garryg

Hi All, Hope you are all doing well (& the parronts). I've not given an update on Miranda for some time. She is doing great... actually get very sociable and most importantly the biting seems to have stopped. She loves getting her head scratched both in and out of the cage. She first let us do this last week and now just cant get enough of it. Her talking is also becoming clearer. Not at any conversation level, but certainly talks away quite happily in her cage. We also upgraded her cage last week. We went to the pet store to get some new toys...and came back with a cage. I'm just hoping that the good work doesn't take a step back?? We are heading away for a holiday next week and will be away for 4 weeks, unfortunately she can't come with us. She is heading to the Bird Barn, where I am sure she will be very well looked after. Do birds forget? Or will she be quite happy to see us on our return? Cheers

the latest update.... Miranda is getting on well. She certainly seems to have taken to me well. No matter who is in the room when she is out, she comes straight to me. The unfortunate thing is she still insists on biting. I have tried everything people have mentioned....remove her from my arm each time, tell her "no Bite" ( i think she actually thinks this is a game, as this seems to make her worse and she gets the attention), put her back in her cage for 5 mins then try again...she comes straight back to me then bites again. I can put up with this as I now wear a thick coat so she can't get the skin, but still cant wait for the day when I can be scratching her head, etc. Hopefully my next post will be to tell you the biting has stopped. Will also get some new pics up soon. Cheers

Cheers aw64, I am over there on holiday at the end of June so might buy one when I'm there! Where do you get them from? No doubt Argos may have them..

Hi All, I've just bought a few Kilos of Topflite Soak & Sprout mix for a trial with Miranda as she is quite fussy on what she likes! So simple question first....how do I get it to sprout? The add showed a lovely picture of lovely shooted seeds and said soak for 12hrs, drain and leave for a further 12 hrs...easy?? Tried it twice and nothing!! Is there anything else I should do? The other question.. what are peoples thoughts on this? Is it a good option and do the sprouted seeds count as some of the birds greens? The reason I ask is that she is not keen on lettuce, spinach, etc. Cheers

Hi All...not done an update for a while, so thought I'd let you know how Miranda is getting on! She is great....... she has started talking, some things I can make out (Hello (of course), What's this) and other times she sits and mumbles away, but don't have a clue what she is trying to say! I see this as a good thing as once she gets the words out there will be no stopping her. It is quite clear she is my baby...unfortunately for the rest of the family, as soon as I go out of the room she starts squaking and on my return she looks so inocent as if to say "it wasn't me". When she gets out she comes straight to me, she doesn't even go on to her play gym now... Sooooo, now for the unfortunate thing!! I do see that she loves me and I love it when she flys on to my arm......but......she loves to come up on to my shoulder. After already had a few bites i am fearful of her biting my ear and get very nervous at this point, so nervous that I shrug her off my shoulder and she flies back to her cage. I don't like doing this and know this can't continue, so how long does it take to build up the trust that she wont bite me?? Probably a silly question as I know this is fully dependant on the bird and parront? Anyway, overall thing are progressing great and I am now having an open affair with Miranda. Hope this furhter update finds you all well?

Progress..... I think!! Everyone else went off to bed the other night so I decided to let Miranda out for half an hour before I went. She came out to her stand and flew back and forth to me several times. This was the first time she flew to me. Last night I tried it again... I sat down to watch the rugby and she flew over and landed on my knee, sat there for a bit then headed off back to her cage. Tonight adventure was similar, sat down, she flew over ....great, then she sunk her beak in my arm.... bl##dy sore! Although she is comfortable to come for me, she still likes to bite, is there any way to stop this, or is this just a time thing? Cheers Garry

Thanks for your continued support! Miranda is coming along well.. She talks and whistles away, some things I cant even understand, but others very clear. She loves her toys and her out time. She is slowly getting used to me and will fly on to my arm take her favourite grape then return to her stand to eat it. I know it's only 5 weeks, but she was part of the family from day one and is doing great. I'm just so glad I found this forum as the members are so knowledgable.

Thanks for clarifying your post... I am glad I have found this form as it is so informative.

I don't understand where you are coming from! I never entered this with my eyes shut... I have thought about this for a number of years and certainly looked in to numerous details on owning one. This still does not fully prepare for actually owning one, only ongoing knowledge brings this. I f there is anything I have posted which is of concern please point this out!

Cheers Nancy....The wing clipping is but a long gone thought. I have learned to not be so hasty and take my time with things.....Miranda is teaching me well. She is out now on a daily basis and no further accidents.

What a wonderful weekend! Miranda is now out every day..and has not had any more accidents. She also had her first full shower yesterday and kept coming back for more. She also said her first word.... I think?? She was making some strange noises so I turned the TV down. Myself and my daughter were convinced she said Hello, along with other things we couldn't make out....al in all great progress. She is still not comfortable with coming on to my arm, or stepping up to a perch when out, but no doubt that will come.

Hi Kins.....Thanks for the correction... I certainly wouldn't take the freedom of flight away from her...so not clipping! Should I consider a slight trim?

God, Miranda is a smart parrot! 2 weeks in to it and I think we are in line for a new cage already. She has worked out how to lift all the food hatches on the cage. Getting out is not an issue when we are there, but don't like the idea of her getting out when we're not. We even tried to tie them down with a shoe lace, but it only took her a couple of minutes to get the knots out. She goes out and in her cage no problem now...it's amazing what a few juicy grapes can do. One further question...that I know I may get mixed answers to! She was out yesterday and went from a fly around the house, unfortunately she flew in to a window! She seemed fine after it, but we got a fright...and am sure she did also! So the question...... should I be thinking of a wing clip? I wasn't going to, but I also need to consider the safety of Miranda. I certainly want to keep letting her out her cage, but don't want the worry of her flying in to another window. Or will it be the case that now she has done this she won't do it again? Thanks Again! Garry

Thanks All for the continued feedback! Nancy, please don't get me wrong, what I was trying to do is see if there is anything different I have to do if the bird was younger, or older than first thought.....it is certainly not a problem for me regarding the age, she is still our baby.

I know this is one of these questions that are difficult to answer as I suppose it lies with Miranda herself...but may be approximate, or how long did it take you? Going out/in cage - Done (1 week) Eating from hand - Done (from day one) Learning "Step-up"? Landing on own arm/hand (without biting)? Going for bath/shower (not just a spray with bottle)? In my initial post I said that Miranda was 8 Months old and had been hand reared initially. I don't doubt that she may have been hand reared initially, but i do question the information given to me by the breeder that she is only 8 Months old...but then again I don't know. I would say that her eyes are already a light yellow and reading some info. it seems this happens around 18 Months? So if this is the case Miranda has been in an aviary environment for some time now, so may be difficult. I wish I could determine her age as my main question to the breeder was a young (under 12 Months) hand reared bird!!

Still about a 3 hr drive. The roads here are certainly not the best! We have not been in, but have passed by and saw the small houses in the side of the hill.

As some of you will know, I'm very much a new member. I have however read with interest numerous posts covering various topics. My reading and replies to my posts have been soooo helpful. A big THANKS! It ias also interesting to read posts from members from numerous countries......so where are we all from? I'm sure this will surprise me! Im from Cockle Bay, NEW ZEALAND. Happy Easter to all!!

Had Miranda out of the cage again today... we went out and bout her a parrot stand. Anyway, after a 5 mins or so on the top of her cage she went for a fly. She flew round the house then landed on the sofa. I was on the seat opposite, she kept her eye on me then flew over and landed on my arm....success (I thought), as soon as she came on my arm she proceeded to peck at my arm....I do say peck, as she never sunk the tip of her beak in to me (as she did last night), after another 5 mins she flew around again and landed on my back, but again she pecked my shirt and made a few holes, glad it wasn't my skin ....so I would say thing are progressing! She came out for an hour or so, then we were going out and didn't want to leave her out when we were not there. So, my next question? Once they are out of the cage....how do you get them back in??

OK, I'm an early member of the Bite club! I let Miranda out for the first time tonight. I opened the cage dor and it took her around 5 Mins to come out and move to the top of the cage. When she was out I gave her a treat (a grape...her favourite) and she quite happily ate this on top of her cage. She sat there around 5 Mins then I thought I would coax her on to my hand with another grape. She slowly bent down and bit the skin on the back of my hand, so I take it she isn't ready for that...probably me trying to push things to quickly. Any way she had a fly round then went back in her cage....so all in all, turned out well. So a question is raised....? How long do I leave things before I try again? I don't want to leave it too long as I feel the longer I leave it the more difficult it may be. Do I let her make the choice? do I just wait until she comes to me, rather than me continue to appraoch her? Thanks again all for you feedback.

She has not been out yet, but will be over the weekend. She is already 8 Months old so may already have some bad habbits, but certainly not shown them. I will be starting on the step-up as soon as she gets out. Cheers & Happy Easter to ALL!

Miranda is doing very well. This is only day 4 and i have her copying my whistles (it's a start)...When I had my Cockatiels they took a couple of Months to get to this stage! When she whistles I show her attention.....It is amazing how she sits and cocks her head listening to every work I am saying, she is certainly getting used to her new home. New noises every day....I'm enjoying every minute of it!!

Hopefully I have now managed to add an avatar picture of my beatiful Miranda.... Will get more when she is out and about...hopefull over this weekend.

Hi all, Thanks for your kind acceptance to the forum. We have had "Miranda" now for 4 days. I already have my first post in The Grey Lounge for some much needed advice as I am keen to do this right. I will give everyone an update on how I get on as I progress.... This is something I have wanted for a number of years, so certainly willing to put the time in to get things right. I will get photos of her very soon and get these posted.

We got our first CAG 3 days ago. She is around 8 Months old. She (Miranda) was hand reared initially but has been in an outside aviary for the last 4 Months. I feel she has done very well since settling in our home with her new cage and surroundings. From day one she has been feeding well and quite easily eats from my hand, but have only done this through the cage bars and open door. So the question is, when do I start teaching the step up commands? As yet I dont know how she will react when she comes out the cage...in fact I have a concern that if she does come out she may fly around and hurt herself (as she will be used to the aviary).. should I start some training inside the cage, or is this me invading her space? Ideally I want to get the cage open ASAP so she can come and go as she pleases. Any information would be very much appreciated. Many Thanks...

Morning / Afternoon All, I have found forums to be a great source of information for my other interests...so am sure I will not be disappointed here! I have just purchased my first African Grey and want to have access to as much information as possible so it has a long and happy life. I'm sure this will be available on here as there will be a lot who have no doubt had one for years! I'll have a trawl through the threads now, but no doubt you will here from me again soon! Cheers