djohnson

I read this and got more antsy for you just imagining your panic. I sighed a huge sigh of relief after you said she found her. As my T-bird was say, "Phew".

I am by no means an expert and I am trying not to be facetious (ok, maybe just a little) - but what is a bad clip vs. a good clip? If we were to follow the line of thinking of the people with whom you spoke, isn't a clipped feather a clipped feather albeit good or bad; so why would a clipped feather grow at all? Does that make sense? Anyway, unfortunately, Tumnus was clipped when I got him and in my opinion it ended up being a bad clip. He was chewing on his feathers and I didn't happen to notice until one day I saw that he didn't have any feathers in one section. Took him to the vet as I was afraid I had a plucker and wanted to nip it in the bud. The vet said that the clip was irritating him and he was just trying to get comfortable. Comfort ended up being that Tumnus eventually removed the irritating feathers (pretty much all of the clipped feathers) and then allowing new ones to grow out. So if there is such a thing as a bad clip, I guess the feathers will eventually be replaced.

Man, I would have jumped at that. Good thing I don't have Dayo living with me or every time he made some comment about enchiladas I would have to give in to that and make us a batch. ;-)

I had to show my son and daughter. They thought it was great. Did I hear correctly at the end of the video - does he say "Chicken baked enchilada"?

I loved it when he asked for enchiladas. Grey after my own heart!!!

I'll see what I can do to get pictures out soon!

I suppose it's about time I introduced myself. My name is Don Johnson (and for those of you tempted to make comments, I've heard them all ) and I am owned by Tumnus, a TAG. I grew up in Billings, Montana; married and moved to Florida for 17 years; recently relocated our family back to Billings. Growing up my dad had a grey-cheeked parakeet and for those of you familiar with those birds the name is misleading as they don't really look like a parakeet. Anyway, I digress... That bird intrigued me as he would fly down to where my dad was just to be with him. Very neat personality. The bird didn't live as long as he probably could have and we never had another bird like him. While in Florida I learned of these events that I never knew existed, after all we didn't have them in Montana, maybe you've heard of them - Bird Shows? I was hooked after attending my first one. Living in Tampa we had them regularly but we would also drive to surrounding areas just to get to a bird show. I eventually got a Sun Conure. BIG MISTAKE - I would like to point out to people who maybe reading this and think that owning a parrot is great fun - DO YOUR RESEARCH! I hadn't done proper research on them and wasn't prepared for the amount of screaming. I did however, I wasn't about to let the fact that I was an idiot keep me from loving that bird. He had a nice personality, friendly, let the kids handle him. I no longer have Quetzal due to the fact that when we were relocating we would be staying with my parents and there was no way I was going to subject him to a life of misery because I know he would have interferred with sleep schedules. I found a good home for him and he and the new owner are best buds and do everything together. While at a bird show (about three years ago), I met a fantastic couple. They were into bird rescue. They had a TAG there and he was VERY temperamental. He had bitten me a couple of times but I spoke to this couple and asked a lot of questions. We left with that TAG whom I named Tumnus; otherwise more affectionately referred to as T-bird or Mr. T or just plain ol' T. When I purchased him, they threw in a free session of training. By the time my free session rolled around (within a week of owning him) my fingers looked like they had been through a war. That is when I learned that offering him a flat hand was better than offering him a finger. The biting lessened and now when he runs through his repertoire of phrases you will most certainly hear, "No bite." I do get a nip every now and then but when he gets beaky with me and pays too much attention to any particular finger, I remind him, "No bite." To that I get a baby chirp, so I know he's acknowledged what I've told him. There are times I get nipped at and remind him, "No bite." and do not get the baby chirp - I know he's thinking, "Yeah, right - stick that finger back in here and I'll show you, "No bite." He (listen to me - he/him/his - I really have no idea what sex he is) will whistle or chirp after me as I leave his sight. He isn't too keen on the kids but he will allow my son to give him a scritch. If he were to bite anyone it would be the kids but they are old enough to know that they leave the bird alone. They can approach the cage and talk to him and he is fine with that and he will come up to the bars but we have instilled in them that they approach a bird just as they would a dog - ask for permission before touching. I suppose I have rambled enough that you get the idea of who we are. I have posted his vocabulary in the vocabulary thread and have a story of cognition in that post as well as posting his incident in the cognition post. Anything else you want to know - just ask.

One of the funniest things I saw: We had acquired the dog who was VERY interested in Tumnus. Anytime the bird would flap and make a raucous the dog would charge the cage and bark. We would get on the dog and say NO! in a sharp voice which would get the dog to quit. One time the dog was just curious about Tumnus and calmly walked up to the cage and sat down and watched him. Tumnus looked down at the dog and said in a rather low voice - No. Made my day!!

I noticed that you Kate offers Murphy a "finger". The people I got Tumnus from were avian specialists and came to see me after a week of having him and I was showing them all my battle scars on my fingers. They suggested offering a flat hand for Tumnus to step up on. It is harder to bite a larger target than a single finger; my fingers thanked them. I *always* offer Tumnus a flat hand now and hardly get bit. Do you have a training stand? You might have Kate try having Murphy step up on her flat hand and when he does this successfully she can reward him and then return him to the stand and offer a reward. I hope she eventually gets over her fear/dislike for Murphy.

He is a cutie. When you have the bird step up try using a flat hand. That may lessen the biting. It worked for Tumnus (affectionately referred to as Mr. T or T-bird). When I got him he would give my fingers hell. The people I got him from were avian specialists and taught me to offer him my flat hand and that saved my fingers! Now, after working with him, I can offer him a couple of fingers to step up on and he hardly bites.

I have had him for about 3 years and I think he's about 4 now. He wasn't very old when I got him. I got him from a couple who rescued birds and he happened to be a bird they rescued. We had to work through some issues with biting but he's doing great! He is a sweet bird (as I sit here and type that he is saying, "What a sweet boy!") and I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. He's the comic relief I need at times.

Azzie, now that you mention it - I have noticed little sounds during the "dance". Love my bird but but after that I was kinda disgusted and did return him to his cage. So, it sounded like I handled it nicely. When he started the "dance" I didn't really pet him at all because I was afraid that was what he was doing and I didn't want to encourage it. Thanks for confirming my suspicions. Judy - I was too repulsed (this was the first time I've seen him do this) to thank him. I'll try to remember to get past that feeling and thank him if it happens again. Now, another question, is this something that will continue or will he eventually stop if I keep returning him to his cage? Thanks again, I really do appreciate the information. How long have you two owned your greys? I have had Tumnus for about 3 years now. -Don

My Timneh Grey recently began exhibiting some behavior I've not noticed and I'm sure I have an idea of what it is, but would like to have an experienced owner/handler confirm what I think. S/he (not been sexed) has started to bend kinda low and fluff out his/her wings which kinda exposes his/her back. Then last night I had him/her out and was scratching his/her head when all of a sudden s/he did something akin to regurgitating and four pieces of food came out - like it was trying to feed me? It really doesn't like to be petted on the back and I know enough not to pet near the vent which the bird doesn't really like to be petted on the front (chest). It enjoys having its head scratched but that's about it and even then it's not too keen about that either. So, I'm wondering, the fluffing out and the "feeding" is that something a female would do? And any ideas about the behavior? How would one handle that? Any and all responses are welcome and appreciated. Thanks, Don and T-bird