Mistyparrot

Hi Sinbad, I would guess from what you say that he won't have gone far. He will be hungry. Do you know what possible food sources for birds there might be? Did he have a specific whistle call ? If he did and you call him with that you stand a better chance of him hearing you rather than calling his name. Don't give up. You will find him. Steve n Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2009/12/30 21:00

Another great video posted to http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/aviancognitionforum/. The Video: Steve n Misty

It was Misty mimicking my smokers cough that finally convinced me to give up smoking ! A good example of Greys showing us how to live our lives right(Ifyou let them) :laugh: Steve n Misty

I found this on African Grey Parrot Centre at http://www.african-grey-parrots.co.uk/ the Vid Steve n Misty

I found this link on aviancognitionforum@yahoogroups.com. I think it is wonderful. Steve n Misty

Hi Gizmo. Your human is doing what I did with Misty when he had to relearn to fly after his flights grew back. I used to gently toss him a few yards to the top of his cage saying "Fly" or " Fly Misty" hoping he would learn "Fly " as a command.He learnt to fly very quickly using that method. Just a few days. Well although he has become a very skilled and natural flyer he does not treat the word as a command. However often when he flies around he exclaims "Fly Misty fly" when he lands:) He kind of uses "Shoulder" as a command to fly to me but the best way is me touching his spray bottle. I don't have to use it, just touch it and he flies strait to me Steve n Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2009/12/07 18:26

mattpatresi wrote: If you read Irene Pepperbergs books you will understand that Alex was not constantly in training. He had a great deal of contact with Irene and her lab staff but it would have been mostly on his terms. It would have been pointless to force him. It is not true that the phrase he most often volunteered was "wanna go back" . He did say that when he was being filmed for an interview but it is unrealistic to extrapolate from that his normal reaction to training. You simply cannot teach a bird that does not want to cooperate. He had very regular veterinary check ups and was very well looked after, He did go through a spell of plucking that if I remember correctly began when Irene had to leave him for a few weeks. He developed a habit that as many Grey keepers will tell you can be very hard to stop. I believe he was clipped and I personally believe this can also lead to plucking. He had had a veterinary check up only a few days before he died. At that checkup no problems were revealed. I understand that the autopsy is avaiable on the Alex Foundation website. Steve n Mistyparrot

I am not sure if is link has been posted here but just in case it hasn't here it is http://www.wildaboutpets.net/info/innewsdetail.asp?nid=25&ID=1183 it is a stream that should play without fuss. I found it posted at http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/aviancognitionforum/ Steve n Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2009/12/05 23:22

Thank you for posting your vids. They brightened our morning:) Steve n Mistyparrot

For ages I have been trying to weigh Misty. Unfortunately whenever I tried to get him onto any scales he would refuse to go near it. The latest attempt was with a new low profile electronic scale but again he seemed to think it was a monster out to get him:ohmy: So I gave up. But out of curiosity I put a pyrex measuring jug on and started to fill it with water to check the calibration. Well this was to much for Misty. He has a thing about water. He jumped up onto the jug and hey presto all I had to do was press the tare button and I could weigh him with ease :lol: He comes out at 480 grams or just over a pound. Am I the only one who has to go through hoops to weigh their parrot ? How does his weight compare to other GAGs on this forum? Misty is about six to seven years old and i believe male. Steve n Misty

Hi Fiona. Welcome to you and Bonkers. What Bonkers is doing is quite normal. Greys often like to scratch around on the ground and forage particularly to get minerals. It just may be that he has a mineral imbalance. What do you feed him on? He may benefit from mineral supplements. Steve n Misty

I am not sure Ranaz, except you have a very good looking Grey there and judging by the way he looks in the mirror he thinks so as well :laugh: Misty looks similar to Kookie and he talks a great deal but either he is not very loud as parrots go or I am going deaf:ohmy: Steve n Misty

Welcome Neil. You have a cute baby there and I am certain you will do your best for him.... How ever I believe that 40 days is far to young to take a baby from its parent bird. Greys, especially Congo's would stay with the parent birds for at least a year and would start to look for a partner at about two years old. It ia quite possible that your baby will go off you as he gets mature. IMHO removing babies from parents to hand wean and also wing clipping are the worst way to start a Greys life. Grey parrots have been perfecting the art of rearing their young for millions of years. I think they probably know how to do it properly by now. Steve n Misty

Well done Max and Giz but it would be more interesting if you could be specific about the change in diet.B) Steve n Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2009/11/18 13:16

I hang Misty's carrots from his play tree. If I put them in his food bowl he just chucks them out. In his tree he can hang from them and chew them at the same time. Much more interesting to him. Steve n Misty

Hi rjhammy. Are there any changes or additions to Ashes room? Or to yourself? Some Greys can be easily spooked by the most unlikely things. Misty Parrot is generally very tolerant of most things but when I brought in a small sunflower head for him he regarded it as a monster from hell and freaks if i bring it anywhere near him. I suspect that something is worrying him. Steve n Misty

I believe Misty is seven and a half. He came to me at about two and a quarter. Steve n Misty

Parrots learn human speak because they realise humans are too obdurate to learn parroteze. I believe that all Greys have their own "name" that they use as a contact call. Misty appears to have his own name call that he uses as a call to me . I have never heard another Grey use the same call. Misty has his own label for water that sounds like pouring water. I know other Greys use a similar vocalisation and he also uses the word "stoppit" to tell me to give him my food. This suggests to me that in the wild they would use labels to inform and request their flock mates. I would think that many of the labels are flock specific but observations of Amazons and Macaws in the wild show that they understand each others labels for flying, tree climbing or ground based threats and will take appropriate actions upon hearing the warning.. Apparently some have even been observed making false alarms to scare rivals away from a favoured food source ! I would suspect that other parrots might select a mate based on their vocal dexterity. This trait is common amongst many bird species especially song birds. Steve n Misty

Oh Judy :huh: I was speaking in jest of course Vicky is welcome here with or without Greys. :) That said though if she has 30 parrots but no Greys getting one might just tip her over the edge! Personally I find Mistyparrot just about as much as I can handle but then I am only a mere human male:laugh: Steve n Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2009/10/26 00:58

Well I am shocked Birdmommie. :ohmy: How do you have the nerve to come here and say " My favorites as you can tell are the Quakers.":ohmy: You should keep quiet about that sort of thing here! I hope you never say that in front of your Greys!!:blink: Seriously though you are very welcome here. Please come back with pics and tales of your adventures in your crazy land of parrots. I guess you must be some kind of super woman:laugh: Steve and Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2009/10/25 18:55

I hate the whole idea of making a business out of selling parrots. A responsible breeder makes the welfare of the birds their priority. Most pet stores can't afford to ensure their parrots go to responsible keepers and if they can't then they have no business selling them. Steve n Misty

Their splatter painting technique puts Jackson Pollock to shame:) They encourage you to eat good food. They keep us grounded. You could stuff a pillow with the feather-down they shed. Steve n Misty

What a great thread Jingles. Thanks for bringing it up. Misty does the "Lean" if he wants to direct my hand that he is perching on either towards a place or away from a place. Some times he is on my hand and I need to put him on his perch. It he does not want to let go he will grip tight and lean away to redirect my hand. Likewise if he is in a "kissy kissy" mood he will lean towards my lips to pull my hand into place. It is quite surprising the amount of pull he can exert. He obviously has strong will power. He wills my hand to take him where he wants! He is fully flighted but why should he bother when he has muggins to take him:laugh: Steve n Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2009/10/22 15:38

Hello David, I love your blog. I hope you will keep us posted if you add to it. I have written here before about Misty's love of ice cubes. He asks for them in the evening. He asks for "water" but I know that he wants ice cubes because he gets cross if I just offer him a glass of water. He enjoys fishing them out of a tumbler. He has not yet learned to say "Ice" although he will say "Water" , "Warm water" , "Cold water". If he is with me in the kitchen and I open the freezer door he heads straight for it and hangs off the top of the door trying to get at the frozen veg bags. I have frozen blueberries in there so I take one and dip it in water to take the frozen sting out of the cold and give him that. He will hold it and chew it with relish. He also likes to drink hot water whenI have my morning coffee. I am always careful not to give him ice cubes that are to cold or water to hot. He also enjoys splashing himself with cold water. Steve n Misty<br><br>Post edited by: Mistyparrot, at: 2009/10/22 15:22

When I used to smoke Misty loved to go for my Rizlas and tobbaco. I would give him the empty Rizla packets and he would love to tear them up. He only wanted un-torn packets though if they were even slightly damaged he just chucked them. He also used to try to grab my tobacco pack as well. He did this once and I told him "That's not for you". After that when ever I took out the tobacco he would say "That's not for you!" It actually helped me to give up smoking :). Now days if he grabs at some thing I don't want him to have he will say It. He once said it when he saw the spray bottle on my lap. He has a love hate reaction to it. He flew down grabbed it and chucked it on the floor and said "Thats not for you.":lol: Back to the cigarette paper question my understanding from Rizla is the papers are made from rice and "contain no nasty chemicals" so they are probably OK for your Alfie to tear up. On the other hand tobacco and tobacco smoke is not good for parrots. Perhaps like Misty did with me, your Alfie is trying to give David a message. ??!!B) Steve n Misty