SRSeedBurners

That could be a blessing. I was telling my co-worker the other day - "there's no way in hell you could pay me enough to be a police officer in todays world". This is the generation of zero-respect.

They do not sleep overnight in the aviary - no way I'd ever take a chance like that. As it is, when they are out during the day our dogs are present to fend off anything that would dare come near, including hawks. When sunset is approaching they get very flighty and fighty in the aviary. They DO NOT like being out there as dark approaches. So we bring them in and have some hang time until bedtime. Once they do establish a bedtime and I know what it is, I do try to adhere to it whether they like it or not. Keeping them on a schedule is easier than letting them set ALL the ground rules - haaahaaa.

I always wondered about this mandatory bed time until we built an aviary. It allowed us to see our birds actually get tired and 'want' to go to bed. Before the aviary and now while we can't use it they do not want to go to bed until late. 8:30-9pm for the littles, they actually will start their bed time grooming shortly before they want to go. GreycieMae just never wants to go so she gets the forced march down the hallway around 9-9:30. During the days when we can use the aviary, they will sometimes go around 7 and get cranky if we don't take them to bed.

Will she let you handle her? Place her on the floor with clear sight of a way back up to her perch. Surely she won't just sit on the floor will she? Do that a few times increasing distance to try and get some movement in her.

Oh the bag of chips. It's just not fair. We use the same thing around here. Nothing lines the troops up like rustling the chip bag. All prior commitments the birdies had are immediately abandoned and we all head for the bird room.

Make him a cup of chamomile tea. Our birds fight over our coffee so we make them some safe stuff.

This thread is filled with ghosts from the past. Only one or two of the posters are still here. Grave digging threads must be fun though. Must have just been googling the net and found something about your story?

What a cutie, you're own little nighttime guardian angel. I wouldn't get much sleep, I'd be trying to coax her under the covers for a good snuggle. Maybe that's why I'm not allowed to keep my Grey in the room?!?

Caiques are a special breed of nutters. Notice GreycieMae was nervously watching from WAY above. Of course anytime the camera comes out Rio just has to get in the frame.

We have posted stake-outs watching the entrance to the kitchen. If someone enters the kitchen and rounds the corner out of sight, you can bet there will be three incoming somebirdys to see what's happening. It's fun to watch because one lands on the faucet over the sink, one on the fridge and Toby usually skids across the countertop while turning a partial circle. Funny birds...

29F outside? No problem a steamy bathroom can't fix [video=youtube_share;TbpWOx0lgBo]

Sunflower seeds are like crack for our birds. We only feed seed in the afternoon as a limited treat. The rest of the time no access to seed.

Sounds awesome. I wish I could have my Grey in my room.

Now that I have a better look at that foraging toy, I'm 100% positive I have all those pvc parts sitting in my garage. Time to bust out the spade bits and make a couple for the aviary! GreycieMae will get bitey with me sometimes and give me a good reminder of what they're capable of. She's a pee-wee though compared to a nice bike crash or getting thrown from a horse so I'm not too scared of her. She got my upper lip the other day and peeled a nice 1.5 inch long gash from the side of my nostril all the way down to my lip - it was totally an accident and was caused by her getting way over-excited. The flying away and pterrordactyl screams are a pretty normal occurrence around here. She always does it when she has extra jet-fuel to burn off, usually in the mornings and evenings. We have to be careful now because she has learned that it will startle the other two and send them into the air and then she chases them still screaming. VERY NAUGHTY trick she has learned. The funniest thing she does is the fly and scream then hits the end of her play chain hanging from the roof and continues with the hard flapping. She really gets going into a spiral when she does that. I'll have to get some of her chain antics on film, they're very entertaining.

Did you successfully blame it on Talon? Greys are known to be rowdy hooligans.

Yep - dremel is the way to go. You can take bits off until you feel you are at just the right spot. With our Caique I will dremel off small bits each day until they are just the right length. Taking too much off his beak at one time causes him to sulk. I actually think the quick in their nails withdraws as you continually shorten the nail. Clippers are one shot and your committed.

My concern would be how to 'belt' the Grey in so they are safe traveling down the road. If I was a truck driver I'm sure I'd find a way to do it. No better driving buddy than a Grey!

Welcome to GF. You're the third in a recent rash of new posters in the researching phase after a long hiatus of none. Lots of recent stuff just posted!

Preface my advice with the fact that I had my first Grey at 19 for several years and knew all the stupid mistakes we made back in the early 90's with these beautiful creatures. Breeder: I found a breeder who knew and practiced the abundance weaning and fledging. It was a new term to me but apparently has been in practice for a while so most good breeders are aware of it. I did not want a bird that was ever clipped. I called and 'interviewed' the breeder and also sent some emails until I was satisfied I was not dealing with a backyard breeder just making a buck. One other thing I did was searched the net to see what others had to say about this breeder. She seemed to have a very good reputation and lucky for me was only a few hours away. What you look for in a baby Grey is up to you! You won't get what you want - -haaahaaa. I wanted a cuddle bird , also very pliable and a good talker. I got two out of those three traits along with a bunch of other 'bonuses' (strong-willed, moody, highly mischievous). They definitely grow up and change. They become a mix of their own wiring and also their environment - which can be strongly guided by you. DNA testing is mainly for sex determination. I'm not aware of any testing for disease that is done through the same procedure. On that note, finding a good reputable breeder puts you way down the road towards getting a healthy disease free bird, more than any testing you can have done. Our breeder had a closed aviary policy and showed us all her testing paperwork that gets done on her place etc... Good breeders also know how to wean their birds and socialize them so they have the best chance of fitting into our world. So if you're going the baby route, your best bet is to find a good reputable breeder OR one you can visit with on multiple occasions before making any decison. Your other route is to find an older bird in need of a home and there are way too many Greys out there that need good homes since they can never survive on their own. Check out the recent posting here about Felix, it might make you cry. He's one of the more famous Greys in the CAG community and he's a rescue who's previous owner died and he ended up in a pet shop through the damn kids. Personally, the bird we fell in love with at our home was a rescue and she passed away - it was gut wrenching but we loved her more than anything. Find an avian rescue in your area if there is one and visit it. Older birds come with more baggage but they can really be diamonds in the rough. I've witnessed it on several occasions including the bird we lost.

Well, on the flip side, if you know in your heart that you would make a good companion/caretaker don't wait! I regret waiting nearly 20 years to get another one after losing my first. I always put it down to remembering how messy and destructive they are and did I REALLY want to get back into that mode again? The trigger for me was my inability to deal with an upcoming empty nest. Once I got my Grey again I wished I wouldn't have lost so many years of living with one.

That is a sad story and probably way too often repeated without the happy ending. Keep at it Murfchck, it took me over a year to get Certified Felix Trained. I got a very nice certificate and the coveted red butt feather. It took lots of trainings and lots of hard works. Actually what really happened was I started contacting Felix's Mom (gosh, I don't even know her real name) about trying to locate a Jardines. That progressed to GreycieMae writing letters to Felix. Then GreycieMae showed Felix pictures of her newly converted bird room and I was on the road to CFT! Then word got around through Home Aviary Design that I had built GreycieMae an outdoor aviary. Once the pics reached Felix's Mom, she private messaged me that she was going to print the album out and hand it to her husband with the expectations that this will happen at their home. She told me to be watching my mailbox for a surprise. That's when I found my CFT certificate. Yeah - we threw a little party - we did.

She's a cutie-pie. I need to set something up like that for Greycie. She's a play-on-her-back bird too. What is that pvc pipe thing hanging to the side?

Just know that if you do it right, you're basically getting another kid that will never go to school and never move out. They need their little meals and they need toys and LOTS of attention. Our birds have taken over our life and I wouldn't have it any other way. Some people can't deal with that once the novelty wears off.

Hi to you and Trigger. How old is Trigger (don't be surprised if I call him Tigger - I used to have a BFA named Tigger and I keep typing that). I hope Trigger is not smoking and taking all those pills. I know me and my Grey would be rolling and fighting trying to get that stuff out of each other's possession. She would go nuts with those pill bottles. She managed to get a damn highlighter apart that she stole from wife and flew it down the hallway knowing full well I was hot on her tail to take it back. How did you and Trigger come to be buddies?

Is that a dog whistle?