Acappella

Dorian has turned " Gonna go get a drink of water" and "Just doing laundry" into "Gonna go get a drink of laundry" lol

Well it wouldn't be a video game in this house (although he does do a sound from the Wii commercial). You might have been hearing the after effects of one too many viewings of Star Wars. He's a big R2D2 fan!!!

Yep, he knows what those words mean, that's for sure. As much as I wish he'd been allowed to fledge when he was a baby I have to admit there are advantages to having a bird who doesn't know he can fly. If he could, the nightly game would be 'chase the birdy around the house', not around the playstand.

I haven't been posting much lately because I've been busy taking care of my dad, but I got out the camera the other day and made a couple of videos. The bedtime one is the longest one, but (IMHO) he's just so darn cute I couldn't edit it. Hope you enjoy.

Hi all. I wanted to explain why I haven't been around lately. My dad and I share a house, and about 3 months ago he had a bad heart attack. They found out the blockages to his heart were, unfortunately, in a spot that couldn't be fixed with a stint. Because he also has very severe COPD (thank-you cigarettes), they can't put him on a ventilator to do bypass surgery because they'd never get him off the machine. So he's been home, getting palliative and respite care here. About two weeks ago he had a fall in the bathroom. Didn't break anything amazingly, (he also has bad osteoporosis) but it shook him up pretty bad. It's taken two weeks in hospital to get him back up on his feet. I'm hoping he'll be home by the end of the week. The hospital is an 1/2 hour drive away (we live in a rural area), and most days I have to first drive north 15 minutes, pick up dad's girlfriend, then drive 45 minutes to the hospital, then 45 minutes taking her home, then I get home. So there's not been much time surfing the forums. I miss you all, and once dad's home and all the home-care is in place, I'm hoping I'll have some time to sit in the backyard and surf in peace. Dorian has picked up a new phrase during all this. "Gotta go see dad" Marguerite

Dorian seems to like James Taylor, especially songs where there is whistling. I was playing a Jacksoul CD yesterday and that got him really vocal. Anything heavy metal he gets really irritated. And you remember how he acts when I'm playing piano and singing, he gets really loud. Still don't know if he's singing along, or trying to drown me out lol.

Dorian seems to moult one body part at a time, but the wings are the exception to this. I'm also wondering if maybe she injured the feathers on one wing?

Dorian has two and they're both for his bossy alter personality. Sometimes I call him Bossy Feathers, and sometime he's Demando!

Love the cage, and the picture of Gizmo on top of it looking upside down at you.

I can 3rd Parrotdise Perch. Their service has always been great. I've only had small things shipped from them, but you can depend on their quality and that everything is totally safe. http://www.parrotdiseperch.com/parrot/index.php I also found this store. I've not dealt with them, but they're in Ontario.http://www.jalpets.com/products/parrot.html Here's a link to a store on Ebay that's Canadian. Again, I've not dealt here. http://stores.ebay.ca/linespro?_trksid=p4340.l2563 Here's a store in the states that looks like it has a reasonable shipping policy. I've including it because they sell Avian Adventures cages, and I love my Avian Adventures cage.ttp://www.allpetfurniture.com/Avian-Adventures-by-Midwest-C179768.html Finally, here's a good Canadian source for toys. http://www.birdyboredombusters.com/

Try a bit of bird friendly vegetable oil to lubricate it.

Two essential toys, one cheap, one no so. Get a roll of adding maching paper, run a cord through it and tie to the side of the cage. Lots of paper ripping fun. Also, a good solid bell that can withstand having the #$*& beat out of it on a regular basis. This is the one Dorian has. http://www.parrotdiseperch.com/parrot/shop_details.php?prod=420 or look at http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=13208 Re: the window, if he'll perch on your hand, take him up to the window and let him touch it with his beak so he knows there's something there.

Like the others say, you can stay and learn from the members here who have birds. It will mean you're more prepared when the grey that is meant for you enters your life. Hope Russel's family are able to give him the life he needs and deserves.

Just be calm and reasurring around Hunter, let him know he's safe. The trust and love will come, but slowly, Greys are very cautious by nature. Hunter was so good for you before you moved him because he was in the safe presence of his known flock, the previous owner. Don't try to force a step-up. Let Hunter decide when to come out of his cage. Letting him have some control will help him feel safe and give him the courage to start to investigate his new home. Also, re: the screaming, just don't respond to it at all. Don't answer him or he may decide to make that sound his contact call! When he does make a noise that you like, respond right away with a happy voice/face. Once he settles you'll probably find he'll have periods through the day, usually first thing in the morning and again at night, when he goes through all his sounds, and for the rest of the day he'll be fairly mellow. Of course, that's just a generalisation, some greys are more vocal than others. Remember, when you're dealing with an animal as long-lived as a grey, taking a few weeks to establish a trusting relationship is really a drop in the bucket of your time together. Enjoy getting to know your new fid!

Y'know, in your spare time

Twizzle, just wondering what happened with the animal behaviourist? Have you made any progress.

Keeping you and Linus in my thoughts. I hope things are getting better.

Welcome. Lots of great info and helpful people more than willing to help you obsess about your new fid!

Bran makes a good point. The way you approach your bird is important. They are very good at reading body language, facial expressions, and listening to the tone of your voice. There was a point in my relationship with Dorian that I brought an animal behaviourist in because our relationship wasn't progressing. The biggest piece of advice she gave me was about my behaviour, not his. She said I was still approaching his cage tentatively. She told me to "approach his cage as if he is already the bird you want him to be". That, to me, meant to approach him happy to see him, with love and humour, relaxed and confident. There is a difference between a real smile and a "I want you to see I'm smiling but really my body is all tense because I don't really trust you". This isn't about "I'm not afraid of you" dominance towards him. It really did make a difference with Dorian.

I know you're stressed out right now. Can you give us a little more information? You said he's 6mo - a year. I'm guessing that means he didn't come straight to you from the breeder? How many homes has he been in, and what do you know about how he was treated in those homes? Understanding his baggage could help us advise you. For now, I would not let him on your shoulder. It sounds like he may never be a shoulder bird. My Dorian is Never Ever allowed on my shoulder, he startles too easily, and my ear, lip, and check are waaay too pierceable. If you're consistant with denying him access, he will eventually stop trying. The way to do it is to step him up onto your hand with your arm bent so that your hand is the high point (Someone told me once to think of it as holding your arm in the "Walk Like an Egyption" pose.) Make sure your hand is far enough away from your shoulder that he can't just grab your shoulder and transfer himself there. Keep your thumb tucked inside your fist, and stretched so that the skin is tight over your hand, so it's hard for his beak to grab onto. The only way for him to get to your shoulder then is to climb down your forearm and back up your arm to your shoulder, and it's against a bird's instinct to climb down. Now you have to teach him where the line is between an acceptable "testing the perch" bite pressure, and when it's too hard. When the bite starts to get too hard, tell him "gentle" in a soft, warning voice, with a serious face (they read our facial expressions). If he persists, roll your hand, or raise and lower it suddenly, making his perch unstable, at the same time telling him "be gentle" and making a sad face. If he still tries to truly bite you, then put him back on a perch or his cage and tell him why he has to come off your hand. Then you start to build on success. Put him on your hand for just a minute, before he even thinks about biting, then give him all sorts of praise in an excited voice telling him what a good bird he is, and put him down on a perch with a favourite treat. Very gradually let him stay on your hand for longer periods of time. They're smart. He'll figure it out, as in, "hmmm. When I don't bite I get praise and a treat, when I bite I feel unstable, and get no praise and no treat" If he regresses with a bite, be consistant. Unstable perch, sad face, walk away for a few minutes. (If you can't leave the room, turn your back for a couple of minutes) Then go back to behaving normally. Make these sessions short, fun, and try always to end with a success and a treat. Then he'll want to be with you because it's fun and safe.

Hope Kura is feeling better.

I agree with the others, just let him come out of his cage on his own. At least you know that, with a treat, you can get him out if you really need to. Otherwise, let him have some control over how his day is spent. It will make him a more confident birdy.

This really is a hard behaviour to break. You will only truly succeed if every human in the household is 100% consistent with their response. I would recommend you do a forum search and read through Reggieroo's threads. He had the exact same problem with Murphy, and was successful in stopping it. Maybe PM him as well. I'm sure he wouldn't mind paying it forward. Have faith, it can absolutely be done, I promise.

((( <3 )))

It was the fact that he came down so quietly that was astounding to me. No grey loves bells more than Dorian, and there's a loud bell at the bottom of the boing. Any time he gets onto the thing, he usually has to first grab the boing and shake the heck out of it to really get the bell ringing. He must have crept down that boing so gently to avoid the bell ringing at all - very out of character for him. He very effectively stopped me from what I was doing and redirected my attention to him!