BaxtersMom

That is a cute photo and Shady is such a cutie!

That was so sweet. She is a doll. The music was great behind it and she looked like a graceful ballarina twirling like she was:) Brought a smile to my face. Thanks.

Congradulations on getting your new grey. Although greys are known for thier talkinga abilities they have a language all their own, too. Mine talks but he also has a bunch of gibberish that makes no sense at all. I use to try and try to understand it but think it's just their own language they speak. My grey was 12 years old when I got him so I hung on every word when he said them.:laugh: They can also pick up new words, too as time goes by. I don't think you will be able to understand all the sounds they make. Have you introduced yourself in the welcome room yet? If not please do so we can all know about how you got your grey, if it's a boy or girl, it's name and anything else you want to let us know. And when you get the chance put up a photo so we can all see.

Hello and welcome to the forum. I am one who adopted an older 12 year old grey and while it is true that they may come with traits or personality issues from another owner I have found it to be a very rewarding experience. I have no regrets about getting an older bird as my first grey. Older greys can adjust to new owners and bond with new people just fine but it is not uncommon for them to bite a person or feel uncomfortable around someone they have never met. If you consider getting an older grey just make sure you asks lots of questions. Write them down, too so you don't forget when you see the bird you are considering. I have rehomed several older parrots now (4) and I feel like I have given them a better life than they had before and that just makes me feel good rehoming an older bird. My first parrot was Baxter the 12 year old grey:) and I couldn't imagine life without him. But, It would be such a joy to have a baby and bond with it from the very start and if socialized well at the breeders I would think they could be little angels (almost) when they come to their new homes. I would not buy a bird if I could not see it and meet it first. I know others have but I would be worried sick the whole time but that's just me. You mentioned Kijiji above. If you really want a baby, just keep checking, eventually one should pop up. You can also check with www.oodle.com and www.craigslist.com as well. I know oodle and kijiji usually have a lot of breeders selling their babies (atleast when I look they do) and they are about half the cost of a pet store. Just please tell us what you decide.

Congradulations. It sounds as if Chimay has made himself quite at home. That is great news. By the sounds of how he is acting you are going to have loads of fun with him.

I love all the pictures. Your baby is so cute!!! I'm sure everyone will help out with names for your baby and you will find one but you might want to name him or her after it comes home. That way you can see it's personality and give em a name that really fits his character. I bet you are so excited and anxious:)

Hello and welcome to the forum. I can't wait to see pictures of Doodle and Scooby!

Oh that would be so neat to see your little baby on the webcam. That is great the breeder is doing that for you. I would think that means he or she is very conscienous of other peoples feelings and know just how exciting a time is.

I don't know if he will start talking or not but I do know that older birds can learn new words so I don't know why he couldn't start talking. My Baxter came to me at 12 years of age. He is more of a sound effects bird and whistler although he did have some words he said when he came to us. He learned my dogs name in about 2 weeks or less and a few other phrases we use so they can learn at a later age. About every 2 months he will ask "What are you doing" and it totally throws me off guard. I can't figure out if he can say things why he doesn't continue but maybe it's because he doesn't feel the need to talk. There are a few things he has said but only on a few occassions. I guess he can talk if he wants to but doesn't see the need. Go figure:S

I had never heard of it. It looks similar to an onion bulb at the bottom with brocoli coming out the top:laugh: I like the picture of it. It's so clear and crisp like I could just pick it up and eat it.

I'm so glad you gave us an update. I had been wondering too but didn't want to ask. I'm glad your mom is doing ok. I know it's scary. My mom had a bad heart, too and went through the surgery to get the cancer removed. They told me she died on the table but they brought her back. After the surgery she did not have any radiation or anything else that I know of. She had uterine cancer but they got it all out. She was tired for several weeks but she got through it and about a month later was her normal self again. I hope she continues to recovery quickly. I will be keeping you in my thoughts.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/20 23:39

2nd day of this "experiment" with Bonkers and it is not a "fluke" I have been making a special point to talk to him more he has been absolutely wonderful!:woohoo: Yes, he still will give out some loud squaks but I think Conures do that in general but there has not been anymore screaming fits at all. He is even letting me give him head scratches and letting me cup his back when he is sitting on me which he has never done before. He even flew off my husband last night to come sit and cuddle with me. That was a first. This has been a complete 180 for us. I can't believe how fast it has happened. What's really strange is that I have tried giving him more attention in the past and bond with him better but he seemed like he wanted no part of me or a friendship with me any of the other times I've tried. Only thing I can think of is that really do understand words and sentences because this was the first time I actually talked about a "fresh start" and "wiping the slate clean" and "starting over". I told him how tense I get when he has his screaming fits and I just told him all about it:laugh: I guess he understood. I hope this lasts.

I'm not sure if this is too early to tell since it's only been about 10 hours from my last post but me and Bonkers have had a wonderful day!!!:woohoo: Surprise Surprise! After our "talk" earlier today about starting over I made several efforts to find him on his boing, on Baxters cage, the refridgerator or where ever he was and just ask him how he was doing. I told him what a good boy he had been all day with no screaming and a bunch of compliments along with it. He came and sat with me while I watched some TV and it was so nice. I've been so frustrated with him lately and don't have many "converstations" with him but today it seemed to make all the difference in the world. Bonkers is also so attached to my husband and rarely wants anything to do with me anyway so I do pay less attention to him as he would give me little nips telling me to get away. Sometimes he is just downright mean to me:S so I stay away on purpose alot of the time. But with a little effort from both of us we had a real peaceful day. My stress level was way down since I didn't have to hear so much screaming from him. I am hoping this was just not some fluke and I hope it stays like this. I will definately talk to him more and tell him more about my day to day activities and thoughts since he seemed to respond to it so well today. I am keeping my fingers crossed for another good day tomorrow. He seemed alot more relaxed today too.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/19 04:54

:laugh: Why do you think it took me so long to ask Judy?:whistle: Thanks Jen, they will have them with their dinner tonight edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/18 23:31<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/18 23:31

I probably should know this but I don't. Are green pepper or bell pepper seeds ok for the flock to eat? I've always been extra cautious when it comes to seeds from fresh fruits or veggies but I read that the seeds from squash and bell peppers are very good for them. Does anyone know for sure? I've been throwing them out but am cooking with bell peppers tonight so I thought I'd ask in advance for once:silly:

Yes we are. And I love it that everyone is so helpful. I guess that's what this forum is all about.

Hello and welcome to the forum. I'm sure you are excited about getting your new baby grey. Sounds like you thought it through long and hard and you are making the right decision of getting a new grey. You are in store for so much fun again. yea!

{Feel-good-0002006E} Dave, you are so sexy!

Fabulous thread!!! Thanks LindaMary for directing me to it. My conure Bonkers has turned into a screaming fool. He used to be so quiet but the screaming has just been increasing with time. I have been just ignoring it but I was like Jane and felt like a pressure cooker ready to explode. After reading all this, no wonder he hasn't stopped. duh! It's me. He knows how stressed and upset and I am even if I don't say a word to him about it. I have always heard to ignore the bad behavior and it will stop and that may be true for many things but it's not working for this one. I do think Bonkers understands what we say and feel too. I have been quite aggrevated about his screaming and sometimes I just want to throw my hands up and say I Give Up. I can't handle him and I don't know what to do about this or how to change it. This only makes me feel upset at myself, too. So after unloading on another one of LindaMarys posts she directed me to this thread. I read it all and can totally relate. After reading it, I went and had a heart to heart talk with Bonkers and told him how I felt. I told him we needed a fresh start and a clean slate and I told him I was all stressed out because of all the screaming. He was listening to me. At the time of the talk he was in his cage. I put him in about an hour earlier to stop his screaming. He is usually out from sun up to sun down unless we leave the house or if I can't get him to quit screaming. So I had the talk with him and I have agreed to let the stress go and start over with him. He was listening intently and it even seemed to relax him just as it did me. Now he is on my shoulder, all puffed with his head tucked in his back all comfy. We are off to a good start so far. I hope it continues. I think he gets aggrevated with me because I don't sit still long enough for him to relax on me. His favorite person is my husband but maybe if I try a little harder with him and ease up a bit he might enjoy me a little bit more. I do communicate with my other flock members and explain things to them and laugh and joke with them and they seem to "Get it". I really don't do it with Bonkers because he had me stressed so much. He might have felt left out and unwanted. I will try harder and think of his feelings more. Will let you know how it goes.....

Thanks LindaMary, I found the thread and It looks good. I bet it will help me. I definately need a new approach. I'm so glad you are making progress with Tanner.

I have a screeching problem with my conure. He was such a quiet little guy when we first took him in but the more settled in he got the louder he got. It is very aggrevating to me. I never get openly upset and just ignore the behavior totally but it does get to me where I just want to scream (but I don't). I just act like everything is fine. I thought ignoring it would take care of it but I haven't seen any progress yet and it's been a good 3 or 4 months of this behavior. I have noticed when he is excited it is the worst. When we come home or my husband comes home from work he just screams his head off and lands on our shoulders and it pierces the ears and makes them ring. That can't be good for the ears:blink: I am very glad you are making progress with Tanner. Atleast he learns to talk instead of scream but Bonkers can not talk. I will try your approach though and see if it works for us here. I honestly don't know how to control this or if it's even possible. It seems like the more I ignore him the louder he gets. Maybe I need to acknowledge him and see if it calms him down a bit. Thanks for posting about this. My other birds make noises and occassionally get loud too but it's not annoying.

I absoluetly love the color of the cage. I've never seen a red one before. I do agree with the others though. A little wider & deeper would be a better for him but if he's out of the cage most of the time it will probably be sufficent enough.

He took to this one straight away but normally it takes him about a week before I catch him playing with a toy. He's kind of wierd about toys. If I am watching him or in the same room he acts like he is totally not interested but if I'm out of sight he plays with them more. I will hear the toy noises and go peek around a corner and see him playing or attacking one but if I'm in the same room, not so much. Maybe he's embarrassed or something. He's a closet player and doesn't like to be seen letting loose and enjoying himself.:laugh: It's a secret (or so he thinks)

Thanks for all the compliments on Baxter. He is a very special boy to me:) I think he's handsome, too:blush: I wish I could find a good supply of these with various sayings. I need one for my conure that says STUBBORN:laugh: Even if they don't stay interested or play with them, it's a great way to decorate the cage;)<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/18 17:18

Baxter is a pretty quiet bird. I think even if I lived in an apartment he would be fine. I don't think the neighbors would hear him and if they did it's just a few sound effects but no long lasting sounds that would get on anyones nerves in my opinion. As for the cage, Judy is right. You do need to get a proper cage for a parrot. They can get metal poisoning and die from it. It is serious and can happen quickly. Powder coated cages are the way to go. They can be pricey though so check into before you get your grey.