Acappella

Praise in a happy, bright voice usually works great as a motivator with these guys. I never use food rewards with Dorian, but he gets plenty of praise from me when he's being a good boy. The opposite works too. A sad face and voice can let your bird know when she's doing something she shouldn't be. Works better the stronger your relationship becomes.

So nice to know you can trust another person to share her care with. She's done a greyt job training you both.

I'd go with Dave, or Sterling if you don't have a Dremel. Vet wrap is a handy thing to have around.

Dorian will throw something onto the ground and then say "ooops". Ooops my butt! lol

I know I'm allergic to contact with tea tree oil and to the aroma of eucalyptus. I'd never use either in anything that might come in contact with Dorian or me. I'm happy with vinegar and water as a cleaner, and of course my steamer.

All I know for sure is that I love and value the members who are here. There has been some drama at times which I have been careful to stay clear of lol. Sometimes the lack of new posts is disappointing, but it means everything is going right with our members and their birds. Of course I wish all new members would become active members, but I'm happy we're here to answer their questions even if we never hear from them again. For me, the core group of us is a little family, always accepting new members.

Congratulations Olive on your first word. You're very cute.

She's not only come around, but correct me if I'm wrong, she's taken up the prime spot right in front of the fan/mist. You've set up such a perfect outdoor spot for them do they ever try to stay in at the end of the day, or are they happy to come inside for a sleep after a day of fresh air? You could totally have a side business building aviaries, yours is so perfect from the double entrance door to the stone at the base around the perimeter to the branches and perches inside, and now to their personal cooling station. Do they move around the aviary and come to the side to cool off, or do they pretty much stay in one spot on hot days?

So sorry Cocoba is in his last days. I can't think of anyone better to ease him along on his journey. Give him a kiss and tell him it's from me.

I can't believe I forgot about starting with a harness. Thanks for adding it.

Zoe is a cutie pie. Dorian said "I love you" once and never again. I love that she meows like the cat. You obviously have a very active loving home.

He's beautiful, and predictably up as high as he can get. Glad to see you've left him fully flighted. He doesn't get aggressive with any member of the family when he's flying around?

Hi Erica. Congratulations on your new baby. On the list of essential toys, first would be a bell. Here's a picture of one of Dorians. It's specially made for birds so that they can't remove the clapper and possibly swallow it. I haven't met a grey yet that doesn't love beating up on their bell. A roll of adding machine tape is a popular cheap toy, just tie it to the side of her cage and let her shred it. Makes a glorious mess. If the cage is big enough adding a boing would be good. It's a spiral, bouncy rope perch that they can bounce and swing on. I'm guessing it mimics the motion of a branch swinging in a natural habitat. Add a bell to the bottom to make it more appealing. Expose him to a variety of foot toys while young. My Dorian wasn't exposed to toys when young and as such really isn't a toy guy. I'm sure others with more toy centred fids can chime in with more suggestions.

Don't take it personally. This was almost predictable. Like others have said, you experienced what we call the Honeymoon period of a re-home. You got a glimpse of the bird that Oscar can be with you, only to have it unfairly taken away. Now you have to work for it lol. Do all the things the others suggested. Sit as close as you can before his feathers get ruffled, then just read, watch tv, just spend time letting him get used to your presence. One other suggestion I have is to not make direct eye contact. Predators in the wild look directly at them. Look at him from the side and below him to appear less threatening. This really worked with my Dorian, and I still do it sometime when he's in the middle of a right snit temper tantrum, which thankfully hardly ever happens anymore. Welcome to you, Oscar, and the rest of the family.

Yeah, if it's SS you don't have to worry about getting it painted.

Gotta love him is right. He's the best.

Happy Hatchday Gracie. Hope there`s been lots of being pushed on your swing!

Well, build it in front of her was #1 so you have good instincts. How is she reacting to it? Is she terrified, perching as far away from it as she can, or does she seem curious about it? When I moved Dorian to his new cage I put it as close to him as I could until he showed signs of fear, then slowly over the course of about a week moved it closer to the cage he was in. When it got close enough I joined the two cages with a perch, and then let him see me put his favourite treat in the food dish and his favourite toy hanging in the new cage. Then I just waited him out. His curiosity got him over into the new cage to sneak his treat, then he started spending more time in the new cage playing. At that point I disconnected the two cages and moved the old one away. I even let him watch me disassemble the old cage and carry it away. The whole process probably took about a week and a half. It's a bit of a pain living with two cages in your space, but you want moving into the new space to be her choice as much as possible. You've got good instincts so I'm sure you'll have Nonsense in her new space very soon. Good luck!

Happy Hatchday baby girl Kane. Let your parronts spoil you (not that today would be different than any other day!)

Just do a lot of reading in the various forum rooms, especially the stickies at the top of each room. Are you planning on getting a baby or perhaps re-homing an older bird.

Is there a grate top on the top when you remove the tray. You want to be able to remove the top tray so that she can get some light when she`s in the cage. Other than that, like Sterling said, check the legs and the castors. Another worry I have is how the dishes fit into the dish holders. In Dorian`s cage the dishes lock in from outside the cage and then the door closes behind them. This is to stop my birdy from picking up the dishes and tossing them, a favourite fid activity. Has Nonsense ever tossed a food or water dish. Also, the door looks a little small for you to get in there to clean. Dorians cage door is huge, I can fit my whole body through it. The price is right. If you get it I have some tips on how to transition her into a new cage.

You're doing things exactly right, in my opinion. You're letting your bird set the pace and as a result you're building trust and creating a more confident fid. It might help you to see the progress you are making if you keep a little journal of your steps forward with Nonsense. Sometimes things feel like they are moving soooooo slowly that we can only see our progress when we look back over months and years. Remember, with a parrot, unlike a dog, we have years to build our relationships. That's why one of the most used words on this site is the word patience. Lol. One day, sometime in the future, you'll be giving your baby kisses and cuddles, and finding it hard to believe things were ever any other way.

Well, I had my first session today and it was lovely. Really, he hardly hurt me at all. Just did some gentle stretching, then some massage with an electronic unit called tens, then some moist heat. I'll see him once a week. He gave me some stretches to do at home this week, so I'd better go do them!

What are you doing when you say you are trying to get her to step up for you? Are you physically trying to force her to step up? If you are, my advice is to stop. Offer her the step up but if she refuses tell her that's ok, and that you'll offer again later. It lets her know she's got some power in your relationship and that you will listen to her desires. I never tried to force Dorian to step up. I just made the world outside his cage look like fun, making toys, playing with the cat, playing music etc. . . I kept up offering and one day he simply raised his little foot and tentatively stepped up for me. Also, if you do get her on your arm only keep her for a couple of minutes and then return her to her cage, even before she asks. That ends each session on a successful note and gives her a good feeling about these training sessions.

I know exactly what you mean about being jealous of other people's relationships. As I've said in other threads, Dorian was extremely slow to progress in his new home with me. It was months before he took a step outside his cage and years before he stepped up for me and let me take him into other rooms. I'd come on here and see people kissing their fids, walking around the house with their fids on their shoulders etc . . . and it would be hard to go back to a birdy that would barely let me touch him. But here we are years in, and Dorian goes wherever I go in the house with me and lets me touch him, and gives me kisses when I ask for them. So let he and I be an example for you that even though some birds move more slowly than others you can get there with patience, love, and the education and support of the people on this forum.