judygram

Wow, Dblhelix, what a life you have had, living in Europe as a kid, I am so jealous, as I have always lived in the US. And a great career too, you have had an exciting life, but the best may be yet to come, KIDS. {Emotions-00020070}

Most greys love anything they can tear up, but wooden toys are good for them to chew up. We have a thread called, "Toys" that someone started that has a lot of items they purchased from a dollar store that they make a lot of inexpensive toys from. They need hanging toys and foot toys to keep them busy when they are shut up in the cage. There are a lot of websites that carry a varying array of all kinds of bird toys, check them out for ideas. They can get along with other pets in the household, they just have to be introduced slowly and gently and never leave your bird out of the cage unsupervised in the presence of dogs or cats, we have had a few casualties here that way.

Katt, why don't you post a picture of those plates so we all can see them, I bet they are a beautiful sight.

Steve, I was hoping for better news than this, but I am sorry she has to stay in the hospital for so long. Its good Buddy will come to you now but I know he misses Mandi, and her poor dogs don't understand their Mommy can't be with them. I will keep her in my thoughts and pray for a quick recovery so she can come home to the ones who love her and miss her. Give her my best.

Lovie, that was a very nice post, very informative and well thought out, and I agree with what you said, you have given her some things to think about. You brought up the cage being lovely to look at but you are right, not as many places to climb around and my Josey has gotten so she climbs all around her cage.

Tricky, that is a lot of cat, sure you can handle it, I'm just kidding, I know you can, wish I had a Maine Coon cat, I have always admired them for their coat.

Yes Toni, you can potty train a grey, Josey is partly trained, she will poop in a trash can if I hold her over it. You have to watch for the signals that they are ready to take a dump and then teach them to go where you want them to. Now you have something else to think about doing don't you, Toni. :P

Kitty, I would do an internet search for breeders in your area or you could look for local bird clubs, animal rescues and such to find where some breeders are. Gender makes very little difference, they all have their own personalities and it varies accordingly. Greys can be one person birds if not socialized properly, my grey is kind of a one person bird and that is me, because we don't have a lot of different people come into our home. But some members here do and the more people they meet and have a chance to interact with the friendlier they may be. Some here already use the clicker method training, I personally haven't tried it, but they say it really works good with greys. I hope I have answered most of your questions, if you have any more, feel free to ask, we will try our best to get you the answers.

Welcome, RobertsKitty, to the family and glad you asked these questions, before purchasing. Just how much time do you think you will be able to spend with your bird? I work a full time job so mine is in a cage during the day, but she comes out as soon as I get home. Children shouldn't be a problem unless you spend a lot less time with your grey after the kids are born, they need to be included in family activities so they don't feel left out. Those are some wonderful cages and would serve the purpose well, but you need to determine what kind of time you can devote to a grey to see if this is the right thing to do at this time. Keep us informed as to what you decide to do, but whatever you do decide, we will help you all we can with answers to your questions.

Not much longer, Toni, if she is on 1 feeding a day, it won't be long at all. You are doing exactly what you should do, visit it as often as you can and you can see the results of that bonding already starting. You may have an easy going one like I got, she does not bite either, just beaks, which is normal, they use it like we would our hand, to explore. I am so happy for you and glad you are keeping us up to date and keep up the good work, you are doing great. :) :) :)

Well I checked it out and you have a fine looking grey, even behind bars.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

He definitely likes your hubby more and being that he is 10 years old, I'd say he looks to him as his mate. He tolerates you more if your hubby is not around. Some greys will be like this, like one sex over another, so do not be afraid of him, he just prefers your hubby and there is not much you can do to make it any different, you just may have to accept him on his terms.:ohmy:

Hello, Gloria, the best time is now or anytime, but the younger the better, 6 months is fine. We already have a thread that deals with the potty training, it is in the popular threads section on the front page. When they do get upset or stressed out they tend to poop more and that is ok, but don't give him any more attention now than you can keep up in the coming years for they do get used to it and will start some bad behaviors if you don't keep it up.

And if they don't fling it, they will swipe it, but you will WEAR it for sure so get them t-shirts before Saturday, you're gonna need em.{Feel-good-0002006E}

Assemble bird cages, a piece of cake, I had no trouble putting mine together, and I did the one by myself, no help from hubby, of course he was not at home at the time is the only reason, otherwise he would have been helping. Julie, I would be no help with a Mac, maybe CeasarsDad can help you, he is the goto guy here for any kind of picture help, the man is a photo genius.<br><br>Post edited by: judygram, at: 2007/08/01 16:21

I hope Kim does not mind, but I love you Dan, for saying such nice things about me, you just made my day and karma for you.{Love-000200D8}

Julie, to answer your question on signature, go to your profile page and then to edit, then forum settings, you can add a signature there. Your photos have to be below a certain size to post them so maybe that is your problem. PM me and maybe I can help you. Glad you got him home and he is doing well. You should let him come out of the cage first then try getting him to step up, maybe he won't bite that way, but in any case, don't pull away and you may get a bite but in the long run he will know you arent' afraid of him. I don't quite understand about the beak, it would help if you could post a picture of it, that would help a lot. Some members use a tent, I don't as I have a female and I don't want her to think it is a nesting area when she matures, but it is a matter of personal preference, if you want to use one then do so. I do cover my grey at night with a black sheet, some of the other members do not cover, again a personal preference. We have some excellent threads here regarding toys and foods, please feel free to read them for ideas and suggestions. Looking forward to hearing more about your new grey and have you decided on a name yet?

Dan, if you haven't figured that out by now that anything that beak gets on it, you will wear it, and thats a fact. :S

Hello, Sara, and welcome to our family. Congrats on your new grey, I know the wait can be unbearable, but good things come to all who wait, and yours will too. Sometimes it helps to wait and see if anything in his personality brings a name to mind but there are some websites that have a lot of names if you want to find them and go over the list of names to find one you like. We just love photos here so if you can get us a picture, we would love to see your new baby.

Yes my Josey will scream like Sunny, it sounds like I have two sun conures, and she also copied a cockatoo call for a while after she had spent a few days with the breeder who has several.

Well lucky you, Tatee, to just have a grey literally fall onto your fathers head, most of us have to pay big bucks for ours. I'm sure she probably belongs to someone but if no one claims her then she is yours to keep if you want her and it sounds like you do. You are doing the right things and you will find a lot of helpful information here throughout this site. I am so happy for you and you are taking good care of her. About the shoulder sitting, if you are uncomfortable with her on the shoulder then don't allow it, when she starts for the shoulder have her step up on your hand and put her elsewhere and continue to do that until she understands she is not allowed on your shoulder. I do allow my grey to shoulder sit but I am comfortable with it and I know the risks. Continue with what you are doing and keep us updated as to what transpires, whether you find the owner or you keep her, but you have a true find. Maybe you could post a picture of her so we can admire her beauty too.

I've had nothing of that magnitude, but I grew up on a farm, we had dairy cows, pigs, chickens and a big garden and fruit trees. I always tried to run away from the work, but I didn't succeed much at it. I didn't learn to drive until after I graduated from high school, after I was married. Of course I got married while a senior and had my first child 5 days before graduation. I did graduate but I didn't participate in the ceremony. I had my second child 4 years later and I guess you could say I grew up with them. I have always been a cat lover, have had at least 1 cat at all times in my life, but have a love of birds also, and acted on that love several years ago with the purchase of finches. Because they are not a hands on bird I got my sun conure and later my grey. I'm now hooked. I've always lived in Virginia, with almost my whole life in Botetourt County. I have never traveled outside of the states, always wanted to but never had the money, the kids always came first. I went to community college late in life, graduating right before my 50th birthday. Was a great achievement for me since I never cared much for high school, but I loved my college classes and of course my friends were with me. We were in the same boat having just lost our jobs due to the business closing. I love flowers and I have a small collection of orchids which have bloomed for me several times. I love to surround myself with beautiful things. Which leads me to another passion, jewelry, I love gold jewelry and precious gems, I have more than I can wear but I love them and besides they say diamonds are a girls best friend, well I have many friends. While I don't have the college degrees a lot of you here have, I like to think I make up for that in common sense. Enough said for me, next!!!

Mandi, I pray for your quick recovery, we miss you here and hope you will be home real soon. Judy

Probably like my Sunny is to me, she will cling to me and won't go to anyone else and it can be like pulling teeth to get her off me sometimes. She's my little napper, she goes with me to take a nap and cuddles up to me and is very quiet, no sound out of her. A very sweet little bird, I love her to pieces.{Love-000200BF}

Do you put that in her water bowl or offer her a cup to sip from? I haven't put anything but water in her water bowl.