danmcq

LOL!!! GreYT photo and Caption.

They sure can stop us from doing things we need to get done. Yes, time is their best friend in getting used to the new home and flock. Things will will progress and work out slowly as you all become acquainted with each other. I look forward to hearing updates as this progresses.

Your doing great, thinking all the right thoughts and and asking GreYt questions. I think you and Alfie are coming to a nice understanding and love the "Tickle.Tickle". IN regards getting from sleep cage to daytime cage in the morning. I don't know how you may feel about this, but I would get a step-up inside the sleep cage, slowly bring him out and cup your other hand gently over and around his wings, keep him close to your chest and walk quickly to the daytime cage and place him in it. He may give some hard pinches along the way as dayo does, but as long as they are not blood letting you'll be ok. Those pinches will lessen as he becomes used to the new routine. Just a thought, it may or may not sound like a good idea to you, but it beats trying to get a fully flighted bird caged when your in a hurry.

Good comments Jay. LOL - How true, the OMG's! Those of us that have gone from hatchling to mature greys certainly know exactly what your talking about. But, through it all, those are really cherished moments that we look back on and smile as we review and understand the development stages they go through. Some are more intense in these stages than others. Yet, along with some of the extreme behaviors that had us wanting to give them a good spanking, there were still those other moments that when the hard and aggressive playing and teenage rebelliousness subsided, those wind down and relaxing moments that follow make it all better. Kind of like make-up sex after a fight with your human spouse. Thanks for the passing on of your knowledge. You know what they say "Forewarned is forearmed".

Elliemae, just to put the present behavior in context, I have copied from your first post about Leo: "This poor guy was bought a little under a year ago with a mate that he had been with for two years. The people that bought them clipped theirs wings and pretty much gave them run of the house. The female was the most active and friendly and the male (mine) was kind of reserverd and preferred to stay close to his cage. Well they took them outside with them when they went out and barbqued and things and let them free outside. On one of these occasions approx. two months ago they left the birds unattended for a period of 1-2 hours. They went back out and the male was back in his cage and the female was gone. All they found was a pile of feathers. They explained to me that a while before they had lost a cockateil to the neighbors cat in the back yard. (Idiots) So due to the trauma that this poor guy has endured with the loss of his mate and possibly being attacked as well he screams and growls at anyone that gets too close to him. This was too much for them to handle and they put him in a 12 in x 18in x 18in travel carrier and stuck him in the garage and that is how I got him." Based on Leo's background and as Jay speculated. Leo is much older than 3 years old. He was also basically a "Breeder" and suffered immensely in the previous home. He is attracted to and desires a close relationship with his own species, not humans for the most part. By bringing home this female, you have given him what he has been praying for, another mate. His actions you have described are what one would expect from a breeder. One thing you should know is a breeder will never be the grey that was hand fed and raised in a human socialized environment most the time.

Gracie's vocabulary and understanding is coming along very well under your tutelage. I love to hear of these examples in which true language usage and thought processes are shown. Just wait, it will become much more common as gracie continues to learn. Some will leave you rolling on the floor that she will come up with abd others scratching your head trying to figure out what she means. One of Dayo's originals when the phone rings and he does not wish to speak... "Hello, talk to the Meatloaf!".

I have tons of experience in this..... You trying to lessen interaction will do nothing in regards trying to force Ivan in speeding upto a closer relationship with anyone. He will choose over time how much he will accept from someone else. I am positive others will come up with suggestions and comments when they see this thread.

Once a grey has selected a favorite in the household like yourself, thats pretty much it for a while. The children, well they need to be supervised and taught what not to do around or to the grey, which I assume you already know. However, Ivan has already decided they are not trustworthy at all and considers them a nuisance. Which requires even more vigilance on your part to ensure one of your children do not receive a nasty bite, which will occur should they get within striking distance. Your wife is second fiddle. She will need to learn Ivans body language and leave him be if she see's he is not receptive of a hand or arm coming in for a step up. That is the only way she will be able to avoid a bite. You can have her offer him favorite treats to try and build a little relationship and trust and also help in cleaning the cage, feeding and watering etc. Just ensure she is cautious though and on the watch for body language indicating he is pissed and going to bite. My wife for example can do anything in the cage. I on the other hand am not welcome in the cage at all except if he wants out and I ask him to step up and he does so willingly by lifting a leg high in the air. If he only lifts a leg an inch or so, he is just faking me out to get a bite in which I have learned to just stop and leave his cage door open for him to come out on his own. The relationships will only build over a long time and everyone including Ivan will know each others boundaries, body language and when scratches, step up's etc. are allowed or not. That's flock dynamics.

Greys without a doubt feed off your emotions. Once you took a breath and calmed down, Oscar did as well.

Nice job!

Nice perch. I am sure Jellybean enjoys it.

Pearl is just too cute. I love all those baby sounds and the excitement she is showing with the toys and your interactions.

Nice cage. I have a very large cage, actually larger than the one listed. Dayo uses it all while he is in it.

We all have those mornings, that the last thing we want is someone to pull the blankets back and be expected to just be happy about it. It's like give me a second to do system checks, focus my eye(s) and come to the realization I am awake and not in that bad dream I was just having. I love hearing the interactions you and Oscar are coming up with that are intriguing and enjoyable to you both.

It is GreYt to hear that Kya and Emeka received your avian vet's stamp of approval. I look forward to hearing many more updates on their daily lives and also seeing some photo's and videos when you get the chance.

Nice update. Jellynean appears to be relaxed and havng a good time with you. Thanks for the photo's. He looks beautiful.

Nice little age approximation slide. Each grey can be a little different in regards eye coloring. Although the ages months old to 1.5 yr are fairly spot on. Dayo's eyes did not start turning to the straw yellow until he was 5.

Thats not gibberish. It is Sophies way of becoming bored with all the talk and doing the the grey version of " Oh Jesus people, Bla Bla Bla Bla Bla, Paleeeeze!".

Socrates is "Calibrating" that human hello. They do this under their breath and it sounds garbled until they get it perfected. Once it is perfected, you will hear it loud and clear. She is not mimicking, she knows Hello is appropriate to greet someone.

Oh boy. This is a tough one. Both your CAG and Dog have learned a great way to tell everyone to rise and shine. The worst part is BOTH obviously enjoy this and get everyone up which makes it even more enjoyable. You may need to get a Dog trainer involved to stop that barking by Nibbler. The reason I am choosing the Dog to start with, is because your grey is not as loud as a dog barking. If you can get the barking by Nibbler to stop, then you can just continue to sleep ignoring your CAG. Once your CAG gets no response from dog or human, the barking will stop in most cases.

"I would like to be more descriptive about what I am seeing with regards to Oscar's body language and my own responses. This will serve to help me reflect upon exactly what I did and how it affected Oscar" Body language and eyes are how greys and all birds indicate their feelings instinctively. They do have true emotions. They can be happy, angry, jealous, sad etc.. Their body language, actions and sounds indicates those feelings. Unfortunately they do not have face and lip articulation like us humans, so they use what they have physically. I personally would stop using the towel. I can imagine with his background, that the towel has always been a bad experience with tons of memories and emotions linked to it. I know your probably wanting to avoid possible bite damage, but as you learn his body language, you can avoid them for the most part. You are doing a wonderful job with Oscar. Something savored like that banana will have him stepping up on to your hand without any thought of biting it. We all for the most part have always used relished food items to train them to do step ups and other behaviors. It is a win-win for both you and the grey.

Thanks Stephen for the comments on this dvd. I do know a portion of the purchase does go to the Alex Foundation. In regards the scientific lab environment Alex was raised in. There is no doubt Irene loved Alex with her whole heart. I may view this a little differently than others. But, in reality greys kept in our homes are in an artificial environment that is very limited compared to their natural wild environment. Yes, the Lab was focused on producing demonstrable and diligently recorded data on Alex. He was trained for hours on end on very specific identification tasks and concepts such as colors, counting, math, textures and combinations or them all over years. Without Irene's and assistants tireless hours and years of the life long devotion of scientifically proving that Greys are not just mimickers, but understand exactly what the meaning behind what they are saying in our human language. This truly has shaken the staunch scientific community that still some of the old dogs will not truly accept. However, the data stands and no one can refute it. Alex did actually enjoy many outings with Irene and he also enjoyed the lime light when public was present in various places across the land and also in the lab becoming annoyed with his young fellow greys that did not answer correctly. The reality is, he had more attention day in day out than most any of our greys do. I di however still feel pangs in my heart for him, when he would say "Wanna go back". This sometimes brings tears to my eyes thinking about how he felt. He was tired and wanted some time to decompress and just chill like all our greys do and require. Do I think he was probably in training sessions that were too long or maybe should have not taken place at all? Yes!!! Especially when I know at the end with that underlying heart condition he without a doubt did not feel well, but no one knew it or recognized it. However, I do not think it was abuse and I do know Alex and Irene ROCKED the scientific world with undeniable truth back by data. The work and data continues as Irene brings the present greys like griffith along and her devotion to them is without question. They gave us all insight into just how intelligent these amazing sentient living creatures known as Greys are, that we have been blessed to share their lives with us in our homes. I know I for one look at Dayo and am awe inspired. Mainly due to Dr. Pepperbergs and Alex's life long work and devotion.

Not getting enough sleep could cause behavioral and health issues over the long run. You could try covering him in the cage at 9pm. Some to use a smaller sleep cage in a bedroom for just this reason as well. Those non-blood letting hard pinches do hurt. Especially if he figures out he can attack frombehind and pinch and flee as dayo did forthe longest time. All I had to do was piss him off by messing with one of his toys or start cleaning his cage and he was so fast about it that he caught me off guard many times. Anyway, you are on the right path in analyzing what could be some contributing factors.

Hi Stephen!!! I have been wondering when the next update was coming. I always look forward to these. I see he has all his weaponry close by in case some scoundrel comes a long and tries to mess with his cup. He has grown immensely in the art of war. Dayo say's hello to his distant clan. I can just picture your morning shower routine, what a hoot!!!! We all know how much you love him and have enjoyed watching home grow from baby to a wild and crazy guy that loves you back and lives a wonderful life. I do hope your present project will soon lend more time for you to share your and Isaac's life with us. BTW - Dayo say's he is thinking about "Offing" us so he can come and live with his distant clan, sooner rather than later.

I will get better over time. I know it' hard to keep calm sometimes when they are full of piss and vinegar, but you must. As you know, they are very in tune to your emotions. Believe me, when day was between 1 to 3 years old, he was hellion at time feeling his oats feeling his oats, testing every boundary there was to be tested and swore he would not be taken alive. He was not like that all the time, but jesus those bursts of high energy at times when he was playing and enjoying himself like all young ones love to do were very testy. Do you always use the perch now for step up's or only when he is defiant? The reason I ask, is using a perch all the time is not a good idea in my opinion unless it is a new or rescued bird your building trust with. The only times I used a perch for retrieving dayo, was if he was on a place I could not use the fist of iron properly and would get a blood letting bite. Just try and work on knowing when you think you can use your hand/arm versus a perch is a must situation.