CLB

I am happy to report that even with my cages in the kitchen next to my kitchen table, my visiting parents commented how surprised they were that there was "No smell". I would have to completely agree that is NOT the case with the cats. And my Amazon has her own unique amazon smell. : )

We use the buckets from Firehouse Subs....food grade, with a gasket to completely seal the lid. The stores sell them for $2 as a donation to fireman's charity. This is a corporate program I am happy to support! Needless to say, we have firehouse buckets everywhere. Might be a bit large for the food of one parrot. :rolleyes:

Such an exciting time.....enjoy the weekend!!

Congratulations to you and Shelly! I am also fairly new, having rehomed my CAG almost a year ago. My advice is to keep an open mind about your new relationship with Shelley. I believe I had some unrealistic expectations up front and was quickly disappointed. Had I had a more open minded approach, I could have saved myself from some of that distress. Read everything and you will quickly see that every one has a different relationship with their birds and each bird is a unique individual! BTW.....pictures are always welcome!

Thanks everyone...I have to admit that I felt like the luckiest girl in the world! I am so blessed to have these birds in my life.

The green cheek is always on her back..lol. Lola is just snuggled up. Sami had been preening Lola and finally fell victim to sleep.

Lola and Sami finally give in after playing all day!

I also heared the dog barking....and my little guys barked back! lol

If you are referring to the Aviator harness...check the weights before you buy. They do seem to run a bit big. I bought the small for my Amazon and it is PLENTY big. Good luck! We are working with the aviator also.

We are all in this together! Feel free to vent when you need to. You have some greyt friends here on this forum. I hope all the stories and advice helps you as much as it has helped me. Everyone has a different relationship with their birds...it seems there is no one size fits all when it comes to living with a grey! I am told with time, things can change again.

I can attest to the reality of getting bit...it did NOT make me want to handle my bird more! Novice parrot owners are much better suited to positive reinforcement training and bond building.

Nikki...this is my story too. Broke my heart as I was the one who wanted this bird. I honestly felt like I had been betrayed, like somehow, Shadow was just another ungrateful mouth to feed. She chose him and there I was left to "pick up the pieces". It has been almost a year and she still prefers him and lets him handle her. I have come to terms with my relationship with her and although she doesn't "love me like that" it OK! I do try to make my hubby put her back in her cage or remove her from forbidden areas. She would step up to me from my husband and then bite me as if to say, "ok, I'll do it because I am supposed to....but I don't have to like it!" I continue to talk to her, feed her, and clean up after her. I just had to alter my expectation. I have discovered stick training...so now when I want to relocate her, I can and we are both much happier. I ask for a step up onto the stick and she can sit on a perch where ever I am. I know she doesn't hate me...she just doesn't "love me like that". Hang in there and don't take it personal, you are not alone!!

I was very comforted to see the smaller sizes, as the one pictured here is the Large and looked very weighty for my little girls. Please do keep this thread active with updates from anyone giving it a try!

I have been enjoying them. It seems the TV has been all Olympics all the time. Having been a resident of Atlanta before during and after the Olympics in '96 .......How are YOU enjoying them from your side of the pond?

What was your breeder feeding her when she was being weaned? Peanuts should only be a TREAT. At this point she needs to learn to eat healthy foods in addition to the pellets that would contain balanced nutrition. I would ignore the obsessive behavior but be quick to reward her for being calm. Maybe taking her out of her cage more frequently (when she is not scratching). I am no expert but greys are very smart and will quickly learn to get what they want, often in a way that we do not want! :rolleyes: I am sure many others will offer suggestions as well.

We just recently left Shadow for about a week and it took her 3 whole days before she even WANTED to come out. Luckily my caregiver adores her and let her make the choice. I think she would have been just as happy being left in the cage.

I have the same experience with Shadow. I completely understand. Shadow adores my husband for no better reason than she just likes him best. Like Rachel, he can do whatever he wants seemingly with no negative result. I on the other hand have to watch very closely. Your comment about the posturing made me think of the first time Shadow beaked Arno....gave me a tiny sigh of relief. However, she has never even made a dent on him...with me she goes for blood. Such is the way in life with a Grey! I still love and respect her just the same.

Macaws are much LOUDER than greys! :cool:

It seems to me that our greys tend to say what they want as opposed to simply repeating what we teach. Shadow's communication rarely involves a "taught" phrase but rather a string of words she planned out on her own. I have read that with some other birds it is recommended to say words/phrases as you want to hear them back. Greys are much smarter than that and will learn the most from daily interactions and as Ray has already said, regular communication. Be sure that a grey will pick up very quickly on the things you might NOT want them saying or on the things you say all the time and might not even realize that you say them. :rolleyes:

I have both, actually the same cage in both styles. There is definitely more space and light in the dometop. I use the playtop cage in my kitchen to give Shadow more play space as she doesn't travel much into our family room and is very happy hanging out on her cage. I suppose it makes sense...the playtop has less room inside because the bird is supposed to be spending time outside on the playtop. My birds are all out for much of the day so the playtop is working. I do love the dometops and use them in my screened porch when the weather is nice and I want to leave the birds out there unattended. So many choices...good luck with your decision.

Tango is a funny boy..even Shadow enjoyed listening from the other room.

LOL...of course she was. That is quite a visual. Not sure what makes the story so funny, the fact that it happened or the fact that somehow I'm not surprised!

I know everyone here GETS it! Kudos for the step up. Definitely a "step" in the right direction.

How is that leg doing today?

Such a happy ending! Bless you both for opening your hearts and home to these birds in need.