thecoffeesnob

Hi all, Thank you so much for your responses. It is indeed heart warming to know that my affections for Coco are returned. He actually does call me by name every time I walk away from his cage, which really is endearing and has happened one too many times for me not to realize he actually has learned my name- it's amazing how intelligent greys are and how quick they are to pick up things through observations. I've also been told by my family members that he does call out to me by name when I'm at work. Thanks once again for all your reassurances! I look forward to plenty wonderful years ahead with my little chatty parrot!

My four year old Coco has quite a few words in his vocab and has even picked up quite a few whistles from my family members. He is really chatty and vocal when I'm around, especially when I come home from work but I've been told by my family members that when I'm not around, he doesn't speak or whistle and just tends to make a series of loud, high pitched bird calls repeatedly, particularly in the mid afternoon. Is this normal for a Grey? I really would love for him to be a lot more chatty so my family can enjoy interacting with him as much as I do. Also, I have been distracting him by talking to him or clicking my tongue when he makes the bird calls- we can hear them in every room of the house- and he stops making them immediately but starts shortly after I leave the room. It's getting to the point where I'm not sure how to cope with this other than literally sit with him or within his sight so any advice at all on how to curb the bird noises would be really appreciated. Thanks!

Hi dhorje. Yeah, it was the first time I carried the cage with her in it. I think she was just curious as well. It's just unfortunate for me her nip, because of the size and curvature of her beak, tore pretty deep into my finger :laugh: Hey she. I have tried playing with the toys myself and even giving her toys similar to the ones my Grey has but not even seeing my Grey spending hours playing with his toys has convinced her to give them a go. But I'll keep at it and hopefully something will pique her interest soon

Hi guys. I got my first bite- and quite a nasty one at that- from Kiki today I was carrying her cage (with her in it) to another part of the house when she quickly climbed to where my fingers were and took a bite. She has never bitten me before although she is known to be quite fiesty and tempermental with my family. And after our little incident, she seemed back to normal once out of her cage- stepping up onto my forearm at every chance she got and cuddling up to me. Is it normal for cockatoos to be territorial about "foreign" objects in their cages or was there another reason why she acted out? Also, we've had Kiki for almost 5 months now. When we adopted, she came in a small cage with no toys. I've tried to introduce various toys to her but so far, she hasn't been interested in anything. She just seems happy to have people around her and to watch the world go by. Do you guys have any suggestions how I could pique her interest in toys? Thanks!

Thanks, guys. She's still the same, screeches her lungs out whenever she thinks she's not getting the attention she deserves. She seems to do less of it when she's in the same room with Coco though probably coz of all Coco's whistling and chattering makes her feel less alone. She's such an inquisitive bird though. Just the other night, she was a lot closer to the pantry door than I realized. The second I opened it, she was climbing up on the panels like Spiderbird. Too cute but I really have to watch this one {Feel-good-0002006E}

Hi guys. Sorry this is so late. I don't know how to post photos directly on the forum but here's a link to a photo of Kiki

Hi Judy. Velcro birds indeed- she didn't want to come down from my arm this morning. I'm pretty sure she would have loved to come to work with me if she had a choice :laugh: I have seen the site though. Thanks for your response

Hey guys, We just took in a beautiful Umbrella Cockatoo, Kiki, from a family who had to give her away as their neighbours complained about her screeching. We've had her for three days now. So far, she seems really gentle and calm- everyone in the family can play with us (completely different from our darling Grey- I'm the only one who can handle him). She does the cutest little dance when asked and is so curious about everything. The only information the family we took her in from gave us was that she's about two years old and was kept in her cage a lot (which contributed largely to the incessant screeching I suspect). Now my question is- is it true that Cockatoos morph from the sweetest things into brats when they hit the "terrible twos"? I've read this on numerous sites. I keep expecting her to reach out and bite me. Are Cockatoos really this sweet natured? I really don't know what to expect, having never owned a Cockatoo before. So if anyone could share their experiences, that would be great. Thanks!

The potty training's a great idea, Caitlin. I have to try that. And yes, I've stepped on his poop a million times too many. He tends to nip on my upper arm and the sleeve of my blouse and not my forearm where he's perched on. He does eventually settle down for a head scratch though and is just about the sweetest thing when he does Thanks for your advice, guys

Hi guys. While Coco is a really affectionate and highly intelligent fella, there are some things he does that puzzles me and has me wondering if I'm doing anything to cause him to act that way. 1. Whenever Coco's perched on my arm and I'm walking to take him out to the garden to get some sun, he will always do a poop while we're en route. 2. Sometimes when he's again on my arm, he nips at my arm and only settles down for a head scratch after I tell him off firmly. Do you guys experience this with your Greys? Any light you could shed on the matter would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Shortly after I wrote this post, Coco started getting a lot better at being put back onto his cage. I had no trouble getting him to step up on my arm, cuddle him for a while before returning him to his cage for the night- he seemed pretty happy with it. Lately, every time i walk towards his cage with his cage cover in hand, he goes into the cage all by himself without much fuss. I'm just so amazed at how intelligent he is! Thank you all for sharing your experience. It's so good to know I'm not the only one who was facing this problem.

I do give him treats during the day- he goes crazy for apples and peanut butter on toast- but i'll definitely start doing that. Thanks, Tycos_mom! <br><br>Post edited by: thecoffeesnob, at: 2008/12/02 11:01

Coco loves shredding papers to bits but just today, i noticed he was tearing really tiny pieces off and then eating them. This can't be good for him, can't it? If i were to stop giving him paper to shred, he'll just climb down his cage and start shredding the papers we put his cage on to keep the mess at a minimal. Do any of your Greys do this? And what should i be doing to correct this?

Thanks for the reassurance, danmcq. Good to know my baby's well and happy

Hi guys, As i was teaching Coco how to shake hands (or feet, in his case) tonight, he kept making these soft cheeping noises, the kind baby birds make when they're hungry. He has food and water available at all times in the cage so i don't think that's the reason. Also, he kept putting his beak between my fingers and bobbing his head up and down as though he's gurgling down something, with his body crouched down low and feathers slightly spread out. When i picked him up to cuddle with him, he nestled against me and occasionally made a low vibrating sound. It doesn't sound like a growl which i've read in books that means he's agitated and certainly doesn't fit in the scenerio and i've never read about the vibrating sound anywhere so i really don't know what it means. My guess would be that he's just really contended and enjoying the attention. Is this all normal?

Mistyparrot- Coco is a clipped bird. We can't risk having him fly about as we leave the doors leading to the garden open all the time for ventilation. We used to have Japanese chickens in the garden and Coco reminds me exactly of them when he walks towards me. He even clicks his tongue as he approaches to let me know he's near. Carolyn- Coco scrambles to get on his cage too the second he senses that i'm approaching him to put him back on. But he's a stubborn one, that one- he waits to see if i'm watching him and how i react before deciding if he should climb all the way up or test his luck and climb back onto the floor. It absolutely melts my heart that he wants to be close to me but i have to try your technique of being firm about putting him back on. Thanks so much for the responses, guys. It's so reassuring to know that his behaviour's normal and that he just wants to be with me :cheer:

Hi guys, Coco's slightly under a year old at 11 months. He has tons of toys, get lots of affections from the family and seems really happy- he's whistling and singing all the time. In the last couple of months, he has developed a peculiar habit of climbing down from his cage onto his floor and walking towards me whenever i'm in close proximity to his cage. It happens most mornings after i've greeted him, fed him his breakfast, chatted and stroked him a little. I would sit to have my breakfast while reading the papers and the next thing i know, he's at my feet, with his beak resting on my feet, head tilted down waiting for me to stroke him. Is this normal? And is it an indication i should be doing something different? I read that African Greys generally don't like being on the floor but Coco seems to be the exception. Thanks so much for your help guys!

That's a really smart way to do it, Acappella. I have to try that. I made him step up tonight by placing my hand on his back while holding my other arm in front of his chest- he had nowhere to go and didn't fight me when he knew he was heading back to the cage- he would usually try to bite me, grab hold of the cage before he makes it past the door or spread his winds really wide so he can't get through the door. So far so good. I have to work on the treats and cuddling bit though. Thanks for sharing your tips guys- they're really appreciated and it's so good to know i'm not the only one having trouble getting their parrot back into the cage. So i spent the entire day making him a playstand. It's nothing much, i went to Ikea to get 2 wooden wine racks (6 ranks in total with 4 bars across each), sawed off some bars so there's a bit more space to hang his toys and all, wrapped the remaining bars with hemp twine and put his new toys in. He was so curious the entire afternoon, he even came down from his cage once to see what i was up to. I can't wait to see how he takes to it tomorrow

Haha that bit about the goldfish bowl had me laugh out loud. I do fuss over Coco quite a bit when he's on the cage top. He doesn't have toys while he's there because the perch takes up most of the space but he's free to climb in and out of his cage to play with the toys and eat in there. When he does come down onto the floor either to lie on my feet or chew on the bottom of the kitchen cabinets, i always tell him a firm no and put him right back onto his cage. If he comes back down again, he gets put back into his cage for five minutes before he's let out again. He seems to understand he's not supposed to be on the floor and chewing on the cabinets but the second i walk out of the kitchen to grab something, he's back on the floor once again. I feel so bad keeping him in his cage so much the past two days. I'm gonna work on making him a portable playstand tomorrow so he can be with me more often when i'm home. Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions!

Hi danmcq, We have only started keeping him locked him so much the last two days. He was always allowed to be out of his cage from the moment we got up till it was time for him to go to bed at night. Even then, we had trouble getting him to go back into his cage when we wanted him to. But yeah i totally get what you're sharing and i definitely share your sentiments. I'm off to buy a playstand tomorrow. Thanks for the quick reply!

Hi guys, i have so much trouble getting Coco back into his cage every night. I have tried putting his favourite food (apples and string beans) into his cage. It worked for a little while then he caught on. So I was wondering if you guys had any tips for making it a little easier both for him and for me. Can CAGS be trained to go back to their cages the way dogs can with a command word and a bit of coaxing? Also Coco has started climbing down from his perch on top of his cage when left unsupervised and chewing on my dads furniture so we have started letting him out of the cage only when theres someone around to supervise him. I usually let him out once every 4-5 hours for about half an hour to an hour each time. Is that okay? We interact with him a lot even while hes in his cage and he has plenty of space and toys in there. Thanks guys!

Oh that makes so much more sense now. Thanks for sharing all that

Hi guys! Coco has recently started rubbing his beak against my fingers. He doesn't clean his beak on me- he wipes it on his perch after eating- but he tends to rub his beak all over my hand and nibbles it gently whenever i hold my hand out slightly below him so he can lean over and i can give him a good scratch. Is he trying to tell me something and should i be encouraging his behaviour? Thanks so much for your help!

Congrats on your new Grey, Christian! He's so cute. How many weeks old is he?

I'll definitely try that out, nims. Thanks so much guys!