SRSeedBurners

Here's how we make oatmeal - Greycie gets excited when she knows I'm making some for her - it's her favorite treat: Quaker old fashioned oats Tiny bit of almond butter Small amount flax seed, quinoa, and chia seed Unflavored almond milk Cinnamon Banana water I've used Fage yogurt in place of the almond milk. Microwaved and consistency as Dave said - warm and lumpy. She goes nuts!. She will pace back and forth while I make this and gives me the baby squeaks over and over with her wings slightly out and quivering. It's the only thing she gulps down.

Elvenking - I'm not sure of the history of your bird as I haven't been here that long. Wondering - is he an 'only' bird? Also does he get lots of exercise? These are just two things I can think of that might make a difference. Here's my thoughts: My boss got a baby Grey at nearly the same time as me. His bird is clipped and is alone during the day. His bird plucked herself bald on her backside at just over a year. His bird is alone all day and is also clipped so cannot fly. My bird has had a constant companion her whole life, either the Jardines we lost last year, or the Caique we got shortly after that or my wife. Greycie is never alone - ever. Also I am a stickler about vigorous exercise, for my bird and for myself as well. I train pretty hard 4-6x per week which helped bring me back from the brink of hell about 10 years ago and I pretty much practice the same, but much much less intensity with my Grey. She gets 10-20 tosses in the morning making a loop around our living room and then into the kitchen. I will immediately get her and send her off again not allowing much rest. Her beak and feet start to get warm up with some minor panting near the end. At one point I got lazy with her and stopped for about a month. Her flying started to resemble a flying pig and I actually started having behavior problems. My wife noticed too and asked if I would start flying her again. Two weeks after resuming her morning and evening flights, she's back to normal. She will actually prod me in the morning to 'go play' pterrordactyl. She loves it (until about the 10th interval). I'm a firm believer in providing an outlet for their anxiety through exercise. It works for us. Some food for thought. I say all this and I may be posting next month about my Greycie has plucked herself bald....

You're not the only one that would take a 16 week boat ride to get them back. I wouldn't even think twice about it. Hoping for the best.

My advice is to keep flighted ESPECIALLY since you are experienced with flighted birds. We have a breeder we are currently dealing with that has the same rule: she lets them fledge and fly for a while and then shortly before sending them to their new home will trim them. We've worked out a deal, and you may be able to do the same, that if we agree to keep the baby caged with minimal out time for the first two weeks, she will 'consider' not clipping. We're going through the whole 'may I see pictures' of of our current setup, birds, new baby setup etc. Feels like an invasion of privacy but I think it's worth it to get a bird that isn't clipped. Plus I know she's not just a breeder that wants to sell birds. She's genuinely concerned about the new home where she's sending one of her babies.

I'm just surprised you haven't been bitten in 6 years. Where did I go wrong I get bit every time I step out of line which is usually several times a day - and I'm Greycie's sweety pie puddin topps. Our issues usually deal with jealousy over me messing with the Caique - she can't stand that. I've also been bitten for not knowing she's hungry, thirsty, it's currently mommy time, etc...as she doesn't talk in context and sometimes I miss the birdy body language. Hang in there, they're easily forgivable.

Welcome to the GreyForums. We are very similar: former Marine and vet of round 1 of the fight for Big Oil interests in the sand flea pit. I also wanted a girl Grey when I started looking, I have no idea why. I love her to bits. We have a male Caique and I love him to bits but he's what you would expect of a boy: feed me, water me and wrestle with me but my heart belongs to mommy. The female Grey seems to have bonded with me, I don't know if being a female helped that aspect or not. Your crafty-ness will be put to good use making toys and swings and ropes and whatever else you'll see pictures of and decide your Grey needs that. Also playing and singing the guitar is a gift. I believe the fastest way to a Grey's heart outside of their crop is through music. I can't play anything but youtube and Greycie Grey loves it when I go on an 80s music or classic country bender.

Why can't you live closer to me

Somehow I read that as 'I'm in Victoria'....ooops.

My opinion is they will have the company of each other. Even if they don't get along they will grow accustomed to each other. I have a Grey who can't stand my Caique...until the Caique is no longer in the area. Then she calls and calls and calls till she gets her little brother back and then she resumes trying to 'knock him off his perch'.

He's fully feathered...and looks healthy. You have been hit with a gift. Stick around and let us know more about him. Where did you just 'pick him up? He's a really good looking Grey.

Interesting comments about the sparrows. I've posted here before about my pet pigeon but I'lll reiterate: I found him floating down a creek sure to die somewhere down the line. We raised him in a box outside our back door and he made it known that he wanted to be an inside bird. He flew beside my motorcycle on the way to work every workday for several years. It was always my intention that he could fly away free any time he chose...he never did. He always wanted inside the house. I saw one at work the other day. I have the feeling that one day I will find myself face to face with Mr. Pidgeoy again.

Wow - a 44 yo Grey - what a gift, you are certainly blessed. Welcome to the Grey Forums. Would love to see some pictures of the mature Grey. They don't require more than a good home with an attentive 'owner' (I hate that word applied to Greys, maybe Parront is better). I'm guessing Victoria Canada?

Based on Birdhouse's comment, if that's not a King's Cage, what is it? And taking your bird to work makes me completely jealous. I'm positive Greycie could write better software than I can.

There's a video somewhere of someone rehabbing birds (mcaws maybe?) and releasing them back into the wild. They had a setup where the wild birds came to the enclosure and once deemed ready the birds ready for release were allowed to leave on their own schedule. I thought it was posted here somewhere.

Same thought here...too much risk of being recaptured by the dirt bags that do it for a living and then who knows what will happen to the poor things. Have you considered a sanctuary similar to what Muse and others are doing? Letting them live among each other and forming bonds and little communities is by far better than what they have as an unwanted pet. I'm in a similar boat - I used to like what I do but I now hate it. My wife is always telling me it's not too late to go back to school because her mother went back !!AT 50!! and got her nursing degree. I'm 44 and feel like it's too late to do a complete career change.

So much for the streaking.

Reminds me of my free flight pigeon that would fly alongside my motorcycle as I went to work.

Looks like nothing more than some immaculate house cleaning going on to me!

Ours are all shoulder birds. My biggest concern is the mystery poop vs getting bit. Our biggest problem with biting is the jealousy bite. If I'm holding Toby and showing him any kind of attention Greycie will either bite my neck or my ear or in some cases she'll lunge at Toby and get me instead. She's only once ever bit hard enough that it drew blood.

I believe outside time in the sunshine is key too. Mine love it and go berserk with playing and chatter. We ended up moving Greycie's large cage outdoors since I have to remove a door from the hinges to get it out of the birdroom to clean it. She uses that until we get the aviary completed.

Thanks Muse - I'm a little ways off from needing the wire so I still have a little time.

My only guess is she wants you to come get her out.

Not yet. She 'Odie' ended up with my aunt when my ex-wife hit hard times and couldn't keep her any longer. I've passed word on to my aunt that when she can no longer care for Odie I'd like to make sure she gets a good home with us. It's a bonus knowing she remembers who I am.

Since the original poster never really came back I don't mind derailing the thread a bit... I was a regular visitor at Tree Top since it's so close to my work. They actually boarded birds there but I would never take mine as it was just too unsanitary for me to ever risk boarding. Our only other option is the breeder we got her from in Mineral Wells but that's a looong drive. Finding someone who understands these are not just pets, they are our feathered kids is tough to do. Not even all bird people think the same. See here what happened when I trusted my sister-in-law around my babys. She had a bird of her own - emphasis on the had, as she let the same thing happen to her bird. I can't believe you have two other Grey people around you - how lucky. I probably do as well but finding them is near impossible. My wife loves these birds too but her biggest drawback is that we'll never get to travel. We don't travel very often but when we do it tends to be several weeks long. Our longest was a bicycle touring trip in Europe for seven weeks. This was prior to our having birds years ago. My daughter has flown the coop so she isn't an option any longer. We're kind of stuck! Thoughts on the aviary: I'm definitely considering the playground wood chips. We considered a flag stone base but the link I posted talked me out of it. We have a temporarily non-flighted Caique and he gets pretty wild and will slip and fall sometimes. I'm not sure how many birds you have but maybe mess can be contained by just feeding in one area? They do tend to make a mess in certain areas so I don't forsee replacing the whole base too often if ever. Maybe just spot treatments under favorite perches. For predator protection bury the wire (I know...near impossible in Texas black clay) or lay it horizontally and then cover with mulch. I'm not so much worried about digging predators as they'll have to kill my dogs first and that won't happen unless it's a mountain lion. Stay tuned as I'll probably start another thread once we get underway. This weekend we're going to lay out the structures and see if we can find a place and configuration we like best.

As for food: we use the Harrisons which is highly regarded as the best parrot pellet. There are other good ones that suffice as long as your bird is getting good fresh foods like veggies, sprouts etc. We also use the pellets secondary to the whole foods, not the other way around but there are others who rely on the pellets as the mainstay.