birdhouse

She's really really coming along. This summer seems to have been something special for Miss G's emotional development & I'm so happy for you both!

Wouldn't it be be terrific if this site took off!

Welcome to the family Kim. I'd say it sounds like you've got your hands full. But some people don't ever quite reach their limit when it comes to giving needy beasts safe haven. Looking forward to some stories, not just about your Grey. We also have a forum for your other birds, as well. Re diet changes, let's say many Greys are not known for their willingness to embrace change, period. Flinging food is pretty typical. You can "cheat" & save yourself the extra mess, though. If you make mash for all the fids, you get to slip the yucky food in w/the good. Eventually, they get to where they'll eat a pretty expansive & healthy diet. Eventually you won't need feed pellets at all either.

They are lovely pictures. But no matter how beautiful, it makes me a little heartsick to see un-restrained/protected fids outdoors. Sorry. But too many people have lost too many fids. Myself included.

Just thinking about you guys &, well hoping there might be some improvement??

With Phenix it's uh oh! ") He also apologizes for things like when he knocks his toys down. I used to think it was charming. But I was so over it the first time he bit me, apologized & then laughed while I was bleeding all over the floor. For some reason, the magic as just gone after that. Although I still appreciate it when he actually apologizes for something he's genuinely sorry about. Completely different tone & body language when he's not being a little beast!

The smaller cage is for smaller birds. The bar spacing is smaller than recommended for Greys. Comfortably sized perches won't fit. The bars will be wimpier & likely to sag or bend from Grey sized perches & toys. The cups that come with are likely to be too small as well. I've been looking for a new cage for Phenix & I saw those. I'd have gotten the bigger one if it weren't for space issues. The landing doors are a nice "extra". Although are actually now on the "must have" list for me. I did see it for that price w/free freight. So maybe keep looking if you've got the time. Meanwhile, here's a real life pic. Always better than stock photos, I think. http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?202739-Thinking-About-Larger-Cage-For-Isaac-Questions/page3

Agree w/most everything you said about hanging dead bodies on the wall. But my question was why did Giannine want to know when Polly died...??? That's why I quoted her.

I have a friend who's so allergic to tea tree oil the running "joke" is that she breaks out in leprosy if it even gets near her skin. Because of her, I know that it's in "everything" so to speak. So let's hope fids aren't as sensitive to its aroma as she is to its contact.

Either way it's going to be a beautiful labor of love, just like everything else you do for them.

OOOO KKKK This is me talked right out of that bright idea! TUVM

[vv "relevant" human info vv] http://www.popsugar.com/home/Scented...Risks-39425267 And what humans can breath is very different from what fids can handle. People have said their fid(s) literally died from spraying air freshener in another room. And I do believe its possible. Birds have incredibly sensitive respiratory systems. So in general, I will always advocate a' better safe than sorry' policy for putting anything into the air unless you're sure of all the ingredients & their consequences. jmho - w/essential oils there's been a kind of 'throwing the baby out w/the bathwater' thing, though. I make essential oils. It basically entails pounding down on a bunch of leaves & steeping them in cold vodka for a very long time. The oil that separates out is mixed into a carrier oil. Usually safflower. Nothing that's harmful to a fid unless they have a particular reaction to a particular plant. On a less homespun note there are also avian care professionals who advocate aroma therapy for fids. That would entail using essential oils, as well.

Wow, I would love to hold a hummingbird. I've never seen a live one up close or still. One day, I got to watch one in the crown of a hydrangea taking a bath in the sprinkler. It was so happy in the cool water that it let me get w/in about 5 ft. That's as close as I've ever come.

That looks like a winner for sure. As soon as I saw that I thought I should get Phenix & Charm one asap. They love bashing noisy things around. Now that I've had a steamy hot couple of days to think about it idk!! lol Their bells are one thing. I only hang them if I like the way they sound. Metal cups though...

ehugs lots of ehugs

Some of the purists say no to essential oils. But I haven't had any problems so far. But, I have allergies & I don't know if my sensitivities just happen to work well w/the birds'. The bleach wouldn't be good to use where the fids can breath it. And you really don't need much of anything except vinegar for cages. I've used OxiClean & I have a bottle of "Poop Off" for bad stains on the rug. But mostly I use my steam cleaner on anything the vinegar doesn't get & that's it.

I had an inbred Shephard who was a little nuts. Neither the fids or I trusted her. But they'd still interact w/her when they were safely on or inside their cages. We currently have the only small dog they've ever seen. She's an 9 lb Papillon that all the fids basically ignore. Which I find interesting. Those are the only exceptions to what has been a very long & happy relationship between the dogs & the fids. Our dogs are just as big a part of our household as our birds. This is no less their home. Everyone has to learn to play nice so no one gets excluded. I'd like to say I'm just a wiz at training. But I honestly have to admit that the fids really do their bit because they genuinely enjoy the dogs. If nothing else, it's very evident how much they enjoy ordering them around. lol Our 90 lb Shephard/Lab mix helped raise all our baby cockatiels. He would stick his face in the nest box every morning & nose count the eggs, then the chicks once they hatched. When they fledged, he followed around after them like a nervous grandmother. The parents adored him & were perfectly happy to let him help raise their unruly broods. That said, everyone is supervised. Crap happens. 135 lb dog can very easily clobber any fid in the house by accidentally stepping on them. But then, any of us can as well. The one thing that I'd advise though, is watch out for flapping wings! That instinct to snatch a bird "in flight" runs deep & it's always been the biggest hurdle to peaceful co-existence around here. Everyone's learned to squelch it eventually. But some of them took (much) longer than others.

I'm just curious; why?

I can never find things since the site overhaul a couple of years ago. Even when I do advanced search, I often can't find things I know were posted "back when". I used to cheat & google search leading w/"www.greforums.net" to direct google to return pages from here. But after the last round of hacks, that stopped working, too. It's a shame because over time, there have been some very knowledgeable & articulate posters. A lot of suggestions backed up w/references & research that was an awesome head start to help decide on controversial issues or just general knowledge. For me, I'd usually start out reading the referenced article, then keep going on the sites that I'd never found on my own. I miss that, among other things.* * ...but not the drama!

I don't feed my fids cheese. But they do share some probiotic yogurt whenever. I go through sprees, so they get it whenever I'm in the mood. Vet's may also recommend that a fid be given yogurt after they've been on anitbiotics. Helps right the beneficial microbial colonies that get wiped out w/the bad. A couple of months ago, I bought a thermal cooker. I've really enjoyed experimenting & learning to cook w/it. https://www.amazon.com/Tayama-TXM-50CF-Energy-Saving-Thermal-Cooker/dp/B010SKVXES/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1471281314&sr=8-4&keywords=tayama Something that I've recently started to explore is yogurt, which is apparently a natural fit. And much to my great pleasure, I found some recipes for coconut yogurt which is my fav. Since that's non-dairy, it ticks all the boxes for anyone who wants to avoid the dairy issue for whatever reason. http://tasty-yummies.com/2014/06/03/how-to-make-coconut-milk-yogurt/ http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2012/03/yoghurt/ I haven't actually made anything yet, though. I'm a little intimidated by the idea of leaving food out for so long. Especially in the dead of summer. But anyway, I'd love to get any tips or recipes you might want to share. Thanks.

Agreed. They are not so much anymore. But back when, they were practically the only source of semi-worthwhile information to be found. There was no internet. The few books were mostly those 40 page generic things you get in the pet stores. And they were filled w/the most current mis-information & other cringe-worthiness. In it's day, Bird Talk was innovative for the novice bird keeper. I truly think they intended to be a force for good. But as so often happens, they eventually sold out. That Zon's story ran back in the '80's. Doesn't make it gospel or anything. They were all just off the top of my head references. Here's some other actually links. Interestingly, most of the stories are skewed towards Amazons. I don't know if or how they translate for Greys or other parrots. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-parrot-living https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/amazon-parrot-still-going-strong-100/

") and surprisingly, this didn't convert me... http://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/the-ulterior-motives-behind-the-graham-cracker?iid=ob_homepage_deskrecommended_pool

Kura goes totally ballistic around balls. She gets her scary eyes & goes total beast mode until she slays the thing & tosses it as far away from her as possible. She's not playing, either. She just hates them.

I read an article in "Bird Talk" magazine about an Amazon in Alaska who had absolute proof to be at least in his mid-eighties when the article was written. But the family was very sure he was closer to 100. He would have been hatched in the late 1800's & there just wasn't anything in writing until he was willed to someone, I think. There was a fid in BaileysPapa's family who lived into their 50's for sure. murfchck's Cocaba is in his 60's...? A couple of members have posted into the 60's I think. But of course I can't find anything because the forum search engine sucks. Breaks my heart we've lost such a humongous bunch of knowledge archived on this site. The only way we're going to know how long domestic parrots live is if there is a cohesive banding/tagging/chipping system put into place or if the DNA science gets to that point. 99% of the time, these poor critters get passed around & lose their history too often to know. And of course they don't show their age, which makes guessing impossible as well.

This is very sad. It will be a shame to see him go.