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Thanks both. There has been a lot of changes because I had to move the cats litter trays and food into the room and the cats spent some time sleeping and living out of the downstairs of the house whilst I redecorated the upstairs. This went on for a few weeks. Then I had the flooring done upstairs and in the hall. Alfie wouldn't have seen these changes as such, as he remains downstairs even when out. But all the noise and commotion plus sharing space with the cats was obviously a lot of upheaval. He seemed fine throughout, though I did worry about the reduce time out of the cage. He was still allowed out -but I had to be very mindful of when the cats wanted food or the litter trays so his out of the cage time was reduced. Everything in Alfie's 'space' is now back to normal and no changes were made to the areas that he sees and plays in. But it could still have have an effect. I think you might be right Inara- it could well be a territorial thing with his shelves. I have been sitting in the armchair (which is still near the shelves but not directly under them like the sofa is) and and also at my computer desk at the other end of the room and it's happening less. In fact every time it happens I think I am sitting on the sofa under the shelves. So you could be right in that it's a mix of hormones, upset from the recent changes and being a bit territorial? I'll continue to test things out and see if I can confirm the trigger. I'd rather not be banished from my own sofa but I also don't want to cause Alfie any stress/upset. Hopefully it's a passing phase and I won't have to worry about it for much longer. I'm not sure if it is a mating behaviour? Alfie tends to go very lovey and will droop his wings and make baby/clucky noises when he's 'in the mood'. He's never really beaked or bitten me when like that. This seems to be more aggressive, as he strikes out at my head two or three times. He will allow me to remove him (and sometimes gives my arm a bit of a chomp for good measure before stepping up). he then goes back to exploring or playing or will sit on my knee for a while. I've had a crazy week and I haven't really been settling down on the sofa whilst he's been out since I posted this. He's been playing and flying around and amusing himself then coming to me when he wants to check in or get some scritches. So it hasn't happened in a little while. It'll be interesting to see if it happens again if I settle down on the sofa for a while when he's out.

Welcome back! Lovely to see you back here posting. I misread 14 chickens as 14 children at first...had to do a double take!

It is amazing how our bird manage to continually surprise us, even after many years together! Good to hear from you Maggie. I hope you are looking after yourself as well as Jay.

I have seen a change in behaviour with Alfie recently and can't quite figure it out. He comes out to play and will happily fly to 'his' shelves in the living room, where I leave out boxes and toys for him. He also has a boing hanging there so he can climb between shelves and relax/play on the boing. Normally he'll entertain himself for a while and may check in on me to see what I'm up to if I'm at the computer. He'll also fly round the room, go and play on his tree etc etc. Sometimes he'll come and sit with me on the sofa and either explore or sit on my knee and have some scratches. Recently though he's taken to flying and landing on my head or back when I'm on the sofa and he will peck and bite at the my head aggressively. I can't figure out what the trigger is. I'm not sure if he's annoyed because he wants attention or maybe it's because I had a biiig hair cut a few weeks ago and now have very short hair instead of my usual long hair. It doesn't really hurt that much because he can't really get a hold of anything but I do worry for my eyes and ears so make sure I turn my head then put my arm behind my head for him to step up... I usually get a chomp or two before he does step up. He's a no shoulder bird anyway because he always seeks out ears to nibble/bite so I don't encourage him to go on my shoulder and usually direct him back to my lower arm or knee if he does try to creep up there. But it seems he is deliberately flying to my back just to give the back of my head some abuse. When it happens I just remove him from my back or head and put him on the sofa, my knee or back on his shelf. I may say 'no biting' or have a little chat with him to ask why he decided to bite or what brought that on but I don't shout at him or put him in time out or anything like that. I'll let him decide what he wants to do- whether he wants to fly back to his shelf, sit on my knee, have head scritches or explore. My hair was done about a month ago and he's not normally THAT change adverse. I did have my hair cut short about 5 years ago but in a different style and I don't remember that triggering this kind of aggression. It's strange that he's also waited about a month before starting this behaviour this well. Maybe he was trying to decide whether or not he liked it? 😂 Is it just the time of the year? He has been particularly hormonal this season- I can't give him any kind of toy that resembles a small ball or egg because he tries to treat it like an egg and will droop his wings over it and tuck it under himself. He's fine when he first comes out and I tend to do a bit of harness training with him which he does fine with no aggression or biting. I think in the first instance I'm going to try moving to a different chair. If I sit on the sofa under his shelves he sometimes lunges for me from his boing when I move around or get up. I might try sitting in the armchair instead, which is a little distance away and see if he repeats the aggressive behaviour. It will be easier for him to fly to me there so if he is just seeking attention it will be easier to get it. Any suggestions or advice is welcome. If I could work out the trigger then at least I can try to avoid it or figure out a way to break the pattern. But I'm a bit stumped on this one. I can take the bites and don't take offense to them but I'm worried that this behaviour might also happen to my housemate and I don't want it to damage the relationship they have ever so slowly built up over the years. They don't spend an awful lot of time together as my housemate mostly stays out of the way but I'd hate for Alfie to fly to him when he does enter the room or decides to join us when Alfie is out.

Aww happy hatchday Flynn! He's still a little baby really! Hope he is causing lots of mischief!

To be fair, that's probably much more likely than him letting me progress to touching his wings! 😂

Here's an update on the harness training so far... Training has been a bit limited recently because I was in the process of redecorating half of the house (all three bedrooms and hall/stairs/landing). This meant the cats had to have their litter trays and food moved downstairs to where Alfie is. As a result I had to limit Alfie's out of cage time to make sure the cats weren't bursting to use the tray or missing out on food. I didn't focus on the training too much during his out of cage time, just let him fly around and get as much exercise as possible before the cats woke up and wanted to come downstairs. However, I did make sure to get the harness out pretty much every day and ask him to put his beak through the bars and through a hoop to get a treat. This was pretty easy for him as it was only ever his beak coming through the bars, but it allowed me to familiarise the words 'head through' and the action of putting his beak towards the hoop to get the treat. Things are (almost) back to normal in the house now and the cat stuff has all moved back upstairs. The last few days I allowed Alfie just to play and fly around as much as he liked to get used to having the extra time out of the cage again. I carried on asking him to put his head through when he was in his cage and now I'm starting to work with him out of the cage too. Yesterday I asked him to put his head through the large loop three times - then he wandered off to play so I stopped the training. Today I let him out, let him fly to his shelves and settle down then grabbed the harness and 5 cedar nuts. I managed to get him to repeat the behaviour 5 times (giving him a nut each time) AND I was able to make the loop a little smaller each time. Now that he's training out of the cage I am asking him to put slightly more of his head through. He was a little hesitant a couple of times but I didn't force it, just kept the loop and the treat in place until he was ready to lean forwards. I'm letting him come to the treat each time. A couple of times I managed to move the harness back ever so slightly so more of his head was going through. He also brushed the harness with his head a couple of times. Again, not a major update but I am being very cautious and not forcing the issue at all.

That's great news! Glad to hear she's settling down ok!

There is the possibility that he bonded to someone else in your family over time as well. They can sometimes change who their 'favourite' person is. Alfie favours my housemate. He's fine with me but he will actively seek my housemate out when he's in the room, he will check on what my housemate is doing, he learns words and phrases really quickly from my housemate but ignores most of what I say etc. I think you're doing the right things - just by backing off and letting him come to you is probably the best bet right now. He will get over his grump and interact with you more as time goes on. they can be a little change adverse at times so it may be the changes in routine and the fact you were gone for a while has put him in a bad mood. But he will come round- just give him time and keep doing what you're doing. If he goes to bite (or does bite) just back off and leave him be. He will soon let you know when you are worthy of giving him scritches again! 😂

Great to see you back! I love hearing about Inara's antics! It's amazing how much you continue to learn about birds, no matter how many years you have spent with them. Alfie continues to regularly surprise me and we've been living together for 16 years!

I do feel for you Peggy. It's sometimes really difficult to know what to do because there are so many conflicting opinions about how to raise birds! I am always learning about Alfie and how to improve things for him at home and I've had him for 16 years! When I got him the internet wasn't as big and accessible as it is now so I relied on books- but these were usually difficult to find and sometimes had conflicting opinions. Trying to find a knowledgeable vet was also difficult as birds aren't as widely kept as dogs/cats etc. Thankfully things have come on a long way but I have made many mistakes along the way myself. So I understand where you're coming from and I can tell it's coming from a good place. The flight feathers should grow back eventually and Dixie will soon be up to airborne mischief again.

Just take a step back and let her come to you in her own time. Keep talking to her and going about your daily business but don't try and get her to step up or offer head scritches unless she looks interested and seeks you out. Keep offering her tasty foods as a bribe - still saving the best treats as rewards for good/desirable behaviours. But again, just allow her to come to you to get the treat. If she looks like she's going to bite or if she does end up biting just quietly back away until you're at a distance where she's comfortable. Things need to progress at her pace so do be careful not to force her into anything she's not comfortable with. She's still figuring things out and finding her own way. She'll come round - but it'll be in her own time. Just keep giving her the time and space she needs to adapt and learn about her new environment and family. There are many arguments for and against wing clipping and the debate can get a little heated at times. I try not to judge too harshly either way. Alfie was clipped when he was very young but I allowed him to grow out his flight feathers because it gives him to the freedom to get around easier. I also figured if he ever did get out of the house I would want him to have the skill and confidence to fly away from threats rather than stay in harms way like a sitting duck. I made sure to show him where the windows are in the house by taking him up to them and tapping on them and letting him touch them with his beak. Some people place pillows and soft furnishings around the home to help if a bird does have an accident and bumps into something- at least then they have a soft landing. I have also seen people put stickers on or hang decorations around windows so it's obvious that it's not an open space to fly through. I have no doubt that you did what you thought was the right thing for Dixie and you were worried about her injuring herself. I'm sure she'll come round again soon - she just needs to get used to the changes. If she was already fully flighted and able to fly when you got her (which it sounds like she was) I personally would recommend letting her flight feathers grow out and letting her learn how to get around your house safely- and maybe look into having some pillows or soft things to hand for her to land on- just in case! There is the possibility that if she is kept clipped that she could get stressed about the fact she's no longer able to fly and this may potentially lead to behaviour issues such as plucking. They are sensitive little souls! When she trusts you enough to let you pick her up and hold her then it may be worth showing her other areas of the house so she can see them before trying to fly in them... obviously making sure that she is comfortable being with you and moving away from the cage. It may also be worth letting her explore smaller sections of your home by keeping some doors closed when she's out so she can get used to navigating around each area. Once she's happy and confident then let her explore the next room/area of your house (in her own time).

They are amazing animals. They know what moods we are in and can easily reflect that.

I think they can sometimes be used as a way of identifying the breeder? Alfie's leg band had some letters and numbers on it but I was never told the significance when I got him. I actually had the leg band removed a few years back because it was too difficult to read to be of any use and it kept running on his leg and it looked like it was getting sore. Alfie kept tinkering with it as well so I figured it was best to have it removed and get him microchipped. I'm not sure how easy it is to trace the bands though. I guess it depends on breeders keeping their records up to date and storing them somewhere that is searchable by others? Not sure if there is any kind of directory for that kind of thing? Anyhoo - congrats on your third grey! And of course you know the drill by now - photos and introductions when he's good and ready for it please. 😁 Edited to add- photos and updates on your other two greys would be awesome too... don't want them to feel like they're being left out! 😂

Take a look at Joanna Berger, M.Sc.🦜 (@JoannaBergerMSc): https://twitter.com/JoannaBergerMSc It might be worth speaking to and maybe booking a consultation with Joanna Berger. I follow her on twitter and she offers good advice on parrot behaviour. She can run consultations via a skype video call. Whilst I haven't had a consultation with her myself I have seen other peoples comments and videos about successful consultations with her for their parrots. She can also be emailed at animalbehaviorconsultancy@gmail.com

Sorry to hear that Jambit is having a rough time with her foot! I'm afraid I can't really offer much advice. I think if you still have concerns and it doesn't look like it's getting better I would take her back to an avian vet to have it checked out again.

I think you can upload videos to this forum? I've not tried it myself. Alternatively you could upload to youtube or another video/file sharing site and post the link. I have had Alfie for coming up on 16 years and I had him since he was 11 weeks old. I am still learning new things about him on a regular basis. They forever keep you on your toes and surprise you in new ways all the time! I wouldn't say you were doing anything wrong as such - as you are trying to introduce Dixie to her new home and allow her to integrate with the family. She will happily do this with time- it might just take her a little longer to get fully settled and comfortable with the changes first. Keep working with her and it will soon feel like she has always been a big part of your family!

Hi Peggy and welcome to the fourms! Thank you for taking in a rescue grey! First of all, these birds operated in what we call "grey time". This is the time it takes for an individual bird to accept changes in their environment- be it a new food, new toys, new people, new cage etc etc. Every bird is different and will accept changes at their own pace. Trying to force the issue will cause a fear response and will damage the relationship with your bird. So it is absolutely critical to observe the birds responses and start learning a bit about their body language. Body language in grey's is quite subtle at times and sometimes we don't always notice it. A bird can be trying to tell us a lot through their body language and we totally miss it, so the last resort is a bite to get their message across. Your bird has just had a massive change to their lifestyle. Did you know or interact with your bird at all before bringing her home? If not then absolutely everything in her life has been tipped upside down and she is probably still adjusting to changes. New home, new flock, new environment, new routines... it's a LOT to take in! She will need some time and space to adjust to all these changes. But she will get there and she will accept you as part of her flock. At two years old, she is still a very young bird so I have no doubt that given enough time you will build a wonderful bond with her. Do you know what her favourite treat is? If not, try offering her lots of different foods and treats until you find one or two she REALLY likes. So for example, if she really likes almonds, do not feed them as part of her daily diet- keep them as rewards. You can then use that favourite treat as a reward for good behaviour - this is positive reinforcement. So if she steps up, she gets a piece of almond (not a whole one - save whole ones for REALLY good work). Do not move away from the cage at this point- just get her stepping up regularly. Always let her go back to her cage or a perch if she wants to at this point. You can then start rewarding her for staying on your hand. Again, use a piece of almond not a whole one. If she's still comfortable and content on your hand for a few more moments, she gets another piece. If she's still doing really well and making no attempt to leave, maybe go ahead and give her a whole piece. Again, always give her the option of getting back to her cage. As she is clipped and maybe unable to fly then always give her the option to retreat back to her cage, as she doesn't have a flight option. Keep talking to her whilst she is on your hand - make it sound like a good thing and sound excited about it. Tell her about all the places she will be able to go with you if she stays on your hand rather than going back to the cage. Make it a fun and positive experience for her. Once she has mastered this (and it may take some time) then SLOWLY start moving her a little further away from her cage. Reward her for staying calm. If she bites, do not take it personally (even when it hurts!) and just calmly return her to her cage and back off. Keep using pieces of whatever her favourite treat is. Only reward with a whole treat occasionally. This helps to keep the bird motivated to work towards the big treat. Or if she has a couple of favourite treats, find out which she likes better and use that as the special treat. Keep these training sessions short to begin with. She might not have had much structured training so it might take her a little while to figure out what's going on. Get her to repeat the behaviour successfully a few times then stop. You can slowly extend this if she is willing- but as soon as she shows sign of boredom (or goes for a bite) then back off and let her return to where she is comfortable (a perch or her cage) Do keep us updated with any progress. We would also love to see photos of her if you are able to.

It's so cute hearing them practice. I rarely know what Alfie is trying to say until he comes out and says it. But he rarely talks when I'm in the room with him, so I have to listen in when he's practicing to see if I can pick out what he's learning! Since getting an Amazon echo he has been practicing more regularly. He picked up 'Alexa' within a month or so and says it often with gusto. So Alexa works as a little spy, as she will record what he mumbles at her afterwards. I can then play back the recordings and see if he's coming up with new words. 😂 I've also done a couple of remote training courses at home recently. Alfie was listening in as I was in the same room as him. He started mumbling along with the instructor at one point and had picked up the different accent (the training course was based in Manchester). So all his mumbles that day had a slight Mancunian twang to it. It was very amusing!

Alfie was out of the cage and I decided to have a super quick harness session. I'm really limiting the time spent with the harness at the moment because we've never done much structured training. I've identified a treat he likes (cedar nuts) so I am now only giving these to him when we are doing anything with the harness. He has other treats he likes but cedar nuts seem to be his absolute favourite at the moment- he will never refuse one. So this seems the ideal treat to use as a training motivator. He was out of the cage and sitting on his shelf and I took the harness out and showed him three cedar nuts. He seemed interested. First, I asked him to touch the harness (exactly as I have been doing through the cage bars for the last few days) and when he did that I praised him and gave him a nut. This is the first time approaching the harness training out of the cage. I decided to be a little bolder and I made a big loop with the harness then showed him the treat. He had to put his beak through the loop to get the treat. He did this perfectly with no fuss and no grabbing the harness. I let him finish his treat then tried this one more time. Again, perfect response. He put his beak through the large loop and took the treat. I stopped it there, gave him lots of praise and let him eat his nut. Whilst this might seem like a tiny step, I am happy with it. I'm aware that I might be overly cautious with keeping the training so short but I don't want to jump in and push too hard so that he backs off and is wary of the harness. Over time I may try and slowly increase how many times I ask him to repeat the behaviours to extend the training. If anyone has any pointers or tips I'd welcome them.

I'll post updates as and when I have them. It's likely to be slow progress and I also value my fingers. 😂 He is doing well with touching the harness to get a treat. This is being done through cage bars at the moment so he can't grab it and run away with it. I've found some landyards which are the same colour and similar thickness to the harness so I think I'll buy a couple of those to use with training so it doesn't matter too much if he puts holes through them. I'm planning on making a big loop and working on getting him to take a treat by putting his beak through the loop and then eventually more of his head- waiting for him to be comfortable before progressing. Then it will be a case of making the loop smaller each time. The back and wings are gong to be a challenge, as he doesn't like them to be touched that often. So this will again be broken down into smaller steps with lots of praise and rewards. Sounds simple when I write it down. I'm sure Ill have setbacks and challenges as I've never done much structured training with Alfie and he typically rules the roost (entirely my fault). So this is going to be an adventure for both of us!

Are you specifically after a male? Was just curious why if so. Are you thinking of trying to breed them? I've often thought about getting a second bird but never really had a preference for male or female. I'm not even sure Alfie is definitely a male as I've never had him DNA tested. He could be an Alfina or Alfette for all I know. 😂

I ordered an aviator harness for Alfie and it was delivered today. He will be 16 years old this month and has never been harness trained. He also doesn't particularly like his back and wings being touched. So why the heck did I buy a harness? I'm hoping that if I take it super slow and steady then I might be able to slowly convince him that the harness is a good thing. Then perhaps I'll be able to take him out on walks. I'm willing to put the time and effort in but I also understand that I may never be able to convince him. I started training today. I showed him the packaging and acted excited about it. I took the harness out and rolled it around in my hands telling him what it was and how much fun he could have outside if he wants to wear it some day. I then allowed him to take a closer look. I let him 'touch' the harness with his beak (but not bite it). Every time he touched it gently he got a cedar nut. I did this a few times. Then I backed off. This is how I'm planning on starting- just showing it to him and letting him know how fun it will be. I'm also planning on maybe getting some ribbon or other material which I don't mind being destroyed to work on getting closer to him, and resting it on his back and wings (eventually). I can also make loops with it and try and train him to get his head through it without biting it. (thinking of using a similar coloured material to the harness). Obviously this is thinking ahead a lot. I plan to work to Alfie's 'grey time'. One little step at a time. He may reject it and I may have to eventually give up if he is uncomfortable with the idea. But I think it's worth a try. And actually having some focused training time isn't a bad thing either. I'm planning on posting updates here though they will undoubtedly be few and far between. I don't expect this to be a quick process at all! Wish us luck!

That's great news! I hope you stick around to tell us about your new arrival! (and post lots of photos, of course!)

My experience with Alfie is that he will learn whatever he wants to learn. 😂 He DOES talk but he prefers noises and whistles more- always has. He always prefers male voices so tends to pick up phrases said by males more often than females. He does seem to be practicing his talking more these days though and he'll be 16 years old mid April. I often hear him muttering away to himself in different voices- but only when I'm out of the way. I have no idea what he's trying to say. He loves any loud obnoxious noises and will learn those as soon as he hears them... and repeat them often with gusto!