Oscars Mom

I am in Toronto and we got both our home cage and travel cage from: http://www.parrotdiseperch.com/parrot/index.php Their website is a bit odd, but the people at the store in Mississauga are wonderful! get on their mailing list, they also have great sales

I am just a bit inquisitive about our Indian Ringneck Parakeet. I had a cockatiel that unfortunately passed away last November, after great research we purchased our Grey in June. Since Oscar, our Grey has been part of the family, Emmy (the ringneck), her tail has grown 3 inches! It is a beautiful blue green colour and she sings all the time now instead of squawking. Is there a direct link to the length of a tail on a parakeet with happiness - as we have had her for about three years and this tail growth is only evident since Oscar's arrival. thanks for any info you can send our way.

had Oscar at work today - he loves Fridays... any how, one of the ladies took a liking to him and gave him some of her gluten free pizza with veggies & beef - Oscar was in heaven! Of course I watched the quantity and exactly what was on that pizza, but he has now found a new best friend.

Our Oscar wasn't a Zupreen pellet fan until just a few weeks ago (he is now 6 months old) - now he nibbles on them in the morning as I am making him breakfast - even though he knows he's going to get fresh veggies! As well, through the day pellets are disappearing! I am thrilled as he can sometime be a finicky eater and I always worry about his nutrition.

That is GREYT -- thanks for sharing, would you mind telling me how long it took for Abby to get used to it?

I use the U-Haul packing newsprint - it is a nice consistant light grey colour and as a new mom, watching the poops has become an important part of my day - the box of 10lbs, with hundreds of sheets is under $10, two sheets per day, and is darn close to the same size as the cage, so just a quick fold over of the edge and voila. Much easier and cleaner than the corn cob I previously used. Thanks for asking

Wow!! that is wonderful -- I personally know the anticipation of waiting for our Grey to get up on a new toy, so tempting and yet.... it seems, for me, to take forever! Glad to see Emma enjoying the new flyer -- beautiful photos, thanks for sharing

I have a couple of questions - I have been going through the forum and appreciate all the wonderful advise found so far - the recipes are great and although I don't cook for my real boys - Oscar is getting some amazing treats. So now my questions: 1. we purchased a beautiful aluminum cage and the sales clerk told us not to put the grate in the bottom of the cage as the bird (any bird) could hurt themselves on the grate - if this is true, why is the grate there? 2. Oscar is currently 17 weeks old - at the moment happy and seemingly content, only gets a bit nasty when he is over tired. I have read that the 10 hour rule for sleeping through the night is pretty important, although he is alone through the day for anywhere between 4 - 6 hours - the rest of the time, including the evenings he is with a minimum of two people, two dogs and an Indian Ringneck - so what I'm trying to say is that his family interaction in the evening is pretty busy.... should we be putting him in another room for a full 10 hours per night sleep or is 8 hours a night fine and then the ability to sleep through the day when he is alone? Thoughts? 3. When it comes to his fruit and veggies, he eats pretty much anything! Which we love, he has pellets in his cage at all times and on his play stand - so my third question is how much is too much? Will a CAG stop eating when he is full as this seems to be the case now - we just want to make sure he is getting proper nutrition. 4. Noises / Talking... right now he makes the cutest little peeping sounds, little chirps, just like a baby. When he eats peas (in the pod) he will sometimes hold the pod in his foot and squawk and squeal - just like I thought a parrot would sound - it is so funny because he is typically shy and reserved. He does what we like to call "practice" talking - but he will only do it in his cage when no one is in the room, or he thinks no one is around, again he sounds like a real parrot. Any thoughts on the noises? Thank you so much for this forum!! I look forward to answers... and by the way, he is fully flighted, is an absolute blast and joy to have in our home!

thank you very much - this is a well written and informative article - although saddened by the fact some people may punish their bird (or any other pet) in the manners listed. We are just thrilled to have found this website, the knowledge is incredible and helpful with our transition of being a Grey Mom & Dad