Life is Greyt

Just found this thread, since I am newer to the forum and quite enjoy reading older threads, and wanted to bring it back to life. I feel much better after reading it and am glad to know that I'm not the only one who has ever accidentally come off wrong in a post. Hopefully newer members, like me, that might not have seen it yet, will find it a good read.

I actually do keep taking a towel with me when I go to see her, with the intention of rubbing it on her and letting her walk all over it so that it might smell like her, but then every time I get there I just jump out of the car, cause I am so eager to see her, and forget it. Going to have to remember it. My guys give me the same smell test when I get home too and look at me like "where have you been cause you smell wonderful!!"

Thanks so much! The video idea is great!! I will definitely use that, as my Buddy, can be very loud when he plays or barks, and it might really help her if she's not totally unfamiliar with those noises. I think I'm going to go see her this weekend, so I'll take the video then and see what she thinks.

Not sure if this was the right room or not to post this in, but I hope it's ok. As it gets closer time for my baby to come home I have been thinking more and more about what would be the best way to introduce her to the other animals in the house. I have two dogs, 13 and 5 years old, and a cat who's 2. I'm not as worried about the older dog as she is really calm and I don't think she'll care too much. It's more the younger dog and cat that I'm not sure how to introduce. Buddy, the 5 year old, can be pretty high energy, but listens very well, and the cat, well, he's a cat and likes to watch the birds outside very intensely. I think it will all be ok, but I want to make sure that I do the best I can to introduce them correctly. I know for sure that I should never leave them unsupervised with the baby, but after that I can't figure the best method. I was thinking that maybe I should keep them totally apart for a week or so, while the baby settles into her new home and then slowly introduce them, one at a time. Or, would it be better to allow her to see them right away so that she knows they are there? The breeder does have a cat, so she's used to that, but no dogs. I know there are lots of members on here that have many other animals besides their birds, so how did you introduce them to the new member of the family? What do you guys think works best?

Breeder says that my little one is probable due to fly soon...maybe a week or two. I hope I get to see it. That's awesome that you get to go every day! I would probably too if I could. She will be so comfortable with you by the time she goes home. I was SO shocked when my little one cuddled...she just hopped out of the basket and onto my lap and nudged up into my arm. It was too cute. My little one is quite opinionated though, don't let her innocent pics fool you. Whenever I tell her no or try to redirect her away from something I don't want her to be doing she definitely lets me know that she doens't approve! She's even cute in her disapproval though. I'm pretty sure I think everything she does is cute though.

I was told to do the same thing that luvparrots said to do-I was told to always tell her that I will be back in "x" amount of time. I definitely plan on doing this.

Buckeye is an adorable name! How did you come up with it? As I have said already, I can't decide on a name for her. Breeder keeps saying that I will know it when I hear it, but nothing really rings a bell yet. Again, sorry if I came off wrong at first, it was not my intention.

Piper is cute. I have had a few ideas, but, much like your situation, my boyfriend vetoed them. He says I can name her whatever I want, but it's pretty obvious when he's not too fond of certain names...lol. I can understand how you must be stressed...I know I will be a total worrywart when she comes home. The breeder says she is probably only a week or two from her first flight...I wish I could be there for it but the chances of me happening to be there are slim to none. It's so neat that you are there with her for every milestone. Do you have any pics of your girl?

It's ok malikah pot not stirred. Thanks...I am so happy that she picked me <3 Your babies, all of them, are just gorgeous too!!

I love that name! That is too cute! I feel better now that I know I'm not the only one struggling for a name. I think and think and think and nothing seems to fit her yet. The baby I had selected before her, from a different breeder, was totally easy to name. I picked his name after seeing him one time...but, alas, he wasn't meant to be mine. This little girl is though, and I think that's why she's such a challenge for me to name. Sorry if I came off wrong-I was on the defensive and that wasn't very fair to you. I don't think you missed out on any benefits. But then again, I am definitely no expert. Seems like it is more of a preference thing from breeder to breeder. Wow, I am impressed that you were able to raise an unweaned baby. The idea terrified me so much that I knew from day one I would be letting the breeder raise my baby til he/she was on pellets. She says she may be ready to go home around Christmas, which would be a WONDERFUL present for us!!! I called her "peeper" the other day and kinda thought it was a cute little nickname, but not sure if it will stick as a name or not. Thanks for the support-I'm pretty anxious and nervous all at once right now. I think this must be the kind of nervous anticipation that new parents feel when they are going to bring their new human baby home from the hospital-except I still have 2 more months to wait to bring my little one home!!!

on another note-I have no idea why the pics I uploaded are so huge...I used photobucket but apparently I didn't do it correctly. SO, until I get it figured out you guys get monster baby pics!! But at least she is a cutie!!

Thanks pikachu I agree-From how it has been explained to me, it's not as invasive as it sounds. My little girl will also be done by a traveling vet-most likely the same one since my breeder tells me is all he does is travel around and surgically sex birds. I think I was just put on the defensive by some of the initial comments made. As I have said, this will be my first grey and I am trying my best to make all the right decisions with the information at hand. I never meant to come off rude, and had a comment like yours been made much earlier in the conversation I might not have gotten my feathers as ruffled. I want so much just to do right for my little girl. I have already been through one bad experience where I bonded to a different baby grey and didn't get to bring that baby home-because of poor medical choices made by those raising that baby-so I am pretty sensitive about medical care choices for her. Anyways, I hope I haven't come off looking like a total jerk, but, at the same time, I hope others can see how some of the comments that were made at first could easily be taken as negative and not just curious. Moving forward, I hope to not ruffle anyone else's feathers on here and just enjoy the forum.

Not offended at all, just concerned that everyone was going to read this thread and think I am some horrible bird mommy for electing for surgical sexing. Dave, I appreciate your input and understand that sexing may have never been controversial here before-however, the reaction that I got from birdhouse made me feel that I was somehow going against the grain with the general consensus here. The first post after I mentioned specifically surgical sexing asked me why I chose that. I replied, and was then was asked "if there was any reason for this baby to have elective surgery." which, to me, seems as if it was pushing the issue. I have no problem with curiosity, as it is what drew me to this forum in the first place. That being said, initial posts were not just in curiosity, but more an accusatory tone. I never said sexing was a debated topic here-only that I see how it could be one. All I said was surgical sexing vs sexing and the 2nd post to the thread was asking why. I answered. Again, this thread was meant to share my baby. What has happened is that I now feel like I should just go back into quietly reading posts and not posting anything, as I did when I first joined. The reasons that the breeder and I discussed are 1) surgical sexing is 100% accurate 2) it allows the vet to visualize internal organs and check for any visual deformities 3) quicking the nail is very painful 4) bird will be permanently marked under the wing as male or female giving another form of id (though I am also having her microchipped) I'm like you Cheri, I don't care if it's a boy or girl, but need to know for informational purposes if that was ever needed for medical reasons. I fear that posting the reasons will only inspire further discussion of surgical vs non surgical methods, but i hope not. I also hope that I will still be a welcomed member of the forum because this is my first grey. Even though I'm reading everything I can get my hands on-I love having this forum and the experts here as a resource.

Jeffnok-the anticipation is killing me!! I hate leaving her and it's the highlight of my week when I get to go see her. I don't know why I am having such a hard time with her name, but I know it will come. Brianlinkles-I had the same concerns at first, but after discussing it with my breeder it's not an issue anymore. We discussed the pros and cons of both and I trust her choices completely. I really never meant for this thread to become so controversial about her being surgically sexed-really meant to show pics of my little girl-I think- that I am so in love with. I understand that sexing, like a few other hot topics on here, could be hotly debated. However, after a very bad experience with a "reputable" bird store here in the local area I worked very hard to find a breeder I could buy directly from, and that I felt would treat my little baby with the level of care that I expect. The one I found has been breeding for many years, and has far more understanding about birds than I do. That being said, she prefers to have her birds surgically sexed for many reasons that I don't think are necessary to go into, and I agree with her choice for my bird. If I didn't agree I could choose to not have her sexed surgically, or DNA her with my vet. Ultimately, I have 100% trust in what my breeder says is the "best" method-I understand that some people may disagree, but I hope that it won't be a problem going forward for me on the forum because I love to read through all the threads and soak up all the info I can from such a great knowledgebase. I appreciate everyone's comments though, as I think you all were just double checking that I wasn't going into that situation blindly. As, even I have seen in my brief time so far as a grey owner, there most certainly ARE bad and horrible breeders out there that care nothing for the birds-however, I can assure you mine is not one of those.

No, definitely not breeding her...she is my first grey. I trust my breeder's choices 100% and she has all her babies surgically sexed by the same vet every time. I'm aware that surgical sexing isn't the most common method, but after we discussed it, and she addressed all my concerns, I am ok with her choice. I understand your concerns, cause I was initially worried, but after we discussed it I am just fine with it.

I was apprehensive about it at first too, but my breeder prefers to have her babies surgically sexed. I trust her judgment.

She was desperately trying to use the toys to get to the top of the basket. She is too cute to watch. It amazes me how fast she is growing up and her personality shows more every time I see her.

No name yet, jeffnok. "She"-the breeder thinks it's a girl- will be surgically sexed in two weeks so then we will know for sure. I have tons of nicknames for her...but nothing official yet. She is such a little sweetie though and I am so in love with her. December can't get here soon enough.

My little sweetie cuddling <3

checking out dad's hat

She is about 10 weeks old today

Beautiful pics! I cannot wait til I get my little girl and I can take her out for walks too in her harness

I pm'ed you info about a breeder in Tarzana that will be able to help you...hope it helps

Thanks guys!! Will upload more pics soon. Oh she is too adoreable!! I am so in love with her I hate to leave the breeder's house. I am still stumped for a name thought...Georgia, the breeder, said that my little girl will let me know what her name should be, so we will see what I come up with.

Hi everyone! I joined the forum a few weeks ago and have been furiously reading as many posts as possible in preparation for my grey coming home. She (the breeder thinks it's a girl and will be sexed in December) is two months old and will probably come home sometime in December. I just wanted to finally say hi to everyone and thank you all for the wealth of information available here. I am a first time grey owner so I am incredibly excited and very nervous at the same time. It's a relief to have such knowledgeable people available, including my breeder. I got my little girl from the parrot posse in saint Louis, MO and they have been wonderful to work with. I look forward to my new adventure with my little girl...December feels like it will never get here!!