Greytness

His knowledge of greys was second to none. I miss his posts and expert advice, too.

OMG. Way too much to have on your plate right now. I truly hope you can find some time to take care of YOU.

This is Niko and Gizmo (on right). Gizmo was our very first birdie who stole our hearts and led us to becoming a large fid family. These two are absolute clowns, and bring smiles to our faces on a regular basis. (all their pics are blurry because they're always moving!)

Here is Walter, our nut job birdie. Quite an interesting fellow, that's for sure!

This is Teak, also taken after she came to live with us. She also came to us clipped, but she still prefers not to fly unless spooked. She was a baby in this image, so now her pretty orange crown of feathers are proudly displayed!

This is Skittles, our pineapple shortly after he came to live with us. He came to us clipped as you can see in this image, but we let his flight feathers grow out and now he's a beautiful flyer.

Hahaha. Very funny, Steve. That image's not going to happen, that's for sure! I'll see what I can find in my image file.

Here's a picture of my Dexter on the day I decided to get him. He's an amazing guy!

Love this pic!

Thank you everyone!

That is absolutely ADORABLE! What a great shot!

OH, that's great! It's a blast having birds that say stuff. And you just never know what's going to come out of a grey's beak next! Maalik talks all the time. He does say things in context, but mostly he just like to sit there and go through his repertoire of words, clicks, pops and whistles. Between him and my 2 macaws, especially Dexter, our newest one, somebirdy is always saying something! One of these days I'm going to have to figure out how to upload my phone videos up to the forum.

Very cute! As I recall Gracie Mae isn't a talker; was wondering if Huey has any language skills.

The entire waiting period to completion will actually be 5 weeks for us, too. With all that you had to implement building your sunroom,12 weeks is pretty good!

Well I'm excited! Met with the fabricator to finalize the roof plans. Thanks to SR SeedBurners I feel confident with what we're going to do! This aviary runs north>south. The north half will have corregated steel panels, and the south half the SunTuf opaque white panels. So there will be a shaded portion and a light infused portion. The fabricator didn't even increase the price when I asked to have the SS mesh installed underneath the SunTuf panels. Estimated time for installation: 2 weeks!!! So happy!

So very sorry. Buddy was beautiful.

Hahaha! Yep! Sums it up just about right.

Solar Grey sounds really nice. The fabricator is using steel beams as support. The cost of this aviary is about to increase, now that I know I have to add SS netting into its roof. UGH.

I can't even imagine what this family must be going through. We do our best to nourish our parrots, putting trust into the products that we give them. Feeling so sad for them. I have just discarded my babies' Nutriberries.

Thank you SO MUCH! I'm going to take a look at the Suntuf in a moment. I have some additional concerns moving forward with the plans. The contractor designed the aviary with the idea of having only the roof panels; so no mesh on the top. Now I'm beginning to think that it might not be a good idea to go that route, especially if I decide to use the Suntuf. The eucalyptus trees are known to drop branches here and there, so I'm fearful that if I don't have any roof mesh, that a branch could possibly penetrate one of those panels, and then my birdies will fly off into the sunset. He's coming by tomorrow, so I really need to wrap my plans up quickly. Okay..I just looked at the Suntuf website. Nice product! Would you go with the clear or opal white?

Thanks! Would you recommend doing the entire roofing in that rather than what I was thinking, which is to alternate between galvanized steel:plastic panels? I wanted them to be able to find shade as needed, and was thinking that having the entire roof made out of those plastic sheets would make it too hot for them.

The roof will be a combo of every other panel being steel/outdoor patio plastic stuff so that more light can filter through. I didn't want there to be any cross beams onto which my fids could climb, thereby making it a challenge to retrieve them at night. My 4 German Shepherds will do a fine job cleaning up the tossed food at the end of the day. The next door neighbors have a junk heap of stuff collecting in their back yard, which has made their property a great haven for rats. That's one of the main reasons why I went with 1/2x2 inch mesh. And no, I'm located in sunny Southern California. Those are eucalyptus trees, plus bamboo growing on the other side of the fence. Next I'll have to figure out what kinds of bird safe vegetation I'll have growing inside the aviary.

For several years I have been planning on building my fid family an outdoor aviary. Last month we broke ground and poured its foundation, complete with drains. Within the next 2 weeks the materials for the structure should be ready to go! I agonized over what type of mesh to use, and finally decided to go with stainless steel mesh, 1/2x1/2 inch. Galvanized after welding is so much cheaper, but I really worried about my bird's exposure to any zinc remaining on the wires, so I decided to bite the bullet and go with stainless steel. There will be a chute from the side of the aviary that'll be directly attached to my bedroom window. I won't have to carry them out to the aviary in carriers, but will be able to place them inside the chute, and then they can fly right into their bird haven. Size of the aviary is 20x10.

Wait! You have another grey now? When did that happen? What's his/her story?

A lot of what you've said resonates loudly for me. We've committed to providing our fids with the best 'captured life' that we could possibly provide them. At least that's the way I've always looked at it. They give to us so much, and it is our responsibility to provide them with the best living environment we can possibly provide to them. If only more bird owners embraced their care the way that you have. I, too, agonize over the amount of 'in cage' time they must endure. With that being said, I'm also in the process of building an outdoor aviary that I hope will enhance their worlds. Nicely done, SR Seed Burners! Nicely done.