chezron

Thank you so much for the wonderful update! Brutus likes his toes kissed too. I love him so much! Glad that you and Inara are feeling better.

Brutus gets excited if you touch ANYTHING other than his head, and even that is questionable. I ignore him and keep my hands above his neck during those times. I certainly do not want to confuse or anger him. I feel bad sometimes because he obviously wants to mate and raise a family, and he cannot do that with me.

Brutus weighs a little over a pound, usually around 470-490 grams. He is a Congo African Grey and about 8 years old.

Wow! I should be thankful that Brutus only works on window wood, door wood, window screens, and curtains. Upholstery is also fair game, although, cheap comforters cover most of it and bear the brunt of his creativity. He stays off of my desk, computer, and remote. Knock on wood! I love that your bird is revealing his true nature, this says a great deal about how well you are keeping him. Congratulations.

My avian vet advised getting Brutus' leg band removed and I did. I am very glad. My vet sees many injuries because of leg bands. Might as well minimize injury possibilities if I can. Brutus is also microchipped. I am not sure about the long term health effects, or if there are any, but it gives me peace of mind to know that WHEN he gets out again he can be traced. My parrots are all flighted and I wouldn't have it any other way, even with the risk of losing them. At least having a microchip helps if he were to get out.

Brutus has a guilt-inducing noise too and it sounds like the most disapponted person saying, "ohhhhh" sliding down in pitch. I have no idea how he learned it. We need some videos of Garcie-Mae!!!!!

When I look at Greycie's photo, I think having some head feathers raised is different in emotional content. It seems everything about Grey body language is subtle, but i do think you are right and that it is aggressive.

You know how the feathers on a Grey's head all lay down, but sometimes only the top of the head feathers are down, and further back there is a ridge of feathers standing up? What does that mean? I am thinking it is not a good thing. I have attached a photo that shows this. The photo shows the whole neck fluffed up, but I am talking about is mainly just the head feathers, further back. Do you know what I mean? Brutus was doing this with his feathers when a friend of mine came over. He even stuck his foot out like he wanted to be picked up. I warned her that this could be a trick and not to fall for it. Anyway I am just curious what you think. He generally never wants to step up for any new person.

You know how the feathers on a Grey's head all lay down, but sometimes only the top of the head feathers are down, and further back there is a ridge of feathers standing up? What does that mean? I am thinking it is not a good thing. I have attached a photo. The photo shows the whole neck fluffed up, but I am talking about is mainly just the head feathers, further back.

I second the red palm oil. I am so sorry you have to go through this. My guy started to shred his feathers at around a year old. My vet said to get him outside in the sun 15 minutes a day and to give him an cooked organic chicken bone once a week, and he hasn't mistreated his feathers since. I also give him an all-organic diet and do not give him ANY processed foods like cereal, pasta, cake, cookies, or chips. The thing is this, I had a Quaker, who didn't just pluck, she MUTILATED, for 18 years. I did not know the importance of sunlight or organic food when I had her and I feel bad about it. She was the sweetest bird in the world and I loved her so much! I am the same person with the same temperament and now I have a Grey, who is even more sensitive, and he does not pluck anymore. He also gets organic red palm oil pellets from Harrisons and ORPO on his moist food mix. His food consists of cut up organic fruits and vegetables and an organic grain and seed vegetable mix with organic red palm oil. He gets organic nuts and dried fruits too. I do not worry about fat--ever. Do they make garments for birds to keep them from plucking? I wish with all of my heart that I could make this problem go away for you. I know you love your grey.

Brutus "opens" boxes for me. He also redecorates by chewing…ah, woodworking, the door frames, and making eyelet holes in my perfectly good sheets (a newly discovered talent, thank you Brutus!). Pretty much any purse, box, or, as yet, undiscovered item left on the counter is ripe for redesign. Oh, and lest I forget, he has shredded, wait… frilled, the tops of my curtains. I have given up trying to counter his artistic vision and await his leadership in design.

Widget is such a cute name! So glad you all had happy endings to your close calls.

The guy I have been dating is not familiar with birds as pets. Pancho, my Panama Amazon, prefers men and it was my hope that my future guy would take a liking to him. Well! Not only did Pancho like the new guy, but FLEW to him! He has never flown to anyone in my history with him. This is beyond fantastic, and unlikely too, as Pancho would prefer to sit rather than fly almost any day. Both Pancho and my new guy are quickly becoming enamored with each other. Jamie, my boyfriend, pets Pancho with no trouble, and even misplaced handling, is met with trust and delight from Pancho. So different from my experience petting him, which is often met with a quick and fearful peck. I could not have imagined a better outcome than this! I am beyond happy! Yeah!

I love stories like yours. Please post more Lucy rants! It is exciting for me to read about her progress.

Some of you may remember almost a year ago I lost Brutus and got him back. Well today, I took the parrots (in their cages) outside, like i do daily, and forgot to remove their food bowls since they were getting a shower, so I removed their bowls outside. I told Brutus that today was "Shower Sunday" and he hates getting a shower! I stepped away to retrieve the hose and when I came back he was GONE! It turns out I forgot to latch the door where the food bowl came from and he had made an emergency exit because he didn't want a shower. I, of course, started to freak out, but walked inside the house, and there he was calmly preening himself on one of the perches! OMG! I am the happiest and luckiest person alive that Brutus knew how to fly back into the house! This is my miracle and I wanted to share! I keep looking at him and telling him how smart he is and how good he is. I am so thankful I did not lose him today!!!!!!!

I think you did a really good thing getting your bird used to stepping on to a perch. Way to go! Have this as your go-to emergency move.

I haven't read all of this thread yet, but i feel inclined to add my experience. I have an African Grey, a Panama Amazon, and a Quaker parakeet. The Quaker was first, I got Brutus, the African Grey, a year later. They bonded immediately. They love each other so much. They spend a significant amount of time either antagonizing each other, or in competition when I call them to another part of the house. They each try to fly there first and get the spot closest to Mama. I do not let them land on me unless i request it, so they land close to me. Once, the Quaker, got out and by happy circumstance, was returned a few days later. During that time Brutus got so depressed without his little buddy that it made me sad. I got rescue Pancho, the Panama Amazon, while Jimpster was gone. Brutus loves Pancho too, even though they do not directly interact. Within a week of getting Pancho, Brutus was saying, "I love Pancho" and "Pancho is a good boy." I just feel Brutus likes having a flock. I think Brutus' world would be significantly reduced and sad if either one of the other birds was gone. I think the key to it is Brutus knows he is number one for me. I am not sure how he knows it since Jimpster spends so much time on my shoulder, but he does. I tell him all the time that he is my favorite because he is. We have a special bond. I am thankful for the rest of the flock.

You guys all know Brutus. I have had him 7 years. This year he seems a little more mature and very easy to set off into mating behavior. I feel bad for him. He seems pretty upset or keyed up more than usual. I usually kiss him all day long. He will sit on my breakfast counter and i will kiss the top of his beak as i walk by. Usually, I ask him if I can kiss him and he gives me this whistle that says, "yeah!" but I did not ask yesterday and he struck my face with his open beak. He has never done this before and i am just lucky he didn't get my eye. He mostly hit me hard and didn't bite, and I have a bruise and a small cut. I was shocked and hurt, but then i thought he IS a wild animal and not domesticated like dogs or cats. I think i just need to be careful with him and make sure to ask permission first before I take liberties. Sometimes his body language is really clear, but i certainly got it wrong yesterday. Has anything like this ever happened to you and how did you handle it? He sat with me watching TV for about an hour the night before which is impressive since he normally will not stay still for so long without destroying something. I want to handle him but i don't want to confuse him. I make an effort not to touch his back. I still kiss his toes and he loves that and it doesn't seem to provoke mating behavior. I will just make sure to ask first. I am a weinie and not at all okay with biting. I am scared he will force me not to take chances on touching him and that makes me sad. Please share your stories.

Brutus' wings have never been clipped. He loves to fly and i love to watch him fly. His nails get trimmed twic a year when they get too long and hamper his ability to stand flat-footed. His talons also get razor sharp and puncture my skin if I do not get them trimmed. I may try different perches.

Good to hear!

Sounds adorable. Thanks for sharing.

It started with each of them posturing and ended with the less dominant one flying away. It didn't seem like they were actively trying to hurt each other, but as Talon said, they were establishing a pecking order. I watched it again and looked like the one on the right started it by flying over and entering the other one's space. They started that beak sharpening behavior which is definitely demonstrating how "tough" they are to each other.

Thank you for the update. Nice to hear about such a remarkable girl. Good for you and enjoy!

Good luck with that. I think you are incredibly lucky to have such a sweet bird. I got bit in the face today (first time and I am shocked) so I see a lot of value in a sweet bird, as mine is on my naughty list right now. He didn't get sun today because it was SO hot! Isaac seems like such a sweety maybe concentrate on how lucky you both are to have found each other. Today, I am reminded that they really are wild animals and we cannot possibly know what they are experiencing.

Yeah!!!! Bongo!