munch

Interesting. I do something similar to what you do but I suppose it;s the lazy version of what you do, I use the nut cracker to start it but let her finish cracking it- Whatever part of the shell gets cracked and falls open is good enough for me! I do the same with all other hard shelled nuts that don't have a way in.

Thanks everyone! It was a great experience for all! Took is only 8 months, we were worried about leaving her but she was okay. Normally, Took is not too fond of females and would bite my mom or go into attack position. What a relief! I also loved that my mom read the captions just to have Took her someone's voice!

Finally got away on a vacation, my hub and I were gone for a week and half. My mom watched Took. 1- Took is so affectionate now when I get home from work. She snuggles up to me and I swear she is sayning "I love you" in parrotese-English since she doesn';t speak English yet but it has the correct syllables and rhythm, the appropriate brief pauses and somehwat similar sound of the words. 2-Took grew into monster size! She bulked up! Not fat- she got taller, filled out, and looks so much healthier! What was my mom's secret? Mom was told that Took must have veggies and a bowl of harrison's in the morning while Mom goes to work. She can have table food that is not fatty or salty in moderate amounts. Sooooo Mom gave her veggies and Harrison's in th morning, everyday 1/2 a hard boiled egg with shell for 4pm snack or some fruit, 6pm dinner of meat/chicken and veggies, 8pm snack of almonds and walnuts (sleep at 9). Everything I've read about CAG's say veggie;s are key but my mom's high protien diet and how beautiful Took looked afterwards says protien is key! In the wild, termites and insects are their main diet and those are protien....Perhaps this should be discussed under food! 3- Took doesn;t hate Mom anymore. She doesn't bite her. Took still doesn't go to her but at least the biting stopped. Last thing to mention that happened while we were away is how my mom was the perfect example of the CAG owner, obsessing over her food and her birdie's happiness-- My mom kept Took company by watching tv and staying with. My mom put on the captions and read the tv dialouge to Took so she would have some interaction and wouldn;t be lonely! She read an hour or two of tv captions to Took every night!!

My grey is terrified of getting sprayed. She goes into the shower with me; she hates it but it doesn't carry the same feelings of terror. I've done lots of searches on bathing and here's what I've read that other people do. Choose the least evil: 1- spraying (with water, with aloe vera juice) 2-letting grey go into a bowl of water independently 3- filling a basin in the sink and making a game (this thread was detailed, I believe it is a sticky) 4- showering with your grey on a perch or as with me, on my shoulder 5- putting a perch in the shower and spraying lightly without you showering 6- putting your grey in a smaller cage or outdoor cage and spraying the entire cage (warm weather option) There's more and people who use a particular method can give you more info if you ask

We all agree- the uncle is the problem. And it is plain that the uncle will make his own decisions towards the bird regardless of what is asked. In addition, he is his loud with a plethera of noises). Moving would be ideal but it may not be feasible (my husband and i live with my parents now and we have no hope of moving out anytime soon so i sympathize. greatly.). Is moving to a different part of the house an option? My dad is similar to the uncle so we live in the farthest part of the house from him. You may have to reduce size, bribe or something else but try to get as far away as possible. As for the bird, give Luna as much love as possible. She may be your husband's bird but kiss her little feathery butt until she loves you just as much. Our Tookie was my husband's bird, she loved him and he was nuber one but i still gave her oodles and oodles of love whether she wanted it or not and now guess who is number one?! Ok, not me, still him butI get more attention and more conversation, he just gets the unconditional face rubs. I have to work for them but I get them! So same with Luna, give her tons of love-she may still obsess over the uncle but eventually she'll move past her need for his attention. If I can think of anything else, I'll be back!

I was wondering if anyone could tell me how much fruit to serve my grey. She loves fruit, hates vegetables-- of course balance is the goal but is there a limit? Should i be thinking about her sugars?

Talon- do you cook the noodles or serve them uncooked? Took doesn't seem to like any "hard" foods other than almonds and walnuts. Everything has to be juicy or somewhat softened for her. She is so picky! Yes, I also very worried about leaving her in the cage for a week. My mom can't let her out, she will never get Took back in. Took has never gone more than 1 day without being out of her cage. My mom will clean the cage because parts come out, but poor Took will not be allowed out. I am very worried-- should i ask for advice in another forum?

Took hates the pellets by themselves. And I don't blame her, they are awful (yes, I tasted one!). So i melt peanut butter in water then add some pellets. I give her some nice and warm (her favorite) the rest I put in the fridge. I usually make two day worth of serving and then repeat the process. sometimes I'll add just a couple pieces of fruit to the concoction. Another weird way I give her pellets is I crush them and add them into eggs. she loves eggs so now they come in a Harrison's scrambled eggs or her true favorite- hard boiled egg yolk, crushed harrison's, some water to get the flavors mixed and depending on if i added too much water, a quick "cook" in a pan (boil out the extra water). It seems like a lot but the peanut butter thing is very quick. Then in her other bowl i will have her vegie mix (she is so picky with her vegies!! some days she loves one thing,t he next hates it and vice versa! Good vegetables can be expensive, they must be fresh, and hate wasting them- i wish she stop changing her mind so much. It's hard with her ever-changing vegetable preference. i digress!).

Hi all, Going on vacation in two weeks. My mom is coming over and taking care of the dog and bird. The dog loves her, the bird hates her (my mom aggresively sought Took's affection in the beginning instead of letting her adjust first, now Took hates my mom). Looking for some food suggestions for my mom to feed Took. I usually give her fruit and veggies in one bowl and a cooked pellet mash in the other. I don;t think my mom is going to sit there and cook the bird food every night. What are some easy food dishes that I can have my mom feed Took? Thanks!

Took hates water. I tried a whole bunch of different ways but finally found a way to compromise. She sits on my should while I shower and I rub her head and neck. She used to never let the water get through her water proof back, but I found that give her some head scratches and belly scratches while sitting on my shoulder works for both of us. She gets wet and she isn't miserable. She stopped the screeching and stopped hating me afterwards (oooh, there was post shower vengence going on). In fact, now she flaps her wings for me when we are done and expects me to cheer and praise her on-- "nice flapping, lovely wings, you"re so beautiful!" That's our Sunday morning ritual. The other days she will keep me company while I shower and she will watch.

Our bird was already 2 months old and had been passed around between breeder, stores, and been "packaged" and transported across the country until she finally ended up at the bird store where we purchased her. She was untrusting and aggressive. The store regulars had nicknamed her "Medusa, one look from her sent other possible owners running. She didn;t hate my husband as much as others so we decided to give her a home and work on her. Once she came home, it only took a month for her to trust us both and love us both. I'm not the #1 favorite, but she loves me now. In fact, I haven't been playing with the past 2 weeks and yesterday she flew off my husband's shoulder and landed on my chest and immediately started snuggling. She had never done that with me before! I was so touched. And then of course felt guilty for not spending time with her....

Thanks for the advice! A lot makes sense, i hope it works out. I had my neice and nephew over yesterday, 4 and 2 years old. Took's first time around children, she looked like either she wanted to attack them, the competion perhaps, or was only displaying curiosity. Somehow, I think its the former. She tends to be a little aggressive. But I hope it was the latter and she was curious about the children! It was the first we ever saw her try to approach anyone other than us (hub and me).

Great news, I'm pregnant. Bad news- we just got our grey, she's only 7 months old now. We let her fly around the apartment. I've been told she's fine to keep except not to handle the poop. That is just about impossible if we continue to have her freedom. Also nervous when the baby is born about having her fly around the house...especially when she gets closer to her terrible twos. I'm quite concerned about her and we are going to do. My husband is great but he isn't the cleaniest person and he doesn't notice all the poop and birdie things that would need to get cleaned up frequently. We can keep her limited to her cage, but that's just cruel. Anyone or opinions on the cruelty of keeping her cage bound? Is it really as cruel as I imagine? Anyone have experience with pregnancy, newborns, etc and a grey? How about a very young grey? Does it make a difference? Any other diseases or things I should be aware of during this time? other than the one transferred via poop, forgot what it's called.

The only thing that was working for me was Took sitting on my shoulder while I bathed. She was miserable, but she sat there. Until yesterday! She had enough i guess and flew right out of the shower, pushed the curtains open and everything. Now what to do! Good luck with your method! Hope she ends up liking it!

And a happy, safe new year!

Thanks Dave! I never knew, nor does anyone else that I know- they wll be interested in learning about the type of parrot and its history. It's always been such a fascinating sight the first time you see unexpected green parrots in the trees (and yes, on the telephone polls). I've heard they were in NJ as well, didn;t know they were everywhere and there were laws specially tailored to these guys. I still have a lot to learn about birds, parrots, and especially my own. By the way, I really enjoyed you pictures of your dog with the grey in the parrot/dog thread. Especially of the two cuddling cheek to cheek. And thanks for letting those of us know that a 5+ year old grey doesn't go through stages- still can learn, be trained, untrained, etc but no shocking, sudden change in behavior.

I'm making the switch from a seed mix to pellets. I've read everything here and I hear what everyone is saying but my vet, who is also a blue and gold breeder since college, has an avairy, and had one of his macaws since high school (man is close to 60 now) said to switch her to a harrison's diet with veggie/fruit/nut supplements so i trust his word. - Seems general consensus that seed mixes are bad even if some nuts are good -birds in captive fed on seed diet, veggie/fruit/nut diet, and pellet/veggie/fruit diet have been compared. pellet/veggie/fruit diet birds have all done better in health and life span. - my bird doesn't eat all the best veggies, she's picky so i'm going to give her a pellet meal to make sure she gets a more conprehensive diet since harrison claims to be nearly all inclusive (she won't touch a non-crispy leaf and will only carrots if i'm eating them. yams-she doesn't eat) she has 3 bowls: pellets, veggie/fruit/nut, and water now, i've only had my bird for a short while, only 2.5 months, so i don't know what i'm talking about but this is the way we are going to go for now on the vet's advice. to make the pellets tastier for her i have a variety of things to alternate: - mix it with warm water (she likes mushy food) - add a little juice (mushy and a bit tastier) - mix it with eggs, her favorite suprisingly, she doesn't seem to hate it.

My vet told me that as long as the change in temp is not drastic, it can go down to low 50s. Here in Brooklyn we actually have parrots living outdoors year round! No one knows exactly where they came from, assuming a male and female parrot (bright green, about the size or little larger than the Grey) got loose in the warmer months, learned to hunt and forage, built nests, and when winter came along gradually they had adjusted. That happen many years ago because now there are dozens of parrot nest all along this one avenue and numerous bright green parrots surviving and multiplying in our very cold NY winter. Current temp is 36 and windy. And it;s only December.

Did this game get tossed to the side?

These are great! I've had my German Shepard/Pitbull dog, Mr. G, for 9 years, he was rescued from an abusive family. He's the best, so sweet, smart, and lovable (had dogs before, he is overall the best. Although my boxer before him had slightly more empathy). He's also the fattest dog you've ever seen! We've had our Grey, Took now for about 2 months, and she's about 6 months. Doesn;t talk yet but a couple funny stories: 1- the other day I was in the shower, the bird on her tree, and the dog upstairs (it's a mother daughter style, mr g was with my parents upstairs and the connecting door closed at this time so no unsupervised dog/bird contact). ANYWAY- I come ut of the shower and I found Took cozy and resting on the dog's bed! 2-mr g is the first to come to Took's side if she cries out for any reason, ie bath, not sharing my ice-cream, etc. he is very protective of her. 3- I was sharing some chicken with Took and G, Took dropped her piece so naturally G ate it. Took yelled at him and bit him on the nose for stealing her piece of food! G ran away and only came back slowly inching his way back to begging position and kept checking to make sure Took was not going to go after him.

A request for the knowledgable and ambitious! Can someone with experience and knowledge please write up a "Grey's Stages of Life Part II" to follow danmcq's superb Nursery Room "Developmental Stages" please? It would such a useful sticky to add to the Grey Lounge! My Took is only 6 months, but I'm so intrigued to hear from a knowledgable individual's personal experience about what comes after the 4th and 5th year....We have hopefully 70 or 80 years to go! What happens in their teen-age years, do they rebel, dress in black, and listen to metal? Early adulthood involve trying to find a career and trying to go broke? Any mid-life crisis with a shiney new sports car or facelift? Please tell us what to expect with personal anecdotes and real life testimony! Of course every Grey has a different personality and what is said is not the rules in stone but it is so wonderfully helpful, informative and fun to hear about what we can all expect. Reading it on a forum as opposed to a book allows for feedback from others, which I love reading! Often has me laughing...So if anyone feels up to it, many of us would love to read it!

That is one of the best stories I've ever heard! I can't for Took to start talking- he's a little meanie so I already know I'm going to hear a lot of attitude from him!

Chicken bones seem to be ok as indicated in other threads but I can;t find any mention of meat bones. Last night we had stew, I was enjoying a tasty bone and Took joined me with a mini sized bone. He loved the marrow! I wouldn;t do it again unless I know if he should or should notbe eating it. The stew has many more tasy bones...what to do, what to do.

Thank you especially to Crossfit for helping me enage Took. I made a toy made of cut of straws and Cheerios. Nothing imposing or spectacular (although you'd never know by how proud I am of it ). I had Took sit on my shoulder while doing it to pique his interest. I hung it in his cage, he stayed with me for another 15 minutes then we all went to sleep. I woke up after him today (saturday; weekdays I wake up first) and was so delighted that the toys was chewed up! All the Cheerios off and he still is enjoying the left over straws! Dare I add cardboard next time? Pieces of lettuce? Maybe on of the toy kebab pieces (some shredded, repacked wood thing) that he hasn't touched ever? I have a new hobby!

I would second guess using a key as part of a toy; wouldn't want my bird to think that keys are toys and make a habit out of it. If the key in his cage/playstand is his toy, who's to tell your birdie that you car, house, or work keys aren;t. I dunno...Do birds think like that?