Popsicle

What size do you buy the harness for CAG? Medium?

Thanks for the link. It's a nice cage. I'm in the UK and unfortunately I haven't found Prevue travel cages here. But I found this one that I quite like: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PARROT-TRAVEL-CAGE-Collapsable-/280699010141?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Birds&hash=item415af6fc5d#ht_500wt_1287 Seems to be a similar size, if not a little bigger. And could be our travel cage and sleep cage at the same time. What do you think?

Thanks for the list. How about green beans? I always fed them raw to my birds. Is it ok?

When I said encourage I meant doing it by always providing a clean bowl for him to bathe himself. That's what I used to do with my Amazons and they enjoyed it. When I saw they were taking too long to have a bath I would spray them a little and that would usually make them go to the bowl and finish their bath themselves. I'm gonna watch the Grey's amount of dander/dust and then decide how often I will bathe him. Thanks.

So I should encourage the parrot to always bathe himself, right? But mine usually do it only once a week. For what you all say it doesn't sound like enough to keep Grey's dander in control. What should I do? Leave it to happen just once a week or whatever frequency the bird wants or should I mist him as well?

Dave, this Aloe Vera thing is very new to me. With my birds in Brazil I used to just leave a dish with clean water every day for them and they would bathe whenever they felt like it. But I've read Greys have more dander than other parrots. So just confirming... I should shower him with water first and only after water I'd squirt him with aloe vera juice once or twice a week, correct? I found this one online... Do you think it's ok? http://www.thehealthbay.com/aloe-pura-organic-aloe-vera-juice-500ml-c-378-p-295?utm_source=google&utm_medium=basefeed&utm_campaign=redback Thanks.

My husband and I wake up between 7:30-8am during the week. But on the weekends we always like to sleep more (waking up between 9-11am). So I want to try and work something out that will keep our bird in our same routine. Gonna try letting him sleep with us, in the dark, like you do and see how it goes. Thanks for your comment.

They are quite expensive indeed, especially in the first month, when you're buying everything they need, all at once. But it's all worth it for sure. Can't wait to get mine.

Wow... that is lucky! Do you cover him at night? What time does he go to bed? Also, does he sleep in a travel cage or his normal cage?

Ahhh that's great news. I guess I don't have a self cleaning oven then. lol And even if I do have one in the future, it sounds like it's ok to use it for regular baking. Thanks everyone!

Thanks for the explanation, Dave. Feeling more relieved. My oven doesn't have any special button to press to "self clean" it. So I'm not sure whether it's a self cleaning oven or not. But I only clean it by hand anyway so it's fine. But I read on a website that birds have died when they are used even for regular baking. Anyone here has self cleaning ovens and have not had any problems with baking food at normal temperatures?

Sorry about my ignorance again... but I'm confused. What's the problem with self cleaning ovens? Isn't it the simple fact of using it to bake food, heat a pizza, etc? Or it it cleaning the oven? I read a few comments and understood that they are bad because they are coated with PTFE, just like teflon pans. Can you explain a little bit more, please? I'm not familiar with the problem.

What about self cleaning ovens? Nowadays most are. The one in my apartment is. And I'm still renting which means I can't easily choose what type of oven I will have. Are they 100% lethal? In what conditions are they damaging for the bird's health? Please someone explain a bit more. Thx.

Hope I'm not being ignorant. But I've had 2 Amazon parrots and 2 parakeets for years and never seen them bleeding. Was I lucky or this blood feather bleeding isn't something common?

Hi all, I've read here a thread about Teflon and I'm aware that the fume produced by Teflon pans when heated empty is totally deadly for birds. I'm also aware that scented candles and air freshener are bad. Sorry if there are other threads talking about all this already. But I have a few doubts and I'd like help. 1. Are non scented candles as bad or can they be used normally? 2. How about perfume and deodorant? Can we put it on as long as we make sure the parrots are not nearby? Or no? If not, what do you suggest? 3. Also read "self cleaning" ovens are poisonous. How do I differ a self cleaning oven to a normal one? Sorry about the ignorance. lol But can someone please explain? Any other things I should avoid? Thanks.

I'm in London and looking to buy a CAG. Here in the Uk they usually vary from £600-£650. Last weekend we were talking to my father in law about the parrot we are gonna get and we said it will be expensive. Then he asked: how expensive? £200? haha We laughed and just said no, more. I could see the look of surprise on his face. And also noticed my husband didn't want to confess how much it would be either. Truth is most people don't understand why we would pay so much for "just a bird". Without mentioning how weird they look at you sometimes when you say parrots usually live up to 50 years or more. My in laws (surprised again) said "wow, that's a huge commitment" and asked why I like parrots so much. Bet they think I'm bonkers. lol

Started reading it yesterday and it seems interesting.

How can we make them stay quiet-ish at least on weekends, until 9am or so? Is there a technique we can apply? Does covering the cage works?

I don't have a Grey yet but had Amazon parrots and other pets before and I do believe animals are just like children. The way they turn out to be depends on how they are brought up/handled. Think each animal will be different. Doubt there is a real rule to whether they bond to one person only or more than one or whether they change their bonds or not.

Found it! Thanks.

Been reading about Grey's diet and found some info that are a bit contradictory. Example: read somewhere milk is really poisonous for them but then read on another website that parrots can and should have yoghurt. :confused: Can anybody help? What is it that I actually SHOULDN'T feed them at all? I also read these other things: NO mushroom, NO chocolate, NO caffeine, NO avocado. Anything else? And what SHOULD I definitely include in their diet? Thanks

That's great to hear. I was reading a breeder's website last night and they said Greys are not an ideal pet for people who work all day because they require lots of attention and will feel miserable being alone all day, which could lead to feather plucking, phobia, etc. So I got really worried. As I said I don't see the point in buying an animal to make him unhappy. But I'm feeling a lot more positive about it now, after all your comments. Thank you everyone! And please keep sharing your thoughts. I appreciate it.

I saw this video once... not sure if it works for everyone but I think it's worth giving it a go. Treats and patience might be the answer to your problem. Hope it helps.

Well, I started discussing it on another thread but only got a couple of answers so decided to create a thread specifically for the subject as it is pretty much the only thing that's still worrying me. My husband works full time and I'm not working at the moment but will start job hunting soon. When I start working again I will work full time as well (if not in the beginning, I will at some point). We want to buy a Grey but will buy one only as we don't have enough space for two birds. At least not yet. The thing is I don't want to buy a parrot and make him unhappy. I really wanna make it work for all of us. Is it possible? Those who face similar situation or know someone who does, please share your experiences, give me some advice. Do parrots cope well staying in their cage all day, alone (with foraging toys, etc), whilst owners are at work? And then coming out of the cage in the evenings and having some extra attention on the weekends? :confused:

Does anyone have an open top cage like this? Do parrots like it? I might buy a playstand in the future but not straight away as the whole parrot + cage + toys + food will be expensive. I do want him to have some space to play in though. What should I do? The playtop cages I find are either too small or too big and too expensive. So I'm a bit tempted to go for the one in the photo. It's a good size and has good reviews everywhere I look. Are open top good enough?