danmcq

Beautiful photos of where you guys live!! Thanks for sharing them. :-)

I believe God just created them for us to love and be loved. :-) They are unique.....

Good luck Judy!! Anxiously awaiting news on this.

She is beautiful!! Thanks for the photos and the description of her personality. It sounds like a real joy to have her. However, from your comments. I think the Grey Council is secretly plotting something..... :-)

Wow, what a hassle Robin!!! Still working the kinks out on the new PC. In the interinm it sounds like you got going finally after the sp2 update. We updated the entire office to sp2 with no issues on 32 and 64 bit versions. Hope the rest of your day goes better!! :-)

Janfromboone wrote: Oh No Jan!! Not dear Tobie. It's painful reading this. We know we love our own Greys. But, we truly love all the Greys we have come to know here on the forum too. I am truly sorry to hear Tobie is having this happen to him.

LOL Dee! So you laugh at my pain? I found the solution to the back of neck nipping. I now wear a large dog collar with chrome spikes 2 inches long. Many people now walk WAY around me though when I go out????B) <br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/10/27 21:17

Defo on getting a video of that. They do love peekaboo!!! It is Dayos favorite game and he will fly anywhere in the house to find me if I yell it out.

We're all with you Dee. Weve all had the big day come and go and we made it through with just a little brain damage from the stress.

Very funny thread!! :-) I have the only living pterodactyl around. His screams while flying are quite the wake up call.

Glad to hear your dicision kisses. :-) It is a wonderful gift and joy to watch these birds fly and their antics.

Welcome kisses0071 and Flock!! It's GreYt having you here and hoping to hear more. :-)

I love releasing my endorphins. They are fun to play with. Just had some Chipotle salsa.....woooo hooo :side: :silly: They must be kicking in. :P

Congratulations Penny!! Looknig forward to the photos. :-)

Awwww, poor baby. Back in those learning days, Dayo would have said "Shoot, God Dangit!!!" very emphatically. Now, to avoid embrassing moments he says "Pretty Cool!". B) As if he intended to crash and burn. :blush:

I hear yeah!! Every Grey has a different personality and learned to interact with humans differently. Even individuals are treated differently as to whether they are the Greys favorite or just another member of the flock. I am the latter in our home and if I try things my wife can do, the blood will pour. I can not do anything through the bars with my Grey except get bit. My wife can give a scratch through them at times, but I believe sometimes he is just pissed to be in the cage and at those times will bite her too. Thats why I am writing a book or BIG journal on my grey so the next owners will know how he his been trained and interacts with people. he will out live both my wife and I by decades, unless we live to 110.

Great photos of chicks and finger Dave!! You are a breeder through and through. Love the webcams and really appreciate the kindness of you sharing this with us. It is a daily ritual to check in on the babies. :-)

Welcome piper!! It's GreYt having you here. :-) Your Grey sounds like perfectly normal young Grey exploring a new and exciting world. They will also always want to be fairly close to you at all times at such a young age. Yes, all parrots much be watched 24/7 when out. You can never trust that they will stay where you last left them or not get into something the minute you turn your head. You you have things to do or places to go, cage your bird and go do them. They need to get used to being caged at different times of the day. :-)

Well, for one thing. The head locks and restraining her is certainly not building trust. It is instilling more fear in her and increased plucking, I would suspect. It would be better just to leave her be than trying to get her out of or into the cage if that type of restraining method must be used. In her mind she is at the hands of predators and doesn't know if she is going to be lunch or not this time. Some birds become so frightened by restraints they actually die of a heart attack.

Your Grey is not trying to be dominate. it is simply seeking the highest perching points on your body. That is just a natural behavior for any bird. Your Grey depends on you and wants to be on or near you. You just need to make the perching spots seem like an unstable or off limits area to him. If he tries to land on your head, simply nod it forward or side to side as you hear him flapping up there and he will find that is not a good landing or perching area. If you do not want your Grey on your shoulder, shoo him off each time he tries to perch there. If he tries to climb up your arm, simply block the path with your other hand and arm. No matter what, your Grey is going to follow you and want to be with you all the time. You can train him to sit somewhere close by like a T-Stand by just placing him there when you don't want him on you, but he can still be near you. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/10/26 16:01

Thanks everyone. I know I enjoy watching them play"Tag I kill you". So I thought others might as well. Dee - I already had Jake when I brought Dayo home at 16 weeks old. Jake had been here for over a year. The breeder would not release Dayo until they clipped his wings, though they did leave enough so he could actually fly straight for about 20 feet. So from the beginning. Jake could always get out of the way quickly when he landed by Dayo and tried to make friends. I was nervous when the first few interactions took place. But, once I saw how Jake was no fool and faster than a speeding bullet, I let them work out a relationship at whatever level they determined. Once Dayos primaries started molting out and he gained flight abilities. The chasing began. :-) In my opinion, if birds are flighted they can chose to fight or fly. Now if they both were fighters, I would of course have to step in. But, at the most Jake will give a couple of warning "Air Bites", then fly like hell when Dayo calls his bluff. I truly believe they have a distant relationship they both dearly love. :-)

The "Why" is the BIG question. I quote Diana L. May of the Department of Psychology, Psycho biology Program, University of Arizona. After her observations while on a Field study in Africa sponsored by Dr. Irene Pepperberg: ""Although such laboratory research has provided a wealth of evidence for captive African Grey Parrot capabilities, limited field research has provided only a hint of African Grey Parrot abilities and their use in wild populations. Cruickshank et al. (1993) provided the first published evidence of vocal mimicry by wild African Grey Parrots in their natural habitat. Their analysis of African Grey Parrot recordings in Zaire shows mimicry of nine species of birds and a bat, but these results provide no explanation or rationale for this behavior. No other recent studies have specifically addressed African Grey Parrot behavior in the wild (see however, general descriptions of behavior by Dändliker 1992)."" This is obviously an evolutionary ability that produced the communication skills necessary for the African Greys to live in large flocks and stay safe from predators. Basically survival of species. Their superior speech and sound abilities are a direct function of their physical make up. I quote Dr. Pepperberg in a study she performed on this: ""infrared and X-ray cameras as Alex, a trained African grey parrot, spoke a variety of English words. Alex uses the same basic strategy as humans, they, found. He creates a vibration with his syrinx (we use our voicebox), then uses his throat, mouth and tongue to alter the dominant frequencies, or "formants", to give the sound he wants. For example, Alex opens his beak wider for an "en" then for an "ah", and probably pushes his tongue further forward as well. But Alex lacks lips and teeth, which are critical in forming human consonants. "He has to work harder to come up with a strategy for consonants" says Pepperberg. She still does not know exactly how Alex does it, but some evidence suggests he uses his oesophagus. In making a "b" sound."" There are more questions than answers at this point in time on exactly how they produce it so perfectly. One thing is for certain, they use this ability with their flock to communicate and do so with purpose and the understanding of exactly what they are saying and asking for.<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/10/25 23:32

Dayo inspects his play area first thing in the morning. Then...... He and Jake go nuts before they settle down into a normal day routine..... Hope you find it as entertaining as I do. Now I need to go clean the aftermath up....

Anyone missing a Grey is this area, please use the information below to check if it is yours: More info FOUND: CA, Oakland/Mills, African Grey, Oct 17.09 Posted by: "dshore95" dshore@911parrotalert.com dshore95 Sat Oct 24, 2009 6:23 pm (PDT) If you believe this is your bird, contact dshore [at] 911ParrotAlert.com Bird is now being fostered with 911ParrotAlert Volunteer Donna in Rohnert Park, CA. Contact email: dshore [at] 911ParrotAlert.com The parrot is in good shape, he was not out for long He has been eating steadily and drinking water. He has not yet been checked for a microchip, not banded. Not much of a talker, makes electronic sounds. To identify you must tell what words he DOES use.<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/10/25 15:55

Because you are responsible for life of what you tamed.... I must say I have rescued some critters that were a pain in the A$$. However, the love and compassion is unconditional.