reggieroo

Cocoa is famous Good pics.

As I was reading this I was thinking to myself Murphy has started to be a real attention seeker lately & interfering with my activities, the second I thought it he flew in & landed on my shoulder just as I was having some computer time typing this.........lol Your weekly updates give me a preview of what's to come

Lots of people say that their young grey has picked up all sorts of sounds but Murphy has picked up nothing at all apart from one whistle I taught him as a contact call. It seems as if he doesn't pick things up on his own, only what I teach him, hence the reason why is trying so hard to speak. I talk to him all the time & when he attempts it back even if its not that great I still tell him "good boy" He has actually started doing it to my face while right in front of him where as a lot of parrots will only speak/make noise when you are out of the room. I'm hoping to have a conversation with him one day

As I'm sat here he has just said about 5 different things but still can't make them out, just that they are all something different. He's not saying them loud enough but it does sound like my tone of voice. He will be six months old in about a week.

Now that's dedication :eek:

Downy feathers everwhere!! Even one stuck to the vent of my new PS3........."what's it doing there Murphy?"

Murphy has been attempting speech since he came to us at 12 weeks. Even the day I picked him up he mumbled something under his breath when I asked him to step up. Over this last few weeks I keep hearing him saying stuff in Human speech but can't quite understand what it is. It's not just one word though, the other day it was a whole drunken sentence. Then just now he definitely said something & a lot clearer than before but still couldn't understand it, I didn't quite catch it. I really want to know what it was now. I guess it's safe to say he can talk just a matter of time before we know what he is saying yes? You guys will be the first to know when I know what it is Forgot to add that the other morning Kate said Murphy said something under his sheet & she thought it was me, she looked round & then she realised that I was still in bed. For a second she thought "whats Paul doing up this early?"

Laminate floors throughout the house & leather sofa before he came, god know hows people cope with carpet :confused: You also know your a bird owner when you have to buy a hand held hoover so you don't have to lug the regular one out 10 times a day :eek:

Such a sad & happy story, very touching

This has got me thinking about birds of prey around here & wondering if we have Hawks here in Worcestershire UK. I have seen a large bird of prey a few times, once one flew along side us in the car, quite amazing it was! I just don't know what species it was or are all birds of prey a danger to parrots? Also I have a very large German Shepherd (Zeus) who patrols our garden, would a bird of prey attack with Zeus on patrol? Also don't birds of prey mainly attack at night when our greys are inside?

I have came on here today to find people have been falling out & Jillybeanz has left. I've read the threads but can't make heads or tails of what's been going on as some have been deleted etc. What's happened?

Well guys, Parrot University made good on their promise of a new harness & it arrived this morning. I would like to say that their level of customer service is second to none so a big thumbs up to Steve Hartman who got back to me personally I wish all companies you buy from could be this good. As regards to the clamp being squeezed with pliers he asked me to explain this "Please explain that the clasp has to be exactly the profile it is when manufactured. If the clamp is squeezed the belt material may not properly surround the shock cord and the metal spikes may not be in the center of the cord. This would likely guarantee a failure." Murphy now has his new harness & will be back out & about roaming the neighbour hood "Right Murphy get your hiking boots on" :p:eek:

What you say makes sense & I agree a phone number might possibly be easier for a grey to associate & spit out when needed but my only concern is what if you change your phone number or move house?

We also have two cats but they stay well clear of Murphy. Zeus our German shepherd doesn't bother him either, sometime he goes over to Murphy to give him a kiss but Murphy doesn't like that & scolds him :eek: I would say all of our animals live in harmony

Hey Jill, I planted the garden last year when I landscaped it but one of the palms in the picture is new this year as an early Birthday present for me I did lose some palms & other exotics last Winter as we had -17c here in Worcestershire & I didn't protect a thing but my banana & tree fern. PM & I'll give you all the info you need for a hardy tropical garden that can withstand a Winter in the UK. I'm a self educated expert :confused::rolleyes::eek:

It's difficult I know to ignore the screaming. I think yelling back at them can do two things, one they enjoy the reaction & do it all the more for the reaction or two they get scared by the yelling & it damages the relationship between grey & the person yelling. Maybe if you tell him this it might change his mind, as either way yelling will result in nothing good. I'm still having shrieking issues with Murphy & have been trying my hardest to ignore the shrieking but the one time I yelled at him to shut up, he didn't want to know me for over a day. I then realised how sensitive these little greys can be. Maybe print this small article off for him to read http://www.wikihow.com/Train-Parrots-to-Make-Less-Noise Also let him know that there are other people out there that are going through the same thing, it might make him feel a little better.

Good idea, I thought about teaching Murphy our phone number when he learns to speak but if we change it or move then it's no good. Email sounds a better option as it should never change if you use something like msn hotmail.

The day the harness broke Murphy was invited to our BBQ but on that day he missed out. The next day the weather was still great so we had another BBQ as we had a friend over for a few days & wanted to make the most of the good weather. Murphy is normally outside with us on his harness if we spend any length of time in the garden. I knew we would be outside a long time & felt sorry for Murphy being stuck indoors so asked my Friend if he could help get his cage outside...........which we did & here are some pictures.

I agree with what people have said, it can take months for Sasha to adjust. I've had baby Murphy for 3 months now & I feel he is still opening up & adjusting to his environment here with us. Just make sure you give Sasha lots of love & attention when you come home so he knows he is loved. I went through the exact same scenario years ago with my Amazon. I moved out of my parents in with my girlfriend but then split with my girlfriend so my Amazon suffered. He was bonded to my ex girlfriend & my mum, he became depressed, didn't play, wouldn't come out of his cage, stopped talking & vocalising. I tried everything but he just didn't want to know. Eventually I made the decision to let him go back to his Mum (my ex) he is now happy as can be. As long as Sasha is bonded to you then things should be ok.

Murphy always sticks his tongue out & kinda wiggles it as if tasting the air :confused:

Here's some pics of the walk Murphy had with us the day the harness broke.

I think Pepper wanted to jump in with you guys :cool:

I never knew birds could be diabetic. Well at least you know what's wrong, must be a relief & now you can treat him.

I had Murphy out in the garden last week & the sun had moved round & was on him. I noticed he looked a little uncomfortable so I moved him back into some shade. Later that evening I could have sworn the skin round his eyes was pinker than normal & said to myself "I wonder if they can get sunburn?"

Well Murphy is still only a baby so pretty much anything new is looked at with much suspicion & mistrust. If I don't introduce things slowly then he off like shot. I try to introduce him to a new object everyday to get him used to all manner of things, don't know if other greys do this but Murphy puts his head down for a tickle from nearly every object I show him :confused: A couple of things have terrified him though, like one day I swept up round the base of his cage while he was at the bottom in his food dishes & as soon as he seen the brush out came the African Grey growl. Then one time I put on a light blue hooded top to go outside & the same thing when I walked past his cage, he sat all fluffed up growling like the dog :eek: