judygram

Hello Andy and welcome to our family, I am so pleased you want to own a grey of your own. Just start reading thru the many threads here for lots of useful information about taking care of a grey, what to feed, kind of cage, toys, sleep requirements, dangers and you name it we have a thread for it and if you don't find it just ask and we will help you in any way we can. I would look for breeders in your area and you can do that by looking state to state on www.avianbiotech.com or www.birdbreeders.com if you live in the US and look beyond your state if you have to, going a little distance is worth it if you don't find any close to home. You are doing the right thing in finding out all you can before committing to one of these amazing creatures, they do have some requirements to make them happy and well adjusted and the more you learn the better you will be prepared for when you do get one to bring into your home.

Hello Christina and welcome to our family, so glad to hear you want to join the rank of grey ownership and you have come to the right place looking for advice and help. You are doing the right thing in researching and reading all you can before you make that plunge and I am sure you will find breeders in your area or at least a few hours drive from where you live, just do a search and here is one place you can look www.avianbiotech.com just look by state.

Josey is usually fascinated by the videos I play that are posted here, she seems to know when she hears another grey talking and chatting and she listens intently.

I too have heard that the noise level can affect how loud your bird can be, I also put the radio on when I leave the house for background noise, that way they don't hear as much of sudden sounds that may tend to frighten them, mine pay no attention to the radio or the tv which is usually on when we are at home.

Did the mash pass muster, from the looks of his beak I would say it did, thanks for sharing Biscotti and his messy beak with us.

Ok Bonnie what did you find out?

As deep as she will allow, probably up to her chest in my opinion, that way the water will go in between the feathers and get her wet down to the skin.

Ha Ha, at least she is still getting nourishment from the pod so all is not lost, they are funny creatures all right.

Amanda, Mocha is a hill mynah and can talk very well, you will see lots more pictures of Mocha if you do a search or look in the other birds room or the photography room as Sanggay has shared lots of pics with us, isn't he gorgeous.

Yeah but Josey does not bite me and I thought they might be able to bite hard like my sun conure does, she can get a little bit of skin and pinch so it hurts but does not break the skin, I hardly notice the tiel when she lunges at me, frankly it is more of a touching you with her beak instead of actually opening her beak to take a grab of your skin but that will soon be history when she gets her new cage, its on its way.

Welcome Captain Caruso to your new home, you are a pretty little thing and maybe Mommy will share a video of your singing so we can hear how lovely you are.

Better late than never!

I'm just waiting for her cage to come for she is in a too small cage and I am damaging the relationship with her by having to catch her to bring her out, the cage door is too small for her to get on my hand and bring her out, she is afraid of my hands right now but will sit on my hand, arm or shoulder with no problem. I know I will be able to repair that relationship with her once her cage comes and she can come out without being caught, she does fly around the room a few times then settles down and enjoys just being around us, yes she likes my hubby too.

You could be right too, I think this bird is pretty much a mature bird also and I have been told the male sings and this one does not so it may just be a female and I do like the name Gypsy so we shall see, waiting to hear if anyone else has any name suggestions. I was in a pet store earlier today and they had two cockatiels that were identical to the one I have at home, they had a sign on the side of the container they were in for you could reach in and touch them if you liked that said they can bite but their bite is hardly noticeable.

Wow some very descriptive terms for what comes out the back end of a grey but some foods will give the fright factor, you just have to remember what you fed them if you don't want to be freaked out when that big bomb goes off!

Can you blame her, she was enjoying herself immensely, yum!

Foraging is looking for food, that is what the grey would be doing in his natural habitat and providing foraging opportunities means putting some food in things that the bird has to chew up or work with to get to the food, it takes time and it keeps the bird busy trying to get the food in whatever container holds it, you can buy foraging toys or make your own, we have a toys and playstand room where you will find lots of ideas and suggestions for making your own to provide your bird with foraging opportunities. Hope this helps.

Well if he starts chewing thru them then Tanya will just have to replace them or find something he can't chew thru, ahhh the life of living with a parrot!

In my opinion yes it will cause a problem for that area will rust where the paint is off and I would contact the breeder if that is where you got the cage and show him the damage, it should be replaced, you paid for a new cage and new without any blemishes is what you should have, go ahead and use it for the time being if you need to. That is a nice looking cage and your baby is adorable.

That is so cute holding onto your finger that way, "no you aren't going to get away from me that easy" what a cutie, thanks for sharing that with us.

This is an excellent piece you have written Dan and does answer many questions new grey or even new bird owners have, many thanks to you for taking the time to do this for us.

As I have decided to keep this little wayward cockatiel I am in need of some suggestions for names for it, I am hoping from the pictures I share that someone will have an idea of whether it is a male or female but really it doesn't matter as I am not going to have it sexed so I need some good names, it has already been suggested that I name it Gypsy, though that is a good one I feel there are others that I may like as well so I am open to any and all suggestions!

Yes the lighter line allows for longer flights but alas it is hard to see if it is still intact from a distance, I know your heart was in your throat until you saw she was still tethered but what a scary experience for you, so glad it had a happy ending.

Well it seems this little cockatiel has found a new home after dropping into my woodshed a few weeks ago, no one has claimed him/her so I am giving adding it to my flock, I have ordered a new cage for the one he is in now is way too small. Here are some pictures I took with my blackberry so you can see how pretty he is, these were taken in my bathroom, I used the mirror to see what I was taking as the screen was behind me.

It does with me too like they want to see what it looks like after dropping it, "yeah that looks ok to me"