esknomoe

Dr. Pepperberg herself mentioned in her book that it was her intention to maintain an emotional distance between herself and Alex. I got the impression that it was only upon Alex' untimely death that she realized the emotional bond she had with Alex.

I love the stand. I have a couple stands similar to it. One for Brutus, my CAG, and a smaller one for Echo, my Ringneck.

I'm continually amazed at how quickly a Grey can destroy something. LOL

You really do need to watch what you say, or worse yet, teach a talking parrot to say. There was a guy not far from me who owned a little redneck bar on Lake Toho, and his Maccaw sat on a perch behind the bar ever day. Every time a customer addressed the bird, the bird would respond with an obsenity. It was quite the joke among the local patrons. Not long ago, the owner died, and someone in his family put the parrot on Craigslist, looking for a new home. The last I knew, nobody was willing to take the bird.

LOL...I love the "wolf whistle". It's a favorite of Brutus'.

It's amazing, isn't it? My CAG, Brutus, was 12 when we got him a couple months ago; and we still are continually hearing sounds and phrases that he apparently learned in his former home. We haven't heard any swear words...yet. His former owner must have been quite a cook. The other day, my girlfriend was heating up a slice of leftover pizza in the toaster oven, and Brutus commented: "You're burning it". G/F: "No I'm not". Brutus: "YOU'RE BURNING IT". G/F: "I AM NOT!" Brutus: "YOU'RE GONNA BURN THE HOUSE DOWN!"

I feel the same way, Elv. I have read Dr. Pepperberg's book, and frankly it made me a bit sad. Alex passed away very prematurely, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were brought on by stress. Alex was a 30 year research project who was pushed to the extreme limits of his capabilities continually. I also feel that this may have been a contributing factor to his feather plucking. While we can all be grateful for the insights Dr. Pepperberg gave us into Grey intelligence and behavior, Alex was somewhat saccrificial in the process. JMHO.

I'm the one on the left.

The first time I saw Brutus do it, I thought it was hillarious. He yawns and stretches like a human. He'll even make that sound, like people do when they yawn.

Brutus will do the same thing from time to time, where I would have to go into all sorts of strange body contortions to get him into his cage. Now he pretty much understands "Go to your house". When he doesn't want to go, bribery with a treat works pretty well.

Brutus will bark like both my Shih Tzu and my Cavalier King Charles. He also immitates an owl, a duck, and a cat. I'm trying to get a video, but he's a bit camera shy. He makes most of his noises when he's alone and amusing himself.

Part of Brutus' daily routine is to share my morning cereal with me. I have to keep him out of the milk, but he loves having a few raisin bran flakes. At lunch time I'll often make a fruit smoothie for myself in the blender, and Brutus loves to chew on the straw afterward.

My Brutus has an abrasive perch on his trapeeze in his cage. His nails stay pretty good. When we first got him, his nails hadn't been trimmed in a while, so we had the vet do it during his first check up. My girlfriend is a dog groomer, so she clips nails every day, but she's reluctant to trim any of our birds'.

It must be the name Brutus...LOL. My Brutus absolutely hates being misted. I've tried taking him into the shower, and he'll have no part of it. I've taken a spray bottle of water and tried spraying it straight up in the air over him, so the water will rain down on him; again...no dice. Once in a great while he'll splash around in his water bowl in his cage or on his play stand.

I have one video, but it isn't very good. I just got a new camera, so I will be trying to get some soon. It is very strange how she identifies with the big dogs. She is crazy about them. She isn't as interested in the little Shih Tzu or the Cavalier.

My White Eyed Conure, Phoebe, is like that. She had a very neglectful previous owner. She doesn't seem interested in toys, and is not hand tame. She seems happy enough though, sitting on top of her cage and watching the goings on. What's odd is that she LOVES my Black Lab dogs, and my Black Standard Poodle. She will climb on Buddy's back (one of the Labs, who is especially docile), if Buddy stands close enough to the cage, and ride around on him. whenever Buddy comes close, she will get all excited and quiver her wings in excitement; but she won't let a human touch her.

Great video! Thanks. And I love the tree.

Hillarious story! My Brutus' previous owner must have had his cage in the same room with a phone/answering machine; because one of his acts, when he's on his perch, by himself is: "Ring...ring...ring (exactly like a phone)", and then "Hello....yep...yep...yep....ok...thanks....bye". "Beep" repeat; over and over.

I adopted Brutus, who is 12 years old, from his previous owner, thinking that probably the readjustment process would take many weeks, or even months. After only 3 days, he lifted his foot, asking to get on my shoulder, which he did; and lowered his head onto my shoulder for a head scratch. I was shocked. It was a huge moment. I learn more about his body language every day, and can tell when he wants attention, and wants to be left alone.

I do. Not as much because of Brutus, my Grey, but because of Echo, my IRN. He's still a little one, 9 months, and can destroy a t shirt in nothing flat. Sharp little beak. I have a couple special bird shirts. Brutus isn't a big chewer.

I can only relate my short experience with parrots as compared to dogs; with which I am much more familiar. All modern dogs have evolved over hundreds of generations as creations of human need. Whether it be for hunting, guarding, fighting, dragging fishing nets around, tracking, or simply sitting in the laps of royalty to be constantly stroked and groomed, all dogs are far removed from their wild ancestors. In return for their service to man, their every need is seen to. My Cavalier King Charles wouldn't last 5 minutes in the wild. Probably my Labs wouldn't last much longer. Parrots aren't like that. They are pure. They haven't been bred, and cross bred, to suit human need. They breed, and are bred, just to be parrots. They entertain us, and provide companionship, and that's all we ask of them. In return, we work (and work, and work, and work some more) to make their captive lives as pleasant, emotionally, and physically healthy as possible. It's give and take. They pay us, and we pay them. All we can do is make it as equal as possible. As for wing clipping specifically, I think it depends on our own situations. My 3 birds all have clipped wings. I doubt any of them, even the Grey, spend much time thinking "Gee...I wish that idiot hadn't clipped my wings." I have 5 dogs. My back door is opened and closed a hundred times a day. I live in Florida and have several ceiling fans in my house, which pretty much run all the time. All in all, for my peace of mind, and my birds' safety, I feel better about having their wings clipped.

As I have mentioned before, I adopted Brutus from a previous owner 7 weeks ago. He is 12 years old, supposedly, and the previous owners had him for 11 years. I don't know where they got him. This is all I know of his history. I'd love to know more. I'm curious as to whether he was bred and hatched in captivity, or he was captured in the wild. I'm curious about this for two reasons. The first is that a huge number of birds, about a quarter million, were imported from Africa between about 1995 and 2003. Brutus would fit this age group. Also, Brutus doesn't have a leg band. I'd love to know if Brutus ever knew the wild.

Welcome Logan. I can fully understand your concerns; however, seven weeks ago I adopted a 12 year old Grey myself, from a previous owner whose life circumstances also had changed; and it has been a wonderfully rewarding experience, so far. Three days after bringing Brutus home, he asked to climb onto my shoulder and lower his head, asking for a head rub. We are inseperable ever since. When I'm home, he is out of his cage, and usually on my shoulder, my chair back, or his play stand. I am still learning his body language and likes and dislikes; but every day has been progress. I'm no expert, by any means, but just like with any animal (we also have 5 dogs and 2 other birds), I believe it's important to go about your routines around home as usual, and allow the bird to observe and participate in the daily events that you allow him to, rather than allow the Grey to entirely dictate HIS routine to you. Being a mature bird, there's no question that he has one. A pecking order needs to be established, and YOU are the flock leader. It's the same with dogs, or anything else. YOU are the pack leader. Animals need direction from a strong leader. They require it, and crave it. Good luck to you, and don't be afraid to ask questions. There is a wealth of information on here.

We have 5 dogs as well as the 3 birds, so there's no way any of the birds are out of their cages unsupervised, at any time. Even if I have to leave for a few minutes, to run to the store, in the cages they go. There are too many potential dangers for them to get in to.

I can second what Dave has said about adoptees. I adopted Brutus, who is 12 years old, from a previous owner, and more things are being revealed to me every day about his personality. I get little clues all the time about his previous owners, by the things he says. He is an accomplished talker, as well as an encyclopedia of sounds. I love him dearly, and we are continually developing a relationship of trust. I am still learning his body language. I'm comming to believe that I am much more liberal in my dealings with him than the previous owners. He's free to come out of his cage at all times, when I'm home, except for bedtime. I just can't get mad at him. He's not real demanding. He just seems to enjoy the time I spend with him. He still is testing my boundaries, from time to time, and I am his; but it's all good.