snoepgoed123

aww I'm sure Archimedes will let Sophie help out with the makeup... luckily my boy still enjoys to share... though I'm not sure how long that will last

realized I never answered the poop question... Best thing to do is set a designated poop zone (for us it's the java tree) and the moment Archimedes comes out the cage we walk him to his tree and give the command *go poops* while he still has accidents around the house, it does help somewhat... especially for those morning bombs we all love

oh thought of another one relating to the cups... can greys be trained to eat out of a certain cup... set up the colored cups but only put food in 1 cup (orange for example) every day switch the positions, but keep only putting the food in the orange cup, until he automatically goes for that cup... the day after, put it in a green cup... and see whether he goes after the food or after the orange cup best part about this... both birds have to eat so you could use both birds... and she can compare on who *got it* first...

honestly, I wouldn't use the scale more than once a week, unless he is ill and his weight needs to be monitored, otherwise you'll drive yourself batty. I often question whether Archimedes eats enough, because his favorite past time is flinging food... just know this... if there's something coming out one end, means theres something coming in the other end...

what about something simple like *do birds have a color preference?* take 5 equally sized cups in different colors and fill each of them with 10 pellets over a 2 week (time can be adjusted) period... does the grey go for the same cup every time (rotate cups too btw) or *how long does it take for a bird to master a trick* the task is for the bird to turn around when using a cue of waving left index finger, or another simple trick....

wow, what disgusting behavior... honestly, I would find any and every review site out there and spread the word... also go into nearby business and just let people know how this business handles it's customers... also find out if the town has a commerce meeting and bring this to their attention... and if you really wanna go for it... contact the local newspaper, and see if they're willing to do a story

it's ok for Coco to sit around and do nothing... because believe it or not, he is doing something. Grey's have a high cognitive ability, and they need down time to organize all that grey matter (pun intended)... I'm sure Coco is watching you while you watch tv or read a book going *dang, why are they just staring at that thing and not eating it* but if you want to give him more things to do... foraging is a great thing, simple things such as wrapping his food in paper so he'd have to shred it open to complex systems that he'll take a while to figure out... Archimedes' favorite foraging toy is this box with 4 drawers... was pretty simple for him to figure out, but he loves eating out of there... and he's figured out that if he can't reach the food in the back, all he needs to do is pull the drawer back and forth a bit and the nuggets come forward (such a smarty pants)

Nancy, you're so right! Archimedes loves helping me out, and doing what I do... His favorite things are helping with the keyboard (which is why we got him his own that he can destroy) and now he has his own tube of mascara (heavy duty that he can't puncture) and his own kabuki brush... I love it, because now that he has his decoys, he has stopped destroying the real things... He happily sits on the back of my chair playing with the kabuki brush while I do my makeup... and he'll happily yank on his own keys while I'm writing my witty (or so I think) responses... since apparently I'm not the only one who has a grey that enjoys beautifying himself... we should set up our own business!! we got some nailtechs on board... and I'm sure theres a hairstylist somewhere... and Nancy, Sophie can run the numbers!

wow, Jayd, I didn't realize they could have up to half a walnut a day... I don't wanna get Archimedes too dependent on nuts, but thats great news that I could just halve the nut and give it to him to hollow out. Luvparrots... if you want cheap pistachios go to trader joe's... they have raw/roasted/salted/unsalted/shell/unshelled for like $5ish... I wish Archimedes would have liked the nut more, and the shell less... but eh... what can you do...

haha my favorite part of the story *spoiler alert* was when dr. P asked him to count out the blocks and he kept saying idk 3 or something (while the answer was 5) and she wanted to put him back, and he told her sorry, and the answer was 5... that was the moment that I realized greys knew humor... and I was floored when he figured out the concept of none... which is a skill that a human child doesn't learn before the age of 7 (concrete operational)

So I know a limited amount of nuts is ok in a greys diet... I have been giving Archimedes 1 walnut a week, that he has to figure out how to get out himself (I do start it for him) but I figured... why not add some pistachios (my favorite nut) to the mix... the nuts are practically exposed... I saw them yesterday at bird paradise... so I got a little sample... maybe like 15 nuts or so... well today I gave him one... after mouthing the nut for around 5 minutes he finally cracked it open... well smarty pants decides the shell is more exciting than the nut... pretty much played with the shell pieces for 15 minutes and disregarded the nut... oh well.... kinda jealous though... that nut smelled *really* good...

I think Alex and his friends were treated really well... they had constant companionship between dr. p and all the students from the school. If you haven't read "alex and me" by dr. P it's a good story, she discusses how when he didn't want to work, he would ignore her requests, or just be a lil punk and give the wrong answer on purpose. I do feel that they're happy, because as you know, if a grey isn't happy, he will let you know one way or another... and she wouldn't have gotten the results she did if Alex or the others weren't happy...

He loves "doing makeup" and as long as he has something to do while I'm doing mine, Archimedes is very happy... today he was playing with a tube of mascara

luvparrots gave you a great list... I would also ask, has the grey been to a vet, which vet, has he ever been ill, has he been tested for illnesses... what's his temperament, how much out of cage time does he get during the day, has he ever plucked, is he clipped/flighted... is he comfortable being handled, oh also, has he been with other pets, cats/dogs/other birds... does he have a male/female preference...

Archimedes loves helping me when I do my makeup... picking out my brushes, my mascara... attempting to dismantle them... you know... typical grey stuff... so rather than try to chase him off any time I try to apply any makeup.... I gave him his own kabuki brush (fluffy face brush that has a stubby handle) well... he loves it... I think he's a makeup artist in training... he also has a part time job of proofreading my research papers for school... and gives them a bite of approval... here he is applying his own makeup (btw the brush doesn't have any makeup... I bought it at a whim and its just too scratchy... and he only gets it while I'm rushing to do my makeup)

oh, my heart goes out to you. You are so emotionally invested in the little guy just to find out that he's gone. 2 weeks before we got Archimedes a man came into the shop demanding to buy him from the owner. He would pay more and I "could just pick out another bird" I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he will be found.

it's funny, Archimedes was being bratty today, and chewing on something he shouldn't, I had my thumb on his left foot, right foot free, and he didn't want to use his right food to re-maneuver but couldn't figure out how to use his right foot... which means my boy is 100% left-footed

I think your best bet would be a fireproof shed of some sort...

I don't wanna beat a dead horse, but as others have stated, sharing a cage isn't a good idea. Especially if you are putting the second bird in with the first bird (think about it if one day you come home and theres some random guy in your house, saying "yup, this is my new place too") It's could also be dangerous, because if a fight were to break out, the weaker grey would not be able to escape, and could be horribly injured.

welcome to the rest of your life! What you're feeling is exactly what I was feeling the first weekend Archimedes came home... it's so exciting! I can't wait for you to share the joys of owning a grey!

Doug, you have a point by not wanting to confuse Ellie. For me, I've noticed that the more I tell Archimedes no, and shoo him away, the more he wants something, so if he wants to destroy a keyboard, let him destroy the one thats safe for him to destroy, the one that doesn't have wires connected to electricity. The keyboards are right next to each other too, which I feel helps out.

When you're looking at becoming a first time bird owner, you shouldn't be concerned about *that parrot isn't a good first bird* because the needs of a parakeet is different than the needs of a hyacinth macaw. When you are looking for your first bird you need to see what bird are you comfortable at handling. A grey needs to be handled a lot, and mentally stimulated a lot. If a first time bird owner is fearful of their new grey, they won't take it out, and they won't give it all its needs. However, if the first time bird owner is ok handling the grey, and is able to understand and meet the grey's needs... then a grey would be a perfect first bird. I know my dream is to one day have a macaw, however at the time, I don't feel 100% confident in handling them, because I wasn't accustomed to reading their body language, now when I go to the bird store, I feel more confident, and hopefully, when the time is right.

you've got a grey with a red factor gene, thats for sure! Like Greyt said, the feathers may get lost during his/her molt, but those are some awesome feathers! (weirdly enough, save them, and if you want to sell em to crafters, those are some unique feathers!)

to answer your question, greys (and other birds) will molt all their feathers. They are staggered though (so it's not like one day you'll wake up and you see a naked chick, if you do, that's plucking, not molting) All feathers do get replaced at one point or another, the shaft will get weaker, and will need to be replaced. Greys are wonderful little machines, every part of their body serves a purpose, just like their feathers. All the feathers repel water to some extend, and when they can no longer perform that function, because they're old and ratty, they fall out and get replaced by a brand spanking new feather.

Archimedes loves helping me too, with my drinks, with my homework, typing up responses on forums, doing my makeup... the list goes on... and the more I don't need his help, the more he's inclined to help me... just like a mom, I get most of my work done during nap time