast she flew over to his arm (as she does to mine) as he walked in the room with it, so that they could then sit down together and she could enjoy her breakfast (always part of a buckwheat and berry organic waffle with a skim of red palm oil and tiny "chop" bits or pureed fruits and veggies on it), while perched on his arm. Joe said that Inara enjoyed her breakfast, then her usual out of cage hang time, and then she let him know when she was ready to go home after he had tidied her cage, put in fresh water, and a fresh serving of dry mix for the day. SOooo to make a short story even longer... HRH *and* Joe have both grown into having a really nice relationship, can do well together without me around to "supervise" and I now feel a newfound freedom in being able to plan for future mini-vacations. Although, that being said my Joe and Inara are my two favorite creatures to spend time with -- so I am in no hurry.

Little Miss Poppy is a lovely little TAG, with such a sweet face. Wonderful that she will spend her life in such a well prepared and loving home

hahahahaha I *adore* GreycieMae! Sterling, you and she need your own sitcom! Seriously. Back to the original question of the thread -- no one really knows definitively, and much like hoomans, it depends on that age old combination of environment, genetics, and accidents/and or acts of nature. Most important is giving our companions the best lives possible, and once making a commitment to them, sticking to it and not passing them around and pawning them off like used toys that one is bored with or has tripped over one too many times. As for the forum activity? I come and go depending on what is going on in my life, but I do tune in nearly daily with my morning coffee and love catching up with everyone's fids. I'm not much for Facebook groups or other forums, and I love the home that HRH Inara and I have found here among this wonderful flock. Dave doesn't even scare me anymore, although I still wouldn't let him on my shoulder...

Also, HRH Inara likes to go back to her cage after about 2 hours of being out in the morning and in the evening/late afternoon. Some days she asks to go back earlier than that, or she just takes her own little self back. It's her home, afterall and she loves it there. She will snooze during the day and looks out the floor to ceiling windows near her cage and watches all of the outside creatures. She is very social, a fabulous conversationalist, but is not and never has been a snuggler. She likes our routine, and as Talon said, with consistency and a good bond, they are much more adjustable and resilient than many give them credit for. Just do beware, as Sterling mentioned -- the wearing off of the novelty. You will initially want to lavish tons of attention -- but if you can't sustain that, it's better to just establish plenty of *you* time, and plenty of cage time while you are puttering around the house so that your new companion will become accustomed to that routine. Just my opinion, your mileage may vary.

HRH Inara used to pinch holes in my shirts too. I'm a slow learner, a hole pinch usually directly proceeded a poop down my back. Once I connected the two, the moment she would reach down to give my shirt a pinch, I would say, "Let's go over to your perch," and she would drop the bomb over there, and then I'd pick her back up. It wasn't long after several times of me doing that, that rather than pinching my shirt she would look at me and say, "Go-kie." Her own made up word for 'poopage in 3....2...1'! :D Natch, it also took me awhile to key into what "Go-kie" meant! LOL Now, no more holes in shirts, no more poop down the back, and we do the Go-kie Pokie..turnourselvesaround thatswhatitsallabout.. sing with me! Much like Dee, whose t-shirt cape idea just rocks by the way -- I had an old denim shirt that I'd toss on over my other shirts to protect them from little miss hole puncher. Gotta love all the quirks. Love the saying "sorry." Very sweet!

happy belated hatchday gracie

Awww... veddy veddy kewt!!! <3

hahaha :D Birdhouse on that article! I love graham crackers, with butter. Or with buttercream frosting. Or plain dipped in milk. S'mores aren't bad either. HRH just likes to woodchip them.

Agreed!! Sterling Ranch Aviaries. The best!!!

Hi Lilwitt and soon to be home Lola. Just a note, when you sign in if you check the little "remember me" box as you sign in you can type long posts w/out them vanishing. Alternatively, type them in your word or notepad program, then just copy and paste here -- or type them here then copy before you hit reply so that if the post vanishes, you can hit paste and reply again. Every grey and every bird is different. My older wild caught Congo had tons of my time and attention, then in my 30s I went back to school and then on to grad-school, worked 2 and 3 part time jobs to pay the bills, was constantly on call, and was often gone from 5 a.m. until midnight with maybe a quick stop at home for a pee break and a sandwich. He did just great. *HOWEVER* he had come from a really abusive home and had nearly plucked himself to death before he came to me. He and I fell for each other and having three squares a day and a home where he was not tormented may have seemed like Easy Street to him from the get go, and we had many many years before my life and schedule changed so drastically. My teenage son and his buddies were also in and out and we also had a dog and a cat so there was always some kind of coming and going happening. After my beloved CAG went to the great beyond, I did not even contemplate getting another bird until I knew I had the time and energy to devote. My young (5 year old) TAG, HRH Inara does just fine on days that I leave the house (I'm retired but volunteer with a group of Veterans so am on-call for emergencies and am gone 2 days a week on a regular basis). She knows what "I will be back," means. She is on a regular schedule that keeps her routine predictable and secure, with enough variety in it so that she is pretty intrepid about last minute changes, etc. When I had my Amazon and my CAG in the 70s-90s, most of that time was pre-internet and both were wild caught and really freaking hardy. Both had been major pluckers and both became fully feathered (apparently had not permanently damaged themselves). I say this because domestic bred birds are born into captivity, they are immediately socialized by humans, they have lots of companionship from the get go, and so to not offer that to them and to leave them to their own devices for very extended periods after that is all they've known is like leaving a toddler to 5 year old to fend on their own for that same time period. They are highly sentient and social creatures, and toys don't take the place of lots of interaction. SO... to make a long story even longer, had I not had my CAG already for several years before my major life changes, I would not have gotten any bird until I was in a position to ensure the proper care and socialization, let alone a baby one. Brains, language centers, cognitive skills, socialization skills, flight skills all need lots of stimulation and encouragement. So basically, I'm (not criticizing here) wondering why at such a busy time in your life you decided now is a good idea to have a young bird come live with you? We're all here to assist -- nobody is going to judge, we do have a lot of strong opinions and those are as varied as we are. Am sincerely glad you have found us, and can tell that you're really wanting to be the best parront possible.

Love this, Sterling! My first grey was not a one person bird either. He was apparently was an equal opportunity biter and attacker before he came to live with myself and my son (he was wild caught, and horribly abused when we took him in). Once he settled in, he would easily go with/to either one of us as well as with friends who came to visit once proper introductions were made. He turned out to be a complete sweetibird. HRH Inara her first couple of years with us, preferred me and would nip at my Joe when he would handle her. Now, he is her as Ray would say, her "love muffin." She still is predominantly attached to/with me, but adores being out with "Big Bird," in the mornings, while he has his tea and reads on his laptop. She flies from her perch over onto him, crawls up his arm to his shoulder and chats with him and helps him read the news. When he comes home, she whistles for him and says, "You will come out me, see Big Bird?" So he goes and gets her for a quick walk about. She tells him, "Bye bye to work, love you." in the mornings as he leaves and cheerfully goes to him from her cage and will seek him out when she's out. He is her buddy. Since we have a hooman empty nest, we don't really have anyone else for her to practice with as we also don't have many visitors that are not intimidated at the thought of having a parrot passed over to them in a hand off.... lol I too, had never heard that Greys were one person birds before the Interwebs.

Dorian telegraphed HRH Inara insisting that it was Mrs. Peacock in the conservatory with the candlestick.......

Managed to capture some snaps of HRH last Sunday as she was taking her weekly bath in her round water dish. She drinks out of her rectangular one. Can you believe how she can stuff herself into that little dish? JefNOK -- oh my gosh, Gracie's night night routine just melted my heart! Love how she teases you with play fighting before bed. Too cute! I also am curious as to what Phenix sees through the translucent things that causes the stir. Fascinating!

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH!!!!! Adorable beyond belief! I was laughing so hard and playing this over and over that HRH Inara started chiming in on the laughing. Too too sweet. That Isaac, he is such a sweetiebird. <3

It is hard to believe that our little sweetiebird is 5 already! I can't believe that she has only been with us for 3 years as it feels like she has always been part of our family. She continues to be the sweetest little smartypants and has us completely wrapped around her talons.

Such a sweetie!

HRH has 2 water dishes and uses one as her jacuzzi. She refuses to bathe in a roomy, water filled dish, preferring instead to contort herself into the smaller, round, porcelain one. It amazes me how she can cram herself into it. I have tried various other dishes over the years but that is *the* one and only. She also generally bathes herself once a week on a Saturday or Sunday like clockwork despite her daily showers.

It's always tough to switch care providers. We are fortunate that our avian vet is just up the road a couple of miles. If she ever retires the next closest is 40 miles away. Fingers crossed that your new one is just as good a fit as your last.

Hi Fel, and welcome! Wow you really did get tossed into the deep end. I have never reared a baby bird before so my own suggestion is that you read read read the posts in our nursery and health threads. Also, it would be a good idea to phone an avian veterinarian and ask some questions. A phone call usually doesn't cost anything and will help you feel more secure about what you are doing. We have many memers who are very familiar with hand raising greybies and hopefully one or more will chime in soon.

Well look at that beautiful boy! I so love your Isaac. Hmm....seeing him so close to your knife set, makes me want to suggest that you should stop allowing him to watch those first seasons of "Dexter" with you!!! :D

Oh my gosh! She is soon sweet. She reminds me a lot of HRH Inara. Loved the "whatcha doin' big guy," as well as all the rest! Very clever and sweet girl!

It is really nice t hat you have the time now to pursue your creative side. Remember to always err on the side of caution, and when in doubt ask an avian vet.