reggieroo

I know amazing wasn't it........"N - U - T !!" & asking to go look at the tree, truly amazing! Also the way he couldn't keep his beak shut when they were training the other greys, butting in with the right answer from his box when they got it wrong. The one where he learnt the color grey from seeing his own reflection in the mirror & asking "what's that?" . So many stories in the book of things he said & did, I would be here all day typing, a must read for those who haven't yet read it.

While on holiday in Turkey I read the book Alex & Me & what a great read. For anybody that hasn't read it, do so as it will amaze you how intelligent Alex really was. I had watched the youtube vids in the past, read discussions & info on Alex but the book really opened my eyes to how intelligent these greys are & also to how in tune they can be with us. It made me look at my own grey Murphy in a new light & understanding. Alex was such an amazing little soul, I feel sad at his loss. I knew that was the ending to the book but I didn't want to get there & read the words. R.I.P. Alex xx

Yep, he's only a baby & a bit of a handful at times. Been back off vacation for about 10 days or so. It's not all bad, dare I say it & temp fate but the screaming has improved a little.

Kate who has the patience of an angel has finally lost her patience with the little terror. The screaming has been getting to her even though she stays calm, I can see it winding her up & on a few occasions Kate has said she has had enough of him. She came home from work today & went & sat in the study to relax, all I heard was this commotion. I went in to see what was going on, Murphy was back in his cage & Kate sat there with a cut face. He had flown from his cage at her face & drew blood, poor Kate had a cut on her chin & was not happy. I suspect he was only trying to land on her shoulder as he does to me while I'm sat at the PC. He has been flying round like a delinquent though. Yesterday he flew into another plant & ruined it, again Kate was not impressed then after today's little incident her words were " I hate that bloody parrot, wish we hadn't got him" He has also been biting her when she tries to give him attention resulting in her putting him back on his stand & having nothing more to do with him. On top of all this he won't step up for me & gives me attitude when I try, won't come out of his cage or let me give him many tickles. On the other hand he flies after me where ever I go & calls constantly when I'm out of sight? I can't quite work him out at the minute. I just keep telling myself & Kate he's just a baby trying to find his way, he's around 7 months now, it will get better. :eek:

I've just been doing things the same as before, tried a little step up training today while he was on his stand, he didn't like it. Attitude it could well be Jayd, as for how he is with Kate, Murphy's not her favorite at the moment. Maybe another post on that.

Well Murphy is still the same with me, I still can't get him to step up out of the cage & even when out of the cage & I try to give him a tickle he shys away & tries to avoid my hand, sometimes even flying off. Surely he still can't be in a mood with me for going on holiday? It feels like he doesn't trust me anymore, unless I move very slow while making clicking sounds I can't get near him but yet Kate can go take him straight out of the cage.

I doubt he liked the routine at my parents too much as he spent most of the day in the cage. I did ask them to let him have plenty of out of cage time & at least 4 hrs each day but it didn't happen. My Mum didn't feel confident enough to let him out until my Dad came home after work which was only for a couple of hrs. Then he had a few days alone all day as my Mum had to go over to Ireland for my Grans memorial service. I didn't moan though as they were kind enough to look after him at short notice. He got well fed & Dad said he gave him lots of attention when he was there. Maybe he got used to being in his cage & doesn't like me taking him out? Was the other way round before he went :confused:

I wondered if he was just being a little moody but just couldn't understand the fearful way he was acting while in the cage. I got him to step up shortly after him coming out & I gave him a shower & he acted same as normal. Just this last three mornings I can't get him to step up while in the cage. Hope he gets over it soon & things get back to normal. He's out now & flying about & he seems fine but bet tomorrow morning will be a different matter. lets hope not!

I have just came back from two weeks in Turkey & Murphy has been staying with my parents. I was obviously worried that he wouldn't settle in but they said he was just fine. I had taken him on visits there in the past so he felt comfortable staying there & he gets on well with both my parents & they took his cage. Anyway they brought him back to me on Sunday & he seemed genuinely happy to be back. I took him out of his pet carrier no problem as expected, put him on his stand with us all in the living room & he sat there pruning himself & seemed normal & happy. Put him to bed that evening, again as normal, everything was fine. The next morning (Monday) I took off the sheet to say good morning he didn't look happy, I opened the door to get him out as I normally do & he wasn't having any of it. He ran to the back of the cage all puffed up & wouldn't let me touch him! I left him alone & tried the same thing 4-5 times with no success. He was just hopping from one foot to the other in a very nervous anxious fashion. The only way to get him to come out was to leave the door open & walk away. Once out of the cage he wouldn't step up or let me tickle or touch him in any way. Eventually he flew into the living room to his stand & as time went on I was able to give him tickles etc. By the evening time he was fine & seemed back to normal. Same as normal I put him to bed, kisses, tickles etc & all seemed good. Then again this morning the same thing, hoping from one foot to the other cheeping nervously, won't come out & let me touch him he seemed genuinely scared of me . If I try he just thrashes about the cage. I've opened the door to let him out as I want to give him a shower as he hasn't had one for over two weeks. I've now got to spend the next hour or two gaining his trust. He also hasn't eaten a lot since being home but my parents even mentioned how much he ate when staying with them, they couldn't believe it for such a small creature. They said even the next day after going there he was fine & eating well. Whats going on with him?

Well unfortunately today his screaming was back with a vengeance :mad: Didn't do anything any different to yesterday so I'm not sure why or what :confused: Seems he just can't stand to lose sight of me otherwise he gets in a panic & works himself up to this highly strung screaming state. I always tell him things like "I'll be back in a minute" etc but doesn't do much good. I think I've pretty much tried everything so all that's left is patience which as a person I don't have much of I am trying so hard! We're off on holiday Friday for two weeks & he's staying with my parents & I hate to say it but I'm looking forward to the break from him. Not sure if two weeks without me will do him good or make him worse, I hope not the latter.

Well I thought I might have figured out a reason why no screaming. He has one of those old brass open top cages with the perch that goes across the top, I had opened it up first thing yesterday morning & he was sat their most of the morning on the top. I tried it again this morning but within 5 minutes the screaming started so it wasn't that The last few times though that I had the top opened & perch fitted the screaming was reduced a little & he didn't even bother to fly into to me so might be something in it. I've been looking at getting a new cage for a while so worth getting one with an open top I think as he seems to like it.

Would you believe it, Murphy hasn't screamed once today Yesterday was an horrendous day for screaming & then today nothing, well that's the first ever. It wasn't all sweet though & he still had one hell of a mood on him this afternoon. This morning was fine, took off the sheet, "Good morning Murphy" lots of tickles, kisses etc & I took him straight out of the cage. He was flying in between rooms, mumbling away & was very happy indeed. This afternoon came & I decided to go out in the garden for a while so I attempted to put Murphy away....................well that didn't go so well :mad: He avoided any attempt at step ups with a swift take off, giving me the runaround for 5 minutes or so, flying back & forwards. Anyway he started to run out of steam & just as he landed on his stand he slipped off & fell to the floor. I went over to pick him up, stepped up no problem but as soon as I put him in his cage boy was he annoyed with me. He must have held me responsible for his fall & wouldn't have nothing to do with me until 7.30pm not long before bed & finally let me give him a tickle

Emma is the sweetest little grey around, how could she ever get into trouble?

Great to hear things are going well with you & Issac

Ok, well I feel a little better about it all now I've read your comments. It's nice to know it's not just me that has this little monster giving me a hard time. You start to think "have I got one of these greys with behavioral problems that you read about" You get your new grey & only think about all the good times you are going to have with them & then when things start to go bad you worry & I'm a worrier unfortunately. As you said Jane I just keep telling myself that it's just a phase & he's only a baby & it will pass. That's what gets me though. Malikah, he does pretty much stay where I put him & he can fly between his perches between rooms he goes in which he does. Of the four main rooms I use throughout the day I don't take him to every room with me. The kitchen I don't want him in for obvious reasons & the other is Ella-Rose's nursery room & I'm only in there a few minutes changing nappies & putting her to sleep etc. The digging he also does as a last resort to not getting attention from his screaming. I've also been changing is toys & perches around in his cage regular, tried the radio when we go out & the only other thing I want to try is get a foraging toy to put some food in for him. He really doesn't like being in his cage though & that's when most of the problems occur, maybe I gave him to much out of cage time when I first got him I don't know but he's rarely happy in his cage. Glad I can come here & vent as I guess that's what I needed to do :rolleyes: Sometimes just venting your frustrations with other like minded parrot people can help lots.

I have been trying the techniques that you used Jane & still am but they don't seem to be working. I have already taught him a contact call (whistle) to use instead but he does it the once first before the screaming, I reply with a whistle then he just starts screaming nonstop. I even try talking to him when out of sight from say another room using his name & things like "be a good boy" Then when he starts I just go quiet. I also reward him with treats & praise when he attempts speech & whistles etc to encourage him to use those instead. If he has been quiet which does happen on some occasions I take advantage of that by again giving him loads of praise, treats & maybe a chat with him & tickles. My concern at the moment is his moodiness towards me after I've ignored him, he seems to hate me & won't let me interact with me for ages but was fine before he started screaming & I ignored him.

I feel for you, I really do I can understand the emptiness of not having a parrot around, you don't think it till their gone. When my Amazon went to live with my ex I missed him & ended up getting Murphy but felt a little guilty that he'd replaced my Amazon Conan. If you do decide to get another grey, you could look at it like a tribute to Lolita.

Well I'm still having problems with Murphy's screaming issue. I've been following the advise of ignoring the screaming but the issue has not got better & now Murphy just seems to be really off with me following one of his screaming episodes. This morning for example I got up uncovered him said good morning & gave him a tickle. He was happy & accepted any amount of tickles I was prepared to give, it was all good & he had lots of fuss. Then I got on with getting my daughter ready, breakfast etc & the screaming started. I ignored him & he just got louder & more frequent to the point that I had to close the door. Anyway after about an 30 minutes of shrieks about every minute or so he stopped for a rest. I went to his cage & what a mood he was in! He won't let me tickle him, take him out the cage or nothing at all. He does his best to avoid me & step ups are a no no! All the time while the screaming is going on he gets himself into a right state pacing round his cage & seems to work himself up. He'll be in a mood now for most of the day & won't let me fuss him but at the same time I can't leave sight or he will start again & so the cycle continues. It doesn't seem to matter how much out of cage time he has either, he can have four hours straight out of the cage with me & he's great but as soon as I put him back in he goes mental. Most days he's out all day long, then in the evening I put him back he starts. Today he started screaming & got all moody before I got him out so he is still in his cage. The screaming is definitely aimed towards me & when I go out of site because if we are all sat in the room together & I get up to leave he starts non stop till I return but if Kate gets up to leave he doesn't bother. Take now for instance while sat here typing this I'm right opposite his cage, he's fine, eating & chirping away happy as Larry but as soon as I got up to go the toilet he stopped eating ran up to the top of his cage & started pacing around getting all anxious & panicking. I also just got up to put my daughter to bed for a nap & he started screaming the minute I left, now I'm back he's fine. I'm struggling now to deal with this issue, it's been going on since the second day of getting him so three months now with no sign of it getting better. It's starting to get me feeling anxious every time I have to leave sight & do something, I just wait for it & sure enough the screaming starts. He has had a fair few screaming episodes this morning & now won't let me give him a tickle or anything because I have ignored him. It feels like our relationship is taking a turn for the worst, like a love hate thing going on. He's now 6 months old, will it always be like this, is this just the way Murphy is going to be for the rest of his life?

Yes Jillybeanz we want you to come back!

I wonder do they still trap greys to this day in those numbers quoted? Was sad to see them being caught & shoved in boxes

I put Murphy to bed at around the same time each night & awakes when I get up. Kate leaves him covered up as she goes to work early & Me & Murphy like a lie in We have been doing this since we got him. He goes to bed the same time as our baby daughter, this way he gets his 12 hrs & Ella-Rose doesn't get woken up by him.

I knew they had sensitive respiratory systems but thought that would only be affected by a spray cleaner or something along those lines. You wouldn't go round spraying your cage with say a kitchen cleaner with your bird in it, as most people know that can be dangerous. I'm guessing that the oil soap is just put in a mop bucket & then used? Would a soap solution for cleaning floors really give off toxic fumes?

Why would cleaning floors with a floor cleaner affect a parrot?

That was a brilliant video & the flying was awesome. You did a good job of making that video, really enjoyed it

£650 for Murphy, he was actually £695 but I asked nicely