zandische

My birds like the Med Bird Mix. It has a variety of small to big seeds/nuts/legumes and sprouts up very well. It's got a bunch of different flavors (like radish, mustard, wheat, spicy fenugreek etc) and seems to be far tastier to my birds than any mix I've tried to make on my own. It also smells incredibly good when it sprouts The single biggest key to sprouts is rinsing and draining. I used the plate method to sprout for several years and occasionally got spoilage, but I've been using the Easy Sprouter for about a year and have had no problems. It has really great airflow and drainage, and I can have a ready crop of sprouts (soak to seed) in about 2-3 days in the winter, or 2 days in the summer. I make up 1/2 cup dry seed at a time, which is just enough for 2 birds for 2-3 days, so I always have a crop ready to go. Nuts work great as treats and are a healthier fat than seeds. But seeds and nuts are things that birds get in the wild - they'll eat both sprouted and unsprouted seeds that they forage off the ground, so seeds aren't *bad* per se, but they've gotten a bad rep because people have fed them improperly. A high quality seed mix that I like really well is Volkman's Parrot treat and also the fruit & nut blend. Most of the time I just give my birds a few soaked almonds with breakfast - that way they get the nutrition of the nut plus the power of the sprout! A side note: my birds are also flighted, and I think it's important to consider the bird's level of exercise in relation to the balance of nutrients in their diet. A little more fat in the diet is probably better for a flighted bird, but one that won't get a lot of exercise flying around might want to stick to very small amounts of seed.

Another idea - soak the almonds over night. My birds love a big juicy soft almond but will turn up their beaks at a dry one. If they even they even see almonds soaking on the counter they go nuts. Plus that soaked almond is starting the sprouting process, so it's loaded with extra nutrition even after just a few hours

I occasionally give my birds baby food (organic only, make sure it doesn't contain additives or extra sodium/sugar - I like Earth's Best) mixed in with dinner. They like winter squash and sweet potatoes best. Most of the time they get red palm oil though. By mixing it up with the food, it's a great way to get picky eaters to eat stuff they might avoid otherwise - when everything has the same taste, it's all good to eat I would highly recommend adding red palm oil on a daily or every other day basis - it's part of a Grey's natural diet and at least from personal observation, has a noticeable effect on feather condition, skin condition, mood, behavior, health and energy. (I give my grey's about 1/4 teaspoon a day or every other day) I don't see a problem with dehydrating foods as treats. Banana chips are a good one to do and my birds love these. A dehydrator is used in raw diets to preserve enzymes in foods while removing the moisture that causes food to rapidly decompose. It's done using low heat over an extended period of time, or can be done the biblical way via sunlight on a 80+ degree day. I've made my birds "sprouted wheat cookies" via the sunlight method and they're great! Any of the bird cook & serve mixes, like Volkman's, use dehydrated vegetables. It's perfectly natural, although I wouldn't feed dehydrated vegetables over raw ones. The moisture in veggies & fruits is necessary for their diet. Maybe for making healthy treats and snacks though? Also, I would highly encourage you to learn about sprouting. Sprouting is one of the best ways to give your bird optimum nutrition. I don't feed my birds pellets at all - they get fresh food, sprouts and a mash, mixed with red palm oil or baby food. It can be a little daunting to try sprouting, but it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. There's a lot of good info at www.sproutpeople.com (I highly recommend the Easy Sprouter - I have 2 - one for me, one for the birds!) and their bird mixes are great!

There was a time a few years ago when the Jay birds were living in a tree behind our house and they would scream all day long. Our bird picked it up and it was miserable inside and outside the house! We tried everything - covering her cage, stern time outs, ignoring it etc - nothing worked. Our birds now occasionally get screechy, but we have found a method that usually derrails screeching. What we do is introduce a fun sound that the bird realizes is more fun to make than the screech. The screech gets no reward - not even a frown or look of disgust, etc. But the fun sound gets tons of praise, interaction, laughter, a treat etc. They quickly realize that the fun sound makes the people happy too, because we laugh and do it back to them, and that's all they're looking for - the social element of it. Our current sound is "Boop!" which we say and then touch the bird on the chest, beak, leg etc. It's become a game - we run over, tap our bird on the chest, and say "Boop!" Then they will fly over, push their beak against our nose, and say "Boop!" We've also taught them little whistles and when they get loud, we just whistle the little song and they immediately switch over to whistling too. Anyway, that's what works for us

I've used concrete perches and wood in my bird's cages and I still need to trim their talons every 3-4 months or so. I use a heavy duty nail file because I'm worried about using a nail clipper and trimming too far. To do this, I wrap them up in a towel (playing the "towel game" is a good idea - if you don't like toweling you can also train your bird to sit on a perch and let you file the nails one by one but you'll want to be persistent with that training technique more than just approaching the bird every 3-4 months.) So, I just file until the tip is dulled to the point that it doesn't draw blood when the bird sits on me. I've never had a problem with talon overgrowth and the birds seem to do just fine perching (one of our greys has a limited mobility in her right foot and never seems bothered by a trim.)

Welcome to the forum Brett! This is going to be such an exciting time for you! I had a 90 gal S. American tank a few years ago...between cleaning up after the parrot or the tank, I'll take the bird any day! Although it's pretty cool when your Severum "wags" her fins when you walk into the room. Congratulations on your decision to bring a grey into your life and I know you'll find tons of info and help here on your questions. Make sure to keep us posted on your baby's progress too, and of course if you happen to snap "baby bird" pics during your visits I'm sure everyone would love to see them.

I was going to reply with my experience on this, but then I read this about this recent research on the Companion Grey parrot and their language capabilities! I think it "speaks" to the topic well? http://www.healthcanal.com/mental-health-behavior/16121-scientists-show-that-home-reared-African-Grey-parrot-varies-speech-and-nonword-sounds-deliberate-and-socially-relevant-way.html

dubaighost: I just wanted to send a message to your wife (and you) that I understand what she's feeling and the hesitancy to find another grey but then the overwhelming desire to feel that love again. She is right to desire that and also right to grieve. I lost my bonded CAG two years ago and it was the most excrutiatingly painful experience of my life. (I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and I would gladly take a hundred times my daily pain if I could just have my girl back.) Greys bond with us so deeply and personally that it feels like losing a child. I knew afterward that I wanted to share my life with another Grey because of all the wonderful things my T-bird taught me, but it took me some time before I could accept the idea of bringing another bird home. When it finally did happen, I knew that it was going to be part of the healing process for me, that I needed to experience another grey to be able to let my girl go. I believe it was Godsent when I found my new greys; my husband had been very upset over T's loss, and he did not want another bird at all. He was very angry and hurt and felt it was too soon to go looking. But he finally saw how much pain I was in and told me to call T's breeder and see if we could find out when her next clutch was due. As it happened, she had two greys ready to go to homes that were born on the exact same day as we lost my T-bird. We went to meet them and fell in love. As soon as I got them home though, I felt an incredible sense of guilt, like I was "cheating" on my love for my T-bird, and like I was selfish for wanting another bird at all. It was only four months since we lost her - how could I love another bird already? It took a long time before I realized that I could still love T-bird, even though she was gone, and also love my new birds just as much. It's been two years since we lost our T-bird and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss her. My new greys are so different from her in so many ways, and sometimes I do make comparisons. In the recent months my boy, Gryphon, has been growing attached to me, and now when I spend time with him I find myself feeling the joy that I used to feel when T-bird was with us. T-bird was bonded with me from day 1; it's a somewhat rewarding experience to bond with a Grey through patience and time and choice. What T-bird taught me was that Greys are the most incredible friends and are one of Life's greatest gifts, so in many ways I feel like I'm keeping her with me by giving as much love as I can to my birds. My prayers are with you as you grieve, and also when you're ready to find another friend to join your family - I will pray that you find a healthy bird who can bring joy to you again.

Hey Jenn! If it was up to me I'd adopt every unwanted grey I could find! I love these guys! Your sig says Sully is only a year old - heck, he's still a baby!!! I have two greys who are brother and sister from the same clutch. We thought getting two at the same time would mean they would get along better. NOT! They fight just like brother and sister! They just -have to- kiss and cuddle for about 30 seconds every morning, then the rest of the day it's all squawks and chasing around the house and stealing each other's toys and food. They are almost two years old and while you may be wishing for that sweet cuddler again, I am REALLY wishing for mine to grow up a little bit already! LOL. The reward of our two birds is the "flock family." Although each bird has made a significant personal bond to one of us, we share a pretty open family bond between all of us. The reward of interacting with two totally individual greys is pretty awesome. They each have their own talents too - Gryphon is the talker, whereas Seraph is a puzzle queen. Gryphon likes to "snuggle" by sitting on my arm where he can lean his head on my chest for scratches or head rubs, and Seraph likes a good old fashioned full head massage, so it's easy to enjoy snuggle time with either one. I definitely don't regret having two, but they do demand much more attention and time! Since Sully is still so young, he may accept a baby more readily than an older bird. In the wild, a young grey would be exposed to many brothers and sisters, as well as new baby flockmates, over the course of his new young life. It's not unreasonable to think he'd make friends with them. Give Sully a few years to mature and he'll have a very specific pattern locked in his brain for his "flock," and my guess is that a new flock member will be harder for him to accept regardless of whether its a grey or not. However, I think that greys make up their mind about other greys on an individual basis, the same way they either like or don't like other people. At a year old Sully is fully capable of making these independent judgements, and just like in any social situation, how you approach him with the baby and how you include him in activities will probably play a big factor in how well he takes to it. He may seem fully grown right now but deep down he is still very dependent on you for the cues in how to act in life. If you introduce the baby through a nuturing, postive process and give him positive interactions with it, (and also let him know he is first in your eyes) my guess is that he will be more likely to accept the new family member. (You need to do this for the baby too!) But you'll need to have a plan in place for how you do this BEFORE the baby comes home. It might even help to get a stuffed toy grey to get him used to the idea of another grey in his space. Just my thoughts and good luck - my husband has already declared we are a two-bird household and no more, so I've lost that battle I think

This is also how I bathe my birds. They don't like it much, but they get a bath once a week so they are starting to get used to it. They will let me pull out their wings and run my fingers down their back to get the water down to the skin. Also, they do not like warm water either. Lukewarm is ok or just plain cold. I had a grey once that would bathe herself in a bowl, but the water had to be ice cold. If I gave her even lukewarm she would ignore the bowl until I refilled it with cold water. It freaked me out a little bit, but that's what she liked and it got her to take a bath, so I just went with it! Thanks Dave!

Tbird-I usually go to whole foods or new seasons. Any health food store should have bulk seed for sprouting.

Hey all, I've been sprouting for my birds for a few years now on an every day basis. Sprouts make up the majority of their daily food, along with a varied mix of veggies, fruits and a cooked grain mix. I've gone through a lot of trials with sprouting and this is what I find works best: I buy in bulk and make my own sprout mix that generally all sprouts within 1-2 days. My mix includes: - lentils - good for protein, my birds love to peel the casing off the sprouted seed - quinoa - bland, but this has a complete amino acid profile and good protein - mustard seed - quite spicy and flavorful - alfalfa - relatively bland, but loaded with nutrition & natural anti-oxidants - fenugreek - super flavorful, my birds love this, helps aid digestion & boosts immune system - wheat berries - very sweet and flavorful My birds wouldn't touch the sprouts at first, they thought the tails were evil! But I just kept offering them and even ate some myself to show them that the sprouts were good to eat, and they got over their fear pretty quickly. Plus, I always offer the sprouts first so that the birds aren't distracted by their "tastier" food. I think most birds figure out pretty quickly that the sprouts are really just softer, juicier versions of seed. One thing my birds love above all other foods - sprouted almonds. These are just regular raw almonds that I wash and soak overnight. In the morning they are soft and plump and my birds will literally dive bomb me to get to them. Soak for 12 hours and that is it - you don't need a tail. For greys they are great because they have the sprouted nutrition plus extra calcium!

I just wanted to share with you my little bird's experience. I'm so proud of her! Seraph is a small grey, approx. 370g (at 14 months) and has only flown once in her life - right before the breeder clipped 7 primaries on each wing to keep her safe in her new home. It's been a horrendous experience for her. At first, she didn't understand that she couldn't fly and banged herself up pretty badly with her persistence. Every time she'd leap off her perch she just dropped like a rock. She jumped off her perch so many times that she ended up breaking off all of her tail feathers, injured her keel, and broke the tip off her beak - and then, finally, she stopped jumping. When her brother would glide off to see us, she'd just sit and scream miserably for someone to come pick her up. I'd stand a foot from her perch and try to encourage her to jump to me but she wouldn't even do that - she was scared now. I was really worried that when her feathers grew back in she'd be unwilling to fly at all. And the vet reminded us of another thing to worry about: that her tail feathers were growing back before her flight feathers, and that meant there was a very good chance of a broken blood feather if she fell again. She even went so far as to suggest we pull the growing tail feathers just to be safe (which I declined.) I came up with an idea after watching a friend "fly" their grey around their house as a game. I thought we could try the same thing with Seraph by manually "flying" her from room to room. We had already taught the birds to flap their wings on command by paying attention when they were exercising and giving them a key word - fly, along with lots of praise. So I began to teach Seraph to "fly" by stepping her up on my hand and wrapping my thumb over her feet. She understood that when I told her to "Fly!" she was supposed to flap her wings and get excited, so with her perched on my hand I would tell her to fly, let her start flapping her wings, and then I'd run her (very slowly at first) on my hand into the other room where her other perch is. We'd go back and forth like this a few times until she got tired out, and very quickly the game of flapping became a game of flying. Of course, she got lots of praise, kisses and snuggles every time she went flying to help encourage her. After a few flights she began to leap onto my hand and flap her wings whenever I walked by the cage, hoping I'd fly her around a bit (which of course I did.) We did lots of daily exercises with just this technique - and gradually, I began to scale back my participation by letting her wings drive the momentum of our speed so that she was really moving as fast as she could fly. This was a very important turning point. I wanted her to be confident flying under her own steam and it was this scaling back that allowed her to recognize that when she didn't beat her wings hard enough, she'd drop. This taught her to rely on herself instead of my running speed to keep her aloft. Once she was doing well with that concept I began releasing the thumb pressure on her feet until she was also the only one controlling whether she was holding onto me or not. She'd grip my finger with one foot and tuck the other just like she was really flying! I expected her to start trying to take off and leave me in the dust, but she was really good about it - it was as if she understood that she couldn't quite do it on her own yet, so she'd keep the training wheels on for just a bit longer. This process of positive reinforcement has taken about 6 months of daily training (4-5 training flights per day and whenever she demands it), but I am VERY happy to report that over the last two days our baby has finally been taking flights on her OWN and this time she's gliding gracefully to the ground instead of dropping. She only has 2 primaries back on each wing, but that and her training are enough. There is a huge difference now in how she acts when she glides down to the ground - she dances around and chirps as if to say, hey, look what I did! I am also happy to report that she has 4 gorgeous, unbroken red tail feathers and no further bumps or bruises, other than what her brother gives her when she steals his toys

Mr. S, Please understand first that I do not mean to inflame you with my response here, and in the points I make below I only I wish to challenge you to fully consider this endeavor. I think that if you can do so, this could be an incredible and fun learning opportunity for both you and your class, and something we'd all love to read about. An African Grey (and most parrots, actually) is nothing like a class hamster, and has requirements above and beyond even a difficult to keep "pet." I'm glad you're willing to learn and accept feedback from our forum members. We've got a great group of people with a lot of experience to share! It would perhaps be better to think of getting an African Grey or other parrot less in context of getting a "classroom pet" and more in terms of "adopting a child." The social and mental needs of a bird with the intelligence of a 5 year old are just that: that of a 5 year old child. They are also just as ornery and have a similar (and often lower) attention span. Do you have children, Mr. S? Do you have the energy for and would you feel comfortable bringing a 5 year old to hang out in your class all day? That's essentially what you're getting into! I didn't catch what subject you teach, but you might consider reading "Alex & Me" by Dr. Irene Pepperburg - either on your own or with your students before going down this road. The book provides great insight into an animal that was intended to be a "research project" and quickly became so much more than that. Alex was a pretty social and interactive bird, but the point to remember about him is that he had researchers interacting with him 8-14 hours a day, and their entire purpose was to find ways to interact with him. In your class setting, your primary objective relates to a 5th grade curriculum and teaching your human students, not your parrot. (Although incorporating the parrot into the lesson structure would be an interesting idea to tackle.) Although Alex & Me offers lots of examples of Alex in a research setting, there are some important points about how complex Greys are, how much attention and mental stimulation they need, and how difficult it really is to care for them properly. What was particularly memorable about this book for me was not that Alex was so gifted but that Dr. Pepperburg tried so hard to maintain a professional distance with Alex so as not to invalidate her work, and in the end, Alex's loss was so much more staggering for her because she had never truly allowed herself to love him in the way that he had loved her. Which is incredible, because we're talking about love here, with a parrot. To put that in the best possible context, the world's most intelligent parrot's last words to his person were simply "You be good. I love you." That speaks volumes to the kind of bond these creatures can form with us, the intelligence they posess, and the responsibility we must own when we bring them into our lives. So, having said all that, here are some suggestions: - Have a well-laid out plan in place for how you intend for students to interact with the bird (such as handling it and talking to it) that protects both the bird and the student. You need to always be in complete control of interactions and "educate" your students on proper handling techniques. - Does anyone have access to the bird when you aren't in the classroom, such as at lunch, bathroom breaks or in between class periods? Is the classroom locked and/or can you take the bird with you when you leave? (Prevents theft, unsupervised handling, accidental injury to either the bird or a person, or the potential for someone to let the bird outside.) - Consider inviting the administrator(s) of your rescue to talk to the students and teach them about the Grey and his needs. - How will you and others react when the bird: screams, bites, flies, wanders off the cage, chews up a schoolbook etc. - How often will the bird be out during the day? - Will the bird be flighted or clipped? - What happens if the bird gets injured? Do you have a first aid kit and veterninarian close by? Will you be able to leave your students to take the bird to the vet and if not, who will? - Could it impact your job and/or your future livlihood if a student is injured by your parrot? (Common parrot injuries include minor scratches, lacerations to fingers, hands, arms and face from untrimmed claws or a beak, and more seriously, severed tendons, scarring or facial/ear/eye injuries.) - Consider how you will deal with your grey when it acts out (like suddenly screaming in the middle of a test). - There are differences between older & younger greys that you should be aware of. A young or baby grey will want to be with you 24/7 whereas an older grey may be much more mellow (or sometimes not.) Rescued/older greys may have learned words, phrases, sounds or behaviors that you, other school staff or parents may not feel are appropriate for a 5th grade class. Younger birds may not seem as "interesting" to the class because they haven't learned to talk yet and there's no guarantee they ever will. Younger birds are often less well-behaved and needy because they haven't learned their lifeskills yet; older birds may pick things up easier, but may also be a lot more ornery. - I would also suggest you keep your Grey at home for six months or so to get used to each other, form a bond, and establish a safe environment (particularly if you get a baby). During that time, work on taking the bird for short car rides (perhaps to the pet store?) to get him used to riding in a car and meeting new people. That way it will be much less stressful for the bird when you eventually bring him into a class of children who all want to touch him. - Consider bringing the bird to class only once or twice a week until your students and the bird are used to each other and you have a better feel for how well they'll interact. - Find ways to make it fun for the bird to come to class with you - give him special favorite toys on class days, lots of praise and attention, sing/play a favorite song, give him special "class-only" treats. Birds like routine, so consider developing a game to play with the grey and the first class of the day as a "reward", which creates a fun routine he can look forward to. It also creates a positive image in the bird's mind of the classroom and why he wants to go there. - Teach the bird as well as the students! Birds learn amazingly fast. Use the bird's learning ability to inspire your students to work harder, and make your bird happy in the process. - Read as many books as you can on African Grey care and parrot behavior. They are invaluable in helping you learn about your grey. - Create a blog so all of us, your students and the world can follow along with you! One last thing: money is only the beginning and not nearly the end. On average, expect to spend anywhere between $50- $100 per month on your bird. (That covers food and toy costs.) Expect to pay $60-$80 for a yearly vet visit, and be prepared to spend more if your vet needs to do labwork. (Although as a teacher, you might be able to bribe your students to bring him toys and treats! Or maybe let them know that they can bribe you with toys and treats for your bird. Either way works! )

I don't feed my birds pellets anymore. They get a sprout mix instead along with a variety of all the other goodies (cooked mash, fresh fruits and veggies, seeds, nuts etc). Before we went non-pellet they loved Zupreem but would not touch Harrisons. We went off the pellets after a kidney infection caused by too much protein in the diet, at which point the vet told me that if they get sprouts on a daily basis then there was really no need for the pellets as the sprouts provide a balanced source of nutrients. So, quite happily, the fids get an all natural diet now scoutndizzy, if your bird likes cheerios you might also consider "Goldenobles" from Goldenfeast. My birds really liked them too. They look like a dark brown cheerio but have the nutritional value of an organic pellet. Just a thought!

Jayd, your mash sounds delicious! I need to check in more regularly on this forum ashesz, I give my birds about a teaspoon of baby food mixed into their food daily for breakfast and dinner. This is just enough to coat the veggies/sprouts/cooked mix that they get as their regular diet, not so much as to make bird soup. The birds love it. If I want them to eat something new, I put it in with the baby food. I don't use it exclusively as a replacement for fresh veggies but more like salad dressing. I generally buy Earth's Best and if not that, whatever brand is all organic. I usually stick to the sweet potatoes, mango-bananas, and apple-blueberry flavors. I have found my fids DO NOT find find peas, brown rice or carrots all that appetizing in baby food Like Jayd said, pay attention to sodium and iron content. Also, as a side note my vet cautioned me awhile back on feeding too much "cooked" or "mushy" foods. She said the birds need lots of crunchy, whole foods in order to process properly in their stomachs. If they get only soft foods the stomach muscles get weak, and food can start to go rancid while it waits to be digested. Rancid food = bacterial infection. So just remember to add lots of fresh veggies and/or sprouts along with everything else!

Yay! My birds literally go nuts for nuts for alfredo

Rrma, If the vet feels she needs to gain weight, then definitely incorporate any suggestions from your vet. But keep in mind that weight gain can take a long time even if the bird is eating like a pig. If you go work out for a few days, will you notice a weight change? Probably not. If you eat veggies and nuts and grains until you're stuffed every day, and then go exercise for a couple hours, how much weight do you think you would really gain? Most of us would probably lose weight! The best way to tell if your grey is at a good weight is to weight them every day and watch the trend in the numbers. Log it! It makes it easier to see that on a week by week basis, your bird is gaining a couple grams here and a couple grams there. When you go 4+ weeks with no real weight gain, the weight has probably stabilized for a bit. The most important thing I would think is not worrying about a final number, but just worry about a stable weight. A bird that stays consistently right around 470 +/- 5 or 10 grams on a daily basis, who is in good health and eating a healthy diet, is probably at its optimal weight. Again, your vet is the best expert on this. But just to give you some comparison info - my little Congo is 14 months old and came to us when she was 4 months old. At that time she weighed 340g. I thought that was very small for a congo but she was healthy and honestly, she does have a very small build. In the ten months we've had her she has gained 30g and eats like there is no tomorrow. Most of that weight gain was in the last two months after she molted and I have seen the same thing happen before in a young bird - it's almost like they have a growth spurt after molting. Still, 370g seems small to me, but she is a very petite bird and if you feel her keel/belly, it is definitely well-rounded. Conversely, her brother is only 2 days older than her, but is quite a bit larger height wise and his weight has not changed from 425g since he came to us. He *looks* like a bird that should weigh around 470 based on his size, and I would say he is a little lean through the keel, but definitely not skinny. They get the same diet and the only major differences between them are that he gets more exercise because he flies alot (even though his wings are clipped) and he also hasn't molted yet. Will he get heavier? Perhaps. But for the last 10 months his weight has been stable, so that tells me that even though he seems "bigger", his weight is normal. Whether they are flighted, plucked or molting can also affect their weight. How much time out of the cage exercising, climbing, flying etc can affect their weight. Stress and dietary changes can definitely affect their weight. Birds take a long time psychologically to adjust to new things so it makes sense that their bodies will respond as slowly as their heads! It may take a year for Norma to get to her normal weight, or it may happen in just a few months. The key is to watch the weight trend and look for when it stabilizes out. That's the only way you'll know what her perfect weight *should* be. Just a side note about the protein: I used to give my birds protein in the form of pellets, eggs, animal fleshes and sprouts every day. Apparently that was too much and it caused a build up of uric acid which induced kidney infections in both birds. Had this not been treated it could have led to gout in the long term. Now they are on a lean protein diet of sprouts, veggies, fruits and cooked grains. They are completely off pellets (approved by my vet) as the sprouts provide more than enough nutrition to compensate for pellets. Occasionally we give them a piece of chicken, egg or fish if we have it. In the wild, greys do not eat other animals. So just keep in mind that too much protein can be very harmful. If they are on a pellet diet already I would not recommend adding more protein unless your vet finds that they have a deficiency.

Gryphon has been a houdini bird since I brought him home. They don't often stay in their cages except at night, and he is definitely good at expressing his displeasure at being "locked up." He has managed to unscrew every door on his cage - from the inside - except the top shelf door, which has hidden hinges. Today I had the birds in their cages while I was cleaning in the kitchen. Suddenly, I heard a loud bang...and looked around the corner to see that my bird had removed the bottom screw on a food access door -while the food bowl was still locked in. I don't know about you, but I have small fingers and it's difficult for me to even get back there when a food bowl is in place! I do not know how the bugger does it! Lo and behold, the door was hanging precariously and my houdini bird was about to push it out and make good his escape.

I think if you know your bird is "old" then it's probably true that he isn't as spry as he used to be. But keep in mind, we know so very little about birds anyway, and it's very likely that avian vets don't really understand all that happens to birds as they age, considering that avian medicine hasn't exactly been at the forefront of veterinary science. I'm sure there is research being done somewhere, but the real advances in avian medicine lately have been on the side of how to help your bird live longer, not necessarily how to identify when your bird is getting up there in years. Anyway, these are my thoughts on the nature of Grey parrot aging: My guess is that any animal, if fed a nutrient-rich diet, given plenty of exercise and protected from injury, will live to the extent of their lifespan and be in fair shape doing so. The body (including the human one) is designed to live a specific lifespan +/- a few years, and things that dramatically lengthen or shorten that lifespan are directly related to lifestyle (medical technology, nutrition, exercise and lifestyle habits) - therefore it is reasonable to assume that if the body is designed to last so many years, it should last that long in relatively good condition. In today's world humans have two main problems: 1) medical advances have made it possible for the human body to last longer than it was ever designed to do and 2) coupled with poor lifestyle choices, there are a lot of poisons in our food, air and water so that even though we live a long time, we end up with numerous ailments that might not affect us were we to live otherwise. (Just look at those spry 80's year olds you hear about every now and then who look about 30 years younger and claim they've gotten there through exercise and a healthy diet.) The only thing is, birds aren't like us physiologically so I don't think we can expect that they'll get arthritis or wrinkles or feather loss or have memory loss or even osteoporosis just because they're getting old...some of those things are not only lifestyle related, but also genetic. We also need to remember that our parrots are evolved to survive in the wild where their bodies are under much different stresses than in the home and in particular, they haven't had the chance to build up either toxins or genetic conditions that will predispose them to certain ailments. Even though our parrots were raised in captivity, they still have the physiology of a wild creature. But many pet birds (including flighted ones) don't get the kind of exercise or diet they would get in the wild, which has a lasting effect on all of their organs and body structure, overall. A lot of pet birds get injured at various points in their life, some severely. Injury is going to create a weak point in the body that could break down over time, leading to soreness, stiffness and pain. But even so, while I think we could expect that over time our bird's musculature will atrophy (particularly in clipped birds) which will lead to fatigue and lethargy, that their bones may become more brittle and prone to injury, their eyesight will falter, their immune system will weaken, and that perhaps they will be prone to diseases like cancer or heart disease, if the parrot gets proper nutrition, we may not ever see those things happen. Why? Because A) they are living their lifespan, which for a wild creature is designed to maximize their contribution to their flock for the entire lifespan, not just a portion of it and b) because Nature has a way of weeding out genetic disorders and diseases fairly efficiently, so most likely, any degenerative condition (like arthritis) would be directly related to us, not the bird. Therefore it behooves us to provide a good diet which provides optimum levels of nutrients. Hard to do, since we don't really know what optimum levels are! But my theory here being that if we can help our birds live better, which may equate to longer, then it is likely that when they get to that 50-60 year range, they will still be in a fairly good shape because they were designed to be. Which of course doesn't help us identify whether they really are old, but, maybe that's a good thing. We strive so hard to give our birds a "good life" - it's sort of encouraging to think that when my bird is old, he might still be in good shape! Anyway, just my theory!

I've been pretty interested in this subject too. Along with what Dave said, diet factors can also play a big part in the bird's "appearance" - things like lots of omega 3's, vitamin E, and vitamin A in the diet can drastically improve the appearance of beak, feet and feathers/colors. We helped rescue a grey last year and I was certain the bird was not more than 8-10 years old. He was beautiful in all outwardly ways - feathers, eyes, beak etc - so obviously he had a really good diet, and he just looked so youthful. But when he was reunited with his owner we found out he was actually 18. They'd had him since he was a baby, so kudos to those people for giving him such a healthy life! I suspect there are scientific ways to tell, but those are probably things done only on necropsy, since to do them while the bird is alive is probably too invasive, dangerous or impossible.

Definitely keep feeding the variety of foods. For pellets, my birds like their pellets a little soggy, so I soak them before feeding. My birds came home on a seed-only diet and it's taken about 5 months to get them interested in veggies. I make a "bird salad" every week that is just chopped veggies like broccoli, red peppers, carrots, cabbage etc. I try to chop each veggie in different shapes and sizes to make things interesting, and some weeks I throw in a favorite fruit or change up the veggies I use to make it different. I always offer this first to my birds, and because they know it's "food time" they have learned that the veggies are food. They have even learned that they like them, particularly jalapenos and red peppers (Trying asking for kisses after you just gave your bird a jalapeno. Yes, just try it ) It might take 6 months or longer, but just keep offering the variety of foods. Feeding parrots is never cheap! Also, one sure-fire way I have found to get any bird to eat healthy food is to learn how to sprout. Sprouts look just like seeds but have a tail, and birds love them. Sprouts are hugely more nutritious than seeds (and it could be argued veggies and pellets also), and while they shouldn't be the only food you feed your birds, they are a great way to make sure the bird gets a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals. I feed my birds about 50% sprouts, 20% soaked pellets, 30% veggies. They love their sprouts!

Health wise I'd say it's a bad idea. -Any- other pet in the house (dog, cat, rat, gerbil etc) can be a potential danger to your bird even if they are "mellow pets," but snakes in particular, as others have mentioned, carry bacteria on their scales that can kill your bird. That means that not only do you have to worry about the usual "will my snake eat my parrot" problem, but you have to be very diligent about washing and making sure the snake cannot come in contact with the bird in any way. By this I mean that if you have the snake on your arm, or around your neck against your clothes, or in your lap...and then go pick up your bird and put him in those places, you're exposing the parrot to the snake's germies. But either way - I think the best thing you could do is consult an Avian vet who can help you understand exactly how a snake's bacteria could harm your bird, what the best precautions are for housing the animals in the same environment (even in separate rooms), and what signs will tell you your bird is sick so you can get him to the vet right away in case the worst happens. (There might be specific things to look for besides the usual.) Just remember - you might love your snakes, but you now have a parrot, and risk you're taking here is to the bird, not you or the snake. It would be pretty unfortunate if that risk turned out too high

Jan, honestly, I don't believe a house is ever truly safe. I don't believe a bird is ever truly safe no matter how paranoid the owner. Besides open doors/windows, there are a ton of other ways a bird can get hurt - from ingesting chemicals to inhaling bad fumes, to eating a poisonous plant etc. There's a lot you can do to reduce hazards, but when you consider how completely different a parrot's needs are from a human's, and how our lives just don't really mesh well, you start to realize how out of our element we are here. To be a truly good parrot owner I think you have to want to live and think like a bird, and not a people. Of course, then you get dubbed the crazy bird [lady/man]. ;p For what it's worth, my husband and I have decided to screen in our front and back porch. We're hoping to get both of those done this summer. The front porch has a roof on it so we're going to build a basic enclosure. The back deck is just large enough to put up one of those screened canopies, which isn't fool proof but should be able to prevent a terrified bird from flying away. This will create a vestibule over each door so if a bird does get out, they have another barrier between them and the world. It's the same concept used in zoo enclosures. Plus, it will be a nice place to hang out when it's done

Adding my playstand to the mix...this did not end up being cheap even though it's pvc, but the birds love it so I'm ok with the cost. The stand is about 18" x 24" and 6.5 feet tall at the crow's nest. I had a few main goals: 1) greatly reduce cleanup by containing mess, 2) give the birds a place outside their cages to eat, which can be rolled from room to room or up next to the table 3) create a "canopy" of toys where the birds could hang out during the day. I think I was able to achieve all of these goals pretty well. The crow's nest satisfies their need to be up high and puts a water dish up where they can't poop in it. When they descend beneath the canopy there are food bowls, toy boxes and lots of perches to climb on, plus tons of toys. Many of the toys are foraging toys too. The stand is built on wheels so it is easier to move it from room to room, and their food bowls are quick-lock crocks that are easy to remove and clean. I used stainless steel eyehooks for toy hangers, as well as plastic plant chain. The birds actually like to climb on the plastic chain and it is also a great way to hang toys. You can string a chain across an opening and hang 5 toys on it, instead of using an eyehook that hangs just one. Although I used vetwrap for the perches, but the birds seem to prefer the sisal (and they occasionally pick at the vet wrap) so I have since re-worked this with a little more sisal and 1/4" polyrope on the horizontal perches. FYI, the sisal is awesome for climbing. My birds can go straight up the vertical poles with just a little sisal to grab on to. The polyrope is pretty and soft on the feet, but it's a little slippery for climbing unless you wrap it with gaps in between. A few of the major areas where I've had problems on previous stands I've built: 1) I tried to make all the perches link up together with ladders and slides so it would be easy for the birds to move from place to place. 2) The newspaper didn't quite stick out far enough, which meant lots of bird poop on the floor - GROSS. 3) The perches criss-crossed under each other so a lot of bird poop ended up on them, which is REALLY GROSS. Especially when your bird steps in it and then steps on you. Using the boing and rope and swings is a much better option for linking the perches together, because the birds LIKE to climb and hang, it's great exercise, and it's a great challenge for them to figure out how to get from perch to perch. My little girl has a nerve-damaged foot so I thought it would be easier for her if all her perches were linked together, but she is an awesome climber now and actually seems to have better balance than she did before. Both birds are always hanging, swinging or climbing now, which seems to make them very happy. Also, I extended the bottom support shelf about 2 inches on either side so that the newspaper would prevent floor splatter, and I arranged the perches so that they were at different levels but weren't directly under each other. It's not a perfect design, but it sure makes cleanup a lot easier. One note about the food bowls - I spent countless brain cells on trying to figure out a solution to making bowls that could easily be removed from the stand. I did not want to deal with glue, and I found out the hard way that dremeling pvc just does not work well! In the end, the simplest solution is usually the best...and I realized that the bolt that comes with the quick-lock crocks is just long enough to fit through 3/4" pvc. So if you have a drill, I highly recommend this option.If the bolt is not long enough on yours then I'm sure your local hardware store would have something that could work. So I drilled a hole for the bolt and presto, now I have quick-lock crocks all over the stand. The birds usually eat breakfast and dinner on this stand, but the bowls are great places to put foraging treats during the day too! Additional thoughts: - Using vetwrap, 1/4" polyrope and 1/4" sisal over 3/4" pvc allows for varying perch widths - anything from 3/4" to about 1 1/4". I also used 3/4" to 1/2" connectors and took a couple of the horizontal perches down to 1/2" to change it up a little, so that the birds have a variety of different perch widths to choose from. - I designed the horizontal perches so that they all are slightly angled instead of being level. I wanted to simulate a tree-branch as much as possible and those are never straight. Amazingly enough, one of the favorite places these guys like to hang out is on the angled side of the a-frame tops.