Mawnee

Lol Cosmo has never bitten but I always suspected that sound was some kind of Grey curse word. He always makes that sound after being told no, or told to stop doing something. He'll fly to his swing or step back and give a loud "clack!" like a very firm backtalk.

Cosmo has been a very cuddley bird lately. Loves to be on my shoulder glued to the side of my face. While there he expects to have his head scratched. If I stop he says "do!" then scratches his own head demonstrating what he expects of me. Very cute. However if I fail to listen after more than two "Do!" commands I am now punished. This past week i havent shaved and have grown a healthy beard. However if i dont learn my lesson soon Cosmo is going to yank it all out! ...Cosmo is very persuasive....

It sounds like you are making good steady progress with Marcus. Keep at it! Be consistent, be patient and he'll come around The head bobbing is them preparing to regurgitate for you to feed you. It is a sexually motivated action. He is trying to show you he is a good mate for you. This does mean he loves you, but you must be careful not to encourage this activity as it can lead to a ...frustrated.. and unhappy Grey. Most agree the best action is to walk away during this behavior. When ours does this we walk away and say "No thank you, I"m full" With our Grey we have also noticed certain hand positions bring it on. If you reach towards him palm up(like you are asking for somthing) he will do it. Offering him a hand palm down for a step up, does not seem to trigger it. This may be specific to our grey, but something you could try

I tried to watch that show, it litterally made me ill. People that hoarde animals usually have huge hearts but lack the mental capacity to comprehend that what they do isnt best for the animals they love and even worse for themselves. Even knowing that I cant help but be angry that someone like that is permitted to have animals at all. SOMEONE knows about it or they never would have ended up on those shows. Its always some friend or family member saying "Oh I Stopped going over there a couple months/years ago it got so bad"......WHAT?! Every minute that someone doesnt say something or do something about it is another minute those animals and that person suffers. If anyone knows someone like this do something about it RIGHT NOW! Dont just avoid them, get them help, please. Just imagining one of my pets living like that for a single minute makes me almost cry.

I had a similar experience at petsmart while looking for a dish when Cosmo was a baby. I wanted something heavy enough that he could stand on the rim without it tipping. An older lady led me around the store showing me little light stainless dishes. However on another visit I was checking out and the young lady(in her teens) running the register inquired what kind of bird i had. We ended up having a nice conversation where she proved to be very knowledgable about Greys as well as other larger parrots. Certainly proves you cant lump all the employees of an establishment or chain into a set stereotype

Also try warming the fruits and veggies. I found cosmo doesnt like cold things. I just rinse the food with warm tap water and it makes all the difference. I do this instead of the microwave as it can leave hotspots inside things that may cause burns.

Cosmo HATED his pumice perch at first. We had to keep it in the bird room on a table in plain sight(but at a distance) until he got comfortable with it. Eventually he got used to it and we are glad he did. In just a day of climing on it his claws were totally dull. So nice to be able to hold him without bleeding

Shes a queen!

Sounds perfectly normal to me Cosmo is just over 6 months and spends a great deal of time babbling as well. He learned his first word from all my responses to some of the silly noises he makes. He'll make some silly noise and I'll say "whaaat was that!?" and he'll stop for a second and respond with "Whaaat?!" then continue with his rant. Cracks me up every time...which is why he also knows how to laugh like a madman lol He too will scream when he is really hyper and playing rough, always directed at whatever toy he is roughing up. Doesnt happen too often maybe once or twice a day. Its generally right after I get home from work when he is really excited that its play time.

Great story. Thanks for sharing

Cosmo was doing the same thing with my 12 year old daughter for a couple of weeks. I noticed she would be a little too loud or move a little too fast occasionally in the room with his cage. I think he just became a little less trusting of her and it lead to some nipping. After a couple weeks of her paying close attention to her volume and avoiding sudden movements, Cosmo is fine with her again. One other situation that I've noticed leading to biting is if a stranger(or strange item) is in the room. I'll be scratching Cosmo and if someone moves he will suddenly be unsure of who(or what) is touching him. I'll get a nip or two until Cosmo realizes its me and goes back to being nice. Maybe double check that there isnt some outside variable agitiating Murphy

You are not alone Cosmo is the same way, he likes to be a naughty bird for extra "attention". He knows what he is doing is not allowed, you can see him watching for a reaction out of the corner of your eye. I simply do my best not to reinforce this behavior or intercept him when i know he is about to start(I can read his mind now). I've found the only real way to deal with this is to distract him with a prefered behavior(popcicle sticks are great!). Sometimes when he is being really naughty or repeatedly does something he knows he shouldnt I give him a timeout in the cage. First time I warn him "Are you being a naughty bird?", which usually causes him to stop and ponder me for a moment. Then if he continues the bad behavior I put him in the cage. No fuss, no yelling just a "What happens to naughty birds? We go in the cage". I know this probably wont work as a negative reinforcement, but its worth a shot. I figure at the very least it will lead to some amusing back and forth talk in the future I know this can be frustrating, because its like dealing with a young child that doesnt understand "No" yet.....except they understand fully. Greys dont respect(or even recognize) authority. So we just have to encourage them to enjoy the things we prefer they do, and reduce the reward for things we prefer they dont

It seems he may still want a "comfort feeding". Some greys require a single hand feeding a day even as old as 6 months, even though they are eating other foods fine. He certainly looks well fed. Maybe try "re-weening" him ? Something like a small hand feeding before bedtime every evening for a week, then every other evening, then every thrid and so on. If he eats it its only more nutruints to help him grow bigger and stronger. If he refuses, then thats fine its his choice. We had to ween Cosmo gradually like this. He would still ask for food like that, but when it was offered would refuse it after only a bite or two. After a couple of weeks he just stopped asking

Cosmos' feet were very big in proportion to his body. He has pretty much grown into them now.

Very glad to hear you two are back together!!!

My thoughts are with you today. I hope you are holding your baby again soon.

Your baby definetly sounds like it still wants formula. Read up on how to handfeed your baby. It will seem intimidating at first, but its not hard. Your baby will be healthier and happier for it Our baby started refusing formula at 10 weeks. We still offered two feedings until 12 weeks and then cut it down to one. Cosmo is 16 weeks old now and we still offer a feeding before bedtime. He usually only takes a spoonful or two of it tops. But I'd rather offer it and him not want it than him need it and not get it.

Very cute! have you guys seen the opera zon? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g5t9yaPP_Q

Cosmo is 13 weeks old today! What a change over the last few weeks. He started flying a couple weeks ago here and there. But now uses those wings to get everywhere! If he wants something or wants to be somehwere he goes right for it. Usually its my shoulder Getting pictures has been difficult as he is a very busy bird, and loves my phone. So I had to sneak up on him in the middle of a nap to get a picture of him sitting still

Yea, thats my fear is that I'll have to deny it. Its too bad because it would allow us more time together while I do other things. He already gets a good bit of dedicated time throughout the day. Do you think further reinforcing "step up" could eventually lead to him accepting it regarless of where his attention is focused? I know its a reach since he is quite strong willed when he wants something shiney Maybe doing step up training from my shoulder without the glasses on then adding them back over time?

Looking for some advice with Cosmo. The last couple of weeks he has decided he loves to climb up on my shoulder. I really like having him on my shoulder as he is very affectionate and I hope to keep him this way. Its also a great way for us to spend time together while I do other things like watch a movie or work on the computer. The problem is that he is enamoured with my glasses. He absolutely will not leave them alone. I wouldnt mind, but they are very thin wire frame glasses not to mention very expensive!(Oakley). He bites on them very hard and I know its only a matter of time before he bends or breaks them. I am blind without them, so I cant take them off. I have been trying to end his time on my shoulder whenever he goes for them. But once he decides he wants the glasses he ignores the step up command and I end up chasing him around my neck/back trying to get ahold of him. It takes so long to remove him from my shoulder that I doubt he is making the connection to the glasses behavior. Any advice is greatly appreciated

Here is a video from last week He is a good bit bigger than this today!

Cosmo turned 11 weeks old yesterday! Today he had his first short flight. We keep his small tabletop playgym on one leg of a huge U-shaped desk. He climbed up his playgym and flew to the other leg. He actually landed pretty gracefuly. We knew this was coming soon, hes been doing ALOT of wing flapping the last week or so. I"ll try to get some new pics up soon

Cool! It is quite possible this is a sibling of our baby grey. And funny enough I very nearly named our baby Jack (after Jack Sparrow). My wife hated that name so we settled on Cosmo Here is our introduction thread. We got Cosmo many weeks ago so the thread can give you an idea of how your baby has aged to reach the cute bundle of feathers and energy it is today http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?189679-Hi-thanks-for-having-us!-) Good luck with your new baby, cant wait to hear more and see some pics

Welcome! Interestingly that is the same hatch date as Cosmo. You dont happen to be in Florida do you? might be siblings