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Awesome find! I've always had problems with tip-overs and this should solve that one.

There are a number of reasonably-priced online sources for all-cotton rope that is safe for birds. Stay away from ANY nylon-based or blended rope.

You can also use a quality sisal rope that is NOT treated. Tractor Supply sells both treated and untreated. Be careful of rope from big-box home improvement stores - they are usually treated rope. I tend to prefer the sisal rope as it shreds easier and won't have any chance of getting caught on toes, etc. There is a short-fiber cotton rope that also shreds easy but is really pricey.

Mix and match rope sizes on the same net - use one size for the perimeter, the vertical ropes and the horizontal pieces.

All my CAGS have access to rope nets and love them - some more than others. When making them, include some wood toy parts on the rope between joints. They love to hang and chew on them.

I've made both tied-joint and slip-joint nets and really prefer the slip-joint as they are less bulky. My birds like them better, too. And, they are far easier to repair/replace a section.

Remember, untreated natural fiber rope is ok. No nylon. No paracord. Sisal (natural fiber) is ok. Jute might be ok, be careful of any treatments. No inks or coloring - use bird-safe dyes after making the net if you want color.

I use Cage Catchers http://www.cage-catchers.com/ in all my cages. It's very convenient to order a custom cut size for your catch tray. I've tried all kinds of litter, news paper, butcher paper, etc, and this is by far the easiest, cleanest and most economical way to go. With 11 active cages to clean daily, it's a no-brainer.

No affiliation with them except that I'm a happy customer of theirs.

Regarding the blanket/towel on the cage bottom for newbie birds, use it as long as you hear them falling onto it. In my aviary, I use towels for my babies for about 3-5 days when they go from the brooder to their first perch. Of course, the perch is almost on the cage bottom and most falls are simple trips over the perch. Ask you breeder if he has acclimated your bird to perches. If so, you will only need the 3-5 day use of the towel until they get used to their new cage.

I love my Animal Environments cage and would buy again, except that they don't manufacture anything but stainless.

Regardless of where a cage is made, US, Europe, Asia, it doesn't matter - there are good and bad from all. Look at the cage specs and look at one personally if you can. Make sure the cage works for you and your bird. What I like doesn't matter - it must meet my bird's needs first, then mine second (size, cleanability, etc).

It really all comes down to how much you are willing to pay for what you get. You can pay thousands for commercial quality cages, or a handful of hundreds for a reasonable retail cage. Again, it doesn't matter where they are made.

Finally, don't just think you are getting a US-built cage from a US-based company. It doesn't work that way. Just ask Apple.

Do you have a relationship with an avian vet? If so, get her to the vet for a check - consistent weight loss in a juvenile grey is cause for alarm and a signal that something is wrong. If you don't have an avian vet, get one now.

And be extremely careful about formula feeding your bird. There are a number of potential problems that can "crop" up.

Nothing passive aggressive about it. It was a clear tap of accountability to you to play a little nicer to people taking their time to help you out.

...... I asked a direct question, I would appreciate a direct answer.

That's a tad harsh and not at all appreciative towards folks trying to assist. I trust you won't get snarky about my reply above, OK?

A&E cages is another source. You can check their offerings at http://www.aecageco.com. I have a drop-ship arrangement with them, but the shipping cost might offset local deals. They have most everything in stock, in most colors. Their larger cages ship from NJ via truck freight, and they usually arrive within a week. Smaller cages ship UPS.

Kings shipping is basically the same, shipping out of the east coast, with a combination of truck freight and UPS. Due to the lower weight, the aluminum cages can often ship UPS when a steel cage couldn't, as long as they meet box size limits.

I also have experience with Animal Environments cages, but they only offer stainless now - no powder coat products.

It was a treat to watch this clutch in the nest box as they were very animated during feeding time. Now that I'm hand-feeding the trio, it's rather hard to keep their little heads still enough to give them their food. They are one of the most active babies I've had.

Now if I could only figure out how to embed the video directly in the post, instead of a simple link.

update: the url was missing the http:// at the beginning. Changed it and it works perfectly.

In response to requests, here's one of my recent videos showing a clutch of babies being fed by both parents. They are less than one week old. You'll have to look hard to see them as they blend well into the background.

Enjoy!

Oh...no added sugar. No need to potentially screw up their liver.

I regularly mix pellets in with the "fresh stuff" for all our juveniles and recommend their new parents do the same when they go to their new homes. Quality pellets are important to fill in the gaps from their fruits and veggies, especially for a young grey in its first year.

Hi Jocelyn,

Either way, you will have a juvenile grey - a two year old is still very much a baby.

Hi Folks.

Been way too long since I've been on the Forum, so I thought I'd reintroduce myself. I'm Dave and live in the Indy metro area. The past year+ has been a difficult one, but I'm finally getting back on track and finding my way to the forum.. And, the flock knows things are better, as I've had two clutches of new grey babies this summer.

I'm a long time grey owner with Beaker (20 years old) and Gabi (almost three), and a flock of breeder greys to help keep me busy. I've made most of the major mistakes and even invented a few of my own.

Now to go read about all the stuff I've been missing here!

Dave

Hi Roland,

How long have you had Pinky? Is there a reason that he isn't stepping up at three years?

I'm hoping you can find some solid and good guidance from the folks here. I've rarely found advice here that is counter to good parrot rearing practices. Read around and soak it in.

As for the toweling, I'll say it: don't. While my greys enjoy playing towel with me, it's part of an ongoing attempt to keep them trusting in me so I can use the towel for caring for them, as Dan has said.

And don't be discouraged by our comments. We hope to help you and Pinky gain trust in each other so training can begin. Forcing yourself on him with something like toweling isn't going to gain trust. In fact, it likely has set you two back a little. Ask questions as often as you can.

Look into Barbara Heidenriech's training material at http:///www.goodbirdinc.com (no affiliation with the site). You might find her "Training for the Veterinary Exam" especially helpful. It shows some basic training and acclimation steps to allow easy handling, such as getting Pinky in and out of a cage, and getting him used to toweling. Personally, I recommend all her videos as great material for anyone owning a Grey.

Hope this helps!

And, welcome to the forum!

What you describe is pretty normal. The first few get-togethers can involve quite a bit of "beaking", but there usually isn't any damage done. It sounds like Dexter is wanting to get chummy with Cooper's space, and Cooper's stepping aside to let him do it. It's not unusual for the smaller bird to be more assertive than the larger (note the word assertive versus aggressive).

If you're letting both out at the same time, then be sure to be where you can keep an eye on them until you are comfortable they aren't harming each other. In any scenario, though, it's recommended to not let one enter the other's cage. Their individual cages should remain their haven without interference from the other. So work diligently to train them to stay out of each other's cage.

Oh, and I like your parrot blog. Nice mix of material that is enjoyable to read. Thanks for putting it together.

Maria,

Sydney has little motivation to go to her cage, and you've got to find a way to change the equation. Doing the lose her balance or pry her toes off your fingers to get her to go to her cage isn't going to do it as you're finding out.

As others have said, place surprises and food treats in the cage as a reward for going back. Better yet, do some training exercises using approximations to get her to go back to her cage on command. Just as Dan mentioned, they will get excited for their return-to-cage time. For our greys, this starts in the family room when they get passed around to everyone for their good night kisses and finishes with them hopping off my arm and into their cages.

One way to start the training for this is to train Sydney to step off your hand onto a training perch on the table immediately followed by a small reward and vocal reinforcement. Use a keyword, such as "down" or "perch." Slowly extend this to a trip to the cage with the perch nearby and do the same. Over time, extend this to using the perch in the cage and the same rewards and reinforcement. In short order, Sydney will be hopping on for a ride to the cage and eagerly go to her cage. This could even be extended further for things like potty training or flying to her cage on command.

Feather issues are because of emotional issues as often as physical issues. It's good that you've been trying to find a correlation to the problem. It's more likely that your Mother-In-Law is somewhat crankier now that she's stopping smoking and your grey is reacting to that rather than anything from the eCig . The feather issue could be from a number of problems from nothing to hormonal, to something more serious.

If it looks like it's a mounting issue for your bird, a vet visit is appropriate. Also, search the forum for feather issues and remedies such as aloe juice and colloidal oatmeal sprays.

Congrats to your Mother-In-Law! I've been smoke-free for many years and know it's a hard journey.

+1 Chelsea

You'll find mixed opinions, but I choose to use water bottles for all my cages. Yes, they get changed with fresh water daily. There is no danger of food or feces growing bacteria in the water bottles.

When I first saw them advertised, I thought they couldn't be any good. But the Roomba 560 we have for our bird room does an absolutely awesome job. What makes it so good is that it's automatic, runs on a daily schedule, and picks up both pellets, feathers, down and powder. It just works. It starts up, does it cleaning around the room for about 30-45 minutes, and returns to its cradle for a recharge.

Of course, it needs to be cleaned once a week, but it keeps our room picked up. This is a bird room with at least five greys in it, so you can imagine the cleaning load. The Roomba is quite pricey but worth it.

Young greys will make all kinds of sounds and vocalizations. Remember that in the wild, they will use their sounds to connect with their clutch mates and to their parents when they come to feed.

Where are you or what are you doing when Kenya makes her cell phone sound? She may be calling for you or want attention. It's hard to say without being there.

How long has Kenya been away from her clutch mates and parents? She really needs continual contact for another month or two until her independence starts to grow. Ten weeks is very very young and she will feel abandoned if left by herself.

Lino, NO! Punishment and negative outcomes have NO place with our greys.

Repeat: We do NOT want to present punishment and negative experiences to our greys.

The whole premise of training and behaviour modification is on positive reinforcement alone. No more. To do otherwise is abusive.

What a deal, Robin. You've got both a bed-time and wake-up alarm! They do get emphatic if we don't pay attention.