Lalrmi Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Hi. Im a relatively new user to the site,and am finding it very informmative,and very interesting. I have had Ozzy our African Grey for about 8 months now,he is 12 months old. He is a very happy,very tame and very loving bird. Id like some comments to see what im doing wrong,if anything. He resides ina cage that is 38x22x22,it was what was advised by the pet shop (however im currently considering a larger cage for him). He comes out at least for 2 hours every day,we set it at this as we both work shifts but liked to set some sort of routine for him.when hes out he spends most of his time for cuddles etc,with the odd flying and divebombing inbetween. He has 4 food pots which we fill in the evening,one filled with water,two filled with any of the following-spinach leaves,lettuce,water cress,rocket,cucumber,brocoli,sprouts,runner beans,green beans,carrots,peppers,chilli peppers,swede,raddish,apples,satsumas,grapes,kiwi,melon,strawberries,hes very partial to ginger nut biscuits and rich tea biscuits which we also add from time to time,dry toast in the morning,the fourth pot we fill with seed,(pet shop bought parrot mix). In his cage he has several toys,several wooden perches,and a concrete perch.along with cuttle fish bones. he seems very happy,says hello,and experiments with new words,whistles quite a lot,and plays with his toys constantly.At night he grinds his beak for a while which i believe means hes content.hes very social predominately with myself however he will go to my partner for cuddles when im not there and will go to one of the kids.but divebombs the other two kids who arent as confident with him. Any comments or advice welcome,im unsure on the ginger nuts which he loves,but havent found anything anywhere that mentions these bisuits;)<br><br>Post edited by: Lalrmi, at: 2009/03/17 00:06 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 You're not doing anything wrong. You definiely need a new cage. The one you mention is much too small and will be even smaller as you put more toys in. The cage should be approx 36 in wide x 55 in high x 28 in deep. Normally that type of cage also comes with moveable legs that allow movement that will add aout 10 more in. to the cage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raposa Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I agree with Dave, you definitely need a bigger cage, the biggest one you can afford is the best one! :-) Ozzy is obviously a well loved bird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Don't feel bad Thats the same size cage Tyco my Grey lived in for the first 4 years of his life. Then I adopted him and got him the biggest cage I've ever seen He loves it and uses every bit of it I might add Its a cage made for a large Macaw but to me its the perfect size for Tyco. Sounds like your Grey is content and happy he could probubly use a little more out of cage time but if that all you can spare than its ok I think Grey's should have at least 4 hour out of cage time per day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lalrmi Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Thanks for your inputs and advice,much appreciated. Still curious about the ginger nut biscuits which ozzy loves,are these safe or not?. new cage has been ordered,much bigger and with play gym on top. as for time out of cage,ozzy spends at minmum of a couple of hours,he seems to have had enough after that and following his cuddles and play time he gets grouchy,and seems tired and wants to be left alone to just sit there.what does your bird do for 4 hours out of cage,is it cuddles and constant activity,or is a lot of it sitting around,chilling etc.?. cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 My grey is outside her cage most of the day, I am retired. She plays on her cargo net, she has foraging toys on the net, or she sits on her window perch and climbs from net to her playtop all day long playing with her toys. She also sits on the back of my computer and sneaks nuts. Right now she is sitting on the back of my computer chair chewing holes in my T-shirt!!!! If you have a schedule that works well for your grey and you then that is what is best. Each grey is different and we have to be willing to accomodate them. You haven't told us what the ingredients are in the ginger biscuits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lalrmi Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 Ozzy is now in his new penthouse cage,although he was unsure at first,and seemed lost in all his new found space,hes now loving it and exploring every inch of it. Definately a good buy,even though it takes up quite a lot of our living room,ozzy loves it. as for the ginger nut biscuit,which he loves, here are the ingredients on the packet- wheat flour,sugar,vegetable oil,glucose-fructose syrup,raising agents,molasses,ginger powder,salt,lemon oil.. hes eating probably 2 biscuits per day and loves them,..each biscuit contains-2%calories.3%sugar,2%fat,4% saturates,trace of salt. any advice welcome,thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 The biscuits list sugar as the second ingredient and that glucose-fructose syrup is sugar also so in my opinion it would not be too good for Ozzy, I would limit him on those, they should be a treat and not on the menu every day. If he loves them then you have found what he likes most and use that for rewards for things you want to teach him to say or do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 If he is getting 2 of these biscuits every day why don't you try breaking them in 1/2 to start and giving him them the same but in a smaller size so he actually only getting 1 a day instead of 2 there are some thing Igive Tyco that aren't the best also but I do try to keep it to a minumum Tyco loves Ganola bars and would eat a whole one in a day if I let her but she only gets a 1/2 inch peice every other day. I think everything in moderation is ok as long as its not Toxic to the bird. We all lke to treat our birds to something special now and then and as long as its not exccesive it won't hurt them. I would love to see a picture of Ozzy when you get a chance. I bet he's one special bird he sounds like a real sweetheart. I'm glad you got him a bigger cage your a good Parront Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovethatgrey Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I would really really limit anything with refined sugars, glucose fructose, syrups of all kinds to only once in a blue moon special occasions or AVOID it all together. Don't forget that what you may think is a very small piece for your parrot... is in fact a very big piece and that's alot of sugar and additives for your parrot to ingest in its small little body. Think of how much you weigh... then think about how much the average african parrot weighs which is between 400 to 600 grams. Quite a HUGE difference.<br><br>Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/03/23 02:02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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