SRSeedBurners

Don't think the tortoise is going to be any issue. Cats are your biggest risk next to dogs as Greys will sometimes see them as competition and will go after them (as ours does). Supposedly getting bit by a cat and exposed to their saliva is dangerous however I have yet to confirm that with an actual case but who wants to risk it. Dog bite is self explanatory - not good.

Good catch Acappella. Those types of bells will actually catch on their beaks and I've seen pics of some damage done from those. Get a indestructabell if you can find them.

If she has that type of cuddly in her, it's in her. You've been able to reach it and will be able to again as long as you don't do anything to ban yourself. I don't believe it has anything to do with mating season. Just from reading your post, is this the first time you've willed up enough courage to go for a bite and just hold it? It really sounds like to me you could have been at this place earlier had you willed yourself to take a nice hard bite. I say this from experience. I've gotten through to three abused, re-homes using the same technique. A conure, a jardines and a Caique. In the case of the conure, we let him settle in for two weeks before I started to pressure him to step up. He gave me a series of nasty bites and then figured I was ok. I just sat through them without flinching. The Jardines was the girl we lost. She bit the holy living tar out of me, blood and everything, at the rescue. I sat through that and she warmed up immediately after. The lady said "you're the only one that's been able to mess with her". No, I was the only one willing to take a nice bite and not flinch. The Caique bit and bit and bit and lunged and went crazy and finally settled down but never really accepted me. We never brought him home. You should celebrate. This isn't just a phase. She likes you and you've gotten through to her. Just don't lose hope when she 'regresses'. My Grey who is an absolute cuddle bug regresses into a nasty touch-me-not every so often. It's just their way.

Yep - when all else fails, resort to science Psittacus erithacus erithacus - Congo African Grey Psittacus erithacus timneh - Timneh African Grey Show me the scientific names for any of the other 'subspecies' and I'll believe it. Otherwise, more horseshit for the pile. There's also a lot of crap out there about the lifespan of these birds. There is a study done at the Univeristy of Michigan that sorts all the bull on that one too.

OHHHH.....well I misread your post as did others. I have had THE EXACT SAME ISSUE! Search my posts, I believe I posted about it. GreycieMae has the most irritating shrill that easily busts eardrums and pisses me off to no end when she manages to get one off in my ear. When it first started it went for a couple of months and I mean she did it all the damn time. Over time she's stopped thankfully. However it was during that period that I did built her an aviary, not because of the shrills but I had always planned to. It helped immensely to get her energy down and stop that awful noise. I believe over time your Grey will stop doing it. Just don't mimic it or react to it. GET SOME EARPLUGS!!! I did and it helped maintain sanity. It was like feeding myself Avicalm. She really got me riled up when she did it non-stop. Building an aviary for some outdoor time with some buddies in there with him/her is the BEST THING you can do for your Grey. I highly recommend it. GreycieMae's shrill thread GreycieMae's aviary

Yes - what's the noise issue? Greys are not typically what are considered noisy birds. They are loud at times but quiet a lot of the time. My Grey has two periods during the day where she will screech like a banshee but it only lasts a few minutes each time. The rest of the time it's just small chatter - enough so that I would not hesitate to have her in an apartment or motel room where neighbors are very close. Also you might try earplugs. I have a set on hand just for those two periods in the day when she has to go berserk with her shrills. Helps me stay calm and just let her get it out.

Despite the inaccuracy of the number of hash marks, I found this amusing:

"My parrot sassed me" - GreycieMae Welcome to the forums!

Taka a picture of the tree and post it in the tree forum of gardenweb. Someone will know what it is. Then you can determine from there if it is safe. I would not stick something in the cage without knowing what it is. There are a lot of unsafe woods and Greys chew so they will ingest. Kiwis are safe and most veggies. There are lists all over the interwebz of safe/unsafe (foods,woods,etc). Get very familiar with those now before you get the bird. I have seen on more than one occasion where someone killed their birds with avocado and didn't know. With all the information freely and readily available it's almost inexcusable anymore.

Richardson! Ha...I live just north of you in Allen. GreycieMae says hello and welcome to the forum. The lady we got Greycie from is all sold out! (Murfchck stole Greycie's sister, I'm sure of it). I have my talons pretty deeply entrenched in the local bird scene around here. I'll keep a lookout but I never see any babies, always rescues/rehomes. Feel free to send a pm/email or keep in contact here. I'm always on the lookout for locals. I've found some and then they always just disappear. Don't be one of them

That cup 'moo' is cute.

No 'deposit to hold'? Running joke around here is, I put my GreycieMae on layaway. I can't remember how much of a deposit we placed on her.

My opinion only - but I think Greys are very sensitive to being alone. When this topic comes up I always refer to the same story: I bought my Grey at exactly the same time as my manager here at work. Both were handfed babies. - My Grey has my wife at home AND two other birds for when they are 'alone' in the bird room or aviary. - My managers Grey is alone all day with only a tv (and toys). My bird shows no sign of plucking - hoping she stays that way. My managers Grey is a plucker now. We feed them similar, lots of toys, interaction when we're home etc. The big difference is, his bird sits alone during the day. If adjusting her sleep pattern takes more time away from being with you, I personally would not do it. My Grey stays up till 10pm some nights just because she wants to keep playing with me.

This is good to hear. I was afraid you would come back here and tell us about the passing of your Grey. Those symptoms are usually NOT GOOD.

Greycie had a seagrass mat at one point but she shreds that thing in two days. She does the same with wicker baskets (easier for us to get). Her favorite toy is a plastic chain hanging from a hook with a bell at the top and a cow bell at the bottom. However it requires a daddy standing there and giving a good push while she swings. She also LOVES LOVES LOVES to ride the ceiling fan. We have one of those large props that turns very slow but pushes a ton of air. She flies up there and fully expects me to go hit the switch. I swear I can see her grinning as she goes round and round...

I would just like you all to take pity on poor GreycieMae down here in Texas. She was sweating it out in her aviary at 82 degrees yesterday. Another warm one again today. She would love to play in some of that snow - until it melted in a matter of minutes.

Fortunately your Grey is your life (part of it anyway) and I say that's not a bad thing. Don't know what I'd do without my little Grey girl.

Yeah, it sounds something similar to what our birds will do every once in a while. We freaked the first few times but we also noticed that all three knuckleheads would have the same thing which meant they were all getting it from the same source. I usually attribute it to fruit or real juicy stuff.

Yah, Greys are weird. My Greycie's favorite toy is a plastic chain with indestructi-bell at the top and a cowbell at the bottom. Then I have to stand there and swing her...for many many long minutes.

Funny story, and I'm going to get a little off-track here: I race bikes (like Lance Armstrong only slower and no drugs) which requires I put in a lot of hours training, sometimes in groups. I was sitting behind this one guy who had a pair of grey shoe covers with a red stripe down the back where they zipped up. I kept getting drawn to his shoes because the color combination really caught my eye. When I got home I commented to my wife about these cool shoe covers I saw and how neat they looked and she said "they must have looked like Greycie". *BAM* - it hit me like a brick in the forehead - yeah that IS what the color combo was. I didn't even realize it till she said that. I guess I have a thing for Grey with Red highlights!

So many ideas now... "Obey the Grey"

We made the mistake a couple of times making a huge ruckus about her well-timed *fart* noise and now she tries to use it to great effect. She's somehow learned to use it when she wants to say "I know you're flapping your gums at me but I don't really care" *fart*.... I think she figured it out in a situation similar to "blah blah blah blah...blah blah" *FART* "OH MY GAWD GREYCIEMAE" ensuing huge laughter....

Toby is the only one who gets a beak trim. I understand it's common for Caiques. We have a test we use with him: try to take some of his food and see how deep he buries his top beak in your finger. If it goes in real nice and deep, he needs a beak trim.

Cuddles while watching "A Million Ways to Die in the West". I love Grey cuddles, they are the best. Greycie won't sit still like that. Before long she would be upside down and wrapped around my hand.

Gosh, that's a rough neighborhood. Turf wars...