BaxtersMom

Hi MB, Simon is one good looking bird;) Thanks for sharing the photos. I adopted a 12 year old grey and he has brought me so much happiness, too. Looking forward to hearing more about you and Simon. This is a great place to get all the info you need and lots of great people here, too. Is Simon your only bird? How old is he?

Yours is a baby and mine was 12 when I got him. Baxter didn't know how to play with toys so I taught him;) There are many hours he will just sit on the top of his cage and perch though. He does this daily and I don't think he would rather be doing anything else. Yours might want more toys or attention from you since she is so young to keep her entertained but Baxter is pretty mellow for the most part and set in his ways:)

I can't help much with the first question but will tell you what I do with Baxter during. Not sure if it's right or wrong but it works for us. I felt like it was a lot of pressure to do things with Baxter but not so much anymore. In the mornings I give all the birds their breakfast and after they have eaten a little bit of it. I sit near all of them and just start talking to them. Telling them Good Morning and what ever I fell like telling them. Then I open all the doors and they come out. Baxter usually stays inside on his own free will and he plays with his plain white rope for about 2 hours. I can tell he does not want to be interupted either. He will talk his "jibber jabber" to it and sometimes will attack wadded up newspapers and tear it to shred and switch out with a thin leather strap. I tie knots in the ropes and leather straps and he works so hard at undoing them. This must be great fun because he never tires of it. I might get him out and put him on the boing for 20 or 30 minutes and just let him enjoy that, sometimes I will just take him down, pet him and tell him what a good boy he is. Some times just a few minutes and sometimes longer. Depends on both our moods, I guess. Early afternoon he gets on this playtop perch and goes to sleep for a few hours. He comes alive again around 5 pm. In the evenings is when we do most things together which is how he wants it. I have a table top perch that I take to which ever room I have things to do in. His absolute favorite thing to do with me is the dishes. He gets on his perch and watches me do dishes and he talks, talks, talks. Not a lot of words but the same ones over and over. After that he is in a happy mood and I will sit down with him and he is usually very happy and loving. Sometimes I let him on my shoulder when I am doing dishes and he talks and whispers. It's pretty neat. I whistle the Andy Griffith tune and he starts dancing on my shoulder. (I love that) We do that several times a day:) We do other things too to change things up a bit but that is a typical day. I do take him into my office when I am working on the computer and he likes that too. Anything I can find that he can come too I try to do that when I can. Even if he just sits on his perch I think he is happy just to be near. For awhile I was overdoing it a bit and trying to give him too much attention in the beginning. I've only had him a few months and he kind of let me know that he didn't want that much attention. I think they just like to be near and you will figure out what "clicks" with them and what doesn't. My feelings got hurt a little bit at first because there are times he would rather just play by himself and want nothing to do with me. But that just let me know I don't have to stress over giving him so much attention. We kind of play it by ear I guess.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/10/05 03:35

Hi Nora and welcome. So glad to have a fellow Michigander join:) I am from Michigan, too. Congradulations on Timmy. He'll be with you before you know it but it will probably seem like forever for you. If you have any questions all you have to do is ask. There is someone always online and I've notices very quick to answer and help out. I joined a few months ago when I got my first CAG. He is 12 years old and he really makes us happy! You are instore for so much fun! I'm excited for you. Please let us know as soon as he comes home to you.

Thanks Judy. It's not a regular chain type pet store and it's not real big anyways. It is actually an old victorian house made into a pet store. Real Mom & Pop type atmosphere and that's why I like it so much. I know when the few occassions I had to leave my dog somewhere I was always able to see his "living conditions" and it just made me wonder even more why I couldn't go up there???:angry: But I have never had to board a bird before and thought there might be legimate reasons for it, too. If I did leave them home, it would be a good excuse to get back on the road again too

I have a question about boarding my grey and my other 2 birds. I really need to take an overnight trip to Chicago (5 hours from my house) my husband dads is in his late 70's and really ill. We have already put this trip off longer than we should. I checked with the pet store and they board birds. They specialize in birds and I am very comfortable with them because they are family owned and have been in business in the same building since 1955. They have always given great advice and feel that everyone that works there is very knowledgable and care a lot about birds. With that said, I asked to see the "accomodations" where the birds would be staying at. They said no one but staff is allowed in there. I am not sure the exact reason but think it had to do somethine with safety and health reasons. I was a bit surprised by this and am wondering if this is the norm? Or should I be allowed in to see where they would be staying? I really like the store and really trust the employees. Any advice on this? They are my place of choice but made me a little nervous when they said I couldn't see where they would be staying. I know they have some breeding pairs upstairs where they board birds but not sure if they are kept in the same room. Also, if I am just going to be gone for about 24 hours. Leave early in the morning and return late that night or early afternoon the next day. I don't know how comfortable I would be leaving them for that amount of time but wondered about other owners thoughts were on this.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/10/02 02:17

Hello Yvette! It's such a good thing that you got that poor baby out of those circumstances. I'm sure you will be a great mommy;) Keep us posted

Berna, {Characters-00020061}You make me want to go work in a bird store!<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/10/01 18:18

I love those photos. Ethel looks like a big baby...so cute! Baxter grabs my fingers like that too and bobs his head up and down. He is very gentle most of the time but every now and then he will push his limits and I have to tell him to "be nice" and he lets up. I would love to have a macaw but I would have to get a bigger house. Maybe on day, sigh...

Hi and welcome Charman! We are looking forward to chatting with you too;) Please let us know more about you and your grey. How old is he/she, how long have you had him/her, a name and all that jazz:) We'd love to see some photos when you get the chance.

Hi, good tear he his breaking his messy habits. This is a great place to get advice and just about anything pertaining to greys. I joined a few months ago and all the members have been just great about answering any questions I had. I love it here.

Hi Tony & Harry. Welcome to the forum. I adopted a 12 year old grey and just love him to pieces. I also have an eclectus and a conure too:blink: . Looking forward to hearing more about Harry and we'd love to see some pics of him.

Hi and congradulations on Ernie. I hope you are ready to be amazed every day by him:woohoo: . They are so smart and adorable. Like the others said, we would love to see some pis of Ernie and can't wait to hear more about him.

Hey Roger! I tried to warn ya about them Detroit Lions. Don't bet on them to win:( bet on how bad they will get beat, how many sacks Kitna will get or how many interceptions he will throw, but not on them winning.{Communicate-0002011A} Seriously, though, very good to hear from ya. I sure hope you come back and spend more time with us. You are missed by many;) Hope to talk to you soon so I can find out what's been going on with Congo:) I'll be checking the IM's. I missed you tonight Darn

She~I just looked at the photos of your avairy. OMG!!! :ohmy: That would be perfect.:woohoo: I don't need him to fly inside it. I just want him and my others to be able to be outisde when I am working outside, gardening or just enjoying the yard. I got Baxter in July and the other 2 followed shortly after him and it seems I have spent the entire summer in the house because I just can't stand to be away from them very long. I'm sure they would like to be outside just as much as I would. Thanks for showing the photo. It was a big help;)

I just subscribed to Bird Talk, haven't gotten my first issue yet though. Then a little birdie told me that Bird Times has more articles and less ads. You can get a free issue at their website birdtalk.com but for some reason mine didn't go through (an error came up:( ). I will have to try again now that I'm thinking about it.

{Feel-good-0002006E} Too busy laughing. Oh it's sad but true isn't it???{Nature-0002009B}

Hi and welcome to the forum. This is a great place to get answers for anything you might be concerned about. And Dave is just great and really knows his stuff;) He has helped me, too. As for the Aloe Vera juice, I think you use it straight from the bottle but someone else can probably tell you for sure.

Hi Welcome Laws & Obi. Can't wait to hear all about you guys and pics would be great when you get the chance. We love to oooh & aaaww over everyones greys around here. Especially the babies. They are so sweet. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask. There is always tons of people here with lots of experience ready to help our with anything or to just share in your accomplishments:)

I'm thinking about buying a large cage for outdoors or building him one. Have to find something safe cuz I would really like him to be able to enjoy the great outdoors and not worry about him getting away.

Hello Sarah & KoKo! Welcome! This is a great place to learn all about your baby and makes some good friends, too. Can't wait to hear all about your and Kokos adventures;)

Hi there and welcome to forum. This is a great place to make new birdy friends:laugh: so you definately came to the right place. Look forward to hearing more from you and please let us see some of pics JoJo when you get the chance.

Baxter does the exact same thing when I am out of his sight. He will call, whistle, go through his words & sound effects. I usually call back to him cuz it's fun for me but I always hear others tell others if they don't like something or a noise or something to just ignore it and not call back to him. If she knows it's an attention getter she may not quit. I think this is normal behavior for greys though and it may not ever stop.

OMG, she is so beautiful{Love-000200DA} She looks like a beauty queen. Thanks for the pics.

Baxter makes lots of cool sounds. I love them all. But Monday is trash day here in the city and we have normal trash truck, compost truck, recycling truck and the street sweeper:blink: All be fore 10am. :ohmy: and Baxter is near the front window and is glued to the glass waiting for them:laugh: I hear the backing up of a truck (beep... beep... beep), brakes grinding (eerrrkkk) and the revving of an engine as the big trucks take off again all through the beak of my grey! It is hilarious and he sounds just like the trucks, too. I just love trash day now:laugh: Of course he lets us know my chair squeaks, the fence gate squeaks too. The fire alarm, yep, he's got that one down too. They pick up on so much aka everything!!! My bird does a sniffling sound, a cough, a yawn & stretch & a sigh;) . I could go on and on. They joys of a grey are endless;)