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So I have decided that I need to encourage Woody's foraging ability a little more than I have. The question remains however... How can I go about this? I went to petsmart today and bought a foraging toy, called a Tiki Hut. It is a little plastic hut that I can hide treats in, and I can place small (or thick) wooden dowel rods in front of the treats that he would have to chew through to get to the Goodies I think this is a great idea, but since he has never had any toys like this before, I am worried he might not "catch on"...can birds "smell" almonds and pasta noodles? >.o I'm afraid he won't realize they are in there, or what he is supposed to do with it.. Any tips? Thanks much in advance!! -Amberly

Whew! That's a relief! Thanks so much dan!

Woody likes to shred news paper, cardboard boxes, you name it! (I'm sure most of you can relate as well), however, as I was watching him today, I think I saw him eat a small piece of the paper. Is this ok and he'll just be pooping politics for a while? Or...emergency vet visit?

What info you've gotten is absolutely true! Grey's take lots of time and attention, at least 4 hours EVERY DAY!, out of their cage and playing with you. Grey's also require special vet care, so make sure there is an avian vet near you that you're willing to travel to, not just for regular visits but maybe in the middle of the night for an emergency. Vet visits for grey's are very pricey, cages are also very expensive and so are playstands, and you need multiple toys as well...oh and food like harrison's pellets are not cheap either. Grey's are high matience pets, but they are so worth it! Basically, an easy way of thinking of it.... having a 3 year old child. :laugh:

I live in Ohio in America and I've seen them for usually around $1,000-$1,500

OH MY! :ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy: Yes, I will definitely be keeping him away from it.... lol

Yikes, I would never trust myself to do that lol, I would absolutely have it done via vet!

The second one is definitely the better one, by far! Much more 'natural' and enriching.

Hello! I'm glad you are doing your research, Bravo!! Here are some of my answers! About how much money do you spend on your Grey monthly? I put 50/month into a "vet account" for him, as his avian vet is quite pricey. Every three months it is "food restock month" which runs me about $100.00, I feed Woody harrisons pellets, Zupreem fruit pellets and a seed mixture. What are your greys favorite foods? Woody would 'kill' for almonds, since he doesn't have that chance he will literally do anything for them. Also he likes apples, oatmeal, dry pasta that is in a swirly shape, and these seed ball treats. What are the best kind of toys for your grey? For woody in particular, he seems to know that I am a poor college student, and he just likes to shred my left over tv dinner boxes, what a wonderful combo we have going. Any pricey toy that I get/got him he just snubs it. He likes news paper and cardboard boxes most. He's not a big fan of ropes or swings/bells etc. What do you do to help prevent health issues that greys are faced with like calcium deficiency and ect? This is the reason woody has three different foods he gets everyday . I also give him a hard boiled egg once a month, with a bit, JUST A BIT of cheese. I have heard that there are mineral blocks for this sort of thing as well. Im single and could get married one day who knows, but if i do how much stress would that put on a grey and how do you avoid that? That, my friend, I believe is up to you. If you are suddenly out of the house all the time, and your grey is left alone then obviously that will be more stress than if you and your BF/hubby-to-be spent the time at your home with him. My boyfriend has recently moved in and Woody is doing fine with it. I took it very slow, and had Joey come over everyday and talk to him, then he would spend lots of time over, then he gave woody treats.... It is possible to make it a rather painless process, I just believe you would have to go about it the right way. How is your greys behavior and attitude....and how does it change with their age? Woody is very much wanting to be Bruce Willis, he wants to be "big and bad" but the minute I offer to scratch his head, he is a marshmallow again. As far as age, I got him when he was 6, and fully matured. There are others here who can help you with that I'm sure. Do you keep your grey full flighted or clipped? Woody is partially flighted, meaning he can 'fly' from one room to another, but if he were out side, he wouldn't have the ability to fly away because it takes a lot of effort to fly. I keep him with this clip because I have a cat, and IF, IF, IF something were to happen, I would want him to be able to fly away from Achillies. I know the answer to this one is most likely yes, but is your grey a one person bird? Woody is, but he has only really ever been exposed to me and my Boyfriend on a regular basis, I don't have friends over much (I'm a bit of a gamer myself lol ), but Woody will only let me pet him and step up for me. Poor joey is the treat giver and nothing more! :laugh: Hope this helped!!

I don't think there is any connection in Male Grey's liking women better or any such thing like that. My grey does prefer women, but that's because the previous household he came from had a rather abusive/intrusive man around. As far as talking abilities I have heard they are both the same, males and females can make great talkers, one is not noticeably more intelligent than another. Hope this helps!

Amber that story is so cute! Woody just sits in his cage and grinds his beak all day! But I have gotten a few I love you's out of him!! :laugh: Looks like you've got yourself a cat alarm!!

Of course you can! I was on here quite a bit before I ever had any bird! Glad to see you are staying

That you all for the good ideas! Now that I think about it he does love to shred fudge round boxes, I'm sure a whole coke box would be a BIG hoot! He doesn't seem to dig ropes to much. I know the toy he would really, really love.... he wants to use my laptop as a perch!!!

Hello! I'm sorry you having so much trouble Other's here will be able to give you better advice I'm sure, but just a note: If you are trying to get him down from the top of the cage, are you standing above him? If he is looking down at you and you're trying to get him down, I could see why you're not having much success. Hope it all works out!

I have been reading how many of my fellow forumers Grey's love their toys and attack them, play with them etc. I am just curious, Woody doesn't like his toys, he doesn't play with them, doesn't want anything to do with them. He has many, they are also the ones he came with, but he doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with them. Thus, I feel like I'm doing something wrong, like his life isn't enriching enough. He doesn't want anything to do with his play stand toys either. He is (apparently) just content enough to sit on his perch next to me and preen....all...day! Any ideas on maybe making his toys more enriching? Or is he just "old" (6 years) and grown out of toys like my cat and dog hehe

Thanks for letting us see the picture, she is gorgeous, congratulations!! :laugh:

Hello Di, I just caught up with this thread, I am sooooo happy for you! I remember having to wait three days to get my first grey (6 yr old adoption/rescue) and I was sick to my stomach the whole time!! :laugh: Monty is B-E-A-U-TIFUL!!! Make sure to keep us updated! It's awesome he likes the swing, Woody won't even look at his swing, he is scared of it haha

That's so wonderful! CONGRATS! I know exactly how you feel. Last night Woody begged for a head rub for about 10 minutes before bed and this morning He said "I love you!" I had just returned home from vacation being gone for a few days, I guess he appreciates me more now, huh?

I've never used a water bottle for Woody, though he does dip his food in the water bowl before eating it. After breakfast I just change the water, no big deal.

Woody usually just likes to destroy anything that is fleshy like that lol...berries, watermelon, banana's...how to you encourage your birds to eat and not just play?

Hmm, alright! Tonight I had some steamed veggies and ravioli, and (of course!) woody was practically hanging off the edge of his cage to see what I had that was so good, so I put him on his table perch and gave him some veggies and a little, TINY bit of sauce over it...and viola! He ate it out of the little bowl on his perch!

Hmm, I will try the kabobs, I have heard good things about them!! :laugh:

Thank you for all the replies! I am heading to walmart soon to get myself some stuff for dinner, I'll make sure to pick woody some stuff up too! Just curious, what about frozen grapes and some veggies etc..i've heard that Greys like the unusual way of feeding them....any personal experiences like this?

I have heard many people say that "My grey eats of my dinner plate" or "My grey eats my left overs" etc. etc. I was just curious about this, because it seems to conflict with the fact that human saliva has bacteria that can kill you grey...how do you get away with sharing then? One half of the plate is yours and one half is mine maybe? Just wondering :laugh: , -Amberly

My Grey, woody, did this same thing when we first got him. He barely spoke in front of my boyfriend or I, but when we leave the room/house/apartment..oh my! The whole complex shakes with his chatter. I think he wants me to come back, or he is just amusing himself since he can't gawk at my face anymore. Eventually He'll come around to chatting near you!