Jane08

JillyBeanz I know all about the heels in snow,I have also done it and I should know better. Went out just before xmas and it was a white out and the taxi couldn't get up my road so had to walk 400m in my heels in knee deep snow and when I got home I had to dig the front door out just to get inside.

Glad he is ok, must admit at the start I fed our 2 cherries pit and all :ohmy: and took me ages to realise they shouldn't have them.

LOL we are used to it in Scandinavia, it's -20 degrees here at the moment and I went for a run today. It always amazes me how everything shuts down in the UK with a bit of snow and cold.

When we moved a couple of months ago we packed everything up in boxs slowely through the month so they got used to it. On the move day we took the birds first and had set up their cage in the new house exactly the same way it had been in the old house. They then stayed in the cage while we moved everthing else into the new house. I didn't cover them and let them watch everything that was going on. They had a couple of freak out sessions but in general they were fine. Once evrything was in the new house I took them out when it was dark outside (in case they freaked and flew into the windows). I then walked them all around the house telling them what everything was and talking clamly to them. Took them a couple of days to get used to the new surroundings.

It does depend on how long you are going for I guess. With the chemicals could you not take your own cleaning stuff and ask you mum to use those for the period you are there, surely she will understand. We take our 2 with us and we are in the middle of a snow storm at the moment. What's to worry about with the cold as long as you heat up the car. We even walk ours from the house to the car and it's -13 degrees outside and we have never had any problems, we just cover the cage with a blanket. What sort of heating is inside? I can't see that being a problem either. Maybe she will be excited by the trip if she likes riding in the car

It seems like you haven't found the right treat that motivates him. You can't train them to like treats you need to find something that he will do anything for. You might have to try lots and lots before you find the right one and it will change all the time. You don't have to always use food treats either if they respond to praise or they like somehting else then use that. For example Rangi would do anything to get to me so we used that to train him. So my BF would ask him to step up (I would be behind my BF) Rangi would step up and immediately my BF would hand him to me for a kiss. This was Rangi's treat which motivated him. I then placed him on the perch and we did it again. We also use toys as treats. They love the caps of pens so I have also trained using this as a treat. Food wise it has been anything from sunflower seeds, to little bits of sausage, small bits of pancake. We find the food treat changes all the time. Keep trying to find the treat that really gets him going.

I hope not

Bonkers, what a cool name. Did you name him because he lives up to that name? I think all greys are bonkers sometimes the things they get up to and things they do.

Ours pretty much step up straight away to be weighed, we trianed thme alot with it when they were younger. Kea even does the beep that the scales make when you turn them on. Rangi is a big boy at about 490- 495 and Kea is about 430-440.

Love the video Icerat. Kea's foot is fine, they get up to so much mischief it's amazing they don't hurt themselves more. I put up the Christmas star light in the window last night and the first thing Kea did when she came out was land on the window sill and tried to take it down.

Typical 7 month old, oh hang on typical grey I should say. Ours are 2 and 3 and they still do the swooping and screaming like banshees. I love it and really encourage it. They seem to get so much enjoyment out of it and gives them a real way to get out that pent up energy. As for the biting he is definitely testing you, just make sure you are consistent in telling him no and placing him on his perch and ignoring him when he bites. They soon learn

Yes that is fine to start at that age. You will just have to test different methods to see what he likes in terms of bathing. Some like to go in the shower others hate it. Spraying is also really good and a lot of people use Aloe vera as well. It is said they like cold water to bath in but I also think this is a prefernce as well, both of ours like it luke warm for bathing. I take both of ours into the shower with me, they sit up the top so the mist rises up to them. I have never had any problems with shampoo etc and if I touch them I just make sure to wash my hand so it has no soap or shampoo on it.

I also agree that sometimes negative reinforcement can be used but only if used correctly. I did the caregivers course LLP with Friedman and found it very helpful and informative. They also talked about negative reinforcement in one lecture and when and how to use it. Personally I wouldn't use it with step up as it is such a crucial command and one that is used many times during the day. I wouldn't want something negative associated with that command. I must admit when we first got Rangi we used the gently push him technique and found it backfired on us and he really hated it and us. Once we started with the positive method to teach step up he became a much happier bird and stepped up for us all the time. Kea was also a horrific biter with me and would lunge when my hand came near her to ask for step up. If I had tried the gently push her technique she would have ripped my hand off. Again I used the positive technique and her attitude went away so fast it surprised me.

I know it's a bit early but Rangi and Kea have started already today with saying Merry Christmas. Anyone elses started saying christmas words? I guess today was the first day to put up the christmas lights so it's not so bad. It was also Kea's birthday today and I got her this spanking new toy and left it by the cage all day. When they came out this afternoon Rangi went straight to the the toy and destroyed it. I was highly upset, poor Kea got nothing for her birthday. Well she did get one thing a sore foot, poor girl isn't gripping with it as she should be. Wouldn't surprise me if Rangi did it to her.<br><br>Post edited by: Jane08, at: 2009/11/28 19:21

LOL uh oh alright, the things they do for attention. Rangi also lets us know when he is up to no good, either he is totally quiet or he says "you naughty boy, what are you doing you naughty boy". The I know he has landed somewhere where he shouldn't be.

Yes they view objects through one eye because they have monocular vision which means the field of view is increased while depth perception is limited. So they have the ability to see 2 objects at once because their eyes are positioned on the side of their heads.

I guess eye games are things like looking at the bird with only one eye. With shy birds they say don't maintain eye contact, look away if you see the bird looking. Then there is the blinking game. You can tell alot from their eyes. Like I know if they are eating something they really like their eyes will go from big to small very quickly. I always watch this when I give them something new even a toy to see what the eye reaction is which tells me whether they are excited by it or not. Also if they are angry then the pupils are very small. If they are relaxed the pupils are big although I have also noticed with Rangi he can be relaxed with big pupils but there is something else in his eyes that tells me don't touch me. It's almost like a glare that he gives off.

Lol Christina our Kea does the same as Finnigan she likes to screech at the top of her lungs, she sounds like a banshee and she flies in all crazy directions like she is out of control.<br><br>Post edited by: Jane08, at: 2009/11/17 16:10

And here was me thinking you were straightening Harveys feathers for him :laugh: I also use it and have never had any problems. I don't use it in the same room as them. There is only so many things I can blame on the birds and having a bad hair day is not going to be one of them. My friends already think I am nuts so I don't want to give them any more ammo.

It is special with 2 brids flying around at the same time. Ours love to chase each other around the house and Kea sometimes likes to dive bomb me. Other times they fly so low over my head and run their feet through my hair as they pass by. The best is that we can all have races around the house to see who can get from the living room to the kicthen first. It's so funny to run and hear 2 birds right on your heels ready to land on you.

LOL, that is so funny glad you solved it. Just remember to take them down when visitors come, then again maybe not you could start a new trend. I had pillows up once all along the curtains to stop them flying up there. Had visitors over for dinner and forgot to take them down. The weird thing was no one said anything the whole evening. It wasn't until the next day that I realised and I was mortified.

:laugh: Love it

Also beware that African Greys are on the endangered species list so you would also need to get a CITIES permit to import the bird. The Fish and Wildlife Service should be able to help you more with this.

I guess you haven't changed anything that you can see that might lead to this behaviour. Otherwise, like the others say just leave her to decide if she wants to come out. You can always try and bribe her to come out by showing her a nice juicy treat and then asking her to step up for it. Bribery is #1 on my list. My kea can be a little missus when coming out of the cage sometimes. One day she will step up for me and the next she will look at me like, take that hand away otherwise you will lose it. On those days I just leave the door open and let her decide and make her own way out. Much less stressful.<br><br>Post edited by: Jane08, at: 2009/11/04 14:12

They can be different in size. There is a size difference between our 2, Rangi is bigger than Kea and he also weighs a lot more than her. When they are wet you can really see the difference between them, kea looks so tiny.