judygram

The beak is constantly growing and flaking off and this looks normal to me from the pictures you shared, if it had bled then it would have been necessary to visit an avian vet. She is a lovely grey, what is her name?

Hello Roger and welcome to our family. I would advise leaving the eggs with her, if you take them away she may only lay more to replace them and that could deplete her calcium stores. She may be interested in them and sit on them but that is fine, you can remove them after several weeks when she shows disinterest in them. Personally my grey has never laid an egg though she is a dna'd female but my sun conure has and I leave them with her until she tires of them then I remove one at a time.

I say go for it, you know you can handle it and your heart is ready and willing, hope things go your way.

Hello Roy and  welcome to our family, so glad you and Smokey could join us. He is a handsome fella and your wife does do him justice, she knows a good looking man when she sees it. As the others have said give it time, he will let you know when he is ready for more intimate interaction but it looks like you are off to a wonderful start.

Wow, that's a big snake, just a reminder in case you don't already know, be sure to wash your hands good if you handle reptiles before you go to your birds, they can carry organisms that will harm your birds. We do have a few members who share a household with both birds and reptiles so maybe they will chime in with suggestions. Personally I am not a fan of snakes, don't want them in my house or anywhere near me but to each his own.

This was very scary to both you and your fids but each has their own personality so you have one that didn't fare well with the trauma going on. As has always been the case it will take lots of grey time for Sterling to come around but he will and hopefully before the plucking becomes a habit, hang in there Janet and please be more careful in the future.

Steve its always something isn't it and soon it will be a part of  the past, roll on spring.

Greys are quick to notice change but most of them don't react to you wearing different colors and such, that being said my grey doesn't like me to color my fingernails, I don't usually wear nail polish so on the occasion I have some on she does not like it when she sees it, she reacts like she thinks its going to get her and eat her but if I take it off then all is well. You will probably find out if something scares your grey although right now pretty much everything does for he is in a new to him environment. Just go slow around him with no sudden movements and talk softly to him. The others have given you some good advice.

I am so sorry to hear of Aura's passing, please don't feel guilty as there is nothing you could have done but even though you had her such a short time I am sure she touched your heart greatly. Please consider looking into rescuing another grey for there are plenty looking for good homes.

Hello Tilly and welcome to our family.

As others have already said please don't clip the wings as they were meant to fly, just take the precautions mentioned. We would love to see a picture of Rosie.

Our beloved Dave, may he rest in peace, always stressed that pet greys do not make good breeders and with that setup it doesn't look like they get  the kind of privacy they need to properly breed. They do not like an audience for their mating practices. I would give up on trying to breed them if you keep them in this enclosure. Even if they were successful what do you plan to do with any babies? I don't mean to be so critical but do you have any experience with breeding greys?

My 12 year old Cag has never laid an egg but my sun conure has and I left it and she added another then sit on them for several weeks then took 1 away, couple of days later I took another. I was advised by Dave to leave them for if you took them away they will continue to lay to replace it. Be sure to provide some calcium in her diet as laying eggs can deplete their stores.

Poor Maxi has been cage bound for a long time and it will take lots of time and much patience on your part. I'm glad to hear you have changed her diet to a more healthy one but pay attention to what she really likes and use that as treats to get her to do what you want her to do.

She has to learn to trust you and that trust must be earned and it may not come easily but give her time and space to go at her pace, greys are notorious for being slow to change but if you are willing to wait the rewards can be great.  The mating dance with panting and drooping wings needs to be ignored, you are right to not encourage this as it will only frustrate her more and may lead to bites when she can't get any satisfaction so direct her attention elsewhere to get her mind off that train of thought. Please keep in mind that many greys do not like to be touched very much and if they do its only on their terms, respect her wishes and try again later but more likely she will let you know when she is ready. Move slowly when you are around her as they do not like sudden movements and talk softly to her from time to time, tell her what you are doing and such.

Greys are lovely  creatures but they are still wild animals, not domesticated like our cats and dogs so they are always in predator mode and on guard. Watch her intently and observe her actions because learning her body language will serve you well in the future. We have a thread on reading body language that will help you be able to tell when to go ahead or stay back so please read thru the many threads here for lots of useful advice.

Hello Nick and  welcome to our family, Maxi is a lovely grey and I am so happy you  could give her a new forever home.

I have heard that lack of calcium can cause greys to be prone to falling off their perch, it is a good idea to have her checked out as soon as possible to see what is going on. I hope it is something that can be easily corrected and be sure to come back and let us know what is found out.

Are you saying Sukie bites everyone he comes into contact with? I say you either learn to read his body language better or take it.

This is a work in progress and will take time, you do have to feed and give water to him so being close is unavoidable but do so slowly and talk softly as you do it. Once you have done the necessary things then back off to where he will settle down some and carry on a conversation with him in a gently voice. I know this seems like it is taking forever but grey time is slow and trust must be earned, its never rushed or it will backfire on you. Just take it slow and easy and soon you will be able to do things for him without the growling.

Hello Rowland and welcome to our family. You have been given great advice and I commend you for researching before bringing a grey into your life and thank you for giving her a new forever home. I won't add much more  but am glad to hear you will leave her flighted, she is beautiful and I know you can't wait to bring her home. 

I don't mean to be critical but I see several things wrong here in this picture. First of all the cage he is in is much too small for a grey and I see no toys for him to play with. That cage is about budgie size and he needs one that is big enough for him to spread his wings and not touch the sides. He needs toys to occupy his time and to vent his frustrations on or he might find some other way such as plucking his own feathers. Second if that is some kind of heating or cooling unit above his cage then the cage needs to be relocated, it does need to be against a wall but it doesn't have to be a corner.

If you have a wild caught grey then you really need to  take it slow, this bird has been ripped from where it called home in the wild and now it is spending his days in a cage, that is a huge difference. As others have said grey time is slow time and that means weeks, months and maybe even years before you can gain his trust. When you sit nearby his cage don't ignore him as that hate to be ignored, talk to him, read a book to him in a soft voice, let him get used to you being around, believe me he will want to be by your side when he does learn to trust you. Take it slow and easy, when he allows you to be closer offer him a treat, something he loves.

Please do read thru some of the threads to get more ideas and suggestions that worked for others with similar situations but don't get discouraged by the lack of visible progress as it is in baby steps, it will require great amounts of patience but trust me the reward will be ever so sweet no matter how long it takes.

Greys will pick and choose what they like to repeat, sometimes its the way it is  said that they like but there is not much you can do to discourage the repeating of certain words but ignore it and definitely do not laugh or give any reaction when the particular word or words are repeated as that will only encourage them to continue. 

First, I am sorry to hear of your Dad's passing, we wish we didn't have to say goodbye to our parents but that time comes and we deal with it the best way we can, lots of good memories will help ease the pain and I have lost both parents so I know what you are going thru.

Second, I don't know what you need to apologize for, the only thing I can think of is because of the new format not many people sign in and post anymore, this forum used to bustle with activity but is fairly quiet now, I think it will eventually pick up when a few things settle down. You have done us a great service so forgetaboutit.

I can hardly believe its been a year since our beloved Dave passed away, such a huge loss for the forum and personally for me as I considered him a very good friend, he was such a big part of this forum and his knowledge and wisdom is sorely missed.

Someone loves the camera, handsome Alfie.

No I feed them straight from the bag, they enjoy the crunchiness.