Shades Of Grey

I am heading out in the morning and I want to buy a proper bulb for my lamp that will give Tui some light. It was awfully dark in the corner even with the floor lamp right by his cage. We have no overhead lighting in our living room and it is a problem for us and the fids. Ziggy is by the window so he gets some benefit of natural light. I bought a lamp today for Tui. It is a floor lamp but it also has an adjustable side lamp for reading. I can turn on the overhead light and position the side lamp to shine in his cage. Both sockets take a regular sized bulb. It's honestly the best I can do until we move and I can hook up an overhead florescent ballast. I have florescent "daylight" bulbs in both sockets. He really seemed to like the light today and played with his toys more than usual. I read through the whole sticky thread on lighting and the best advice is to make a ballast which I plan to do when I can. I am wondering what the best "regular sized" bulb would be for now. I am going to check walmart and petsmart. What should I be looking for in a bulb? I am also wondering if I should leave the lamp on a full 12 hours now that it is getting dark earlier in the day. Should I be turning off the light when the sun goes down or wait until 12 hours is up. Thanks for the help

LOL. hilarious!

I was going to post the very same thing but I doubted my own advice since I am new to greys. Good to know that I actually know something about grey behavior LOL. I always look at where Tui's eyes are when he puts his head down for a scratch. If he is looking up then he is bluffing me, little stinker

You are a great grey parront I can relate to this too. I have only had my Tui for a short time and I still can't believe I own a grey. I have wanted one for so many years. It still feels pretty overwhelming, but in a good way. There have been a lot of ups and downs these past couple weeks. Like today, my son played with a loud toy Tui had never heard. He got scared and flew/fell with style, off the cage. Since then he has been hiding in his cage and won't come out. One step forward, two steps back ..sigh. I also plastered Facebook with pics and a video of Tui. I only got one comment and it was from my husband LOL. I don't know any other bird people and I feel like a nut sometimes. I love coming here so I can be nuts will all of you great fid owners

My name is Amanda. I am 29. My family

I can relate to this! I have been nipped at by Tui but I call it a bluff because he is just letting me know he is not liking something, although I have only had him for a couple weeks. Thankfully there wasn't any pressure with the nips. I have been bit by my green cheek a few times..ouch! Ziggy is a sweet bird but he likes to nip and play fight a lot. I am used to the play nipping but a couple times he got me good. Both incidents were because of our small dog. Ziggy is not a fan of the dog to say the least LOL. I had Ziggy on my hand and the dog came up to investigate. Ziggy didn't like this situation at all and he clamped down on the top of my thumb, just past the knuckle. He bit the same spot twice in a row and drew blood. we had to pry him off. It was bruised for a few days. He actually did this twice and now we know to not have him within eye shot of the dog. I am crossing my fingers that I don't get bit badly from Tui but I imagine its bound to happen sooner or later.

so cute and so true LOL

Aww, Timnehs are cute. I think my next grey may be a Timneh. My husband doesn't know about the "next one" yet LOL....shhhh

LOL, I have actually mentioned that already, didn't phase them one bit. I guess 8 and 9 year olds aren't thinking long term yet LOL. They are actually pretty well behaved and don't run around the birds. They just like to make their silly, and very annoying, noises. Kids will be kids

I warned my children about making irritating noises around Tui because he would learn them and I would be stuck with hearing the sounds for the rest of my life LOL. Well...being kids, they didn't listen very well. They are both very satisfied with themselves because Tui now knows how to shriek and make a very annoying high pitched giggle and he loves to do it ALL day long. He came to our home making a very loud young girl's scream and this is his favorite sound when he is excited. We are trying not to pay any attention to this one but man, I think I popped an ear drum :eek: He is very much a sound effects bird. He picks up on sounds much quicker than words. My husband taught him the cartoon whistling sound effect when someone falls off a cliff, complete with the bang at the end lol. He sings part of the Andy Griffith tune now too. I just wanted to share Tui's latest noises. Its cute.... in a very annoying way :rolleyes:. Crosses fingers that he will outgrow the sounds he learned from the kids

I am wondering who has the oldest grey here and if anyone knows what age greys are capable of living to? I know the average is about 40-60ish but I bet some have lived far longer. Just a topic to start some conversation

Just an update. Tui had me all worried for nothing, as new fid moms tend to do LOL. The broken tip of his beak fell off last night and there was no blood. It was a clean break and it looks nice and smooth. I phoned the vet and explained this morning. She said he was fine and we didn't have to take him in after all I feel very relieved!

Great, thanks. I also recommend For The Love Of Greys by Bobbi Brinker http://www.parrottalk.com/bbbook.html The book talks more about the emotional side of greys and helps you understand some of their nature and thought processes. It is really interesting

I think that's cute too LOL. I will check into the bird proofing! We had a bit of a breakthrough tonight and it really made my heart melt. Tui let me kiss his beak and rub his head through the cage bars. He was bopping his head up and down and giving kisses. He even sat on my knee on the couch and looked at a new baby toy that made sounds. This is the most we have bonded so far, it was so sweet. He did nip at me when I pushed a button on the toy though, it wasn't bad but he was telling me he wanted to do it himself LOL. Greys will be greys...

Thanks for the help Just to clear it up a bit, I didn't give him any new toys yet. I took two things and put one on the wall-unit and one on the back of the couch so he can look at them from a distance. That is as far as I have gotten so far. I will move slow. I think your right, he seems to like little homemade foot toys better but I am hoping he will take an interest in the ones i bought..eventually. He actually did go on his cage top when we got home today. I think it was nerves form falling but its all good now. As for the clipping, I mentioned before that I really wish I could keep him flighted but he is in our small living room and the door is close to the cage. He was flying into the door and trying to get out when we first got him. My children have been leaving the door open, its a tough situation because I have no where else to put the cage. We didn't plan on adopting a grey until next year but Tui needed a home and my heart went out to him. As soon as we move to a larger home next year, I plan on letting him stay flighted for life

Tui is doing great and has fully recovered from his fall. (I made another thread about his beak.) He is climbing around his cage and eating like normal again. I am so relieved! We have 10 pillows surrounding his cage with a duvet on top of them. I am not going to let him get hurt again, poor baby. I have noticed that he is acting scared of something on his cage top gym now. This was his favorite place to play and he went up there every morning unless I accidentally placed something new up there. He is funny because once he is up there I can give him a new small foot toy like a bottle lid or piece of palm shredder. If I forget and leave it there overnight, he won't go onto his gym until I remove it. For the last two days, he has been acting scared of something on him gym. He will sit on his door and peak at the gym but then he won't go up there. It's like he is seeing something he doesn't like. I even used the ultimate bribe of a peanut, his absolute favorite. I wonder if he is scared because he fell or if there is something out of place or something. I stripped the whole top and just left newspaper and a dish of food but he still won't venture up there. Does your grey show strange fears like this? :confused: I am also wondering what the best way is to introduce new toys and perches. I have a big bag of toys including a $40 coconut foraging toy. He doesn't seem interested in any of it. I have placed toys in the room where he can see them but he is fearful if I bring them any closer. I am dying to make a new PVC gym for him and get him off the darn cage and into other areas of the house. We set up a kitchen chair with toys on it because the previous owner said he liked to perch on a chair in the kitchen. We haven't had any luck with it. I feel bad that he is on his cage 24/7 and now he won't even go on top of it. I am trying to figure this boy out??? I guess time and patience is the key. Any tips? P.S. When can I expect his wings to grow back in? I think he may have just had a molt but I am honestly not sure as we just got him a couple weeks ago. I am thinking I may leave him flighted next time and see how it goes. I just worry about that front door!

I have a conure named Ziggy who's full name is Ziggy Stardust, after the David Bowie song LOL. My grey came with the name Tui (Tooie) but Cheshire also has a grey with that name so I guess it's not that unusual at all

Thanks everyone for the help. I will try that breakfast lambert The problem is that Tui was not raised on any hot fresh foods so it is still a work in progress. I keep trying him with new foods. he seems to be doing a lot better today. He is talking and eating well. I am keeping him in the cage because he is still having problems climbing around. I brought him out to the couch for breakfast today and he ate the grapes from his cooked food. He is also eating a seed mix and apples. Its better than nothing until he can be seen Monday. Yesterday was really upsetting! Thanks again

Here is the best picture I could get. It's not cracked all the way through but you can see the line.

Thanks, I did notice a little drop of blood after the fact. I want him to see a vet NOW to be safe because he is still not eating much. I feel so helpless because there is nothing open until monday except Toronto and I have absolutely no way of getting there.

Really, well that's a relief! I am trying so hard to be a good responsible owner to my adopted baby. I took an oath to give him the best life possible when I offered him my home. The other forum I am a member of (pm if interested in name, I bet some of you know it anyway LOL) is very preachy about getting a bird to a vet at the first sign of even the tiniest problem. I bet I will get chewed out there for not traveling the three hours to Toronto today. So I shouldn't be concerned that it seems to be causing him pain to eat? I assume he will be better by tomorrow then. I am still going to keep that appointment for Monday just in case I don't see an improvement by then. Thanks again.

Just an update, I managed to get an appointment for Monday with the vet. They are not in office this weekend. I will offer soft foods all weekend and have him checked on Monday if he is not eating properly by then.

I was waiting to hear form the avian vet regarding Tui. He fell off his cage during some over excitement from his spray bottle shower. then he started acting funny. He got very quite and stayed in his cage all morning. I have been worried sick that he was ill. I managed to get him away from his cage and near the window to look him over. I noticed a little crack just above the tip of his beak and he is moving his tongue around a lot. Its more like a chip just above the tip. There is no blood or other sign of injury. It doesn't look cracked all the way through. I tried offering his favorite foods like apple and nuts. He will try to grasp the food and take a bite but he lets go and shakes his head. I managed to get him to eat some blueberries and a thin slice of apple. He is pretty quite and wants to stay in his cage. I was waiting to hear from the proper avian vet. My step mom has agreed to drive me to kingston (an hour away) if we could get an appointment as I don't drive.I just heard back that the one avian vet on call is leaving in an hour and we won't make it there on time. They don't offer emergency services either. They would have to refer me to Toronto, 3 hours away. My mom won't drive to toronto even on a good day. I have absolutly no way of getting there. I am pretty worried even though he seems fine other than the fact that he favors his beak. I wonder if he will be sore today then better tomorrow. Have you ever had a bird chip their beak and what happened in regards to treatment and recovery? I am trying to do everything possible. I soaked some pellets to soften them but he is not interested. I also have him some cooked foods and he picked out the fruit, better than nothing. I put a dish of mixed soft fruit and cooked veggies in the cage. I don't know what else to do. Any advice is so appreciated.

I would love some ideas on what I can do with Tui to help build our bond. He is slightly timid of new toys but sometimes he takes an interest in something right away. Since we got him a week and a half ago, he has spent most of his time on his cage top gym talking and watching us, just settling in. I kind of feel bad that I don't spend a lot of time "playing" with him but I talk to him a lot. I just dont want to overwhelm him. We do play tug of war with a cloth sometimes when I am cleaning. I tried it last night and I guess I raised the cloth too high and he became scared, play time was over for him. I have ordered a large boing perch that might take a week to two to arrive. I look forward to getting him off his cage and in another location to play. I have been making foot toys, offering lots of new foods, and sometimes I take him to the window to look out. I am still getting used to handling him because he tends to run up to my shoulder which I don't like. It's a work in progress. Today I am going to try to make a window perch. I will post a picture if it works out What are some things we can do together that won't overwhelm him. Do you actively play with your grey or just talk to him/her? What does a typical day look like in your home for your grey? I am new to greys and I feel like I am not doing enough with him. Thanks for any help

Wow, it always amazes me how smart greys are! I was just talking to my husband about our cage. It is a lock that looks like the kind you slide but it releases with a button and pops back into place when you push the end. I don't know if he can reach the button with his beak or not? It looks like this