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Cages, Stands, Perches, Toys...Bringing Baby Home List


Giannine

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I have compiled a list of things I may need or want before bringing a baby Grey into our home. I have 7 kids and sometimes laugh at the list of things new mothers bring to the hospital or think they need for their babies because most ends up not being used. You guys can laugh at me if I am overdoing my list (or underdoing):)

 

This is what I have so far:

 

Tabletop T-stand (for when I am at the table doing my editing. I am there a lot)

Full size play stand (or tree) to go from room-to-room

6' Outdoor Aviary for the deck to spend time in when we are outside

Pak o Bird backpack/carrier to go in public or walks/hikes and in the car

Smaller cage for my bedroom(?)

Shower perch

Pedi perch

Various perches for cage

Boing perch

Toys (smaller to start off with)

Handheld vacuum for cleaning around cage

Seventh Generation Multicleaner (I saw a member on here highly recommends this for cleaning the walls)

 

Please let me know what I might want to consider adding or subtracting. Thank you

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I have compiled a list of things I may need or want before bringing a baby Grey into our home. I have 7 kids and sometimes laugh at the list of things new mothers bring to the hospital or think they need for their babies because most ends up not being used. You guys can laugh at me if I am overdoing my list (or underdoing):)

 

This is what I have so far:

 

Tabletop T-stand (for when I am at the table doing my editing. I am there a lot)

Full size play stand (or tree) to go from room-to-room

We use hanging stuff - orbits, boings etc. Stands suck and are hard to move. I have hooks in various places

6' Outdoor Aviary for the deck to spend time in when we are outside

Build a permanent aviary, your birdy will love you for it. Our aviary is the single best addition we've made for our birds

Pak o Bird backpack/carrier to go in public or walks/hikes and in the car

Get the small, stainless steel. DO NOT get the african grey version - waste of money. Our Grey is 500 grams (huge) and she fits in the small better than the medium. Don't be surprised if she/he destroys it no matter what they claim

Smaller cage for my bedroom(?)

Don't waste your money

Shower perch

Pedi perch

Useless in our house, I still have to dremel toes

Various perches for cage

Boing perch

We have found the boing is not as good as an orbit and a hanging chain and a loop suspended by three chains, I can take pics. They shit all over the boing.

Toys (smaller to start off with)

Handheld vacuum for cleaning around cage

Useless - been there done that

Seventh Generation Multicleaner (I saw a member on here highly recommends this for cleaning the walls)

Vinegar and water is all you need. There may be something the cleaners (poop off) with enzymes, never tried them myself.

 

Please let me know what I might want to consider adding or subtracting. Thank you

 

 

 

See my comments in red - just my opinion. One thing I think you're missing is the Aviator harness. I use mine all the time on all my birds.

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This site sucks trying to post from an android phone. I got some pics but one is missing, the shot of our living room 'perch' area. As I mentioned we use hanging 'perches' for the birds as I got tired of cleaning the floor standing perch. It went into the cone crusher fire pit outside. I'll add another post later or edit this one but for now...

 

Everything is hung from hooks I mounted in the ceiling and movable from room to room...

 

Orbit, hanging chain with bells (an absolute favorite of Greycie's) and the three chain ring that they all love to fight over.

tmp_12143-20160415_212431-2103811230.jpg

 

Better pic of the three chain ring...

tmp_12143-20160415_212445-642656687.jpg

Edited by SterlingSL
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I agree with the bell. Dorian has one on every place he perches and two in his cage. Two of them he loves to beat the snot out of, one is used for calling his servant.This is an example of the beat the snot out of bell. Get at least one of these.attachment.php?attachmentid=26582&stc=1This is an example of the calling for his servant bell.attachment.php?attachmentid=26584&stc=1attachment.php?attachmentid=26583&stc=1 This type of clapper is supposed to be grey safe. I, personally, do not see any way he could get the clapper out of this bell but note, I do not have a destructive grey. Maybe someone who does will chime in (pun intended).

 

Dorian loves his boing and hated the orbit. Mind you, his cage is large enough to place a boing on the inside. He absolutely refused to perch on a pedi perch. Note: be prepared to buy at least one expensive thing that your grey will hate for no logical reason. Dorian doesn't have a sleep cage, but he does have his own bedroom. I can see how a sleep cage might be necessary if you can't do this. Sounds like you are going to have one well spoiled birdy!

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My first addition would be an avian vet. You will get tons of advice and you might even get a lead on breeders in your area. You might be able to discuss the cost of veterinary care, payment requirements etc. Next, find paper adding machine tape, not the thermal kind. I get mine at Sam's. There are acrylic holders available but when we travel, I just use leather laces to tie them to the bars. Read up on foraging and enrichment activities, there are some threads on the forum and links to a multitude of ideas to make toys using straws, cupcake wrappers and other household items.

 

One of the first things I did was read that Teflon and t-fal pans in my kitchen could potentially be fatal if it was overheated. I changed the hood on my stove to vent outside and it has a thermal sensor so it will come on automatically. My thought at first was that I am the only one home most of the time, and I am careful. And then, I forgot a pan on the stove before I even got my baby home so I switched to all stainless steel pots and pans.

 

I second the recommendation for a bell. The stainless steel bell is parrot specific. It has a long tube and the clapper is short enough the parrot can't reach it to dismantle it or get a beak or toenail stuck.

 

I also highly recommend the aviator harness. When you get a baby and train him from the beginning to accept the harness, you are getting ahead of the curve on that one. Miss Gilbert is somewhere between ten and fifteen years old now. She has not been a good candidate for "training".

 

Your breeder and your vet will have lots more suggestions. Our breeder had a little tent in with her babies and they loved it. I bought one for the breeder to rotate with hers so that Juno would have his "smell" on it and it was a comfort to him.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Charlie really likes to chew apart those grapevine balls or willow balls. Something about them he really likes. Anything that has twigs that are formed into a shape he loves to tear apart. He also enjoys those hollow gourds because I can hide a treat in them and he has to fish it out of there.

Be patient and let your new addition do what he wants for the first day or two. I tried way too hard way too fast and got bitten a few times until I just left him alone to get used to his surroundings. He warmed up to us pretty fast afterwards.

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Everyone had great ideas, especially the bell... a must! Size of the cage is important, they dont like to change their cage. First cage in size, should be forever. They can grow into it. As far as family, you already have experience being a parent. Its not much different. Everyone in the household needs to be involved and have a role. Greys will pick one family member, if given the opportunity. Socializing is sooooo very important. Greys also focus on one person at a time, and develop attachments with a unique experience. Sophie LOVED Sean for his violin, Ryan for his guitar and singing,me for my feeding and keeping her safe. Fifteen years later, she goes to both boys, the " caregiver", when I work long hard hours.We always set rules, set a bedtime with reading her favorite stories. Sophie now puts herself to bed at 8pm. She still gets read to every night. She loves poems and Thomas the Tank Engine. Routine, is the biggest and most important step to being a grey owner, next to learning step up, step down Nancy

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's been a little while since I've posted because I didn't have any news to post. The breeder I had found had a hen on eggs due to hatch about 2 weeks ago but they didn't hatch so I resolved myself to wait until she laid eggs again and hope for a better outcome. The breeder emailed me on Saturday all excited because she looked in the nest box and found one baby. She said it looks about a week old so we will be getting a baby Timneh in August sometime.

 

We are also waiting to bring a green Quaker Parrot home within the next few weeks. I think with 6 kids still at home, 2 dogs, a saltwater aquarium, and soon-to-be 3 birds, I am at my maximum caregiver capacity:)

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orbit.jpg Does anyone have one of these? Does your Grey like it? I bought this one off of ebay. I am still trying to decide if I want to get a tabletop tree stand or a perch on wheels to easily move from room-to-room or both
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You will definitely have your hands full! Congratulations on having a hatchling. The orbits are pretty popular with most greys I know, as are the boing rope perches. You need to make sure you cut the dangling threads off (greys like to chew on the rope) to prevent them getting a nail caught and injuring themselves.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you. The breeder went to pull the baby from the nest box the other day and SURPRISE...there were two babies, not one. We just found out our Quaker, Olive is a girl so I am leaning toward the Grey baby being a boy just cuz I like to keep the male/female ratio even here:)

Pic in avatar

Edited by Giannine
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We have an orb for Maalik which he absolutely ADORES! He swings himself in it all the time. He'll grab onto the bars of his cage and then lets go of it in order to make it swing. Then he rocks back and forth to make the swinging motion last longer.

 

Congrats on your upcoming new baby! So exciting!

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Thank you:) I am very excited. I had started buying toys and perches before he/she even hatched so I already have a lot of stuff. Multiple packages arriving daily. Is there anywhere on here specifically for us to keep kind of like a diary with updates and pictures?

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