Ruby

thanks everyone for your input. if we were to change the name we're not doing it right off the bat after getting the bird. i realize it's going through enough as it is.and i would have it dna tested before doing such a thing.but anyway, we're not even thinking about it at the moment. the people we got it from kept changing their story as to why they were getting rid of it. we finally figured out that the owner got a new job where he was traveling a lot and his wife hated the bird from the beginning and made him get rid of it since he wouldn't be at home that much. needless to say he is pretty friendly with my husband but doesn't like me so much because from what the guy said she was pretty mean to him. so right now i'll just be happy if i can handle him without him biting the fire out of my finger

i mean, i dunno, doesn't seem very unisex to me. yeah, i understand he/she's had that name for 8 years and it probably would be difficult to change it to something else, i was just wondering if anyone had ever done something like that.

we're adopting an 8yr old grey from some people that a parrot shelter directed us to. his name is oscar. the thing is, we're almost positive oscar is a girl. has anyone ever adopted a grey and changed its name? would that be completely wrong of us?

ruby knows when she is being scolded too. telling her no usually does the trick. but when it doesn't i don't see anything wrong with putting her in her cage in another room for a time out. it's just like if you sent a child to their room for a time out. i don't think she views her cage as "punishment time"

Ruby went through a stage where she wanted to nip us, and every now and then will get in one of her moods where she'll try and do it again. First i try a firm "No!" not yelling or anything, just a firm no, like you would say to a child or something, to get her attention. then if she keeps on, i will indeed place her in the cage, tell her she's in time out, turn the light off and walk out of the room. then about 10 mins later i come back, get her out, act like nothing happened, and she's usually fine and behaves herself. she definitely now knows what "no" means, and will tell us "no" if we're not letting her get her way sometimes, haha. this method of discipline was recommended by our vet.

my grey is currently going through her first molt. her wings are clipped but she's had one new feather on her wing grow in. it originally looked okay but today it looks like it's kind of hanging and turned backwards. it must hurt really bad because if she bumps it she gets really upset. just wondering what i should do about this or will it just fall out eventually?

love these!

cute pic! we try to shower ours every day.

that was hilarious!

ruby said her first word around 4 or 5mos. she's now 8mos and knows a number of words. her voice is still a little grumbly though. the vet told us it would get clearer as she gets older.

i have been working with her with treats and such with not much luck. i just thought it was funny she said no as soon as she saw me with it.

Me: "come here ruby. wanna try to put on your harness?" Ruby: "No." all i could do was laugh. i wish i could get her to like it. she likes to chew on it and that's about it.

my vet said 2-3 times in the winter and it's okay to bathe them every day in the summer.

ruby does the exact same thing when she wants out. she'll also start whistling at us.

thanks. i did let her chew on it for awhile before we tried. i guess we just started too fast. i got her the feather tether harness but it looks like the aviator harnesses fit better.

so since the weather is nice we decided to get ruby a harness. today we tried putting it on and you would have thought we were killing the bird. i'm really surprised she didn't bite us. we took her outside and all she could do was constantly pick at it. i want to continue to try to put it on her daily to get her used to it. she loves going outside but i'm not gonna take her any further than just on the porch without it on. anyone have tips on how to get a grey used to wearing one?

people told us that ruby would bond to one or the other more. my husband and i have equally spent time with her and i wouldn't say she prefers one over the other. we also socialize her around other people and now she will easily go to new people she meets.

haha yes we mimic ruby all the time at home. it's hard not to bc she makes some really funny sounds. i try not to do it in public as most people already think i'm crazy for having a bird in the first place

thats amazing!

ruby is doing the same thing. she has chewed off her middle tail feathers. i called the vet and she recommended diet changes and decreasing her daylight hours. i'm taking her for a checkup in a few weeks.

i've heard that too. i would be sad if she got that way

how adorable!

ruby will get like that too sometimes. at first usually she will give a warning nip that doesn't hurt. it just means if i don't leave her alone, then she's really gonna bite! after awhile she'll act like nothing happened, and i can pick her up no problem.

what size harness did you get? i'm looking to get my CAG one and am unsure of which size to order