kins2321@yahoo.com

Excellent post! The commitment to a grey is life long. There are ups... when they are cute and snuggly, and their are downs.... terrible twos, destroying the house, biting and appear to dislike everyone. You may feel " what did I get into?" Hopefully, you all get to where I am now, with a fantastic bird that I love dearly. BUT... if Sophie was bald, bit me and everyone, I wouldn't give up on her.I know many will say " easy for you to say", but any animal I have ever taken into my home, whether nice or not, has been part of my home for life. Nancy

Follow your instinct! I like what you are thinking. Raising a grey, is not a science. You know how your bird will respond. Trust your gut. Nancy

I couldnt hear the video. What a bummer! Nancy

Always satisfy the oral stage. Some take longer as my Kiki did. She became the " best" eater, and would try anything new. It took her around nine months to get off of syringe feedings once a day. Nancy

Notice... behavior is away from cage. When behavior is not acceptable, time to say " NO... return to cage"... try again later. We also did " time out" in timeout cage. Away from toys and comfort. One minute for every year. Lasted around six months. It worked for us... but many disagree. Nancy

ocguy106,,,, that was very nice to offer! Finding the perfect sitter, is VERY important! You will be punished, ignored, there are consequenses! Of course, I have had Sophie for a decade, so whatever sitting arrangements I make, I am punished around two hours. Most owners get punished much longer! They can be very spiteful. Nancy

All our birds picked us. We never had a choice. From an abused rescue to a brand new baby, to finding Sophie. They all made their choices. I don't think any of them have regretted their choices. We as humans, also don't regret them choosing us. We are just happy that we " listened", and accepted our being chosen. NANcy

I am not the greatest cook, but Sophie thinks I am amazing! She eats with us nightly. Now I am grill fascinated, and am cooking on my Weber non stop. Sean wants the end result, but I can discuss my plan with Sophie and she is interested! LOL! Nancy

As they live very old.... whether a baby is six months, two , five, or twelve, like Sophie, they are young. While Sophie, now 12, will eat fruits and veggies, and we are past the " throwing them at the walls stage"... Sunday,she wanted everything to be " about her." Head bobbing, trying to feed me, wanting me to give her something. It was " all about Sophie!" I don't interpret this as sexual, as some do. It was about Sophie, knowing I am her mama, and she just wanted to be my baby. It was all about her, and I just satisfied her needs. She had a GREAT day...Nancy

You never know what they like or dislike. Just gotta try new toys. Sophie hates chewable toys. Loves silly two year old toys. " cow says moo". She LOVES it! We just keep trying to offer them things they are interested in. Nancy

It may be a wonderful experience! You never know until you try! What I love so much about Sophie, is how versatile she is. She has met dogs other birds, guinea pigs, senior dogs puppies, wrestling team, strange teenagers, she takes it all in stride, and loves the entire social scene. Its always been a positive experience for her, and everyone ( human), has delivered on providing her with a positive experience.Its been important that kids have always loved her, treated her with respect, and have never allowed teasing, cursing or any form of disrespect to Sophie. No wonder she loves them both. Nancy

Its sooo important to have a plan in case of fire. My oldest can escape to lower roof thru his window, if he is home,Sean can throw out fire ladder. I haven't provided one for myself, but this just reminds me to get one. We have always planned for dogs in car, birds in cage.We use to practice when they were younger, including birds! Of course we planned on best scenario that they would jump in cage and cooperate.We were lucky that they all got along, and when I said " in", I MEANT it and they were trusting enough to know I meant it! It worked out, but I can see how birds would fly off! Towels, nets, whatever it takes, but make a plan everyone! Nancy

Your baby is making contact calls to mama. He is hungry.Your baby needs additional feedings! As I was trained to do additional feedings by syringe... I can do it. YOU should not! If you are not trained, your bird can aspirate. Do the oatmeal off a teaspoon and do it as long as he needs. May be a few times a day. ALWAYS, satisfy the oral stage, as long as they need. Nancy

I believe, for parrents, cages should be a few feet away from wall, as when you introduce new foods, they are going to throw them against the wall! " I don't like it!" Some fruits can really destroy the paint. Nancy

LOL! Welcome to sounding like a " valley girl", because apparently I sound like one also! LOL! I'm good with that... It just amuses me and makes me love her even more. Nancy

They are serious escape artists! Please don't blame yourself for your birds injury! You guys are great parrents. Nancy

ILOVED that story of escaped bird calling for his daddy! Soooo glad we have a happy ending. Nancy

If you haven't picked a bird, let bird pick you! Nancy

Of course it is normal. Stanley is a baby, and wants to be with his mama or papa. Satisfy this need as much as you can. Promise to come and get him the " moment you are home", and deliver on that promise! Your baby will eventually understand your routine. Eight hours is a long time for a baby,so make sure if you work that long, baby is first priority. Any longer than that... I suggest a second family member be involved, or someone that can bond past eight hours. I was lucky to have kids home when I was still at work. Sophie has bonded to all of us! She was bonded to me, but if I worked past eight hours, kids were responsible for her.She eventually learned to love all of us. Nancy

Okay... loved the pics! So the newbies are teaching the oldies! LOL! Of COURSE that is how it should be. When I get the harness for Sophie which I am ordering....I sure hope everyone is available if there is " fallout!" Nancy

No nap around six pm here. My grey can nap before two and three. I expect them to go to bed at 8pm. Bedtime routine is important! There are days I have to work until nine at night. I call the bird sitter, put Sophie on the phone. I explain I won't be home until nine. I'm sure she doesn't understand what time I am talking about, but she waits up for me. Once I am home... lots of cuddles and kisses... off to bed. I am very strict with her bedtime and let my boss know, I can't do past nine. Nancy

Muse... I am so happy that you and Megan are getting along better! While I continue to grieve the loss of Zoey, I knew I needed to let Ollie grieve as well. We needed to build a future together. We are getting there. Ollie now sleeps with me nightly. We are grieving together. The relationship is thriving. Nancy

I LOVE Ray's invention. Alex, give it a try! I WISH I could give Sophie a shower or spray with her blessing! Hoping when I get my aviator harness, maybe she would enjoy a spritz outside. I continue to get a polite " no thank you". Shower her as quick as I can when dander and feathers really need it. It is tough to hear " ROM no! (mom)". I am so happy to be forgiven quickly, but I can't imagine what new parents, or new owners go thru. I'm not punished, because she loves me to death.( she is mad at me though!). nancy

I showed Sophie the video. She LOVED it! She watched intently and gave her " awwww". She doesn't use her awww freely.It means " something she likes, or empathy." Im thinking LIKE! Nancy

I am so worried about your bird...PLEASE let us know how it turns out!GET your bird in tomorrow. Nancy