danmcq

I think that would be wonderful. I have been kicking around a similar idea for a few years now which would be out through my patio sliding glass door. The only thing you'll need to address, is when they come in and you close the windows, they will need to have decals or blinds let down so they know they are closed. This will avoid a tragic accidental full speed flight right in to a closed window.

Damn those evil butterflies!!! Great work on your part!!! You are enriching his life so much after so long in that cage. Congrats to you.

Awwww, very cute. Thanks for sharing these.

LOL at first, but your right. That is a very dangerous situation. You would never know you had rolled on top of your grey.

There is nothing wrong with this activity at all. Dr. Pepperberg was actually working with Alex in developing a computer based teaching tool for him while at MIT. Granted games are not teaching much accept that they receive a response when they get an ant for example. But, some of the early child games that teach using color selection, number select etc. with voice questions rather than reading may after some practice and working with them help in solidifying those neural connections.

He does indeed love you as Ray and others suggested. Dayo is also enthralled when I comb my hair, brush my teeth etc.. However, he does not try to regurgitate. He will start panting and going after the comb or tooth brush. This has become a non shoulder time if he happens to be with me in the bath room. I place him on the counter top and let him explore, tap on himself in the mirror with his beak etc. which seems to keep him amused. Sometimes he will ask me to "Comb his face".

I will say Doug, that from the beginning, my wife and I were on the same page in being consistent with words and phrases we used. Consistency is key for them to understand what you are describing as a material item or an action. An example would be when we give him a food item or prepare a mixture. Each item is described like Apple, Grape, Carrot, Chicken etc or Turn the light on, Turn the Light Off, Turn the TV on etc. I think this fairly well describes how we have interacted with him from day one. He knows and says everything at it's correct time based on either what he wants, what he is doing or what he observes happening in real-time. First thing he says in the morning is "Turn the Light On", meaning the light over his cage, then Take the Cover off... as an example. He knows the correct human description for everything that occurs in a normal day. His vocabulary at this point is over 500 words/phrases.

My wife talks to Dayo constantly and has since he was 6 weeks old. In fact, I worked out of town 4 to 5 days a weeks for the fist 4 years and Dayo only saw me 2 or 3 days a week.Her voice is very high pitched. For whatever reason, he chose my voice to use. I suspect Steve's theory that Dayo wants to be Kim's Man.

I am glad Ellie found it interesting. Dayo is just turned 5.

LOL YES!!!! He wants me gone and just have him and his love muffin here. I must say though, he does allow me to interact with him, give scratches etc, but not at the length or level he does my wife.

Thats what is strange. He learns just about everything from me word wise. But he carries on very limited conversations with me such as he wants 2,3 or 4 pistachios when I ask "How many?". He talks to my wife and carries on full conversations with her. Of course, she is his love muffin. I will try and capture one of him and her. The problem is they are so spontaneous, it is hard for me to run and get the camcorder and get it recorded.

Thought I would share this video of Dayo from this morning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIVFpLYthTc&feature=g-upl&context=G20b8adbAUAAAAAAAAAA

Nice photo's, he is beautiful.

Welcome to our forum! Your grey will for the most part be very curios of the tiny human baby. Just make certain you include him in some good times with the baby as you feed and interact with you new child. Our grey became very curious and attached to our grand daughter from the time she was born. He will fly and follow her as she crawls various places just to watch her. We of course do not allow any touching or beaking by our grey, as it could be very dangerous for an innocent baby flailing their arms and legs around as they do.

That would seem like an aggressive act to any bird unless you have gently worked up to them enjoying a beak rub. However, I would never advise on "Grabbing" their beak. It would with out a doubt scare them.

Jeff gave good advice. Slow as you go. It would be great to hear more about him, since you have been with him for 17 years, you would have a good idea of what he likes/dislikes and how he interacts on a personal level with your family. Has he ever been on other family members shoulders? Has he been mainly confined to his cage all this time?

Great work! Loved the video.

Jay and Talon have given good advice. One question I have, is does your grey have a toy like a bell or other item he bashes around aggressively? The reason I ask, is my grey plays very hard with some toys and at times gets bashed by the bell or other toy leaving a small cut and/or bruising.

I love this story! It is no doubt she is very aware that she is made to fly. For the moment, she is "Simulating" not only the action of wings, but also the sound she will one day hear.

LOL, I believe that is his way of saying he does NOT wish to talk on the phone at the moment.

LOL!!!!!!!!!

Hi Doug, Dayo just made it up. He loves meatloaf when we have it. I have no idea why he decided to tell a person on the phone to talk to the meatloaf. Most the time he will just say Hello, yeah, uh huh, how are you etc. They will make up many of their own phrases once they have a large vocabulary. Sometimes you will realize they are making a joke or actually have a different meaning. Dayo will laugh most the time after he pulls his "Talk to the Meatloaf" phone answer.

A dear friend shared this with me on another forum the other day. I thought I would pass this on for other amazon owners to enjoy.

Love that Chez. he is learning as he goes. He will figure it out! He will also make up his own senetences that will have you rolling on the Floor! One example, Dayo will sometimes answer the phone when it rings and sometimes he will say "hello? talk to the meatloaf!".

Sounds like a very responsible breeder. Congrats on finding them and hopefully whom you will be getting your grey from.