judygram

A lot of greys do get territorial about their cage and it is best to allow them to come out on their own instead of reaching in for them but once outside the cage then they are usually more sociable but if your grey was not around very many people when young then they are not going to be very receptive to strangers. As far as the new baby it will be your job to keep the baby from getting anywhere near the cage and to be very careful of the time your bird spends outside the cage until your child gets old enough to understand how to behave around a bird. Birds and babies can co exist in the same house if precautions are taken to ensure the safety of each creature but especially the human child, it may be difficult but not impossible. You can take him out and about around strangers but keep them a safe distance from him and warn them he may bite if they get too close but it will help to get him used to being around others besides just his immediate family.

Hello Cellochess and welcome to our family, so glad you could join us and we look forward to hearing lots more about you, Jimbob and the rest of your flock. Jimbob is a sweet looking Tag, thanks for sharing the picture with us.

Maybe his name should have been Houdini, what a riot he is trying his best and succeeding at escaping his cage, I bet he is very proud of himself when he accomplishes his mission, they can be smart little buggers and they keep us on our toes. Thanks for sharing Murphy's, really Houdini in disquise, new found boredom preventer.

Hello Len and welcome to our family, so glad you could welcome a new to you grey into your life. Be prepared for the honeymoon period to end soon as it usually does and more of the true personality will emerge as she unpacks her baggage from her previous home or homes, continue to work on the bond you want to form with her as it will take time and probably much patience on your part. Be sure to read thru the many threads for lots of useful information and do ask those questions you may have and we will help you in any way we can. We love pictures here so if you have some of Zoey you would share with us we would love to see them.

I would do your best to get that food off while it is still soft as if it stays on and hardens then it is very difficult to remove and it could cause harm to the bird, you are doing the best thing to wipe it off with a damp cloth after every feeding.

In my neck of the woods it has already gotten hot and humid so the air conditioner is working full time. If you are using a window unit then be sure it is not blowing directly on your birds. No that is not considered a draft although you shouldn't have it blow directly on your birds, its better to have it circulating the room but not directly on them, in fact my grey does not like air blowing on her.

Well my grey Josey is a great talker but she is kind of skittish, she hangs out on her cage most of the time when she is out. She has a bell that she loves to bang around in her cage, it is probably her favorite thing of all the toys she has and sometimes it seems she is so mad at something she gives that bell a good whacking but I know she just loves to hear it make noise. She mimics the other two parrots I have so sometimes I have to listen good to know whether it was her or the other birds. My sun conure Sunny was my first parrot and she is spoiled rotten, thinks she has to be on my shoulder if she is out of her cage, doesn't much like being on playstands, she can fly but she only does when spooked but she loves head scratches, I think it is mostly because she usually has pin feathers on her head she can't get to so my fingers do the work for her, oh well I love to do it for her. My cockatiel Gypsy has come a long way since I first found her in my backyard, she was afraid of hands and would fly away from me but now she will stay put for a while when being out of her cage and has calmed down since last summer when she came to my home, I really never considered having a tiel for a pet but she has been a welcome addition to my flock and a very pretty one too I might add.

The cage for each should be wide enough so that the bird could sit in the middle of the cage and flap its wings and not touch the sides and since the two birds mentioned are relative in size the same size would work for each. I highly doubt they will bond with each other and they should each have their own cage they can call their own especially as they progress toward maturity, they may be flock animals but they appreciate their own space. The congo grey is slightly bigger than the timneh, the congo is usually lighter in color with a red tail whereas the timneh has a maroon tail, the congo has a black beak and the timneh has a bone colored one, the behaviors are very similar and the two species require about the same size cage.

Hello Reema and welcome to our family, so glad to hear you have decided to get a grey. You have come to the right place to learn all you can about african greys for we have a wealth of firsthand experience so do read thru as many of the threads for lots of useful information and if you have any questions please just ask and we will help you in any way we can. I think you will come to consider this grey as a child as most all of us here do, they are part of our family and mean as much to us as one of our own human children and you have good company here. Bird people are a different breed of human and non bird people do not understand how we feel about our birds and call us nuts, well if I am a bird nut then I am and I couldn't be happier about it. Are you able to visit your baby grey while it is being weaned? If so would you take a picture or two to share with us as we love to see the babies.

Well if Nilah can sing so well then we should be the judge of that, how about you post a video of her singing a tune and we will tell you what we think, be assured we will be kind.

I would recommend that you let the bird decide when its ready to give up the formula, some greys take longer than others with some requiring longer than 20 weeks. It sounds like you don't have much experience with this and you should get some advice from the breeder you got the bird from. In my opinion the bird should never have been sold unweaned as there are many things that can go wrong. I would suggest you read thru the threads especially in the nursery room for lots of useful and helpful advice and pay extra attention to the stickys.

Hello Gerhard and welcome to our family, thats a precious little baby grey you have there, are you handfeeding it?

That looks great Len, I might suggest adding some more toys hanging from the dowels forming the ladder up to the top of the playstand but you did a real good job with it and Zoey looks good sitting on it. Why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us some more about you and Zoey.

And tomorrow it could be something else, Billy has found a willing audience to enjoy his ragings, thanks for sharing that with us.

No I don't but they are beautiful birds and you will be a very lucky person to be able to own one, please do update us on when this happens and provide some pictures.

I would enjoy the cuddling as long as it lasts for more than likely it will end soon, it did with my grey Josey, she would allow me to cuddle her when she was young but now she does not like it so I don't do it, cuddling is usually only allowed when they are very young but a few members here do have greys who enjoy cuddling even after they reach adulthood.

That is just too funny and what an attitude but thats a grey for ya, thanks for sharing that story with us.

I have to say I wholeheartedly agree with Dave, let them finish feeding and weaning Eva before you bring her home, Dave is a breeder of greys himself so he knows what he is talking about and you don't want to take any unnecessary chances here, you want a fully weaned healthy grey to bring into your home and your life. I have never been to that store but have wanted to go for a long time, it is far from me since I live in VA but am thinking of getting a few bird friends together and see if we can drive up sometime to just see the store and pick up a few things for our fids.

Dee they may just be doing that knowing you are the faithful feeder you are, they know a little hint to you will bring forth more food, they have you trained very well just as your fids do.

Dave has given you some excellent advice, I hope it all works out for you and Timmy and take Dave's advice to sit down and talk to the store owner to put your mind at ease and do keep us posted.

Thanks for sharing that link with us Dan, how sweet this relationship is, just shows most anything is possible.

Amanda it is too soon to develop that bond, sometimes one grey is more receptive to a particular person but at this point the baby is just getting more familiar with you since he has seen you many times. Right now the only thing he is concerned about is his next meal and that is why he is screaming, it is not anything against you. You may be looking at the wrong bird if you want a cuddler for greys tend not to be that way especially as they emerge out of baby stage so if you want a bird that will snuggle with you then you might want to look at some other bird besides a grey and the toos are known for being cuddlers, in fact they don't call them velcro birds for nothing.

Dave I found this link that says they are nuts, conflicting results!! Thanks Dave. http://answers.gardenandhearth.com/Food_and_Cooking/is_a_cashew_a_nut

Ok I am going to ask a stupid question here maybe but how come cashews aren't nuts? I have always considered them as nuts so please explain Dave?

I think you just like getting bit by Dayo and can't make it thru a day unless you get nailed! Love it.