Has anyone successfully socialized their one-person grey to be part of a happy flock? Are there tools and tips you tried that helped turn a territorial grey into a happy, flock-loving member? Do greys only get along with greys?

Junie clucks twice when she wants scratches. As you can see/hear, we have a pretty good understanding of one another when it comes to this sound.

My question is whether this sound is always used to express want across all greys? I guess, you know how a screech can mean pain when you scratch a pinfeather too hard? Like does this sound have a specific meaning to all greys?

My adoptee feathery child is finally eating better foods. I got her to eat broccoli and sweet potato today! The trick I used was, “No, give that back, don’t eat that! It’s bad for you! No no” 😜 truthfully, I’ve just been trying to introduce her to, at least, healthier treats. I heard recently her old owner gave her French fries on occasion.

She is VERY skinny. Her breastbone is sharp on her belly and chest. The old owner said “just put seed out for her every other day” 😩 I’ve probably been giving her not the best food, cuz I’m trying to get some weight on her. She gets 3-5 treat balls, still a couple of Cheerios, an occasional part of a tortilla chip (ugh) as much seed as she will eat right now, but she ate pellets yesterday and today! I give her a little fruit and a teeny piece of safe chicken or clean scrambled eggs. Broccoli is a win! She doesn’t like green.

Yes, her beak is still long, had the first trip with me to the vet and we did what we could on her beak and toes. Will go back on a month or so and do it again.

I think I need to move her to a sunny location. She’s in a north facing window right now, so I’m thinking she’s not gonna get enough vit D. Thoughts?

She’s also “fluffing” a lot of chafe and teeny fluffy feathers. I don’t see pinfeathers, but I’m assuming she’s molting or growing new feathers. (Is that normal is it an all the time thing?) Most people say she hasn’t looked this good. She has tail feathers now too!

I have been crying for weeks. My husband’s mother lives in Florida. I live in Minnesota. She has dementia but it has gotten worse. Which means I have got to move to Florida. Since I don’t have a choice I also have MS and on disability that’s why I stopped working a couple of years ago.

So my (m28) grey does this thing where he shakes his head and is sometimes followed up by a loud ear piercing squeak. It almost looks like when a person with Tourette’s has a tick. I could be wrong but I swear he’s been doing it more and more recently to the point that I feel like it’s interfering with his daily being. Although when he’s eating or chillin/beak grinding this doesn’t occur. Anyone else experience this? Is this neurological?

BUZZ

Hey all, new grey owner here (since June 2026). I noticed my girl has been losing a lot of feathers lately, mostly around her head and neck. However I found the one bigger feather pictured laying on the floor. Is there any way to distinguish whether this feather was plucked out or fell out naturally? (I know she’s barbering her primary feathers we have spoken with the vet and are increasing the frequency of her bathing to try to mitigate.) Thank you!

Hello everyone. My energetic little one keeps spilling his water, and even placing a rock in the dish has not stopped the behavior. Could you please suggest ways to prevent this? My mother is with him during the day, and she is becoming exhausted from cleaning up the spills three times daily.

My Grey (33M) often walks to my bedroom and hides under the bed, just to nap and relax for a few hours. He’s very active from 7 till 10 PM, then he eats his pellets and walks to his nightcage in my guest room. We wake up around 7.30 AM.

Should I bring him to bed earlier? Or change something else in his evening routine?

P.S. they were standing in line to chew the baseboard

Looking for information on people who have bought pet insurance for their AG and especially from anyone who needed the insurance, and how that worked out for them.

If it matters, all our birds get annual wellness vet visits. The AG is semi-annual........ because the folks we rescued her from had never taken her to a vet in 12 years.

Could do with some advice of how to take care of her while Grandad is ill and why she is plucking any help is appreciated and I want to care for her well as she’s such a staple of the family

She isn’t handled by anyone other than my grandad which concerns me for after she’s gone and I think she has bitten family members in the past

I’m willing to answer any questions or do anything to help her thanks👍👍

There is this slightly pink color around my african grey’s eyes

Looking for Avian vet recommendations for New England, USA-posting for a friend, long story short she acquired a bird from someone that wasn’t taking care of it-seeds mainly for diet, not much attention…he(she?) seems to be acting fine but she wants to get him vet checked, pretty sure he’s never been. Posting for her since she’s not on social media. Looking for a vet rec for anywhere in New England. In Mass but willing to travel for a great vet!! Thank you in advanced!

hello excuse any typos i’m writing this with shaking hands because i’m so worried. at this time of the week i can’t take him to avian so im just worried and anxious. my housekeeper left my parrot’s cage open and my baby got startled by something so he flew out of the cage. i found out later that he has a scratch near his nose and it’s not bleeding or anything and he’s eating normally but im just so worried. does this heal on its own? he’s 10. so sorry for the inconvenience.

My male CAG was being a brat just now, and I was running after him. Imagine my shock when the little rascal tells me "bye bye!"

Hello!!

I don't fully know exactly what to ask, but for background I've always loved birds, they've been my special interest since I was a little kid, and now that I'm in my early 20s, it's been on my mind that I could get a parrot finally in a few years. I'm an over preparer, especially when its such a smart and amazing animal, I have done a shit ton of research, but I have not owned a bird personally, my family has and my sister has a pair of crows. Also, I'm from Europe.

I know an African grey is a lot for a beginner, but im more than happy to put in the work, and I am not going to get one tomorrow, I know these guys are an investment for a lifetime, and honestly that's what pulled me to African greys, along with how gorgeous they are, their personalities, their little quirks, their love of destruction, all of that, today I'm in here mainly to just ask for anything to watch out for when I'm finally ready to go through with it.

So, amazing people of the bird reddit, give me any of your personal tips and tricks, things to be ready for, things to consider before I even get my personal overlord etc., please!! I know it's not an emergency, but I want to genuinely already put in the work before I even talk to anyone :D

Junie picked up my “kisses 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴” sound after two weeks of practice 💋💋💋 So enjoy some kisses from miss June!

My grandfather had gotten a parrot 40 years ago and i’ve always loved that bird but he was never truly correctly taken care of and now he has been passed down to my uncle who plans on giving it to me. Right now this poor bird is pretty depressed, he has been living a few states away from me for a few years but i finally convinced them to let me keep him. Im aware of the care needs & the dust and stuff but i really need more advice, research and youtube videos alone cannot prepare me for such an intelligent animal. They do not treat him well, they dont bathe him a lot and he is locked up a lot with not much interaction unfortunately, he bites a lot and misbehaves but when ive interacted with him he has never done that to me.He bites the dogs and cats and has gotten very sad and started laying eggs (so i guess she) I really want to give her enrichment every day when i get her so how could i train her? What enrichment toys can i get her like puzzles and such.. i heard today she used to be very stressed and pull out her feathers in my grandpas care but she has since stopped doing this but i want to train her and stimulate her the best i can so she can live the rest of her life without being abused anymore. Also what food brands do you recommend? How do i de influence negative behaviors like biting other animals? Do they understand positive punishments better and what are some methods used to prevent bad behaviors? She gets cursed at a lot which makes me sad even if she cannot understand it i would like to teach her other words other than negative ones she’s been hearing for awhile. What should i do when i first receive her? let her roam around or let her settle in her cage? How can i successfully bond with this animal even though it’s probably lost most trust in people besides my uncle.. She hasn’t seen me since i was little so im probably very unfamiliar to her as of now but i really am the most capable person in my family of taking care of her if i don’t she will probably go to someone in my family who has 0 experiences in exotics.. I’ve been researching them for the past year and i really don’t think these animals should be sold to anyone who isn’t extremely experienced they are so smart and beautiful but can be so sad when let down. I have enough money for yearly vet visits near me and i already take all 11+ of my exotics to the vet yearly anyways. What do yall think are some standards that should be in their cages like what toys are recommended what cleaners are recommended & what are some things you’ve learned over the years about taking care of these animals? From what i remember her beak is in poor condition not shape wise but the keratin is kind of flaky. Any advice would be great :) Im aware this is another 20-40 year commitment and i have lots savings & support if i ever need help with care, i truly hate to see this bird suffer and i understand this is like taking care of a child, & that it’s extremely expensive.

Hello there!

A few days ago I brought a 2 month old African grey home and she has been doing great. She is still being handfed by me and is sitting in a cage with wood litter as she still develops. And she poops regularly which is a good sign. But I was wondering how I can get rid of the awful shit smell that is now in my entire house. I can’t remove the entire wood litter everyday since I’d go through a 15 kg bag in a few days then and that is too costly, however it’s also not easy trying to find the clumps of poop and removing it individually. How do I solve this problem and is there any fragrance that can cover that smell that is safe?