neoow

This makes me thankful that I only have one grey to worry about. He loves anything loud and obnoxious. He has this ear piercing squeak that he saves for when I'm walking next to his cage and it's so painful when he does it. I try so hard not to react so as to not enforce it... but he knows full well that he's got me every time. I can't imagine three of them making the same noise! As least you don't have this problem: Swearing parrots moved enclosures to help stop their bad language - BBC Newsround

I was his chauffeur, his maid and his cook. No change from normal really. 🤣 I do have a backpack carrier for him as well, but that only has one perch in it and the food/water bowls are fixed in with velcro, so he normally rips them off and chucks them to the bottom of the carrier, leaving me with water running down my back! It also only has one perch in it and I was worried about him being knocked around if I used that at the show. His travel cage is obviously a lot sturdier (but also heavier) so the wagon makes it easier for us to get around at that kind of event. Plus it has space for all the goodies I bought whilst there, so there was less for me to carry! And it also means I can chat to people as they come over to see him, whereas with the backpack they'd always be behind me. And again, Alfie being the boisterous little so and so that he is, it didn't take long for him to adjust to it at all. He's less keen when we had to go over grass or bumpy areas but once we were on concrete or inside the building where the flooring was smooth, he was fine and settled really quickly.

Yeah I think we're really lucky to have something like this here. There is another similar event being held up North in the UK but I met someone at the Think Parrots show who said it wasn't as good and they said it wouldn't be worth me making the trip all that way for it. So I think I'll stick to this one for my annual event and keep an eye out for other bird events closer to home as well. I'm also really lucky that Alfie is so boisterous. He takes most things in his stride and seems to adapt really well. I knew he'd be ok with the long journey as we did it last year. I wasn't sure what to expect in the hotel and figured he might be a little unsure at first, but when I let him out he stepped out if his cage like he owned the whole hotel, let alone the room we were in.🤣 He did really well at the show itself. Again, I knew what to expect from last year and the time I went without him a few year back (pre-covid). I knew it would be full of people and quite noisy but he got some respite whenever we went to the masterclasses and used that time to preen himself and have a quick powernap. When we were in amongst all the people and stalls he took it all in and enjoyed all the attention he got along the way.

I have some mixed feelings about it. I think my preference would for them to be harnessed with a long line to allow some freedom of flight, but also still within control. Last year they had one person with all sorts of different species of parrots (plus a toucan!) demonstrating free flight and it was a lot more controlled. He brought one bird out as a time, talked about them, explained about their species and some of their training then did short back and forth recalls from perches or through hoops that were being held up by people. It didn't attract any attention from the local birds (e.g seagulls or crows) and it was really interesting and informative. And all of his birds were very well trained. Each bird had a short session out and then was put away safely before the next bird was brought out. And it was all at a low height as well. This year it was a bunch of people with macaws - just regular parrots owners instead of any kind of specialist trainer. It was led by the guy who did the second 'masterclass' called "confident wings". I'm not sure why they asked him to speak because he's not an expert and not a parrot trainer. Although it was an interesting talk it wasn't very professional and there wasn't much information to take away from it compared to the other masterclasses. This years free flight display was a bit more chaotic as they just released their macaws to free fly. It was impressive to see so many macaws in the sky and to hear them communicating. But then it all went a bit awry when they couldn't recall their birds back and the seagulls got involved. And some of them flew too high to had difficulty getting back to their owners. That kind of free flight concerns me more because it's a lot more unpredictable and dangerous.

I went back to the Think Parrots Show again this year! This year I decided to break the driving up and stayed in a hotel for two nights, as it meant less stressing about timings and traffic etc. So I drove down on the Saturday and came back the Monday. The hotel was about 2 mins away from the venue and the show was on the Sunday. This meant I could enjoy the show and not have to worry about driving back or leaving early etc. It took about 2.5 hours to get there and about 4.5 hours to get home (traffic on the M25 was atrocious!) I took Alfie with me and this is the first time he's stayed in a hotel. I wasn't sure how he would react but as usual, he took everything in his stride and had a lovely time! I stocked up on all sorts of toys and treats for him which should hopefully last a while. Here's some photos of our adventure! Hotel with Alfie in his travel cage/wagon: Alfie exploring the hotel: Waiting to get in Inside! We saw lots of other parrots and watched all three masterclasses on various topics. There were loads of vendors there selling all sorts of parrot related goodies. It was a great day. Alfie wasn't too worried and enjoyed all the fuss and attention he got- except when people tried to poke their fingers in his cage (why do people do that?!). I warned them but then he gave them an extra stern warning by lunging at them if they didn't get out of the way quick enough! There was also a free flight display - which wasn't quite as well organised last year. Last year there was one guy with lots of different parrots and he intoduced them all, talked about them for a while and demonstrated them free flying. This year it was a group of people with lots of macaws who let the bird free fly but didn't really talk much. It was impressive to watch them all flocking together but then it went a bit wrong when some seagulls took an interest. One landed on top of a large sign and refused to come back, one got chased into a tree and hunkered down to get away from the seagulls, one ended up on the venue roof and wandered off. All of the goodies! Back at the hotel. Alfie was really tired after his busy day so didn't get into too much mischief in the room on the Sunday evening. He just chilled out and had a nice snooze! All packed up and ready for home The haul! One tired birdy, back home and safe

Aw that's amazing news! I was waiting for the update! Hopefully Gracie settles down with the change soon enough. Can't blame her for being a bit grumpy about some added competition!

Your secret is safe with us!!

Hi all! Apologies for being a bit radio silent recently. I do check in every so often but haven't responded to posts for a while and haven't started any new discussions recently. So I thought I'd just check in, say hello and see how everyone and their flocks are doing? Alfie and I are doing good. Work is crazy busy at the moment for me but life with Alfie is good. He had a routine vet appointment last week to have his beak burred (it grows out wonky so he has to have some help every so often to keep it in check). He was the best boy, as usual. Pretty sure he gave the vet a bit of a run around first off but they all seem to love him there, so I don't think he was TOO boisterous!! He also got to go in my new car, which he wasn't too happy about at first as it's a different size, shape and colour to my previous one. So that warranted a short adjustment period for him. I'm very thankful that Alfie is not change adverse and takes a lot of things in his stride. I've got a ticket to go to the 'Think Parrot' show again this year in June and this year I decided to book a hotel to break up the driving. So I'm heading down on the Saturday, going to the show on the Sunday and returning home on Monday. Alfie is coming with me for the whole trip so that'll be an experience for him. I double checked with the hotel that they're ok for a parrot to stay - I paid extra for a 'pet' but they probably normally expect dogs so I figured I'd better check to make sure we didn't get turned away! Alfie also turned 22 years old on April 16th. I didn't get him any goodies for his birthday- I'm saving up for the parrot show to buy him lots of toys/treats and various other bits and pieces. So he'll get some belated birthday presents then! Hope those of you that are still hanging around and checking in to the forums are all well and good? Hope your flocks are all good too, of course! Aaand of course, got to remember the photo-tax! 😁

I remember your previous post about Odie and I'm thrilled that he is making his way back to you. Sometimes things just have a funny way of falling into place just when we need them to. Would love to see an update when you're all back home safe and settled.

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Brutus. I think all of us here understand how special it is to get to spend our time with parrots. If you feel up to sharing, maybe it would help to tell us a bit more about Brutus, about his personality, his favourite toys/treats etc etc. Maybe sharing some of the better times with him will help. However it is totally understandable if you are not ready for that yet. Grief is different for everyone and you need to allow yourself time to grieve properly, in whatever way you need to. I'm afraid I don't have much else that can help with what you're going through but please know there are people here who sympathise and understand how tough it must be for you right now.

Sorry, I can't help as I'm on the wrong side of the pond. Didn't realise that line of travel cages has been discontinued though. It's a shame, I have the medium sized one for Alfie for when I take him out and it's a brilliant cage.

Wow I'm so sorry you both had to go through that with him but am really happy Jako managed to survive. I wonder if you can slowly transition him away from the dependency on the syringe feeding. Maybe start by using the same food from the syringe but try offering it from a spoon instead. Then maybe transition from spoon to a bowl with you holding it. Lots of encouragement and praise every time he takes that next step. Once he's eating from a spoon or a bowl you might be able to try offering other soft foods for him to try. Mashed sweet potatoes, for example. Others have made some great suggestions with types of food to try. If that's all working then maybe try and transition to his regular food bowl. If you find a food he REALLY likes then maybe only offer it from the regular food bowl (whether that's in his cage or on a playstand). You'll obviously have to move at his pace for this and it might take a while to move him on to the next step or next little win. Lots of fuss, praise and encouragement will be your friend. Even if he just touches a new food and doesn't actually try some, make a big deal out of it. But obviously read his cues and if he's not comfortable or not progressing, take a step back and try again another day. I'm by no means an expert but that's probably how I would approach it if I was in that situation.

I'm a bit late to the party but happy new year everyone!

Hmm. I wonder if it's because I did it on my phone... can you see them now?

Just a slight update on this one. I found and purchased a smaller handheld perch as I figured that would be much easier to carry around to different places with me. It came with a plastic 'guard' that I don't think I can detach (although haven't tried to yet in case I break it). I've had it for a good few weeks and have been slowly introducing it to Alfie. He wasn't keen at first because it was something different. So I took it slow and just got him used to touching it with his beak and rewarding him with treats when he did. He hasn't stepped up on it and usually runs away if I ask him to step up on it. I haven't forced the issue. But tonight, he decided now was the time that he would step up and let me walk him round the room. Lots of praise ensued so he knew it was a good thing. So here he is, on his new portable perch! (I just noticed I had it the wrong way round with the plastic guard pointing in the wrong direction haha)

Sorry to hear about the recall scare but hopefully all are safe and well.

Take it slow with lots and lots of praise and her favourite treats. Hopefully she'll come round eventually!

Good luck with it, and please post photos when you complete it as I'd love to see what you end up with. I think it's good to have different options depending on where you're going/what you're doing. I really like the stroller idea, I'm just not handy enough to make something myself! Alfie enjoys getting out and about, as he's quite boisterous for a grey and seems to take it all in his stride. He loves going in his aviary in the garden and I have a similar problem in that I can never convince him to come back out of it in the evening! I have to remove all the toys and perches then put the travel cage over him to get him to go in it! Otherwise, he just climbs away!

I think this is a great idea and I have seen a few people do this. Some modify it and attach a dog crate onto the frame. Others do what you have suggested have have a mesh screen over the top. I have a couple of options for Alfie when I take him out. I have a small metal cage for him when I take him in the car- e.g to take him to the vets. I use that if we're going to be out for a long time, as it has food and water dishes he can't remove. I often take him with me when I visit my parents, as he absolutely adores my mum and it means he's not left alone. I also have a little camping trolly/cart that the cage fits in, so if I'm taking him somewhere where we'll be moving around (e.g a couple of parrots shows I've visited in the last couple of years) then I can pull the cage around in that. If I'm just taking him out for a walk then I have a backpack carrier for him which has a single perch in it. It did come with food/water bowls but they are just attached via velcro, so the first thing he does is rip them off and drop them... which means I end up with water running down my back! 🤣 Alfie has the same attitude about harnesses. I do have a harness for him and I did try and start harness training a few times... but he hates his back/wings being touched and the loop to go over his head is so small we never progressed that far with it. I never forced the issue because I'd quite like to retain all my fingers! 😁

I've done similar in the past- it was quite a few years ago and I was cleaning out Alfie's cage. He was in the cage as the cats were about. I took the bottom tray out and started cleaning that, then for some unknown reason I then took the grill out of the bottom as well and took that outside to wash it off. I heard some commotion because Alfie was jumping around his cage and knocking toys around, walked back in and saw Widget in the bottom of his cage having a good sniff around. I think it was a similar thing to your Wilson - he wasn't phased by or interested in Alfie, he was more interested in this space that he normally can't get to. So I quickly ushered Widget out from the bottom of the cage and put the grill back in place before apologising profusely to Alfie! 😬

I have two Bengal cats, Widget and Pixel who are both indoor cats. They will be 14 years old later this year but are still quite energetic when they want to be. They co-exist with Alfie quite well and both learned from a young age to leave him well alone. They pay Alfie no mind and don't harass him whilst he is in his cage and I separate them when I let him out- they typically get the upstairs and Alfie gets the downstairs. My living room door handle had to be taken off and put back on upside down to help with this, as otherwise Widget could open the door and let himself in. Anyway, this works well as the cats have everything they need upstairs and it gives Alfie enough room to fly around, get some exercise and generally cause all sorts of mischief. The other day, Widget was asleep on the sofa in the living room and I needed to let Alfie out so I woke Widget up, gave him some fuss and then shooed him out of the room. I let Alfie out as usual and he flew over to his tree on the dinner table. Then he immediately flew over to his standing tree at the other side of the room. He then flew back to the original tree. That was a bit unusual as he usually stops somewhere to stretch and preen first. All of a sudden, Pixel scurries across the room, looking a bit worried. Last time I'd seen her, she was upstairs and I obviously hadn't noticed her wander in to the living room at some point. Alfie was still flying around because he knew it wasn't right that she was there. Thankfully, I was able to get Pixel to stop running around and picked her up to remove her from the room. Phew! Alfie then settled ok and we carried on with our evening. I think Pixel was too scared of all the flapping to know what to do but I'm just so glad she didn't try and chase Alfie - or spot him before he spotted her. The stupid thing is, I normally do check around the rest of the room to make sure I got both of them out. That one moment of complacency could have ended very badly... although I'm honestly not sure who would have come off worse with that one... either way, I felt very guilty for a good while after! Have you ever slipped up/made a mistake and had a near miss as a result?

He definitely has a 'tude! If he's in a grump about something then stay well clear, because he will be damn sure to let you know otherwise! And he is SO quick as well.

Alfie spent some more time in his aviary yesterday after his routine vet visit to have his beak filed back. He has crossbeak and needs an appointment with the vet every so often to help keep it in check.

Summer in the UK so far has been a bit of a washout. Most of the hot and sunny days have been when I'm stuck at work. But this weekend we finally got some lovely sunny weather! Today I did a bit of gardening, scrubbed down the aviary and then put Alfie out there to enjoy the sunshine. This is only the second time he's been out there this year. He absolutely loves it out there... so much so that he's a right pain to get back inside. 🤣 But all that sunbathing, climbing, preening and watching/listening to everything going on around him obviously tired him out! 20240728_135615.mp4

No rings or nail polish as I don't wear either. He won't ever step up on my fingers/hand so I offer with the wrist closest to him. He'll step up for a wrist and will normaly stay there or a little further up the forearm. He's a "no shoulder" bird because he won't come off a shoulder easily and will usually try and find an ear to munch so I can't trust him there. So when we move around he'll stay on my forearm. I have tried to encourage him to stay on my hands instead in the last but he always shimmies up to my forearm. I read something about putting a thumb up so he can't get up the arm so I tried that during recall training once. He landed on my hand, bit the thumb and then when I moved it he went straight on to my wrist. 🤣 So he knows what he wants and he is not easily fooled! I typically keep my hands in a fist as well so that if he does decide to lunge then it's harder to get a finger or much of a grip. This evening he was on the dinner table when it was time to go to bed so I walked over with the dowel and held it about a foot away from him. He came straight over and stepped up. By comparison if I had done the same with my arm he would have walked the other way, despite treats being on offer. I think it's just an accidental habit/routine we've managed to form over the years. I'll keep working on it with him and see how it goes.