Muse

Here's the latest video. You can clearly see a major change in BOTH personalities, but it's most evident in Ife. She was actually taken back to the vet for an eye exam because I thought at one point she was blind because she wouldn't leave the cage. It's clear now that she definitely can see. She's very obsessed with Megan. She doesn't appear to be aggressive to me, but I wasn't taking any chances and you can hear the panic in my voice near the end as I get Megan to step up for evacuation.

After this portion of video, he ventured out of the cage for a while and was a lot more relaxed. He's very wary and definitely not as outgoing and trusting as Ife is. Marden was like a puppy. He never knew a stranger. He'd go to anyone. It's very clear he got all his looks from his father but all his personality (and appetite) from his mother.

Happy hatchday to Inara!

I edited and posted a video of them (and Megan) in the playroom yesterday to our Facebook page. For those who aren't on Facebook, we've also posted to our YouTube channel: No zoom was used in making his video. I am that close to them. Adom still doesn't quite know what to think. Ife is beginning to let her curiosity nudge her closer to trusting me. They've come a long way. I can't believe how much I love these two!

Awwwwww!!! That's so sweet!

He's so smart! What a gorgeous boy!

So sorry for your loss.

I personally think it's always good for a bird to have someone of their own kind in the flock. Mar and Meg were handfed together and were very bonded. When he died, I knew we'd get another Grey. Along came Peck and Megan tolerated him while I fell in love with him. I compare them to bratty siblings. They didn't really fight, as in trying to harm each other, but they squabbled. Peck spent an inordinate amount of time trying to "bomb" Megan (and me, until he got me once). It was a game to him, and one he was very good at! Megan, however, only had eyes for Rasa. And Rasa for her. They are a strange pair - the big, DYH Amazon and the tiny Grey diva. But who can question love? Heck, I'd go for the macaw, too. You can never have too much birdie chaos, right? Seriously, though, they do choose their own friendships. I have found Greys are often tolerant of new Greys if they aren't forced to interact. Megan is curious but cautious around Ife and Adom. Ife is curious, Adom is afraid. That's just their personalities. Megan stares at him a lot. I think she's trying to figure out why he looks like Mar - EXACTLY like Mar. I am sure that confuses her. Of course, they all interact at a distance, right now. Ife and Adom are wild ex-breeders, so they aren't handled at all. Whenever Megan is playing with her daddy, Ife watches very intently. I think she's trying to figure out what is going on and reconcile that with her previous (not so good) interactions with humans. But none of them have ever shown any aggression.

On his back? I'd be careful, that sounds like an aspiration risk to me. We hold ours (in a towel) upright and administer from the side of the beak. You can tilt the head to the side but I don't believe I'd give any liquid to a parrot on their back. The Parrot Wizard has some videos on YouTube about how to train a bird to take medication. When Megan was taking a supplement daily, we drew up pomegranate juice in a 1mL syringe and administered it mixed with that. She loves the "pommie" and would beg for it. Especially if Daddy acted like he was having some (we'd often give him some of the juice without medicine). Do you have, as Judy suggested, a food or drink your Grey loves? Just remember, though, you must get the entire dose in so put the medicine in only a tiny amount of food or beverage so that they don't get full or decide to stop eating/drinking before they've gotten the full dose. Good luck!

Love the jams, lol. Is that a baby blanket?

I've not seen plexiglas attached to the wall yet, but we've had several birds come in with it attached to 2 to 3 sides of their cages. This was done in each case by drilling holes and using different fasteners - some used washers and bolts (preferred IMHO) and some used twist ties and wire (those came off immediately). We actually eventually removed all of it because it was harder for me to steam the mess from inside the cage than it was for me to just hit the walls with the steamer. Megan makes, without a doubt, the second biggest mess here - oddly Ife and Adom are the worst! Jungle manners, I suppose. No one out there in the wilds of Africa to urge them not to throw food everywhere, LOL. I hit the wall with the steam cleaner, knock of the chunks and sanitize it, but if the paint peels or stains remain, well, it's part of the decor - right along with Romeo's carvings in the French door, lol. I do wipe the pink sticky off the walls (constantly) during pomegranate season. The main bird room is a HORRID dark maroon color any way. I'd love to be able to paint (or in my fantasy world, TILE) it, but there are so many more pressing priorities (generator, finishing the aviary, enclosing the porch for outdoor flights, building a flight onto the back where the deck is.... ) that any aesthetics are still way out there in fantasy land. Appearance? Not so important, as long as it's sanitary. I think if it were just us and our birds and I was trying to keep a nice looking home, I'd go with either whiteboard behind the cages or a tiled wall. Maybe that faux tile board stuff they line showers with?

I've seen the same thing done with whiteboard-type panels. They wipe off pretty easy. My fantasy is a tile-covered room with a drain in the floor. This will happen. Someday.

Ours loves her mommy... as a CHEW toy, lol.

Megan does this high-pitched screech - it's an amplified version of the sound her cage door makes. She does it whenever she thinks she's going back in her cage. She also does the "woo" sound. That often precedes a bite if I am not quick enough. LOL

Eight months is a very short time. Megan plucked for well over a year after Marden died and it took a lot of money and many attempts to "fix" the problem before I finally just gave up. Then I found a 'calming' tea made especially for birds and that did the trick. She still plucks on occasion but it's rare and not very noticeable. She bites me when she wants to let me know she's unhappy with something I am doing (90% of the time it's putting her in her cage). She used to bite me all the time. Often several times a day. It took a LOT of time, love, patience and band-aids to work through our relationship but it's been worth it. A bite is a form of communication to a parrot. You just have to figure out what they are trying to tell you. Sometimes it's "I'm scared" or "that bothers me" or even "I just don't want to do that right now!" Figuring out what it is and finding a way to react appropriately to their communication will eliminate most bites. Like with Megan, I often have to explain "I need you to go back right now," and give her a reason or a promise that I am coming back for her and she complies with out a bite. Build a good relationship and the behaviors will all begin to resolve. I work with 75 parrots every single day, from wild-caught ex-breeder birds to clingy hand-raised pets and I rarely get bit any more. It really is all about the relationship and at only eight months, that's not much time to build one. With Greys, sometimes building that relationship can take years but it is OH so worth it when that moment of them giving you their trust happens.