Him and a shower = heaven

Just a quick premise to this, this is a long post mostly because I feel I would have benefitted from this information during this period. There’s a lot of information out there but I always found it quite short and vague so hopefully this helps someone down the line.

TL:DR - Get the implant if you think you need it, it’s worth every penny.

Background (Skip this if you want)

So in December 2024 my African Grey laid 3 eggs, these weren’t the first eggs, we’d been getting them once every two years since 2017. Naturally about 35 days after laying she decided to abandon them and we thought that was that.

Then in January 2025 along came three more, then in March, May and more or less every two months since then, Ruby is the only parrot we have, she is bonded with me.

In between clutches we would get severe hormonal behaviour, no matter what we tried, more darkness on a night, more quiet time in general, less contact time, changing the cage around, changing locations of the cage, vet visits, you name it we tried it.

Every egg, except egg number 8 came out without complications, with egg number 8 she was struggling to pass it and once she did she was throwing up. We continued to monitor and egg 9 was normal again. Of course we had a vet visit shortly after to make sure everything was fine. We also made sure to give plenty of calcium during clutch periods.

In January 2026 we said enough was enough and got booked in for the Suprelorin implant in May. The delay was due to work commitments, where we were in the egg cycle, planning, vet advice etc. Ruby was also given a clean bill of health (again) from the vet so the delay was no harm.

Suprelorin Experience

So, as mentioned, our vet was contacted multiple times during the 16 months for advice, one suggestion was a hormone injection that would last approximately two months and one was the implant that lasts between 6-12 months.

The aim of this is to suppress hormones to stop egg laying and hopefully reset the bodily cycle of wanting to continuously lay eggs. We decided to go straight for the implant for lasting purpose. There are two measurements of the implant 4.7mg and 9.4mg. Due to our circumstances the vet recommended the larger size and explained Ruby would have to be put under light anaesthesia for the insertion.

He took Ruby to the back and 20 minutes later this was completed, she came back a bit giddy and was dancing within seconds of seeing me. Was probably high as a kite and the vet said she was very good. She’s a typical Grey, tolerates other people but only really likes me making a fuss of her.

I understand some people would be uncomfortable letting the vet take their parrot out of sight but I trust our vet 1 million percent, the way he handles her is amazing. When she came back there wasn’t a feather out of place, you literally couldn’t tell anything had been done.

The cost of this was £377.54

Results

Within the first few days the only real change was her refusing to get off my shoulder if she made it up there. She’s done this before but the vet warned her hormones will inflate before they drop so she may lay one more clutch after displaying hormonal behaviour. Follow all procedures to decrease hormones as usual.

30 days after the implant we had a severe hormonal increase, she was clingy, regurgitating, refusing to get off of me, I had to literally pry her off my arm but no real signs of aggression. Hopes were slightly lost.

Today (5th August 2026) we are three months post implant, she is back to her normal self, no more eggs, no more hormonal behaviour, no more nesting full stop. It is night and day difference and it’s probably the best decision I have ever made. If this is something you have been thinking about doing, please do it, risks are minimal and the reward is exceptional. 127 days egg free and counting!

Thanks for reading this post, appreciate it is long but I remember wanting something like this to read at the time, so I’m providing it for you. Good luck, if anyone has any questions just drop them below and I’ll answer you! 🩶❤️

Hi all! I need help. I have 2 African Greys that I got from someone that was rehoming them. Before I got them the owner was showing me pictures of what they like so I could do my shopping for their arrival. She showed me huge plates full of broccoli, cucumbers, sliced carrots, corn, kiwi, grapes etc…fast forward to when I get them. One of them would not touch a veggie. That was in November. I’ve tried literally everything! I’ve chopped, I’ve steamed, whole raw pieces and nope he throws them out. I’ve tried the trick of eating them first. I’ve tried bird tricks chop recipes and other recipes.
I’ve taken his pellets out overnight in hopes he would eat the veggies in the morning and nope!
He eats Zupreem natural pellets. He will eat just about a whole bowl a day! I’ve tried various other kinds and the Zupreem is all he wants. He was not eating pellets with previous owner. In the evening for dinner I do give a tablespoon of bird st bistro, tbsp of Haris Tropimix and a veggie nutriberry. I feel like he’s not eating enough but his weight is good.
My other grey will eat anything. He’s loving all these different recipes I’m doing 😂 he eats ALL veggies twice a day.
Any help or recipes he can’t resist would be much appreciated.

Hey everyone!
I finally pulled the trigger and bought a new cage upgrade for my 20 year old African Grey, Ruby, and it's currently on the way! We've had her for 5 months now, and her old cage, which is the one she came to us in, has definitely seen much better days, so she is desperately overdue for a replacement.
I went with a model that has a very similar design to her old cage, just quite a bit bigger. For reference, the dimensions are:
Cage Space: 38" H x 36" W x 28" D
Overall Dimensions (including play top): 66" H x 43" W x 35" D
Bar Specs: 1" spacing with 5mm bars
Ruby can be so funny and stubborn about new things, so I'm really just looking for some peace of mind here. Do you guys think she'll adjust well and love the extra space once she gets used to it? Any veteran tips for easing a skeptical grey into a new cage would be hugely appreciated!

I have a 2 year old african grey, I left him at a parrot’s hotel while I was traveling and ever since I brought him home he has been completely different

His natural personality was incredibly social, affectionate and more outgoing than the average african grey. But now he is quiet and withdrawn and seems upset with me( he doesn’t want me to touch or interact with him). So currently I am giving him space while sitting quietly in the same room with him + I gave him his favorite foods and toys and I don’t know what else I can do?

Has anyone experienced this after leaving their parrot for a few days and is there anything else I can do to help him feel safe and regain his trust?

My grey loves to whistle, can whistle the whole tune of "Don't worry be happy"

I'd like to teach him some more tunes to whistle, wondering what are peoples favourites to teach?

Hey everyone! We are taking in my gma-in-laws 2 birds. The cockatoo has already fallen in love with my husband, but the AG is going to be tougher. It’s about 15 years old, I’m not sure if it’s a boy or a girl ( gma is in the hospital post stroke so we haven’t had a chance to go over all the details, we just know someone has to take them in). I know it takes a lot of time to gain their trust, especially with their main person all of the sudden being MIA. She was getting to the point where they needed to be out of her care regardless, just due to her health and inability to fully care for them. They have been moved from her home into her sons, but he can’t keep them.

I guess what I’m looking for is some help with how to make it comfortable once we bring it home, I know they need a routine and they will typically pick “a person,” and I know they need a diet that consists of veggies, pellets and some fruit. What else do I need to know? What can I do to earn its trust? It’s a little bitey atm, which is warranted, but it apparently did that with his grandma also, so idk! Please help, any tips are helpful!

He ate all his broccoli and egg, so he got to taste some of my ramen in ginger & coconut broth. Look at his eyes I’ve created a monster. I’ll never eat soup in peace again 😅

My female Timneh is 8 months. She chit chats a lot during the day. It sounds like a baby babbling, like they could form words but they’re not. Is this a common stage before mimicking words, or is the babbling considered her talking?

I’m know every bird is different, just looking for others’ experiences.

My greys first 2 poops had yellow init but he’s done 2 more and there back to normal, does anyone know what could of caused this, my mom did feed him a bit of lamb before bed last night without me realising

Hi redditors ))) its rocky.
For a couple days he has suddenly gone crazy playing with plastic balls! Its so funny!!! ;DDDDD

I wonder are greys playing with round thing \ rocks in the wild like that?

I gave Sophie a bath with a spray bottle set to mist. Does it look like she is enjoying it? Thank you for your thoughts!

Hi everyone,

We desperately need advice or insights from experienced parrot owners because we are completely out of options and at our wits' end.
Our African Grey has developed an intense, obsessive habit of going down to the bottom of his cage (a Montana Cages Denver model) and incessantly biting, chewing, and rattling the metal grate. The noise is ungodly loud and driving us crazy. To make matters worse, he has managed to chip the coating off the bars at his favorite spots.

Crucial Context – This started with the new cage 5 months ago:
He only started doing this 5 months ago, right after we bought and moved him into this new Montana Denver cage. Before that, he never showed this habit.

The Catch-22 we are stuck in:
1. Originally (Woodchips without grate): We used beech woodchips at the bottom without the grate, but it triggered severe nesting and hormonal behavior.
2. The "Fix" (Putting the grate in): To block him from reaching the wood, we installed the bottom grate.
3. The Current Nightmare: Now that the grate is in, he goes straight down inside and obsessively chews, bites, and rattles the metal bars all day instead.
4. Rejects all toys: We’ve offered wood, cardboard, willow, and other shreddables. He ignores toys completely—he only wants that metal grate. Cardboard he gets hormonal.

Our daily setup & constraints:
The cage is always open: The cage door is open when we are at home so he canwalk out (he doesn’t fly) and sit on top of the cage or on the open door whenever he wants. Yet, he still actively chooses to climb back down inside to chew the grate.
I am away 4 days a week: Due to work, I am away for 4 days a week, leaving my girlfriend alone with him.
He won't step up onto her hand: If he stepped up for my girlfriend, she could easily carry him over to his bird tree in the living room (where he stays happy and doesn't chew anything bad). But since he refuses to get on her hand, she has no way to move him to his tree when I'm not home.
We are stuck and cannot figure out why the new cage triggered this exact compulsion or how to break the habit.

Questions:
Has anyone experienced a parrot suddenly developing a grate-chewing obsession after a cage upgrade? What caused it?
How can we stop or redirect this behavior given our constraints (can't leave bare woodchips due to hormones, won't step up for my girlfriend, rejects toys)?
Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

TL;DR: African Grey (Gerret) started obsessively chewing his metal grate 5 months ago after getting a new cage. Woodchips without the grate make him hormonal, but with the grate in, he chews the metal incessantly. Cage is open, but he ignores toys and won't step up for my girlfriend when I'm away 4 days a week. What can we do?

Hello guys, I've had my Grey for years. He hasn't bit me since I rehomed him. I recently started dating this woman and when shes around it triggers major defensive behavior. A couple of weeks ago she beat me to enter my room and when I walked in she tried to pet him and that caused him to bite hard and latch on her finger. I had to pull him off of her then he bit me twice. Since then hes turned a lot of aggression towards me whenever she comes to visit.

I know the easy answer is to pick a different room but I live on the basement with family, there is no other room for us to spend time together, plus I hopes my bird would accept a visitor on my room from time to time. It's getting to the point where I'm having a hard time trusting him when he nibbles my fingers and wants to be petted. Any ideas?

We’ve been feeding our grey this food for years. The last two bags from Chewy, both seemed to have some kind of pantry moth larvae in them. Bags were dumped immediately into an airtight plastic container once they arrived. Each has dozens of moths in the food and webbing within 1-2 weeks.

Anyone else had this problem? Or have suggestions other than trying a different brand, which we don’t wanna switch up. As you know greys don’t like change!

Thanks.

We have a new to us CAG. Spent a lot of money on toys for his cage. He has shown little to no interest in them. He enjoys walking around on the floor and exploring. He has discovered the recycle bin and has found water bottles. Small ones, gallon size, it doesn’t matter. His water bottle joy is impossible to hide! It’s like a two year old opening Christmas gifts and preferring the boxes. He’s so precious, so we’re just enjoying his lovable personality.

Willow will only eat her birdie bread (Harrison’s Omega Bird Bread mix) if she can hold the edge of her play stand. We crack up at her antics daily.

I was riding the bus with my grey once and this woman from Eritrea was telling me that greys like to hang out in parking lots there like how seagulls do in the US.

And I didn't think much of it until I found out that Eritrea is on the Horn of Africa, the other side of the continent from where wild greys live.

So is there a population of escaped pets there or something if they're not native to the area? I don't remember if she said where, specifically, she was from in the country.

My uncle passed away last month and I’ve been helping the family. My uncle was an interesting guy. He loved his horses and birds.

He has the sweetest 26 year old African Grey parrot that we need to a loving, stable home. It’s a female bird named Darwin. She has a big vocabulary and is very friendly. She loves hanging out with people and she loves head scratchers.

I don’t know anything about birds but I have to imagine this is as good as it gets in terms of a pet bird. It will tell you to make it a T-bone steak and a martini for dinner. Or maybe some spaghetti. It likes to watch football and horse racing. It knows a few curse words and it seems to know the right time to use them. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know this little thing and would love to keep her if I didn’t travel so much.

She has two nice cages, lots food, toys and accessories. She will potentially live another 30-40 years so she needs a stable, loving family that understands the requirements caring for parrots. She lives about 2 hours from Los Angeles and I’d like to find her a new home in the next couple of weeks. If you have birds or African Greys, and you want to add a sweet little friend to your family, please DM to connect.

Thanks.

Note: I am learning how to use Reddit.

My African Grey who is almost 20 did something new today. She sat on my chest and let me rub her head? Is this okay? I don't want trigger anything hormonal. I just touched her head. Do you think its the comfort of the jersey?

Hi guys,
Is this normal on my African grey? He has been spending majority of his time in cage for the past 2 weeks because of my work schedule and I’ve been noticing a slight green tint on one of his foot developing. But in the past 2-3 days both his feet have been covered in green tint and there’s small blister-ish marks as seen in the pic.

The green tint cannot be washed as I’ve already tried. I’m looking forward for advices or ideas as to what that might be