neoow

I kept a few of the feathers from Alfie when he was a baby. They are in a photo album with a few photos and his hatch certificate.

I think one perch/toy at a time may be best at the moment. Alex may not have been used to those kinds of changes before. I think if you suddenly added a lot more to his cage he may be too scared to go back in it. Whilst you're waiting for him to adjust to new perches inside his cage you could show him new toys and perches from a distance- just to get him used to seeing them. Once he is used to the new perch or toy you have most recently put in his cage then slowly work on getting the next one closer and closer to his cage and eventually in it.

It is definitely worth asking around. The vets where I take my cats (and previously the family dogs) are not avian specialists but they were able to recommend one to me. I used to take Alfie to a more local vet who said he was an avian specialist. However, when he had to gas Alfie just to sort his beak out I never took him back. He didn't do a good job and Alfie was really ill. When I went to the vet who is based further away (only about 45 mins though) he was much better at handling Alfie, never needs to gas him and was absolutely astonished about how Alfie had been treated by the other vet. So for me, the longer trip is more beneficial. If I hadn't asked at the vets practice where I take my cat, I might not have found him though.

Trying to prep for a job interview on Thursday. Reading up everything I can about the place, plus checking over the job description and am about to start creating a presentation in case I need it.

It is normal for a grey to act fearful/wary of new items. They are very observant birds and will notice any kind of change in their environment. Did you put the perches straight into his cage? Alfie isn't too bad with new things. I have to show him and explain what they are. Sometimes when I put new toys in his cage he will sit at the opposite end of the cage eyeing it suspiciously. He will sit there for a while looking at the new toy until he's sure it is safe. Eventually he'll work his way round the cage, getting closer to the toy. If he ever freaks out about a new toy when I show him it, then it doesn't go straight into the cage. It's left outside of the cage so he can get used to it from a distance. Alex just needs to work out in his own time that the perch isn't a big scary monster that's about to eat him. If he's only ever been used to the one cage with the same perches and toys in the same places, then it may take a little longer for him to warm up to the new perches and any new toys. It may take a day, it may take a week, it may take a month. There is a chanced that some toys and perches will never be accepted by him. Just watch him and see how it goes. If he really isn't accepting then you may need to take a step back and leave it outside of the cage (but nearby so he can see it) then slowly work on getting it back in the cage. Go at his pace. He'll get there eventually.

Haha that is hilarious!! What an awesome bird Sophie is!

Great news! You're doing amazing work!

That is an awesome explanation. Really well put.

Hello and welcome to the forums! Well done for doing your research. Greys are fascinating birds. I've had Alfie for 12 years now and he never ceases to amaze me. It's an ongoing learning experience!

Lovely video, thanks for sharing! I love that Kilaya gets to go to so many awesome places with you!

Thank you! I have loads of those as well but Alfie isn't overly interested in them, funnily enough. He tends to just launch those across his cage. He'll sit and work on the birdie bangles for ages. He obviously has expensive taste!

Haha that's awesome! I hope your dogwalker said hello in return! Maybe Echo wanted to come along for the walk as well?! Hehe

"Are you going to come out?" is probably another one. Alfie gets asked this whenever I open his cage door. He did say "out" earlier though. But it sounded more like a command (e.g trying to get the cats out of the room) rather than a question.

Yes possibly. They also have a bit of colour to them (well, until he strips that layer off, anyway!) He's been busy with them again today so I'll be popping a couple of new ones in his cage this evening.

I've tried Alfie on card before- the card tubes you get in the middle of kitchen or loo roll, for example. He's never been that interested. Not interested in boxes either. But these little birdie bangles? He loves them! I'm going to have a job to keep up with him at the rate he's currently munching through them. I think my next purchase will have to be a pack of 100 rather than 12!!

I recently discovered Birdie Bangles on my favourite parrot website: http://www.northernparrots.com/birdie-bangles-and-parrot-pipes-deptbirdie_bangles/ These are made from lots of strips of cardboard and are great for shredding. I bought one pack of small bangles for Alfie and hung them up in a few places around his cage. He LOVES them. He went through a pack of 12 in a few days. I've now bought another 2 packs plus a pack of large bangles. I also got one pack each of the pipes, but unfortunately these don't fit over the plastic chains as intended, so these will be used as foot toys instead. I've never seen Alfie go quite so crazy for a toy before. He went through 4 of them today and has already started on a couple more!

Alfie doesn't say the cat names. He did try and say Widget a couple of times, but other than that he's given up. He says "No!" "Oi!" and "Off!" instead... so maybe he thinks those are their names instead! Alfie has never picked up "morning!" which is what I say to him every day. But he knows hello, bye and see you later. He knows night night as well (it's really cute!). I'll come back if I think of any more.

You'll get used to those floating about everywhere!

The prime sale over here in the UK has been mostly disappointing. It was hyped up to be such a massive event... "bigger than black friday!"... but it's been pretty rubbish in my opinion. The only thing I wanted didn't drop by enough to make me want to buy it. There was no parrot stuff on sale over here either. Well, not that I've seen anyway!

I'm not sure I know what you mean- are you able to get a video of the behaviour?

Hahahah that's brilliant!!!

Haha that's hilarious!

It does look a little long- but it looks like it is being worn down to me. I wouldn't worry too much so long as Alex has no problems eating, drinking or getting around. With the pumice style perches and lots of things to chew he should be able to look after it himself for the most part. Just keep and eye on it and see how it goes. If he ever looks like he's struggling to eat, drink or get around, then you'll need to take him to the vet.

Whit woo! Check you out, Isaac! Looking good

I don't think samansad was suggesting to deliberatly walk fast towards a parrot- I think he was saying that he learned that if he moved too quickly around Alex, he got freaked out. So now he is aware that Alex will freak out if he suddenly moves too quickly towards him, he announces his movements before they happen so Alex knows what's going on. Not sure if I'm right, it's just how I read it