danmcq

He was just waiting for the right person to give the privilege of saying his first public spoken words. Congrats!!!

Wonderful photos and it's good to hear there are atleast tolerating one another.

Congrats!!! It's wonderful to hear that Issac is starting to communicate more and more in human speech with you. Thanks for the update, I always look forward to them.

I do disinfect toys, but when I purchase one from the store, I always make certain that all metal parts are either stainless steel or chromed. Also any rope or cloth type toys, I check constantly to ensure that their are no strings or frays for him to get his talons caught in. I just snip them off as I find them.

I do make many toys myself for Dayo. Sometimes if I see one in the store I know he wold like, I will purchase it if reasonably priced.

Welcome, it's greYt having you here! The articles posted will get you going. One note on cats: It is best to keep them away from your bird. Even a playful swat with claws extneded can punture the skin of your bird and leave very nasty and dangerous bacteria, e-coli etc. and could possibly result in the death of your bird. The dog, well just see how he reacts, some will get along with birds, some don't and think they are fun to chase.

Well, did you tell him "What" you are? It is very enjoyable to read all these goofy things our greys say!

Yes the are! Dayo chews other normal wood blocks up so fast, that I thought I would try the Tinker toys. They are very hard wood and he really has to work at it to make a dent.

Thanks for the heads up Penny. I do make certain that the chain links are too small for his talons and that the circle links are big enough that a talon cannot get wedged and stuck.

You have done a great job in doing that Dee. You are his "Rock" and as long as your "ok", Gilbert figures all is well. You have done a wonderful balancing act in the long flurry of events and tragedies. Watching this thread over time has shown that you and gilbert have made it just through all this just fine together. I must hear Gilbert's southern drawl.

Fall is upon us and I am maximizing the outside time from now until it gets too cold. I thought I would share some photos of Dayo enjoying his outside time.

Depending on how much is used in the room and if the windows are closed the vapors could be unhealthy for your grey. Most all of us here use vinegar water or diluted bleach for cleaning purposes. They both kill germs and are not harmful to you grey in the correct diluted amount.

Congratulations and nice photo's. He is a fine lookling grey and seems to have just made himself right at home. I am looking forward to more updates as you have time.

Just time and patience, along with a soothing voice, perhaps a favorite treat (If he will take it from you) and lots of love will bring the relationship back around. It will probably be a while before you will be able to coax him back up on your own. It would be better to avoid such a situation by either leaving him in his cage until your mother is home or have her pick him if she is home when he flaps down to the floor. Also, welcome!!! Why don't you introduce yourself when you get a chance?

Your more than welcome and I am glad it shed some light on the behaviors.

Wonderful news he is fully flighted and enjoying it! Like Penny (Talon) if our birds are out, they are either on one of us or sitting near by watching. We pretty much do the same thing as Penny in terms of making them get off our shoulder if they will not step-up when we try. They do learn after a while that when removed either by a step-up or a fast downward move off our body to make them fly means to sit there and watch until we are no longer doing that task. When we are doing certain tings that require our full attention and is either dangerous or an off limits item like the stove, sewing machine etc., we cage them until finished, then let them back out. Other than those instances, you would thing they were a dead bird glued to our shoulders...

Wow, what a dramatic, heart ponding event. I am so glad to hear it has ended well and Timmy is mending. The trust and relationship wil come back. I doubt he will ever want another pair of nail trimmers near him though.

Parrots all have a communal relationship flock wise and of course a personal relationship with their life long chosen mate. Greys of course only flock with their own species and will at times run into other Grey flocks at feeding areas etc. However their "Flock" always sticks together.. I have a gut feeling that all other birds are considered by them as just "Birdies" of a different sort that are not welcome. It is interesting that Marcus does indeed make the distinct use of "Birdies" for all other outside birds which are not a part of his mixed flock. Dayo makes the same differentiation of "Birdies" outside as well. He does however classify crows as "Crows" I assume due to their large size and hostile personalities to all other species. I do know though, that members of the flock each grey belongs to, does have a unique name and other greys know that parrot language call/name. I will say, Dayo in terms of his flock in our home uses each of our respective names which includes Jake our conure and the dogs. The only human outside of those that live in our home that Dayo calls by name is Dakota. Dakota was in infant just learning to crawl when Dayo met her and he was enthralled with this wee little infant human. He would fly and observe her wherever she would venture and still does to this day while she is now 1.5 years old. He constanting talks about "Dakota", asks about Dakota and wants to talk to Dakota when we are on the phone talking to her. I do not truly understand this obsession and focus on her, but can only believe it is some instinctual embedded response to a baby flock member that must be watched over by the flock. I do not believe Marcus thinks of himself as the "Top" bird. He simply puts up with them and probably being the largest, can push his weight around if one starts encroaching on his territory, flock (you and family), cage, food items etc. Dayo is the same way. He will drive Jake off if Jakes gets in his "Space", sits on one of our shoulders too long or tries to get some of his food. There are times Dayo gets so irritated he will take to flight and scream like a pterodactyl chasing Jake from room to room and back until he figures he has got the message across to Jake to NEVER do that again. It is interesting watching all these real-time events and trying to analyze what is driving each behavior and why. Just when I think I positively figured something out, BAM I see a different response that makes me go back to the drawing board at times. I have no doubt, some things we humans will just never truly be able to come to a complete understanding of and will just have to write it off as a :Grey thing" ...

Couldn't agree more than with Daves comments and thoughts on this.

It is a great soak and cook. We have been using it since we brought Dayo home 4.5 years ago.

There is no doubt he is paying attention and understands all that is going on. Dayo and all other greys do the same thing in regards just kicking back and rambling along in word, whistle and sound effects. It is mostly just remembering, calibrating and also word play to see how some may be used in sentences correctly. The are some words, that are meant as a generalization such as you suggest by many greys I know of. He may well call the entire flock of mixed species as "Beaker". Dayo for example calls my youngest sons entire family by saying, as they all enter, "Hi Jeff". He will also say "Hi Jeff" to any single member of his family if they come alone. I have named each member of his family for the last 4.5 years with their individual names, but Dayo does not care because it is one of the "Jeff" flock. The use of a food word as you describe "French Fry" is another generalization or he may be him telling you he would rather have "French Fries". Dayo does this as well. If we are cooking spaghetti for example, he will many times come out with "Ummmm Rigatoni", which is his favorite pasta dish. He knows the word spaghetti and uses when he seems actually wanting some and will say "Ummmm Spaghetti". Other times he will sound off with a completely different dish type like "Enchiladas". I hopes this may shed some light on what the use of specific words may be used for as generalizations or actual requests. Wonderfully put!!! We Humans do many times ignore the fact that we are just one of millions of species inhabiting this earth and are all reliant upon the balance, harmony and circle of life that makes all codependent upon all the others.

What an incredible thing for Marcus to say!!! Talk about cognitive abilites and vocabulary!!! It certainly makes one wonder what else is inside that brain of his still waiting for the appropriate time and place to trigger it. Thanks for sharing this, it was a joy reading.

Nice Link! I didn't even know these types of cup holders existed. Much easier than my DYI.

Yes, especially if they are caged together. A nesting box will increase the closeness to each other and lessen with you. I am actually surprised you still have some limited interaction. The preening is normal between mated pairs. How long have they been caged together? If they have been "Pets" in their previous homes, it is doubtful they will successfully mate, but they certainly could try and perhaps be successful. We have a have a grey breeder on this forum named Dave that will hopefully chime in with his decades of experience and wisdom in this area.

They do mellow out in various degree's depending on what they are exposed to over time. I will say, Dayo does not like new toys that are not similar to what what he is used to. He also does not like stuffed toys that he not not familiar with. His attitude has mellowed towards me, the number 2 here and lets me give him scratches very often now and lays once on a blue moon in my lap upside down with his talons waving in the air. In fact he is sitting on my shoulder letting me give scratches with one hand as I type this with the other.He has always done this with my wife from day one, but not me until the last 6 months. He has been here 4.5 years now since he was 16 weeks old. If a grey is not socialized and exposed to new surroundings and people for say years, it takes a lot longer to desensitize them slowly and in short periods of time.