Jump to content
NEW ADDRESS FOR MEMBERS GREYFORUMS.ORG ×
NEW ADDRESS FOR MEMBERS GREYFORUMS.ORG

Winston Destroyer Of Toys

Members
  • Posts

    6
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Winston Destroyer Of Toys

  1. The really sad thing is this sort of stuff doesn't even surprise me any more. Disgust yes, surprise no... I think some kids (and adults for that matter) actually need a good beating now and then.
  2. This is a huge thread, so this may have come up before, in which case I apologise.. The Wife and I got a laugh out of it anyway.. Lady at the 'local' bird shop: "That toy will last for ages - African Greys aren't destructive." Really???! I wish she'd come and tell Winston that...
  3. It's been a while since I updated - there's been a lot going on other than Winston related stuff. We went on vacation for a week, leaving Winston in the care of my sister in law. She's a veterinary technician, and one of my Wife's colleagues lives just down the street, so no worries there.. I really am spoilt to have such well qualified parrot sitters! I was expecting that being away for a week would set things back, but he took it all in his stride and seemed to be genuinely happy to come to me and take a peanut when I got back. He is now clambering out of his cage and sitting on his door surveying the scenery. This morning I was clearing up after last nights concrete nightmare outside and I got called in to help dislodge him from my Wife's shoulder, where he'd just decided he wanted to sit. I think he quite likes the ladies - much showing off whenever females are around. Curiously though he won't sit on my shoulder or her hand, but will fairly happily sit on my hand, but not my shoulder.. He's beginning to say more words and sentences that he must've learned elsewhere, fortunately no profanity, which is nice.. I've made him a coconut 'cowbell' since that'll be rather quieter when it comes to early morning 'silly hour' (and I mean early). When I suggested a cowbell the Wife went pale! Can't blame her when she's often out on calls until the early hours! And he seems to like Bob Marley...
  4. Ok, a little confusing in retrospect, but made perfect sense in my head when I wrote it! Basically the guy got two greys which then bred resulting in Winston and others. I guess that word got around that he was a bird person, and people started giving him their birds, resulting in him having too many to look after. Hope that made more sense... I'm really aware I've lucked out with Winston, so far I've seen no really bad habits, but he's not been brave enough to come out of his cage much yet. I'm prepared for a bumpy road ahead though. Things seem too good to be true so far! the cowbell is an interesting idea I'll have to look into... Rob.
  5. Thanks everyone for the welcome, I'm kind of surprised how well he's settling in. He does seem pretty healthy, and I'm surprised how little baggage I've had to deal with so far. He is also incredibly gentle when it comes to taking food from your hand. I spent yesterday making a cover for his cage so he can get a decent amount of sleep, and not wake us up at 5:30 every morning. I was paranoid about some of the cage cover horror stories so I built it to hang from the play top on his cage and it has a frame which makes it hang away from the cage and outside the seed catcher so there's no way he can get to it and try to eat/destroy it. He slept right through till 8 this morning..
  6. Hi, Long ago I fell in love with African Greys. I planned go get one as soon as I bought a house after graduating from university in 2000. For a variety of reasons it never happened- still always wanted one though. Fifteen years later my wife (a veterinarian) comes home and says "Do you want an African Grey?". She really knew the answer already... Turns out a client has taken on some as a rescue case and they need homes. I'd pretty much come to the conclusion I'd never be getting a grey, but the fact there was one in need of a home, I couldn't say no.. In something of a rush a cage was purchased in the Internet, and delivery eagerly anticipated. I was able to borrow a small cage while the new one made its way here. Soon the new cage arrived though, so he has much more space. 42"x34"x45" inside dimensions if I remember rightly, so plenty of room for toys as we both work. His history is somewhat unclear, but he's about 15 years old, has eaten mostly peanuts, seeds and some veggies. His previous owner started off with two greys which bred, Winston is one of the offspring I believe, then got identified as a 'bird person' and ended up taking on a bunch of other birds. This got too much and he didn't have time for them all, and they lived in a heated garage.. He seems pretty healthy, and I don't think he suffered abuse, just lack of attention. After two months he now talks somewhat when you're in the other room, will come out of his cage occasionally if he thinks you're not looking, and will take food from my hand most of the time. If he's outside the cage he will also step up quite readily. My attempts to positively reinforce this are somewhat thwarted by the fact he'll take the treat and throw it away. What can I say - he's his own bird! He's also eating his way through every toy I give him.. The lady who rescued him says that she's hearing the same about the others, she thinks that they've been so bored before that now they have toys they've just gone nuts.. Anyway, this is Winston..
×
×
  • Create New...