Timbersmom

It was sure good to hear from you! I've been wondering how you were doing. I doubt Gil will every cease to surprise you. My newest grandbaby is 2 months old now. What a joy they are. Glad you are all well

He looks much more comfortable to me as well. Sometime you want to go back and look at your old videos so you can see the change in his body language for yourself. When you live it everyday, you don't always see the minor improvements that are occurring.

https://sproutpeople.org has really good (though not cheap) sprouting mixes for birds. They also sell a little sprouter that works well. I used them for Timber for years, but the last year or so he decided he wasn't going to eat the sprouts any more so I stopped. I need to try it again, since he tends to get tired of things then start eating them again after a period of time elapses.

Jayd mentioned a cardboard box earlier. Cardboard is Timber's favorite thing (except his bells). He doesn't care much for wood, but loves shredding cardboard. That's definitely worth a try. She's beautiful

Hello and welcome! Two months isn't long in "grey time." Toys and new things often need to be introduced slowly. Think hanging/setting the toy at a distance from the cage, move it a little closer every couple of days, and finally into the cage. I have a Timneh also. I don't think, from what I've read, that they are more fearful than the CAG's. I have to introduce any new thing to Timber slowly and over time.

Very nice! Make sure and take some pics when it gets warm enough to put it to use

Hello and welcome. What a pretty bird!

Oh Maggie, my heart goes out to both of you. As I've learned myself, getting older takes guts, prayer, and perseverance. Prayers for you both.

awww... love baby pics!

What a beautiful girl!

Neoow, that is exactly what Timber would do, throw it so I could "fetch." That's one of his favorite games

Neat pic! Seriously though, is this a common occurrence or did you just get a good picture? Timber would be throwing the spoon at me...

Yes, I've tried raw and cooked cauliflower, broccoli, etc. etc. He will occasionally eat raw broccoli so I throw a piece on his skewer a couple times a week. The only thing he will ALWAYS eat is junk food. Pizza, bacon, sausage, cake, you get the drift. Of course he rarely gets to indulge in that. Basically, he's a spoiled toddler

Timber is extremely picky. You may remember my experiments and failures with every pellet made. After Timber's seizure issues and his weight loss, what is in his bowl is pretty much whatever he will eat. Daily, he gets nutriberries, quality seed mix, a piece of avicake. In his "people" food bowl, he has mashed sweet potato, peas, pinto beans, hamburger, mac and cheese, and cooked Higgins rice mix. He has sweet peas on a skewer, and usually has corn on the cob or an artichoke to mess with. He eats dinner with us, whatever he can (or will) eat safely. He usually has a small (maybe 1/16th slice) of toast with a little peanut butter at breakfast time. I'd love to improve his diet a bit, but he won't eat birdy bread or any chop I've tried (or pellets or any other vegetables etc. etc. etc.). He gets a chicken wing bone every week (sometimes he will eat it, sometimes not) and a piece of boiled egg fairly often. He eats a bite of banana with dad occasionally, but really isn't a fruit eater. As a treat (like most of his diet isn't already a treat) I give him a cashew, an almond, and a couple of peanuts in the evening. Oh, I almost forgot the cheese... He gets a very small piece of sharp cheddar cheese a couple of times a week. I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting, but those are the staples!

Well, keep whistling! Try whistling when he doesn't do it first and see if he will respond. That was one of the first ways Timber and I established communication and I think it helped a lot. The little things are often what makes the difference in the long run.

Very true. Missed filming my grandbaby's first real smile by about 5 seconds.

Wow, beautiful! Dexter is beautiful too (troublemaker though he may be

Erfan, have you tried whistling with him or to him? That was a great help when Timber was new to my house and afraid of me.

How frustrating!

What a pretty girl!

Most greys do not accept new things easily. What I do with Timber is place the new toy near his cage, not in it. Over the next few days, I move it closer and closer. Eventually we get to putting it in the cage. Then there is a good chance he won't be interested in it anyway, but he isn't scared of it, ha. This kind of behavior is very normal from what I've read on the forum. Do you have any plain stainless steel bells? Most greys love bells, but you have to go through the same process of getting them used to it. At any rate, I just wanted to reassure you that his reaction to the new toy is in no way unusual and nothing to worry about, To sum it up, they DO NOT like change!

Sure wish your weather would have cooperated! That's the way is goes it seems. Can't wait to see pictures of the finished product

Do you have access to parrot pellet type food? You are right about sunflower seed not being the best choice for the majority of his diet. As for fruit, greys aren't supposed to have a high sugar content so fruit should be limited too. I'm thinking a small piece a couple of times a week is what is recommended. Your go-to for diet should be vegetables. There are recipes on the forum for "mash" that you might look at. This thread on the forum talks about vegetables: The entire thread on feeding your bird has a lot of good information. Be sure to check out the lists of things your bird CANNOT have. I had no idea when I got Timber that there were foods that would literally kill him, but there are.

I'm glad you are willing to take the time an effort to keep Bobo out of a bad situation. It is terrible when they are shuffled back and forth between owners and pet stores. What a miserable life that would be, especially for a bird who was yanked out of his natural environment. It sounds like you are making progress and that's great! Do you whistle back? One of Timber's favorite things is to whistle back and forth with me. That is a natural form of communication for them. Sometimes he will mimic what I whistle, other times he does his own thing. You've probably noticed that your grey whistles a certain pattern in the mornings? If I understand correctly, that is their natural flock "call." He's letting you know his location and leading you too him. One thing I wanted to mention, though you may already know. A parrot is never "tame." Bobo will never be domesticated like a cat or dog. He will become attached to you with time, and you will be able to teach him things like stepping up etc., but he'll never be tame. Even parrots who are bred and born in captivity aren't considered to be domesticated. Remember when you get to the point of handling Bobo (it may be a long way down the road) that parrots are prey animals in the wild. Trust is hard to build, and they often react out of fear.

LOL They are master manipulators!