danmcq

What a beautiful and entertaining grey Cosmo is. Thats does sound like a bad cough. Thanks for sharing this.

No, but we have taken out our parrots since day one. They will get upset at the occasional unexpected event such as the next door neighbor running a loud weed whacker, lawn mower or carrying something by that appears over the fence. If it is an activity that we know will last a while, we take them inside. Is this Took's first time outdoors? If so, it is understandable why he would be terrified at all the new sights and sounds. Only desensitization through many short outings will resolve this fear of the unknown.

Once a bird understands pleasing you and receiving praises in happy voice and a treat they love to top it off, they will certainly pay a ton more attention to what you are asking them to do. It also helps if you have an operating word (s) that equal "Pay attention and do". They feel such a sense of accomplishment in doing something they believe that helps the flock and means they are useful, that they will continue to strive for that acknowledgment even without a treat. Just your happiness, good boys/girls etc. in an excited voice will create a feeling within them that they will do it over and over to feel that way again. I would love to see a video of that dance.

Well, actually those items are given to our greys as a source of protein, some fatty acids and calcium. All these as you know can be had in other food sources that do not involve those sources. Not sure if cheese is a go-no go for vegans, but it is a good source of calcium. But, so are dark leafy greens, almonds and of course pellets.

I'm putting mine on ebay if they are going for that price. Haven't opened it in years... It is a good basic book, although I do desagree with some things that are the authors opinion. But, of course every book has good, useful information and some parts you just need to decide which path you wish to follow as you learn and go on in working with your grey.

Thats good news. A flighted bird learns what a window, mirror etc. is very quickly and will not fly into them. In the beginning, you need to place some stickies on them so the bird will know it is not an opening to the outdoors. You can also take them up and let them tap on the glass, look at themselves in the mirror etc. Once they know what they are, stickies are no longer needed and you will probably catch them checking their mirror image out. When we are outside, our grey will fly to the patio sliding glass door, hover and see where we are.

Beautiful photo, I love seeing baby photos. Thanks for sharing this as you visit.

I can feel my greys breast bone pretty well. IMHO if you can't feel it, they are over weight. Dave will have more excellent advice.

What a cute story and description of yoru routines. She's a smart birdy! Thanks for sharing this.

Wing stretching is normal behavior. Some days they do it more than others. They normally do it after sitting for a while.

Loved the updates. Gilbert is certianly enjoying life with you. It so wonderful to hear his weekly accomplishments and adventures. Thanks for sharing these regularly Dee.

Wow, how time flies, Happy Hatchday Neo!

I forget where I got this article from. It was obviously before the untimely passing of Alex. It was not written by Dr. Pepperberg. Your right, she did mention portions of this in both her books, of which I have as well. I was going through many articles I have stored on grey cognition, as I use them as reference in how I work with Dayo. I posted this in hopes others would read and realize their greys are only limited by the concepts their owners take the time to teach them. Granted, some are a very long trek, but if you hang in there for the long run, they will grasp and use them in daily life.

I thought others might enjoy reading part of an article on Alex and his cognitive abilities. These Greys are much smarter than many believe. If you haven't already, start introducing numbers and counting to your greys. Enjoy: Alex, a 28-year-old Grey parrot, recently began—unprompted—using the word “none” to describe an absence of quantity, according to researchers at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. Alex thus possesses a “zero-like concept,” wrote the scientists. Years earlier, Alex had been taught another meaning of “none,” as a lack of information, they added. But his feat was to extend the concept to a context involving numbers, during a test of his counting skills. The researchers, Irene Pepperberg and Jesse Gordon, described the findings in the May issue of The Journal of Comparative Psychology, a research journal. Alex’s apparent insight into nothingness doesn’t necessarily extend to other arithmetical talents, the researchers noted: the researchers found these to lag in some respects behind those of young human children. The scientists also said it will take further study to determine whether Alex—who has been the subject of intelligence and communication tests throughout his life—really understands zero. Zero and none “are not identical,” Pepperberg wrote in a recent email. But since Alex never learned “zero,” the researchers said, it’s impressive that he started using a word he knew to denote something like it: an absence of a quantity. Also unclear, though, was whether by “none” he meant no colors, no objects or something else. “We just started yet another series of experiments to see if he can easily be trained to understand that ‘none’ can be used for true zero,” Pepperberg said via email. It looks like he can, she added, but it’s “far too early to make serious claims.” Chimps and possibly squirrel monkeys show some understanding of zero, but only after training, the researchers said. So Alex’s feat is the first time this has been documented in a bird, “and the first time it occurred spontaneously,” Pepperberg said via email. But the achievement didn’t come without a few bumps. The story began when researchers started testing Alex to see whether he understood small numbers, between one and six. Zero wasn’t expected of him. The researchers would lay out an array of objects of different colors and sizes, and asked questions such as “what color four?”— meaning which color are the objects of which there are four. Alex performed well on this, with no training, for dozens of trials, the researchers recounted. But then he balked. Alex started ignoring questions, or giving wrong answers, seemingly deliberately. He seemed to enjoy the experimenters’ frustrated reactions, they said. There was evidence, they added, that his stubbornness stemmed from boredom with the rewards he had been getting for right answers. The researchers found some more interesting toys to give as rewards. After two weeks of obstructionism, Alex grudgingly returned to the game, though he occasionally seemed to lapse back. One of these apparent lapses occurred one day when an experimenter asked Alex “what color three?” Laid out before Alex were sets of two, three and six objects, each set differently colored. Alex insisted on responding: “five.” This made no sense given that the answer was supposed to be a color. After several tries the experimenter gave up and said: “OK, Alex, tell me: what color five?” “None,” the bird replied. This was correct, in that there was no color that graced exactly five of the objects. The researchers went on to incorporate “none” into future trials, and Alex consistently used the word correctly, they said. “We cannot determine what cognitive process led to this behavior,” the researchers wrote. “We suggest only that his action, occurring soon after a period of noncompliance, resulted from a lack of interest in the given task and was a possible attempt to make the procedure more challenging.”

Yes, your grey or any other bird needs full spectrum lighting. You certainly do not want the lighting to be shining in from the side. It needs to be from above and only about 16 to 20 inches away from where he is normally perched to have any effect on D3 production resulting from the UVB component of that special lighting. I run might full spectrum lamps 12 hours a day. Some people only run them 4 hours and that of course depends on if your bird is [perched in one spot or on a perch that is the correct distance for any UVB to reach him. UVB drops off exponentially each inch. Just a few inches out of the optimum range and their is no UVB. If your grey is out climbing around, the lighting of course will have no effect on D3 production due to the distance being too great. If I may ask, what bulb type did you purchase? The manufacturer would have the specifications on the proper distance for their bulb/fixture. The best option of course is taking your grey outside for an hour or two each day when weather permits. Then full spectrum lighting is really only needed in the winter months.

IN regards bathing/misting/showers. For misting please see this thread http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189753-Bathing-possible-method-1 in the Health room. There is a ton of information there covering many topics you should familiarize yourself with. If your grey is getting angry while being misted in the cage, I would stop it for now. It will slow down the trust he has for you and that is the most important thing you need to gain for him to willingly leave his cage, which is his safe place. Once trust is built and he comes out, you can then take him to the shower with you if thats what he prefers. There is a ton of advice on food and diet in the food room. You should go therre as well and browse through those topics. Of course, we are all here and as you have already seen, ready and willing to help you along your new journey.

They will not over eat. However, make the fruit small quantities and only give 2 or 3 times a week. Give the veggies and mix each day. If you wish, just take out the pellet bowl when you place other foods in you wish him to eat. When those are gone or say two hours have elasped, put the pellets back in.

Wow! That is VERY rare. Poor babies, I feel sorry for them due to being gawked at and frightened by probably many people. No wonder they growl. It's wonderful that Mojo calmed down after recognizing you and interacted at such a personal level in a short period of time. You are going to be in for a wild time with that extrovert.

Thats wonderful to hear. What I glean out of the words he has chosen, are those linked to other critters names and other interactions that have meaning when the word or phrase is said. Perhaps just ensure that when you give a food item or offer one, state what it is, that has a meaningful use to cosmo in being able to communicate what he desires. Just sitting and talking to a parrot really does not give them a reason to want or need to learn any of the words. Most learn words that are actions, items or names that have meaning and are useful to them. Just be consistent in the use of words and phrases. He will pick up what he is interested in communicating. There is no doubt he is listening at all times.

I really do not see a difference in the length of the wild grey beaks versus Dayo's or many other CAGs I know. In our homes, they keep their beaks in tip top shape by chewing on the wood toys and breaking open nuts like almonds etc.

Most have probably not seen this, enjoy! http://www.arkive.org/african-grey-parrot/psittacus-erithacus/video-00.html and..... http://www.arkive.org/african-grey-parrot/psittacus-erithacus/video-08.html

Dayo is special because.... well....... He's Dayo. I love him for just having come into our lives and becoming what I would describe as "One of our Children".

The main thing NOT to do, is expect how your grey will turn out whether TAG or CAG. As others have stated, each one is an individual and will have it's own uniqueness. Thats why anyone getting any bird, dog or other critter should be ready to love them unconditionally as they are or become. I have no doubt, that destiny will have it's way in this.

For the last week, when I go outside and stand in front of the Patio Screen Door, so Dayo can see me, I wave and talk to him. I noticed Dayo would look at me waving my Arm and then he would look down. So I look to see what he is looking at and it is my shadow in the mid-afternoon, when the sun is on that side of the house. Perfect time to introduce a new word! So I point and bend down until my index finger is almost touching my shadow and ask Dayo “See my Shadow?” as he observes intently. This has gone on mid-afternoon for at least the last 7 days or so. He seems fixated now every time he can see my shadow and looks at me, then down at my shadow as I wave hi, walk sideways or towards him in hopes that he will deduce sooner or later that it is the sun shining behind me. I know he still does not understand what the shadow is produced by, but as always with any word he is interested in, he learned it in one day. He will sit and go through several phrases when he is just kicking back and relaxing and “See My Shadow” is always included in there sooner or later. I will be interested in seeing how long, or if he ever, he grasps this concept. I believe it is a rather difficult one. In regards previous posts of new phrases I have been working on such as “Here I come”, “Here I go” and Here I am” over the last 4 weeks. He completely understands the difference between each of them and uses them many times a Day now. My favorite time he uses it, is when he is still in his cage in the morning and he will say “Here I Come”, followed immediately with “Want Out” and “Open the Door. I still smile or laugh each time his says this. I guess in his mind, for him to fulfill “Here I come”, I must of course go and open the door so he can get out.

At six weeks old, a temperature of 70 degress is fine. I am uncertain of what temperature you may keep your house at. The interactions during feeding times are normally enough at this age. He/she may wish to stay awake and interact for a while. Do so if you wish. They will still spend a lot of time sleeping at this age. Weaning does not normally compete until 16 to 20 weeks old. You can certainly start introducing all types of proper foods at around 8 weeks for him to start beaking and sampling the taste and texture of. They will wean when they decide to, not when the breeder or owner want them to. There is certainly no set time. Some will still enjoy a warm hand feeding even when they are years old and some will shun a hand feeding completely once they are weaned. Anyone claiming a grey is weaned at 9 or 10 weeks old is full of "you know what" in my book.