neoow

Great idea for a toy and really kind of you to donate toys to a rescue as well!

These are all foot toys! I think it covers anything that they can pick up and hold with their foot to chew/shred/throw etc etc. Alfie very rarely bothers holding toys with his foot. He prefers to fling them at me and watch me fetch them!

If there is, I haven't found it! For Alfie, I put things on the floor. He prefers being up high so anything I don't want him to mess with goes on the floor when he's out. He very rarely explores the floor so everything is generally safe there. With Pixel and Widget... NOTHING is safe. 🙄

Alfie seems to have been hard hard by his hormones this year. I only had to walk into the room and say hello and he would start regurgitating. Only thing is he will then immediately eat it afterwards. Gross! I also had to be really careful what foot toys I gave him. Anything round was out of the question as he would treat it like an egg rather than flinging it at my head like he usually does. After that he went through a spell of being quite distant from me and then he would fly to the back of my head and bite it. That was after some upheaval when I was decorating the rest of the house though... and I also decided to cut my hair really short so I think it was just too much change in a short time. At the moment we are in some kind of middle ground. He will let me scritch him out of the cage on occassion but he will not put his head down for scritches whilst he is in his cage. He reserves that for my housemate instead these days. He follows me round the room to see what I'm up to and will fly to me as well (without attacking the back of my head).

Haha too funny! Widget and Pixel are like no other cats I have ever known. My housemate came up with the idea of bengals because I was dubious about having cats. I'm very much a dog person and have always been more wary around cats. He sold me on them because of their personality traits and activity levels. They are both extremely vocal and super active. Widget is VERY smart and will sit and observe and work things out... like how to open doors. Pixel will just charge in head first without a second thought, whereas Widget is more calculated about things. They both chase anything that moves. I have watch Widget jump a few feet in the air and catch a fly mid-flight... so you can see why I don't trust them with Alfie flying around! They are also exceptionally loyal. They are almost dog like in how they know when we are coming home and rush over to greet us. And it's not even just because they are hungry- they seem to genuinely enjoy being in our company and will follow us around the house. They do play together but they play ROUGH. They will fling each other around. Pixel will usually instigate it then scream the house down when Widget goes too far. She's a little princess sometimes. 😂

They look absolutely adorable and I'm glad they are settling in so well!

I love the three bell perch. I've not seen anything like that before. I reckon Alfie would love that! Still no luck with getting him to go near it, but I'm sure he'll get there eventually. I did consider wrapping the outside in rope too... but I'll see how he takes to it first and might add that later. And yes... I can almost guarantee there will be food splattered up the walls!! 😂 The cat is one of my benglas, yes. That one is Pixel, my little girl. Well I say little, they'll both be 9 years old later this month. My boy Widget was sound asleep upstairs at the time otherwise he probably would have been in the photo too. They just dive into everything haha. The cat tree is a floor to ceiling one. It's in the living room where Alfie lives. When he comes out, I shut the living room door so the cats play upstairs and Alfie plays downstairs. They are never allowed in the same space when Alfie is out as I'm too worried about accidents happening. They pretty much ignore him whilst he's in his cage other than sniffing around him sometimes. They know better than to stick a paw in. When Alfie is out the cat tree is one of the higher 'perches' in the room so he often flies up there to scope out the room (and chew the curtains). He sometimes climbs it too if he lands on a lower part of it. So it's a multi-function cat and parrot tree. 😎

I'm fairly sure head and neck scritches are fine- but anywhere else could lead to some mixed signals. Like most things, it probably depends on the individual bird.

Yes I do. Some days it is very difficult to get out of bed - let alone have to deal with and engage with anyone. 😂 You need to look after yourself too. Make sure you rest and sleep when you need to. Timmy will probably still keep calling out. I know Alfie sits there calling out during the day when I'm not there. He practices lots of sounds regardless of whether I respond. Yes, he enjoys it when I'm there and I DO respond but he's also quite happy chattering away to himself sometimes too (so much so that I couldn't get a word in to call back even if I wanted to!) You're of more use to Timmy when you're well rested and happy. They pick up on moods so quickly. If you're tired and run down, he'll notice. And the more tired you get, the less patience you'll have. So give yourself a break and don't be so hard on yourself. This is one day in a lifetime. Let it pass and hopefully tomorrow will be a better one.

I've been looking at giving Alfie some different play areas downstairs where he spends all of his time. He currently has a couple of areas he likes to hang out - his java tree which is next to his cage and two shelves above the sofa. He also sometimes hangs out on the cat scratching tree. I found a hanging perch which I thought would be great which cost £40 new (a good price!) so I ordered it without taking any measurements. The thing is HUGE! 😂 However, I asked my housemate to hang a couple of ceiling hooks so I have two spaces to hang it - one is opposite his shelves near the fire place (the fire is disconnected so never used) and one behind my PC chair because he likes flying over to see what I'm up to. He hasn't tried it out yet but he is a little curious about it - but not curious enough to go near it. I leave it hanging up in the back near my PC and then I move it when he comes out as we're mostly hanging out on the sofa these days. I did try to take him over to it earlier this week but he shied away so I didn't force the issue. It has a few hoops so I will be able to hang some toys on it as well - but I'm leaving that until he's actually sat on it and used to it. The added bonus is the two food bowls - gives him a place other than his cage to grab a snack and a drink when he's out for long periods. I hope he eventually likes it! Pixel (the cat) couldn't resist getting involved when it turned up. So she is there for size reference. She is not a large cat. 😂

So sorry to hear about the second bite. I would echo what others have said about offering a treat rather than scritches. This is what I do with Alfie. He gets a banana chip for going back into his cage. I've pretty much nailed the routine of him getting back in the cage with minimal fuss and not giving me as much of the run around as he used to- but he still gets a treat every time. I really don't know what else to suggest. It's sometimes very difficult to work out what the trigger it and therefore how to avoid it or change the behaviour.

Please do not apologise. Karen summed it up perfectly - we are a community here and we will be with you through the good and the bad. I think we can all appreciate that losing a pet is very difficult and nobody would think ill of you sharing your sad news. I had 13 years with my dog Ben. Whilst I miss him, I have lots of happy memories that still make me smile to this day. We never did replace him and in fact it took us years to get another dog after our first dog, Sam passed away. If/when you get another cat/pet I don't think you ever 'replace' the pet that you lost. You will still have all the memories and you will still have the hole that they left behind. I would love to have another dog (but circumstances don't allow it right now) but he/she would never be a replacement for Ben... or Sam for that matter. Every pet is an individual and will bring something new to the family/flock/household. Nobody can tell you the 'right' time to get a new cat/pet after you have lost one. It's a very personal decision. I hope you are doing ok and that Snickers is looking after you. We're here if you need us.

They're not just pets they become family members. We spend so much time with them, caring for them and bonding with them that it's always so difficult when we lose them. I'm so very sorry for your loss, especially as it seemed so sudden and unexpected. I still miss our German Shepherd, Ben. He was such an integral part of our family and he got me through some particularly tough times. Even though it's been several years since he passed I still think about him and miss him.

Oof sorry to hear that. It's tough to know what goes through their heads sometimes.

Alfie loves shredding boxes and it's difficult to keep up with the habit. I remove tape and don't use boxes which are dirty or look like they have been kicked aorund.

What a lovely post. I'm glad HRH Inara is still keeping you both on your toes. Her vocabulary has always amazed me.

Congratulations on adopting your grey! I agree with the above posts. Just take a step back and let your grey adjust to his new surroundings. He has been taken away from everything he knows and is familiar with and greys can be particularly change adverse little critters. He might be staying in his cage because it is the only familiar thing he knows right now. Just keep talking softly to him, let him know what you're doing it. Read him some stories or the news or whatever else you have laying around. Get him used to hearing your voice. Do this from a distance. Get him used to you moving around the room and going near his cage. But give him space. Don't try and force the issue with him. Just feed and water him and let him know you're around if he wants you. Over time he will slowly adjust to you, your home and his new routine. Depending on the bird this could take days, weeks or months. You have to be prepared to be patient and understanding as he adjusts to and learns about his new home. He might start to show an interest in you or what you're doing. Great. Let him. Encourage his curiosity but don't force him too soon. Let him figure out when he wants to be move involved and come towards you. I agree that whistling is a great way to communicate with a grey. My grey Alfie loves to whistle back and forth with me. Again, this might take a while and you might not get a peep out of him for a while- but just keep encouraging him. He'll come round eventually.

What's yours is theirs. What's theirs is theirs (and not yours). Basically, everything belongs to the birds. 😂

Alfie isn't too lazy. He'll shell his own nuts quite happily. And stay put? Pah! I wish! He flies where he wants, when he wants. In fact sometimes I offer him a step up and he'll fly instead.

Ooo ouch! They can really get you good when you least expect it, can't they?! Are there any foods that he absolutely loves and will do anything for? If so - maybe save that particular treat for when he goes back into his cage? It might make going back in his cage a little more appealing if he knows he's going to get a tasty treat for going in there?

My sister and I grew up with a dog and we loved him dearly. He's probably a large part of the reason why we both still love animals and have pets ourselves. It's not a bad idea- just needs lots of careful planning I guess. My sister's situation was fairly unique because my brother in law had managed to injure his knee so badly that he needed surgery and was out for a while with it (had to sleep on the sofa because he couldn't manage stairs etc for a while). At the same time my sister had a really rough pregnancy and was quite ill after my nephew was born. So they had a rough few months to start with. I realised I probably sounded really negative in my last post which wasn't my intention. At no point did they want to rehome the dog - it's just he had to cope with less walks and less attention when my nephew first arrived. My parents and I helped out when we could but there were days where he just couldn't be walked because my brother in law was laid up with his knee and my sister was too ill- all whilst they were trying to care for my newborn nephew. I always feel sad when I see animals are being rehomed because a baby arrived but I think this can usually be avoided with consideration and planning. It also helps if there are parents/grandparents or other family members who can help take a load off when things do get a little crazy! I loved growing up with our family dog. We got another one some years later when I was around 11 years old so I went through my teenage years and early 20s with him. So if you can make it work then it's definitely worth considering.

Brilliant photos! Alfie hangs upside down on his rope boings quite often. I call him a "bat-bird" 😁

I just checked and I got mine back in 2014 - so I've had it for quite a while now! It still looks good as new though.

Funny you should say that. Alfie has had his Liberta Enterprise cage for many years now- easily over 7 years. He Has always preferred the top half of the cage because he has always liked being higher up. He very rarely went to the bottom of the cage. Nowadays he seems more willing to go and stand on the bottom of the cage and have a look around. There's nothing down there but I may buy some additional perches and toys just to make it a bit more interesting for him. Similarly, he's never been interested in exploring the floor. If he did go on the floor he would fly up to higher ground as soon as he could. Recently he has started exploring the floor as well... which is slightly problematic because I normally 'hide' things I don't want him to chew/throw on the floor! Might have to rethink that plan! Funny how they change and open up, even after years of exhibiting the same behaviours. It's taken him 16 years to want to explore the floor! This is Alfie's cage (although he has the first edition): https://www.northernparrots.com/enterprise-large-top-opening-parrot-cage-antique-prod950025/ Height - 208cm (82") Inside Height 167cm (65.75") Width of Cage (without seed catcher) - 102cm (40") Total Depth (without seed catcher) - 76cm (31.75") I got the biggest sized cage I could at the time because he has to stay in his cage whilst I'm at work. I'm now toying with the idea of building an indoor aviary instead of a cage so he can have a floor to ceiling cage. I've got several other home improvement projects I need to complete first though, so it'll be a few years before I can think about it.

I don't have the model number but the travel cage is exactly the same- except for the bowls. I have two black plastic bowls. I wonder if it was a temporary change? Or maybe it came with plastic bowls but had too many complaints so they switched to metal? The plastic ones clip over the top of the feeder doors- so not even sure I could change mine out. I have had the cage for some years now. I still love it. The bowls are more of an annoyance than anything- just because I know Alfie could destroy them if he really wanted to!