Mistyparrot

Wow Dan.You have so eloquently expressed my own thoughts and fears with regards to Misty's future after I am no longer able to live with him* . I also have the worry that many prospective parrot keepers have no real concept of what these amazing beings are all about. The thought that he might be confined to a cage, be clipped and lose his freedom to fly troubles me. Your idea of a "Dayo Manual" is brilliant. I shall do the same. Of course I will call it a "Misty Manual" More karma to you. I hope all your karma gets you and Dayo a special place in Parrot Heaven when the time comes:) *( On a recent visit to an avian vet to have Misty chipped he told me that he thought Misty might be female! so I am now meditating on the prospect of plucking a couple of chest feathers for DNA testing :ohmy: ) Steve n Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2010/02/18 16:29

I hate the idea of designer parrots. Its taken 300million years for evolution to develop the parrots we have and it's done a fine job. Unfortunately it has rather screwed up on us humans! To many of us are ruining the planet for all the other inhabitants. The best we can do is to develop a space ship to take us to another planet we can F*** *p and leave this one to repair the damage we have done! ::ohmy: Steve n Misty

That is so good to hear Bigbird. It seems that far to often breeders clip birds befor handing them to their human partners. I can't imagine Misty as a non flyer. Flying is as natural for him as walking is for me. It horrifies me that some parrot keepes deliberately cripple their birds in the mistaken belief it makes them safer. Karma to you. from Mistyparrot. Steve n Misty

Welcome to Greydom Angelpi. Is that your name or your parrots ? This is quite normal behaviour. Misty my grey loves to bang his beak on a glass tumbler when I offer it to him. He would also love to "bink" wine bottles that I had put on top of my fridge. I had to stop that when he started to knock them over. He has a brass hand bell that he love to ring with his beak as well. I hang it from his tree perch. Steve n Misty

It is just heartbreaking how cruel some people are. I doubt these monsters treat their fellow humans much better. I shall certainly send as much as I can afford. Steve n Misty

I don't see any problem with this for a few minutes. The feathers provide brilliant insulation. My main concern would be for the parrots feet but seeing how Misty can handle ice cubes with no problem even they would be fine for a short period. The bird is in good health and fully able to fly off if it felt distress. Steve n Misty

I love black bird songs. I don't often hear them where I live so there is no much chance of Misty picking their songs:( Where does Harvey hear his ? Steve n Misty

There ain't no bushel big enough to hide that talent Lyn :cheer: Steve n Misty

Hello Sarah. Please tell us more about your Grey. I assume it is a youngster. and you are new to keeping Greys. There is a lot of very helpful information here from all kinds of experienced keepers. One of the amazing things about Greys that talk is the way they are able to talk in context. They are very good at associating words and phrases with objects and actions. In fact this is the very best way to have them learn new words. If you use CDs this cannot happen. Any words they might learn will have no context. The very best way is to simply talk to him and tell him in simple words what you are doing. He will soon amaze you. They also enjoy playing with words simply for the sake of the sounds they make. They are natures poets ! Steve n Misty

One of the prime indicators of intelligence is an ability to lean from experience. It makes sense that if a Grey has had a bad experience with a male human it would avoid similar situations. As a captive prey animal it is hard for it to get away so its last resort is an aggressive warning response. They can learn to trust specific humans again but it takes care,patience and empathy to achieve it. What fascinates me is that Greys are able to tell the difference between male and female humans bearing in mind that humans are so completely different from parrots in physical form. Steve n Misty

Misty was clipped when he came to me five years ago. Of course I let his flights come back. I have never regretted it and as for Misty I am certain he would not have become the happy smart fellow he is had he not been able to be the bird nature intended. His flying has never been a problem. he is expert in controleing his flying and he clearly would be devastated if I was to clip him. He hates me touching his wings and I respect his wishes. When his flights grew back I helped him to re-learn flying by launching him a few yards to his cage top with the words "Fly misty. Now often when he flies he will say "Fly Misty" or "Fly baby" when he lands. Clipping should never be done except as a last resort. I cannot imagine why I would ever want to clip Misty. Steve n Misty .<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2010/01/13 02:13

You get used to it after the third skin graft :evil: Seriously when people tell me they want to get a cute parrot just like mine I warn them that apart from the expense, the mess the noise and the lifetime commitment to a spoilt flying permanent three year old brat. They could also take chunks out of their hands. They are wonderful creatures but never to be taken up on a whim! Misty rarely inflicts a hard bite on me and it is always my fault when he does. Steve n Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2010/01/11 15:19

Hooray! My World Parrot Trust membership pack arrived today :woohoo: Perhaps Misty will stop nagging me now! :laugh: Steve n Misty

Just curious but with ears that big can he fly? Just imagine a Chiweenie Grey cross !! On second thoughts perhaps not !!:ohmy: Steve n Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2010/01/11 12:40

I'm sure could always spot Misty in a crowd because he is the best looking one:laugh: Steve n Misty

Hello Lambert I love your site. Are all those your birds? Steve n Misty

As I live alone with Misty he is pretty well accustomed to my sleep routine. I tend to be a bit of a night owl so to speak so I go to bed late and get up late. Misty sleeps in our living room on his tree perch so he is the one to decide when it's bed time. When he has had enough of my company he tells me it's bed time and persists until I have left the room and put out all but a night light. In the morning when he hears the slightest sign tht I am getting up he starts up his contact whistle and it is very clear that he expects me to respond which I do by calling back. He gets maybe 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep and will have the odd doze at other times times and he is perfectly happy with that and in good condition. If I leave him in the living room and go to the kitchen he seems able to tell what I am doing from the noise I make because he will make the appropriate comment. They seem to know every little thing that is going on around them. They clearly have very finely tuned senses. Steve n Misty

Thanks for posting that. I never imagined we would get to a point when parrots could be suspected terrorists !:lol: Steve n Misty

Perhaps it is because he is trying to take your husbands place? He thinks that if he can fool you into thinking he is your real husband you will throw your human husband out :lol: Steve n Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2010/01/05 17:40

I am lucky with Misty. He would sit on the back of my armchair and say "yourallright" . It took me a little while to get that was his way of saying "please scritch me". Once I had cottoned on to that I would say "tickle tickle" as I scritched him. Now he will use either term to let me know. It is also important to note the context in which he uses those words. For example if he is on his perch and says "Tickle tickle' I now know it is not an invitation to me. He has to be on the back of my chair, on my knee or on my shoulder. Most times if I try to initiate scritches he will turn away. It has to be on his terms or not at all. Steve n Misty

Does Gabby ask to be petted or do you initiate the action? With Misty my 7 yr old I only ever pet him when he specifically asks me to. If I try otherwise he will turn away. He doesn't bite then but that is because I respect his space. As it is I doubt that you have been together long enough for Gabby to tolerate to much familiarity. Does she give clear indication that she wants you to pet her? Don't be mislead by her simply bowing her head to you. Steve n Misty

Cheers Dan. I have never found Misty to be too loud especially compared to friends Amazons and Macaws, As for the dreaded Toos, in spite of their loving nature I consider them to be ear bleeds waiting to happen::lol: Steve n Misty

Thank for posting such an interesting article Dan. Ever since I have had Misty since he was two he has had a particular musical phrase of about eight notes that I have regarded as his personal call. I have never heard another Grey make the same call. I am not sure it is quite right to think of it as a name but it is his unique call. Often if I am in another part of the house he will call out and I will whistle back. He seems to enjoy the exchange. Other times he will set up a series of calls and responses with a variation on each exchange. However it nearly always begins with the original phrase. I have read that some "experts" say one should not whistle to their Grey as it would discourage him from learning human speech. This has never been the case with Misty and I believe that should he ever take an unauthorised trip out side he would have a better chance of hearing me whistle out his contact call than with me calling his human speech name. Just my 2p Steve n Misty

I have also read Alex and Me and that was one of the things that puzzled me. Irene must know that parrots don't form words as we do. They use a special sound producing organ called the syrinx. It is a bony organ surrounded by an air sac and located at the base of the bird's windpipe. If fact Greys are able to produce any word or sound that humans can make as well as sounds that most humans would find impossible to form. My GAG Misty is certainly able to pronounce "parrot", "pepper" and "pomegranate". He has yet to say "paper" but there is no physiological reason for that. That said I have wondered if it might be possible to genetically engineer a parrot to have lips instead of a beak. I guess if they did they would have to have teeth so it might not prevent them from biting but they would be better kissers. :lol: Steve n Misty

Thanks for the laugh Dan. May I suggest you tie the Boing to a cord so Dayo can haul it back up? Steve n Misty