dicky601

Hi Lucy, I am not a long time owner and expert, we have had Herbie for 9 months now and it is his first birthday this month. But I hope what I have learnt might be of some help, we have fed Herbie a number of different foods, he loves toast and porridge in the morning and pretty much anything else he can get his beak into the rest of the time. It might be coincidence but we had some health issues with him recently, he picked up a bacterial infection from somewhere and along with antibiotics the vet recommended Harrisons pellet food (you can find this online from many pet retailers). He has since got better (down to the medicine I'm sure), but since being on the pellets he seems much more calm and more affectionate than ever. We still also feed him fresh veggies and fruit. My girlfriend makes a lot of purees for him, made from vegetables and fruit and often hand feeds him from a tea spoon. Our vet told us that hand feeding can help continue the bonding process and even though your bird is much older than Herbie it might help bonding (once he is comfortable to have your hand near him).

many happy returns Harrison, lovely looking young lady

Happy new year all. Would like to thank everyone for the help and support this year, and wish everyone and their birds health and happiness in 2008. Best wishes, Dicky, Gisela and herbie

Thanks for the help. Really interesting link, will have a good read of that. And thanks for the tip Dan, I had already started to use that and it does seem it work. Also I have read that Greys need 10-12 hours sleep a night, Herbie often gets around 8, so we're going to try putting him to bed earlier. Thanks again.

Hi Guys, Things had been going well with Herbie up until a few weeks ago. He is still getting on very well with my girlfriend (although he nips her now and again), but he is biting me very badly. It is not all the time, and he can often be playful and loving with me. But out of nowhere he will bite me, and very very hard. He has drawn blood on a number of occasions. I am trying not to show fear but is getting difficult. I am wondering if as he is growing up he is starting to try and be the man of the house. We have lowered the height of his play Gym so that he is below our eyeline - this has resulted in him trying to sit on top of the door all the time. We keep taking him off and putting him back on his play gym, this can be difficult for me to do sometimes if he is in the mood to bite. I'm not sure how to handle this. Our breeder had told us to say no in a stern voice at him when he does something wrong - would I be better to ignore the bad behaviour altogether, say nothing and show no reaction and make a big thing of every time he is good? If anyone has any advice or experience at this age (8 months) then please let me know. Thanks, Richard

I "except" "you're" point of "few"

Herbie has been doing this for a couple of months now. We ignore him and have found that if we close the door to his room he seems to stop. I'm not sure if this is because he thinks we've gone out and so there is no point getting our attention.

good point - will not let him out of his pumpkin!!!

Just to let you know that Herbie seems to be fine. Thanks for all the help.

Thanks guys, we spoke to the Vet and she said he should be OK. Just need to keep an eye on him for 24 hours. Fingers crossed.

We have just found Herbie munching through a mars bar - I dont think he has had much of it but am obviously worried. Have read that this can be fatal - does anyone have experience of this or any advice. We are also contacting his vet.

You might find keeping her cage door closed when you are not trying to get her used to your hand. Parrots need to feel secure and in the long term having boundaries. Leaving her cage door open all the time could confuse her and make her insecure. I would definately go with the perch in your hand rather than gloves or socks.

If it helps with your nerves you could use a perch to step up onto and then progress onto your hand when you feel comfortable. Greys are attracted to certain colours and yellow / gold is often popular. We used a bright yellow perch which worked well, and still do now when Herbie seems reluctant to step up onto our hands

Herbie does step onto our hand when we put it in the cage, he is very keen to come out. I think you are doing the right thing by leaving her in her cage sometimes when you are in. It is difficult to ignore the scratching but I think worth it in the long run. Herbie seems to be starting to understand that whilst we like him to spend lots of time out of his cage with us, it is important for him to speand time in his cage whilst we are at home. I also think it helps the parrots realise who is boss (not them!!).

If you believe the bird Psychologists, you should not allow a bird above your eyeline as you should be the head of the flock as far as the bird is concerned. We have made a point of never allowing Herbie to be higher than us, whether it be our shoulders, his perch or sitting on furniture. He is still only a baby so I will see how it goes but I had a senegal parrot previosly that I let sit on top of doors etc. It got to the point where he would only sit high up in the room. He became a nightmare, extremely violent and impossible to live with. I guess only time will tell if this approach with Herbie will work.