JeffNOK

aw64 the lamp is a full spectrum light, but I don't know a lot about it. My mother got it years ago because she has vision problems and it helped her read. I will try to find out more about it.

This is a video of a typical conversation between Gracie and I. I filmed it on zoom from about 15 feet away, so she may not be very very clear, but I think you can get the gist. You will notice that she asks about seeing "Mommy" and "Marie". She sees them regularly and asks about them, She also does a great sneeze. Her first sneeze is a perfect imitation of me. the second sneeze is a fake imitated sneeze. She also asks frequently if "Daddy go bye bye in car." She hates when I go.

I don't have any personal experience with this, but this forum has several threads concerning feather picking, so I would start there. Good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks for joining us. Patience and a calm loving environment are the best training tools for now. As trust builds other kinds of training will follow.

Welcome! Love the pics. Glad you are here and we look forward to hearing how Kizzy develops.

Yay! Glad you decided on the name Greycie! I'm partial : ) It's a sweet happy name, don't you think? I'm so glad things are going well so far. It can be a wild ride, but I guarantee it will just get better!

Gracie does NOT cuddle! She fits the stereotype to perfection. She never even allowed scritches as a little black-eyed baby. Having said that. she shows her love in so many ways that I don't feel deprived. The other day when I came home Gracie said "Daddy's Home. I love daddy. Gracie happy". That warmed my heart as much as any cuddle.

Lol Gracie does the same thing. They never let us rest. She actually said her first words "Step Up" when she was tired of me being a lazy bum and napping. They are really something aren't they?

Gracie is still molting out feathers and I notice she is pretty itchy on her neck and head. Well, since she can't quite get to the feathers on the top of her head, she has devised an ingenious way of scratching there. She was in her cage today and I noticed her playing violently with one of her toys that has all kinds of little appendages. I thought she was just playing until I watched her more carefully. She would strike the toy so that it would swing out wide like a pendulum. Then she would turn her head and position it in a way as to let the toy bounce several times of the top of her head. When the toy settled and stopped she would do it again. She wasn't playing so much as using the toy as a head scratcher. I was quite impressed. This seems to qualify as tool use to me. What do you think?

Oh I agree==I don't kiss her with my lips--i use my nose like suggested and just make a kissing sound--but my lips are just a couple of inches south and she goes for them. I would never want to harm Gracie in any way.

Please don't lose hope and become discouraged. As you said, he got much better for a time. This is a set-back, but if he got better before he can do it again. I know it can be heartbreaking--hopefully things will improve again.

A few weeks ago I started a thread about Gracie starting to regurgitate sometimes when I am close to her. About the same time, she started to nip at me when I leaned down to give her a beak kiss. I don't know if this is related, or if she is just being ornery. When I first got Gracie, she did nip me occassionally when she didn't want to step up. That stopped completely, and she never bites or uses her beak in that way anymore. Now she only seems to nip at my lips. She never bites down or hurts me--but she reaches out and quickly but gently grazes my skin--she does that to my cheek too--never hands or fingers. When I read luvparrots' post about Sterling Gris and Ana Grey beaking each other, it reminded me of this new behavior of Gracie's. Do you think this is what she is doing? Might it be related to the regurg thing? Now whenever I kiss Gracie I always say "no bite" first, and she usually doesn't though she looks like she really wants to and sometimes can't resist.

Elephants are just fascinating. I could watch them forever.

Budgies are wonderful. Very underrated in my opinion. I don't know the dynamic of two rather than a single bird. Perhaps others can share regarding that. It can be difficult to find hand fed ones in some areas though. I had a budgie as a child and he (she?) was fine with a busy home with kids and noise. I don't think he was hand fed, but with regular handling he was great with everyone.

I was advised that one or two toys is a good beginning. Everything is new and too much too soon can be stressful.

My heart really goes out to you (Bms). When I got my grey I was very inexperienced with parrots and knew that for me I needed to start with a young bird. I didn't feel equipped to best serve the needs of a rehome. I also very much desired a bond and connection with my grey and knew my odds were best with a baby that didn't have fears, established preferences, or outright dislikes. If I had longed for a grey and then adopted an older rehome that didn't like me, I would have been really discouraged. You are not a bad person or in any way irresponsible to consider returning the bird and starting again with a baby. You have only had him a short while and he may be better off somewhere else. This is a personl decision. Now that I have had my grey for a little over a year, I think I would be open to a rehome that might have some baggage. I have more confidence and knowledge about greys that would help me in that endeavor. Search your heart and make the best decision you can for yourself. I wish you the best and keep us posted.

LOL--Gracie loves that phrase too and uses it often and appropriately.

All those choices are good. Isn't Dimitri a boy's name though-?(-not that this will matter to your bird). I have a CAG named Gracie, and I had no idea it was common. I wasn't thinking about the "Grey" in Gracie. I just liked the name. Common or not I'm the only person I know in my everyday life with a grey, so everyone thinks I am clever and original. I won't spoil that by telling them any different.

Welcome! I was 44 when I brought my grey home last year. I didn't feel prepared either, but I learned so much here and got answers and support when I needed it. My CAG and I are still alive and well and very happy. You will do fine and we are all here for you and each other.

Lol Dayo is a little mischief maker. Gracie also hates when I leave the room. When I am out of sight, Gracie will contact call for a bit. Then, I hear her announce "Gracie dump food bowl!". If I don't get back quickly enough, I then hear, "Ah ah ah...no no no---CRASH!" I come rushing back to discover the bowl flung to the floor with food all over the place. Then Gracie eyes me and says: "Gracie is a stinker."

This is so true about greys "expanding their territory". Gracie used to be quite content on her cage or play stand. Now she is getting into everything. She decided to shred the wicker and wood off of a mirror on the far side of the room. She spent days working on that "project". I didn't mind because it's an old mirror, but now she is bored with that and is casting her gaze upon other things I am less inclined to part with. She is almost 19 months old and is so full of herself. It's like she takes great pleasure in doing exactly what I don't want her to do. She is so darn cute though--bless her.

Your TAG seems to be settling in. Does he come out of his cage? Any toys yet?

Sounds like things are going well. Very happy for you!

Congratulations! This is an exciting time.

Just so sad. My thoughts are with you. I'm truly sorry this happened.