Cheshire Cat

Thank you for posting this, and I couldn't agree more on some of the points. Most people only see the pretty bird gracing the pet shop window that talks and sits nicely on its perch. People don't see the hard work, determination and sheer devotion you need to have as a bird owner. I've only had my grey about 5 weeks and I know she's a handful, but I love having her with me....and finding bits of nut and feathers everywhere. Haha. Wouldn't be the same without it now.

My dad made a home made perch for my Tui and it was quite simply made from a normal bird house on a stand. He removed the bird house and inserted a perch across the stand. My dad has always been very handy when it comes to making things. The only sad thing about it is that when Tui goes on her perch, she bites at it and it's a shame seeing as my dad did a wonderful job of making it. I'm sure she'll appreciate it soon. Bless her.

Well, I came here about three months ago if I recall stating I was looking into a Grey. I finally got mine about 5 weeks ago. I know I haven't been around but I've been pretty busy so I haven't had chance to come on many forums. Onto the interesting part! For now, until I can have my bird tested, I'm assuming she's a female. I have a feeling she is anyway; don't ask me why. Something about her screams 'girl'. After watching hundreds of Grey videos on YouTube and falling in love with Tui who was owned by Andrew (kskiwi on the Internet) I named my bird Tui in memory of her. I loved the name and think it fits SO well for a bird. My mom also pushed me towards calling her Tui, aswell. I'm not sure exactly how old she is. The guy in the pet shop gave us a rough estimate of about four months, but personally I think she's older than that. Her eyes are a paler grey than they should be for a bird of that age. But I'm extremely happy with her and she's fitting in well. At the moment she does have a soft spot for my fiancee I must say and starts twittering away when he comes into the room. With me she's a little more cautious but recently has started showing a little more affection. Especially the other night when she was sleepy and was pushing herself to my fingers and licking my fingers. She's absolutely beautiful.

I love the Cheshire Cat; he's one of my ultimate favourite characters. I'm literally obsessed with the guy and even have a tattoo of him. Hehe.

I will definitely tell my sister about this place; I'm sure she'd love it. Her Amazon is named Billy and he's a beautiful bird. Sadly though she had him from someone who never bothered with him much so she can't actually handle him. She opens his cage and lets him come out and sit on top of the cage, but she can't stroke or handle him which is such a shame. I don't understand why people have animals and never get them out. That's what it's all about - having fun with them and caring for them. I also own gerbils and rats and the first thing I do when I get them home is begin handling them so they get to know me. I'm getting my cage tomorrow WOO-HOO!! And then next will be accessories. I was looking at them the other day and pricing everything up.

Thank you so much for the welcomes. It means a lot. I've actually got a couple of friends on Facebook who also own greys and whilst one was saying more about the cleaning, the other said how much she adores her grey. I'm really looking forward to it. And I thought it'd be wise to join a community first to see firsthand experiences of keeping them as pets. I was also blown away by the Alex and Griffin studies by Dr. Pepperberg; I watched one video with my mom and she wound up crying over poor Alex. I know it's a huge commitment, almost like having a child, but I'm prepared for it. The thing I'm excited about the most is the bond and making a new friend.

Hey, guys. It's wonderful to be here. I joined because I'm hoping to be getting an African Grey very soon. I've been reading up a lot on them recently; have a book, have read websites and I even work with someone who once had one so she's been giving me lots of tips. It's strange how I got here. I found the site from Andrew's page who owned Tui and I was extremely sad to hear what happened. I've been a constant viewer of Grey videos on YouTube recently to find out more about these beautiful and clever birds. My sister is letting me have her parrot cage as she owns an Orange Winged Amazon parrot and brought a new cage. My next mission is beginning to buy toys, food and all the necessities....and finally, the bird which I'm VERY excited about! I know of a place that sells hand reared Greys and they're always very friendly birds and last time I went in, it was so hard to pull myself away.