neoow

It's very sad. Humans manage to ruin everything good in this world. I am glad Sukei managed to survive what must have been a horrific ordeal and I'm so glad he found a family who loves him and is willing to move mountains for him. (or at least fly him over some!) I wish governments and leaders across the world were more willing to protect the planet and the critters that inhabit it, rather than looking to line their own pockets first- regardless of what damage that causes.

He gets his favourite treat every time he goes near it or touches it and I also leave some inside- he hasn't been brave enough to stick his head far enough to take a treat from inside- but will take one from the outside. 😂 But he's still very curious about it, so hopefully it won't take long to convince him to step up on the perch inside.

Woohoo! All sorted! Thank you!

He's REALLY interested in it- watches closely every time I move it and tries to find ways to get a closer look. He hasn't actually stepped foot in it yet but he is comfortable with walking up to it and looking round it. He did stick his head in a couple of times too.

Oh crud. I just realised I posted this in the wrong section - it should have been in the problem forum and resolution one. Apologies! If a mod is able to move it then please do.

Hi @ILeo I saw your posts in the chat box so figured I'd make an actual post about this issue. It's a really minor one but as it was mentioned in chat I figured I'd log it properly. My profile picture disappeared and was replaced with a 'N'. I am unable to change it back to a photo. I am using the default blue theme at the moment. I click on my username in the top right and go to my profile. I then click the photo button at the bottom left of my current profile picture. This loads an empty box which I think should be where I can upload a photo - but that never appears for me (as shown below) I click the continue button and the colour of my profile picture (with the 'N') changes. So it just looks like the section to upload a new picture isn't loading properly. Like I say, it's a minor issue and doesn't really bother me- I just noticed it when my picture disappeared and I tried to upload a new one. I haven't done any kind of trouble shooting from my end (e.g different browser, clearing cache, different forum theme etc etc). I'll try and make some time to try a few things to see if I can get it working. If I do, I'll post what I did.

Hopefully so! Fingers crossed that he takes to it! He doesn't like his travel cage and actively avoids going in it- he has always hated going in carriers/small cages. So I'm hoping this is a bit more successful.

I'm trying to encourage Alfie to forage more for food. It's a natural behaviour of African Grey's (and other parrots of course) and a good one to encourage as it keeps them active and makes them work that bit harder for their food. Tonight I made a foraging tray and put it on Alfie's shelves. I put some fruit and veg and other tasty morsels in the bottom of a tray then filled it up with shredded paper and foot toys. He had to root around and pull the paper and toys out before he could get to the treats. It kept him busy for quite some time. Most of it (including the food) ended up over the sofa but he seemed to enjoy digging through the tray. I have a couple of foraging toys in his cage (a buffet ball and a wheel that he has to spin and line up the holes with the treats in different compartments) and I'm thinking of putting a tray at the bottom of his cage for him to forage in. I'm also toying with the idea of getting some bird safe plants and putting them in his cage (whilst supervised) so he can dig through those and pull them apart. I just need to be a little bit careful because I also have two cats- so I would have to make sure they either can't get at the plants or that they are cat safe as well as bird safe as my two cats get into everything! (they are indoor cats) Do you provide foraging opportunities for your birds? If so, what do you set up for them?

I went to the Think Parrot show yesterday for the first time ever. If you live in the UK then it's hosted annually at Kempton Park Racecourse (off the M25) and is definitely worth a visit. I picked up some good bargains on a few toys and also bought a backpack style carrier (similar to the pak o bird) in the hopes that Alfie likes it so I can take him out for walks (and get him out to the aviary). I also sat through one of the 'masterclasses' which was really interesting. It was about cognitive beahviours/abilities in parrots and enrichment. There were also some free flight sessions where we got to watch macaws and sun conures flying without harnesses. That was pretty spectacular. Here are the goodies I bought: This is a plastic crate stuffed full of leather strips. I'm planning on hiding a few tasty morsels in there... once Alfie accepts it. It's huge and quite heavy. This will either be for his cage or for his shelves- if I can find something strong enough to take the weight of it on the wall/ceiling! Alfie loves rope and swing toys so I grabbed a couple of those. These are huge so will be used in the aviary. Another swing toy- this is HUGE so will be another aviary toy. Here is the backpack carrier. Alfie has been REALLY interested in this. I built it in front of his cage and have been practicing putting it on and off (whilst trying to keep it as steady as possible) in front of him. Today he decided to take a closer look and climbed down to the floor to take a look. He rarely goes on the floor and if he does he normally gets to higher ground as soon as he can- so he must have been really curious! Checking it out form his cage Having a closer look!

I'm doing my best not to let it bother me - it just seems strange that it was such a rapid change. Hopefully it's not a permanent change but if it is I'll just have to roll with it and take the good bits where I find them! We had a good time today - no attacks. I removed all the cardboard and magazines from his shelves and put toys for him to fling around up there. I also filled a tray with fruit, veg and treats topped with shredded paper and toys so he had to forage around to find the treats. Once he cottoned on to the fact there might be tasty food at the bottom he was busy for a while.

Thank you, I wish I could read his mind too! He doesn't seem to get angry when I talk to him or go near the cage - but he won't lower his head for scritches. If he doesn't lower his head, he doesn't want them and any intrusive fingers will probably result in a bite - so I never try and force anything with him. I can be really close to his cage whilst talking to him and he's not giving me any signs to say he doesn't want me there. The flying to the back of my head and striking out always comes out of the blue. I can't spot anything that happens before it to trigger it. It could also be hormone related. Maybe he's seeing the shelves as a nesting area seeing as that's where he tears up all his boxes and magazines? I wonder if I should remove the boxes/magazines for a little while and replace them with foot toys to see if the behaviour happens then... I'm just clutching at straws at the moment!

Still struggling to work this one out. Alfie comes out of his cage of his own accord as soon as I open it. He doesn't wait for me to leave, he'll climb right out. He then flies to his shelves and plays and ignores me for a while. If I'm round the corner at my computer he will sometimes fly to his cage and check up on me. Or he may climb onto his tree and start preening. He's still not letting me give him scritches (but my housemate is allowed). Yesterday he came and sat on the coffee table next to the armchair I was sitting in but I just talked to him and watched him. Normally he would come and ask for scritches and sit on my knee but he didn't. I didn't force the issue either. Today he pushed a box off his shelf and flew to his cage so I wandered over to the shelf to put the box back for him. He flew to me and landed on my upper arm, then lunged at the back of my head twice. I put my hand/arm over my head to stop him from getting it again and to either usher him down my arm or to get him to step up and he grabbed the finger instead. Then he flew back to his shelf. I wish he could just tell me what I'm doing wrong! 😂 I'm still suspecting either the haircut or him being protective over his shelves. I'm leaning towards haircut because he doesn't let me scritch him through the bars of his cage anymore like he used to. I'm really not sure how to tackle this one and resolve it. I'm doing my best not to get upset about it but I do worry that I've done something to break the trust or upset the relationship. I just wish I could understand it and know what to do to prevent it from happening.

Yay! Glad all is going well with them both!

Great to hear things have improved for you both!

Yes - last summer we had ridiculously hot weather for long periods of time (never known a summer like it) and when Aflie was moving about a lot he started panting. So I covered part of it to keep it a bit cooler. It creates shade but does let a little sunlight through as well. Originally I was using whatever I had to hand - towels/sheets/blankets etc but they kept falling off. So I bought two sheets of the material in the photo instead and made it a bit more permanent. It has eyelets and I just cable tied it to the aviary bars. Makes it easy enough to remove too. It's like a plastic woven screen... not really sure how to describe it! There are still some areas which get full sunlight throughout the day as I didn't want to block it all out.

Here's another one for you! I think this is a little easier than the first one?

Managed to convince Alfie to get in his travel cage so I could let him play in the aviary today. It's glorious weather outside and the first opportunity that he's had to go out there this year. Can you spot him in his aviary? (he's definitely in there, honest!)

Hmm. I'm now peering at Alfie wondering whether he is in fact an african grey or just a pigeon with a painted tail... he is totally indifferent about cheese. Flings it across the cage if I dare to give him any. The only treat he will do (nearly) anything for is cedar nuts.

That's great news!

What a wonderful update.

It could be that my housemate is the new favourite. My housemate has very little to do with Alfie but Alfie likes to follow him around and see what he's up to. So it may well be that he just wants attention from my housemate and not me. I'm just the live-in servant who keeps the food and water bowls full and the cage clean!

It has lessened but Alfie isn't overly keen on socialising with me. He will make contact calls and will make noises back and forth but he not allowing me to give him his usual morning or evening scritches as readily and he mostly seems to want to amuse himself whilst he is out. He will fly to me to see what I'm up to if I'm out of sight for any amount of time but then will quickly fly elsewhere. Not sure if he's just going through a phase or what. He is active and eating, drinking etc. No other changes in behaviour or body language. Very peculiar!

Thanks for the update. Hopefully the vets can help and Jambit will be back with you and causing mischief very soon! I personally wouldn't recommend adding any supplements unless it is mentioned by an avian specialist. I also wouldn't add anything unless it is designed/made for birds. (e.g I wouldn't add human supplements to Alfie's diet). Speaking of teas... I have started Alfie on an avian tea (from here: https://www.northernparrots.com/pollys-natural-deptpollys_natural/ ) and he seems to enjoy it. I brew it in a cup and let it cool then just let him have it straight from the cup. He seems to like it so far, but he's only had it three times. I went for the 'golden blossom' variety because the others were out of stock.

I hope the meds help and that Jambit is back to good health very soon. Do keep us updated. I definitely would have done the same thing and taken Alfie to the vet like you did. So I don't think it's over-reacting at all!

Great news, thanks for the update!