Talon

I wanted to share a picture of Piper. He is doing great! He still won't step up to anyone and runs away if you put your hand near him, but I do have him eating toast in the morning from my fingers if I stand there long enough. He has an incredible personality and has no problem letting you know what he wants and when he wants it. He is like a little Nilah. Love to see him hiss at me...he's harmless compared to Nilah! He ABSOLUTELY adores my daughter. I am the care taker, she is the sweet best friend of hers. He will go to her when he desires, sit on her shoulder or arm and hang out with her. So be it,......one day, he may take a liking to me, although he loves the attention he gets from me, and when he wants it, he WILL let you know! We very much are adoring him.

I have every year about this time had a Black Ant problem. Not the real large ones, the medium size ones. Mostly they are here in my house looking for food. Well having 6 birds, 2 cats, 2 dogs and 3 kids, there is lots to choose from. It's like a restaurant!! Usually it lasts a few months, I put down several ant cups under each cage and anywhere else I may find them. After a couple of months, I have no problem until next year. A friend suggested putting ant powder around the perimeter of my house, but my house sits up on a raised foundation and has a deck on the entire back of the house and a raised porch on the front. Both have lattice work preventing me from crawling under to put powder and the rest of the house is landscaped with shrubbery and gardens all around close to the house. Well, this year, is the worst for ants, I have been dealing with them since May. It is so bad, I can no longer feed the birds veggies or fruit or any leftovers we had from the night before in there cages. If I do, within 2 hours there will be ants all over the food and crawling around the cages and cage bottoms. Probably around , 10, 20 or so ants. I change the paper daily as soon as I get home from work, the cages are moved and vacumed behind and under, weekly or more if needed. I have had to give them mostly seed and pellet mix. Not the food I buy from the Bird of Paradise store cause the ants will come running. The dishes I have on their tree stands has the same food, and the ants go there also. I like to give them a snack of veggies, bread or fruit with their food when I put them in their cages to go to work, but I cant. I have been instead giving them, uncooked pasta, nuts, etc. as the ants stay away from that. Any suggestions? I can't have an exterminator come and I doubt that will solve the problem. It has been this way for the last 5 years, but this year it's the worst. Maybe the mild winter we had contributed? Thanks all for any help you can give me.

I am Bird, or mamma My 2 sons are by name, Josh, Matthew No name for my daughter....... Dogs are called by name, Rocky, Cody Cats are by name,Zelda, the other they can't say, only twice did I hear it, Dominic Birds are by name, Talon, Rikki, Nilah That's it! Mostly I am know as BIIRRRDDDD!!!!!

Yea, too much jelly contains sugar and is bad for them. An occassional tiny bit is ok.

I am hoping to have a discussion with members that have both horses and greys. We have had horses for over 30 years, and having greys for the past 7. I have found such similarities in the two. Whenever a friend who has no experience around horses and doesnt understand them, but has a grey, asks about my horses and their behaviour, the best way for me to describe it is.....they are just like a grey. Some of the similarities I see are: Scared of new things. Very nervous around new people, new situations, etc. Want to be kept on a fairly predictable schedule. Need daily attention and exercise. Can't always trust them completely. Watching their body language is most important. Getting a horse to trust a human after being abused in any way shape or form takes as long as a grey coming from the same situation. Takes time and patience to overcome the baggage they come to you with. They tend to bond with one person. Wll NEVER forget the human that was mean to them. They both have the FLIGHT instinct when spooked or scared of anything or any situation. (horses run for their lives, birds fly for their life). They are herd and flock creatures who bond. They grieve when they lose a member. Most common.........EXPENSIVE PETS!!!

Momo, sounds like under the circumstances in which you live, you at doing the best you can. I don't think at this point with the commitment you have towards your bird, that you will find a better home for him. It takes so long to tame a wild caught, and now that you know he is, maybe others here can help you in what you need to do to transition him. I have a lot of respect for you and your patience. Let the others that are experienced here help you. Keep up the good work, you have come to the right place for help.

Jayd, I LOVE the pictures!! I was giggling away...Thank you for the big smile today!!

I couldn't agree more. That is exactly how I handle any mis behaving. Only, eing a dance teacher, I pick up one foot and do a double spin if they won't step down when I tell them, and off they fly!

Pardon me Nancy, but I have to say, that it is starting to get on my nerves. This "I am the parent, you are the child" mentality when it comes to any bird. Anyone owning a parrot knows it is a " flock" mentality when you are an owner of a bird. You CAN NOT and WILL NEVER in a million years make a bird change their natural instincts going back to its ancestor flock. They are instinctively a FLOCK by nature, inbred into them. Us humans CAN NOT change that. Dave is right, it does sound like a kindergartner and a teacher, not a bird and a bird owner, but we all know none of us here are bird owners, we are flock members helping our flocks adapt to what we are capable of understanding regarding their wants and needs. We can set some rules, yes, but we can't rewire their brains. I just don't want new members here to think that you train your bird to behave and fit into our world like you can with a dog, because if they do, then there will be some very neglected,stressed, plucked, and borderline abused birds if they take your "parent-child" way of thinking in the wrong manner, and believe me, most of your posts come as a stern way of thinking. Sorry again Nancy, I am not saying your birds are any of the above, I am sure they are very happy, but others following that way of thinking can be harmful as a new owner.

I allow all 4 of my birds shoulder privileges. It IS a privilege, and if they misbehave, they are instantly taken off. My birds know that, and if they try to nibble on my ear, etc, I tell them ,no...and most times they stop. Rarely do they test me cause they know they will have to leave. They really like the closeness and feel better sharing in my activities at the time.

One of my birds has a sleep cage in my bedroom. The other 2 do not. But all my cages get covered at night, and I agree with Nancy, Bedtime is important. I would never use the cages you bought on the floor. They will not like it. They are good, but you must put them up on a table or stand. Birds ALWAYS want to sleep n the highest place they can find.

Love the pics!!! Cracked me up. Talon loves boxes too!

Yes yes yes...pictures and stories!!!

Shes adorable!!!! Can't wait to watch her grow up and hear her 'firsts!'

Happy Birthday Jay!!! I hope you have many many more Happy Ones to Come. I EXPECT IT!!!! You are in my thoughts & prayers always... Love, Penny

I will be using this quote to live my life from this moment on...No truer words were spoken..Thank you for giving me this gift today out of all days....I needed this.....

One thing about me that my dear friends know, is that when something is weighing on my mind and I have had enough, I just have to let it out. Well, this is one of those times. I stay logged on here at Greyforums 24/7. I have access full time from my Blackberry, my iPad, or my computer. Every post that is written here comes directly to me in an email, I read them all. I see all the caring, helpful, loving members here who want nothing but the best for every bird here. I see that we all feel very attached, as a family, your bird is our bird, we love each and every bird here as if it was an extension of our family. We care for them, we worry when something isn't right with them, we laugh when we read their fun antics, we're proud when they take flight for the first times or say their first word. We get excited by every story we read. We smile when we watch their videos or see their pictures, proud Parronts we are! But we also cry when they leave us too soon, or are lost. It breaks my heart when I see posts like that, I cry and can't bring myself to read those sad stories, it's too painful for me. I also see that many of us members have become good friends, we care about each other. We worry when others are having problems, we share in their accomplishments. For the most part we treat each other with respect. Well, what has been weighing heavily on my mind, is the way I see others treat each other. Sometimes members bicker over being "Right"or "Wrong" and it can get personal. There is no right or wrong, there is only what works best in your home with your family and your flock. I think members tend to forget the personal side and that we are all human with personal problems, family problems, emotional issues, depression, suicidal thoughts, illness, terminal illness, etc. Sometimes being hidden by the Internet and a screen makes it easy to say things you wouldn't say to others faces. The written word can come across as cold and unfeeling. Feelings get hurt, offended, and angry. I just want to remind everyone that you never know what's going on in someone's life. Being here trying to offer advice and help others may be the only purpose you have at that time in your life. If we can help someone in that manner, then I am happy to make that person feel better. Sorry for the long post, but I just want to say, you never know the struggles that others are dealing with........have some compassion.... better yet, have LOTS of compassion....

Okay, here's what's going on. I have had my cockatiel for going on 3 weeks. Nilah my amazon always insists on going over onto the cage and only wants to regurgitate over and over for my cockatiel, Piper. She does it so many times over and over, when I take her off the cage, which is nonstop, she of course being an amazon and wanting her own way, will step up, but then bite my hand cause she needs to let me know, she's mad!!! So, the question is, HOW do I discourage this regurgitating over and over? It doesn't matter whether Piper is in or out of his cage, she will climb all over it and do it anyways...

Ewwwwww..........

I am heartbroken over your loss. How sad for you. I know you did the best you could for him under the circumstances. Unfortunately by the time birds show any symptoms, it is usually too late.. I do,want to say, that depending on the part of the world you are from, it can be nearly impossible to find an avian vet. We in the United States are very lucky in that regard, we have many here. You do the new you can in your world for your pets. I live in the US and although I have 6 birds, I don't use a board certified avian vet. The closest one is too far away, however my vet has a grey and a big part of his practice IS birds and hs been for many years. He is the best in this area. Please fill that void in your hearts soon as you can. Even it it's not a grey, other species like a cockatiel would do wonders.

Both my greys are completely black. They are both 7 years old.

You guys are too funny! We dont even bother to play board games anymore, my birds think EVERY turn is theirs ....

I have a wood burning fireplace in my living room. I do use it on occasion, but not every day and night. We did lose our power in a storm for 6 days last winter. With no heat, our only option with 5 birds was to wheel their cages into our living room and heat with the fireplace to keep us and them warm. They seemed to do fine with it. The only worry with it always is if the house gets smokey, occassionally when we first light it it does if I haven't heated the flue up enough, if that happens, my kids rush the birds stairs and close them into my bedroom, I open all the windows downstairs and air it out. When it is clear, we bring the, back downstairs.

Great pictures everyone! Love them!!!!!!

Not so sure Piper agrees with that sentiment.......