BaxtersMom

Yea!! Congradulations!

I cook for my fids too and I get such a thrill when they hurry up to get it and get so excited. A little later I will check on them. Their beaks are just a mess and I know they enjoy it so much. That makes me happy!

Congradulations Nims! Great news! Isn't it so wonderful to take in an older bird and just watch them really flourish? I found it so rewarding with Baxter. {Love-000200BF}

Baxter is 12 years old and a CAG. I got him about 6 months ago and haven't had any trouble with him being destructive with his feathers. I don't know about the first 12 years of his life. This is a good post and going to be interesting. I think that vet is a downer too and not sure I would be comfortable taking my grey in to see him if he already has a bad opinion about greys as pets:dry:

Hi Hrund, I am so glad to hear you and Nokkvi are doing so well:) . What a strange coincidence that his female friend is there and you looked just at the right time. If you want them both as pets I am a little concerned that it will be more difficult to tame them together. If she was suppose to be his mate, even if they didn't breed, they may breed in the future if they are kept in the same cage. If they do bond as breeders I have been told that they will be more interested in each other than in their human companions. I was thinking about getting a female eclectus, not to breed with my male eclectus but the guy I got Tigger from is a breeder and said he would not be near as good of a pet as he is now. So I decided against it. I didn't plan on having them in the same cage but still I didn't want to risk him not being a pet. I think it's great if you want to take here in too, just make sure you think it all through. Would you be upset if Nokkvi didn't progress any further pet wise? Would you be keeping them in the same cage? What would you do if they did breed? What ever you decide I'm sure will be the right answer and it is wierd that you just happened to check right when she came back to the store. Hmmmm:huh: I'm sure you will get great advice from the others with more experience and know what ever you decide will be right for you. Good luck and let us know:)

Baxter came with a cough too but it was just him mimicking a person coughing. He also belched, too:laugh: He still does cough and belch. Do you think this is a real medical cough type thing or could he be just mimicking? I've had a bad cold for the past week and have been coughing more than usual and Baxter seems to be coughing more too. I have to catch myself cuz I think he is catching my cold and I feel bad, then I realize it's him mimicking me:laugh:

Hi and welcome to the forum. I rehomed a 12 year old CAG last July. It has been the best experience for me ever. I would let him ease into his new situation at his own pace. Poor guy must have been through such an ordeal but that part is over now. Baxter was only on a seed diet when I got him and I have been gradually giving him other healthy foods to tempt him. i would offer things but not force. Some things Baxter will just not take to. I was lucky that he took to the pellets right away but the fruits and veggies he is real fussy about. All my other birds love a variety but with Baxter things are more difficult. Just do what you can when you can but don't have or set expectations. Baxter previous owner told me he was a great talker and would pick up conversations from things he heard that day. Said he knew alot of words. Truth was, Baxter knows some words but I do not think he ever had a large vocabulary and never will. Sometimes people will tell you anything to make a sale:angry: Baxter is a sound effects bird and he started doing the contact calls the day after I got him. He did start saying some words pretty quick but never when I was in the same room with him. Only if he thought I couldn't hear...haha...I have baby monitors and could hear him real well. It will all come in time and I think for the first month would just try to help him settle in and make him feel welcome and try to bond with him. I wouldn't try to change alot of things right off or just subtle changes. He's already have huge changes. I wouldn't have any expectations or set any time tables for him. I think it took a good month for Baxter to feel like he was at home and each month I still see him settle in more and more. It sounds like he will be a real nice companion and sounds like he is already doing good. Baxter didn't even know how to step up when I got him. He was neglectged in many ways but we are getting along beautifully these days. It just takes time, thats all. Now he is my buddy, sits on my shoulders and will say his words and phrases and sound effects with me in the same room. It all comes in time and with lot of love. I was wondering if you had any other birds or greys or if this was your first one?

My grey loves to shred any kind of paper:laugh: I do have a grate at the bottom of my cage so he can't get to that but I always make sure he has some to shred all during the day. Shredding and tearing paper is his favorite thing to do. Try giving yours an wadded up papers, old phone books, paperbacks and even a roll paper towels. It's a cheap way to keep them occupied:laugh: I don't think there is a way to get them stop so I would just supply the paper you don't mind him having. If you can't beat em, join em:silly:

Hello and welcome to the forum. This is a great place to get lots of information and advice about greys. I wish you all the best on your quest for a grey. Please keep us updated. Can't wait till the big day arrives.

Hello and welcome to the forum. Savage is just gorgeous!!! Yes, greys know when you hit the record button:laugh: Mine does the same thing. I try and capture his funny moments and as soon as I hit the record button he's quiet as a mouse and still as a rock:woohoo: I've had my grey since July, he was 12 years old when I brought him home. I started out with a misting bottle and I'd spray it above him. I don't think he liked it much but after he got used to it I think he actually likes it now. It took several months but now take him to the shower with me and I don't think he likes or dislikes it. I think it's quite enjoyable for him but he won't tell me;) Greys are such funny creatures. BTW, I like the name and it seems to fit him and his personality. Savage is a nice strong name, too. Mine love chicken bones, too:silly:<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/12/09 04:11

OMG!!! I just looked at your videos! Fantastic! I need to get some pointers from you. How did he learn all that? Anyway, just wanted to let you know I seen the videos and really liked them.:laugh:

OMG!!! I just looked at your videos! Fantastic! I need to get some pointers from you. How did he learn all that? Anyway, just wanted to let you know I seen the videos and really liked them.:laugh:

Hi Debbie & welcome to the forum. I would like to do some house swapping with you for a couple months:laugh: . I will come to the coast and you can come up here for a white christmas in Michigan;) We are expecting an ice storm tomorrow:laugh: But back to the greys. Congradulations on Cha Cha. How long have you had him now? I know you said he wasn't trusting you yet:( It will come though. I also have a couple other parrots, an eclectus, a conure and the latest arrival of about 1 month is a dyh amazon:ohmy: (1 1/2 years old) You are right they are nothing like a grey:laugh: :silly: and vice versa. He has been such a character and so completely different than my grey Baxter. I am looking forward to swapping stories with you. There is an "other bird" section as someone above mentioned when you want to visit about the others in the species. And you can ask all the questions you want about Cha Cha if you have any. There are many knowledgable members here on the forum and everyone is always ready to help or give advice. Hope to hear more from you soon and please get back with me about the house swap:whistle: It's getting pretty chilly here{Feel-bad-00020079}

My grey was 12 years old when I brought him home and I noticed he did a strange thing almost every day. He would climb up in the top corner of the cage and kind drop and flap his wings alittle and pace the corner back and forth. He could do this for 30 minutes straight, sometimes longer:ohmy: It was a very odd behavior and I didn't really like it. He quit doing that after about a month to 6 weeks. I think he was still unsure about his new house and not settled in but it stopped in time. Kiki just may not be comfortable yet in here new home and hopefully this behavior will stop in time. My greys beak and nails were very pointy and painful and I had his nails trimmed. It was much better. I think I am going to have his beak trimmed soon so it's not so sharp.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/12/08 16:31

Yes, I give my grey hard boiled eggs, shells and all sometimes. It is good for them even the shells. It's a good source of protein. I don't usually give my grey more than 2 eggs a week. I think you can over do it. Sometimes he really enjoys them, sometimes he leaves them, too. He's a fussy eater though. I also give them scrambled eggs, sometimes put other goodies inside the scrambled eggs like pellets, seeds, veggies. It's a good way to hide things inside that they sometimes won't eat on their own. But yes, eggs are good for them.

I like that. It looks good and it's practical! I like the side dish too:)

I think this is something that is on alot of our minds. I hate to say it but I don't have any friends or family that I would feel comfortable passing my birds on to:( . I have been checking into bird santuaries here in the US. Somewhere where they can live out their lives and be happy and free to an extent without the risk of them being rehomed several times or risking them ending up in a bad neglectful home. I have 4 birds, only one AG, but 2 of them came from neglectful homes and I just want to make sure it doesn't happen to them again. It something we should all think about. I do hope you become an active member on this site and we hear more from you. We are a friendly bunch and love to talk about our greys, share stories and even form friendships:)

Hello and welcome to both of you. This is a great place to find all kinds of information about greys and if you have specific questions, please feel free to ask them. Like the others said there are many knowledgable members here that are always willing to help. I am kind of curious as to what your questions are now:lol: Look forward to hearing more about you and Kiki.

I was expecting you to say you brought the grey home but it sounds like you have made a wise decision for yourself and the grey you looked at today. I certainly would not give up hope and it sounds like you haven't. Keep us posted. I bet one you have one in no time.

I Ditto Casper and Dan, too. :whistle:

I am on day 7 of my bad cold:( It just won't go away:angry: Sounds like an epidemic here. I hope we all get well soon.

I love the horse, too. Growing up my family had race horses and it was so exciting to go to the track and watch them run. When I got older I kept working on horse ranches with race horses for many years. I loved the life!! Those were the days and have so many great memories. I am now living in a big city and no more horses:( It was a big change but I like the city now.

Carolyn, I can't believe you didn't tell me this:ohmy: . I had no idea you were teaching him colors. That is excellent. Mika is such a smart little guy. I haven't tried to teach mine anything, they are all older of course and not sure if they would pick up on it either. How long did it take him to learn the primary colors? What other things are you teaching him or going to teach him? Tell Mika I am very proud of him.

I'm not going to say it is right or wrong to babysit the grey while they go on vacation. It might be a bad idea, true, but it might not either. I think it just depends on how everyone involved handles it. Mainly you and your grey (emotionally). I rehomed an 5 year old eclectus and his previous owner who had him since he was hatched came to visit him about 3 months after we got him. Tigger (my eclectus) got so excited and his eyes got all dialated and he gave a couple big squaks. He was clearly very excited to see him. He went right too him and it was downright emotional. He was so excited I seen him bite the guys finger and he usually doesn't bite. Then when it was time for him to go I took him back and he bit my finger too. It wasn't out of meanness, it was excitement. Anyway, I asked on the forum what people thought of that and they told me it was probably not a good idea. The ones that responded said it would only confuse Tigger or make him sad that he didn't go home with his "old dad" and I do understand that point, too. On the other hand Tigger was so happy to see him. I don't want him sad cuz his "old dad" left again without him & I don't want to confuse him either. I also wondered if Tigger might have actually liked having company. He was overly excited when the guy was over but he settled right down and back to normal shortly after he left. So I don't know if it is a good idea or not but if Tiggers previous owner wanted to see him again I would let him. He took such good care of Tigger and I could tell Tigger did like seeing him again. Just thought I'd toss out my experience when it happened and show another side of it. I wish you all the best and hope things smooth out for you.

Hi Mark, thanks for the update. Sounds like everything is going well. Just curious, are you working with her & training her to step up? Others say it is too early. I've never had a baby grey so I don't know the proper age but did have to teach it to a 12 year old grey. We did training sessions of step up 3 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes each. It only took a couple days for him to understand. They learn so quickly. If you do get her perched on your hand just tell her to step up and put a little pressure on her chest, when she does it, praise her for it, then tell her to step up again and over and over and over. She will catch on in no time. I didn't try giving him treats to teach him, mainly cuz Baxter doesn't like anything enough to work for it:laugh: but treats are very recommended in training. Along with lots of praise of course;)