neoow

I'm sure the birds are training the humans instead of the other way round... Alfie rattles his food bowls when he's not happy with the contents. He grabs and pulls on them to make a loud metallic clicking noise which is highly irritating. I stupidly fell for this and would take his food bowls away for inspection/refill before bringing them back. Sometimes I'll change the food completely, sometimes I'll add a few tasty morsels on top. If it's fresh food that he's just refusing to try I will take it away, move it around the bowl a bit and bring it back to try and trick him into thinking I gave him new food. Either way, he knows this is a good way to get attention and will do it repeatedly. Even if he's just had his food changed. I do my best to ignore him now and only change the food when it actually needs changing. He's a fussy bugger and sometimes can't be bothered to rummage/forage in his bowl for his favourite bits. He knows if he does it long enough then I will come over though. 😂

I thought it would take me forever to get Alfie interested in his back pack because of the all the troubles I normally have convincing him to go in his travel cage. I was really surprised when he showed so much interest. I haven't been able to get him outside for a little while because the weather has just been rubbish. It's always sunny when I'm stuck at work and when I'm at home it's too cold, raining or REALLY windy. We also seem to have multiple seasons in one day quite a lot so you never know what the weather is going to do from hour to hour. Very annoying!

In which case then I'll just replace like for like as and when needed. It's a cheaper alternative and seems to do the job well.

Personally I would definitely swap them out, especially if you have spares handy. They could be toxic to birds if the metal contains zinc or lead. See: https://www.beautyofbirds.com/refinishingcages.html https://birdyrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/bird-metal-poisoning.html If you're able to change the hooks out yourself, what input do you need from your mum? I'd just go ahead and get it done. Cigarettes and aerosol sprays are a terrible idea around birds as they have sensitive respiratory systems... but I suspect you're already aware of that. I don't have much advice except to maybe arm yourself with some resources and try and educate your mum... however I do appreciate that this can be tricky.

Hello and welcome to the forums! I'm afraid I don't have any experience with egg laying as I think Alfie is a male (though have no actual proof) and "he" has never laid eggs. Hopefully someone else will come along soon with some more advice. However, please do know that none of us here are vets so if you have any doubts it might be best to consult with an avian specialist.

It's one from a website called northern parrots which is a UK based company: https://www.northernparrots.com/parrot-backpack-carrier-prod831300a/ I'm not sure it's quite as good as a pak-o-bird but they are trickier to get hold of over here. I have since located a website which will sell them - so if Alfie does start to put any holes in his current one then I'll get an upgrade to the reinforced pak-o-bird carrier.

Alfie loves to whistle. He's not a singer. (Not an amazon either, but figured I'd join in the conversation anyway!) He will copy whistles but does enjoy to make up his own tunes. He's never really learned to whistle any actual songs/tunes - despite my best efforts. He does do a good spaghetti western whistle (the good the bad and the ugly) though.

Oh cool! I'll keep an eye on it then. Such a great idea and I don't believe there any services like that over this side of the pond.

How exciting! I hope it works out for you! I'll take a look at the site when I'm at home. I'm assuming you won't be able to ship to the UK though?

Alfie is his actual name but he gets called Alfred and Alf quite a lot too. Other slightly more sporadic names: Alfie-doodles (which he used to be able to say himself... well, his version was more like "Alfie-Doooo!") Mischief Monster Little Man Bubbah (all the animals get called that at times) I'm sure there are more!

Happy 9 years!

I think digging is quite a natural behaviour for grey's? I think it's a foraging behaviour? Could also be nesting/mating behaviour I suppose but they are probably a little too young for that. Alfie is currently chewing up cardboard boxes on his shelf and occasionally stops to dig in the wreckage that was once a box. He also digs on the sofa sometimes.

I don't know because he doesn't socialise with many people other than me or my housemate. All my friends and family are too wary of him to get to know him properly. 🙄 I think he would probably lash out if someone did try to let him out, but I wouldn't want to risk it either way. They could theoretically pull the zip and let him make his own way out. I think it would also give me some peace of mind anyway.

I would love to take Alfie on a trip away but I've never had much success with finding bird/pet friendly accommodation before. In the meantime, I'm hoping to get him out for some more walks before the weather gets too cold for it. (That's if I could have some sunshine when I'm actually at home and not at work of course!) I'd like to try and take him to some places where more people are around as well, but I'm not sure where I can and can't take him in terms of actually going in to places. I think I'd also want to secure the backpack with some padlocks in case someone decides to try and open it to let him out. (I don't trust people!) Did the man mind being called a dork by a Corky?! Haha. Bet it was a bit of a shock to find out she had escaped though! (Though you do have to admire her intelligence for doing so!)

It is really difficult not to take it personally. Alfie went through a phase recently where he would fly to the back of my head and bite it a few times. Thankfully I have really thick hair (and a hard head to boot!) so he never really did any damage. But it did scare me and make me really wary, as it wouldn't have taken much for him to get my ears or face. I did write a thread about it. All seems to have settled down now but he totally went off me and wouldn't even have scritches from me. I did struggle not to feel hurt by it. I had to keep reminding myself not to apply human emotions to the situation and just ride it out until he came round. Things are much better now and he doesn't attack the back of my head any more. I'm also allowed to give him scritches again. Alfie generally strikes out and lets go. He rarely hangs on (thankfully). The few times he has held on he isn't applying as much pressure as I know he could. So I'm pretty lucky!

Us humans have got a LOT to answer for.

Aw you got there before I did! 😂 Alfie is a quiet observer. He doesn't make much noise... but he watches carefully and takes everything in.

So I bought a new carrier for Alfie back in June. He hates getting in his kings travel cage and it's fairly heavy and difficult to move around if you want to travel further than the car/house/aviary. So I bought him a backpack style carrier which he was VERY curious about. I kept rewarding him with a treat any time he went near it, but he didn't actually need much encouragement. I have managed to take him for a walk in it too and I'm hoping I'll be able to take him for more walks once the weather figures out what the heck it's doing. 😂 So I figured I'd start a thread and show off some photos of Alfie enjoying his carrier. I used it to get him out to the aviary once and took him for one walk (so far). If I take him to the vet then I'll revert back to the kings cage. Similarly, if I'm going to my parents house or anywhere where he needs to remain caged (and not walking) then I'll use the kings cage, as I don't want him to chew his way out of his backpack. My only complaint is the thickness of the perch- it's really thin... probably to accommodate several different bird species. I'm going to attempt to wrap it with rope and also attach something to grab hold off whilst we are moving so he can steady himself whilst on the move. Packed and ready to go! Trip out to the aviary (see what I mean about the thin perch?) First time I got him in it with the door closed- ready for his first walk. Just hanging around! I stopped mid-walk to check on him and hung the back on a tree branch. Food and water had been spilled because he kept trying to find things to hold whilst moving around. He seemed to be ok on his walk. My housemate came with me to keep an eye on Alfie and we kept chatting to him. He made a few beeps and whistles which is a good sign. A lady went past with a baby and he whistled to them as they passed so she pointed him out to the baby and said hello. So all in all, this has probably been my most successful purchase ever! Alfie took to it like a fish to water. Hopefully we will get to go on a few more adventures!

It can be a shock- especially when blood is drawn! Alfie does bite when he is feeling cranky or doesn't agree with something. He tends to just leave a mark or a slight bruise. Only time he has ever drawn blood is when he got my mum on the ear and again on the nose when he was a baby. However, I don't doubt that he could draw blood quite easily if he wanted to. He tends to grab and let go rather than clinging on for too long (thankfully!) It's usually quick and sharp. You know damn well you've been bitten and it's sore for a short while but there's no blood. Macaws seem to be gentle giants. The size of their beak is intimidating but from what I've read from macaw owners they seem to know exactly how much pressure is required. I've never really got up close and personal with a macaw, though I did hold one back in June. It was at the annual think parrot show and was a very tame green wing. She stepped up on my arm and sat there quietly for a few moments before being returned to the owner. I also saw some other macaws in aviaries at the event but I was a bit too nervous to stick my fingers in to give them scritches, despite the fact other people were. Greys? I don't think any bird bites quite like a grey does. Alfie is so fast and so accurate. He also gives off 'warning shots' at times where he deliberately gets the cage bars as opposed to the person (or cat). This seems to be his way of saying "back off or lose a limb!" and it works pretty damn well. The cats know better than to mess with him. (they never mix when Alfie is out of the cage and they know better than to stick a paw or tail in or near his cage!) I don't think you over-reacted by posting. I think sometimes they'll do something that catches us off guard and makes us wonder what the heck happened to warrant the response. Their behaviours are so subtle at times they can be difficult to read!

Haha that's fair enough. I guess I've never really given it much thought before. No idea if it's possible but @KevinD is probably your man for making that kind of change. 😊

Difficult to tell either way but possibly just an accident - he was probably just going for the cardboard tube and your finger happened to get in the way. I have had a breakthrough with Alfie and bedtimes in the last couple of years. Well, I say I've had a breakthrough... he's basically just done it all himself and I'm celebrating. Bedtimes or back to cage times were always tricky with Alfie giving me the run around. However, I think this was mostly because he wasn't getting enough out of cage time previously. Now we've spent quite a few years having regular out of cage time and establishing a better routine I think he now realises that he will definitely come out again tomorrow so is more willing to accept going back in his cage. I have to use a wooden perch to get him to step up as he's usually on top of his shelves and I can't reach so well (there is a sofa in the way too). So I ask him to step up on the perch, which he does nicely. I then take him to his cage and ask him to step up on the perch on the cage door and he does so willingly. I then close the door and give him a treat. Occasionally he will grab the perch and give it a bite first, but he still reliably steps up on to it. Very occasionally he will give me the run around by climbing to the top of the cage (which I can't reach) but I use the long wooden perch to guide him back down. It's just a bit of a game to him sometimes I think. We've even got to the point that Alfie will sometimes put himself back in his own cage. If it's getting late in the evening and I'm doing other things he sometimes flies to his cage and climbs right in to have his bedtime snack and drink. He also sometimes tops his off by saying "night night" - a hint for me to let him sleep! I never thought I would see that happen. 😂

My activity here is always in fits and spurts. Sometimes I only get time to read posts and not reply. Other times I have the luxury of being able to reply and start new threads as well. I try and stay active but unfortunately life gets in the way sometimes.

Hmm. Hoovering doesn't set Alfie off either. He just watches. Do I have an imposter? My family always said Alfie was a pigeon with a painted tail... perhaps I don't have a grey at all? 😂

I just checked by editing the above post and you don't have leave a comment. You can edit your post and save it. The post will still show as edited but won't have a comment as to why.

Hah, funnily enough, I have spotted some absolute corkers in my posts recently- usually when I read back through a thread. I always wonder how I missed it the first time round, as I always read back what I have written before posting. As for the reason for editing box... isn't it optional to leave a comment? Or has that changed?