pearllyn

Alfie was very concerned when I came out of hospital after a foot op - she stuck to me like glue while I was laid up. At the other end of the scale, if I'm upset about something, she's come up close as if "aw - are you ok??" then NIP!! Charming! I do think unquestionably they pick up on our feelings, but I don't think they take it to heart and let the emotions over come them.

Lol Sheila - glad you can see the lighter side. Seriously though, if there is a chance this could help, you've got to try it - you'd always wonder "what if" otherwise. We're all rooting for Charlie. x

Ooh I can't wait to find out the mystery bird. The yellow amazon is pretty!

Man! Crying like a baby! Thanks for sharing.

Give it to the Alex Foundation, one would hope.

Aah Janet, he's gorgeous! If I didn't get Alfie, I would have gotten a blue front, I think they're magic. How kind of Tully to try and make Ana Grey more comfortable while she is stealing his food LOL!! I imagine he will be happy that some of Ana Grey's attentions are directed elswhere for a bit! Thanks for the update and pics.

Hi Pauline, sooo sorry to hear your baby has flown away. Contacting the schools is a good idea and could be well worth doing - kids do notice things. Where abouts are you - there may be some members on here who are nearby you and can keep a look out. As well as vets and the R/SSPCA, (I'm assuming you're in the UK because of the Bank Holiday?) there are a couple of parrot societies who can help with finding missing birds This Parrot Alert website isn't quite finished yet but there is a contact email and they may can still help you http://www.parrotalert.com/ Parrot Link has blogs http://www.parrot-link.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=4 The Parrot Society has a database of lost and found http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/lost-parrots.php Contacting the local radio station is a good idea too. Best of luck with finding her - hope to hear from you soon with some good news. xx

Great to hear "he" is eating well and accepting his toys - please do give him plenty of toys to play with in his cage - he will need them to keep him healthy and happy - greys need a lot of stimulation. When introducing a new toy, do it slowly so as not to scare him. There is no real visable difference between a boy and a girl - boys may be bigger but the only way to be sure is dna.

Thanks for the name explanation - I know the T-birds from the film Grease - big fan! This is a fantastic forum and will be very helpful to you over the coming months.

Wow Janet!!! How exciting for you! I can't wait to hear how he settles in with you and what Ana Grey thinks about him! Looking forward to seeing some pics of Louie when he is comfortable enough for you to snap him!!

Hi Aurora. What a beautiful baby you have! Have you called him Pipo - do you think Pipo looks like a boy or a girl? Giving a wide variety of fresh food is a good idea, but there are also some foods which you MUST avoid. These include • Avocado • Chocolate • Alcohol • Pits of any fruit (grape seeds ok) • Raw or undercooked meat • Uncooked eggs • Onion • Mushrooms • Any food which has too much salt or sugar • Any food that may have mold or may have spoiled (including seeds) Good luck with your new baby, and if there is anything else you need to know, or anything here which you don't understand, please do just ask. x

What a wonderful glimpse into your future! I have two second cousins - one a 12 yo girl, the other a 3 yo boy. I'm grooming them at the minute to adopt Alfie when I go - so far the boy is in the lead, firstly because Alfie prefers boys I think, secondly, this boy is bird daft and just loves Alfie to bits!!

Jade and Dan's advice is spot on - variety is the key. Jamal, it sounds as though you could do with taking Dan's advice too. Alfie would eat wotsits all day every day if I allowed her, and on a diet like that I doubt she'd last a year. You really should be feeding your babies a well balanced diet. Tbird (love the name btw) as well as trying different fresh foods for sunny, you should try two or 3 different pellet brands to see which he prefers, I tried Alfie on the Harrisons for a year or so - she just didn't like it. We use the zupreem natural now and are getting on much better. Also, if he refuses a certain food, do keep offering it to him periodically - there are certain foods, bananas for example, that ALfie just would not touch, but I kept offering them every so often, and now she will eat them readilly - their tastes change just as ours do, so don't give up too quickly on a food that is nutritious.

What an outstanding article. It astonishes me, the lengths some people will go to for the welfare of animals - warms the heart. Thanks so much Harmonicaman68 for sharing this article with us - it's an invaluable bit of reading - this is information that should be read by ALL parrot owners, it is the best parrot article I've read in a loooooong time, outlining not just the imping procedure, but the importance of flight for all, and especially young birds. Thanks.

Lol Funny stuff!

Aah thank you Dee. We have come a long way her and I. Patience really is the key with these birds, as you well know. I had no idea I was capable of being so patient until I got Alfie LOL! It hasn't half been a rollercoaster with her so far! Love it!

That must be quite something to see!

Oh Jan I'm so sorry to hear of this set back you've have with Tobie, but glad to hear things are perhaps going better again. I've often held onto Alfie's toes when she is refusing to go into her cage - once she figured out what it meant to be holding onto her toes, she stopped trying to fly off altogether. Lol she does on occasion try to avoid the toe hold, and is very clever at it. They're very enterprising! Putting cushioning down on the floor for him too is a great idea. Hope Tobie is feeling better. x

Lol - what a funny story!

Another wee update on showertime. While I've been showering Alfie lately, she's kind of been lifting her wings a little to let me skoosh under them. Well today, she was sitting so quitely in her cage while having her shower, that I wondered if she would sit still for me out of the cage, so I sat her on top of her travel cage and continued to shower, she continued to sit and even let me lift her wings to get under there really soaked. She's such a star, I'm getting all choked up here writing this because I know what it means that she let me do this. Amazing.

I'm in update mode today! Shortly after I posted in this thread last time, about Alfie starting to take to her Harrisons (woo hoo), she went off them again and just went back to the same old ignoring them. I gave up on them completely after that and she is now on Zupreem Natural pellets. They're little sunflower seed shaped golden pellets and so far so good. She started off trying to "open" them, as she would a sunflower seed, now she peels the outside offf and eats the middle part - it must taste better!!! She still gets a seed mix - Avian Specific for greys, but she is eating less and less seed, the bulk of her diet is fresh. Harrisons was my first choice but I'm dead chuffed that she's eating the zupreem.

Yellow Napes are amazing birds for sure and that's a cool video, but bear in mind that for every funny, clever, well spoken bird you see on Youtube or anywhere else, someone has put a lot of time and effort into making that bird that way - they don't usually come like that. Good luck with finding your companion.

It sounds like you have a plan!! I have a CAG and I think out of the three you mention, I would go for a TAG just going by stories I've heard. But as Judy says, please do be absolutely certain before you make your purchase, as it will be a very expensive mistake if you decide after a few months that the bird you have chosen is not the bird for, and I don't mean expensive for your pocket, I mean for the birds emotional welfare. You've found an excellent site here to answer any queries you may have so please do take a good look through the old threads, ask any questions you may have - there are many members here and between them all can offer you first hand advice, as Janet has, on all three of your breeds. Good luck with your decision - make the right one and you will be rewarded with a lifetime companion who will surpass any expectations you may have of what it means to have a bird in your life.

Happy Hatchday Lyric - what a cute little baby you were! Hope you're all enjoying this extra special day. x