neoow

I've not been in a similar situation before but it sounds like you did everything you could. You cleaned off his feet and it doesn't sound like he had chance to ingest any, so hopefully all is ok! Alfie doesn't like going on the floor very often so I always move anything breakable or destructible on to the floor. If he does end up on the floor he's normally quite cautious and moves around slowly enough that I can move anything out of harms way.

Similar with toys- you spend loads of money on expensive parrot toys... and they want to chew the box they were delivered in!!

Hi all, Many apologies for being absent from the forums for a while. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster year and that's even without the pandemic. However, I'm pleased to report that Alfie has been doing REALLY well. For those of you that have read my previous posts you may remember that Alfie suddenly took a disliking to me around March/April last year. I think this was caused by a lot of upheaval due to decorating other parts of the house and having lots of people coming and going to help decorate the upstairs rooms plus two different flooring fitters and all the noise/commotion that comes with it. The cats had to share the living room with Alfie for a while (to keep them out of the paint cans!) so it meant his time out of the cage was reduced for a few weeks. I also decided to have my hair cut a heck of a lot shorter around the same time plus he had been particularly hormonal earlier that year too. So lots of changes in a short space of time. He became really wary of me and on a couple of occasions he would fly to the back of my head and bite me, which he has never done before. He also kept lunging at my hands and wouldn't accept his favourite treats from me or offer his head for scritches anymore. Fast forward to now and I believe things are heading in a much better direction for Alfie and I. We have been working hard to improve our relationship and the trust between us and it is paying off. I have been trying to do some structured training with him, so some recall training, teaching him to wave and also trying to learn some colours (red, blue, green, yellow). This has REALLY helped him get over whatever fear/anger he held towards my hands. In the space of about two weeks- maybe three- I was able to start giving him treats by hand again. He will land on my hand/wrist but still shimmies up my arm given half a chance. But he no longer lunges at my hand as soon as it's anywhere near him and will happily take treats without trying to bite me first. I have even managed to give him some head scritches a couple of times now too- although we're still not back to where we were on that one. Alfie will also fly to me to come and sit with me again - whereas for the last few months he hasn't been interested. I've really enjoyed watching how he's progressed over the last couple of months or so and how keen he is to train. I'll have to come up with some more things to teach him at this rate because he's absolutely smashing the recall training and waving. He's still working on his colours but he's keen to give it a good go.

I discovered birdtricks quite recently and I don't know if they've changed/improved their methods...? However, I have watched a lot of their free content on youtube and it has helped me with Alfie. I've never done any structured training with him before but their videos helped me learn how to start some structured training with him and honestly, it's really turned things around for me and Alfie. He went from lunging to my hands (even when I had to treat) to flying to me and accepting a treat within weeks. I appreciate these are tips and tricks that many other trainers offer, but I've only used their free resources on youtube and that was good enough to get me going. The masterclasses and in home visitations they do have been really interesting to watch. I don't think I've ever seen them recommending to starve your bird (but I haven't watched ALL of their videos) and a lot of the complaints I've seen seem to be quite dated and seem to involve a Chet Womach (who I think might be the brother of Dave Womach?). I've not seen any videos with him involved so I wonder if he dropped out of the birdtricks scene or hides in the background these days? Like anything on the internet, it definitely pays to do your research and double check your sources of information. There are lots of recipes and guides available about feeding birds and similarly lots of resources for training etc. I have read lots of different books, watched loads of different videos and read lots of guides/information on the internet- I'm always learning, even after 17 years of living with Alfie.

Glad to hear Sukei is making good progress! I've also had some breakthroughs with Alfie in the last few weeks. I will have to post an update of my own soon.

Welcome to the forums! I really enjoyed reading about you and your flock/family. You seem to be doing all the right things and I'm glad Ruby is settling in so well!

I am so so sorry to hear this happened to you/your bird.

Happy belated hatchday to you, Corky!

I got Alfie at 11 weeks old. The person I got him from recommended a light clip on one wing. I was 17 at the time and advice on to clip or not to clip was rather lacking so I followed the advice I was given. I got the second wing done a few weeks later to even it out then decided to let them grow out. I didn't see the benefit of clipping wings - I wanted Alfie to be fully flighted so that if he ever did get out of the house he had the best chance of getting himself out of trouble. I also felt like clipping a birds wings were like asking a dog not to wag it's tail. Birds have wings and are meant to fly. I think it has a massive impact on a bird's mental and physical health if they are not allowed to fledge and learn to fly properly. I think it also has a knock on their confidence too. So that was the last time he was clipped. And thankfully it was a light enough clip that it didn't have too much of an impact on Alfie. He enjoys his time out of the cage and enjoys being able to fly from spot to spot. I can't really help answer your question because Alfie is 17 years old, fully flighted and has been since that initial light clip. He has never plucked. I believe a lot of the issues that cause people to clip their birds can be mitigated. Alfie knows where all the windows are and not to try and fly through them. I'm super cautious about doors and windows being opened and have mesh over any that may be opened whilst he's out so he can't get through. He can fly at quite a steep ascent and knows how to descend (useful in case he ever gets into a tree). He has an aviary to play outside in during the summer and lots of places to play when he's inside.

Are there any sanctuaries nearby that you could surrender her to? What about friends/family that might be willing to take her in? I couldn't imagine ever having to make that decision. It can't be easy.

I kind of hope that they teach their new companions how to swear so it spreads even further. 😂

I wish Alfie would do the same with his veggies. I can serve it up any which way I want, he'll still ignore it or fling it across the cage!

So glad to see there has been some progress and success with your husband and Vannah's relationship!

I've had Alfie since he was 11 weeks old but he's never been a big talker. He has learned and 'forgotten' words and phrases over the years. Though I don't think he really forgets them, just chooses not to say them any more. Occasionally he will relearn or remember old words/sayings or he'll come up with something he hasn't said for a long time. My dad taught him to say "Oi! Put the kettle on!" when he was young. He also taught him to say "nag nag nag" to my mum and "naughty naughty!" but he no longer says these phrases. He also learned to say "Widget" (one of my cat's names) but only said that for a short time before stopping. He now says "Pixel!" (the other cat's name) but never Widget.

Hahaha such an awesome video!

Welcome to the forums! I'm afraid I have no knowledge about breeding or rearing parrots so can't offer much advice. Do you know any breeders that are local to you? You might be able to get in touch with them and ask for their advice? Some may be willing to help or even mentor you? It's well worth checking out historical threads here on the forums. Like greytness mentioned, the nursery section is probably the best place to start,

I think just keep encouraging her to exercise and flap her wings etc. Alfie is fully flighted but still enjoys climbing. Sometimes he'll opt to climb when flying would be the easier option. Any form of exercise will be good for her. She might not know how to fly or might not have the confidence to try it.

What a great idea! Glad she's still willing to try new foods...even if you do have to be a little creative in how you present them!

Oh poor Rio :( Grey's are really empathetic, so all the stress and uncertainty of this year would undoubtedly have rubbed off on him. Not saying it's the cause of the feather butchering, but it could be one of many factors. It could be hormones, stress, diet or illness related. I can only echo what others have said- if it was Alfie in this situation then the first thing I would do is contact an avian vet to rule out any illnesses/infection. It's always worth reviewing any changes that have happened in Rio's life/environment recently or around the time his behaviours started changing... no matter how small they may be. Grey's can be quite change adverse.

Alfie chose my housemate as his favourite after years of me being the favourite. Unfortunately there's not a lot you can do. My housemate moved out a few months ago but still comes to visit. He can instantly give Alfie scritches whereas I still can't- despite always being the main caregiver, food bringer etc etc etc. Unfrotunately you just have to roll with it. I would recommend looking up birdtricks on youtiube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1BpMn4ErGPo8XB3Rzltojg they are parrot trainers and have loads of useful videos on their channel which may help you.

Sounds like she is making really good progress! The mental image of you running round the room with her is just too cute!

Oh she makes me melt. Look as those beautiful baby eyes!

Aw happy belated hatchday!

No worries, it did take me a little while to find it, but I was sure I had seen it before!

I think the aviator harness is one of the most well known ones and has been rated highly everywhere I've looked. I have one for Alfie and was starting to get him used to seeing it and putting his head through a loop, but I wasn't able to continue as he took a disliking too me and I had to take a bit of a step back until he calmed down. I would love to be able to get him to wear a harness, but he hates his back and wings being touched and won't even let me give him head scritches at the moment... so it's going to be a long a patient road before I get anywhere close to trying again with him. There are lots of videos on youtube of people harness training their parrots though- it's a good way to start doing some research. It make take time and patience, like anything with a grey. The younger you start the process, the better.