danmcq

Actually, just watching him, you would never really think he is handicapped the way he climbs the cage using talons and beak. He has mastered using that crippled leg and seemed more interested in bobbing his head around in joy and what your doing with the camera than worried at all about his climbing abilities. he is definitely confident about his abilities. Using him to reach out to disabled children is a wonderful idea! Thanks for sharing tis video. I'm already in love with him as well.

OMG Spock, you have become Mr. Bizerko x2!!! I had to laugh several times, I just couldn't hold it back. But, this illogical behavior of a Vulcan is causing a huge disturbance in the force. Sorry, still laughing, gotta go ..... hahahahahahahahahaha, big breath, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Penny - You Rock!! Have a GreYt Birthday.

Jayd gave GreYt advice and links. We have the Pak-o-Bird for short trips around here and we have a larger travel cage as well for long trips and it works well as a sleep cage when we are out of town somewhere.

One thought on this. I had to do all those things for 22 years, had to answer questions, cram and study until 2 am for those years, then got drafted after college and they told me I was a dog and dog dung during training... I would have kicked their asses if I wouldn't have been court martialled for it. I think we humans as a society have similar treatment as well and no choice in the matter until we are entirely on our own and self sufficient. :-) Just thought I would add a little humor and lightened this up a litttle. But, I still say boot camp sucked!!!!

It is age and he is letting you know he has a mind of his own in the only way he can. He will bite because thats all he has that works if you are not paying careful attention to his body language and eye's pinning. You must learn and do 2 things and consistently. 1. Respect and acknowledge his body language. a. If you don't need him to move and just want to pick him up, respect his body language and back off. 1 point for reading body in his mind. Now your both communicating. b. If a step-up is not optional, ball your fist up and go in with the back of your hand, biting will be frivolous then and you just push under the belly and force the step-up. 2 points now. He knows when it's optional and when it's not by your different hand language. If he bites you hard, a firm NO and place in cage for a short time out. He will learn quickly. 2. Be consistent ALWAYS with your verbal command and your body/hand language. a. This is something he will learn to understand and respect...most the time....it gets harder sometimes as they go older. b. make it a positive interaction with a happy "Good Boyeeee", big smile (They read your facial expressions) and perhaps even a favorite treat to put icing on the cake. After a while, just the "Good Boy" will be a reward and positive ending for him. These are basic methods and as you learn you Greys personality even better as he matures, you may find less aggressive and more positive to get him to do what you wish. example, it took me a while to learn to relax when I knew a fight would occur. If I went in with a smile, a few "Your such a good boy" in a soft and high voice" he would be more relaxed and comply more often than with the HITLER Demand and a totally negative experience.

It does sound like Ozzie is exploring and perhaps wanting your attention. The others have given good advice and comments. Ozzie is not flighted, so you do have more control of where he can get to than a flighted bird that will just fly right back. Will Ozzie step up from your shoulder if you try or does he bite when you do so? The reason I ask, is you can do as the others stated and remove him with a "No Bite" or "Be careful". I use "be careful" simply due to him knowing what it means and because I know our grey is not "Biting", he is requesting attention and I want him to learn to be a bit gentler with his requests. He has gotten much better at using proper beak pressure. I wil say though, if they get pissed off, upset at something that scared them, they will clamp down hard to get you to let you know they are pissed or want you to move away from the item scaring them. As was stated previously, the shoulder is a previlege, not a right. IF they get out of control, no more shoulder previliges for an hour or two. They will learn quickly that when they do X, Y will happen and if they value the shoulder previlige, they will stop X, to avoid Y.

It is perfectly fine. Dayo used to do this when he was younger very often when one of us were in a recliner or laying on the couch. He still does, but not very often any longer. He will now normally go to where he wishes to perch, lift one leg and dose in and out. Enjoy those endearing moments while you can. In the wild, most birds gather different times of the day and nap. It is a natural instinct.

Great responses and thougths Dave. I agree with your statements 100%. IMO - Alex was loved and treated not only as a loved child, but as the rock star that shock the world with the cognitive abilities unproven until who? Dr. Peppeberg and Alex for 31 years. It were not for those two, people would still scoff at the thought of a "Bird Brain" having such complex and verified thought processions that they determined it to have the intelligence of a 5 year old child and at times Alex proved smarter than actuall 5 year olds in real life testing. IMO - If Alex was mistreated, he would have been one mean nasty biting grey and I never saw thatside nor was it ever reported. We all know how tempermental they are and if you cross them or burned them too often, you are a bite target any time your close. I envy the attention and life Alex had and spent more out of cage time and was exposed to new experiences and people than our greys ever will.

LOL - Record it, then play it backwards.

Those young greys are easy to do things to a few times, simply because they are an infant an do what they are requested. However, once they encounter something they really do not like, they will start refusing it and fight it. When Dayo was the same at his age, I had to slow down on Dayo after about the 3rd time as well. I Used treats like an almond to try and coax him into not focusing on the harness going over his head. Also, when trying to remove it, normally was a battle so I would give him another almond to keep that beak full while I quickly removed it. Otherwise the bites were hard and plentiful. The most important thing to remember, is to try and never make it a bad experience, frigthening or an out right battle. If that point is reached, it will be near impossible to ever get a harness on again. If Dayo refuses now. I am happy to stop and just go about other things respecting his wishes that day. Perhaps he just doesn't want to harness up and go. I watched that dvd many times as well to check and make sure I didn't miss anything. It is a great video and always a joy to review once again.

Congratulations on your new baby. You say you need help, which we are all certainly willing to do, but we need to know what you need help with? How are you feeding, with a spoon or syringe? How much are you feeding (CC) each time? Did the breeder show you how and give you complete instructions on proper preparation, temperature, amount etc? I am sure you are filled with joy and probably feeling a bit overwhelmed this morning. Poor your guts out!

I love these weekly updates. Keyboards are certainly BIG FUN. I strapped one that Dayo destroyed and placed them all in a 2 pound empty coffee can along with other foot toys. They enjoy just playing with them at times. I must admit though, it did not solve the fun of trying to pop keys off the new keyboard. Getting the harness over the head is always the hardest part here as well. There have always been times it seemed he just didn't want to go, so I did not harness him. After the winter, he seems not to want any part of the harness. So, I have turned it into a touchy feely let me lay the strap on you, around you etc. and he loves chewing on it. I know the harness will need to be replaced because I feel some of the connecting welds are now jeopordised, but it's worth it try get him back in the harness again for summer outings. I truly enjoyed the GreYt photos and he is really flourishing under your loving care. Thanks for sharing all this with us.

Hi Dusty and thanks or the continued updates. It sounds like you are truly exposing him to new experinces that will build on his character and keep him from becoming a phobic grey when it comes to the slightest change. GreYt job! You may need to carry a fly swatter with you to "Swat" those people with wondering "Pesty" hands. You don't need to defend your choice to clip. But, it would be nice to hear why it is the best thing in your prticular situation. As you can see, some people are very passionate about not clipping. But, I do not want to see this turn into a debate or a harrassment of someone that may very well have good reasons for needing to clip.

Thanks for answering your own question keegan through research and posting it. I am certain other Grey owners will and have asked that question previously.

The mouth is an instinctive target for up close and personal interaction between birds. It is normal for them to try and target:explore that area. As you said reggieroo, it is cute the first time and most of us all had to keep them back. They quickly learn we don't like "Beaking" with parrots and stop quickly when they learn that lesson at such a young age. You did state in you post you "Knew" it was not to be allowed and why. That shows you had done your homework, which is wish more parrot owners would do before they bring a parrot home.

You should probably start practicing now in preparation.

Hahahahahahaha, I love lasers. Please get a video!

Wow, what a scary incident for you and the critters! I would have reacted the same as way as you probably. first get the critters out of the smoke. second, worry about hurt feelings later. I can only imagine how your heart was pounding an head rushing. Good Job!

GreYt photos and good scenery as well. Thanks for the photos.

There is always a chance, but it would be hard to try and put a percentage on it. All I can say, is they pick up things that are used constantly, consistantly and is something they find important or just fun to do or say. I can say, I know of a few wild caught adult greys that did indeed say a few words after years of love from good owners.

Very cool, Congratulations! Thanks for sharing this.

The others gave good answers. I have a question for you first. How did the previous owners interact with Rene? Did he show the same cage aggression with them? Did He have a "Favorite", namely male or female? A 3 year old is a teen with a TUDE. They are masters at the sucker punch and by that old have refined their techniques. My Grey does the same. What throws me off, is every so often he really lets me scratch him, other times the head flips arounds and a good bite follows. But, I keep taking the chance, because the bite is worth taking when there are times he lets me scratch him. He will not do this to my wife... his love muffiin. So thats why I asked which sex his favorite was. The poop will always change color according to what he ate. Blueberries for example will result in a almost black-purple, seeds green, non-colored pellets brown etc. The string he will take care of. You may want to use a perch to have him step-up, rather than scaring him down. Since you have only had him a month, it is very important to build trust as much as you can. Hang in there and just know things will get better over time as he becomes used to the new schedules, people, surroundings and interactions with you.

GreYt job on the innovation to let Ozzie become self reliant. With that type of help Ozzie will certainly flourish. He seemed to be proud of getting in the cage on his own power and he should be. Thanks for sharing this video.

GreYt photos! Thanks for sharing them.