madisimmons

OH thanks... I could actually picture the scenario happening.. I got a kick out of it..

Ok I didn't see anywhere else to post this but thought it was too funny :laugh: I just had to!! So there's this fellow with a parrot. And this parrot swears like a sailor, I mean he's a pistol. He can swear for five minutes straight without repeating himself. Trouble is, the guy who owns him is a quiet, conservative type, and this bird's foul mouth is driving him crazy. One day, it gets to be too much, so the guy grabs the bird by the throat, shakes him really hard, and yells, "Quit it!" But this just makes the bird mad and he swears more than ever. Then the guy gets mad and says, "OK for you," and locks the bird in a kitchen cabinet. This really aggravates the bird and he claws and scratches, and when the guy finally lets him out, the bird cuts loose with a stream of invective that would make a veteran sailor blush. At that point, the guy is so mad that he throws the bird into the freezer. For the first few seconds there is a terrible din. The bird kicks and claws and thrashes. Then it suddenly gets very quiet. At first the guy just waits, but then he starts to think that the bird may be hurt. After a couple of minutes of silence, he's so worried that he opens up the freezer door. The bird calmly climbs onto the man's out-stretched arm and says, "Awfully sorry about the trouble I gave you. I'll do my best to improve my vocabulary from now on." The man is astounded. He can't understand the transformation that has come over the parrot. Then the parrot says, "By the way, what did the chicken do?"

Mary, I guess that is what I will do. When we first brought her home she was I know "doing the honeymoon thing" steping up for everyone, going in her cage like a good girl. Now it's just leave me alone, lol.. I'm afraid if I don't get her use to everyone and spend enough time handling her she will turn really wild on me. Kind of like a dog who doesn't get enough attention. Really odd.. she wants to be on her cage, but under no circumstance does she want to go in it. Birds.. who knows.. Good idea about hanging her toys on the outside of the cage and maybe that will get her to unglue her feet from the top of the cage door. I guess the 'moral of the story' is to out smart your bird, let it know who is boss, and to let it know it's safe and loved in the process..

I saw the story online this morning, that is very great news for the owner. We could even teach the birds our phone numbers.

I work until 5pm so the 3-4 hours out of the cage is the most I can do. What else should i do with her, she just tries her hardest to get back to the cage and she wants you to leave her alone after about 30 minutes? Her ultimate goal is to get to her throne atop the bird cage door? I play with her, give her paper to chew up, wooden blocks (she actually like them) and peanuts treats), scratches... talk to her.. Now what should I do when she wants to fly to the floor and go to her cage? If you try to get her to step she tries to bite. What would you do? I am lost at this point.<br><br>Post edited by: madisimmons, at: 2008/05/21 17:38

bettyboop wrote: Hey Mary, I am wondering if I am not giving her enough time, or if I am paying to much attention to her and she just needs a little space until she gets used to us. She's out about 3-4 hours a night and I get her away from her cage for about 30-45 minutes everyday.. trying to get her to step up, praising her with words & treats. She by that time is soooo ready to go back the door of the cage and just hang out. She's like enough scratches and love already......let me be or I will bite you!!...hahah I noticed she is not into playing either.. She hasn't hardly touched her toys..

Jane08 wrote: How funny Jane, I have wondered what I was going to do if I couldn't get her in the cage. I bet you were worried leaving her out all night. I bought a perch for the door and it was too big.. Guess I need to get another one. She is however very fond of sitting right on top of the door.. hopefully she will fall for it. Very sly using a string!!! Sounds like something I would do if I could get her on the inside of the door. I will have to get some nuts.. I have offered her fresh veggies (corn, green beans, potato, broccoli, carrots) and also some fresh banana. She doesn't even bother to get near them, no interest at all. She will not even venture toward the bowl with it in there. However, she does like peanuts and dried fruit -the trail mix stuff. I will have to get her some pine nuts, I've actually never heard of them before until getting on this forum. Are they at the grocery store?<br><br>Post edited by: madisimmons, at: 2008/05/21 17:34

yes, this weekend will be two weeks. I lowered the cage, and I tried to decide to not open the door unless she is in the back instead of on the cage door so she cant latch on and go to the top of the cage. I'm making her step up. I got her away from the cage, she hung out on the perch for about an hour and then she stepped up for me and we went to my desk. I gave her some toys to play with and talked to her, gave her some scratches ect. I stepped into the kitchen for a moment and she flew off the desk and would NOT step up. She went to her cage, and now that is is low she can literally climb up it, went staight to the top and didnt want anyone around her, making the lovely noises. When it was time for bed.. the dreaded task of getting her into the cage was once again going to be a finger biter. I used a perch again and she flew to the floor. instead of chasing her I sat in the floor and she actually stepped up for my daughter who then gave her to me.. she wont dare try to put Sammie in the cage. anyway she stepped up to me and i got her in.. when she figured out what i was doing.. the squawking and trying to find away from going in started again. I'm afraid she will eventually not step up from the floor because she is going to know what comes next. but by this point its not like she wants to hang out and cuddle anymore and I have to put her in or we will be repeating what we have already gone thru.. Fun Fun....

Thanks for posting. Some Grey owners are actually unaware of their origins. The following is from wikipedia.com The African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) is a medium-sized parrot of the genus Psittacus, endemic to primary and secondary rainforest of West and Central Africa, and is one of the most intelligent birds. They feed primarily on nuts and fruits, supplemented by leafy matter. There are two subspecies; the Congo African Grey Parrot and the slightly smaller Timneh African Grey Parrot. The African Grey Parrot is listed on CITES appendix II which restricts trade of wild caught species, because wild populations can not sustain trapping for the pet trade. Some aviculturalists recognize a third and even a fourth subspecies, but these are not distinguishable in scientific studies. The "Ghana African Grey", formerly recognized as subspecies Psittacus erithacus princeps, is described as similar to the Congo African Greys, but darker and slightly smaller which originates from Fernando Poo and Principé Islands. The "Cameroon African Grey", most often referred to as "the big silvers", is supposedly a larger and lighter form which actually has its origin in birds not from Cameroon but from today's Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Thanks everyone.. At least I know I'm not the only one chasing a bird around their house.. She can step up, but she had no intention of stepping up... had the same squawk going on as she did when the vet turned her on her backside. Yes she did look like a chicken running through the kitchen. I can see where that could look funny with us going after her, lol... what a mess.. I thought about the cage and her being higher up than me so I removed the ladders and perch from the top and took the shelf off the bottom of the cage and now she is much lower than me. I was hoping that would help too. I am going to try to somehow get her out of her cage with out giving her time to run to the top of the door and put her on her playstand in the other room. All she wants to do is sit on her cage door. If I try to get her to step up she tries to bite or runs to the top of her cage and gets as far away from us as she can. You would think they would rather have love and affection.. but guess not.. The letting her bite me thing scares the crap out of me.. yes I have made the mistake of jerking my hand back.. I have seen what she can do to wooden blocks and I really like my fingers..

Hi, everyone... Well the honeymoon is over and Sammie is definitely a stinker.. When I open the cage she climbs to top of the door immediately and wont step up for me. When I try to get her to step up she tries to bite me, and its not just trying to see if my hand is steady, she squawks at me and gets all wild... When it's time to go back in the cage, I cant get her in it because she wont step up. So then I use a dowel rod to get her to step up and she goes to the floor.. more tahn 1/2 the time she doesn't want to step up then either. She is running around the living room and kitchen squawking... We finally get to the cage and she is freaking out, trying her hardest, flapping her wings, grabbing with her beak and feet to anything she can to prevent from being put back in the cage. Any suggestions... HELP!! What a nightmare!! Post edited by: madisimmons, at: 2008/05/20 06:41<br><br>Post edited by: madisimmons, at: 2008/05/20 07:06

Thanks Lyric, I adopted her "sammie" last weekend. She is doing good except for the misting she absolutely hates. Took her to the vet and they said she was fine. She is down to two tail feathers. The vet said the same thing you did.. If they get damaged they will pull them out, and her tail feathers did have stress lines across them. Cant wait for them to grow back in.

Thanks for the tip

yeah it is...

lovemyGreys wrote: I'm sorry, but that is a hillarious image I have in my mind. Don't you just love them.

What is your favorite cage floor paper??? I have been using paper towels...

lol, Jopalis, I guess I could just do without the fry daddy, god knows that they can't be good for us either. Have you noticed, nothing is good for us these days.

Bless his little heart, he is so adorable even without all his feathers. Good luck, let me know if you find what works. I'm having feather issues myself and just adopted her a 5 days ago.

danmcq wrote: Actually there is rainforest in Africa it is called the "Congo Rainforest" where Congo Arican Greys reside from. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Parrot

So I guess this means the fry daddy is off limits too.. I assume they are Teflon material, looks like it anyway. I Hate to get rid of the daddy! I got rid of the carpet fresh, candles, potpourie oils, plug ins, pinesol, and my nephews axe body spray, which gags me anyway, haha.. Oh I love my candles, I am a candle freak!! Hey while on the subject of smell goods.. What do you use instead to clean with and make your houses smell good. I read where you can use bleach water to clean the cages. Is it too much to mop with bleach water with the bird in the house. To me bleach would be just as bad if not worse than pinesol????<br><br>Post edited by: madisimmons, at: 2008/05/15 17:25

Thanks for posting the article, I have a beginner, plucker, that is.

Thanks Mary

Her feathers are pulled. I've seen her pull a long grey feather and a red feather out and watched them fall to the bottom of the cage. At the vet yesterday she some of them were chewed (grey ones) and the red tail feathers showed signs of stress (think thats the word she used) the tail feathers had lines across them.. She said this could be from the owner passing away, the kids not taking proper care of her, the pet store, and being in a cage too small, and falling. She has fell off of her cage twice here, from the highest perch on top of the cage. I took it off last night so she wont be falling from it anymore. She said (the vet) once they are damaged they will pull them out. I hope it doesn't become habit, that's all I need.. She has plenty of toys, attention, and love. I don't know what else I can do for this problem.

wow, i missed page two.. sorry.. I was like.. i dont know what she's talking about... vaseline

I introduced myself in the welcome room last week. Sammie my Grey is about 2-3 yrs old they say. I adopted her on saturday.. I would never put vaseline on her feathers!! that sounds horrible.