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Sorry for the late reply! Hopefully my experiences can help inform both you and /u/Katara012 on how to proceed with your own birds. I do just have to start with a small disclaimer though: obviously every bird and every situation is going to be different, so the biggest determinant of your success is going to be how well you are able to read your bird and act accordingly. I've found that reading books about bird behavior/body language, as well as watching videos of professional animal trainers, can improve your perceptions if you've not spent a lot of time around parrots in real life.

As for your own taming, never give up. Just learn to take steps back and go more slowly if necessary. So long as you can learn to respect your bird's boundaries, it's nearly impossible to truly ruin the taming process.

With Erwin, I was starting from square one. When I adopted him he had already gone through two homes and had rarely had good interactions with people. In his last home not only did he live 24/7 in the same tiny cage with a single toy and only spray millet to eat, but the only time he was held was when the family's child tried to grab and pet him. After a while they stopped completely because he would bite them in defense.

I'm telling you this because it helps describe the sort of state he was in when I got him. He was absolutely terrified of anything new or unfamiliar, including foods, toys, perches, people, you name it. This definitely slowed down the taming process, and makes it so that to this day I still have to be very careful in my actions when I am around him.

To start, I gave him a solid two weeks after bringing him home before I began interacting with him at all. This was to get him used to me, my home, my other birds, and the daily routine. At this time I left his cage door open whenever I was home. I wanted him to learn that here he was free to explore and also to start acclimating him to new situations to try to deal with his intense phobias. I also found later that in general he is way more receptive (and less terrified) when training occurs outside of his cage. I think it has to do with the fact that his cage is like his "safety blanket" and inside he remembers many of the bad hand/human interactions he had in the past.

Anyway, after two weeks I began clicker training. This is my go-to method for taming and bonding with any new bird, as it is an easy, hands-off way to get bird comfortable with you without pressuring them with your hands too early on. If you are interested in learning more about it check out this book. The first step is introducing the clicker. To teach Erwin that the sound of the clicker = a treat I began to "click" and drop a "ball" of millet into his food bowl a dozen times or more a day. It's good to note here that I did make sure to remove all millet from his normal diet so it would be reserved as a treat alone. This can make a bird more motivated in general. At first he would just run away as fast as possible to the back of his cage when I approached, but within a few days soon realized that I wasn't any harm. Even though he still wouldn't come to my hand to take the treat, he didn't run away and instead sat quiet and frozen on his perch until I walked away to go get the treat.

After a few more days I decided to move to the next step and get him to take the treat from my hand. To do this, I used a long millet spray so he didn't have to approach too closely. Because he was used to me enough to not run away, I began clicking and letting him nibble the end of the millet. Over the course of a couple of days, I slowly decreased the length of the millet until he was eating small portions from my fingers.

Now was time to start teaching "target". The reason why I like to teach this command before jumping into "step-up" is it is hand-off, it makes a bird feel more comfortable with you because it is pressure-free and allows them to make their own decisions, and it is an important tool used in learning many other tricks/commands. To do this I had to be very careful about reading Erwin's body language, so that I didn't inadvertently create a negative experience by making him uncomfortable. For example, I started by bringing the target stick as close to him as possible before he began leaning away/backing up. Once I had this initial distance (about 6 inches or so), I would "click" and treat half a dozen times, each time moving the stick away and back so he got used to the motion. Once I noticed he looked more relaxed (instead of standing straight up, frozen in place, he would lean forward or shuffle his feet to try and grab the millet when I offered it) I began decreasing the distance to the target stick. Finally, I was able to put it right in front of his beak, and being curious as most budgies are he nibbled the end of it. That earned him LOTS of praise and millet. Once I knew he could do it I would only click and treat if he touched the stick. Soon, he would become visibly excited when I whipped the stick out, and would run forward to start training. I was able to move the stick around his cage/playgym and have him chase it.

The final step was step-up training. To do this, I used a similar method as the target training, except I conditioned him to my finger by luring him forward with the target. I made sure to click and treat every small milestone, whether that be him approaching my hand, him putting one foot on my finger, then both feet, then letting me move him from place to place. A couple times he became spooked and flew from my hand, crashing into his cage where he huddled breathing hard. During these moments (and any other that resulted in a training session gone sour) I made sure to NOT chase after him, jerk my hand, or yell. Instead I talked softly in a reassuring tone, made sure to move extra slowly, and didn't not force him to go near me or resume training. That way we could smooth over the incident with as little drama as possible, and replace it with more good interactions.

At this time not only does Erwin willingly step-up 95% of the time, but he will even sit on my finger and preen/chirp/fluff up if I'm standing or sitting still. He runs over at breakfast and whenever I'm giving attention to my other birds. I'd like to think that he gets jealous and wants to be picked up and fawned over like everyone else. :) Since I've had him I've only been bitten three times, all of which were my fault for being too pushy. And not only does he now play with a variety of toys, eat a healthier diet of Nutri-berries and sprouts, he can do a couple tricks (ring a bell and pick up a ring), and in general acts like a very happy, settled budgie.

Having multiple short training sessions each day definitely sped up the taming process, as did housing him alone and having my other birds around to show him that I wasn't a threat.

Dang, well this was long. I just hope it can help you build a better relationship with your own bird. Again, while your timeframe may vary, I have no doubt you will see similar successes so long as you respect your bird's desires, understand it's motivations and body language, and have lots of patience. Good luck!

Thank you for the ping /u/stringoflights! <3

/u/mel_bell: Thank you so much for rescuing a bird who needs your help! Pepper needs you right now and I'm so happy that you stepped up.

It definitely helps that you have a prior relationship with Pepper and that you're able to handfeed her treats.

My boyfriend and I adopted Rocky in spring 2016 under similar circumstances. The comment that /u/stringoflights linked has a lot of detail about what we did to help him.

For Pepper, I recommend that you:

• Target train her immediately. This lets you redirect Pepper when she gets into trouble, and get her in/out of the cage as needed. It also builds trust and confidence. Pepper will know that she has this awesome task she can perform (follow and touch the target stick), and that she can trust you to give her a tasty treat whenever she does it! Check out [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtptXFyb2c
  ) for the basics. It took Rocky only a few days to get the hang of it.
  
  
• Get her diet in order. I'm not sure what she's eating now, but a balanced diet ensures that she's energized and feels healthy. A parrot who feels good is more likely to behave well, which is really important when you're training and bonding with a rescue. I recommend Harrison's High Potency Coarse for the first six months; you can switch to Harrison's Lifetime Coarse after that. She should also get "chop" every day (chopped dark green leafy vegetables for calcium source + orange vegetables for vitamin A). Save treats she really LOVES for training rewards. (seed-based treats like Nutriberries or Avicakes, nuts in the shell like almonds and pistachios)
  
  
• Get her sleep in order. All parrots need about 12 hours of sleep per night to feel their best. Is she DNA-sexed female? We're in the middle of breeding season, so she needs 14 hours of dark and silence every night to prevent egg-laying, which is stressful to her body, and hormonal behavior, which can appear aggressive if you don't know the difference. Use a blanket to cover her cage at night.
  
  
• Interact with her often, but keep the ball in her court. Don't force touching or handling when she doesn't feel like it. Talk to her, sing to her, whistle to her. Give her pieces of fruit and nuts so she knows you're the cool person who brings her food. Greys often bow their heads when they want scratched, it looks like this.
  
  
• Give her freedom. She's been trapped in a cage her whole life. Whenever you're home, open up the cage door and give her the ability to come out if she wants. Some greys will just stand on top of the cage, and others will prowl around on the floor.
  
  
• Teach her to play. This will help her entertain herself when you're not there to talk to her. Rocky finally plays with SOME bird toys, but his favorites are just things like cardboard boxes, popsicle sticks, and paper bags. Give Pepper a lot of choices and swap out toys often. She'll be afraid of toys at first, and that's normal: just don't give up, keep exposing her to new toys and she'll figure it out eventually. Some people have success modeling play behavior by pretending to play with the toys in front of their parrot, and then offering it to the parrot.
  
  I think that's all the most important stuff. Sorry for writing an essay! If you have any questions about anything, let me know. I have seven parrots, and two of them were neglected adult rescues, so I've done a lot of research on training and rehabilitating.
  
  Best of luck to you and Pepper. I can't wait to hear about how your relationship with her progresses!

This cage is great value for the price, if you can afford it. It has the added bonus of being eligible for Amazon Prime. Even if you don't have it, sign up for the 30-day free trial so you can get it in a couple of days.

Regarding food, Harrison's makes organic pellets. My board-certified avian vet strongly recommends Harrison's and my birds love it. There are guidelines regarding conversion on the package itself. My birds were never on a seed diet but I did have to convert them from ZuPreem's colored pellets (side note: don't give them that, the artificial coloring and added sugars are bad. I didn't know at the time.).

I switched them cold turkey after making them some Birdie Bread. Harrison's sells a mix online that you can prepare at home. They loved it and I think the pellets smell similar, so they had no issues converting.

For fruits/veggies/etc, I had to teach my sun conure to eat them. The method I found most effective = eating whatever I want her to eat and pretending it is the most delicious thing EVER. Take a bite out of that carrot stick and make the most overexaggerated ecstatic sounds/expressions you can. Don't offer them a piece til they come over to investigate, then let them have a bite or put it in a treat dish.

For toys: mysafebirdstore.com has great prices on toy parts. Drs. Foster and Smith are another online company that occasionally has good deals. I'm wary of buying toys at pet stores due to the risk of disease transmission. Petsmart had a huge issue with psittacosis, which is transmissible to humans as well as birds.

For taming, start by spending time near them. Carry on reading/working/watching TV/whatever in the same room with them. Leave the door open to see if they want to come hang out with you. Offer them sunflower seeds or millet from your hands. This process may take a while (weeks to months, maybe longer), especially since they are already bonded.

Congrats on your new feathered friends. It looks like they've found their way into a wonderful home.

Clicker training is supposed to be great though I'm too lazy to work on it. /u/cpxh would be a good resource for that.

Congratulations, your birdie loves you and it’s only been a month! Lots of birds haven’t settled into their new homes in that short of a timeframe, so you’ve clearly got a sweet bird and you’re doing something right to bond with her. Not whistling or talking after a few weeks doesn’t mean it won’t happen. You can keep working with her, but you also can’t force it. Even if your bird ends up being male, every bird has a different personality and different preferences. Some simply don’t want to whistle or talk. They’re still just as wonderful as companions.

If you want to keep bonding with your bird and maybe help her learn some other tricks, consider clicker training and target training. I like this book as a guide. Used copies abound if it’s too expensive new. Dog training clickers are cheap and I’d use a chopstick as a target stick for a tiel.

It’s not the same as whistling, but helping your bird learn other skills may help you shift your focus a bit. Once you’ve clicker trained and have her responding to the target, tricks like teaching her to turn around or wave are fairly straightforward. You just have to remember to be patient. Keep training sessions short (10-15 minutes) and end on a positive note. Remember that your primary goal is to have fun and build a special bond with your bird!

Please don’t fill your house full of birds until you find one that whistles. 😉 Enjoy your sweet tiel! Keep working with her to help her come out of her shell and bond with you. Love her for everything she is!

Do you let him out? What do you do to spend time with him? How much time do you spend with him each day with him inside and outside of his cage? Building a relationship with a bird can take a lot of time and energy and can be a really slow process.. I doubt that your parrot hates you anymore than the next person. He just doesn't trust you, and might not even know what trust is (depends on the previous owner). Another potential thing is that he was in love with the previous owner and so far as he's concerned you abducted him. It's not an impossible hurdle to overcome, but it is a long one. We adopted our CAG who was in love with our roommate (original owner) and it took months of us investing a lot of time around him (with him outside of his cage) to get him to step up for us, etc. and we had known him since he hatched!

So far as being "too old" for domestication goes. He's not too old to learn to trust you. CAGs will/can live to be over 50 years old. He's still an infant. You might just need to try to see the world from his perspective.

If you haven't done so already, I'd suggest purchasing this book and reading through it. It's not insanely long, but will give you some insight into a Grey's nature.

try to communicate with him as best as you can. If you can't whistle, make other noises (I like to whistle, but I also make water drops, etc. to get our CAG's attention). If he seems interested then have a good time with it. It sounds like he's not really used to a lot of attention and it's pretty much up to you to change that. You will get bit in the process, but those will change to be a lot less defensive/gentler over time. Just do your best not to be afraid of it happening. Our CAG still comes in hot when he goes for a "bite," but it's very rarely as bad as he makes it look like it will be.

We adopted our CAG when he was about 1.5 years old (about a year and a half ago) and his personality has completely changed since then, which was actually mostly due to my GF putting in a lot of time with him every single day. A year ago he would barely step up for me (we had known him since he was hatched), but with time and a lot of effort we've changed him from a "one person" parrot to a very sociable and amazingly friendly bird. It is possible to do if you can be patient.

Keep checking up on lost bird websites and your local animal shelters. If it's someone's pet, they've lost one of their best friends.

But that being said, I applaud you for taking he/she in even without having had a bird pet before. Green Cheek Conures(GCC) are sweet little devils that are pretty easy to maintain once you get into a routine.

Start by taking him to the Vet, they can gender-test, check up, and see if any local owners have lost a GCC. I'm not sure how big that cage is, but the minimal size of cage should be it's wingspan wide, and tall enough to climb around. The Vision M02 is a solid cage for a GCC, and filling it with toys, swings, and chewys will keep your guy entertained and happy while you're away. I'm not too keen on GCC diet, so please defer to some of the more enlightening posts here on that.

When you're at home, your bird should really be out of the cage, sitting near/on you. This strengthens his/her bond with you, and teaches them that your are: 1- Not a threat, but a friend, 2- The bringer of treats, scratches, and fun, and 3- Their best buddy and flock friend. One of the cooler things about the Conure family is their love of laying down. Most other bird species hate being put on their backs, but Conures can grow to love it, and will often lay down in your hand and fall asleep.

However, since this guy is a full-blooded parrot, you're going to have to deal with the noise. He will screech and whistle at an ear-splitting level. There are ways to help cut down on the amount of screeching, but bare in mind that it's hardwired in him/her, there's no stopping it. The two best ways to minimize it is to always be with him/her when you're home(never just leaving them in the cage), and to occasionally make them forage for food. This can be done with foraging toys or by making your own forage box. In the wild, birds have to forage for food, and the new convenience of an always-filled food bowl will make them grow restless, and bored.

We look for to seeing more of your new friend!

I can't help you with all the problems, but here's what I have—

I never use a vinegar solution for cleaning and have never had to; I do clean twice a week, though. The first time a week I just remove all of the bedding (newspapers) and replace it, the other time I scrub the cage bars, perches, and toys well with wet napkins/wipes because of feces/urine (make sure if you use wipes that they're safe for birds). Then all of the stuff falls onto the bedding. I also wipe the grate. Then the bedding is changed again. If you need a more in-depth description, you'll have to show me what kind of cage you get.

Don't forget to clean the food/water bowls daily. Bacteria can grow in the water bowl, and lots of feather dust (if you're fostering a dusty bird) will get in there. As for the food, you might not have to clean it daily, but my birds sleep directly above the bowls, so they poop in it by accident often.

I'm afraid I don't have any recipes, since my birds like fresh veggies. You should definitely try different ways to present them to your bird(s). Some like it hot chopped, some like it cold whole, some like it in the pot being placed high up, so try stuffing whole leaves of kale between the cage bars near a higher perch. It makes the cage look pretty, if that's your thing, as if it's full of wild foliage, and I find that birds enough chewing on the leaves when it's there as opposed to the bottom of the cage or the food bowls. Maybe even put it outside the cage, on the top, so they have a challenge pulling it through the bars.

Amazon sells a lot of bird cages, if you're fine with ordering online. I strongly recommend this one. Bought it for 80 dollars and the price seems to have risen, but it's really sturdy, lasted two years so far with no signs of breaking down, has 3 bowls and 2 nice perches, a door that opens like a ladder so your bird can climb out/in on its own, and lots of space. I have my two cockatiels who dislike each other in there and both have enough personal space, and I'm pretty sure a pet store could fit at least ten in (definitely don't recommend. I went to a bird store once with ten cockatiels in the same cage that was smaller than this one and they were all squished up tight in groups of two-three, poor things.)
They hate being alone in separate cages more than they hate each other, in case anyone was concerned.

Fourth, I've never used a cuddle tent, but I have also heard very bad things about them. I think you should cuddle your birds yourself, if they warm up to you. My birds enjoy sitting/chewing on this toy, which I also recommend, although not for birds larger than a conure. It gets destroyed very easily, and I've been through 4 in the past two years and that's me being conservative and replacing the twine with bird-safe fabric for a while. Worth it for the price, though. I like it so much I hang two in the cage at a time, one for each bird. If you want it to be cozy, hang it in a corner and put a toy or two in front of it that the bird can hide behind when it feels like it, as if the toys are leaves hiding a bird's nest in the treetops. Be creative.

Again, if you're looking for toys to sit on and good quality cages, definitely check out my two links.

That's the larger one I mentioned in my response to you, yes. I think you are better off getting a flight cage (like this for the money). The L12, the one you linked to, is the same one that I had and talked about in my responses to your post. However, like I said, cleaning it was a PAIN because you have to remove the whole cage top from the bottom (are you going to have it somewhere you can easily lift the entire cage up and over and set it down on to clean the tray and bottom out?), my elderly/blind Green Cheek Conures could escape from it, and wire sides are individually snapped together, which made it seem not that sturdy to me. But really, the cleaning thing and the GCCs (which are half the size of a Sun) being able to escape from it are the major big deals.

A flight cage like the kind I linked to is even bigger, already has a stand it is on, and the sides are individually cast and screwed together, which is much more sturdy. The pull out tray is also easy to clean - the grates and tray both slide out so that you can clean them without upsetting the rest of the cage. The vision's 'claim to fame' is it is cleaner because of the plastic fling guard along the bottom of the cage, but I find the flight cages are just as good if you use food dishes like this. If you amazon or google search for parrot flight cages, you'll get lots of sizes/options, you want to stay with bar spacing that's appropriate for Suns.

Toys totally depends on what your sun likes.. does he like shredding things? If so, cardboard, paper, or wood? Plastic toys where he messes with the parts? Does he like foot toys or hanging toys? Bells? Etc. Some ideas of the types of things he likes already would help us come up with some ideas for you.

There are lots of online toy vendors that are pretty good. I'm a fan of my safe bird store but there are lots of other similar stores and they always send a smattering of extra foot toys and stuff with their orders.

This is just my two cents, but for a brand new GCC, this cage looks great. Especially if he gets lots of out of cage time. If he's going to be in there more often than not, then I'd suggest an upgrade when you can. This is the cage I have my GCC Bob in, and he loves it. He is out of his cage pretty much all day right now, but last semester that wasn't the case, and it won't be the case next semester, so it's good to have extra space for them. Here is another example of a good sized cage that he would love. For the record, I don't think Bob will be getting another cage for any reason other than if his current one breaks, so no worry about getting a new cage every year. I had him in a cage about the same size as yours when I first got him at 8 weeks old, and he did fine in it. It just became apparent that he would probably like some more room, so when I had some spare cash, I upgraded it for him.

As for your cuddle tent thingy, when I first got Bob, he LOVED it. Every night when I would put him in to bed, he would jump right in his tent and make all sorts of cute little chirpy noises. We've had him for about 8 months, and he's pretty much indifferent to it now and sleeps on a perch, though I've not noticed a safety issue with it thus far. Your bird may differ, but that's what mine did.



Edit: I forgot to link the other cage. Fixed now.

I strongly recommend not clipping its wings. It clearly can fly well so clipping it at this stage would be very cruel. It is one thing to clip a bird who takes no interrest in flying or has been given little opportunity to. It is quite another to clip a bird who knows how to fly. There is a strong possibility that clipping it at this stage will cause behavioral issues and/or depression. Make sure you give it at least an hour or two to fly around in your house each day.

If you end up keeping it, I hope it makes a wonderful addition to your family. They are amazing birds. Things will go better for all involved if you do as much reading as you can. Learn about diet and caging. Also I can't recommend learning clicker training enough. It is a a great way for you and your children to interact and get to know the new addition to the family. It will also help with general behavior. Perhaps reading something like this would be a good place to start.

I wish you the best of luck! By the sounds of it she is a very sweet bird.

I have used pretty much everything to take my tiels to the vet. These are my top three that I personally used. :D

A) This awesome foldable travel cage. I love this because it folds and it is an easy travel cage when I take my flock with me on vacation, to the park, easy way to take them outside sunbathing with me, or to the pet stores ..etc. I also have used it during vet visits as well.

B) A simple, basic, plastic extra small dog/cat carrier. Sorry for the photo quality but I kindof wanted to give you a better idea. This is super light. It is easy for me to get my flock member and put them in there. I probably use this carrier the most for vet visit. You can drill a hole on the sides and insert a perch . You can get a mash for the front of the carrier so their heads don't get stuck between the bars.

C) A bird carrier backpack. This is worth the money. This is super study . It has a steel bowl holder, small animal water bottle holder, and slide tray for easy cleaning. I love this. You can use this for the vet visit and take your bird for a hike afterwards. Here's one of my birds using it at his vet visits

And to get your tiel in the travel cage, you can bribe him/her with millet.

Sounds like she'll be fine with time then :)

If you want suggestions for cages, Vision's usually a good set - I use this one for mine: https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Bird-Cage-Model-M02/dp/B0012DOXEI/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1504334336&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=visionbird+cage - It's big enough, but only just. There's also the Large model that's really not much bigger, just wider: https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Bird-Cage-Model-L01/dp/B0012DOXFC/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1504334336&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=visionbird+cage

Best part of those cages is the plastic bottom part that detaches, makes cleaning the bottom easier than a slide-out tray + the bird gets a better view while eating and most importantly, no seeds being flung everywhere since it's solid walls, with little doors on either end to change the food/water easy.

In the meantime since you only have two (I assume one is long and goes lengthwise for the food/water?), you can probably put that one in the middle just above the door, she'll wanna be as high as possible but not bumpin against the ceiling if at all possible...I know it's kinda tough in that cage though, it looks neat but when it comes to practical use I regretted buying it, lol

Edit: I forgot to mention one thing, your birb may or may not have issues getting to the bottom of the cage with those cages - the "depth" of the solid see-through walls is kinda deep, and getting Ladders/Perches that go down to the bottom is tough to figure out. I got lucky in that mine basically does "pullups" to get up and down - she'll grab the bottom bar of the cage part with her beak and lower her body and feet down to the grate on the bottom, and do the same to pull herself back up when she's done. Your mileage may vary.

Thank you for your positive reply. This is a really good book on clicker training - I've used clicker training to teach one of my cockatiels how to fly (after he kept breaking feathers from falling like a rock), and my other two birds also responded very well to clicker training since they LOVE treats. You can probably get your cockatiels more seed motivated if you only offer seed/millet as treats occasionally, and switch their usual diet to a pellet diet (Roudybush or Zupreem naturals are good brands - but please be careful about the switching process). Also, this is a useful book on parrot training and behavior. Even if you aren't able to get the actual books/ebooks (though I recommend them) because you aren't able to use Amazon for example, you could also google search about clicker training/behavior, and you can post future topics here in the parrots sub to ask for specific advice. Don't give up.

Have you tried acrylic foraging toys like these?
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Foraging-Systems-E487-Feeder/dp/B004TRYI3U/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1394131550&sr=8-13&keywords=Bird+foraging

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Foraging-Systems-6-Inch-Diameter/dp/B001N2TG22/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1394131550&sr=8-8&keywords=Bird+foraging

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Foraging-Systems-E487-Drawers/dp/B00D84OEFC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1394131550&sr=8-3&keywords=Bird+foraging

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Foraging-Systems-Sphere-Diameter/dp/B001MWZF7S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394131550&sr=8-2&keywords=Bird+foraging

There's SO many like these out there! It'll require your cockatoo to think as well, so it should theoretically keep him occupied longer ;) they're a tad more expensive, but they last longer and are less messy so there's value in that! I don't have a big bird anymore, so my sources are out of date, but maybe another redditor can provide some suggestions on where one can get the best deals for these :)

Good luck!!

if she’s not anxious without you then it could be perfectly fine to have her in a backpack carrier! i’ve heard good things about this one and i think taking her safely out for some fresh air is a fantastic idea. i can see your issue with harnesses, especially if you live in a particularly predator-ridden area. (of course, there are cheaper options than the one i linked)

That's so awesome, I'm happy for you and Buttons! If I could suggest a cage, I just got this one in anticipation of my next baby. It seems like a great bang for your buck and the small flaws it has (mostly the spring loaded doors) are an easy fix. I put it together myself without much hassle in about 1-2 hours last night.

Thanks so much!!

Link for others interested

It's on back order and shipping to Canada is so expensive (19.99USD), but it's on my Wishlist now!! I'm gonna look around and see if I can find somewhere cheaper for Canadians haha :)

Eta: out of stock, but apparently homedepot.com carries them for you Americans! Wonder if/when they will restock!

So far for Canadians Amazon.ca is cheapest (with free shipping and no exchange rate/duty fees), probably gonna order there :P

Here's some of the things others have not stated. Firstly getting a UV bulb like that one. Also you could get a perch with a tent , a bird hammock, or something similar, especially if your bird sleeps on a perch.My bird used to sleep on a specific perch that came with his cage. I bought him a tent perch and he's been sleeping there ever since. He seems happier with it.

If you live somewhere where it gets cold, you could get a bird heater and maybe a heated perch

If your bird is scared of almost everything like my bird. I've noticed putting my bird on the objects(new toys, perches, etc) makes him feel more secure about the object and it may be useful for you.

If you are planning on getting a harness, it's better to get it earlier than later and if your bird doesn't like wearing it, don't use it.

This is optional and maybe not useful (depending on how talkative your bird is). If your bird is talkative try to teach him the concept of "stop it". My bird doesn't like being touched on the chest. To teach him I gently rubbed him on the chest and would say "stop it" 3-5 times. I move my hand away and would say "okay, stop it". Now he will sometimes say stop it when I'm doing something he doesn't like instead of biting.

And it's better and safer to not let him go on the floor.

Prevue is a popular brand, though they have a very wide range of quality and purpose.

Here is what I’d recommend:
Prevue Pet Products Square Roof Parrot Cage, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0040QJ4Y8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_VRiQAbN0ZKJXQ

Plenty of height to allow two “layers” as well as the bottom, sliding door access for food/water bowls (important for being able to change out food/water without disturbing a bird that’s not comfortable), slide-out bottom tray (again, same with regards to bird comfort but also convenience).

The size is above minimum. Bigger is better but honestly, a cockatiel combined with plenty of outside cage time make it unnecessary.

I think that this new cage is actually really dangerous for your new babies. That cage seems to be for larger birds. You don't want bar spacing any bigger than 1/2". You can't simply get a large cage, the cage has to be appropriate for small guys. Something like this (try searching for "flight cage") if you want a great large cage for them. The rust is extremely worrisome as well. I'm guessing you got the cage second hand, so I hope you didn't pay too much for it. I understand you had good intentions, getting them a cage they can fly and flex their wings in, but you have to consider appropriateness! Good luck!

I really recommend the book Clicker Training for Birds (http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Clicker-Training-Birds/dp/1890948152/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410049591&sr=1-1&keywords=clicker+training+for+birds)

It was really interesting and very helpful. Check it out and I think you will see really great results (I did!)

We had our cockatiel in the second one for the first couple of years after we got him, but always felt it was too small and cramped. We upgraded to this one about a year ago and he absolutely loves it.

EDIT: I mistyped - I meant to say we used to use the second one (the smaller one), not the first. We still use the small one as a travel cage, for which it works great (we recently moved, during which we transported our bird ~150 miles in it).

I would not recommend housing two different species together. It's one thing to get along outside their 'nest' area, but birds are territorial of their space and one of your birds may end up hurt. Budgies tend to be little bullies. I know my conure and my cockatiels get along beautifully outside the cage but if one of my cockatiels so much as perches on my conure's cage she goes batshit crazy on them. The only one in the house allowed to touch her 'house' besides her is me.

But, fortunately for you. I have the perfect solution for you. This cage. It is a divided cage. You can have 'one cage' but your birds are separated. If they do end up getting along well like this, the divider is removable and your birds can be housed together, and still, you would have only bought one cage.

Honestly, I'm not knowledgeable enough on this subject to be helpful. You can find large cages suitable for a tiel for around 140 dollars on Amazon. For the convenience of a cage already powder coated and designed to house a parrot, something it will live in for 15-20 years. It's not a bad price. This one is very popular.

Thanks :) Amazon! ww.amazon.com/gp/product/B00063446M/ should help fix someone's little bird-soup problem, haha.

While not a huge cage, this one is what I keep one of my cockatiels in. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EQ28WX0/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_31?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

It's a fairly decent size and I'm also a fan of longer cages, especially since I've found she likes to run back and forth along the bottom. You can get with or without the stand but I prefer the stand. They're also stackable if you plan on some other birds later on.

Something like this one is a bit bigger but still fairly wide compared to others, and might also be a good option depending on what you're looking for. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C332AOG/ref=pd_aw_sbs_199_of_11?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TR3DDN23PHS076Q80P0G

Edmonton checking in. We have these in all our of bird's cages - he loves them and they're not too big. Easy to travel with too.


K&H Manufacturing Snuggle Up Bird Warmer, Small/Medium Grey https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00CLA19FW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_uTuIybRS121YG

Edit: another nice thing about this is the bird can control exactly how warm he wants to be by adjusting how close / how much he touches it. Sometimes me sits an inch away and sometimes he saddles right up.

We have this one for our quaker and it's absolutely perfect! We strung some plastic chain across at various levels and have a while bunch of toys and perches in the upper half, and she loves hanging out in and around it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00063446M/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1526973104&sr=8-2-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=cat+fountain&psc=1


It’s for cats and dogs but they love it!

My sun loves this, it makes a mess, but it makes him happy!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EO1OIW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ML1-Bb2CQHMA2

This is what I use it's plenty big enough for my gcc. It's kinda a bugger to put together but works great for short trips.

This is the one I always recommend for small to medium parrots. It's great quality for the money.

http://www.amazon.com/HQ-Flight-Multi-Purpose-Aviary/dp/B002UTZ040

Link to the cage. It's meant to be an aviary but it has two large doors on the front. May not be perfect for escape artist birds. Based on my use so far I would say it would be great for anything from finch sized bird to a goffin cockatoo size.

I bought it in Amazon, the brand that I like is The Aviator . It’s a very good brand.

Can you have anything shipped to you? Harrison's pellets are pretty popular, since the company is USDA.

I got this one on sale for my three tiels and its more than enough room. They love it!
https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Products-Wrought-F040-31-Inch/dp/B00176F5L0/ref=sr_1_10?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1483562144&sr=1-10&keywords=bird+cage

Amazon has some decent options

Thanks for the info! She has a fleece toy made of strips that she sleeps in but the only place they could make a nest is on the bottom or in a food bowl, I think.

Its 2 of these put together
Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage with Stand F040 Black Bird Cage, 31-Inch by 20-1/2-Inch by 53-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00176F5L0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_VCCaCbE4SZ4EY

If I had to do it again I would get 2 extra larges to put together instead of the f040 style. It would be even more room for them! But also fit better. My two put together have a crack in the bottom just big enough for a parrotlet to get through. Covering it is annoying.

Here you go, the large is a very good size and only $106, the xl would be even better
Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Flight Cage with Stand F040 Black Bird Cage, 31-Inch by 20-1/2-Inch by 53-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00176F5L0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_nHf0CbYWXT00D

Did you try any of the chewable bird kabob toys? I got this for my budgie that wouldn’t stop plucking and it works perfectly:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002FP1W0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_zXIOAb9GYJQSW
You can also get a bird pacifier for them to pluck and groom. I have this one:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0034UHCSQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_.ZIOAbWJC0ZYJ
Just press it in between the bars of your cage, twist it and it’s secured. It also comes with refills.

I think that cage looks good! It looks really similar to another cage I've seen recommended on here several times for tiels: https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Products-Wrought-F040-31-Inch/dp/B00176F5L0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484420740&sr=8-1&keywords=flight+cage


Are the birds you're adopting already bonded to each other? If not, you may want to keep them separated for a little while when you bring them home so that they can become tame to you.

link to cage

I have this cage for my cockatiel and I love it.

Yeah a bigger cage ASAP this one is good and cheap http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002UTZ040/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?qid=1398632507&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

I have the same one for my Hahn's. He loves it!

Amazon Link

My mother has this travel cage for her grey. I personally think that it's way, way heavier than it needs to be, especially considering how small it is. I've had this travel cage for my grey for years and have been happy with it. It is a little on the heavy side (but still not as heavy as the one above) and offers a good amount of space, especially for overnight trips. It's also not as durable as the one above, but still think it's more bang for its buck!

One thing to note: Heated perches are good but some birds may burn the pads of their feet trying to stay warm! A cage heater next to a perch may be another option, preferably by the perch he sleeps on at night.

Edit; typo

Thank you so much! We are looking for a new set up for our bird. She currently has this: https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Products-Wrought-F040-31-Inch/dp/B00176F5L0/ref=sr_1_8?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1486051982&sr=1-8&keywords=bird+cage but it is getting rickety - the screws keep needing tightening. We want to replace it, but she barely uses the bottom half of the cage, aside from going down to the floor to pick at things she has dropped sometimes. We don't want to put her in something a lot smaller, and I understand the "buy the most cage you can get" policy - but cleaning something that you don't have to bend to the floor (yours vs ours) would be nice.

It was a pretty good cage for my Green Cheek, but I ended up upgrading him to a bigger one. This is the one I ended up buying. The bars are little for flimsy, but not enough to effect anything. I would consider some flight space for your budgies!

Would this be better?

My IRN likes both of these, especially the sphere:
Option 1 and
Option 2

Bird Carrier

This is the carrier I bought! Overall, I really like it. I’ve had it a little over three months, and I can take it anywhere. I would say I probably wouldn’t putting anything bigger than a cockatiel in there for trips longer than quick trips to the vet.

it's an aviator harness which is much easier to put on than a flight suit

If you're willing to spend around $160 on a cage, I highly recommend the HQ Flight Cage.

Updated. Posted the wrong cages! Is the this one good?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012DOXFW/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_9_w

Also, could you please link me to some good toys?

Yes, this one

You want to get as large of cage as you cam just make sure it has 1/2" (12mm) bar spacing.

This is close to what I have for my Kakariki.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00176F5L0/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_b3FLkCJ_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=H1GR9VZZC9YKDE56DW5J&pf_rd_r=H1GR9VZZC9YKDE56DW5J&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=256e1a0e-b4ca-548b-846b-695a9b4a7f30&pf_rd_p=256e1a0e-b4ca-548b-846b-695a9b4a7f30&pf_rd_i=2975226011

Damn, I'm so new to this shopping market, any recommendations? There was one recommended by someone else here in my post and it looks nice!

> www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00063446M/

Directly from the link


Drinkwell Original Pet Fountain
by Water & Feed

Pretty sure this is it. I've got one for my jenday and it's great.

I have a Grey who gets 90% of his food from foraging toys:

I use this , but he did figure out how to get the middle screw out, so I had to replace it]

This is my Grey's favorite. It took him a while to figure it out, but once he did, he goes crazy over this. I had to really tighten the screws so he has to put a lot of effort into rotating the levels. I use this for his favorite treats and it keeps him going for hours

I highly recommend both of these.

Prevue on amazon has some gooders.
I used this cage when I had my two linnies caged together but they started getting really moody about me third wheeling in on their parade so now they're each in one of these and its worked well-ish. Only downside to the two smaller cages is the doors slide upwards rather than swinging out so you'll need to pin them up with something if you want the door to stay open. Linnies are about the same size as lovies, I'm sure two could easily live in either

Vision Bird Cage Model M02 - Medium
This is nice

They are called bird kabobs. I purchased a pack of them on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Wesco-Original-Bird-Kabob-Shreddable/dp/B0002FP1W0

African Grey Parrots (Complete Pet Owner's Manual)

Look into perch heaters if the room is going to be quite cold.
http://www.amazon.com/Thermo-Perch-Large-Plastic-Non-Toxic/dp/B000795ZE0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414040871&sr=8-1&keywords=heated+perch

Two things

1. Heated perch
   
   
2. Heat panel

I have this one for one of my lovebirds. http://www.amazon.com/Vision-Bird-Cage-Model-M02/dp/B0012DOXEI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_petsupplies_11?ie=UTF8&refRID=09T6HVTAE6NC3DFDGJ0K

Bird cage. Specifically this one.

What about this?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00176F5L0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00176F5L0&linkCode=as2&tag=budgieworld03-20&linkId=ea66092cd3f3c9ed4dbaaab9e09e517e

Ooops! That's what I get for trying to double task.
Real link: http://www.amazon.com/Perch-Clear-View-Carrier-Travel/dp/B002EO1OIW/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VVP0KU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0714KS7LP?pf_rd_p=f3acc539-5d5f-49a3-89ea-768a917d5900&pf_rd_r=XPVTWZ041Q9FWD0J7J7V

It was similar to this:

Prevue Hendryx Travel Bird Cage 1305 White, 20-Inch by 12-1/2-Inch by 15-1/2-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VVP0KU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_BB.HDbT37Z5B9

He didnt like it much, so how he has a soft-side travel cage.

Seconding straw/shreddable toys. I have one of these for my tiel and she likes it, she also loves the ones like this that have the straw balls and stars that she can destroy. They don't last a super long time, but she goes nuts for them.

It's a huge flight cage. No way I can hang it.

We have a hans we just bought a harness for, I believe the extra small model of the 'aviator' harness is the one we got since she's dead center in the weight range for the harness. We have an XXS for our conure, unfortunately it's a bit too small so we may be getting a second XS for her if we can convince her to engage with the one we just received.

No problem! If you werent before I would just look up African Grey specific information from now on. Here are a couple of books that really helped me out when trying to learn more about my African Grey.
Here
Here

You can get a small cage with bars, made of acrylic, etc. Generally a smaller travel-cage is better than a big one, as you don't want your bird trying to fly within there, or falling far and getting hurt. As traveling can be scary for the bird with scary sounds that can cause them to bolt in fright.

Here's a couple in your budget:

https://www.amazon.com/Perch-Clear-View-Carrier-Travel/dp/B002EO1OIW/

https://www.amazon.com/Pennzoni-Display-Small-Acrylic-Carriers/dp/B0043GCPQE/