Elvenking

One other thing...do Greys like the Queen Palm nuts??? Anyone know. They are ordered already...so I hope he likes em. Thanks again for the info.

WHOOOO HOOO. Issac...Palm nuts are coming!!!!!!

I love to hear them talk. I keep doing association with Issac. I can hear him practice when he is in his chatty mood. If he ever says a word, I'll faint. Super cute video, thanks for sharing.

Awwee...she talks so well. I love it! It makes me jealous. C'mon Issac...you can do it.

I have a video of it and I will see what I can do about getting it up.

One other thing he does that is funny. When I say, "You wanna eat?". He starts beeping like a microwave. Then he sees me starting to heat up say water for his formula, and then he starts flying circles in my apartment making the beep noise flying back and forth to my shoulder. It is quite a display and I hope the neighbors don't mind. LOL.

Added a couple more pics...two of him enjoying popcorn while we were watching a movie.

So my baby is going into his 21st week of life. Again...nothing too groundbreaking...but I will share some of his habits. He loves to sit on my shower curtain rod while I shower and make all the noises he can possibly think of. Sounds more exploritory than anything, but I simply love it. After my morning shower, he loves to watch me preen and get ready. Let me tell you something about flossing. For some reason he gets all excited to see me do this and he start making his little 'excited' noise. For some reason that just gets him all riled up. Another interesting activity happens when I put him in the cage and i have to leave. He will contort his body and legs in ways that puzzle me completely. He will say, put one claw up on the bars...then tuck his head underneath and try to roll upsidedown...it's really hard to explain. But I think he thinks he is a pretzel. Regarding the Aviator...I am pretty sure he is never gonna let me put his head through the first part again. He is anti aviator. And there is no way I am just going to wrestle him to get it on. I am not sure how to help him make the association that it is something good. I will keep trying though. Othere than that he is still his happy loving self. Tons of head scratches and always close to me. I am going to look into a travle cage for him so I can socialize him more though. The Aviator is either going to take a huge amount of work...or it may never work. He is on the back of my making cute noises right now. He loves to sit on my knee and preen while I watch movies or TV...and I always talk to him. Total sweet bird. That is all for now. Here is a picture from just the last couple of minutes so you can see what he looks like today. If I can post it

OUCH! I too am convinced that I will never get the first little part over Issacs head ever again. He is just too clever...and does not want that thing on him. Yet I will try again soon.

I know that Joey was clipped and then started flying...but I will never forget the day that Issac stopped flaoting down and went up...up...up! It's a magic moment. Congrats to Joey!!

Best thing to do is to not worry about anything until it needs worrying about. Then work the issues. You might be pleasently suprised at how well he adjusts. Just follow his body language and be respectful of his new adjustments. He already will be comfortable with you, so he will have that anchor. Don't worry.

Okay...I was just curious as to the success of 'stay' training with flighted Greys and you made some good points. I will keep it up.

So Issac is a pretty sweet bird. He loves to hang out on my shoulder like...all of the time. I actually am loving this quite a bit and hardly ever mind if he is in on what ever it is I am doing. But I want to know from the forum members how you handle certain situations: 1) Say you have someone coming over who is not so relaxed about having a bird flying to them? Is your bird just compliant to stay on his perch, can you actually train this with a flighted bird? 2) If I am working on the computer (lol this can be a big one) he loves nothing more that to try and help me type. Do they ever tire of this. LOL...I kind of laugh now, but if I am trying to do some work, it can try my patience. I sometimes see very compliant birds that stay where they are put seemingly endlessly. Is this just characteristic of those that are clipped? I must add that sometimes he just wants to stay on his play area, usually when I have settled down. Or sometimes it seems that if I return him to the cage enough, he just stays there. I don't know if it's that he is giving up, or he just suddenly decides that he wants to play on his cage at that time. Either way...it can take some drilling to get him to stay when he needs to. So just some curiosities. Thanks for any comments. Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/04/09 22:26<br><br>Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/04/09 22:29

Ohh no. An escapee. Well if he has been heard close to home..or he was located in a tree...don't give up now...or have someone help...or something. I hope you can locate your grey, as we do get attached to our little fids. Issac can fly, and flies quite well. As terrified as I am that he will ever escape, I simply do not have the heart to both take him from the wild, and make sure he can't use his primary mode of locomotion. However, as some have said...if your house has a lot of traffic, that can be impractical. Currently, I live alone so I know when doors are opening and closing. It is a HUGE responsibility keeping a bird flighted. It can be a big inner struggle to decide flight or clip as your birds survival, how much you care about the bird, and whether birds should be pets at all....all come into question. Having Issac, my Grey, has taught me a lot and made me think a lot about these three things. I love him so much sometimes that I question whether he should be flying in Africa with his brothers. But then nature has its own set of trials for him...and poachers. In the end, I put the responsibility upon myself to leave him flighted, and in the coming years as my lifestyle changes, I will have to devise new ways to make sure my baby never gets away. I worry about becoming complacent constantly, and that always keeps it on my mind...but for how long? Anyway...that is my two cents on flight. I hope you find him.

Gosh they are too funny. Issac gave me another run around this morning when I had to leave for work today. I chased him around his atom for a good 3 minutes. I get one foot, and he clings harder, then I get both feet...but....his beak catches comething...then while I am unlatching the beak...he gets a foot free....repeat. He won't win though darn it! I think he knows once I start chopping vegetables, that I am takin off for a while. My mornings are very patterned and he recognizes the various steps leading up to being caged. And I gave him tons of out-time yesterday...little bugger!

They say that anything you surround with genuine love will return the sentiment. That is a sweet little moment.

I read about your heartbreaking experience with Akima and was super choked up. I would die if anything happened to my baby Issac...especially since he has grown on me so much over the last 11 weeks that he has been home. I am so happy to hear that you'll be getting a new friend very soon. Best wishes and congratulations.

Issac has found my toes before too...but he can't even graze them without tickling the heck out of me. He is quite amazed at my reaction.

No doubt, however you acheive it...attoms are a hit. Issac loves crawling all over it and playing with the toys I hang inside. He will get all upsidedown on his back at the bottom playing. Best thing I have gotten him.

And they are not available in the USA. Grrrrrr. Issac says, "Send Me Palm Nuts Please" <br><br>Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/04/07 23:14

Congratulations on your new Grey. I always love hearing about people who really care for birds getting a new Grey. As far as toys go, it's hit and miss...but you seem to have noticed some things already. I can tell you that Issac loves the toys with rope and breakable wood blocks on them. He loves the ones with dried corn cobs on them too, however those last three days maximum with him. Many greys love shreading papers and cups. Early in Issac's life, and still sometimes now, he liked to play peek-a-boo with a towel on the floor. This is really cute. You can hide your head under a towel and peek out and say peek-a-boo...and your baby will probably not be able to resist coming to get you. Issac also loves the plastic caps and lids to things. So long as they didn't seem harmful, I would let him go to town. The next level of toys comes with these things they call boings, rope perches, and atoms. The boings (or monkey tails) are shapeable rope-like things that greys love to climb on. I have one inside Issac's cage and one going over the top and around. I used tie wraps to shape it around the outside of the cage. Lastly, the atom is by far the best (yet most expensive) toy I have gotten Issac....but...it is by far his favorite. It is 22" in diameter and you can hang his favorite toy in the middle. It is fun to watch him enjoy that so much. Other than that, some greys love foraging toys you can stick little treats in. Heck, a wadded up piece of paper can provide a ton of interactive fun between you and your grey. That is all I have to offer for now. It is a constant effort to find things they like...and things that will last as well. My next move regaring toys is to not present them to Issac as toys, but to leave some brightly colored toys around his play areas secretly and to let him find them on his own. Much like he finds my remote controls for my electronic equipment and other things I'd rather him not get into. I think if he feels he has 'found' something, he is more apt to play with it. Lots of trials with toys. Enjoy your new Grey! You are in for quite a treat with these little guys...they are more than you can imagine as companions. PS: Pictured below is Issac's play area. Welcome to the forums. Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/04/07 19:44 Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/04/07 19:44<br><br>Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/04/07 19:47

Yep...he gave me good chase tonight before I left. Right now he has the little feathers around his beak fluffing up...so I know he is ready for bed. Gotta cut some veggies and let him sleep. LOL...Thanks for reading Thanks for all the sweet words about Issac...I tell them to him.

On a typical day...he gets out for 1.5 hours in the morning, 1.5 after work, and then another 3 hours before bed time. On days where I don't have to go out after work, he can be out for up to 5 hours after work. He is basicly out whenever I am home so far. There are times he will voluntarily climb into his cage...this only happens at night if he gets tired or he just wants to eat some food insode his cage. He will stay there no matter how long I leave the door open. I usually cover him by 10 or 11PM. Then he gets a good 9-10 hours of sleep. I sure hope I can just keep it down to chasing him up to his atom. LOL. <br><br>Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/04/06 22:45

I leave reggae, smooth jazz, classic rock or children shows on for Issac during the day when I am gone. The only thing he seems to stop in his tracks over are other bird sounds.

Xtreme575 wrote: LOL...I recognized this fact as well. If I ate half as good as my bird, I would be incredibly healthy.