GrayGirl

Hey, all ~ great information on this thread! Thanks so much for sharing. I have a question about fresh soybeans (also known as edamame beans). I've been feeding them (maybe 6-12 per feeding) to my CAG Nickel 2x a day for about a year, along with other fresh and cooked veggies, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, a little fruit, etc. and she loves them. Picks them out of the bowl to eat first, in fact. A friend just told me that soybeans are toxic for birds (and humans), but though I've been researching safe versus toxic foods since I got her, and our avian vet said specifically that they are fine for greys, I'm now freaking out. The last thing I want to do is to harm Nickel while feeding her a diet that is supposed to be healthy. I've checked a number of sites, including Snopes.com, to see what the current word is on soy being toxic to birds, but have found nothing definitive. Do any of you smart folks have any advice for me on this subject? Thanks!

Hi, luvparrots ~ Thanks for saying that. I think she is just gorgeous, of course, but it's always nice when someone else agrees.

Hi, MadMax ~ That's greyt and I look forward to reading your post on clicker training.

I've posted a few new pics of Nickel. She's beginning to feather up in front. I can only hope! Otherwise, she's happy and sassy. Last weekend she was riding on my shoulder and all of a sudden bit my ear really hard. I (gently) put her in her cage ~ for all of a minute, then decided it wasn't really her fault & let her out. I'd been leaving her alone a bit too much and I think it was her way of expressing her displeasure. Anyway, she didn't draw blood, just surprised me. First and so far only time she's exhibited less than gentle behavior. Think that means she's starting to feel really certain of me?

Bella is a good name for her! She looks so cute in that red flight suit! I'm pretty sure I'd lose a finger or two (maybe a nose or ear too) if I tried to get Nickel into one of those things, but she's older and set in her ways. Nice to "meet" you ~ I'm pretty new to this forum too.

Thanks so much for the welcome and the kind words and the info. I don't think it would be right for me to take a baby grey in because of my work schedule. I already hate leaving Nickel alone for hours at a time. Nickel's still picking and other than misting daily, making sure she gets enough Vit. D from the sun, and giving her lots of things to pick at besides herself, I just don't know what else to do. But, even if she were bald all over, I'd love her! Funny new story: I stubbed my toe over the weekend and hopped around hollering for a little while, and now she's saying "Ow, ow, ow, ow" all the time. I should have named her Echo (or Ecko like Caitlin's). (Thank goodness I didn't use any cuss words!)

Just a quick note to say that I really got a lot out of the posts. I'm lucky that Nickel came to me already semi-trained, but it took me awhile to catch on, so now I'm catching up. She doesn't like to go in her cage, so she holds it all night and then ~ watch out! I've learned to pretty much run for the play perch. She also holds it for as long as I'm at work during the day, which can sometimes be 8 hours, tho I try to get home for lunch and give her a potty break. I really liked what Char and Nikki had to say about how they handle their greys' needs ~ and I laughed when I read about how Char's grey used to hold it for her ex. Haha ~ greys are so smart, aren't they!

This thread reminded me of something RudyTheParrot said on Twitter: "You say it looks like a cherished 25-yr-old dresser. I say it looks like a tasty tree that I must shred. WHO IS TO SAY WHICH OF US IS RIGHT?" I'm lucky in that Nickel doesn't like to be on the floor, except the bathroom floor, so my furniture & the baseboards are safe so far. She has a tree perch like Ranaz describes and plenty of wooden toys in her cage that she loves to shred, which seems to satisfy her urge for destroying wood. I also put plenty of straw/raffia-type toys around for her to pick at so she'll leave her feathers alone.

Very interesting stuff here. I like to see the wide variety of foods that greys thrive on. And so nice to know Nickel's not the only finicky grey who looks askance at anything new I try to offer her. Even green grapes, and I know she loves red grapes! Just the change of color and she turned up her beak. Anyway, she likes Lefebre pellets and Cheerios, dried spicyhot veggies, edamame beans, and apple. She doesn't like anything mushy, like oatmeal & yogurt. I offer her a dish of veggies (either fresh or cooked or both) and a little fruit every day, sometimes 2x a day, and sometimes she eats it and sometimes she doesn't. The vet said she's doing well, though, and said to continue with her diet (such as it is), so I'm not really worried. Oh, yes, and sometimes she'll eat off my plate, though she really seems to prefer eating in her cage from her own bowl. Finally, her favorite treats are gray sunflower seeds and almonds, which I give her very sparingly by hand when she learns something new or does something I particularly want to encourage her to continue doing.

Yes, thanks much Timotian. I knew about most of them, but the dried beans was a surprise. I'd heard that fresh tomatoes wasn't great for greys, and certainly understand about the leaves of the tomato plant. I don't think they're good for humans either. I do have a question about garlic ~ I use it sometimes fresh in salads and cooked in spaghetti sauce. I wonder if it affects greys the way onions do. Thanks again!

Hey, thanks for all the replies. I feel very warmly welcomed. It's unfortunate that I have to work all day and leave Nickel in her cage, but she's out for a couple of hours in the morning and then at lunch at least 3 out of 5 days for an hour, and for a few hours at night. And all day on the weekends, unless she is with me in the car when I put her in a cage in the back seat. So far, she seems to be okay with that schedule. I broke one of the eggs by accident, she broke one, and one I put in the fridge after a few days of her ignoring it. BTW, glad you like pictures, because I've got a lot of them. I love taking shots of her ~ she is so beautiful. And sometimes really funny. <br><br>Post edited by: GrayGirl, at: 2009/05/20 05:09

Hi! Nickel's a CAG who just turned 7 years old. She came to live with me about 2 months ago when her first mom had to give her up due to severe allergies. I was really fortunate to have been in touch with someone who knew Nickel's situation. It was love at first sight (at least on my side), and, less than a week later, I guess she decided I wasn't so bad and probably wouldn't do anything unpleasant to her. Since then, we've bonded pretty tightly, which is as surprising to me at it is gratifying, since I know how persnickety CAGs can be about change. Nickel's a real character, vocal, and of course smart. She's also well socialized, gentle with everyone ~ even kids who manage to stick their fingers in front of her beak before I can intervene. She was a feather picker when she came to me, but her feathers started to grow in nicely ~ until about 2 weeks ago when all of a sudden she pulled out every feather on her breast and then proceeded to lay an egg (her first, I think, although I haven't asked her first mom yet). She's laid 3 all together and seems to be over it now, and her feathers appear to be growing back. Anyway, it was after the first egg that I went online to find out what to do and found this site, which I joined right away. I haven't had a chance to introduce Nickel and myself until tonight, but I really wanted to say thanks to everyone here who shared their experiences with egg-laying grays on the forum. What I read here relieved my anxiety and gave me some pointers on how to ensure she wouldn't be harmed by her experience. When I took her to the vet a week later, he told me that everything I was doing (most of which I learned on this site) was exactly right! Thanks so much, y'all! Mary and Nickel