Steve 2

Hi there Asharion. I feed my Toulouse (timneh grey) harrison's pellets, veggies, Lafeber's seed cakes "foraging-weight maintenance" daily. I put palm oil on the pellets. My wife makes biscuits which have veggies that I haven't been able to get Toulouse to eat consistently such as kale and broccoli or fresh carrots. I also give brown rice, couscous, and other whole grains when we cook them. He does enjoy some fruits like tangerines, strawberries, and blueberries, but his stools can get watery. And yes....I give bad stuff like pizza, chips, and cheese once in a while. Looking forward to see what others do. Good post. Thanks Asharion

Hi there. Yes I heard a lot of advice about toxic materials for parrot/aviaries. I finally settled on rot iron with a powder coating. I've been using it for my tag for about 2 years he seems to be happy I try to get him out daily. I set mine up in our patio so it is protected from the rain. So far no rust. Good luck.

Hello all. I am experimenting with birdie bread (actually I'm bribing my wife). I want to incorporate those veggies which Toulouse does not realize are so good for him. Looking for suggestions for items to make the bread more palatable and nutritious. Thanks all.

Well the closest I got to conversation in context with Toulouse (tag) was while I was talking with my son. Jay was telling me about a horror movie he had seen on TV. "Dad" he said, "when the emergency crew boarded the plane everyone, even the pilot on the plane was dead!" Right on cue from the other room Toulouse pips in with "AHHHHHHHHH!!!" Oh well, guess Toulouse just loves drama. =)

Hi Santaeid. My Toulouse is a timneh, he's been with me for 3 years now. He definitely shows preferences for different toys and these preferences change over time. He has a good size play stand that I can wheel around from room to room. For quite a while he was happy to stay put on the play stand but lately as his wings grow in he likes to fly to a certain living room chair (tries to chew it up--not good) and to the top of his cage. He loves to throw his toys down when he's on the cage top and have me toss them back up to him. Lately his favs are empty plastic bottles and throwing down pellets to the dogs. I've been thinking of capping the bottles and putting marbles or pebbles in them for more noise. More noise is best in timneh land as long as he's the one making it. Love the name Batman! These guys are a hoot! Steve

"growing into her feet" lol! Toulouse (tag) "the goose" is 3 yrs old and has not caught up with his feet yet!! Toulouse does not do well with my son and wife when he is out of the cage. He likes them best when he is in the cage and they are not. We could probably do better on this but both son and wife would need to be willing to put in a lot of work and who likes to get bit. They are both animal lovers and do interact with Toulouse when he in his cage. Actually Toulouse will only learn words from my wife and son, doesn't seem interested in what I have to say. Not sure when this developed to this point, he was sweet to everyone as a baby and then not. Best wishes for your efforts with Maggie to socialize her to others. Many here on this site have been very successful. Steve.

Toulouse will let me handle him but is only cordial to my wife and son when he is in his cage. He will only pick up words/sentences from my wife and son. Good thing he makes some attempt to endear (as his bites are nasty) or there might have been a murrrder in the night. Steve

Toulouse gets Lafeber's nutri-an seed cakes (foraging/weight maintenance) every other day. I cut the squares into smaller cubes and put these in his foraging toy. While he has to work for them, he's pretty clever and usually gets to them quickly. Steve

Wow! Nicely done by all involved!

Good questions Tyler_111 and good answers from the members here. As a teacher I work 40+ hr/wk. Like it was mentioned above with other grey situations, Toulouse seems OK as long as when I get home I give him his due. He has gotten use to staying up till 9pm or later and getting up with me in the morning work routine. It probably helps that I am his first owner and I tried to establish a work routine with him from the get go as a baby. Sounds like your heart and mind are in the right place. I'm sure you'll make a good decision.

Thanks for putting the survey together JeffNOK. Very interested to hear the results! Steve

Great job Inara's Human and husband Joe!

That's great. My Toulouse has usually tolerated his daily baths. But now I do notice that if I miss his daily bath he will often bath himself in the water dish. Boys will be boys and hygiene in not often a priority!!

Spot on Inara. Unfortunately my learning curve with birds of cognitive abilities has been flat with a slight angle up. Yes you want them to fit your needs and worse yet I thought I could do the dog dominance thing.....big mistake! Lucky for my Toulouse my learning curve has finally met a level where his needs are met, mostly. There is still room for me to grow. Toulouse is perfect as is, a perfect creation that I have the privilege to have as part of my family. Steve

Finally got the out door aviary up. My son was laughing when he saw me sitting in the aviary with Toulouse! I sat in there a good 45 minutes and for 15 of those minutes Toulouse would not come out of his travel cage. Finally he came to perch on me. When I did exit, he would only perch on the chair. So I took that out and hung out on the patio with him. Then he actually warmed up pretty fast. Now he seems to really enjoy himself out there now. I'm sooo glad not to be lugging his cage outside! Apologies for no pics, this system is not very user friendly.