Inara

Thanks, danmcq and Nancy. Yesterday, the intentional flights continued, as well as this morning. I figured now is a great time to work on recall since she originally initiated the flights. She seems to enjoy landing on my arm so we're off to a good start in that direction. Danmcq, I hear you on the spelling things out! It wouldn't surprise me if you Dayo will have C H O C O L A T E C A K E figured out in no time flat Nancy, I agree, it really is nice when our fids have affection and love for other members of the family. Inara is very fond of Joe and reaches her little foot out to step over to him, asks, "Where's Joe?" when he is at work, likes a bit of on his arm time each evening after he gets home, and loves to whistle back and forth with him.

Welcome! You're off to a great start by already having spent time reading the forums, and landing here in the first place. Am glad that Deter is settling in, and will look forward to seeing some photos of the entire flock. Updates are always welcome as Acapella said, we truly take and interest in and care about one another's birds.

Sounds like it turned into a bird rodeo. Glad that all ended well. I'm wondering if Smokey's fortune cookie said: Water is in your future. Use the beak and run!

This morning, Inara talked her way through a spontaneous flying event. I was snuggled into a chair, coffee in one hand, book in the other, and HRH on her play perch to my left. From my peripheral vision, I saw her begin to climb onto one of the posts on her perch, and heard her say, "OK. OK. It's alright. Ready?" then the whir of wings and two little feet landed firmly upon the arm of my chair. I'm not sure which of us was more surprised. She generally only chooses to fly when startled, or she will fly to the floor from her perch and begin walking toward her cage when she wants to go home. Naturally, she insisted upon a repeat performance, sans the pre-flight check list. I was happy to oblige. Inara's verbal mediation of her wants and activities continues to grow at light speed. Some examples of what she is now communicating with intent: I want to go out. Let's go to the kitchen. You go cook, you. I want to go out to play. Are you ready to go? Get to work. The other day, Dezi and I came in from outside, and HRH asked, "Did you find the cookies?" Floored me. Naturally, in the wild a major part of a bird's day is looking for and finding food. Perhaps there is a little hard wire in her brain that equates flock members being gone with searching for food. I do say to her, "Let's go find Joe," when he is in another room. It says a lot for the complexity of what she is learning, that she has generalized "find" to other things and situations, not to mention asking a question. I speak with her and to her as I would to a bright human child. I refrain from slurring words together (i.e. "wanna" instead of "want to," etc.), I speak clearly, use correct English grammar, and always answer Inara when she is talking. She is just 2.5 years old, and one can only imagine what she will be like 10 years from now. When saying that I speak to her as I would to a bright human child, I don't mean to compare her with one, as inter-species comparisons are simply inadequate at best. As an early English user, she is doing outstanding. On her own, she has picked up the correct usage of pronouns "I" vs. "You"; the concepts of "let's," "find", past tense "did," and specific rooms of the house, "kitchen." She rarely just chatters anymore, and is apropos to context in most things she says now. Even the well placed, "Now what the quack?!" She is able to correctly match acrylic rings in the colors red, blue, green, and yellow to their corresponding places on posts that have the color indicated on them. Her hit rate, while not yet 100% is high, I'll do some percentage calculating soon. She loves the game and calls it "O"s -- which is the name she made up for it herself. I can only speculate that she equates their shape with the cheerios I used to give her when she first arrived. I used to ask her if she wanted an "O." She decided long ago that cheerios were not the tasty treats that I had led her to believe, and gave them up. To recall and name their shape in relation to the colored rings shows a great memory bank and again, good generalization. She also is a very clever little liar: HRH: "I want to go out. OK?" Me: "Later, I am busy now." HRH: "Dezi needs to go out." Me: "Liar. Dezi is sleeping." I'm not really concerned about her manipulations, unless she asks for the keys to the car. Fly often, HRH Inara's Humble Servant

Are we right in assuming that you live in TX and have personally seen, or are going to see the bird before you exchange any money with the lady? Just making sure, as there are a lot of scammers out there. I wrote up a Bill of Sale when we purchased Inara from her former people, and even having written into it that we would be provided with all paperwork, vet records, etc. we still six months later are waiting for her DNA certificate and vet records from them. I should have held back some of the purchase price when when they delivered her to us (after we had met her, gone home, slept on the decision, then decided to purchase her) with only a scrawled paper that they received from the breeder, so that they would have had to send the rest of the paperwork to get the full purchase price. I insisted on writing up a formal bill of sale, because we exchanged a lot of money, and I wanted to ensure that there was a paper trail that did match Inara's band number. Thanks for this thread, as it reminds me to phone and haunt her original people for the last of her paperwork. Congratulations, and can't wait to see photos and learn more about your new companion.

Sterling is indeed a beauty! Keep those photos coming PS: Love the Mt. Rushmore T-shirt with C3P0!

kpflynn and Ray P, I love hearing these types of stories. Parrots have sailed the high seas with their human companions back in the days of yore, so why not camping? Right?

HRH Inara loves warm sweet potato, broccoli, carrots, black and red beans with Louisiana hot sauce on them, and used to love a warm mash that I made for her which she now turns her nose up whenever offered. Her very very favorite that elicits much clucking and "Oh boy!"s is her morning breakfast of either an organic flax seed or hemp seed multigrain waffle with just a skimmer of red palm oil and warmed tropical fruit puree on it. She also likes it when I put tiny bits of almond, brazil nut, and various bits of fruit and veggies into the waffle "traps." She looks forward to breakfast every morning. She eats the top of the waffle, leaving a complete other waffle on the reverse side -- which our dog patiently awaits.

Too Too and Papoo are beautiful, and what sweet names your son gave to them Welcome to you and your flock. We'll all be looking forward to more photos and updates as you continue your adventures with your wonderful companions. Yes, definitely take a look at cage size. If the cage is too small, your hand can be very big and scary because it may feel crowded to Papoo, and he might feel as if he can't back away, and therefore tries to bite from fear. Also, is that wire the only perch that he has in his cage? If so, you will want to find a perch where his little feet can rest better upon it -- something (a non-toxic branch from a tree, or a wooden dowel, or one of the many of the commercial perches on the market if you can get them in Pakistan) where his feet don't wrap all the way around it. The lack of proper perches in a variety of sizes can contribute to serious foot damage and problems later. Check out our "Show us your cage" thread for some great ideas, as well as the homemade toy thread here in the forums. How wonderful that you've found each other, and over time your bond will grow as trust continues to develop. We're all cheering for you!

I'd suggest phoning your avian vet, talking with her/him, and asking if you can e-send the photo for a quick look to see if an office visit is needed. Since it is the weekend do it immediately, so that you don't get caught on a Sunday with a sick bird.

You've received some great advice and input, which is one of the reasons that this forum is just the best I'm just chiming in to add my welcome to you and your new wards. If and when their human comes out of his coma and is ready to have them back, he will be forever grateful to you for having taken such wonderful care of them. If time does not allow healing enough, and the two of them become your long term companions, they could not have fallen into better hands. Keep us all posted on how they are doing and pictures would be great too!

Miss GG is going to be wearing a matched set of Wonder Woman bracelets next, to go with her pearls! It's just so heartwarming to read of her daily adventures and how much fun she is having. She sure deserves it, and so do you.

Also sounds like something I would eat Am already imagining lots of variations on this recipe theme. Thanks for posting it.

Hi Brent, and what a smarty your Perry is! Some CAGs/TAGs are big talkers and some are more of the whistler mumbler persuasion. Do you talk with Perry, i.e. conversations or are you using the same trick training methods with regard to talking -- repetition and reward? For some Greys, repeating words over and over is just plain boring and they may be less likely to want to hop on the speech train even with rewards -- like trick training. If you are using meaningful language and continue to do so with Perry, for example: answer him back when he makes any noise (other than screeching and screaming) he may surprise you eventually with how much language he actually has stored up to now. Keep one ear open as Perry whistles and mumbles, and respond with something that makes sense. For example when he says, "Hello," you might reply with, "Hello. What are you doing over there?" or "Hello, I am busy over here _________" <--- insert what you are doing. When he says, "Stop it!" You might reply, "OK. Alright. What do you want?" Anything that makes sense. I found that Inara was more amenable to talking around dinner time. So that was our own jumping off point. You might notice that Perry has a particular time of day when he is more open to chatting, and can use that time to start reinforcing speech. Do you know if he is a closet talker? One who prefers to chatter away when you're not looking at him or when you are not around? Many birds can be shy about just piping up when someone is around.

Baaaaaaad to the beak!!

Hi Beth. Always a bit of a conundrum, but after awhile your guy may start actually liking it. What really helped with Inara was this: I got a mister from a pet store that has a pump action on it so that the water is more atomized and spritzes in a very fine mist. I put cold filtered water in it (our water is hard and chlorinated so that would/could make her skin dry out more and itch more as it sure does to mine). I situate Inara on my arm, and we walk with the mister into our shower area with the lights dimmed (this naturally makes her more calm). Next, at first, I began by spraying the mist over the top of my own head and let some of it fall down upon her on my arm. I would shake my head in a fun way, and with delight in my voice say how great it feels! Each time we did this, I sprayed myself less and her more with the spray always misting from up above. Now, I can move in close and soak the living bejeebuz out of her and she loves it. She happily steps up when I ask her if she's ready for her shower. When we first got her, she would hiss, bite at, and move away from the sprayer. Baby steps. Baby steps having been said, regardless of whether Inara liked it or did not like it, at our altitude and arid climate it is imperative that she have the moisture. I don't use a humidifier because of the mold and bacterial risks to me as well as to her (although other people use them with no problem). So misting it is and misting it was going to be even if she squawked about it (and she did). She now likes it in the shower area, while sitting on my arm. She is not as thrilled about it when she is in her cage. Keep trying, and you'll find the way that works for you and Radar. At his young, age he will have plenty of time to become used to it, and may wind up eventually welcoming it

YAY!! Stephen, this is such great news. So glad to know that your sweet (and mischievous) Isaac is on the road to being back to his old self. You must feel so relieved, lots o'poop and all

Welcome Twas Brilling and flock! You've got quite a menagerie going and sounds like you and your spouse enjoy them all. Smile. Interaction with a Grey can take many forms. One of the major ones is talking and whistling back and forth with each other. Given your limited vision, some of the things you will want to consider is that if allowed free roam, your Grey will become very adept at not only flying around the house, but walking also. Greys are natural ground foragers, and enjoy time walking around. This is a challenge for us all, as they can be easily stepped on. At our home, we give a shout, "Bird on the floor!" so that we know that our Inara is roaming around. Being able to read their body language, as well as their being able to read yours can also be a bit tricky even for people without any vision challenges, so you may find it a bit more of a challenge -- but you're no doubt already good at adapting to new situations and input requirements. That being said, Greys are very empathic and yours will no doubt soon become aware that your vision is limited. This could wind up with your Grey being more patient with you, or it could bring up an issue of it wanting to know that it can feel safe and confident when moving onto your hand, and hanging out with you physically, etc. Certainly, these are things that you, your spouse, and your future Grey will work with and/or around. Definitely search in your own area for breeders if you are wanting a baby grey. Also don't overlook a slightly older grey who may need a good home. Many people get cuddly babies and then put them up for sale or rehoming at around age two when the human discovers they are more of a handful than bargained for. You may find a young bird that with whom you will have just as strong a bond and as wonderful a relationship. Rearing one from just after weaning and being able to visit it often prior to taking it home (as in finding one at reputable breeder nearby) may work out well for you as it and you will learn how to navigate one another from the get go. Smile. You've landed in a great place here, and as you've already discovered there is a wealth of information right at your fingertips. Am looking forward to hearing all about your adventure and your new companion.

Well what a lovely story to tune into this evening! The lovely Miss GG just continues to amaze and delight. :>

Hahaha! Yes, Beautiful does appear to have you trained well! Great story!

Hi John, and welcome to you and your new companion, you've landed in a great place. Would love to hear more about your new gal. How old is she? Photos are always a bonus around here as we all love them You've already received some great advice about your cage and the scratching. The only thing I would add is that some birds will chicken scratch at the bottom of their cage when they are scared. Do you have her cage placed where at least one side of it is up against a wall? This can help her feel secure as she then does not have to have 360 degree vigilance. Our Inara continued to frequently chicken scratch at her former home even at aged two. Her people would take her out of her cage when she would do that, so for her, it was an "I want out," signal. Once here, she was/is out of her cage frequently, and only displayed the scratching one time, and that was when I had moved her cage temporarily to what I thought (erroneously) would be a better place for it. She apparently disagreed. Yes, it's great to have lots of out of cage time, but some birds really do prefer the environments within their cages when compared to just being on a perch in an open room for hours at a time which can be boring for them. You will get to know your own bird and her preferences. Spend a lot of time reading through the various topics and older posts in this forum. It is a wealth of information, antics, and real life experience -- worth the time.

Do your companions make jokes? Seriously. HRH has two distinct personal jokes. After she learned to mimic laughter, she began to use it consistently when appropriate, and has now generalized that to her own sense of humor, or so it appears. Inara can say "water," very easily and knows exactly what it is. She uses the word water for the water in her dishes, i.e., "get the water." However, she uses a distinctive sound for water that comes out of the faucet and the same sound for when she is playing out of her cage and wants to go back for a drink. There are two water dishes in her cage. One she prefers to drink from, and one she prefers to bathe in. I change the water in each in the morning and in the evening (or other times if I see that it needs it). The conversation always goes, "Time to change the water in your dishes." And as I pick up each dish I'll say, "One water," then 'Two waters. You have two waters." She likes to ride on my shoulder to the kitchen to supervise the changing of the water. One morning, during this process, as I turned on the filter for the water, Inara made the "faucet water/drink" sound once, then again (total of two waters) and then started laughing like crazy! Then looking at me until I laughed too, although I admit I still do not get the joke. She continues with the joke daily, and it appears to delight her. Joke number two was much easier to understand and was really quite clever. Inara makes a certain sound for "yum" when she really likes the way something tastes. Recently she was playing on her play perch which has a piece of cardboard tubing on one of the upright posts. She loves to chew on this. One day while chewing on it, she stopped, looked over at me, and said her word for "yum," then laughed and laughed. Very much like our version of saying, "Yum, this cardboard is delicious -- not!" I'd love to hear about other jokesters whether verbally or just physical/sound jokes, or appropriately joining in with laughter in situations.

My first CAG, Lestat, (abused, neglected, and self destructive rescue) never played with toys ever except for one with a bell on it. HRH Inara, on the other hand was slow to warm up to toys and now just loves them. She gets excited with new ones, now. This has been over six months. The first toy I purchased for her was a block and preening toy. It was too big for her (she is a TAG and a bit small at that even). She now likes it, but as a cage decoration --sort of like a hanging vine . I have discovered that Inara enjoys acrylic toys better than most wooden ones, she enjoys toys with cotton ropes on them the most, and she does love anything that makes a good clattering sound. Her favorite toy is a group of cardboard "bagels" strung upon natural leather with knots in it. She also recently fell in love with a new toy that has little wooden shoes and colored wooden rings on it. I put little hidden goodies into the shoes, which she enjoys. Initially, I used to just put a new toy within eyesight of Inara for a couple of days before moving it into her cage. Now, she's so cavalier about them, I think because she recognizes the phrase "wow, a new toy!" that I can just put a new toy directly into her cage. Smokey's mileage is likely to vary. Each bird is different, and what works for one may be the complete opposite of what works for another. For that matter, what works for one on one day/hour/minute, may not work the next as they can be pretty capricious. The moral of the story? As others have suggested, keep introducing new toys, start with smaller ones, see if Smokey prefers certain textures over others etc. and as has been suggested by others, play with the toy yourself and make a bit of an --ooohh ahhhh cool toy-- fuss over it.

Alexandra is very beautiful! As she continues to grow, and if you give her plenty of opportunity to learn that her wings belong to her and that she can use them, she will become more graceful. You mentioned the turtle tanks. Be very vigilant about washing your hands after handing the turtles and/or cleaning their tanks before doing anything that has to do with Alexandra's cage, food, or her in order to avoid any potential transfer of salmonella to Alexandra which could be deadly to her. You're no doubt already aware of the potential, but thought I'd mention it just in case. Thanks for sharing the photos of your beautiful companion. I can't wait to hear all about your continued adventures together.

Hello Fahad. Rather than the souks, have you tried looking up classified advertisements online? There are several that may or may not be current, and you might find a weaned Grey that way, or a slightly more mature bird whose owners are leaving the country, etc. I did a quick online search using the search terms, "African Grey breeder Dubai," and a few different resources appeared. It speaks well of you to have come here to do some asking and some research before making a commitment to one of these incredible companions. If it is meant to be, you and the companion Grey with whom you are meant to share your life will find one another