Jane08

We named our girl Kea (means mountain parrot) and our boy is Rangi (means god of the sky)

Lovelylew sounds as though do are doing great with Obi. Give him some treats, bribery works a treat to get them comfortable with you. Imme, they are so determined those little birds. Saw the pictures and he looks so cute. I had actually forgotten how much work a young grey is even though our other grey is only 11 months he seeems so mature and has really stepped up to show the baby grey how things are done in our house. He taught her to bath in the weekend and after seeing him do it she was all keen to get in herself which she did with much delight. He has even shown her the places they are allowed to perch and she only flies to these places. She is learining so much quicker than our other grey did as a baby and I really think it's due to the other grey teaching her. Our baby grey even had her harness on over her head last night. We are training them both to wear a harness so we can go out in summer.

It is so funny how they all differ so much. We got our second one last weekend and she is 15 weeks old. We got her home and into her cage thinking we would leave her a couple of days, but when we opened the cage door that same day she jumped out onto us. We let her do what she wanted for the rest of the day and she hung out with us for cuddles, had time alone on a swinging perch that goes from the roof and then at night she fell asleep on my boyfriend and he had to lift her up and place her back in her cage. The next day we got up opened the door and same thing, she jumped out and acted like she had been living with us for ages.

Just voted, not clipped and it's the most amazing thing to see both of them flying together around the house. They chase each other and fly together.

Oh yes our boy jumps as well and I call him a kangaroo. He jumps on the couch and then on to me. Sometimes to make the jump even better he uses his wings a bit as well. He jumps after the ball when we are playing as well, or he sees soemthing that he wants and jumps on it. He is also fully flighted.

We take our birds out in the cold for a car trip. We did it at easter and it was snowing. We just heat the car up and then put them in without covering them. We make sure we are quick about it. They fluff up as soon as they are in the heat of the car and there were no problems. We travelled 10 hours that day with passing snow storms. The birds thought it was great and were chit chattering away.

That sounds familiar, our 11 month old did that to my boyfriend. We solved it by him becoming the one to feed the bird and give him treats...bribery works a treat. My boyfriend also learnt his body language and now knows when to stay away. Our bird gives him signals like a certain noise or way he stands and looks, so my boyfriend knows to stay away. We also look for the build up to the bite as well to see if it was something my boyfriend did that the bird didn't like and what the warning signs were. I find body language very important with greys to get to know what they are saying.

Thanks everyone for the reassurance it really helps. Judy there is no worries about our 11 month old knowing he is number one. I let him out first in the morning and he sits on a perch next to her cage like lord muck and just watches her in her cage. I go to the kitchen to make breakfast for them and peek out to make sure he isn't on her cage. He is still on the perch sitting up tall like, don't worry I will guard her while you make breakfast. Usually he follows to the kitchen but not now. He has really been showing off to her, like bathing which he usually hates, playing like a nut case. We play football with him with an indoor hockey ball and he goes crazy. I even said to my boyfriend the other day I wonder what they are saying to each other as they were both making noises and our 11 month old turns around and goes goodbye. I laughed so hard and told our 11 month old, no she is staying and not going anywhere, she hasn't just come to visit.

What are the main things I should think about/do when introducing another grey. One is 11 months (male) and we have had him for 8 months. The other one we got in the weeekend and is 3 months (female). They have separate everything, cage, toys, perch etc. When we have had them out they sometimes fly to the same perch and look at each other and then beak each other. I have been told this is normal, but I worry one of them will get hurt. Should I leave them to get on with it and supervise or take one away when this starts and then which one should I take away. Sometimes one of them actaully flies off if it gets too much. The female is very keen to be out of her cage and is just looking at everything. She even watches him and copies him. Like he flies to the back of the armchair where I am sitting and kisses me. Well I got a fright yesterday as she did the same thing, flew to the armchair and gave me a kiss. When she sees him doing something fun,like playing on the table she immediately flies down to the table as well.

Well we have made the decision to get another grey as company for our boy. We get the new one tomorrow, so I will let you know how it goes. Our one at the moment is bonded to me and lets me do anything with him. I am not afraid that he might hate me just because we have another bird. What I will do is make sure I do everything first for my boy and then attend to the other grey. We all met the new bird about a month ago and our grey sat on my hand and looked at her and I assured him that he is my number one boy. We have also had another cage in the house for about a month now and I know this sounds weird but I go over to the cage and start talking as though there is another bird in there, so that our grey can hear me and gets used to it before she arrives.

I have managed to do that recently with our boy. I just waited until he was ready to do it. So he hangs upside down on his toys and I gently put my hand on his back, never grabbing him. I also stroke his belly and under his wings. I did this for ages. We then progressed to my shoulder and I would rest my hand gently on his back and I would tip upside down. You can tell from the feel of him if he is into it, if not don't force it. Now we are on the hand. So he sits on my hand and holds on tight to my fingers and he then decides to flip unside down on my hand. I never force him to go upside down on my hand I always make sure it is his decision. When he is ready to come back up he just flaps his wings and he is up right again.

I live in Stockholm, Sweden, but originally come from New Zealand.

Oh Nychsa funny that you said that, we are getting another grey in a months time and I have said to my boyfriend how worried I am. What if this one is over active as well. I feel shattered in the mornings sometimes and having to cope with two of them....nightmare, hehe. I am holding on to the hope that he is young and will calm down when he gets older. Please, no one shatter my illusion that I have about this, hehe Imme my boyfriend is the same, the alarm is set an hour in advance and it goes off every 10min. Since we got the grey he has been much better about getting up only becuase the bird calls and then when he doesn't answer the bird gets mad and looks around the cage to see what is going to make the biggest noise and then he grabs it and throws it on the bars. If my boyfriend still doesn't get up the bird ups the ante and the noise gets louder.

We named ours Rangi which means god of the sky and the next one we are calling Kea which means mountain parrot.

Yes our grey is active in the morning. As soon as that sun comes up he feels it's a licence to let loose. 6am and he is eagerly waiting at the door hopping up and down. Out of the cage, big poop and then he is off. Straight up to the cupboards in the kitchen, racing around chasing his ball screaming like a banshee. On to his swing that hangs from the roof, upside down knocking all hell out of the bell attached. Finally get him breakfast, but if he thinks my breakfast it better looking he goes into stealth mode and I can see brain thinking about how he can possibly get my breakfast. Next stop is the shower where he sits up the top and sings and chatters until his little heart is content. He then helps me put on my makeup. Final stop is back in the cage and I am off to work feeling like I have done a full day already. Only to come home at 5pm to our eagerly over active grey hopping up and down at the door waiting to do it all over again.

Does anyone elses grey like a full body massage/scratch? Last night I gave our grey a massage/scratch for 30min for the first time. He stands there and lifts his wings and then I scratch all under his wings, over his back and head. He then he goes unside down and wants me to scratch his tummy. He makes little noises and gently nibbles my hand. He seemed to love it and when I stopped he pounced on me and looked at me as if why did you stop keep going. I know all grey are different, but is that normal for them to like a full body massage? He is one lucky bird, even my boyfriend doesn't get a 30min full body massage from me.

Thanks, I will try and avoid him snatching anymore. Terri, you are right they are so funny when they snatch. I also have the tug of war with the glass. His body language when he snatches is so funny as well. His feathers are all flat like he is trying to streamline himself for the mission ahead, wings out a bit, neck stretched and he is in for the snatch. He then runs off so quick whipping his head around as I try to grab it out of his beak

How about Prosciutto? It is just my little boy saw my sandwich and raced over and before I knew it he had grabbed him self a piece of Prosciutto and took off with it. He seemed to think it was great becuase he downed that and then dashed back to try and swipe more of my Prosciutto. I guess he shouldn't eat that as it is not cooked meat, but I guess it is cured?

Thanks for the link. They really need to put that chart on the packet and not just say feed them as much as you want. Needless to say I have cut back on his Harrisons.

I just bought our grey some Harrisons adult life coarse pellets and tried him on them this weekend. He absolutely loved them and sat at his perch all afternoon Sat and Sun eating them. I checked the packet and it said give them as much as they want. I am a bit concerned he is eating too many of them, but according to the packet that is ok. Is this really the case or should I take them away from him? I gave him lunch on Sat (fruit and veg)and he finished that and then started on his pellets and seriously he sat there for a good few hours just munching away on them. He even climbs into his cage at night right before bed time and munches on them before he goes to sleep.

You were lucky talon didn't start yelling Fire fire fire, hehe

To anyone buying a grey please be careful of an offer by a person from Cameroon who claims to be a breeder and can export them to you. There is a ban on exports of greys from East/Central African countries. Here is a link to a seizure of greys that has taken place: BEWARE, do not go to this link if you are easily upset as some pictures and reading can be disturbing. http://www.wildlifedirect.org/blogAdmin/limbewildlifecentre

you know I think my boyfriend and the bird do have secret conversations. After work I got to the gym and give them 2 hours so that they can work on their bonding. The bird loves me the best, but he never learns anything from me, everything he learns comes from my boyfriend. Within 2 days my boyfriend had him woofing like a dog. They play catch together and the bird runs after the ball barking like a dog.

Thanks, we have 2 of everything and are really prepared. We have read alot about introducing a 2nd bird ie. do everything for the first bird before the 2nd one, separate cages etc. We are getting the grey from the same breeder we got our 10 month from, so we thought it would be good for him to see them all again. I know that sounds stupid as I don't even know if he will remember any of his first 3 or so months that he lived there. I guess I was just hoping if he feels involved with everything he will cope better.

We have one grey and he is 10 months old and now we are going to get a baby girl to join him. We are going to visit the baby in a couple of weeks. Is it a good idea to take the bird we have now with us to be introduced to the baby for a short period, just to see how he reacts to her?