Acappella

I agree with the towels to pad the bottom of the cage. At least until you see how clumsy she is as a baby. Just means some increased laundry for a little while. I see what you're trying to do with the curtain but if the cage is in a room that is going to be lit up after baby goes to bed you're going to have to cover it more completely than you have. Those curious (Let's face it - nosy) little black eyes aren't going to want to go to bed if the lights are still on & everyone else is still up!!!! If others have already said this elsewhere I'm sorry, but a big thing you're missing is a big noisy bell to play with. Seems to be a pretty much universal grey obsession. They all seem to love a big noisy bell to play with. Like these ones. http://parrotdiseperch.com/east/powder-coated-bell-medium The carrier looks good. I'm so excited for you and to see pictures of the homecoming. (Like the subtle hint I threw in there? lol)

Hi. Thank you for taking in this older bird. I echo what the others have said about taking your time. Greys, with a few exceptions, do not take quickly to change, and a change of home is the biggest change he can go through. I wouldn't be trying to touch this bird at all right now. His biting is his way of telling you that he is not ready for this kind of contact yet. You don't want the biting to become a habit because he feels like you aren't listening to what he is telling you. Here is a link to a thread from the Training Forum Room that had some useful information on body language. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?109373-Body-language-most-frequently-seen Take your time here and look through all the 'stickies' at the top of the pages in each of the forum rooms. There's a wealth of information there for the new grey owner. Heck, sit by his cage and read some of it aloud to him. It will help him get used to your voice and having you around. He's processing a lot of information right now, and a big part of it is deciding whether or not you can be trusted. Your biggest job right now is to earn that trust, and with greys that can take weeks or months. I know you just want to love on him and give him a better life, but he has to come to the conclusion that HE wants to be loved on, and that's probably going to take some time. To give you an idea, it took well over a year, closer to two, before my Dorian would step up for me, but I waited him out and now he comes pretty well anywhere I want him to. The key is that he wants to be with me because he trusts and loves me, and that was the key to getting him to step up for me. Mind you, Dorian is slower than most to adjust to change, and I doubt your guy will put you through the same waiting game, but just be warned, they make you earn your contact. It makes it all the more sweeter when it happens. Oh, and I'm glad he isn't going after his feathers right now, but don't be too dismayed if he does. A habit like that is a hard one to break. Hopefully landing in your loving, stable home will help him to break it, but right now he's in what we call the 'Honeymoon' phase of a re-home, so his behaviour may regress a little bit. No worries, you'll figure it out together, and we're here to help.

I would say no on the Clorox. It's not about the scent, it's about the chemical residue left on the surfaces. Greys navigate around their spaces with their mouths so any residue left on them will be ingested.

I really admire yours and Pats ability to take a bite. I have to admit, I'm a wimp. When Dorian bites I can't get him off me fast enough, and he's not usually biting for blood, just the pinching bites that leave a bruise. Glad there was some success before the blood started flowing. Do you think Chaco is a lost cause as far as Pat is concerned? Do you ever give up on handling any of your birds and just let the other have at it?

Prediction, the bigger, heavier bell will be a hit. Lol Seems to be a universal truth with greys. They love to hate a bell big enough they can swing from it and really beat the snot out of.

Very nice. Just watch the clappers in the bells on the boing and in the atom. In my experience a grey beak can dismantle that style of bell in a heartbeat and you don't want her getting hold of the clapper on its own.

Welcome Vincent to our extended family. I think you are very brave to put a brand new bird on your shoulder! He looks like he's smiling, but he does look a little dingy. What kind of numb nut burns candles around birds? Grrrrrrrrr. I'm sure the sight of his bare chest won't offend you for long lol.

Have any of the birds started to make bull frog sounds yet?

I'm sorry she had a set back and barbered her beautiful tail, but at least you got to see it in it's full glory and you know it is possible. She really is a complex little soul. I think she has it in her to outshine Dorian is many ways. He is still a perch potato much of the time (not right now, as he is beating the snot out of his bell in protest to being put in a time out for biting momma). I think by the time you've had GG for another couple of years she'll be a toy playing, foraging, world explorin' fool. She's obviously a deep thinker. We just have to continue to get her out of her own head and interacting with her flock and her environment more and more and before you know it, it will be a case of 'be careful what you wish for'. Sort of like when parents long for their children to start to crawl, then look back with fond memories upon the days when their baby stayed where they put it lol. Do you ever update her former owner on what she is up to these days?

Just be careful with the seeds as some are toxic to birds.

Hi guys. I wasn't sure whether to post this here but decided to give it a shot. I've been trying to find a person or place to put in my will to make provisions for Dorian in case anything ever happened to me. I'm only 48, so we're hopfully not talking anything imminent, but I feel it's part of my responsibility as his momma. There's no one in my family I could even begin to consider. As a matter of fact I'm not speaking to a large section of my family based upon how they behaved around Dorian when I was moving 3 years ago. It involved their threatening to put on gloves and shoving him into a pillowcase. I've been emailing rescues in the city (Toronto) asking if they, or someone they know, would accept being named in a will. Obviously there would be a financial donation made to the rescue, and a smaller sum left to Dorian's new parronts (although that wouldn't be disclosed to them upfront). I just want someone knowledgeable and caring enough to find him his next home instead of ending up on Craigslst to the highest bidder, which would be my idiot brothers solution. Well, the rescues I e-mailed haven't even replied to me, so I'm turning to the forum. I'm in Lindsay ON, about 1 1/4 hrs outside of Toronto. I know we've got members in Ontario, but I'm not sure where. I need someone who would take Dorian and interview people to re-home him. Like I said, I'm 48 and he's 13 so maybe this will never need to happen, but I'd feel better if it were set up. I'm open to any suggestions. What have you done to make provisions for your fid?

I echo the bell recommendation. It's a greybie must have IMHO. My guy likes swinging so some kind of swing or boing is popular. Dorian also likes tearing up cardboard and paper, so I make a lot of toys with pieces of cardboard. A roll of adding machine paper is a must in all his cages and play stands. I just tie it to the side of the cage with a strip of un dyed leather or a long zip tie and he has a blast pulling on it and chewing up the paper.

I was talking to a realtor about condos and he asked me if I had pets. When I told him I had a parrot he said "does he scream?" I had to assure him that my bird was very quiet. He doesn't even 'scream with meaning' lol

The thought of her going outside for the first time in years makes me happy. The vision of her tucking her foot up and having a nap in the sunshine gives me goosebumps.

So exciting!

Wish you could get that on video, that's beautiful.

I don't think Dorian would even let me hold him in a way that would allow me to toss him away. He still clings to me for dear life when he's away from his cage. I can't imagine him letting me hold him around his body. Maybe in another ten years lol. (Only kinda kidding, Dorian moves at a pace that could best be described as glacial)

It's perfectly normal for him to not want to step up from inside his cage. My advice is not to try. Let his cage be his safe place until he feels comfortable in your home and with you. Sit by his cage and talk to him, eat while you sit next to him. Eating together is a good flock activity so watch for him moving towards his food dish when you eat. Pleeeeese don't worry about getting him to step up. If he is startled off and ends up on the floor pick him up and tell him he's safe and set him back on his cage. I know this goes against what you want, but right now your most important job is to build trust with him and returning him to his cage will do more to make him trust you. Like other members said, talk to him, tell him what's going on and what you're doing. That little grey head is spinning right now and it's your job to help him assess his new home and flock. Congrats on your new flock member!

Aw, the poor baby doesn't realize he just landed in birds paradise. He'll figure it out soon enough. Where did he come from that they let his beak get into that condition?

His poor beak. How did he eat? He's beautiful.

Ask your neighbour to get a net, come over and help you. Why should you do all the work?

. A perfect example of necessity being the mother of invention.

Wow, is she patient with her parronts! You two are obviously not trained.

Well, today's the big day. Don't forget, we love pictures!

I'm just afraid to break trust with Dorian. It took literally years to get him to step up onto my hand, and years longer before he stopped shaking violently when he was on my hand. I've had him for 9 1/2 years, and I'd say it's only the past year and a half that he's become truly comfortable being carried around. He still grips on like heck I've got the scars on my hand and arm to prove it, but the shaking has stopped. I'm afraid if I tried your technique it would ruin that hard won trust.