Laurie

When I leave the room, Klaus calls out to me. Usually a wolf whistle, or half a wolf whistle. Sometimes a peep, peep, peep (where are you????). And yes, I answer him. I'm sure I'd look quite insane to the casual observer. Also, if my husband is holding him and I walk through the room, he gives me the "baby in peril!" routine. I don't know how else to describe it, but it's a desparate peeping noise that I interpret to mean, "Help me, mom! I'm in trouble!" It's funny because I'm told Klaus is fine with others when I'm not around. I was wondering if anyone else's grey does this sort of thing...

I only come on after work & on weekends. I work for a fairly big corporation so I'm a little worried someone will see what I've been up to and I'll get in trouble. I know, I'm a wimp! Also, sometimes I come on & read stuff, but don't feel I have anything valuable to add...

Klaus loves to do dishes with me, too! (He sits on my shoulder). I don't know why, but that's the time of day he gets most "talkative" (not words, but chatters & whistles a lot). I wish I were that excited about dishes...

Welcome! I am very much a rookie, but find Klaus will play with a new toy after about 2 days. I put it around him and then act like I couldn't care less. That seems to work. My son has a little toy piano, and my husband thought it would be fun to see Klaus playing with it, so he put it in front of Klaus and made a big fuss trying to get Klaus interested. Of course, Klaus wanted nothing to do with it. My grey seems to be a lot like a little kid...you've gotta use reverse psychology!

Hi, and welcome! That's funny, Klaus reminds me of a dinosaur, too. I think it's the slow, cautious way they lift their feet to walk.

Thanks, guys! It's cool to get a little peek into other greys' (and owners) lives. Right now, Klaus is chewing on a little hair clip I'd left out on the computer desk...I know it's cliche, but tell me again why we buy all those expensive bird toys?

I was just thinking about life with Klaus (all 3 months of it!) and his favorites (toys, foods, people) and wondered if anyone would like to share their greys' favorite...whatever! So far Klaus's favorite time of day is when I come home from work. He gets very excited and wolf whistles at us as we come in the door. He is most "talkative" (ok no words, LOTS of fun chattering, clicking, beeping, whistling) when I do the dishes. He also likes food, glorious food. One day he was on the kitchen floor when Scott was getting him breakfast. He knows his bag of food is kept in the bottom drawer of the fridge. When Scott opened the fridge to get the food out, Klaus climbed up and was hanging off the drawer! Our night time routine is to clean out his cage, make sure his water is fresh and replace whatever's left of the morning's food with a little snack. Sometimes Klaus is so hungry for that evening snack, he digs into it before I can get his dish from the kitchen counter back into his cage. Klaus also enjoys perching on the back of the couch in front of the living room window, watching the world go by... Ok, guys, tell me some of your greys' favorites!

Wow I didn't know Lincoln Logs had chemicals! I won't give Klaus any more then. Beccy, Lincoln Logs are little wooden "logs" cut to shape so that kids can build stuff out of them. Also, thanks for the tip about washing the teething ring. It only cost $2 so I'm not opposed to throwing it out. But Klaus was interested in it when I took it out of the package, so I've just left it in another room hoping the scent will wear off. I think I'll try washing it to speed things up!

Klaus has started to play on his back a little bit (just did it yesterday, just once). He was in his cage playing with the little plastic ball with the bell in it, and rolled over so he could handle it with both feet. Very cute! But I've never tried to get him to do it, he just did it.

Yes, I've purchased baby toys for Klaus (I've even given him cat toys: One of his favorites is a little plastic ball with a bell in it; it's a cat toy). I'm upset though, I just picked up a new baby's teething ring (it's lots of colored beads just strung on rope). When I opened the package it reeked of baby powder. Why? What are they thinking? I have to hide it because Klaus loves the looks of it, but I don't want him to have anything that heavily scented. I wouldn't even give that to a baby. All that artificial fragrance can't be good... Oooh, also I've given him one of my son's Lincoln Logs. It's worn down to almost nothing, so it's safe to assume Klaus enjoyed it. Luckily I have tons of Lincoln Logs!

Good stories! Good subject... I met Scott way back in High school. We were both 16. We got married at 25 (9 years of dating...If I had a nickel for every time someone had asked us, "When are you getting married already?"). Sadly, we separated in 99, divorced in 2000. Got back together in 2001. Crazy, huh? It's sometimes hard to explain. I just call him my "current ex husband." At my last job, I thought everyone would think I was a flake with such an arrangement. Then I found out a guy we worked with was doing the same thing (in a long-term relationship with his ex wife). So, maybe not so crazy. My son was so little at the time, he doesn't even know that technically we're divorced. Ok, now it's somebody's turn to post something stranger so I won't seem like a weirdo...

That's great news! Congrats...

Hi, Leon - You have come to the right place for great stories, great advice, and very nice people. Welcome!

Wow, lots of young 'uns! Klaus hatched on March 9, 2007. We brought him home July 4, 2007.

Great photos! Thanks for sharing... Reminds of Klaus with carrots. In Klaus' opinion, carrots are strictly for tearing up & throwing around...

I'm glad this came up - I've been a little concerned, too. What I wonder is, what do the birds think about the change in routine on the weekends? I imagine they get used to it in time, but was curious to see what other grey owners have experienced. Normally, I'm at work all day & let Klaus out with me for at least 2 hours when I get home at night. Scott works afternoons and many times he's able to get Klaus out for awhile during the day. On the weekend, Klaus gets to come out right away with me in the morning while I have coffee & read the paper. After about an hour I put him back so I can run errands & do housework. Sometimes he gets a little extra "out" time on a weekend afternoon. And, definitely he gets the 6-8:00 pm that he always gets on a weekday. I feel guilty today because he knows I'm home, of course! But I've been in and out running errands and also doing yard work. I'd like to hear from people who have had their greys longer than a couple of months and what you've observed about them settling into the household routine. Thanks!

Hee-hee! Joe, you're funny... I've been to Sanibel once, it's very nice. It is QUIET. If you want quiet, Sanibel is the place to be. Personally, I would hit the Keys. I've never been to the Keys but I just imagine it's very cool there. For some reason it makes me think of history. Pirates & stuff... Hope you all are having a good day!

Hi, Milo! Nice to have you here!

Hi, AisLee - I am new to all of this, too. We brought Klaus home on July 4th. I can empathize on the "clingy" thing. (Klaus is sitting on my shoulder right now.) But, I figure it's something he'll outgrow. Um, I hope it's something he'll outgrow! Anyway, welcome! It's nice to have you here...

Ok, it's old, but I have something to pitch in! I'm not even trying to get Klaus to talk, he's too young. But the guy I bought him from said this used to work for him: Say what you want the bird to say to the bird in the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning, when it's still dark. He swore by this technique. His theory was that the bird is sleepy, and not distracted by anything at the time, so they can concentrate on what you're saying. I know every bird is unique so there's no universal rule as to how to get them to talk. But I'm pretty sure he said this worked with multiple birds, so it might be worth a try! I'm guessing he would walk up and say whatever it was softly to the birds, so they wouldn't be startled. Good luck!

That is very nice! I have noticed with Klaus he is very cautious about new things. I have one of those great ropes that fasten to the cage, but I didn't want it inside for fear Klaus would get a toe stuck in it or something when we're not home. So I installed it on the outside to give him an extra place to climb around & play when we are home. It took him a day or two to go on it. When I introduce him to something new, I act like I couldn't care less if he likes it or not. I notice the more you try to get him to do or try something, the more he resists. So like a human child, it's scary!

I do not have a foraging tree. But I do often wrap treats in a coffee filter & let Klaus work to get them out. He is sooooo interested in coffee filters now.

Welcome, Cindy! You will really enjoy this site... I learn something nearly every time I log on, and everyone is friendly and funny. We look forward to hearing more from you!

Oh, and my dogs do that, too. They hung around the high chair when my son was a baby, and now they hang around if Klaus is eating something, hoping he'll drop some. I never knew that birds dropped food as a preservation instinct. Interesting!

Wait. Dried fruit? I didn't think you could give them dried fruit. The guy I bought my grey from didn't think it was a good idea. I was going to let Klaus try raisins anyway because technically they're not that dry. But I like the convenience of dried fruit. Less messy. Hmmm...