neoow

Sorry, am totally ignorant here. What is it?

I'm planning some work in the garden over the next few weeks and I hope to get an enclosure out there for Alfie and the cats to use (not at the same time, I hasten to add!!). So I'm going to have this to look forward to! Alfie knows exactly where I can't reach when he's out of his cage. So I will leave a step ladder in the enclosure I think!

Sending big hugs and best wishes to you and Timber. Sorry you're having to go through this. I am hoping beyond all hope that it all works out ok.

I'm sorry but I did laugh. But then I did feel sorry for you afterwards. Alfie always picks up the loudest, most obnoxious noises. He seems to learn those a lot easier than he does anything else! I hope Dorian gets bored of the sound very quickly!

Haha that's hilarious! Sully has you wrapped round his little talons!

I personally try and keep Alfie away from my shoulder- simply because after a minute or two of being there he will start trying to find my ears to nibble at. So he's not allowed up there. Or if he is, it's for a very brief spell before he is moved back to an arm where I can see what he's up to.

Under the recommendation of the pet shop I bought Alfie from, he had a light clip on one wing when he was very young. Then I took him back to have the other one done to even it out. Then I let them grow out. Alfie learned where all the windows were because I took him round and showed them to him and let him tap on the glass with his beak. I've done this each time I've moved and I still do it every so often just as a reminder. He's never flown into a window. I let them grow out because even after his wing clip, once he worked the balance issue out he could still fly just as well. I learned that it would make hardly any difference if he got outside- if he caught the wind right he'd still be gone... but also might not be able to escape from potential predators as easily. In the end I decided that asking a bird not to fly (or not to fly to his full potential) was like asking a dog to stop wagging his tail. The stress of being towelled to have his wings clipped was pointless and unnecessary. So he has been happily flighted ever since. We've only ever had one incident where I thought he could have killed himself. That was when he was still learning to fly. He could fly in a straight line and could crash land but that was about it. He lived in my bedroom upstairs at the time (I was 17 and living with parents) We had a German Shepherd dog at the time and I had my bedroom door open with Alfie out of the cage. I didn't realise the dog was in the house but he suddenly appeared in my room, causing me to jump and Alfie to spook. Alfie took off with me in hot pursuit. I grabbed the dog before he could chase and watched as Alfie flew down the hallway, did a complete 180 degree turn for the first time ever then flew down the stairs out of sight. I heard the sickening thud of him hitting the wall at the bottom of the stairs and thought he'd flown head first into the wall and killed himself. I shut the dog in my room, rushed down the stairs and found Alfie sitting there. He was fine. He'd managed to pull up and had left a perfect dusty imprint on the wall of his body and wings - like something out of a cartoon. Whilst he did hit it with the thud, he was perfectly fine. No injuries, thankfully!

I worked in a pet store for a Saturday job whilst still at school and we had the occasional grey come through. Whilst they were never there for long I was fascinated. We also had an ekkie once- we took him in from another store from the same pet store chain who didn't look after him well enough. We worked with him, got him used to being handled and got him on the right foods and he made a massive improvement. He went to a nice family in the end. He was an awesome bird. I already had Alfie by that time otherwise I probably would have taken him in. I did lots of reading, bought lots of books and decided that a grey was for me. I found a small family run pet store that was in the next town and went to visit them. They had two baby greys and a pionus. The said they had a male grey and a female grey but I'm not sure if they were correct or ever had them tested. I visited the shop a couple of times, placed a deposit on Alfie and took him home when he was ready to leave (they were still weaning him). I got him when he was 11 weeks old. He was still having some formula, fed from a spoon but was also eating seeds when I took him home. That was 14 years ago! I almost ended up taking the Pionus too because he was so cuddly. As soon as he spotted you in the room he would come waddling over as fast as his little legs would carry him and bury himself in your arms. My mum fell in love with him haha.

Interesting question. I was actually thinking about this earlier this week, funnily enough. I was wondering about multi-grey homes and how to tell them apart if they're not making any noise or carrying out any particular behaviours. I hadn't really thought about it in the instance of a lost grey being returned. Alfie's band has been removed from his leg (not that it was particularly legible anyway) but he is 'chipped. So obviously my most reliable source would be to have him scanned at a vets practice. Without hearing him say something or make certain noises, I'd like to think that I would be able to identify Alfie in a "Grey line up"! The main tell tale sign for Alfie is his beak. His beak grows out more on one side. It's under control (thanks to his vet doing such a good job) but I could still use it to identify Alfie. Also, Alfie tends to preen under his wings a lot- so as a result the feathers on the side of his body are messier than what I've seen on other greys... though that would be a hard one to see unless he lifted his wings voluntarily. Alfie hates his wings being touched! He used to have a little red feather above the base of his tail/on his back but that dropped out several years ago. I can't think of any other tell tale signs for him.

Sounds like solid advice to me. The perch on the door trick is also useful for getting Alfie back in his cage. I'm very lucky in that Alfie doesn't show any signs of aggression when I'm in his cage. I can change bowls, toys, tidy up etc and he doesn't mind at all. I can also fetch him from any location in his cage and he doesn't mind. Getting him back in is always easier with the door perch though. I get him to step up on that and just close the door. He used to try and quickly climb up to get out of the cage again but he never got there quick enough (Its a big door and the perch is about half way down). Now he just accepts that it's time to go back in his cage when he is on that perch. If I try and reach any other perches inside his cage I have to dodge past various toys and I normally find he starts wandering up my arm.

My housemate has been interacting with Alfie more often. They have a secret bromance going on. :cool: Alfie has recently starting saying "you're a birb!" because my housemate says it every time he walks past the cage. He has also learned "good birb!" because that's what my housemate says when Alfie lets him give head scratches. (he already knew good boy and after he learned 'you're a birb' I guess 'good birb' wasn't too difficult to piece together) He always seems to prefer male voices over female voices and learns expressions/sayings from males much quicker than he does from me/any other female.

Another possibility. I hadn't thought of that. The water certainly made it look worse- I thought he was bleeding a lot when I first spotted it but on closer inspection it was actually mostly water carrying it away down the wing. Alfie is doing just fine - still trying to bath in his water bowl :rolleyes:. My housemate caught him in the act a day or so ago and gave him a bit of a misting. Alfie tolerated it, but didn't go wild like he did a few days earlier when I posted this thread. It was the first time my housemate had ever misted him, so Alfie might have been a bit confused as to what was going on!

Thanks all for the kind words. Alfie is doing just fine and I don't think he even noticed that he'd done it. I think I was just worrying a bit too much. I'm guessing he just got snagged on a toy or the cage bars and damaged/pulled a feather or two. You have to really look for it to see it now. The water definitely made it look a lot worse I think! murfchck - Alfie does exactly the same- beats the living snot out of a toy then gets annoyed when it swings back and hits him in the face! There's been several times when I've noticed a new red mark on his face. Never deters him though!

Glad to hear Greycie made a full recovery.... and still loves to rough-house with you!!

Thank you all for the reassurance. Alfie has had a lot of fuss and attention this evening because both my housemate and I have been chatting away to him whilst trying to get a sneaky peak at his wing every time he moves it. Neither of us can see any blood. It's difficult to spot because we have to wait for him to move his wing away from his body. I've attached a couple more photos- you can see when the wing is against the body you can't see anything at all. I'm not sure if you can see it too well in the photo but when he lifts his wing there is a small white spot along the edge which looks a bit sore. However, it's not bleeding. He's currently doing his evening preening routine, making sure every feather is just so. He did give both of his wings a once over but didn't stop at the sore patch or pick at it. I don't think he even noticed it happen! I think the water probably made it look worse than it actually is.

Oh man. I feel so bad. I caused Alfie to have a little accident today. I came home from work to find water everywhere- not unusual, as Alfie had decided to bath in his water bowl. I mopped it all up, replaced his water and all was well. Alfie then went to have another bath in his water bowl. So I got the mister out as he obviously wanted a bath (but doesn't fit in the water bowl). I got to misting him and I noticed that he was REALLY keen, sticking his wings out and following the mister nozzle. He normally tolerates being misted (so long as he can have a bite of the nozzle from time to time) but never really gets into it. Well he was sticking his wings out to full stretch, rubbing his head on his back and really excited about it. So I moved to the other side of the cage where he had more space to spread his wings and misted away. All was fine until I noticed blood. I stopped immediately (letting him have one final bite of the nozzle) and checked him out. It was coming from the top of his wing, where it meets the body. Not much blood but it was there. It looked worse at first because it has mixed with water but this dropped off and I could see some flecks of blood still - photos attached. I'm assuming he must have just caught it on a toy whilst he was enjoying his bath. He did slip (without falling completely) a couple of times and jumped across the cage to chase the nozzle. I guess he just snagged a feather or something. I don't think it's serious, it's no longer bleeding as far as I can tell, though it is in an awkward position to see. Every time he moves or lifts his wings I try and inspect it. He's eating, talking, whistling, responding to both myself and my housemate and climbing around his cage just fine. He didn't seem to notice it, hasn't picked at it or paid any attention to it. So I think we got away lightly. I'm just upset because he was really enjoying his bath and I caused an injury from it. Lesson learned. Next time, remove the cats from the room and let him out of the cage. Assuming he doesn't immediately fly off then he can be misted up there without fear of catching on anything.

Alfie does exactly the same thing when he has head scratches. He'll wander over, pull my hand or fingers towards him (gently) then put his head down. He'll then swivel his head round and grab my fingers gently before going back to enjoying the head scratches. He's always done it. It's interesting to know that other Greys have the same behaviour.

Yeah once he finally found the courage to step up there he was there for a few hours, enjoying the breeze and the birds chirping outside. It's funny because he loves that swing but as soon as I moved it out of his cage and hung it from the curtain rail he was a bit wary of it and wouldn't step up on it. I'm happy he's finally realised that it's a good place to sit. He'll get to enjoy some sunshine through the summer in that spot.

Hi all, Apologies- this is likely to be a long one. I'm in a bit of a reflective mood. When I joined this forum back in 2012 I made a fairly open and honest introduction to myself and Alfie. At the time I had gone through the agonising process of trying to decide whether I was a good enough owner for Alfie and trying to decide whether or not I should rehome him. When I joined, I had already decided that Alfie was staying put. The thought of rehoming him was far too painful. I've had him since he was 11 weeks old! So I promised Alfie that I would make changes to become a better owner and give him more of what he needs. This has been a slow process of making changes- both big and small. I am nowhere near the "perfect" owner but I am doing the best I can. One of the problems I had to overcome was a fear of being bitten and regaining trust with Alfie. Because I work long hours and also have commitments outside of work, Alfie wasn't getting enough time out of the cage and therefore I felt we had lost a lot of that bond we had built in previous years. He also wasn't in the best location in the house (I was house-sharing and renting at the time) so didn't get constant attention. Fortunately my housemates moved out, so I could shuffle things around (and Alfie) so he was in the same room as me whenever I was home. In 2013 I moved home and bought my first house. I arranged the furniture around Alfie- so he is now in the centre of the house and ALWAYS has my attention when I'm at home because he is in the living room and next to my PC. He also gets attention from everyone who comes into the house, because he's right there. This in itself was a very positive change and Alfie was very receptive to it. We quite often have a bit of back and fourth and he even makes the odd noise/word at my housemate (previously he wouldn't utter a word when someone was in the room). He can see and be a part of everything that is going on. I have to be careful as I also have two cats. So when Alfie is out to play, the living room door is shut. Alfie gets the run of the downstairs and the cats stay upstairs. Alfie is exploring every inch of the room these days and I am constantly looking for more fun things to do with him. He discovered two shelves that he like to play on - so when he comes out I take everything valuable off them and put cardboard boxes and toys up there for him to throw around/chew on. He will spend hours up there showering me, the sofa and everything else in bits of cardboard and toys. In terms of trust and bonding, we are a lot closer these days. He will still bite if he has the inclination to (e.g if he is telling me he's not happy about something) but I no longer have a fear of it. I can usually tell when it's going to happen and I can normally ride it out if it actually happens. He knows that if he bites too hard, he will get a timeout- so normally I just get a warning rather than a full on chomp. He seeks me out when it's time for fuss and I will happily oblige. When it's time to go back in his cage he's now normally ok with this. I rarely get the run around now where I have to 'chase' him all around the room to try and get him back. Typically he just accepts it's time to go "night night" and he'll let me put him straight back in. At worst I might get a small nip just so he can show me he's not happy about it, but he'll still stay on my hand/arm and go back in. My housemate is even making attempts to befriend Alfie. He's not at the point where he would want to be in the same room as Alfie when he's out of his cage, but Alfie often lets my housemate stroke his head and will come over to see what my housemate is doing. Whilst my housemate is very cautious and waits for Alfie to put his head right down (without looking at him) then he's secretly quite pleased that he's allowed to pet Alfie. He even stops to talk to him now whereas previously he used to mostly ignore him. A while back I realised that I could utilise the curtain rails in the living room to provide more fun space for Alfie. (This came about after Alfie climbed up the curtains and swung from the curtain rails). I bought some 'S hooks' and hung Alfie's favourite swing from one curtain rail and have a cargo net and a bridge for the other one (which is a lot stronger). I've had these S hooks for the best part of a year and hang the toys every time Alfie comes out of the cage but he's shown absolutely no interest.... until today. I threw the back doors open today and hung his swing in front of the doors, got Alfie out and took him over and he stepped straight up on to the swing where previously he's always shied away. He's now enjoying the breeze through the mesh (I have the door covered with a mesh so he can't get out) and listening to all the local birds chirping away. One day I'm sure he'll realise his cargo net is actually a fun place to hang out rather than something that's going to eat him too...! All in all, I still have a lot to improve on. I still work long hours but I am doing my best to get home on time so I can work from home if I need to do extra. I still have extra commitments with the hockey club and Alfie still isn't out of the cage as often as I'd like- but we have made a lot of progress there. Whenever I am home and have a few hours to spare, he's out. Even if I'm working or cleaning, he is out and amusing himself on his favourite shelf or following me around to see what I'm up to. I am so happy I made the decision to keep him. I can't imagine ever giving up on him and every time I thought about it or talked it through with family it bought me to tears. I was the problem, not Alfie, so it was up to me to change rather than give up on him. It was a tough call to make and we still have a long way to go but we are definitely heading in the right direction. If you managed to read through this whole essay- thank you. (I'm sorry it was so long!) And thank you to all on this forum who have given advice and encouragement over the last few years. This is an amazing resource full of wonderful people. I was trying to upload some photos...but I keep receiving an error saying they are not valid image files. I will try and find an alternate method, as I know you won't let me write this much without seeing photos too! :rolleyes: EDIT: Here's a link to the photos I was trying to upload: https://goo.gl/photos/KjREuYEBJNQvCVA56

Ah geez. Poor Olive. And poor you. I'm really sorry to hear that.

Welcome to the forum, Bob! Do you have a name ready for your new addition or are you going to work that one out after he/she arrives? I'm not sure what to suggest on the window front- Alfie has never flown into a window and knows where they all are. When I moved houses I always took him round and showed him where the windows are and sat him on the window sils so he could tap the glass. Whenever he gets spooked he doesn't tend to fly towards the windows - he normally flies at a shelf or his cage... or me.

I'm afraid I have no advice to offer- but just wanted to say I hope Olive makes a speedy recovery.

I love Sully videos! This was great

Wow, fantastic news! Do keep us posted!

Zoey is adorable! And such a good talker/whistler!