neoow

Cricket was a beautiful bird and I always enjoyed reading your posts about her. It's always exceptionally hard when we lose a beloved pet. It's no different from losing a family member.

How peculiar! I'm afraid I can't offer much advice. I did spot some similar behaviours with Alfie though- certain toys will set him off and he treats them like eggs and sits on them. He is totally indifferent about ice cubes. I have no idea whether Alfie is male or female either. I just assume male.

Funny you should say that... if I somehow managed to make enough money that I could give up working full time then I would love to start up a sanctuary/rescue centre. Yes British weather is often talked/complained about over here. We're never happy. It's always too cold/hot/wet/dry etc etc 😂

The weather here is dull, grey miserable and usually raining. We have had quite a few hot days this year but the heat we get with it is usually unbearable. Very hot, humid and close. When you walk out of the house/work you feel like you're walking into a brick wall. We don't have to deal with hurricanes though and our storms are usually quite tame. We don't often get much snow where I am - though everything still grinds to a halt when it happens because we're not used to it. I understand what you are saying about the sanctuary where your birds live. It's great that you still get to visit and can donate towards their care (and the care of other birds). I would have wanted something similar to Alfie but there's not many rescue centres around here, especially not close to home.

I wonder how many are in the UK. It doesn't seem as common to keep birds over here. In fact, the pet shop I used to work at stopped selling all birds. They used to sell finches, canaries, budgies, rosellas, cockatiels.., and the occasional african grey (which is how I first came across them and gained interest in them). We also had an eclectus in once... though that was from another store who hadn't cared for him properly so we looked after him, fed him properly and then sold him once he was in a better condition and was ready to move to his (hopefully) forever home. I still have a soft spot for electus parrots to this day because of him. Years ago they decided that birds weren't as popular as other pets so stopped selling them and drastically reduced their bird products. They only sell a few bits and pieces for small birds nowadays. None of my friends or family keep birds of any variety and I don't often hear about people keeping birds in my local area.

Yes I kept reducing seeds and adding more pellets. I tried offering pellets as a treat. I tried adding them to his foraging wheel once he got the hang of how to get the food out. He ignored the foraging wheel until I put his regular food/treats back in. He managed to pick his bowl up and dump the entire contents of it whenever it had pellets in. 😂 If there were any seeds present he would dig them out and eat those. I tried crumbling the pellets over his seed/veg/fruit but he wasn't having any of it. I pretended to eat them myself whilst making excited and happy sounds. He just stared blankly at me. I have tried every brand, every shape, every colour and quite possibly every trick. I've removed all other foods except the pellets for short periods at a time (around the time he normally dives into his food bowl or foraging wheel) but he was having none of it. Either dumped the contents or sat there rattling his bowl (his sign for 'FEED ME NOW!'). I couldn't bring myself to leave the pellets in there for nothing else for a whole day as I honestly believe he would starve himself before eating them. 🙄 So I keep offering fruit and veg- whether fresh, cooked or dried. He doesn't eat a lot of it (apart from dried fruit/veg like I mentioned earlier) but at least he picks at some of it. I think I'd rather he ate actual fruit and veg over pellets anyway. Not too keen on the whole processed/man made food idea.

I considered rehoming Alfie for a while so I understand how difficult it must have been for you. At the time I wasn't providing Alfie with the time and attention he needed and I felt like I wasn't good enough for him and he deserved much better. The latter is definitely true. I was putting in lots of hours at work and trying to study at the same time so Alfie wasn't getting as much out of cage time as he should and not enough social interaction for a while. I looked up a few recuse centres and even contacted one but they never got back to me. I came to the conclusion that Alfie didn't ask to be put int his situation so I needed to make some drastic changes. I figured I would try my best to adapt and get into a better routine to I had more time to spend with him (and work less whilst I was at it). It took me many months of making little changes here and there- like rearranging the rooms in the house, relocating Alfie's cage, getting him a new cage, changing my routines etc etc. When I bought my house I went into it looking at layouts which suited Alfie best. I'm forever learning and adapting to suit Alfie's needs and I am happy that I have made enough changes along the way that I no longer consider rehoming him. He seems so much happier since moving to this house 6 years ago and being the centre of attention in our living space. Plus he gets so much more time out of the cage and with me. It's always a tough decision and not one to take lightly. It reduced me to tears on a number of occasions as I tried to work out what to do for the best. Thankfully I was able to make the required changes to improve things though.

Yes it is tough. And it's very difficult not to take it personally. Unfortunately it is just a case of rolling with it and hoping they come round.

Alfie learned to bark like the neighbours Jack Russell.. which never used to stop barking. However, Alfie always sounded a lot cuter than the actual dog, so I can deal with it. The dog has gone because the neighbours moved but Alfie still barks on occassion. He never learned to bark like our german shepherd when we lived with my parents though. I'd prefer that bark over a jack russell any day!

Agreed- whilst there is a wealth of information available on these forums which is useful to all grey owners, I do enjoy reading the posts where members simply share stories about their greys.

Alfie is a seed junkie unfortunately, so I have to keep coming up with creative ways to entice him to eat healthy. If I put it in his bowl he'll mostly fling it, though I did have some success with a mini pumpkin last year. He will pick at a few bits and pieces and then toss it as far as he can. I use a skewer and hang foods in his cage so it's more difficult for him to discard them. This works occassionally and he will try some new foods that way. The foraging tray idea worked quite well. He did fling most of it but he was at least willing to nibble a few bits and pieces. I'm toying with the idea of getting a dehydrator because he seems to prefer dried veggies and fruit over anything else. Pellets have always been an absolute no go. I've tried all sorts of makes sizes and colours and they are always rejected, despite my perseverance.

Beautiful photos! Alfie came home at 11 weeks. I had met him a few times prior and fell in love at first sight. He's now 16 years old and runs the house... as expected haha.

London, UK has a very large number of wild ring neck parakeets. See here for more info: https://londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/london-s-parakeets-everything-you-need-to-know One of my friends was visitng someone in London and sitting in their back garden- the ringnecks were flying overhead and he asked me if I knew anything about it. I had heard about them before but then read that article about it for some more information. Nobody quite knows how they got there. There are lots of theories. Either way, they seem to have adapted and florished ever since.

Alfie is similar to Timber. He doesn't compete with the wild birds. He does, however, meow like the cats and will challenge them every so often for who can do the loudest meow!

7 years for me too!

Not sure how long I've been kicking around but it must be a few years now. It's been an invaluable source of information and guidance- even for someone who has lived with a grey for a few years before joining.

Just erring on the side of caution here- Are we likely to run into any copyright issues bt uploading music? Obviously if it's your own original music you can do what you want with it. But are we likely to have issues by uploading music by others at all? I think it's a great feature but I just wanted to raise it in case we could potentially get our fingers burned by using it!

They are so particular sometimes! Alfie doesn't really care what his bowls look like- so long as they have tasty food in them! He reacts differently to different toys. Some have to be introduced very slowly whereas others are no problem and are accepted before I even take the tags off. I can never tell what will be accepted or not until I bring it home and try it. He seems to have his own set of rules!

I've found it difficult with Alfie because parrots aren't a usual sight in houses so people tend to be wary or scared of him. Admittedly I failed to socialise him enough when he was young but my family all backed off and were scared of him after he bit them as a youngster. My mum tried the most but my sister is very fearful of him (and I don't even think she went close enough to get bitten). My dad is not interested. After I moved out my two housemates didn't really like him all that much - mostly indifferent but also a bit scared. I've never found anyone close enough who has enough of an interest to try and get to know Alfie. My current housemate is Alfie's favourite person (even over me). It has taken YEARS for them to get to this stage and they both had to get used to each other. Alfie will let my housemate give him scrtiches and and will even follow him around the room to be closer to him. He will join my housemate on the sofa or sit on his knee and ask for scritches. Sometimes you have to socialise the human with the bird as well as socialising the bird with the human! Alfie never used to make a peep if other people were in the room. He's never been particularly noisy anyway but he would clam up completely when others were near. Nowadays he is a lot more content to make some beeps and whistles at people and will say 'see you later' when he thinks they are leaving (or thinks it's time for them to leave!)

Thanks for all the work you have put in so far

Meant to add- is there a way members could contribute towards any costs if they chose to? This forum has been absolutely invaluable to me in the years I have been a member so I would happily contribute. I don't ever think it should be a mandatory thing and I probably wouldn't be able to donate much but if there are costs involved in making these kind of improvements (as I'm sure there are) then I would be willing to chip in as and when I am able to. Heck, even if I could buy KevinD and Talon a beer (or drink of choice), I would- just for all their hard work! (and anyone else who works behind the scenes of course!)

I appreciate how tough this is. I have just been through a rough spell with my 16 year old AG Alfie. He didn't want to know me and wouldn't even come to me or sit on my knee when out of the cage. He was starting to show some signs of aggression if I put my hands in his cage (he never used to do that) and if I asked him to step up to my hand I'd more often or not get ignored or bitten. So I have given him lots of time and space to figure things out. He seems to be coming back around. Yesterday he came and sat with me on the sofa for ages. Whilst I didn't get to give him scritches this was a big step forward seeing as he would actively ignore/avoid me before that. On the other hand- he LOVES my housemate and will let him give him scritches every day. It's very difficult not to feel a little bit jealous and upset about the change in dynamic but I just had to roll with it. They can be contrary little buggers at time but we love them anyway. 😂 Just stay calm and patient with him. He might come around eventually or he might favour someone else in your household. You can't predict it and often can't change it. they do seem to go through a lot of changes around that age where behaviours and temperament can change. Just keep going. Don't force the issue- let him lead. He'll let you know what he wants and when!

I'd happily use it and will enjoy seeing other peoples videos! I think a mix of mobile and desktop functionality is best. I use both to view the forums.

I have tried wrapping treats in paper but Alfie prefers to fling them around rather than grab them and tear them apart. Even if I show him the treat and wrap it in front of him he will still fling it as far as he can! I found some great little boxes recently which are perfect for foraging. I fill the smaller box with treats and paper, put it in the larger box and top it with treats and paper and Alfie has loads of fun shredding the box and finding some tasty treats. I have a small stockpile of the boxes at the moment as they are the perfect size to fit on his shelf and the fact there is a box within a box gives him an extra challenge too. (plus it makes more mess for me to clear up!)

I would be sad to see the forums close down because there is a wealth of knowledge and years of experience in the archives. It would be a real shame to lose everything that people have put into this place over the years- especially as some of them are sadly no longer with us. However, I understand that it is a large undertaking to keep a website/forum running. I also understand that this can seem like a totally thankless task when hardly anyone shows up and posts any more. I enjoy keeping up to date with everyone's birds and I would be sad to lose that connection with the people here. Is there a way to archive the data on the forums and make it searchable? Is there some way that this can be moved to another communications platform where we can still add to it and communicate with each other (for those that are left?) I don't even know what platform would be the best to use. Yes there is facebook where you could make a page or a group. But is that the best format? Would everyone move across? Are there other platforms available which are less taxing in terms of management and maintenance?