Elvenking

Okay...after doing some more searching....I found the ExoTerra ReptiGlo 5.0 Linear Tube. I got that and a hood that I am going to mount above his cage. Read lots of good stuff about people using this lamp for avian applications.

I don't know what it is about Greys, but they truly do love ice in their bath water. The lady we got GreycieMae from told us to be sure and use ice in her bath water. So we use a big glass casserole dish with ice water. I can put that in their outdoor aviary where I don't have to lift a finger to clean up. I also put it on the counter next to the sink and she loves to jump off the top of the water faucet into the ice batch over and over and over again.

 

Here's what we use:

Ohhh my that is so precious. Well...you do learn something every day. Ice water....HA! The video is wonderful...would love to see Isaac do this.

I know a lot of people have routines with showering and bathing their birds. Isaac will attack me if i try to spray him and he is not in his cage....but he will be tolerant if I do it while he perches in his cage. Sometimes...after i give him a shower....he will stand on the edge of his water dish that is on his play stand and flap his wings lightly trying to throw the water on himself....looking as if he is trying to take a bath. So....does anyone have a suggestion on something I could set up to give him the opportunity to try to take his own bath, but I am not sure what this will look like. I can't just put a bowl or a dish on the counter...he'll knock that stuff over. I am almost imagining a stand of some sort. Can anyone help me with ideas....I would LOVE to see him bathe himself.

Hi guys. Since I ahve a bigger cage for my boy now, I want to upgrade his UV lighting. I am looking at this one..

http://www.arcadia-bird.com/parrot-pro-uv-flood/

..anyone have one of these and can speak to how good it is? Or.....do you have some other choices for good UV lighting....want to make sure he gets good light with low flicker.

Stephen

He loves his daddy! As he gets older though, I suspect he will want something more substantial to chew on! You need to be ready as the kitchen won't satisfy his need. Investigate into a small block of cherrywood that he could chew on, while you are cooking. Offer it while cooking, remove it after dinner. Reintroduce next night. Nancy

His favorite chew toy right now is an empty water bottle. I jam those in the bars and that is his favorite thing to chew and make noise with. Quite glad i found that as they are cheap and I have lots of em. I am not so sure he would even pay any mind to being handed a piece of wood...but I can try. Tonight, I am going to make him one of my bottle cap toys. I take all the water bottle caps and milk caps....string them up on some leather straps in a toy fashion....he digs chewing those. He's doing okay.

Many of us, have greys that don't go super crazy for toys. They tend to think " we humans are their toys!". Sophie is a shredder! I lay plans 24 hours ahead, for something for Sophie to shred. Whether it be a phone book ( safe), or a pinata ( safe), most toys I come up with are shreddable. Sophie also loves to destroy windowsills. She has three that she works on. She needs to destroy... so my son Sean who hunts, comes back with cherrie wood. We boil it, divide it, so that when she is in the kitchen, she has a small piece to attack. We get her destruction! She just wants to do it in the kitchen when I am cooking. Nancy

Yep. Isaac is such a bird. He prefers kitchenware. Spoons, measuring sppons and cups, regular cups...cups of all sorts, and lately water bottles. For water bottles, he will stalk me. Follow me around playing coy as he sizes up my water bottle. The second I put it down..."SWOOP!" he goes in for the grab. Take that water bottle to the ground...wrestle it good and make sure he gives that thing a good wringing. LOL. Occasionally...he nibble a bird toy...but he has decided that what is good for me...is good for him.

Whoohoo, Issaac!! That is really a fine new set up! Is that the 43" model?

Yep...it's the Jumbo one. It really is sooooo much bigger than his old cage. I could get in the thing! He is now really warming up to it. No problem with eating anymore. In fact...he ripped through a bowl of veggies today like I have never seen. Came home and saw bits of ground up veggies and a happy bird. Tonight....the first over-nighter. I think he is going to be okay.....he found "the spot" if you know what I mean.

Okay. Today he is all over the new perches and stuff...expanding his exploration. He is also eating in there too. I think within a week we won't really need the old cage.

Here are the pics from before.

I have plenty of space so I just put the cages side by side (touching). After Timber started spending more time in the new one than the old one, I removed the old one.

I am hoping for a similar experience. I have his old cage next to the new one and I still let him sleep in his old one....for now. Isaac is his normal bubbly self through this whole thing. He is just not all the way in yet. I think a perch in the back of the cage was actually putting him off so I removed it. I brought each of the cage items close to him...and he bolted when I brought the perch that bolted onto the side of the cage. So I learned something. I wouldn't have guessed the perch.

I've changed Alfie's cage three times now I think. He had his original cage which was in my bedroom at my parents house then he moved downstairs to a corner cage. When I moved house I got rid of the corner cage (too much vertical space and not enough horizontal space) and he went back to his original cage and was located in a hallway. Then when my housemates moved out I got him the biggest cage I could find and moved him into that. He also moved into the living room at that point. When I bought the house I live in now he moved with his big cage. Fortunately, Alfie is pretty good with change. He has moved house with me twice. I kept his original cage in case he ever needed to stay at my parents house whilst I was away but I'm going to throw it out because it's stuck in the garage and is starting to fall apart. I can't get his current cage out of the room without pulling it completely apart (it doesn't fit through doors) so if he does need to stay elsewhere then he'll go in a travel cage. When I go away on a couple of courses next month my lodger will look after him for me, so no worries there.

 

Anyway, I digress....

 

Whenever I wanted to move Alfie I put him on the cage, then in it and let him get used to it. As I mentioned, I'm really lucky because he'll sit on a perch and observe everything closely, then he'll explore. He never really freaks out about changing cages/house/toys etc. He just likes to have time to sit and look at everything first.

I'm finally at a place where I'm happy with his cage and because I now own my house I'm not moving any time soon either, so he shouldn't have to deal with any BIG changes like that for a while yet.

I think Isaac is doing really well...he spends all day in his new cage now when I am at work. When I left this morning, he was climbing around more than the day before and looked like he was feeling out the cage pretty good. However, he has only pecked at his seeds and didn't go for his veggie bowl while I am gone....he doesn't seem to be eating in there too much yet. He gets plenty of food opportunity...she he makes up for it once I am home. However, I am trying to see if anything on that side of the cage might be scaring him...there are four spots for food and water. So I am trying to rotate too. I think he will make the transition. I have both cages side by side right now. He hasn't touched any of the toys...and I am not sure he does much but sit on the edge of his seed bowl while I am gone. I do always shove plastic bottles for him to chew on between the bars...he loves to gnaw on them to no end. Favorite of his. He has no problem continuing that in his new digs.

All that said, Isaac has never been much for playing with toys that look like bird toys. LOL. Anyone have one of these characters? He loves taking all the utencils out of my kitchen drawers, playing in my cabinets, chewing plastic water bottles, tipping cups and bowls around the floor and flying with them in his talons. And of course always be on me or near me. Not much of a bird toy kind of bird. Looks like my bird toy store is the kitchen section at Target! Ha! I'll have to make some different toys.

Anyway...comments and suggestions welcome.

Yeah....looks like my pictures didn't come through. I'll try to fix.

Anyway....today. I ended up taking a little risk. I let him spend the day in his new cage. I was just going to put him in for a few mins. But he was walking around a little and making some of his noises like normal...so I ended up leaving for half the day...coming back at lunch to check on him..and then let him finish the day in there. No major mishaps. He does look like he stayed in one single place for the day. He didn't eat the chicken I put in around lunch....so I came home and made him another leg bone and he is eating that now. He only lightly pecked food in there.

Anyone have experience with cage transitions? Suggestions? I am pretty sure he will get used to it...and I am already proud of his first day in there. If you have experience I'd love to hear it. Thanks.

On the edge while I am building.

The completed home

Inside view

I will let you know how the adventure continues.

His new home arrived on Tuesday and I promptly built it up. My goodness....it's big. Like easily 4x the space of his old one. He actually landed on it while I was building it...so I was glad he wasn't just afraid of the new cage. Anyway....that night, I just built it up, put toys and stuff in it...and let it be. I didn't want to rush him. So it sat across the room from his current cage. Today I decided to see if I could get him to perch in the new cage. I was able to easily put him in on the perches twice. I took him out and praised him to no end. "Good boy...good boy!!" He seemed to enjoy being hailed Anyway, I ended up getting him to hang out in there while I made a quick run to the store...he did just fine and was making some of his usual noises. I am going to say that he reluctantly moved forward a few steps. He didn't let me put him back in for bed time though. So I had his original cage right next to it so he could sleep there tonight. We'll start with a lot of supervised time in the new home so he can get used to it in small doses...increasing over a few days. Then I'll get him used to hanging out in there all day. The last move will be sleeping in the new home. In his current cage, he has this spot he goes to for sleeping, and I know he feels comfortable there. I know he can make the transition though. Pics Coming in a sec.

Isaac allows limited scratching of the head...and it has to be time.....HIS time. LOL. I wouldn't even get up to a minute with him before he wants to show me that he is still in control...backs off....then tips his head down again for more. So I'll actually stop after 20 seconds or so...and see what he does. I'll put my hand down right next to him to see what he does. He almost always takes a couple more steps toward my hand and actually rubs his head on my hand...asking for more. I'll do that game with him until either I am tired of scratching or he is. I will always let up to see what he does though.

I can totally understand if he hurts you and draws blood how you might not want to take another shot. So use your discretion. It is probably what he is asking for if he is lashing out and biting like that. "Please don't". Typically, Isaac will use his beak and escalate the responses based on whether I am getting what he means or not. First they might just gently 'beak' your finger or something to tell you 'no'. Then they will try again with a little more pressure...and then...if you just really aren't getting it, Isaac will then give the official chomp on a finger. Time to give space. Experiment and proceed with caution and compassion for your baby.

Congrats on figuring out what was triggering Mayday's plucking, that's huge! I also have a high-strung grey who is afraid of his own shadow at times, although he's improved leaps and bounds over how he used to be a few years ago. It does get better. Like you discovered, our own emotions and reactions play a huge part in their reactions. You can help him become a more confidant fellow just by reacting in a more confidant, it's no big deal, way yourself. They look to us for cues more than you'd ever think, it's part of their flock mentality. WTG Mayday, you're doing great!

It is so true. They take on the behaviors of their owners for sure. So I try to be what I want to see in Isaac.

Dayo has a very large cage. When he does become startled, he will sometimes either flap down to the bottom or he will flap quickly from one side to the other and grasp the side looking around to watch what startled him. A larger cage is much better in my opinion because they do not beat their wings against the sides of the cage as they are flapping.

Great to hear from you Dan! I know Dayo is Isaac's long lost cousin and they share the same basic attitude. LOL. I began to think about that as well. If there is more space and he is agile like he is, maybe it will ultimately be better. I am really excited about setting it up with him. I am going to let him sit with me while I build it for him. We'll talk about where to put all his toys and how to make it fun.

As Dave said bigger is always better but since this particular cage is made for a corner make sure you have the appropriate corner for it.

Ahh...it's done....the XL Jumbo One. Significantly more than the other, but Isaac deserves the best I can give him. I am going to make a wonderful place for him. I am so excited. I will feel far better while I am at work knowing he has that to play around in.

Stephen

We recently upgraded Maalik to a macaw cage. The first day he was a bit perplexed, but by the second day he was in seventh birdie heaven. He loves having all the space to do his thing.

Isaac adjusts pretty fast to most things. I am hoping I share the experience you had. I'll be sure to get pics of him in his new palace when I get it.

Here he is for now saying HI!

This is Miss GreycieMae during her evening 'special time'. She gets to go to bed one hour after the littles. Mommy's in the background discussing business.

 

Oh my I love to kiss them too. I love their little heads and feathers. I must kiss him somewhere around 50 times a day....nah that is super conservative....more like 100+. Great video.

Wonderful news. My Grey, Isaac, had a pretty bad plucking problem just before I had appendicitis and I still am not really sure why he chose to pick. I think he is pretty sensitive though. I know that he needs his peace when he sleeps, cause if there is bustle and such after hours, I think it scares him a little. He has been doing really well! Looking beautiful lately. I had tried the Pluck no More and recommend saving your money, but don't quit it on my account. I just realized that there was virtually no difference with Isaac after I had spent hundreds of bucks on it.

Anyway, this is a long and emotional road that I can intimately identify with and I wanted to say that I was happy to hear you had some discovery!! May your baby continue to be happy and feathery. The best advice is to work it out in your head to not be too concerned with it "emotionally"...it does nothing but harm to be stressed out about it. I have had the greatest measure of success just loving him up and creating an atmosphere that nothing is wrong. May you continue to have such fortune with Mayday!!

As Dave said bigger is always better but since this particular cage is made for a corner make sure you have the appropriate corner for it.

Yep...he is already close to a corner. I am moving out a desk close to his cage and placing his cage directly in the corner quite perfectly. Planning it all out. I'll probably build it and let it sit in the apartment for a little while if he doesn't seem to take to it right away. Let him get used to its presence. Then ease him over it. I hope he likes it! The main reason I want to do it is to offer him more choices of toys with the new space. More things to stimulate his mind without crowding the cage.

Stephen

...and yes...of course I am leaning toward the larger one. LOL. Ahhhh boy.

Thinking of one of the above cages. The XL one is quite a bit more expensive....but I do love my baby. Let me know if you know of any inherent problems with these cages.

Stephen

I suppose I can arrange things inside the cage in a way that would prevent any possible injury. It is exactly as you say. When he is out of his cage and something spooks him....it's like he disappears. It is amazing how fast. Inside the cage, yeah...it does get a bit freaky. I think i will order one for him and get him ready. I think he would like the upgrade of about 3x more space.

I think that you may be confused by that very heavy duty flapping which parrots do periodically in order to excersie their wings. It can get very intense and last a little while. Usually, they hold on to the perch but the flapping raises their body a bit even tho the claws remain in the perch BUT getting a bigger cage is always a plus if a person can afford it. As they say,--the bigger the better

Thanks for responding Dave! I wish I could say it was exercise flapping. It is like he forgets he is in a cage and tries to fly aimlessly. Going from one side to the other to the floor. Scary stuff when you hear or see it. You wonder why. Something in startles him or something because he is at full attention when I see him and sometimes looking around like he saw or heard something. It is not all the time for sure. It happens though. So I am afraid he will be able to get velocity to hurt himself. I'll get him the cage this weekend if I can feel secure in him not hurting himself.