chezron

Brutus waits for me on top of the door next to the door from the garage. This is what I see when I walk in the door after being gone.

Does your Amazon Parrot do this? Pancho is a Panama Amazon. When he is really content and happy he sits on his perch and he squeals. At least that is the closest i can come to describing the sounds he makes. It is so funny! I love to hear it because I know it means he is very satisfied, content, and happy. It is sort of like when African Greys grind their beak.

Airplane hangar

Sterling, I know right?

That sounds great Inara! How fun for your birds and how pleasant for you!

You are probably familiar with the bird and animal behaviorist, Barbara Heidenreich. She just sent these myths regarding pet parrot behavior and handling. I particularly agree with #1 and #4. I have always had MUCH BETTER luck with treating parrots with respect and giving them better choices as opposed to using force. 5 Myths about Parrot Behavior When you are learning about parrots, it is often quite natural to turn to the internet for information. Chat groups in particular often have people who are very happy to talk about parrots and offer advice. Sometimes the advice can be based on old information or even old wives tales. Try to be a critical thinker when obtaining advice from the internet. Check with experts you trust to make sure what you are reading is accurate. Here are a few myths that I often see pop up on the internet frequently. Myth #1: Your parrot needs to obey you. This concept has been around for a long time. While it is understandable we would all like a well behaved parrot that does what we ask, the word “obey” seems to imply something a bit more forceful. Most people tend to interpret this to mean that they must make the bird comply, especially when he or she is refusing to cooperate. This often leads to people doing things like forcing birds to step up onto hands or go back into cages. Over time what can happen is the bird learns to be afraid of people or may start to show aggressive behavior. The good news is you can train your parrot using positive reinforcement to do whatever you ask when you want. This approach leads to a bird that eagerly cooperates and is very well-behaved. You don’t have to be his boss, you can be his buddy. Myth #2: Your parrot thinks he is dominant if he is higher than your shoulder. This idea probably started because someone could not get a bird to step up or cooperate when the parrot was sitting up on a high perch. Believe or not Myth #1 probably helped cause Myth #2. Parrots like sitting on high perches. If you try to force them down, they often move away or try to bite. This may seem like the bird thinks he is dominant, but in reality he just likes his high perch much better than he likes the hand that is coming at him in a forceful way. If your bird is trained to voluntarily come to your hand for a treat or reward he will step up or fly right down to your hand even when he is on a high perch. That is because he learned many wonderful things happen, like treats, toys and attention when he gets on a hand. Myth #3: Parrots are competing with you when you talk on the phone or have company over. Many people know that parrots tend to scream for attention when left alone. But what about the bird that screams when you are on the phone or have friends over? I have heard many people say the bird is seeking attention or competing with the owner when this happens. What happens next? People talk louder….and the bird gets louder! What is actually going on is that the bird is being a good flock mate. The loud talking humans means it is time for the flock to make some noise and the parrot is just joining in on the fun. That is why when people get louder, the bird gets louder. Once everyone gets quiet the bird will too. If you need your parrot to be quiet when people are talking you can offer him a super fun toy right before you intend to have a conversation or spend time training him that quiet activities will get reinforced when people are talking. Myth #4: A parrot behavior problem is just a phase. Many people have young parrots that are cuddly and easy to handle. Then around 1 to 2 years old the birds starts to show aggressive behavior. People often label this time as the terrible twos and hope the bird will just grow out of it. Unfortunately that is not the case. Young birds are easy to handle because they are in a phase of development that makes them open and receptive to new experiences. We can often get away with being forceful with young birds. But as they mature and that window of openness goes away and they start objecting to the same type of handling they would allow as youngsters. The best strategy is to never use force to begin with. Even if a parrot will allow it, it doesn’t mean you should. Always let your bird choose to participate and reward with desired goodies when he does. This should be carried on throughout the lifetime of the bird. Do this and you will have good behavior from your parrot for his entire life. Myth #5: You just have to accept that parrots will be “hormonal” certain times of the year. Hormonal typically means the parrot is in the mood to breed and have babies. This state means the bird has extra reproductive hormones in its body. Besides wanting to make babies this can cause other problems like aggressive behavior, or egg binding. Unless your want your bird to breed, your parrot does not need to be “hormonal.” Most parrots are not ready to breed all year long. Certain environmental triggers cause them to produce more reproductive hormones. These include extra daylight hours, an over abundant diet rich in fats, sugars and carbohydrates, having a mate like bond with another bird or human, and having access to a nest like cavity. So to avoid an increase in reproductive hormones we can make sure the amount of daylight the bird experiences stays the same throughout the year. We can also monitor the diet and make sure the content and amount is appropriate. We can avoid reinforcing courtship behaviors like regurgitation. Instead we can interact with our parrots in healthier ways, like training fun tricks. And we can take out any toys that look like nest boxes and also block off access to any similar hiding places in the house. These tips will help prevent your bird from going “hormonal.”

Brutus loves when i sing to him (at least I tell myself that ). When he was a baby I sang to him during the whole two hour car ride home. It seemed to relax and comfort him. Every night I sing him a song before bed, "Goodnight my Someone" from the Music Man. All my parrots like it when i sing. Brutus bobs his head sometimes. They are my best audience! lol

Another great tale of the awesomeness of African grey parrots! Thank you for writing about this. I also hope you kissed and made up with your wife. You had a fight, AND she STILL cooked for you! Remember that!

Nice job! Looking excellent!

How cute! Thanks for posting!

Happy for you and Escher!

In regards to the silent treatment that may be true for some treys, but now all. Brutus is ALWAYS thrilled to see me. Maybe it is because I have left him many times before and I tell him when I am coming back. He has never held a grudge or given me a hard time for being gone. I think it is great that your grey gets to visit with your relatives. I think it is good to change it up every so often and four days is not that long. I think it helps grey be less neurotic to have different experiences. Have fun on your trip. Skyping is fun! We used to do that and Brutus would look behind the computer screen for me. ha ha

I have the Pack-o-bird backpack and Brutus shreds it since it is made of fabric. I also have the Adventure Pack Parrot Travel Bird Cage and I like that better. It is a rigid wire cage in a zip-up back pack. I believe they have discontinued making them. Because none of the fabric is in the inside of the cage he cannot destroy it. I like that it is more rigid and I feel he is safer from accidental forces that could collapse the Pack-o-bird. It also allows more light in too. But, to be clear, these two carriers do NOT fit under the seat. I used to fly for Delta and planes vary in the height under the seat, some newer planes have hardly any room at all. Delta only allows one animal per cabin or class so you must make a reservation in advance.

It is now almost two weeks since he came back home. He seems to have forgotten all about it and has no neuroses as a result. He is talking like a crazy person! The scratches around his eye are nearly all healed. I never did take him for granted before and I always held my breath a little when I got home until I heard or saw him. But now! I warn him, "to stay home" when I leave. I think he would tell me, "to not worry about because NO WAY am I doing THAT again!"

My money too Elvenking

Jeff, That is SO adorable and cute!

Hi Sterling, The long video of her playing with you on top of the refrigerator is priceless! She is so funny and is enjoying herself so much. Thanks for posting.

Sterling, You really need to film Greycie for us. We would love to see some of her shenanigans!

I am interested because I only have one Grey, but when I see videos of Greys like Biscotti, I see a very different personality then Brutus has. My guy is calm and kind of relaxed. He talks a lot at times and is a little hyper every so often. He never climbs fast and neurotically and repetitively like I have seen other greys do. Sometimes he flies back and forth and makes pterodactyl noises of joy, but most of the time he is pretty kick back. He just loves to chill next to Mama. He does love to fly and competes with the Quaker for arriving fastest to my call. I am glad Jimmy is around to make him a little more active. What kind of grey do YOU have? What is he or she like on a daily basis?

I really don't think for one minute that Brutus enjoyed being "free." He knows what he has here and I think he loves his home! I am thankful he was fully flighted and had had a chance to build up his flight muscles to keep him safe while he was out. I know that experience tested his abilities. I don't think he wants to repeat it! He is sitting here grinding his beak and he is so content to be here with me and the gang.

Can i just tell you about a million times how happy I am that he is back! He was talking up a storm earlier today, so he must be feeling better. He is forgetting and he is also grateful--I can tell! I love my little guy so very much!

Brutus is a male and he prefers females, especially blondes. When I was married Brutus went with my husband with no problem, but he wasn't given the freedoms that I have with him.

Seriously, they are animals and are doing this instinctually. You are confusing your bird if you encourage this behavior. You are not a mate. This behavior is meant for a mate. You are not a mate-- you are the owner and caretaker. When my guy started regurgitating I just ignored him and walked away. The behavior soon stopped. He does not do it anymore. This does not change the fact that i love him and he knows this. Also, he is not wasting a perfectly good lunch on me.

I think the more you include her in your life the better. Flighted Greys tend to be more self confident and less afraid, so i am glad you like the idea of allowing here wings to grow out. It is gratifying to see how much they enjoy flying.

Wow, Sterling that is some dense housing! Are there ANY trees? Did you measure the distance she flew?