Talon

I don't know about anyone else, but my greys LOVE to chew all the zippers off our sweatshirts. None of mine zip anymore. Many of my shirts have holes on the shoulders....it just goes with the territory, no big deal. There are toys with hanging pieces of cloth that may be of interest, but mostly, they want to be with you and not play like an amazon would.

I am so glad you'd the chance to go! It is fun and worth the trip. I have colored feather extensions in my air, (12 of them) and every time my ack was turned looking at toys, the amazon was preening them.

Hi, Gwen, I have to agree with your above statement. I had a tag, added a cag 2 years later, then an amazon 1 1/2 later. Ages are tag: 6 yrs, cag: 6 yrs, amazon 2, almost 3 yrs. ALL females..

my greys love it! YES!

I just wish they had the inventory online that they do in their store, but unfortunately, they don't.....that's why I prefer to take a trip there and SEE the toys as my birds are picky sizes.

Steve, You are so right. All 3 of my birds share breakfast, and dinner with me. But when I put them in their cages for a bit in the afternoon, I always give them some fruit, pasta, or veggies to munch on, thus the occassional mess on the walls.....itry to stay away from raspberries, that leaves a mess like someone was murdered! Lol!

Wow that is some video. He let you,open his beak, my birds wouldn't let me do that. Have you tried pine nuts?

Welcome to our family! You are a very special person to rescue these 2 birds! I look forward to hearing more.

Mistyparrot said it best. Parrots are very messy, no question about it, but it is something we don't usually care about in exchange for their love. In the big picture of owning a parrot, it is a small issue compared to the happiness and love they bring to us. You did forget to mention, the food that gets thrown onto the walls from fruits and veggies when they are eating in their cage......

I don't know about the 'mix' and fitting into the mold. But if I was to analyze your question, I think those of us that already have any type of bird, have done so much research, that we are way more intuned to any species, thus able to read and interact with them in a manner that an 'amazon only' owner wouldn't. We are more understanding to birds and their needs. I feel that when you meet their needs as much as possible, you have happier birds and way less problems that others with an 'amazon only' may experience. Just my humble opinion.......

That is a riot!! I would have loved to see that on video!!

Oh, this is going to be a very fun thread....I find the amazon to be quite different from the african grey. I have a timneh & a congo AG. they are both different in the way that Ray explained, my timneh is very easy going and laid back, but a joker! My cag is a nervous bird, very moody, but quite the cuddler! Both talk very well, but it is on THEIR terms, not mine. They have a mind of their own and spend a lot of time observing other. Not very friendly to strangers, and very quiet when someone enters the house. My amazon, A yellow crowned nape, is a whole different ball game! She is very smart, picks up words after 2 or 3 times hearing it. She is very outgoing, and doesn't think twice about flying on any visitors shoulders, and expressing her delight by showing off her vocabulary as she sits there. She is super easy to teach tricks too, it doesn't even require giving her a treat, in fact, she will turn down a treat in exchange for my excitement and applause when she does what I ask of her. Example: I taught her to do a "flip" after 1 try. She perches on her rope perch in her cage, and she will spin forward, down and back up again making a full circle. She does it on cue every time, and wants my applause and praise after. She calls me "BIRD" and will say "Hi Bird" when she hears me answer back. She knows the word, No and does listen when I tell her No. We can have a dialogue back and forth at times, she will come to me when I call her. My greys are too good for those type of antics! I find her very easy to read, whereas my greys are a bit more difficult to know what is going on in their mind. My amazon wears her heart on her wing, and you always know what she is thinking or considering doing before she does it. But...she is a handful, she is 2 1/2 and has to be watched like a 2 year old toddler....if it's quiet, we look for her because she's usually doing something we wouldn't want. But if she's humming....you KNOW she is into something she shouldn't be and she knows it! I lOVE my greys, and they are so much fun to have, but my amazon keeps us laughing every day! She is a clown and a show off! YES, she can bite, and she will remind you of that, but if you watch her eyes, you will see it coming and can stop her before it happens if you are quick in your warning. I LOVE the way they pin their eyes when they are frightened, angry or they LOVE what they are eating! Sorry this is sooo long...

Those were my thoughts exactly....she must see a color we can't see. BUT, my other bijon got into a xmas present that belonged to my mother, ( it was up high, can't figure out how he did) but before we knew what happened, he had eaten an entire pumkin? bread? Well, he had an allergic reaction to whatever was in it. ($200 vet bill later) He broke out in Itchy bumps all over his body, and rubbed his nose a raw bloody mess. His entire face on his white body, and many spots all over his body, was a bloody mess. So I am sure Nilah saw him as although I kept washing him, he was bleeding.....it didn't bother them at all.

Are you SURE he is eating/ swallowing it? My birds LOVE it, they appear to eat it, but mostly shredding is what they are doing.

That is a riot! I laughed so hard, how adorable!

Thanks Dawl, but as I am sure you know, there was much more to the story...

Oh my gosh! You all have me laughing in hysterics with your comments! It was soooo funny seeing her behavior as she was yelling and flying thru the house. At one point, I couldn't find her, so I was calling her, "Nilah?, Nilah where are you?" to which she replied, "bird?, hi bird"... That went on a few times. She was perched on the light in the downstairs bathroom. Next thing I knew, she came flying out screaming, "NO NO NO NO NO NO! STOP IT! OH MY GOD! MAKE IT STOP!!!! NO NO NO STOP IT! STOP IT! OH MY GOD! NO NO NO NO!!!" the entire time, she was flying thru the house with this non stop screaming.....I thought my daughter and I were going to pee our pants we were laughing so hard! I felt guilty laughing, but I couldn't help myself..... This morning, when I got her up, she was very cautious, and sitting on her kitchen potty basket with her eyes pinning as she looked down at the dog, but she seems to have accepted he is pink! Talon on the other hand.........forgot he was pink when I got her up, and she flew off, then I could see the look of, " oh ya, I remember now, that noisy creature is pink!

Dawl, that is the best news ever! I am so happy for you and Barnaby!!!

It is only food coloring and washes right out. But thank you for that FL info. It is NOT illegal to dye in my state as long as it is non toxic. There are groomers in this state that will do it for you.

Koekie, I meant no harm or insult in my comment earlier. I just want to clarify a bit so nothing is misunderstood. I DO believe that birds should not be clipped, but that is my own personal opinion not to be argued here or ever. We all do what works best for our situation and I have complete respect for the decisions that others make although I may or may not agree. The reason i couldnt bring myself to watch is because i have heard soooo many cases where a 'clipped' bird is out like yours is, and the owner is all confident that their bird can not fly, and next thing you know, they get frightened, a wind gust comes and their bird is lost forever. Inhave personally spoken to people who this has happened to. Just 2 months a gon, i consoled a complete stranger on the phone who lost her beloved bird and i was helping via internet trying to help her find her bird. I asked her how her bird escaped, and she said , " her wings were clipped and i took her out on my balcony like i do every day after work, something startled her and she flew between the bars on my balcony and is gone...." I hear these stories over and over. The furnace repair man was at my home to fix it and he told me how he had a cockatoo whose wings were clpped, he went outside while it was on his shoulder like he always does, and the wind came along and it flew off never to be seen again. It is just MY opinion and my belief that a clipped bird isn't any safer than an unclipped bird. right or wrong, I am stubborn and that is how I feel. I don't fault anyone here who feels otherwise, it just doesn't sit right with me. Having said all that, I feel you are a WONDERFUL owner, caring, loving, very attentive to your birds and their needs. I can see you are always researching and trying to give your birds the best life possible. I commend you for that and have the highest respect for you. I have 4 kids of my own, 12, 17, 19, and 22 years old. So the fact that you are only 16 and treat your birds the way you do, I am in awe of you and you should be proud! Your birds certainly are lucky to have you as their parront! I so much enjoy your pictures and videos. Keep them coming and I am happy to have you a part of our family here!

As I posted in the Photography Room, my daughter dyed my bijon with food coloring...he is pink!! This is a terrible video, but you can hear Nilah yelling as our pink dog was in the kitchen, and she was in the living room. This was after about a half hour or so....

Today, my 19 year old daughter (who has been itching to do this for several years) thought it would be fun to dye one of our bijon's.......so after much research on her part making sure it was safe....she dyed him with red food coloring......here he his: Well, after she dried him off with the hair dryer, the 2 of them came prancing down the stairs......much to our surprise, the birds took off screaming their heads off and flying as they were yelling thru the entire house! They are frantic! Our other bijon is still white... Rikki is a bit startled, but is remaining calm and just looking with caution, and hanging out on our shoulder. Talon is perched on the top of the curtain and screeching that african grey screech they do when they are very frightened as she stares down at the dog. Nilah on the other hand is flying and screaming like I have never heard! She keeps yelling, " NOOOOO, MAKE IT STOP, OH MY GOD!!, NO NO NO NO NO NO, UGH," and then words I cant make out, then she starts all over again. I have some video of Talon & Nilah yelling, I will post it later on for you to hear. I am stunned at their reaction to our dog. They have since calmed down a bit, but when ever he goes in the same room, they either fly away, or Nilah starts screaming at him!

Yup, been there done all that. A single mom while husband worked all the time and was never home...Had to be the one to shovel all the snow on front of the barn doors and chip away at the ice so you could open them to get in and feed the animals.... It is fun for a while, but gets old as you get older....

Just thought it was cute, not meant to be that serious...