Lambert58

Not worth the risk. Not even a little bit. For those that already have posted that are parents to both, you can see that it takes quite a bit of planning and supervision to ensure nothing goes wrong. Proper care of a grey is enough without introducing a predator to their environment if you can avoid it. We have 2 german shepherds and never leave them in the same room with the greys unsupervised. There have been times when the greys have even dropped down and nipped at a tail or a back foot of our dogs, but we were right there not more than 12" away when it happened. To our dogs' credit, they seem to know that the birds are off limits and avoid them...but I wouldn't trust them if I wasn't around.

Both my greys watch the Sprout channel. They LOVE cartoons. They are definitely "watching" vs. just listening. If I have a pic of a grey, or I'm watching a youtube video of someone else's grey, they are totally focused and try to "beak" the other bird. They definitely see the image. Leo's favorite is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnnOx178Z64 He could watch it for hours. lol.

I've self-banned me from Craig's List (pets). If I visited regularly I'd be on the next episode of Hoarders.

That wing clip makes me want to shoot someone.

Quick update: Leo is regrowing his feathers just fine from his haircut There haven't been any further instances of a Willow Makeover. I think Willow just wants to be a hairdresser! She does my wife's hair when she lands on her head (By "does" I mean she makes a total disaster of it lol).

LOL, Shanlung I was clicked on this post with the intent to direct any and all questions about harness flying to you

We went to Walmart and bought about 50 wash cloths for dirt cheap ($30?). After a year of the paper towel bit we learned our lesson.

We have 2 greys, 2 green cheeked conures and 3 sun conures. They have spacious cages and I'm convinced that having just another flock member they can spend time with is extremely positive. If we have to spend time away occasionally and they don't get out-of-cage time for a day or so we know that they've at least got their buddy/buddies to keep them entertained. Regarding the issue of breed: at one point we just had 1 grey and 1 sun conure. They were the best buddies ever...until we got another grey and another sun conure. Now they're kinda like me and my ex-wife: all contact is aggressive lol.

Handsome boy!

I don't know if it's their age or what, but Leo, Mr. Self Confident, gets all googley-eyed when Willow rolls up with her little sexiness. Willow is... how to describe it... the spoiled princess. around the house. Won't let my wife get near her, and I'm the only one she tolerates or listens to. Leo is full on snugglemonster. I think you're correct in that the best solution is not letting willow near him when he starts to get warm and fuzzy. That's when daddy steps in for scritches. I'm all over this!

Thanks for your opinion. EDIT: and if I had two children sharing a room and kid #1 was hurting kid #2, I'd apply some whoop ass to kid #1 until it stopped, so that analogy doesn't really work.

Leo is regrowing pin feathers in the affected area with no signs of a Willow attack. Thanks all for your input, and I'll keep the idea that they may need separate cages in mind.

Yup. All of the above. We got Leo at 8 weeks. He spent the next three in our bedroom in a small cage being hand fed. I managed to fashion a hand-feeding spoon with an acetylene torch and a pair of pliers (dang fine job, IMO!) with which we hand fed him during that period. Our case was unique: we were basically rescuing him from a really crappy pet store. If you have a breeder that knows what they're doing, let them do it. Bonding won't be an issue.

I completely understand. It's a valid point, for certain. I will offer this: the two of them spend 12 hours a day out of cage, and they go off and do their own thing during that time. They are bonded, however, and do come together at points throughout the day to snuggle and preen. I'll play it as I see it evolve and should it become necessary to separate them at night I'll definitely do it. My job is to be the best parront I can

In time. In time. lol When we have bath time, I get total silence lol. They know what's coming. Last bath: Willow (through body language) objected, but once she got under the shower, she went bananas and we spent a good 20 minutes with her jumping from the shower curtain to my head to my hand asking for more. Leo, on the other hand, wanted none of it. Quick dip and he was more than done. You'll get the "NO!" when you offer a finger for a step up for bedtime and your grey doesn't necessarily think it's bedtime. Or some similar situation.

We bought a pack of rubber snakes to keep the fids off the the kitchen cabinets. Worked great for 48 hours. Two weeks into it and all the flock thinks they're toys to be chewed up.

I know your new cage is expensive. Have you consider selling it And, no. I'm not selling a 5' diameter 7' tall cage. It's the bomb.

I absolutely value your input. Let me give you some history on these two: I walked into a pet store in a shopping mall and found Leo. Willow was also there, along with a military mccaw. The two of them were only about 6 weeks old, way below the age that anyone should be offering them for sale. We chose Leo and took him home and ended up weaning him. We had no idea what we were getting into, and didn't know the first thing about weaning ANY bird, let alone a grey. It went well, we did awesome, in my book. Leo weaned just fine. About 2 months after we go Leo. I went back to that store and Willow was still there, sharing a 2x2 cage with that giant military mccaw. Long story even longer, we rescued her. These two have been cage mates since birth, basically. I won't separate them. They're bonded. They're both 2 years old now. Over the last week, when Willow is in a superior position to Leo, I intervene. I'm in the fortunate position to be able to do that most of the day. At night, in-cage, the two of them have their territories and don't seem to have a problem. I have to think that this might be a phase of them reaching maturity and one (Willow) being dominant over the other (Leo). We'll see how it goes. Over the last few days his pin feathers have started coming in... I'll Play policeman and take it from there.

More updates (even though I said no more). Chilly is holding steady for the last 3 weeks at between 94 - 100 grams. Playing with her cage mates, but still is inordinately docile, requires 4 hand feedings a day. Poop looks fine, not passing undigested food (an indicator of PDD), playing, stepping up, actually flew a few feet from playtop to the to the back of a chair. Still, she's overly shy, only steps up to me (not my wife) and is exhibiting baby behavior. She eats Harrison's pellets after the cereal (kaytee baby food + peanut butter + cinnamon + oatmeal), attacks the occasional sunflower seed or nutriberry. She still won't eat fresh fruits (grapes/apples/oranges) or veggies (cauliflower, peas, corn, greens). Been boiling/mashing up yams and carrots as an addition to everyone's cereal, including hers. Every other fid in the flock is on it like Rosie O'Donnell on a baked ham, but Chilly has been standoffish. It's going to be a long road back for her. But. She's a trooper and we'll be there every step of the way.

In all fairness, there's a distressed panic sound, and that's much different from "NO! I don't want that."

There's a difference between the "NO!" sound and the "OMG IT'S COMIN' AT ME!" sound. The second one is a growl. Unmistakable.

Conures have no sense of what's proper.

hot sauce! lol The two of them preen each other, like all bonded birds do, but Willow is an aggressive little monster and often holds Leo down by placing her foot on his neck. Women! And as an aside, I denied access to that location with one of my new found best friends: rubber snake! $10 on Amazon for 10 of 'em. Keeps the conures off the kitchen cabinets quite nicely

Well, it sort of goes without saying that it's not a good thing. I'm not "allowing" it in the sense that I don't just look up and see it happening and go "oh, gee... that's probably not good." I intervene. But, thanks?

I spent $1400 on their cage. They do fine in it. If I separate them, there will be blood. Mine, most likely. It doesn't occur in cage. I've begun swooping in when this happens and have denied them access to that particular perch as well. He is a snuggle monster, so I think you're right in that he enjoys it. Eagles look good bald, greys, not so much.