neoow

Thanks Jayd, that's really useful. I found and checked the aspca one whilst I was looking at the various fruit trees but I cannot find things like blueberry trees in the list- either toxic or non-toxic. I will continue searching as I know my two cats will have a go at anything I put in the aviary, so I need to be careful.

Yay! Welcome home Bella! And welcome to Scooter as well! Blimey, you don't do things by half... Taking two parrots in at once?! Haha. Great idea though. If she already knows Scooter as least they can go through all the changes together. They look like they are settling in just fine! Before you know it, you'll never remember life without them! 😂 Also... Wow... I'm not personally a massive fan of snakes so I think I would be a little wary of meeting one that big! Fascinating creatures but I would have to stand a very respectful distance away from him/her!! You know... Close to the nearest exit...! 😁

I haven't seen this and I'm not sure it airs in the UK. Might see if I can find some clips online.

Your aviary is amazing! So happy that you managed to get it built despite all the hiccups along the way. I would have loved to build mine off the back of the house but unfortunately the layout of the house and garden didn't suit. So I am going to have fun and games convincing Alfie to get in his travel cage each time I was to get him out there. He likes to give me the run around before eventually relenting and getting in it. 🙄 I'm not sure what to suggest about the neighbours. I wonder if you could invite both neighbours over to discuss the issues and work out a plan with them? Like you say, perhaps work on a timetable when the birds can be outside of that's at all possible? Depends how unreasonable they are I guess. I would hope they would come round to the idea if they know you are willing to work round them at much as is reasonably possible (obviously without too many restrictions on your birds playtime!) Ironically enough Alfie is pretty quiet compared to most birds so I haven't had complaints. I reckon I'd get a complaint about my two Bengal cats before I got a complaint about Alfie. They are extremely vocal cats and also very loud!

I would like to put some (small) trees or plants into the aviary I have in my garden. I saw some fruit trees/bushes at a local garden centre recently but wasn't sure if the branches and leaves were safe. They had a selection of blueberry, gooseberry, redcurrant and blackberry. Are any of these toxic to birds? (Branches leaves and/or fruit?) The other thing I need to bear in mind is that the cats will be using the aviary too. And they will also happily chew/play with plants and trees. So I have to be careful that the plants aren't toxic to cats. Similarly, I want to put some tree logs/branches I there for the cats. But need to find something that's suitable for both the cats and Alfie. I have done a few searches but it's difficult to narrow down what might be safe for both..and of course I find different information wherever I look. Is anyone able to make some recommendations about what is bird AND cat safe please?

Also... the cats definitely love going out there, even though we haven't finished sorting toys/enrichment for them yet. They were very jealous of Alfie being out there and were very vocal about it!! 😂 I might have to set up a rota for who goes out when at this rate!

He seemed to be enjoying himself today. I'm hoping that will continue the more he gets to go out there. He was out there for nearly 7 hours in the end. I made sure to provide plenty of shade as it was a particularly hot day (for us, anyway) and he doesn't spend much time outside. He investigated three toys- the bridge, one of the boings and a swing. He also discovered the bark edging on the front of one of the shelves and started shredding that. All in all, I think it has been a success and I think he liked it.

Well today has been an adventure for Alfie! We have had some glorious weather this weekend so I decided to get Alfie out into the aviary for the first time. (The cats have had their fun earlier this weekend) It might have taken me two and half hours to coax him into the travel cage.... (he was being a stubborn thing today and didn't want to play ball!) but it was totally worth it. After two hours of sitting on top of the travel cage inside the aviary and taking everything in, Alfie is now happily exploring the aviary and his new toys. He is now even making the odd vocalisation - mostly directed at the neighbours' noisy dog. He barked back at it and then whistled to it. 😂 I am so grateful that Alfie takes to changes so well. I'm sure other birds would have taken ages to come out and explore. I think 2 hours is pretty damn good.

Yeah no doubt Alfie will find his way up there too. I'll probably position food/water up there so it's easy for him to get too. We deliberately bought the wood with the bark on the edges so he has something to destroy too, so again it's multipurpose for Alfie and the cats.

Both cats went out in the aviary for a few minutes when I got home from work as it was sunny and warm enough for them. Unfortunately it started to rain soon after so I had to bring them back inside again as they didn't appreciate getting wet and I didn't want to rock the boat too much as they were obviously a little on edge. Although they are getting along fine in the house now they were a bit creeped out by being in there together and didn't get much chance to settle before I had to bring them back inside. Wish the weather would make it's mind up! It's been sunny all day but as soon as I got them out there a big grey cloud formed and it keeps raining on and off. It's a bit too cold to let Alfie out at the moment but the weather forecast looks good for this weekend. Fingers crossed that I can finally get him out there to see what he thinks! I missed a golden opportunity last week because I was ill when we had some really warm weather so I hope I get the chance to let him try it out this weekend.

Really sorry to hear about this. Thank goodness everyone came out of it ok. A house fire is one of my worst nightmares so I can only imagine what you must have been through. I hope Sterling Gris comes round in his own time. It was one heck of an ordeal so it's no surprise that it has rocked the boat and caused some distress. Hopefully he will get back to his old self eventually though.

Thank you for your continued efforts

Sorry to hear that! wishing you a speedy recovery!

Yes it's going to be multi-use for the cats and Alfie... but not to share at the same time for obvious reasons! Alfie has a box full of toys, perches and swings out there so when he is able to go outside I can hang them all up and make it fun for him. I can then pack these away when the cats go out there. They will have the two shelves and the box to climb on. I'm also on the lookout for some trees/branches I can use for them to climb on and destroy. My cats are indoor cats so it allows them to enjoy the outdoors in a safe way. I wouldn't trust them to go outside and roam because there are a lot of neighbourhood cats they could start a fight with and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if they got injured or worse, as they have never been outside on their own before. So the enclosure should give them enough space to climb, play and lounge around and enjoy some sunshine. Similarly, Alfie doesn't go outside unless in a carrier, so this will give him the opportunity to enjoy some space to fly around and play outside in the sunshine... when we get some more!!

My housemate added a couple of shelves to the aviary this week to give the cats something to climb/jump up to. Both cats have been out there now. They had to go separately as one of them had to have some teeth pulled earlier this week and now the other cat hates him because he came back smelling like vets (and she really doesn't like the smell of vets!). So we're letting things settle. I did try to put both of them out there earlier but she was having none of it so I brought her back inside whilst he explored. Alfie hasn't been out there yet. It's all been a bit crazy with the cats and I've been ill all week with a bad bout of tonsillitis so despite the weather being perfect for him to go outside and play, I just haven't been able to get him out there yet. I have, however, been stockpiling lots of large boings and toys for him to play on once he finally gets out there. Will take photos/videos as soon as I get the opportunity to get him outside and settled in!

Oh I'm so sorry to hear the bad news. It is never easy to lose a beloved pet.

Sometimes when introducing new toys it helps if you hold the toy at a distance and show the bird how much fun it is. Get excited about it, show them all the colours and materials and talk about it excitedly. Sometimes the curiosity overcomes the fear and the bird shows a bit more interest. Typically if you have something your grey will want to know what it is.... so use this to your advantage when offering new toys. I do similar with Alfie whenever I show him new toys and also when I'm bringing something into the house he might not like. For a while he was scared of the washing basket- I have to carry it past his cage to take laundry to the washing machine and he'd get a bit freaked out about it. So I would cheerfully walk into the room with the basket and explain what it was and where I was going. I would also make a 'ooo' noise to sound excited about it. I do the same kind of noise whenever I introduce something new or 'scary' to him. As a result, when he's looking at something new and working out whether or not he likes it he often goes "oooo!". A few weeks back we had a load of snow and I set him on the window ledge so he could look at it. He stomped up and down in front of the window, eyes pinning, going "ooo!" "oooo!" because he was checking out the changes outside and wasn't sure to make of everything being white. It's always a good idea to start with new items from a distance, as others have mentioned. Watch the reaction of your bird and slowly move it closer. Depending on the bird, this could be done over hours, days or even weeks. Eventually you can get to the point where the toy is hanging near the cage, then on the cage and finally in the cage. Always move at your birds pace. Some are more change adverse than others. They do eventually come round and realise that the shiny new toy ISN'T out to get them!! Bath times... well, that's a whole different ball game. There is a thread somewhere on these forums about bathing parrots... if I find it again I'll post a link but I remember it being quite helpful. Alfie tries to bath in his water bowl, which unsurprisingly doesn't work so well (his butt doesn't fit!). He will tolerate a spray bath for most part- so long as I let him bite the nozzle of the spray bottle a few times so he can show it who's boss. I did buy him a bird bath that hangs inside the cage but he never learned to step inside it. He would sit on the edge and drink from it but would revert back to his regular water bowl when trying to take a bath.... even though the actual bird bath was much larger and big enough for him to walk into. Some birds prefer being sprayed, some prefer a dish of water where they can bathe themselves, some like showers, some like sinks.... it might take a little while to find out what your grey likes best (or will tolerate...) but do persevere with it because regular baths are important... however much they might grumble about them!

How precious!

Aw thanks. I miss being able to contribute here as often as I would like! But sometimes life gets in the way. I have spent a little time catching up here this evening. I hope to be back on a more regular basis.

Well done you for taking in a rescue bird. Others have already given lots of suggestions and far more advice than I could provide. Grey's are fascinating birds and I'm sure Maxi will bring you lots of happiness for many years. The main thing to remember is that everything right now is new to Maxi and it will take her some time to learn about her new home and her new flock. As others have said it's all about patience and "Grey time". She will let you know when she is ready to advance to the next stage of the relationship... Whether it's a head scratch, responding to you vocally or willingly stepping up for then first time. There is a massive amount of information on these forums so feel free to look around and dig into some older threads. And never be afraid to ask questions!

Welcome to the forums! I see you have already completed the mandatory requirement of your membership here by posting a photo! 😁 Congratulations on taking Maxi into your home. It sounds like she's settling in just fine.

I have had to revert back to occasional lurker recently due to lack of free time but hopefully my schedule will ease up over the next few weeks and I can go back to commenting on posts rather than just skim reading them when I get a spare minute or two!

Its up! Its up! Its up! It took myself and my housemate three hours to figure out but we got there in the end. We made a slight mistake when putting the first corner together which affected the roof panels but once we realised and checked the diagram again we fixed it and it went (mostly) without a hitch. The doors were fairly awkward as we had some fixings and no instructions on what they were for. There also wasn't enough space for the inside door to open outwards so it opens inwards with the bolt on the inside. I can get in and out but it might be easy for Alfie or the cats to open it. Will need to monitor that one and maybe get a bit creative there. The weather is still too cold for Alfie to go outside but I'm so pleased it's finally there. I can now continue shopping for toys and perches etc to fill it with. I have to bear in mind that the cats will need to use it too so there may be some larger platforms installed for them to climb. I haven't worked that bit out yet. It is 12ft long, 6ft wide and 6ft tall so lots of space for Alfie to climb and play in. Can't wait for some warmer weather so he can check it out!

Oh wow, that's amazing. I think Alfie would probably just throw the spoon at my head. Or maybe throw it across the room and expect me to fetch it for him so he can do it again.

Timbersmom summed it up perfectly- a lot of greys do not like change and it can take them some time to adapt. Each grey is different. I've heard stories of grey's who wouldn't accept their owners because they were wearing glasses, or changed their hair... though those are probably more extreme cases. In regards to toys, I always show Alfie any new toys from a distance. I normally buy a few toys at a time so I take each one out of the box and hold it up for him to see (from a distance). I then see how he reacts before moving a bit closer with it. If he's feeling brave then he may 'beak' it to check it out(touch the toy with his beak). Or if he's unsure he will back off. I always try and sound excited when showing him new things, especially if he is unsure. This has resulted in Alfie learning to go 'OoooOooo!'. Now when he's unsure of something and checking it out he says 'OoooOoo!' because thats the noise I make when trying to get him to look at something new. You have to do things at a pace your parrot is comfortable with. I am lucky because Alfie will accept things reasonably quickly. I normally leave new toys laying around the room for a few days and move them closer and closer until he's ready for them to go in his cage. Sometimes I have to hang them outside the cage for a day or two before he's happy it's not going to kill him!