danmcq

Out of cage time will not affect Jack's tameness or cause him to lose interest in you. One question though, are you going to be home while he is out of the cage? If not, unsupervised time out of cage is very dangerous unless you have a bird room you will have him staying in that is 100 percent bird safe.

The others have all given great thoughts and advice. Something in this play session it seems caused this. It is always hard to determine exactly what (As Dave describes), a move you made, look, sound etc. but she evidently did not like it one bit and went into a mode of letting you know that it was not "Fair Play". This will pass and you just need to maintian your usual routines with her and try to always remain calm, talk in soothing and happy sounds. As Dave mentioned, please go read the body language thread so you know when to stop before you infringe in her space and get bit. It seems your BF has become the preferred person for the more personal requests of step ups and interaction right now. It will take some time, but you and her will get back on an understood level of interaction that you will need to come to understand and respect.

LOL! Great shower story! Thanks for sharing this. It sounds like Cleo had a wonderful time whilst you stood and shivered.

Enjoy!

It's hard to believe Issac is 1 already. It has been such a pleasure watching him grow over the last year in your once weekly updates. This update is appreciated as well and he has done incredibly well under your loving care. Thanks for sharing this write up and photos.

I repost this every year at this time. Dave posted this 3 years ago here and I am continuing the tradition: Ingredients: One turkey Corn pudding Green beans Stuffing Sweet potatoes Mashed potatoes with gravy Cranberry sauce Hot rolls Relish tray Pumpkin pie Whipped cream Hot coffee Get up early in the morning & have a cup of coffee. It's going to be a long day, so place your Parrot on a perch nearby to keep you company while you prepare the meal. Remove Parrot from kitchen counter and return him to perch. Prepare stuffing, and remove Parrot from edge of stuffing bowl and return him to perch. Stuff turkey & place it in the roasting pan, and remove Parrot from edge of pan and return him to perch. Have another cup of coffee to steady your nerves. Remove Parrot's head from turkey cavity and return him to perch, and restuff the turkey. Prepare relish tray, and remember to make twice as much so that you'll have a regular size serving after the Parrot has eaten his fill. Remove Parrot from kitchen counter and return him to perch. Prepare cranberry sauce, discard berries accidentally flung to the floor by Parrot. Peel potatoes, remove Parrot from edge of potato bowl and return him to perch. Arrange sweet potatoes in a pan & cover with brown sugar & mini marshmallows. Remove Parrot from edge of pan and return him to perch. Replace missing marshmallows. Brew another pot of coffee. While it is brewing, clean up the torn filter. Pry coffee bean from Parrot's beak. Have another cup of coffee & remove Parrot from kitchen counter and return him to perch. When time to serve the meal: Place roasted turkey on a large platter, and cover beak marks with strategically placed sprigs of parsley. Put mashed potatoes into serving bowl, rewhip at last minute to conceal beak marks and claw prints. Place pan of sweet potatoes on sideboard, forget presentation as there's no way to hide the areas of missing marshmallows. Put rolls in decorative basket, remove Parrot from side of basket and return him to perch. Remove beaked rolls, serve what's left. Set a stick of butter out on the counter to soften -- think better and return it to the refrigerator. Wipe down counter to remove mashed potato claw tracks. Remove Parrot from kitchen counter and return him to perch. Cut the pie into serving slices. Wipe whipped cream off Parrot's beak and place large dollops of remaining whipped cream on pie slices. Whole slices are then served to guests, beaked-out portions should be reserved for host & hostess. Place Parrot inside cage & lock the door. Sit down to a nice relaxing dinner with your family -- accompanied by plaintive cries of "WANT DINNER!" from the other room. Happy Holidays!! --------- Dave

Wow, talk about missing you! My best advice would be to have someone that yumyum likes when visiting take care of her when you leave for that long. It still does not mean she won't pluck, but it would certain help the separation anxiety the poor girl is experiencing in your absence.

We always have a live tree, the birds are not allowed on it at all. Too many wires, lights and ornaments. So I hang a motion sensing gold ornament that looks kind of like PAC Man smiley face on it and when anything moves, it goes off singing merry Christmas, pupils flashing and eyelids opening and closing along with the mouth moving. The birds don't seem to like it for some reason.

HI Deb, I have no idea who may have said greys don't attack, but as you are experiencing they will. I will say, most the time when it occurs after you have had your grey a long time and raised it from a young baby, it is because they are either angry about something that just happened, are playing (Yes I said playing, at least Dayo does this when he thinks it's fun) or they want something you have or took away. Not all greys do this, but many do. Dayo will even "Attack" my wife which is his cuddle muffin. He had never done this until hitting his twos and then threes. It is always if he is jealous, angry from not being the center of her universe or playing and he gets so excited he flys straight at her face or shoulder etc. He does this much more often to me than to her. But, we have both come to know the signs of this starting to happen a few seconds before he launches and turn or swoosh our arms to divert him. Once we have done this, the attack or playing (What ever he thinks in his mind it is) is done and all is well until exciting play or taking something away he thinks is his occurs again. It's just one of those things most Parrot owners come to having to deal with at some point.

These are all normal behaviors for a grey in the 2 year range. They will increase in frequency and also in determination on their part to start establishing themselves as an EQUAL member of the flock. I know the food tossing routine very well as most Parrot owners do. They just fling items out of the way to get to what they want at that moment. Their alertness and fear of somethings like loud or strange noises and sudden movements by something like a dog, cat or outside they may see through the window will set them off on fly or die trip. This increases as they age and mature. I can only assume until they hit their 18 to 24 months age that they figure the "Grown Ups" are watching out for them. But, once they come to the age of truly feeling the need to fend for themselves, they are naturally understanding their true instincts for survival that is deeply imprinted upon them from thousands of years of survival in wild Africa. The fan would be a worry for certain. I don't know how far the fins are from the cage enclosing them, but these greys have fairly long talons that might just hit the blade. It's great to be hearing from you again.

Dave has written a ton of great advice. The only things I have to add are: 1) A two year old grey is a real handful, rebellious and just like a teenage human, will test their limits with you constantly and very stubbornly. 2) They require a very good diet that requires time every day to prepare and server atleast 2 times a day with different foods. Example, veggies and nean mix or mash. Evenings perhaps some nuts like walnut, almond, cashew etc. 3) They will poop on your furniture, floor etc. anywhere they decide they need to go every 15 to 20 minutes. 4) They require a big cage and plenty of toys to keep them active and challenged mentally. 5) They will always want to be with you wherever you are in the house. They depend on the flock for survival and fellowship and are hard wired to stay with them at all times. If they can't see you, they will contact call you almost constantly if they know you are in the house. 6) As Dave suggested, you may want to try finding a young grey that is just weaned and fledged. 7) Stay in touch here constantly and ask questions, share your experiences and draw on the vast amount of knowledge here combined by the many members we have here. 8) Be prepared to commit to a companion bird that will remain with you until you die. They have VERY long lives. It's great having you here and I hope to hear a lot more from you.

Great comments by all. I would strongly advise reading the sticky Dave mentioned in regards your question on clipping. Your decision will affect your grey's abilities for the remainder of his life. It is a very important decision.

LOL! Yep, they get very demanding at times for items they want. That will never go away.

In the winter months, you should have avian light. Unless you live in a sunny warm area like the equator where you can take them outside for sun basking 3 or 4 days a week. The only other way you wil lbe able to maintain sufficient vitamin d3 levels for proper calcium absorption and over all internal organ health would be by them eating plenty of pellets or indoor aviain lighting. I do not know of anyone saying avian lighting is not necessary, unless they are kept outdoors each day.

It sounds like things went very well with Gray coming home. The photos are great and he is a very good looking grey. Thanks for sharing this with us.

I work at home as well full time now. It's a pain, but if your jsut consistent in keeping him away from the keyboard and either make him sit on the perch, play stand of quietly on your shoulder it will sink in as the accepted behavior. It took about a 1000 repetitions of playing Dayo back on my shoulder or his stand before he determined it was futile to try and gran a key from the keyboard or break the mouse open. If he is particularly insistent on some days. I place him in his cage which resides directly behind me so he can see and interact verbally with me.

It's GreYt that you have decided to rescue this mistreated Grey. I would like to go slap those people around a little. Anyway, the others have given great advice and the sooner you get him to oyr home the better. All creatures respond to love and patience., They know when your sincere and it will just take a little while for him to trust a human in an up close and personal way. One question, is he flighted? If so, I would not let him out of the cage until he is comfortable in the new home and with all the occupants. having to catch a flighted bird by toweling is a high anxiety experience for the bird and the people. It would create a hostile environment in this new Greys mind if that happened before he trust you.

He will probably bust out with a Buck Owens song pretty soon. Congratulations on Timmy feeling comfortable enough to start try to talk to you inferior humans.

It is normal behavior in most Greys. They will also many times fluff up and place their head down as you stand and talk to them. If this is a grey you have had a long time and it is happy and excited to see you. A new grey shaking and puffing up is a hostile reaction in most cases. When I approach the cage first thing in the morning, Dayo will walk up with breast shivering slightly, puff his feathers up and bend his head down, at which point I give him some scratches and we say good morning to each other. He will also do this through out the day when I am working and take a break to interact with him through the cage bars. Sometimes he likes to hang upside down and I tickle his breast.

Yup - Nose in cage = Bite Me!!!

Thanks for the update Maggie and godspeed to Jay on his recovery.

Hi Jan - It's wonderful to hear about Tobie and I wish we would hear more. Tobie is such a wonderful, intelligent and entertaining Grey!

Happy Hatchday Hannah!

He has clearly eaten too much "Red Neck" food, his genes have gone crazy and now look what happened.

The replies to this thread all make sense to me. In my case, when the day comes I must re-home Dayo, it will be due to failing health and no longer being able to care for him. It makes me apprehensive just thinking about that day, that I know will come in the future. I fret over who the people will be, if they will truly take care of him like we do and I most certainly ensure he goes with a complete book of how he was raised, fed, time out of the cage, how to get him back in etc. I can totally relate to how this woman must feel in letting her grey go after having it since a baby. I also know, that when Dayo must go, my visiting which I would surely long to do, would be the worst thing for him and just confuse and probably build up hope in him that he is just visiting, not residing in his new permanent home. This lady obviously frets and worries over the new home for her grey and is simply wanting to ensure it is a good fit. I made the mistake many years ago when we had to give up a St. Bernard we had had from birth until 5 years old. He was our baby, but some bad circumstances came up and we had to move which resulting in no place for him to stay. A nearby rancher wanted him and we went to visit weekly. WE did so for 3 weeks in a row. On that third visit, the rancher kindly asked that we never come back. Why? Because Goliath (200 pounds) would not eat and sulk for 3 or four days after we had visited and it made him and the rancher very sad and miserable. Once we stopped the weekly visits, Goliath came to love and accept that ranch as his best friend and pack leader. He lived out the rest of his life in great happiness with 100's of acres to jaunt around and play on. The same results would happen if you went and visited a grey you rehomed. It would just make the transition much longer and difficult for both the grey and the new owner trying to get the grey settled in to the new home and flock.