Shades Of Grey

I feel better about things now I know in my heart that things will take time and there is no quick fix for an insecure grey. Everyone here is great and I am glad that I am doing the right thing with Tui. I need to come post more often now that I have a bit more time to be online. Tui made me laugh today. Ziggy, our conure, was chirping loudly because it was "in cage" time while I was busy upstairs. Tui kept telling Ziggy "Quiet Ziggy" in my husband's voice. My husband told Ziggy to be quiet yesterday as we were walking out the door and Tui picked up on it. It was so cute. Thanks again

Thanks again for the help. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting him to accept perches I have placed throughout the house. He still acts fearful of all of them and I really need a have a place to put him so he can join the family more often instead of staying on his cage. I would like to involve him more in our day to day lives but I cant do it if he wont try to accept new areas to perch on. Is it ever alright to try to place him on the perch if he is afraid and just make him try it or would that not be appropriate for a timid grey? I could probably tip my hand and make him to step down but I don't know if that is a good idea. Maybe he just needs to take the plunge and get used to it but i read somewhere never to force a grey into a situation he is not comfortable with. Time and patience seem to be the popular, though less favorable, answer LOL

Thanks for your reply . Just to clarify, It is when Tui flutters to get to me that I pick him up then he hangs on for dear life and bites when I try to put him back down. He also climbs down his cage and walks to get to me where ever I may be. Of course, I pick him up a lot too when he is behaving well, for some quality time. I love being with him but I just can't hold him all the time. He needs to be willing to perch somewhere other than me. I have tried treats and favorite toys as enticements but he just acts afraid or unwilling to try standing anywhere except his cage, where he flutters and begs to be picked up..hum

Hello everyone, I haven't had time to come online much lately, but I do stop in from time to time to read everyone's posts. Tui is doing well and he is adjusting to our home. I am trying to be the best grey owner I can be by having patience with him, keeping him busy, and showing lots of love. There are still some "problem areas" perhaps because I don't fully understand his behavior. I thought I would bring my concerns here for you experienced grey parronts. I only ask that you don't lecture, just inform me if I am doing something wrong. I am trying so hard to be a good mom to Tui I have the best intentions. After a couple months, I am still having the same issue of getting Tui away from his cage unless he is standing on my hand. He is afraid of every perch or play stand I have presented him with. The same perch and stand have been in his view for a couple months but he avoids them at all costs by flapping his wings and leaning away even if I just walk by these areas. The perch is a cotton bungee, the same kind that he is comfortable with in his cage. We even attached the bungee to his cage and he stood on it a bit, but as soon as I hang it anywhere, it becomes an enemy. It is located at his favorite window right now. He loves to look out this window but only if I am holding him. The problem is that he wants to be held ALL DAY and he is only happy if he is perched on my hand or on the back of my recliner where he continues to tear holes into it the second I stop paying attention to him. These are my only two options. He would be happy if I carried him around all day, he is not settled with any other option I give him. He is still partially clipped and he now climbs down his cage and up to my chair several times a day whenever he is out. I want to be with him but I just can't do it 24/7 especially when he refuses to leave my hand. I have college work to do (older college student/stay at home mom) and a family to take care of, these things don't happen with a parrot on my hand lol. I would love to have him on a stand near me but he is not allowing this to happen. I am also wondering if it is normal for him to still be panting and making sexy wings whenever I hold him. I have not been able to hold him once without this happening. It is obvious he has chosen me as a mate and he bites my husband if he tries to put him back on the cage when I am not around. Tui is only three and he really loves his mommy lol but I wonder if he will always do this. We don't encourage it and if he gets too flustered, I turn my attention away. Any thoughts on this. I know this will fall into place with time and patience but at the moment it seems frustrating and overwhelming at times. I know he is not trying to be difficult but I feel like I just don't know what to do with him sometimes. I want Tui to be happy and a part of our family but I can't live my life with a parrot attached to my finger lol. He has quite an attitude and has even bitten me because I tried to put him down or didn't pay attention like he thought I should. Any thoughts or advice on any of this Thanks in advance

Oh my goodness, that scared me a bit when I first read your post! I would be devastated if either of my fids passed after that short of a life span. One thing that attracted me to birds was that they tend to live longer than other animals. After suffering the loss of dearly lived pets, it is somewhat comforting to think that with good care my birds will be with me for a long time. I would also be finding out what was injected into your baby...

It must be the season or something because Tui is doing exactly the same thing. I have to watch out if I hand him a toy when he is in a mood. If its something he likes, he will charge at my hand to attack the toy!

I am happy to report that Tui's botched clip is starting to grow back in already. I am so relieved! Two flights have grown so far and he is molting. I may have a flighted fid on my hands in a couple months. I bet these new feathers will be so pretty. I have been feeding him palm oil and a good diet. He looks kind of "dull" right now. I will be glad when I can do away with all these pillows and the big duvet around his cage in my living room, how attractive LOL. It has caught a couple of his falls though. Anyway, I believe Dave mentioned that there are ways to bird proof a room for a flighted grey even if the front door is in his room. Tui is located in the living room in the far corner. The front door is in the opposite corner of the room but the room is only about 16X22' give or take. Do you have any suggestions for leaving him flighted in this room. We have children who need to be reminded about coming in and out quickly when the animals are out. Tui really likes the front door and will ask to go there to look out and climb the curtain and he takes an interest when the door is opened. I wish there was somewhere else to place his cage but our home is fairly small. We hope to move soon, when I am done college. Thanks for the tips:)

LOL, agreed. I will just give him some space when he does that. Glad to know my baby likes me Thanks to everyone!

I posted yesterday that Tui is warming up to me . Apparently he's an easy catch because after a couple pets on the head, he has decided he is in love. While I think he is a gorgeous looking creature, unfortunately he's not quite my type LOL . It started last night when he was rubbing his head all over my chair and asking for a scratch. He put his head down so far that he was almost lying on his back. It was cute. I pet his head by his cere and he kept grabbing my finger with his foot. He was moving his mouth like he was tasting something and started making weird sounds. At first I thought he was scared or choking or something.. :rolleyes: When he dropped his wings and did the "sexy wing" I knew he was in love. At this time he was not interested in returning to his cage. I walked away for a minute then tried again to step him up. He bit the perch and tried to go for my hand. We did manage to get him back to the cage but at that moment he wasn't feeling cooperative. I am just wondering if I handled the situation right by walking away and what should I be doing in that moment when he gets like that. Should I be extra cautious of being bitten when he is acting hormonal, what is typical? I know about only petting him only on the head and making sure he gets 12 hours of sleep. I would hate to think that I need to stop petting him as he just started letting me do it. He is a 3 year old male who is probably just starting to become hormonal. Part of me wonders if that is why the previous owner rehomed him :confused: Its funny that she developed allergies after two years with him, I just wonder. Any advice on how you handle the hormones would be most helpful

Wow, what an idiot! The nerve of some people! At first I thought there was an offer for a free cup of some nice hot cocoa....yum cocoa LOL

oh actually, I meant that the family took a walk but we didn't take Tui I would love to take him out but I don't think I could ever get a harness on him. We have a travel cage but he's not a fan of it yet since the last time he was in it was when we went to the vet LOL.

I am so happy with Tui lately. He is really warming up to me, but not my husband yet. My husband isn't interacting with him as much so Tui wil bond with me first. I would be heart broken if he picked my husband over me LOL. We started bonding more a few days ago when I was cleaning his cage at bedtime. He started making kissing noises to the cloth and trying to bite it. We played tug of war then he made kissing noises to me and leaned forward. I took a deep breath and leaned in for a kiss, wondering the whole time if I was going to make it with my lips intact LOL. He gave a nice kiss several times with no signs of aggression . Since then, every night he has been giving kisses and even asking for an occasional scritch through the bars. Today Tui asked for a kiss while he was out of his cage. It was a big step because the bars weren't there for security..any my safety . I gave him kisses again with no problems. Later, he was out on my recliner, trying to tear it apart, the little devil LOL. He started rubbing his head all over it and bending down for a scritch. I brought my hand close and watched his reaction. He brought his head right over and gently beaked my hand. I gave him his first real pet, it was heartwarming..and just a touch scary as I am just starting to get used to reading his body language. Since I pet him, he has been making kissing noises and saying "where's my kisses?" and "scratch?". It's so sweet. I know he is going to be the biggest suck, I am just delighted! I have some adjusting to do, but in a good way. Before he wanted to be on his cage but now he wants to be with me and asks to step a lot. I carry him to the window where he tries to climb the curtains which is fine. We sit on the couch a bit but he doesn't seem comfortable there for long. I am not sure what to do with him when he is with me as he won't go to any type of perches away from his cage. when I try to put him back on his cage top he runs up my shoulder or refuses to step down. At least he likes me LOL. He is out all day long when we are home so its not like he is going to be locked up or anything. He is still timid of our home except the living room. I have a PVC gym but he is scared of that too. I have a big cotton boing on order that should be here soon. He likes cotton perches so I am crossing my fingers on that one. In the mean time, I am not sure what to do with him when he is away form the cage. He either seems bored, scared or unimpressed with my efforts, confusing fid LOL. We took a walk today and found a nice maple tree branch that we are going to fashion into a simple gym for the living room. I will be glad when he settles in a bit more and I can take him around the house. I bought a large basket as a portable perch. He looks at it by his cage but that is as far as we have got. Patience, patience...:rolleyes: Anyway, I just wanted to share our breakthrough!

Thank you for giving your grey a great home I also adopted a three year old grey three weeks ago. He also went though a quiet phase for a couple days. We started noticing him talking when we would leave the room. He would call for his flock when he couldn't see us. After a few more days he started talking when we were in the room. There's never a quiet moment anymore LOL. I wouldn't worry too much about her not eating unless it continues after a few days. Jayd gave some great advice Just let her be and settle in. Try not to change anything. You could maybe contact the previous owner and find out what her basic routine was. If you can stick to that it will help her settle in as well. Over time she will adjust to your home and routine. Keep us posted on how she is doing!

I worry about this to some extent as well. We live in a townhouse and Tui's cage is right at the wall to our neighbors home. Thankfully there is cement between the walls but sound does travel when its loud enough. Tui has started knocking on the wall and saying "who's there". While, this is hilarious, I am sure the neighbors are wondering who is always hammering at the wall LOL. He also has bouts of really loud screaming that we are trying to ignore. I really hope we don't get any complaints! When you move, look for a place with cement in the walls if possible, it really does help with the noise. It has to be pretty loud to hear sounds from next door unless they are pounding on the wall or shouting.

I came across this series of youtube videos that I wanted to share. It's a lecture on psittacine body language by someone I vaguely know from another bird forum. She runs a "rescue" and I trust her opinions. The lecture is directed more for the beginner but I learned a few things as well like the yawn reflex. Anyway, here is the link to the first video in case anyone is interested. You can find the rest of the parts on the youtube side bar. There are 11 parts altogether.

I wish I could get Tui into a harness but with him being 3 and set in his ways, do you think there is hope for him? He doesn't really like being touched a lot so I am thinking its a no go LOL. I just wanted to mention another type of harness. Ziggy has one made by Avian Fashions. It's more of a soft stretchy body suit with a leash. I like it because it works like a diaper so I don't get pooped on in public I am not sure how practical that type of suit would be for a grey though.

Same here. It was just the other day when our oven "blew up". The bottom element caught on fire but we dealt with it without much smoke. I PANICKED because there was no way I was going to get both fids out when Tui was hiding in his big heavy cage and Ziggy was on the curtain rod. We got the travel cages all ready and stored them in the front closet right by the door. If there is an emergency, we can put them both in their cages and get out quickly. I would probably get bit all to heck but they would be safe. Having a travel cage ready and at hand is a good idea

Sorry to hear you didn't get your money's worth for your java tree I bet they will give you the excuse that there are natural variations in the trees and not every gym will be exactly the same. I hope you get it all sorted out. Thanks so much dave for your gym pictures. I have a PVC gym that Tui wants to no part of. I showed your pictures to my husband in the hopes that he will try his hand at making a gym like yours. Finding the dead wood is the challenge here in the city as they tend to clean up any branches. Here is a great site of bird safe trees in case anyone is interested http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml

I need to get a more powerful vacuum. I have been using a broom and water/vinegar mix for the floors. We ripped out all the carpet and tiled the floor just before Tui came but we still have an area rug. Getting the heavy upright vac out of the closet every day isn't even worth it. I probably sweep 5 times a day on a good day. Messy messy fids LOL.

Awesome, I will include the bulb in my order Thanks for all your help

LOL, no problem What about this bulb? I know a place in Canada where I can order this brand. http://www.avitec.com/AviLux-Full-Spectrum-Compact-Fluorescent-Bulb-p/av.htm

I replied I was glad I got the right one, then I reread your post. I guess its not right..darn. It says full spectrum reptiglo 2.0. I may have to order the right one.

I mentioned that I was going to shop for a full spectrum bulb today. I managed to find one in the reptile section but I am not sure if its alright. The only full spectrum bulb petsmart had was by reptiglow. The sales person said I could take it back if it wasn't right. Here are the specs of the bulb: color rendering index of 98 (cri) 6700K color temperature Is this bulb an adequate full spectrum light or is the color temp too high? Thanks

Oh, thanks. That's great that the reptisun is a safe bulb even though its for reptiles. I think they may carry that one at my petsmart. Its sad that the lizard section carries more supplies than the bird section.

Thanks, I will take a look. I have a feeling I may have to order one specially. Our Petsmart in Canada doesn't seem to carry all the items the US Petsmart does.