LadyJayne4Toby

Thank you for all your advice everyone Our home really is all about our animals - we joke that soon we will have to move out due to all our babies! We have always had very well behaved, well socialised animals and perhaps that has lead to a false sense of security when it comes to bringing a new pet home. You almost automatically think that they will fall into line! I now see how silly ive been thinking that Toby will remain top of the 'food chain' with the pup in the house. I HATE locking Toby in his cage but I cant imagine loosing him due to a bad call on this one. Thankfully I only work half days so he will be left with plenty of out of cage time when I get home in the afternoons! Better to be safe!! (RE Tobys flying away incidences.. The first time he was a fledgeling and the vet refused to cut his wings for a few more weeks and the second time his wings were cut and he still flew off! Now they are really, really cut well...) Thank you again for all your advice and concern!

Hahaha! Thats brilliant! I like his sense of humour - nothing like a sunflower seed addict in this day & age!

We recently bought a Rotweiler puppy. She is fantastic but as she is so young, spends much of her time inside the house being pampered. Recently, she has become very playful and rolls around with our 2 young cats and little dog named Joey. As Toby my grey is never shut into his cage, he comes to find me from time to time - however, with the puppy now roaming the passages he has to watch out! Although Toby has MAIN MAN status amongst our pets, puppy has tried to play with him on more than one occasion.. I am anxious to find out how Toby will fare up to this growing pup as it will be the biggest pet to date that he has had to deal with. He does bite the pup when she gets too close but the pup sees this as being an invitation to play and tries to swat Tobe with her paw and bark at him. Im very worried that puppy may find Toby when I am not there one day and play with him a bit too roughly.... VERY WORRIED! I know that cat and dog saliva is bad for your bird, but how bad? And what should you do if your bird ingests saliva or is bitten by your dog or cat? Please let me know your oppinions!! Worried!

Wow, thats awesome! Thank you for all that info - I will definitly get some very soon, I really DONT want a depressed bird on my hands! I will keep you posted as to how its all working out. Thanks again!!!

Well the bean, pea and sprout mix I feed him everyday as a base to his fruit and veg bowl is soaked for a day and rinsed repeatedly with boiling water. The veg i add is straight from the fridge, merely heated through with boiling water for a minute or so. He drinks down his oils with herbal tea on his hand feeding spoon. In another bowl I put funfood like whole nuts to crack, dried pasta, parrot puffs and pellets. Always fun! As I work mornings I leave him with plenty of things to shred while im away - Pine cones, paper bags, little boxes, chew toys. He is never locked in his cage and spends most of the time on his playpen situated at the top. He also has a bowl of our supper in the evenings though relishes eating from my plate to my sisters' disgust!! Thanks again for all your info Skuffy! One last question... What are the benefits of feeding your parrot palm oil - As opposed to other oils... Very curious..

VERY interesting opinions.. And fantastic info - thanks all! Its good to get info from both sides of the debate. I try to feed Toby pellets but he pays attention to them for a few minutes coz theyr crunchy then wont touch them! DOH! I didnt know you could sprout sunflower seeds... Thats interesting! I havnt had much luck sprouting seeds myself - Toby loves sprouts but finding the right beans and peas in health food shops or supermarkest is a nightmare. Gillian MacCeeth, we need you for our birdy babies! That would be an interesting one.. "You are what you eat" for parrots.. I found a good pharmacy in a rural area in SA that catered for people with dietry issues - People who lost wieght due to AIDS or TB - It was facinating (but very sad...) to see how many things are out there re supplementation. That is where I found a fantastic selection of nut and seed oils. This is what started me on the notion that I could perhaps feed Toby on these oils and fresh fruit and veg only. (Ive struggled to get weight on him after weaning him which gave rise to the extra oils idea) That way he would naturally up his intake of fresh raw vegetation yet not loose the needed nutrients of the nuts and seeds. What do you think???

Recently I found that I had run out of sunflower seed to feed Tobes.. It got me thinking... Can a grey survive without it if you are meticulous about feeding him a healthy varied diet - twice a day - of fresh fruit, veg, nuts, pulses and essential fats, oils and lipids? Toby is sufficiently obedient in healthy eating - obviously if that wernt the case Id not consider it... but what do you think?? Alternatively - could I feed sunflower seed say.... twice a week on 'treat' evenings before bed? Would that be enough? Very curious! Let me know whats worked for you if youv tried it! :blink:

Toby is testimony to a shy eater becoming confident to try new things! 'Birdie soups' worked well fed to him with his handfeeding spoon as he is 10 months old. Whizz up a veg, fruit, baby food - runny enough to slide off a spoon and try it out. Within a few weeks Toby was picking soupy favorites out of his bowl every morning! Gradually I stopped the mushy food and varied his bowl of soft food every morning. I feed it to him warm. He now goes crazy for it! I will only feed him a shallow dish of seed at night after his second bowl of veg. He also drinks down oils with herbal tea in the morning - again, on his beloved handfeeding spoon. Gradually - and with the patience of a saint - your baby will develope a 'taste' for what is goooood! All the best! PS - If all else fails, just give her a bowl of soft foods, beans, fruit, veg etc - and add 'fun food'. Dried pasta, unshelled nuts, half an unsalted cracker, a sprinkeling of sunflower seed - get her interested!! She'll soon dig around a see that the offensive healthy stuff aint so icky!

Wendy, I also lost my mum to cancer and recently had to go into rehab to get over the effects of depression...etc... I smuggled Toby in and kept him with me for half the time I was there. All the patients in the centre at the time LOVED waking up to his sweet morning sunshine chirpings and would sneak him treats and cuddle him at night. As he was still garbling words out it became a game to see who would witness his first word! (for the record, a lady named Glenda heard it and it was... "Poopooloo". Attractive Toby..) Although it was highly against the rules to have a pet with you (however it was in South Africa so 'the system' was easy to 'bend') he left a hero when it came tome to say goodbye after a few months. When your in a place in life where you find it near impossible to see reason in facing another brutal day of life having someone to get up FOR makes the biggest difference in anyones recovery. Many times you only realise that afterwards though... Besides, if anything ever 'happened' to you in life and you wernt around to look after your beloved baby(ies).. I cant even concieve thinking about it! So when all other reasoning fails me, I have a good long think about life without my Toby and quickly come around. Silly? Maybe.. But it works. To all our grey babies, thank you for being the demanding, clingy little brats you are! Big love to all

What about other oils? I give Toby a selection - Almond oil, Linseed oil, Olive oil and a multi oil sup containing omega oils etc - He has picked up weight nicely as he was rather skinny! Ive reduced it all right down now - he drinks it all down with his herbal morning tea on his hand feeding spoon from when he was a baby. Any further suggestions or precautions? PS - Toby highly recomends the Almond oil!

Herbs, herbs, a lovely treat, the more organic, the better to eat!! I grow organic herbs for a living and feed my Toby some all the time - He loves them and they are so rich in vitamins - Esp the leafy greans. Go for it!

Is there any other kind of oil that would be beneficial for a grey?

Wow, what wonderful posts! I started to well up! Toby has taught me the value of firendship. All that I have put into him, all the annoying traits I get out of him, all the times Ive heard him calling from his morning perch demanding tea and scrambled egg - He gets me up in the morning and keeps me up at night. I dont have the heart to put him back in his cage and climb into bed! He's dependable in so many ways. I take him clothes shopping with me and he never says I look fat. I take him to work and he greets the customers with an endearing wolf whistle. I take him food shopping and he sits on the trolly reaching out at things in the isles - theyre usually shiney and 'taste really good?' He's taught me to eat a good bowl of high fibre bran in the morning coz he recons cardboard DOES taste good... He's everything you'd want in a best friend and more! Keep going with the posts - looks like our babies have us right where they want us! :evil:

We all like to boast about how clever our little ones are - what we've managed to teach them and how wonderful they are becomes topic number one of grey discussions the world over! But what about all the little - some not so little - things they've taught us? Firstly - they're far more modest about they're accomplishments! You may have had your grey for years - for some, a matter of weeks. But they become a part of you life, a part of you personality, a part of your daily routine and a part of your family. So what have they taught you? Lets hear it!! Love Toby and LadyJayne xx

CURVES!! Yes - I just started that - I think its a great place for women to work out and not feel intimidated by the masses of super-fit's walking in and out as you puff and sweat all over the apparatus! I have already asked if i can bring my Toby in to sit on the back rest and nip me if I slump in exhaustion - the idea seemed to take off and I hope to open my new, parrot frendly gym for 'Birds!' Get it? hahahah! Complete with shower perch and snack station. Let me know if you will join Toby and I in our new venture and change the face of gyming as we know it! Yeeehaa!