BenzMama

What a handsome little boy ~ and the affection is already apparent from your pics. May he fill your home with joy for decades to come.

Quite the little lady! Our Sullivan is very proficient with a spoon as long as there's a dab of peanut butter on it. Actually, we've taught our fids to take food from a spoon. That's just in case they ever need meds. Fortunately, Toby is the only one who has had to be dosed (possible early infection, detected shortly after he joined our flock) and 45 days worth would have been tough had we not immediately gotten him used to a spoon.

Oh, that looks familiar! Too cute ~

Go, Murphy! Many Greys really enjoy a good, strong beat.

Our flock bedtime is @ 9:00 ... but they are all back awake to greet hubby when he comes home from work around 10:30 each night. They know he will be stopping at every cage (yes, all 9) for a quick word & a few rubs. We do provide a night light for the Greys to avoid possible stress if they hear any odd noises. As it's getting light out earlier, they are starting to crank up around 7:00 each morning. They also have nap/quiet time around 1:00 - 3:00 daily. This seems to be sufficient as all are very healthy & happy, no displayed irritability from lack of sleep ~ unlike hubby some days. Have you had her thoroughly checked by a good avian vet?

In the order of joining our flock ~ Bella ~ Green Quaker, around 10 (?) Fred & Wilma ~ Peachface Lovebirds, around 7 (?) Kermit ~ Peachface Lovebird, 3+ yrs old, baby of Fred & Wilma Hope, Raven, Phoenix ~ 2 Lutinos & 1 Olive Lovebirds, almost 2 yrs old, babies of Fred & Wilma (the last clutch we're allowing them to have!) Sullivan ~ Lilac Crested Amazon, 46+ Jewel/Sweetie Pie ~ CAG, 4 on May 5th Toby ~ CAG, around 20 (?) Dorian ~ CAG, early teens (?) All but the Lovie offspring were rescued/rehomed from very less than desirable situations: "Too loud" (Bella ~ Quaker) so ignored then discarded; kept sequestered in a closed room w/minimal contact due to preferred cats (Fred & Wilma ~ Lovies); "Old mean grouch" (Sullivan ~ Amazon) who was constantly having things flapped at him by hateful wife; neurotic plucker (Sweetie Pie) due to autistic son, loved but relinquished for a better home; "He loves my wife TOO much" (Toby) so new hubby stayed & bird kicked out; chest plucking began so he was deemed less than perfect (Dorian) & verbally berated then ignored then finally relinquished. They have all thrived & flourished in our home. Ok, so I have begun speaking in repetitive phrases most of the time ... but my diet has greatly improved since cooking/serving healthy variety for the fids. And the joy they provide is priceless! We don't consider it work at all.

Relax! You are amongst kindred spirits here. Kind of makes me feel sad for those who have never known the joys of our avian family members. Of course there are also those who wouldn't trust these statements as they come from the Mama of 11 'fids' in our home ...

Congrats on adding a CAG to your family! He is a beauty. May he enrich your home to the fullest. When we got our 3rd CAG, it took Dorian 3 mos to come out of his cage. While he wasn't nearly as aggressive as what you describe, he was quick to let us know if we had intruded beyond his comfort zone. Patience! We always spoke softly when coming near & told him exactly what we were doing. While in the room, we would open his door just like we did for the other 2. (On a side note, we always maintained the pecking order by 1st opening Jewel's door as she was in our home 1st, then Toby, then Dorian ... same with feeding, etc.) For over 2 mos, Dorian would simply retreat to the far top rear of his cage while his door was open. He would watch & listen intently. Patience! When he saw evening treats being passed out, he finally began coming closer to his open door. He began to take tidbits from my hand. Progress! Much praise was given & he enjoyed that just as much as he did pistachios. Now after just under 6 mos, he will immediately come out when his door is opened. He still prefers to spend most of his time out sitting on his door ~ but now talking & singing along as I continue to patiently talk & interact with our flock. As for gender preference for your new CAG, I have no words of wisdom. All I know is regarding our 3 & their former primary caregivers ~ 1 where the wife was, 1 where a man was, and 1 where care was shared equally between the husband & wife. Now? As I'm home with them all day, I can get them all to respond to me quicker than my hubby ... like when Toby has to be picked up as he's intently chasing the tail of our little Pom. IMO, it seems to be more of having trust built up rather than just gender preference. Please keep us posted on how things progress!

Such a handsome boy! It sounds like you are off to a great start if he is chatting so freely already.

Welcome! There is a lot of great info in each of the forums + plenty of wonderful members who are happy to help as you educate yourself in the Grey world. Please research as much as you can to be prepared for the new addition & to make the transition easy on you both. Patience is very important, especially for Greys. Keep us posted on your search!

Thank you for opening your heart & home to these Greys. When you ask about putting the 2 of them together, did you mean in the same cage or just the same room? Your current Grey is still making adjustments & getting a 2nd one will also require an adjustment period. They each should have their own cage ~ a place they know is theirs alone for the extra security & stability that provides. You should also maintain a 'pecking order' of having your current Grey first in any interactions should you add the 2nd Grey. She can ~ and likely will ~ feel shunned otherwise. We have 3 Greys + 3 large cages in our living room. Two came to us who were relinquished to a Foundation (both for plucking issues; both fostered prior to adoption) and the 3rd was a private rescue. They are allowed out together & may interact as they so choose ~ with supervision, of course. While in their cages, they enjoy each other's company as they watch cartoons & share flock calls.

What a wonderful homecoming for you both! May the transition continue to go smoothly. As soon as he settles in well & you both get readjusted to new routines, things will hopefully improve with his plucking. We look forward to hearing of your adventures with Greyson.

What a precious baby your Jax looks to be! Please feel free to share all the adventures with you, Ross & Jax. This place is a wealth of info & you'll find lots of help from the stickied threads + members' input.

He is a very handsome boy! May his presence help to fill the void left by your Mum's passing as you & Gizmo journey on together. I'm sure that remembering you has & will continue to ease his transition into his new home. We look forward to hearing lots about how things progress for you both ~

Welcome! You've come to a great place full of wonderful members who are eager to help & share in this new life-long adventure. The personal experiences give a more realistic viewpoint of living your life as a parront. Be sure to get all the health records for your new baby + locate an avian vet with a good reputation. Your possible name of Simon really jumped out at me! Guess it's my inner child having fond memories of playing 'Simon says' so long ago.

What a handsome boy! Thank you for opening up your heart & home to him. May his personality fill your life with love & happiness for many, many years. Already sounds like y'all are on your way to that! And a harness is definitely the way to go for quality outdoor time.

Glad to hear she likes the rice & chicken! Progress! As she's obviously been used to just seeds/pellets, you may need to expand the variety with adding textures to bridge the gap between hard & soft offerings. You can also try raw & cooked (sweet potatoes & broccoli immediately come to mind) to see which she may prefer. Trial & error. We've also included chunkier toddler baby food for our son to serve in addition to seeds/pellets while we've gone on vacation. They'd be offered that before he went to work & then share in his cooked supper. Ben can't cook for them twice a day like Mama does ...

Sullivan is a 46-yr old lilac crested Zon who has chosen hubby as his human. He also LOVES a good shower!

He's my BEST half! We also have 6 Lovies. Never, never a dull moment ... but so much joy & laughter abound.

Welcome! So glad to hear you have room in your heart to add a grey & wise enough to research. Expect your life to be enriched!

Talon, we've not had him his whole life ... but have seen tremendous progress since he joined our flock several years ago.

Without knowing your particular situation, the only thing I can suggest at this time is to maintain the 'pecking order' of who was there first. When we rescued another CAG then the same evening were asked to foster another, we took our CAG Jewel's feelings into great consideration. She had, after all, been a member of our flock for almost 2 years. When our CAGs are fed, it's Jewel first then Dorian then Toby. Same with greeting them each morning & telling them goodnight at bedtime. Out of cage time has Jewel's door opened first, then on to Dorian & Toby. They are such intuitive little souls & don't miss anything. They can ~ and usually will ~ show upset if they think they are being shunned in the slightest in favor of a new flock member. Just be vigilant to give extra assurances to your current Grey that s/he is still a very important flock member.

We rescued a 45-yr old Amazon from a very bad situation. His 'diet' in his former home was french fries, steak, peanut butter & a few pellets which he didn't eat. (The wife said 1 TBL of pellets would last him 3 months!) We began his 1st day offering Sullivan a variety of fresh/cooked foods. The old man didn't at first know what to make of them! He would also immediately wipe his beak as if to remove any trace of this 'foreign' stuff. We just kept offering. In no time, he discovered the variety really was "tasty" after we'd invite him to "try some?" as that's what we always told him at feeding time. Now? He is willing to try anything. And our 3 greys? What each may relish 1 day is flung out of the bowl ~ or off of my plate! ~ the next time. I simply keep the variety coming & try to offer many different textures. As they also watch VERY closely, you may want to 'taste' (real or pretend) to try it yourself & make a very big deal over how good it is. Just consider it like the servants royalty had taste their food first in days of yore to make sure it wasn't poison. Yep ... it is very much just like that!

What a handsome boy! May he thrive & flourish under your care. And thanks for the tutorial on the play stand. We keep spools of natural twine on hand to help with grip on things like that + stringing toys.

Welcome! Certainly sounds like you have truly enriched your life & home. Pics are always appreciated!