SRSeedBurners

Similar behavior? I will cover my coffee or wine glass and Greycie will try to get in by running her beak down into the split of two fingers. That evolved into nibbling and 'licking' - yes she will actually put her tongue out to the point where I feel the moist part which is pretty far back relatively. That can go on for 5-15 minutes as she has become enamored with it. She will do that even when I'm not guarding a glass of something she wants. Is that what Toby is doing? I personally don't think what Greycie is doing is hormone driven, she just gets stuck in a one-track behavior until she gets tired of it and moves on to something else.

Same issue here except a little different. GreycieMae does not like my daughter but my daughter is very much a bird person. She shows a lot of fear towards Greycie and I think Greycie picks up on that. She's the only person I've ever seen Greycie show any aggression towards.

Your parrots are like your kids, no one else likes them like you do. Except I am different with other's birds - I do like to see other people's birds. Their kids - not so much. I can tell when my mom or my mother-in-law and her husband come around they put on the good act around our birds but we all know they couldn't give a crap and can't figure out why I treat my birds like little playful children.

We have a 'safety pumice perch' in a size large which fits our Grey fine. We also have a natural wood perch that's a little bigger diameter (got it at a bird show). She uses those perches during the day when she's in her bird room but she sleeps on a homemade pvc swing that I build wrapped in small diameter cotton rope. If that's not there she will sleep on her food dish?!?

I was just thinking about Sukei a couple days ago and wondering how things went. Glad to hear he is doing good and is a chatterbox.

That one went over my head ------> wooshhh.

Those are some neat videos. Wish I had the nerve and knowledge to do such a thing. I'm terrified I would lose my Greybie and I might as well jump in the sea if that happens. I have some pigeons that I would free fly if I knew how. Losing one of them wouldn't cause such anguish.

Yeah well, I had a nice warm load run down the side of my face tonight. GreycieMae has decided she likes sitting on my head and has started pooping up there. I found it in my hat a couple nights ago and tonight running down my face. I told everyone in the house that would listen that if it happens a third time I'm banning her from even being on me. The minute I get lazy with her she takes full advantage and she's found that I wont swat her off my head consistently. Time to up my game.

Looks like there will be plenty of tabulatings and calculatings goings on at your place now.

Hrrrmmmm....as you know we lost Raven to PDD. Also before we knew what we were up against Greycie was exposed. I quickly found out the vets don't know **** about PDD and we ended up consulting with the head of the program down at Texas A&M where they are researching it. We ended up coming back to our vet here and basically telling her what we wanted done next, scripts, etc... That went on for 7 months before we finally lost her. For a while we were just waiting for Greycie to go downhill after all we had 'heard' about transmission etc. I finally came to the conclusion through my consulting with A&M that it really is just a disease of opportunity. If something causes a high long-term stress event, then the virus may get a hold and spiral out of control. Otherwise, with good diet and care it's highly unlikely. As we were told nearly every bird is *probably* a carrier. Some species of parrots are more susceptible. We may be wrong on that but no one knows for sure right now. I decided not to live in a box and just went ahead got two more birds. Good luck with them.

They come in the mixed nuts we buy at Wally World and Sprouts. They are one of the least liked nuts but they do eat them.

That's hilarious. You have to love them Greys and their ability to drop the bomb at the most in-appropriate time. They don't seem to be too concerned with proper conversational etiquette.

GreycieMae and Toby have a new toy! [video=youtube_share;NTaxeO1r5B4]

GreycieMae has this thing she loves to do sitting on my laptop screen: she will slip down the back side so all you see are her talons and her head. Then she will fling her head back and all you see are her two talons. She waits until I reach over and grab her and she play wrestles, popping back to the upright position where I'll let go and she flip backwards again. That progressed into her doing it the other way - on the front of the screen. She will slip down onto the screen holding on to the top with only her talons, however she does not flip this time. Instead she looks at me and expects me to grab her around the torso. Then she'll let go of the laptop completely and expects to be bouncy-bounced around in the air - back and forth. She absolutely loves this type of playing and will many times try and coerce me into doing this with her. Another things she loves is a plastic chain with two bells I have hanging from the roof. She loves it when I will push her while she swings. One of her favorites - she is just like a little kid.

What a cutie.

We shot some video last night and today of some new arrivals at Old McGreycieMae's farm. While looking at my raw video footage I came across a good one I never put together. So then I decide I'll just make a GreycieMae video thread so they're not scattered all over GF. The new arrivals will have to wait but for now...this one made me laugh since I had forgotten about it - shot a week or so ago. GreycieMae Quail TV [video=youtube_share;D0rESlbm_sY]

I'd only go through the process described if the bird was coming from a rescue or some place where there is a lot of unknown exposure. Private residence - only bird, I would and have intro'd them on day one. Our Jardines came from a closed breeder and our Caique was an only baby who was being fed and raised where the lady worked. They were all thrown in on day one to have a good long stare at each other.

That does not look like feather picking to me as there are feathers missing above the neck unless another bird is doing it to that bird. My first thoughts were Beak and Feather Disease but the feathers growing in look healthy. What happens when those feathers start to come out from the sheath?

Happy Corky Day! Time to tear it up (more than normal)

We no longer take chances after my idiot SIL let my bird out the door. This last go around with SIL and BIL in town and their kids we put a locking door on the bedroom and a lock on the aviary. Kids especially don't see the gravity of the situation until after it happens and maybe not even then. I know with my daughter she would accidentally let something happen and after that it's my problem. I saw a picture on FB the other day of a wingless, featherless CAG that is recovering from a dog attack - pit bull of course. I would be very nervous and careful if I were you.

Kids make good chew toys, and they're self-healing. HAAAAAhaaaa j/k

Hrrmmmm...must be a family trait. Head strong being the key trait. GreycieMae slips in and out of the mean bit. One day sweet and loving and then, I'm guessing just the sight of Toby will set her off, she will all of a sudden get nippy and growly and just plain cantankerous. We've learned to adjust, after all, I am Certified Felix Trained now.

I banned her from posting pics when she wouldn't quit it with GreycieMae's sibling. Too much risk that I would make a 3 hr drive and commit a breaking and entering.

If you have the opportunity to introduce them and have a trial period, that would be best. However I don't think a short trial period will divulge all the long term problems that may arise. If you have the opportunity to give the bird back sometime down the road that would work best. I'm only talking around a month or so. Bringing the bird over in a cage for an afternoon won't tell you anything. Both birds will behave differently down the road over time. When I mentioned Toby's flying being reckless, I meant in a more daredevil type of way. He's in no way clumsy. He will cut corners and go around and through things that would kill him if he made a mistake and misjudged. I'm just waiting to see him do a barrel-roll as he comes out of the bird room and down the hallway. Like I mentioned we trimmed him to slow him down because he has made a couple mistakes and one time I thought he was dead for sure. That was the day the scissors came out. I have the feeling that's how they expire in the wild - too many close calls and their number was up. Our Caique prefers to fly but I know most prefer to walk/hop. Ours has never hopped. You mentioned chasing the cat. I forgot to mention that our Caique is the only bird in our home that picks strangers to hate on. He does not like children or short people. He will go after cats/dogs/bunny you name it. They are fearless. Toby has attacked a painter we had in our house, my niece, my nephew but he likes everyone that passes his height requirement, or if you have lovely long hair. They are funny little creatures. Here's Toby trying to stall me as I'm headed to work this morning. I heard him knocking on the door so I had a peek and this is what I got: [video=youtube_share;aJgSITv2VM0]

I have a Grey and a Caique. Caique personalities are very peculiar and I describe them as Amazon's that won't take their ADHD meds. They have more energy than you will know what to do with. If I had it to do over again, I would have 2-4 Caiques or just my Grey. I've found Caiques are the only bird that can safely play with Caiques. They are just too rough and tumble. Their mood can be extremely sweet and playful one minute and then Satan's Spawn the next - each bird has their peculiar triggers. They just have a lightning-quick nasty temper, some are worse than others. Our Toby seems to have a mild temper compared to what I've seen in others. What you've read about trying to kill is correct - if that's what they get in their little heads. Once that sets in, I know of no way to get it out. They are persistent little ******s. Our Grey is always plotting against the Caique. And once he gets wind of her intentions, his feelings get hurt and he's hell-bent on finding his way to her and making sure he's in her spot. He will relentlessly persue her but she brings it on herself. I personally believe adding a Caique has a huge potential for being a 'recipe for disaster'. I 100% guarantee the birdy dynamics in your house will change and the Grey will have to adjust. It could lead to plucking, jealousy (our case), anger etc. I highly doubt they'll be best buds. Also, if you plan to have a Caique that can fly - they can fly circles around a Grey in tight quarters. Caiques are zippy little flyers and make tight fast, almost reckless, maneuvers. We've had to slightly trim our Caiques flights to just take the edge off his speed for his own safety. However, the air is the only place our Grey has an advantage mainly due to her weight. That's the bad news. The good news is we've managed to find a way to deal with it. - I'm not allowed to play with the Caique. Those are GreycieMae's rules. So I play with him in secret but that's not much. Fortunately my wife is Toby's favorite so she plays with him some. - Our Jardines has fallen in love with our Caique. They like each other but again, the Caique is constantly making the Jardines squeal and pulling feathers out of his forehead. So they get supervised playtime and my wife will absorb some of the rough behaviors from the Caique. - They all seem to get along in our outdoor aviary. There are just too many distractions and they have far different interests out there. Caiques like being on the ground whereas our Grey likes being in the rafters. I have never witnessed them fighting out there. - Over time we've managed to find some peace in the house and they can actually sit on a bowl and eat together - as long as I'm not involved. GreycieMae does not like sharing me. That's my experience. I'm sure others with better bird whispering abilities have made it work but I feel it has more potential for disaster due to personality traits of both birds: Greys and their jealousy and Caiques with their hyper-activity disorder.