neoow

We had a little scare this afternoon with Alfie. He freaked out in his cage and when we looked we could see he had a line of poop attached to his leg. It was like he'd somehow managed to poop on himself and it was still attached so there was a long string of it. I enlisted the help of my housemate and let Alfie out of his cage. I got him to fly to me then put him on the floor. I then toweled him gently and held him whilst my housemate gently cleaned him up at best as possible. I then let Alfie go and monitored him. He straightened out his feathers and seemed ok - he flew around the room a few times, played with some toys and whistled at me a few times. He also did a few healthy looking poops whilst he was out and about, which is what I was most concerned with. I wanted to make sure he didn't have some kind of blockage. Goodness knows how he managed to get himself in that pickle in the first place. I can only imagine that he tried to poop whilst he was climbing and gravity interfered. He's now settled down and is having a little afternoon siesta. I'll keep an eye on him but I think/hope he's ok.

Oh my goodness she's so cute! I'm afraid I can't help much with the feedings - I got Alfie at 11 weeks and he was mostly weaned by that stage. I was still hand feeding him but he was eating form a spoon not a syringe. I think it was either one or two offerings a day because he was moving on to eating solids by that point.

Yeah I did feel really sorry for him. I just calmly removed the bottle and hid it from sight and sat back down. He stopped clucking and wandered round for a bit and then came to sit with me. He was a little restless and kept wandering across my lap and back again and then eventually he bit me on the arm. I hadn't moved or anything, I was just letting him calm down on his own. I didn't react to the bite (other than a slight flinch because he caught me on a fleshy bit!) I didn't say or do anything for a few moments. You're probably right and I just need to ride it out. I just didn't know if there was anything I was doing wrong or anything I could do better to stop him from getting like this (other than avoiding the toys that seem to instigate the behaviour). I did wonder whether allowing him to continue shredding cardboard boxes was a bad idea but it's one of his favourite things to do (plus it stops him destorying shelves and walls) so I'm hesitant to take them away too. He doesn't normally get frisky with things after shredding cardboard boxes so I'm hoping this is a just a passing phase.

Alfie got a little flustered today. He had been out for a while, flying around the room and playing. I rolled a bottle across the sofa for him and he chased it pushed it around for a while. Then he started drooping his wings and making clucky noises. (See the video) I immediately removed the bottle and hid it. I didn't want to encourage the behaviour. I was also a bit worried as he picked at his wings as he was doing it. He's not typically a plucker. He nailed me pretty good on the arm soon after, so I'm guessing he was feeling pretty frustrated. Is there anything I can do to help him and prevent him from getting frisky? I never touch his back or wings, he only gets head scritches. I'm not letting him play with any small round toys in case he treats them like an egg again. I also won't try bottles again! 20181004_212220.mp4

Thanks for this. I did put a tray of iced water out for him when he was hot but he just ignored it. He only ever baths in his water bowl, which is why I ended up misting him. He was standing next to it but wouldn't go in it or touch it. And what about lower temperatures now we're heading towards winter?

I think it's sensible to get it checked out. It looks like she's either been over-preening or picking at that area, which means it might be bothering her. Better to be safe and get an avian vet to give her a look I think. Do let us know how you get on.

Hi all, I have an outside aviary for Alfie now which he went out in a few times over the summer. We had the longest and hottest summer I have ever known this year and so Alfie didn't go out as much as I would have liked, because I was worried about him overheating. I took him out one day and he wanted to fly and climb around but started panting and holding his wings away from his body. I misted him with some cool water and encouraged him to calm down a little and he was absolutely fine after that- but it did worry me. I didn't take him outside if I couldn't stand the heat out there. What sort of temperatures are safe for a bird who lives indoors? If we have a sunny autumn day is it safe to take him out or will it be too cold for him now? I think I'm being a bit paranoid about it. I have a wonderful aviary for him to use and I think I'm being a bit too overprotective and worrying about him getting too hot or too cold. 😂 I'm just worried because he's not used to staying outside for several hours at a time so I don't want to make him uncomfortable or ill!

None of us are vets so can only advise what we would do in that situation. This does seem like very strange behaviour and not something which I have witnessed with my own bird. I would pester the vet again and if I wasn't happy with the treatment plan I would find a second avian vet for a second opinion.

I'm a little stuck on this one because I don't have any children (and am not planning on having any children) and I doubt my sister would take Alfie in as she's not keen on birds. I have a 5 year old nephew so maybe he will grow up to like birds and would like to take Alfie in... here's hoping. The best I could hope for is that someone in my family would take him in temporarily and find a good home for him.

Alfie makes a water noise when I replace the water in his bowl. He says hello when the phone rings or the door bell goes. He also says hello when he hears/sees my housemate return home from work in his car (probably does the same when I return too). And he now says hello in my voice and responds in my housemates voice. He also says see you later and bye when he knows we are leaving the house. Alfie isn't a big talker, never has been. But he loves his whistles and noises. I love hearing other birds (not just greys) talk. I find it fascinating. I don't mind that Alfie prefers noises over words. He has his own way of communicating with me.

Hello! Welcome to the forums! Aw I'm so excited for you and your new addition! Just take your time and be patient with your bird. Changing homes is a big deal with lots of new people, places and routines to figure out. Greys CAN be fairly change adverse, so it's usually best to work at the birds pace. If she seems confident enough then let her out. If she is visibly scared or anxious then let her settle in for a day or so. Wing clipping is a personal preference. I believe the owner needs to make that choice based on the bird itself and the environment they are in. My bird, Alfie, is fully flighted- and I am super cautious about doors and windows. It works just fine for us and I've never personally had a reason to clip Alfie's wings. If she is already able to fly then you might be taking a bit of a risk by trimming her wings as she might try and launch off as normal and drop like a stone after a trim. So long as she is safe and family members are careful about doors and windows then you should be able to keep her fully flighted. If you do decide to trim her wings then I would suggest a VERY light trim in the first instance to let her get used to the change. Otherwise she could potentially injure herself if she falls or crash lands.

If you have any doubts I wouldn't use it. If the play stand is for indoor use then I don't think you need to varnish it...? Your bird will probably want to remodel the playstand by chewing parts of it, so I probably wouldn't run the risk, just in case.

Such an adorable baby bird. Glad he's settling in so well!

Wow! What a great toy! Bet they love it!!

Welcome to the forums!

I really feel for you because I know it's not an easy decision to come to. A few years back (just before I found these forums) I was going through the agonising decision over whether or not I was the best home for Alfie and could give him everything he needs. I know how difficult it is to be in that situation and how tough the decision is to make. I know it's not one you would have made lightly. Thank you for your post and for your honesty. I'm glad you've already found a possible home for Casper!

Welcome to the forums! Please do stick around and share your stories/questions with us! (and photos... hint hint!)

That is really good news, thank you Jayd! I'm sure this has put quite a few minds at rest!

Oh that's awful. I'm sorry you both had to go through that. Fingers crossed for no permanent damage

If Cosmo strongly reacts to the new perch you could try leaving it nearby within his sight (but at a distance). I've found this sometimes helps when introducing new toys that Alfie doesn't like. I'll leave them near his cage (but not in or on it) so he can check them out and make sure they're not going to kill him. I usually find it's easier to then add the toy to his cage. I've never really had a problem with perches though. I usually just add them in to his cage and he accepts them readily enough. Hopefully it all goes smoothly for you! (and Cosmo)

Aw he's a cutie!!

I managed to get a sneaky photo as Alfie was stretching and getting ready to sleep. It's not great but hopefully helps to show what I'm going on about. When his wings are down you can't see these feathers. But he preens them a lot and you can see they are quite separated and tatty compared to his other feathers. I don't think he's plucking them out as I can't see any bald areas. I'm fairly certain any feathers that do drop out are due to a natural moult and not being pulled/plucked. I've never noticed any damage to the feathers I have checked after they fall out. It's been like this for as long as I can remember and he's always preened himself a lot in that area (on both sides). He preens the rest of his feathers too but nowhere else on his body looks like this. I'm not sure if this is anything to worry about. He baths in his water bowl (refuses to bath in anything bigger despite my best efforts of finding an alternative!) and I try and mist him regularly- though perhaps I need to do this more often. Under the wing is the trickiest part for me to get as he rarely opens his wings for me to mist and he will always put his face in the way of the spray.

Hahaha! I love the relationship you have with your birds- especially with greycie.

Do any of you have a social media account for your birds (or other pets)? I usually post regular photos of my cats and Alfie to my own social media accounts. It might seem a bit daft but I recently decided to start a twitter account for Alfie - which is written as if he is posting the content. I have actually found it to be quite fun and I have connected with several other pet accounts (and regular human accounts!). It allows me to share some of Alfie's antics and see what other people's pets (mostly birds) are getting up to. I just wondered if anyone else here does similar?

I bought an aloe vera plant recently (mainly because they are supposedly easy to look after and I'm not normally very good with plants!). I've had it several weeks now and it hasn't died yet...!! I have read about the qualities of aloe vera and know you can use 100% aloe vera juice/gel with birds. Can I use the plant itself for Alfie in any way? I've seen mixed comments about birds eating the whole stalk so I'm not likely to try that. But I'm assuming there is a way I can safely extract the... sap(?)... from inside the stalks? Can I then mix that in Alfie's water occasionally? Or mix it with water and spray him with it? ...Or am I better off sticking to buying gel and juice and keeping the plant as a decorative feature? 😁