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Gracie understands the concept " No bite!". It took Sophie some time, as she was adopted at two, and also had to learn the concept of "NO Bite", and go thru terrible twos at the same time. It took around six months, but we did do a timeout of five minutes for agressive behavior. A time for all to take a deep breath, let her know her behavior wasn't appreciated, and we always started from scratch again after five minutes. I think you have a great head start if you see the terrible twos. She already knows what is acceptable behavior. Just stick to it! Sophie's terrible twos were really not that bad.Never dealt too much with hormonal issues either. Kiki the Amazon.... was a different matter.Even Sophie when out with Kiki in family room...Kiki is being hormonal, Sophie will stick her beak down and butt in the air! I'm learning! I'm gonna do that to this year with Sophie if we see it again! Nancy

I'm lucky my Amazon is the taster! LOL! Kiki our Amazon tests everything! If she likes it.... everyone tries it. My " breakfast at Tiffany's", looks very much like Jayd's post, just double the portions, as they have a " common platter that they all share." Nancy

Whoa! This site is rated R!!!! Good thing Sophie isin bed, although I hear her talking to me. Sophie has never done much sexually, except when my oldest son had insomnia and I would find Sophie sleeping with him in family room. I would find her doing some strange mating dance with his feet when I got up in the morning.She also hated his girlfriend and would sit between them. Nancy

YIKES! That doesn'tsound good!LOL! There goes Sean's experiment! I LOVE watching Sophie hangout with Sean while he develops all sorts of things. She is always patient, and feels she contributes. She is NOT allowed in the basement while he uses power tools, but hangs with him patiently with his other experiments. His latest fixing of my plugged sink in basement, she sneaked off with him and helped him unplug my drain. I was NOT happy! He did comment that she is " very much like me.... no home improvement skills! THATS my girl! Nancy

Alfie...So GlAD you have decided to " humour that human!" We gotta stick together,let them get a little tickle and rub here and there! Don't let what happened to me,happen to you! I stayed a little longer than I wanted...it just felt soooooo good! I was WEAK! Now I stay for hours. When my Rom falls asleep, I stick my beak under her left eye, and fall asleep.SO SHE says.... I deny it! Sophie

YIKES! I DID comment to aw64, how bites do decrease, and how amazing my girl was around three. Got past the terrible twos was an adventure in itself. Smooth sailing after. Nancy

Hi all newbies! Welcome! I thought it would be good to post a new thread regarding questions regarding training of you new bird. It doesn't need to be a newbie question. It can be a question to you, from an experienced birdowner. Sometimes, new owners, don't know what question to ask! I feel very strong about " stepup, stepdown." I feel strongly, this education is " key", to a successful bird. Lets discuss this.... Nancy

JeffNOK aWWWW.! you guys were meant to be! Nancy

garryg YAY! You are listening! In my opinion? A new parent of a grey doesn't need to know a thing about a grey, ( outside of diet), other then " what does your bird desire?"Eye pinning...can mean two things. Excited to learn something new, or a warning. First time I said " kootciekootciekoo"... her eyes were pinning , dialating like crazy. Obviously, she wasn't threatened...she LOVED it! ( her favorite saying,probably 40 times a day.) Tale wagging...very happy. One foot lifted up when I come down in the morning... warning! My first coment in the morning, as I find three birds with their foot up, is " foot down!" Its me! Another time their foot is up,is asking for " stepup!" Sometimes I feel guilty, that so many parents struggle with stepup and biting.I'm on the receiving end, that many desire. AllI can say, the goal is obtainable, and the rewards are better than you can ever imagine! Nancy

Another example of empathy! Also important to let Gabby know you are quite capable of helping Pat. Let Gabby visit with Pat,let her see you are taking "great care of him", and control the situation. Visiting hours. Nancy

It would be nice, to have a very smart engineer, do the math of a ceiling fan on medium speed, to calculate the math of injury. Right up my youngest speed! Budding engineer in college. He LOVES challenges! I'll ask him after finals. Hopes he doesn't ask me to borrow Sophie for experiementing. She would be happy to participate! LOL Nancy ( NOT going to happen!)

Talon... I also do some things that are risky. We all do. Always follow your instincts. Only we, know our birds. If you " feel a sense of doom", believe in it. Noone is going to bash you. Nancy

Absolutely don't leave her in her cage for two weeks! For what purpose? To watch you come and go, doesn't do much! Open the door... encourage her to come out on her own time. A cage should be located in front of family action.Sophie for the past 12 years, has always been part of family games. We play alot. UNO, Monopaly,Trouble ,pictionary, etc. Kids off at college now... a little more quiet. BUT... once they get home, Sophie part of the action.When kids are home,lots of sleepovers here. You can play games... but if you drink alcohol, you have to sleepover. No arguements! SometimesI find Sophie still up hanging with kids while they play poker. All of their friends have grown up with Sophie. She loves them all. They know they have to have " clean mouths"... no Alcohol, as this could kill her. She gets mad when I make her go to bed, and kids get to stay up. I'm such a bad mama! NOT! DoI ever feel guilty when she protests? NO! Nancy

Sanveaz...I'm a firm believer,if possible,let the bird pick you! Allour birds picked us... have never been sorry. Nancy

Kiki my amazon,is a lover! An adventure seeker,a toy destroyer,etc! Today...home sick...she was sitting on the couch with me. A comforter,hanging on the edge of the couch. Sophie started to climb up the comforter, Kiki at the top, screaming at her to stop! Wasn't my battle! Sophie got to the top,Kiki backed off by two inches.They both sat there for the next hour, happy as could be. Nancy

Joe, Salsa and Tango... OMG! SHAME on Maggie and Jay! They truly need training!They need to open up that final room! As far as their human clipping...don't worry too much about it...it takes time for our humans to develop to our expectations. BUT.... they are an interesting and curious species. I'm kind of fond of them! I believe they are trainable, and worth my interest. We will see. Sophie

I wish babies lastedl that they could pick their parents, but in reality, they don't.Their is a HUGE demand for baby birds. Itis amazing! I'm at my birdstore all the time. SOLD stickers all the time! I'm glad Sophie at age two from a rich racecar driver, got to pick her owner.Interviewed. Many parents applied to adopt her. We had no experience. My interview sucked! I couldn't answer any of his questions as Sophie was " chewing my ear off" with absolute nonsense! I came home, told kids it wasn't going to happen. Surprise!Got called back for a second interview. It sucked as well. Couldn't talk to the owner. Sophie had too much to say, and I was focused on her. I knew it wasn'tgoing to happen, which really made me sad, as I knew I had a connection with Sophie. Amazingly, we, the least experienced, got picked! I was eccstatic! I asked " why"? Her owner told me... It was always about Sophie! She chose you twice. His words of wisdom... always listen to your bird. They will lead you. I follow this advice all the time. Nancy

I can't even imagine! Please contact Kaytee! i WOULD BE FLIPPIN OUT. Nancy

I just want to make sure, new parrents that like the thought of " open door policy "understand what this means.It doesn't mean, they can fly all over the house. It means... they have a room, that has a closed door, that is dedicated to them. Their cages aren't closed, they have gyms they can stepup too. NO bird should have access to the entire house. Once I am home... my guys can comeout and hang with me. It continues to be a "controlled enviroment". There are too many things that our birds can get into and get hurt. Nancy

ABSOLUTELY NOT! Greys think they can conquer the world! They are smart... but their desire to defeat everything and anything is very strong, and can cause them to get injured. They don't understand simple dangers and never will. OFF with the fan.As baby's trust for you becomes stronger, it can be misplaced with simple home appliances. Your baby should NOT be flying freely within your home also. No way when we protect them. Believe me... my house is birdproof... but even I can'tprovide them with 100% safety. They get their birdroom.No lighting, all outlets plugged. They can be with me in kitchen and family room,only under supervision. Nancy

garrg..If you THINK you heard it... you probably did! LOL Congrads! Nancy

garryg...No wing clipping.My suggestion. It does make training more difficult... but thats not what it is about. Its about our birds. Ilove everyone's suggestion about putting certain " decals" in the window. Miranda is quite young, and would benefit with harness training soon. Greys DO love to be outside and training takes time. I also would suggest taking a look at your home with all exits. Noone is allowed to use front door, as well as kitchen door. If doorbell rings, we go thru the garage.A small price to pay for their safety. Nancy

Excellent advice by Acapella as always. It is very difficult in the beginning teaching and setting "boundaries" with a grey. I followed my " gut" instinct with Sophie when we first got her age two. She didn't love me the most in the beginning, and that was okay with me. She learned there were rules to follow once she loved and accepted us all. It was amazing how just one game of " trouble" with us all... she couldn't resist, climbed down off her cage and wanted to play. Whose ever turn it was... she had to stepup, then got to pop the bubble.(of course we popped the bubble, but she thought she did!) LOL! This was on her second day here. She progressed to a tour of the housewhich she loved. Of course, immediately returned when nervous. As time progressed, she learned we had a very busy home. If I was cooking and boiling water, she had to go to Ryan, then had to go to Sean when Ryan had homework. Then friends cameover, Sean or Ryan had something to do quickly, Sophie had to go to a friend of theirs.. At the end of the nite... I always read Sophie's favorite cloth book " Thomas the tank engine". We to this day, read it nightly. Its her favorite and time with ROM(mom). Nancy

Even the best and experienced bird owners, struggle with this. Your greys should be family members only Nancy

So Happy for you and Gabby! We had a young girl named Gabby interview for a job the other day. My boss asked me to take her around...asked what I thought of her. I immediately thought of your bird! LOL! I told her" anyone named Gabby, should be hired just by her name." How fun! (It didn't hurt that I LOVED her, and her credentials were awesome!)She got hired. SIGH.... another person to orient and the other five my boss just hired. Nancy