neoow

Wow, what an introduction! Welcome to you, Charlie and Andy!

That's an awesome update! So, so happy for you! I'd love to hear more about your whole flock.

Oof. Yeah, in that situation I'd definitely go for a new cage. Not sure if you have the brand Liberta over your side of the pond but I like their cages- they usually chuck in some free toys as well. I have the enterprise open top cage which looks similar to the first one you posted. http://www.northernparrots.com/enterprise-large-top-opening-parrot-cage-antique-prod950025/ This is what I have for Alfie... well, I have the original one, not 2nd edition. It is HUGE. I can't have the skirts on because it takes up too much room and I can't walk past without skimming my shins with them on. Plus Alfie is pretty good at throwing his food past the skirts anyway, so it all ends up on the floor regardless! When I first put him in it he looked tiny! Haha. But it's great, and offers a lot of flexibility over how I can arrange his toys and perches as there is so much space. the only downside? I'm too short to reach him when he's standing on the top in the middle (even with it closed) .... and he knows it!! That's one of his go to spots when he's trying to avoid bed time!

Looking good Isaac!

I think about this from time to time and I'm getting to the point where I should probably do something about it. Whilst I've only just turned 30- what would happen if I got hit by a bus tomorrow? Who would have Alfie? I am the only one in my family who can handle Alfie. They would not be happy to take him in if something were to happen to me. My housemate would not be willing to take him on full time (he would not handle him either). The best I could hope for is that my family would take him in temporarily in order to rehome him. They wouldn't be able to have him out of the cage or anything and would not want to keep him- so they would only keep him until they found him a home. Similarly, it's possible, as Alfie is only 12 (13 next week!) that he could outlive me. So I will need to make arrangements for what happens to Alfie when I pass regardless. However, personally, I could not begin to consider a scenario where I would have Alfie euthanised- or any healthy animal for that matter. I seriously need to consider what my options are and speak to my family about it to see what would happen and what they would be willing to do... but whatever happens, I could not consider that as an option for any of my pets. I don't know of any/many bird sanctuaries here in the UK but it sounds like there are a few good projects going on stateside. Would it be possible to contact some of the sanctuaries and come to some form of agreement with one of them - that if/when the time comes, they would take in your birds and look after them or find them a good home? Maybe it would be a case of you having to make some form of donation for it to happen... but at least you could then assess and choose your preferred place? ... I've no idea if this is possible at all, I was thinking it may be an area worth investigating though. As a really radical thought... could this be something that could be set up through the forums? Are there members who would be willing to take in birds for rehome if another member trusted them to? We are all like-minded people on here- could there be some form of 'buddy system' formed between members...? If something happened- they would be willing to be a temporary or permanent carer for the birds? The logistics of this would be something that would need to be worked out privately between the members of course.. but it's another option worth a thought maybe?

Zoe is adorable... and so eager to please!

Hello and welcome to the forums! I'd love to know more about you and any animals (feathered or otherwise!) Or, if you've yet to get a parrot, I'd love to hear more about your plans!

This is too funny haha. So long as they can't place their own orders, hopefully you'll be ok!!

Try not to be rushed into a decision by others. A few years back I was trying to decide whether or not to rehome Alfie because I didn't feel I was providing the best environment for him. It took me months to come to my final decision. I know if I had rushed into a decision I would have made the wrong one and regretted it. I appreciate you have more to contend with than I did though, as other members of your household are also a factor in the decision making process. I didn't have that. At worst I only had to deal with a housemate who (thankfully) kept out of it, even though he doesn't necessarily like the idea of birds (or Alfie) asv a pet. When I made my decision I was able to say "Alfie is staying put regardless of your opinion" as it was my house. Very different scenario when you aren't the sole owner of the house! (As an added bonus, my housemate and Alfie have built up a little bit of mutual tolerance/respect over the last couple of years!)

I'm glad everything worked out ok for your family and that everyone is healthy and (mostly) happy! However, I'm with birdhouse, I did have to chuckle as Miss Gilbert's attitude! Apologies for not being more sympathetic as I'm sure it's a stressful position for all involved!

Apologies, I totally forgot to come back and watch the video yesterday. I just watched it, but without sound as I'm at work on lunch at the moment. I don't think this is a fear reaction. From body language alone, Alex looks fairly relaxed. His foot is lifted and tucked up a couple of times, he has a good stretch. If he was angry/scared then he would be as puffed up to make himself as big and scary as possible. Every feather would be sticking up away from the body. Similar to the first picture on this page: https://www.beautyofbirds.com/understandingparrots.html Greys (and other parrots) will learn loud noises. Obviously some of these sounds will be undesirable to us (such as the screams). But once a bird learns (and likes) these sounds, it can be difficult to encourage them not to keep doing it. Similarly, once a bird learns to bite out of fear/aggression then it is going to be very difficult to prevent that behaviour. Alex has several years of experience outside of your home. He has only been with you a year. He is probably still adapting to the change of coming to your home, getting used to new people, learning routines etc. With a rescue bird there is so much additional baggage that comes with them and so much you don't know about the bird. How were they treated, what behaviours have been learned or enforced in their previous home(s). It can take years to unpick the behaviours, find out the triggers and eventually start to encourage the bird to adapt/change to their new life. Look up Miss Gilbert's thread by Katana on this forum and you'll see what I mean. I think an important decision needs to be made- but in order to keep Alex everyone needs to be on board. If you want to keep Alex and keep working with him and give him the best home he will ever have, then you need agreement from everyone in the house. It will be a long hard road and it will probably test every last bit of patience that all of you possess. But there needs to be an understanding here. Alex will not willingly step up. Not now, not next week, not next month... heck, maybe not even next year. Alex will bite. It is obviously his go to reaction when someone is in his space. Clearly that behaviour has come from his previous home(s). Again, this behaviour will difficult to change. Alex will scream. He will make lots of loud obnoxious noises. These are the sounds he has learned so he will use them. So- the question here is- are you AND your family willing to accept him into your home and into your lives, as is, with no expectations that these behaviours will change any time soon? Are you ALL willing to pitch in and try and encourage Alex to adapt and learn at HIS PACE, not yours? I can tell from your previous posts that you are very keen to get on with Alex and to care for him and help him- which is great. But unless your whole household is going to try and do the same, then you're going to have issues. They won't be happy, you won't be happy and more importantly, Alex won't be happy. It is a very big ask and it will be a monumental task to try and get Alex to adapt and change to fit in with the household. I don't think leaving him outside for long periods of time will help. Especially if you won't be there to bring him in if the weather changes. Or protect him from predators or other things that may scare him. He is not going to learn to be social if he is outside on his own. He's not going to learn anything out there. Similarly- a smaller cage is a no. Changing his cage at all is a no. Alex is unsettled. He's had a lot of upheaval in his life and the most important thing he needs is stability and routine. If he's being left in his cage whilst you're not there then a smaller cage is not an option. He needs his own space and space for fun toys to amuse himself with whilst you're not there. You mention he screams when you leave the room. Well this could actually be him contact calling. You're a member of his flock. You're out of sight- he will call to you to find out where you are. If this is the case, maybe you can use this to your advantage. Whenever he makes a sound that is acceptable- answer back. Call him name, whistle... whatever. Do the same when you're in the room and also when you're away from the room. When he screams. Don't respond, don't react. Only respond when a desirable noise is made. It might not work straight away and it may take some time, but gradually Alex may learn what noises get a reaction and what noises don't. Any attention (positive or negative) is still attention in a grey's noise. So by not reacting, Alex doesn't get attention and therefore he learns that those noises aren't really worth making any more. (Well, unless he happens to like them regardless... then you're stuck) Your family/household need to do exactly the same. Just remember- Alex is a wild animal. He is not domesticated like a dog or a cat are. He's not going to be that trainable. He's going to need time to adjust, adapt and learn. Nobody can say for sure how long this will take. But a year in a grey's life is not a long time. This whole process of Alex coming into your life and learning to socialise, step up, fit in to the household routine etc could take several years. It is important to embrace that and go at Alex's own pace, without trying to rush him into adapting to his new life before he is ready. Again, the Miss Gilbert rehoming thread is an exceptional example of this. Apologies if some of this post comes across as harsh or rude, that is not my intention at all. I would much rather that you were able to come to an agreement with your family to keep Alex and work with him- but obviously this is not always possible, particularly if someone isn't an animal/bird person and doesn't want to understand the complex needs and requirements of a parrot. IF this is the case, and it pains me to say it, then perhaps the best thing for all would be for Alex to move to a different home.

Do let us know what the vet says. Sending you and Ollie very best wishes

Alfie will hang off his toys upside down, but not on me. Sounds hilarious! I look forward to the video if you manage to get one! They do like to get us wrapped round their talons, don't they?!

Alfie will quite happily tell me "night night!" whilst he's sitting at the top of the cat tree.. or on the very top of his cage where I can't reach him to ask him to step up!

Funnily enough, I was wondering how things were going with yourself and Alex the other day. I'm sorry to hear it's sad news. I can't watch the video as I'm not at home at the moment- but I'll watch it later (out of earshot of Alfie!!). I'm not sure what to suggest at this stage. It's very difficult when other family/house members aren't on board and put pressure on you. What are your thoughts? Given the choice (with no peer pressure) would you continue to work with Alex? Or are you at the end of your tether too?

Hello and welcome to you and Rio! What a lovely photo! How old is Rio? How is he/she settling in with you?

He's definitely not too old to be learning new words. My grey, Alfie, is nearly 13 and he is picking up new things all the time. Admittedly, he picks up more noises than words though. Some grey's are not big talkers. Alfie isn't a big talker. He also prefers male voices over female voices. He'll pick up words/phrases from my dad and my housemate more than he will me. He loves whistles, beeps and other similar noises (the louder the better!). All you can do is keep talking to him- if he picks it up and starts using words/phrases, then just encourage him to do it more. However, don't be too upset if he seems to favour certain words/phrases over others and seems to "forget" other words phrases. I don't think they ever really forget, they just prefer some words/phrases/sounds over others and use them. Alfie has, on more than one occasion, suddenly piped up with a word/phrase that I thought he had long forgotten.

I still have the ocassional battle of wills with Alfie when it comes to bed time. He knows that if he stands on the very top of his cage in the middle, I can't get him. Similarly, if he flies to the top part of the cat tree, I can't reach him there either. So it turns into a bit of a game of him trying to avoid me, or one of the perches I ask him to step up on. Similarly to you, I don't get mad, I don't shout, I just persevere. The lights get turned down lower so he knows it definitely is bed time and I just wait until he decides that this game of chase is getting boring and that it is actually time for bed. I love that Dorian has a whole bedtime routine. It sounds adorable!

Hahah that's brilliant!

I only have the one bird- Alfie- but I do understand where you're coming from. If I had more space then I would question whether it would be a good idea to introduce another bird to the household- so that Alfie has someone else to talk to/interact with whilst I'm at work (other than the cats, who I'm pretty sure just sleep all day!) If I DID have the space and the funds available for a second bird then I'd spend a bit of time thinking about all the possible outcomes and how to manage them. For example- what happens if the two birds don't get on- how would I manage that? How would I balance their time out of the cage and interacting with me if they couldn't bear to be in the same space together? So long as you have a rough plan to answer all the "what ifs" then I don't see a second bird as being a problem.

Excuse my ignorance but what is Amazon Smile? I'm not sure that it's made it's way over to the UK yet as I can't find anything about it on amazon.co.uk.

Alfie will beat the snot of it, then stick his head down and wait for it to brush over his feathers. It's safe to say he has a love/hate relationship with quite a few of his toys!! Haha

Welcome to you and Jara! Thank you for the photos, she's a lovely looking bird. Feel free to start making new threads to ask your questions! I have found everyone here to be extremely helpful.

Lovely thank you Dave, great advice, as always!

Will this be ok? http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0013G1ROS/ref=s9_simh_gw_p121_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=1CQ6T40W2JTNKY0DECAJ&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=577048787&pf_rd_i=desktop It says 100% but then has the following ingredients: 100% Natural aloe vera juice, antioxidant: ascorbic acid, preservative: potassium sorbate. Are any of these harmful to birds?