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I don't know if it's okay or not, but it sure is cute.

I cried too as I read it. But I also thought how lucky Grey was to be so well loved, and how lucky you were to love her. Sometimes it helps to measure the success of a life by its quality, not its quantity. Grey lived a full and happy life, even though it was short.

That's Duncan. I love him dearly but I'm not happy with him today because he took a swipe at Oboe.

That picture of Spock made me laugh out loud. Kenya is very sweet. Congratulations on your new baby, even though the dealer outright lied to you.

He sounds like a very enthusiastic diner! Why does his body temp run higher than normal?

So beautiful, and so healthy-looking too. How are you and your family doing?

If you don't mind me asking, how much does a vet check-up cost if there's nothing wrong with the bird?

Kazoo (my Amazon) loves loves LOVES getting sprayed by the spray bottle. However, one of his favourite games is to attack the spray bottle while it's spraying him. He especially likes to do this when he's on top of his cage. In fact, the only time he ever bit me was when my finger was on the trigger, which was surprisingly close to the nozzle. He mistook my finger for the bottle and bit HARD - it drew blood and I have a scar and everything. But he loves that spray bottle with all his heart. As soon as he sees it, he starts laughing out loud and spreading his wings.

Excellent question. Maybe it's not that punishment doesn't work, but that it does more harm than good. It may stop the unwanted behaviour, but damage the essential bond of trust between the Grey and his person. I'm just guessing, though.

Oh, that breaks my heart! I'm so sorry you and your family are losing your beloved Grey.

I've been counting the days and now it's finally starting to feel real. I've got his cage all set up in the living room, kitty-corner from Kazoo's cage. Kazoo and I have watched lots of youtube videos of CAGs lately, and I tell him that's Simon, and Simon is going to move in with us and live in the new cage and be his friend. I feel like I'm preparing a toddler for a new baby brother. Simon will be moving into a smaller cage upstairs for the first month, for quarantine purposes. I wish we didn't have to do that. I wish he could just move into the living room cage right away and become a full-fledged member of the flock right from Day One. Is it absolutely essential to quarantine them?

Me too! Simon's arriving on April 2nd. Just 11 more sleeps. I can't remember the last time I was so excited about something.

Yikes, I didn't know it would be that big!

Here's a picture of Kazoo, me and Oboe, taken this morning. Please note that that is not mold all over my kitchen cabinets; it's just the grunge feature on the camera app.

Kazoo is a 13-year-old double yellow headed Amazon. I've had him/her for four months now. He spent all his life with one family, who finally decided to give him up because they felt he wasn't getting enough attention. They loved him, but he was being increasingly neglected as time went on. The woman was very concerned about finding him a good home, and asked me to stay in touch and give her updates, so I send her an email on the 13th of every month. She also said if I ever decided to give him up, she wanted me to call her first. Anyway. He's a lovely bird. He bit me once by accident, but other than that he's been very gentle. He's taken his time gradually learning to trust me. He's been so nice and easy to have around I decided to add a Grey to the mix. But the day after I put the deposit down on my baby Grey, Kazoo started being not so easy. Whereas before he had always been content in his cage, on his cage, on his playstand or on my shoulder, suddenly he had an urge to explore the house. Closets, furniture, windows, cabinets, everything. He's like a baby who just learned to crawl, only he flies! So he's suddenly requiring a lot more supervision than he used to. And he's destroying things, like my winter coat which was hanging in the closet and which he tore up. And he eats the closet door if I close it. I don't mind that much, but I'm wondering if I bit off more than I could chew when I decided to get a Grey too. The Grey (Simon) will be arriving in a couple of weeks. I think I'm going to have my hands full with two of them! (And the cat, and the lovebird.) Wish me luck!

Excellent, thanks. I'll check that site out.

My lovebird, Oboe, loves birdie bread. I stuff it full of all kinds of treasures: seeds, fruits, veggies, nuts. He likes to dig through it, looking for treats. Kazoo the Amazon hasn't shown any interest in it yet, but he has started eating some fruit and veggies. (He's second-hand - he never ate fruits and veggies for his first 13 years, so I'm pleased that he's at least trying them now.)

Yeah, that's my cat Duncan. He's lost about five pounds since then. He's still pretty big-boned and fluffy, though.

Duncan's quite the character. Very affectionate and friendly, loves everybody. He's pretty good about the birds. I used to have a clutch of baby lovebirds that I was hand-feeding, and they absolutely adored Duncan. He'd jump up and lie down beside their cage and peer in at them, and they'd all toddle over to visit him and peck at his whiskers. It was very, very cute, but I still don't trust him. Sometimes I see a flash of instinct get the better of him, and he'll reach for a fluttery bird.

Okay, great, thank you both.

Yes, Duncan is a great big Norwegian Forest Cat. That picture was taken shortly after I adopted him from the Humane Society three years ago. He's lost about five pounds since then. It makes all the difference in the world because now he can play with toys and chase things and have fun. Before, everything was too much effort.

Cool! Do you place the shower perch where the shower spray will hit it?

Simon will be ready to come home in a few weeks. I'm going to quarantine him in my sewing room upstairs. But his permanent home will be downstairs in the livingroom. Is it okay if he is quarantined in a different (smaller) cage than the one he will ultimately move into downstairs?

My baby grey, Simon, is coming home in a few weeks. I had lined up a second-hand cage and all kinds of accessories from a woman on Kijiji whose grey had sadly died. She was going to deliver it a couple of weeks ago but she was having health issues and then I stopped hearing from her. I haven't given up, but I need a plan B in case she doesn't resurface before Simon arrives. So I've been looking at new cages. I can't find a pet store in Ottawa (Canada's capital) that sells a cage big enough for a grey. I can find all kinds of great cages online, but they only offer free shipping in the US - to Canada, they charge about $400-$500 for shipping alone. Not only that, but I'd probably end up having to pay a fortune in customs and brokerage charges as well. If anybody has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Where do other Canadians buy their cages? Thanks.

He's adorable!