Darwinsmom

Do your Greys like music, if so, what kind?

The profile says he is in Pakistan.

Oh THAT I expect...lol. There would be something wrong if it didnt happen! lol Thats different than playing me like a puppet though! lol

I agree with you Dave. I'm a woman but I have a very male personality and logical thought process (probably why I went to law school instead of being a social worker). I'm no one's slave. I will love you and take care of you and do nothing but the best for you, but I have rules and expectations and boundaries and everyone here follows them, kids, dogs, cats, birds and fiance. We all need guidelines and boundaries, no matter if we are human, furred or feathered.

Ah, gotcha! I just meant I dont encourage games of "here pick this up 1000 times". I dont worry about normal dropping or flinging either, an oops I'll pick up. Distracting them (as I did with my kids too) with things that are good helps stop them from doing the things we dont want them doing...at least thats what has always worked here.

Having been owned by a grey for many years, and others, I'm pretty confident I know when I am being played, and I know their memories last longer than a few moments so if it's deliberate food dropping or toy tossing just to get me to pick it up over and over then I'm not playing, there are more constructive games to play. In my experience they are very much like kids and just as some games were encouraged with my kids and birds, some are not and this is one of them. Garth had no trust issues, neither did my macaw, because they DO move on to something else when they dont get the reaction they are looking for. There is never a shortage of other toys or food here so it isnt as though they are being deprived, its just a game Mom doesnt think is fun. I dont respond to bites in a way that elicits an exciting or stimulating response either, I just put you down and walk away. In all the years I had my birds I was beaked a few times (in the begining with each of them) but never actually bitten so I must have done ok.

In my house birds who throw things dont get them back. It only takes a few times to realize that if you toss your breakfast, you dont eat until dinner (pellets always available so they wont starve), if you toss your fav toy it isnt being put back until bedtime. I did the same thing with my kids when they were small and it had the same effect, think twice before throwing things. It also helps to use heavy crocks so they cant even lift them, never mind toss them.

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I was thinking the same things Wingy. I read about someone whose bird hated greens but served as kale "chips" they loved it. They love different textures too. I have a dehydrating machine, I got it to make my own dog treats, so I think I'm gonna give it a go. I also have a vacuum sealer machine to keep everything fresh. I will be vacuum sealing all my nuts and and stuff into small packages to keep it fresh since I bought many months worth. Edit: Also, dehydrated veggies and fruits can be used to make toys. I plan to make small holes in some of my veggies before I dehydrate them so I can string them on toys. I guess I know what I am doing today, and my beans are soaked so I'll be making mash and chop too!

You can feed pasta raw? I was worried it might expand after being eaten and cause a problem. I agree raw is best, unless a certain food requires cooking, like beans. I was wondering about dehyrating veggies too, to make them crisp and give them a different texture. I have a dehydrator so I can make them myself out of fresh picked organic produce.

Thanks Jayd! Most of this will be raw, except the beans, pasta and sweet potatoes. Freezing veggies seems to keep the nutrients so we should be ok there. I was gong to try a small batch and see how it goes but I am also happy to make it fresh but for one bird its a great deal of produce to keep on hand for a couple tables spoons full of food per day where as freezing allows for batches to be made so I'm gonna give it a while and see how it goes. I may end up making and freezing the bean, rice, pasta portions and adding fresh veg daily too. I will look for dandelion greens. I wasnt sure about beets so I didnt buy any but I will!!!

Oh I hear you!!! Teens here too and they'd lose their own butts of they were not attached, never mind the senile fiance! lol He's a whole other "cant find this, have you seen that" story! I'm going to be making a foraging tree for Zulu too. I have a bunch of foraging toys but I'm gong to make more and hide things. By the time he comes home I'll be worn out, but maybe he"ll be able to tell my fiance where he left his cell phone! lol

Sure! The beans are soaking as we speak. Do you like for forage for your nuts or shall we put them in a cup for you? lol

Im in Southern Ontario, Canada Dawn, fruit and veggies are plentiful and cheap here. That entire haul was just over 40 dollars. I forgot to put the peppers in the pic.... DOH!

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Yes, we wanted to start young, and though he wasnt impressed,he wasnt too bothered either so consistency will be the key for sure. Hes only 12 weeks old so I'm off to a decent start for lot of good socialization as well, I hope.

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Dan, it may be easier to just visit, its only a 15 minute drive. One of the reasons I got him from the Petstore is that I know where he came from but also that the girls working there really know what they are doing and spend extensive time with the babies. My daughter has worked there for 4 years now so I know he's being well stimulated, talked to and socialized and he's benefiting from the experience. He DOES recognize me when I visit though and he fluffs his head and does a happy dance. I'll be there a lot the next few weeks. I have a fair bit of hand feeding experience but I'd prefer to take him home on one feed, not 2. They have never had a Grey start talking as early as he has, he's been muttering and babbling for weeks now. He has a chatty Goffin next to him and they think she may be giving him the head start. She says Hi and Hello to him all day. The girls thought it was funny that I said I finally had my child prodigy, my daughter not so much (she did know I was teasing...lol).

It seems in my effort to make time go faster I have aged my poor baby 2 weeks! Zulu was hatched mid April and is only 12 weeks old, not 14!!! We went to visit today and I asked about a time frame to come home since I thought he'd be down to one feed soon but it seems I cant count...lol. We are aiming for 3 weeks though as they will be dropping the 2nd feed by end of next week or so. He's eating really well. He says hi clearly and is pretty close on hello already. He has also started to fly and is going from one side of his cage to the other and will make short trips from one side of the bird room to the other. He was doing a bit of a dancing, wing droop begging posture and holding his head out for scratches, he's a super friendly little guy and very cuddly too. The girls there spoil him, particularly since they know he is coming home with me so he is being handled a lot by several people. They said I can bring my aviator harness next visit to start getting him used to it, and now that he is really developing a personality and it is closer to home coming time I will start visiting more often.

LOL!! I think I better get used to it Ray. I was so sure he was muttering last week but to be talking just 5 days later. I'm so excited now. I didnt care if he ever did talk, Garth wasnt a big talker, but its kind of neat thing to look forward to if he is a chatterbox.

The .ca version doesnt sell any of the good stuff....*sigh* i looked. I went to Parrotdise Perch instead. They are great and have a store near me plus delivery. http://www.parrotdiseperch.com/parrot/index.php

Oh my goodness Wingy, I was arranging Zulus cage all day to be sure there is no interference between toys, that all perches have clear poop pathways so he doesnt poop all over anything below from the higher perches, making sure there is space for movement and toys are in reach but not TOO easy to get to (we want the foraging toys to be a little harder to get into!). I think I rearranged it 12 times until it was perfect! lol

Yes but he wont be home for another 3 weeks or so, he's still on 2 feeds!! *SOB* I'm just going to have to visit every spare second I have.

My Daughter just called, she's at work today and was with Zulu (she works at a petstore, thats where I am getting him from, they have a regular breeder they get their babies from). He says "Hi" clear as a bell and when you feed him he says "Ooooooooooohhh!!" lol lol He was trying to talk last week but I assumed he would babble for several months before he got any words out but it seems I have a prodigy on my hands. I cant wait to see him tomorrow! Now waiting for him to come home is going to be even harder *sigh*

Thank you Nancy, not many people understand what these guys mean to you. Garth affected me far more than any dog or cat that I have owned (not that I dont love or miss those who have passed on). Perhaps because he was not quite 13 and it was sudden. I expected him to grow old with me. He died of liver disease, which apparently was a problem with that breeders line. I was in my 3rd yr of law school (went to back to school after my divorce), and about to write a major exam when we found him. It was Dec 21st 2004. I called school and told them I couldnt come in, a family member had died. No one "got it" except my Mom (she sent me flowers) To them he was "just a bird, get another one'. Its nice to find people who understand how they affect us, I didnt have this type of forum then. I'm glad I've found you now. Anyway, back to the present....you're right, Zulu is a new baby and he's a SPOILED baby....now that my kids are grown (mostly, youngest is 17) I have someone to spoil again! 3ish weeks and cant wait!