FloridaBeak

Sorry for the extremely delayed reply. Apparently i signed up here just before the big change, and long story short, could not login after i reset my password since the website was not successful in sending me emails. All of a sudden I received 24 emails and here I am Lily came home Sunday, a very calm hour long drive home. She rode up front with my wife so she could see the sights. I must say she is one of the most calm Greys I have every come across. The shop owner and staff confirmed that they receive the babies the day of hatching and socialize them every day from then on. We brought the toys we had bought for her while she was still at the store home, to give her a more familiar environment. Her cage (a playtop model) is within view of the family room and kitchen. She has proved to be adjusting very well, chirping to get attention (contact calls i think), and early attempts at forming new sounds / words. Oh her birthday was December 14th She is quite happy to get scratches, and steps up without any issues. Interestingly enough she doesn't beak hands or fingers, like all of my previous parrots. It seems she has some confidence that the human hand or arm is sturdy enough to be trusted. One unexpected surprise was that she is not fully weaned. Although down to 1 feeding a day and thought to not need it any further, I believe her grey cage mate at the pet shop was eating most of the zupreem. My wife was quick to go pick up some Exact and make sure our little girl got a good meal. We have given her warm sweet potatoes, carambola and other fresh foods in addition to a balanced seed mix and she is doing quite well. Boy, mushy foods are fun and quite messy, there was sweet potato on the walls. I am from California originally, I worked in Australia for a bit, then landed back in Florida to be near my wife's family. We had a fantastic time over there, and may go back one day. I am just thankful Beak and Feather disease is not as common here as it was over there. We are delighted to have Lilly home finally, the entire family is getting along great. Thank you all for the toy information. her first toy was a hanging bell set with rubber duckies and pacifiers attached. Needless to say the pacifiers are gone and some ducks are missing heads and behinds Maybe later this week i will give her a shower. Anyone have any tips?

Hello everyone, A little about me and my wife. We live in central Florida, just outside the city. Working as a software engineer and having two young children I enjoy coming home to 5 acres of tropical fruit trees sitting across from a state park on a dead end road. My wife and I raised parrots when we lived in Australia (Sydney), where Galah's, and Sulpher crested cockatoos set you back a paltry 40.00 at most shops and a Macaw or grey would be somewhere around 2500.00. After moving back to the US and having two small children we decided to hold off on acquiring any feathered friends until we had more time to spare. Well just two weeks ago our grey found us. We had just traveled an hour north to Tampa to pick up a new bed, and had been visiting puppy stores to no avail. We noticed a bird store in the same complex and went over, just to look around. Upon walking in I noted that the owner had a scarlet, a female eckie and a grey sitting on a dragonwood play-gym and they were all getting along. All three birds were as well adjusted as I had ever seen, all three willing to step up and be interacted with. This is far removed from the typical parrot in the typical shop as you all may know. Well the grey stood out as being quite engaging and knowing full well their capacity to learn (and be a wonderful feathered friend) my wife and I barely put her down the entire 2 hour visit. It was an easy decision this time, since my wife and I had been considering a new puppy already. This grey chose us, and we made a deposit. This was not quite too weeks ago. Since then my wife and I have tried to visit her (oh yes, our new baby bird is a girl). every other day. Back to that first day: My wife and I looked her over and both concluded she was a she. The owner and resident groomer said boy, then moments later the owner flipped his guess to girl as well. We had her DNA sexed and low and behold we were correct. * For us it was the size/shape of the head and less "anxious" demeanor when compared to her rambunctious cage mate (another grey). That week we named her Lilly Grey. We have ordered her cage (6 ft play top), and Monday we were told she is ready to come home this week. She is not quite 4 months old but holding weight and weaned. Each time we visit her, she does something new. She is just starting to make very interesting clicking sounds when she is happy. She will let us scratch her on her head, neck, touch her under the wings gently. My wife discovered that she loves fresh apple, taking tiny bites and licking more than eating it. I have read that greys do enjoy apple juice on occasion. Our family is very excited about the new member, and hope to have her home this Saturday. I realize it will take her some time to adjust. We will see if she likes her cage next to a window looking out the back 3 acres. We plan on getting a play gym for the living room as well, since we want her to feel like part of the family. She also seems to like leather toys with knots, and anything with a bell on it. What are some of the best toys for greys? A few pictures of Lilly: