Nychsa

Greetings Everyone! I haven't had a chance to be on line lately as we've been very busy, but Bella has gone to great lengths to make sure my life is well balanced out with lots of laughs. To that affect - she's really got me thinking about her being able to read my facial expressions. I haven't found too much literature on it, so maybe some anectodal stories that you may have might help put some puzzle pieces into place: First - from everything she's doing, I can only conclude that she's a total clown and loves to show off - AND - SHE KNOWS when she's doing it! When I'm on the phone, or people are over, she comes up with stuff that just makes everyone roll, and when she sees the reaction (I'm assuming) she escalates it! I have no idea where she's picking up some of this stuff - her latest thing is saying "whoop-dee-do!" at the top of her lungs in this sing-song voice and then she goes off after that into a little dance, twirls around, stands on her tipie toes, flaps her wings and then gives a great big kiss :laugh: What a little freak! But anyway - to me, it seems she knows what lauging is... I was leaning over talking to my greyhound Dream, and so Bella decided to lean over to Dream and she whispered to her and then gave her a kiss! Dream was dumb founded! To me, she can tell I'm giving affection to Dream. And then of course we have when I'm not too pleased with her: She sits on my laptop screen and tries to pull out the screws on it. I say "NO! NO!" and she goes off on this tangent - bobbing around, going "bing, bing, bing" and then growls at me like a dog! This morning I got fed up with her and took her off my laptop - told her "No!" and put her on the floor - she ran off in the opposite direction and then turned around, came running back towards me and then bit me in the toe and growled like a dog!!!:angry: :angry: :angry: Well that got her time out in her cage - and there she was going down her circus show again, I couldn't help but laugh - my sense is - I bliew it - she knows how to crack me up, and I think she's playing me :blink: How about you? Been a victim of grey manipulation lately??? :laugh: Cheers! Terri

Erika, I think you've gone all out to find the owners. If they don't turn up - well, you know you'll have someeone who appreciates your love for buying toys!

BaxtersMom wrote: Hi there Erika! I don't know if it's conures in general or what, but Jiggy isn't stumped by new things either, but Bella is wary of new toys. So, the way I do it, when I get something for Bella, I give it to Jiggy first. His first inclination is to ATTACK :evil: :evil: :evil: After that he begins playing with it. That peeks Bella's interests and so she has to come over to his cage and investigate. Once she sees him playing with it, she starts playing and I can move it to her cage then :laugh: So, if Bonkers isn't showing any fear about new things - it might just be a conure trait. Heaven knows they have no concept of their size and believe they can conquer anything :woohoo: Cheers! Terri

spookyhurst wrote: I love it Spooky! Yes, outlaw is about right :laugh: Duskys are hard to find from what I understand. Jiggy found us - he made sure he caught my attention at a pet store and held me captive until I finally bought him and everything he needed Just think, all I went to the store for was dog food!

Bonkers is a great name Erika! I can appreciate the uncertainty of not knowing whether or not his/her parents will turn up one day - but like Dan said, he may have come from very far away, so it might be pretty difficult to find them. So, he may have just moved right in on you! It's probably better now while Baxter is still fairly new as well Either way, I think you'll enjoy Bonkers. Like Pat said, while they may tend to like one human in particular, they certainly have no qualms about getting friendly with anyone who becomes a captive audience for their antics :laugh:

Well you sure made him/her comfortable Erika! Nice big cage - great for conures I have ropes and ladders in Jiggy's and of course lots of stuff to shred. He forages like a maniac as well. I'm glad Jiggy made you smile He's not always demonic looking - he's really cute actually :laugh: Here he is stalking Bella :woohoo: http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii134/Nychsa/ohohsheslooking.jpg<br><br>Post edited by: Nychsa, at: 2008/08/18 00:09

LOL My plesure Erika - if you end up keeping him, I'm sure you'll find him to be one fun companion. Here's a picture of Jiggy right after a bath - now is that demonic looking or what!!!

Erika, When my daughter had to watch Jiggy for me for 2 weeeks, the first 4 days he was absolutely demonic. He attacked EVERYONE. And then after 4 days she said, it was as if someone hit a switch and he became a big lover boy. He does the same thing to pet sitters. All of our pet sitters say Bella is a dream to watch and Jiggy is hell on wings! He actually dive bombs sitters :ohmy: One of my friends who watch them the last time I was out of town said Jiggy was so onery, attacking her relentlessly when she tried to get him into his cage, it was even too much for Bella! Bella felt she had to come to my friend's rescue. Bella flew over to Jiggy's cage and towered over him, spreading her wings a bit and puffing her feathers up as if she were saying "enough now!". Didn't help LOL he just lunged at her too! But again - couple of days, and he's fine. Conures are feisty and very intelligent. Jiggy CLEARLY understands me when I want something. He steps up, he is potty trained AND he knows what "no bite" means. He loves attention and entertaining everyone. In fact, he thrives on being the center of the show! :laugh: And he knows that he'll get in trouble if he does bite and acts naughty - as in jump on people's back, looking for bra straps :blink: He loves to mess with the metal in bra's. Conures need a lot of space and lots of toys. They shred things all day long. Jiggy loves nothing more than a box with paper in it. He will futz around in there all day long :laugh: They also like to climb around on things and do a lot of gymnastics. Jiggy's love is certainly where his stomach is. When his sitters feed him, he chills out after a while. So, I think what you're seeing is more than likely normal. So, hope you have luck finding his home. But like Dan said - it's possible he came from a long way. Cheers! Terri Post edited by: Nychsa, at: 2008/08/17 15:18 Post edited by: Nychsa, at: 2008/08/17 15:21<br><br>Post edited by: Nychsa, at: 2008/08/17 15:27

I take it your little house guest is still with you Erika? Do you have any pet stores close by or vet offices? People may have left notes there. I'm sure you're starting to fall in love with him! Conures are awesome - crazy little guys with termendous personalities!

Parrots have such a wide variety of personalities it really depends on the parrot in my opinion. Initially I was thinking along the same lines as you were - I should get a TAG because of the general easier to manage traits. That's not how it worked out though. When I started visiting the breeders, the TAGS wouldn't have anything to do with me, but my Bella, who is CAG, was front and center! And so it was - Bella and I were a fit. I got her at 4 months. She had been lovingly hand fed by two wonderful nurses. She'd been socialized with other birds, and had been taught to step up and "no bite". The breeders told me that she was far more outgoing and human oriented than her brothers and sisters. She loved to snuggle and she was already trying to mimic words at her tender age. Today she is very outgoing, chatty, funny, interactive, and always in the middle of everything, and of course very, very snuggly. But that happens to be Bella. Another AG might be totally different. So, in finding the perfect fit - I think it's important to let the parrot connect with you. Visit the parrots, see how they interact, see who gravitates towards you, watch their personalities. I think you'll know who your next family member is when you meet him/her Good luck and do stay in touch!! Cheers! Terri

Hey Berna! Thank you very much for the reminder - today first thing I saw this hurricane is heading right straight for Tallahassee on Wed. :blink: It's been a while since I've been in Florida bad weather, so I think today we'll get some pet supplies and I'm going to make "away" packs just in case we need to get out of here. You take care down there in your area - I saw it's going to hug the west coast of Florida before it gives us a smack down.

Berna you are a wealth of knowledge - thanks for sharing that, I had no idea and I'll certainly keep that one on the "important" list, particularly when interacting with other people who live with birds.

Hi there Boomer! Your baby is adorable! That's super that you are able to interact with him now. It's amazing how fast they grow. Look forward to hearing more and watching videos. Cheers! Terri

Hi Suzzique, no, it doesn't sound odd at all, not to worry We need sunlight too for the vitamin D! And if I'm not wrong, vitamin D facilitates the absorbtion of calcium. Greys seem to have calcium deficiency problems - maybe the lack of vitamin D is part of that?

That's awesome Berna!!! Get a video!! wait - hmmm, mabye Elmo is going to get a video of you cleaning your room!!:laugh:

Yep Tiny, that sounds like something I read as well. I remember thinking - wow - they really need sunlight! Then when I read they had calcium deficiency issues I wondered if that is why they need so much sun light - vitamin D.... Certainly something to try and get more information on! Bella seems to really enjoy the all day sun - she can go in and out of the sun as needed, so she has shade and sun and I kind of leave it up to her to decide when she wants to be in the sun, but it seems often.

No idea Pat - I put Bella's cage in our surround window area because I read that greys really require sunlight and that they often sun bathe. But what that actually translates into in terms of quantity and time in the sun - no idea. I'm wondering if that is one of those areas we just don't have a good deal of reference material on?

Ugh - I've been trying to read posts and catch up for several days now, but Bella has made this "bing" game a regular evening routine and it is terribly difficult trying to stay concentrated when the minute I open my lap top she's on my monitor bouncing around, bobbing her head, weaving back and forth, rasing her foot and going "bing, bing, bing!!!" and then she says "badabadabadabadabad" REALLY fast, And then she says her name really softly and gives herself a kiss :laugh: I tried to get a video of her, but I need both hands to hold my computer or this little imp will fall down - I wish you guys could see this, I don't think I've seen anything goofier in my life!!!:laugh: :laugh:

Carolyn, thank you for sharing! Is there a web site for this symposium where they may have posted their speakers presentations?

I wonder if she's mimicing a sound she was familiar with Mary. Bella comes up with some of the wierdest things and it is something she heard, and I may or may not have been aware of it, so to me it sounds like it's coming out of the blue. I have this mop thing that sprays floor clearner and it makes this high pitched buzzing sound. I ignore it, but Bella immediately started making that sound - I had no idea what she was doing until she did it right after I cleaned.

Which makes me wonder Siobha whether the lab didn't capture what all they are REALLY capable of doing. In a lab, only certain aspects are being observed and the rest of their personality doesn't have an opportunity to evolve (I know I'm making an assumption here, but I really can't see how they can unfold in a lab). I mean that would be like taking a child and watching how they learn their ABC's or their multiplication tables and then ignore the rest of their personality. Intelligence is a function of so much more - not limited to a beings communication abilities. And I certainly agree - we are lucky these wonderful little beings are in our lives <br><br>Post edited by: Nychsa, at: 2008/08/13 03:12

I think all of your are confirming what my suspicion was - she just likes to play - it isn't an instinct thing that she's doing in order to learn some skill that would assist her in the wild. So, the concept of "fun" is something they seem to understand.. I would also venture to say - they have a sense of humor as well. While I was in DC a friend was bird sitting for me. Bella would fly off her cage and my friend would then try to get her to step up so she could put Bella back on her perch. Bella was running around under the kitchen table looking out from behind chair legs saying "peek-a-boo!" and then she'd run off! Cindy told me she clearly felt Bella was playing a game with her. But then she tried to rationalize and say 'no no way she's teasing me on purpose!" I think in the mean time - Bella was teasing her very much on purpose! If that's so, wow - these babies have a breath taking intelligence!

Hi Tracy, you're right - it is a two way street - I learn too When she gets on to something she wants to do it over and over and over again - like this "bing" game. I hope she gets tired of it eventually because she's already nailed my finger a couple of times good! In addition, when she's in play mode, she's a bit rough and excited and will do crazy things like fall off the monitor because she's bouncing around so much :blink: She fell to the floor and when I picked her up she wanted to immediately snuggle under my chin because she startled herself - her little heart was pounding a mile a minute ! :unsure:

Greetings everyone! Bella is now 15 months old and has really made leaps and bounds in her vocabulary. But she also has this real drive to play all the time. I'm wondering if parrots learn from playing much the same way other animals learn and if so, what is it she's learning? Aside from playing HARD with her toys, dangling every which way and attacking them, she tries to engage me to play little games we have with her all the time. She seems to like our "bing" game the most - she sits on my computer monitor and do a gentle poke to her belly and say "bing" and she tries to grab my finger. When I stop she bounces back and forth on my monitor going "bing, bing, bing!" wanting more. The reason I'm wondering what she is up to is that we all just got up, I'm drinking my coffee and it's still dark out and she wants to play "bing"! She hasn't even had breakfast yet. So I'm wondering what this little game is doing for her - is she just having fun, or do parrots learn by playing - is she training her reflexes (at the expense of my finger of course :laugh: ) If you've read anything about parrot play and what it is doing for them, I'd love to hear it! Cheers! Terri

:laugh: Any time Dan! It's a circus around here!!