MarcusCAG

Now that you mention it... the guy we adopted Tybalt from said that in his first home, he lived with a Military macaw and a Quaker parrot. Maybe he was best buds with the other Quaker??? Hm. That would explain some things! Your poor Grey! I guess birdie romances can be quite involved sometimes, and heartbreaking... just like for us humans... Thanks for your insightful reply, Birdnut!

Oh!!!! I just had to log in and tell you congratulations!!!!! :) That is WONDERFUL news! I am so happy for all of you! Please give Jimpster a kiss for me for his safe return home!

I am so sorry... that is just horrible news... I am just so sorry for your loss. We are all thinking of you and your family right now.

*Bump!* Anybody, anything? Thanks...

We can all tell you're very sincere in learning and gaining knowledge about these birds before you jump in and make a decision, which is commendable. Sometimes though we all express ourselves and, much to our chagrin, not everybody understands just what we meant in the way we wanted them to. Been there, done that. I just wanted to make sure you realize that even hand-reared parrots can be aggressive if they want to. Considering the laws in the States, I think there is almost no way that Marcus wasn't bred in captivity and hand-reared when he was little... but years of neglect by his former owners made him revert a bit and not trust humans as much. So it really boils down to more factors than just hand-rearing. If you came across a beloved companion parrot who had always been treated like gold but who needed a new home, they would probably not bite like another rehomed parrot who hadn't been a treasured member of their former family who was regularly interacted with. In other words, I don't think it all has as much to do with "hand-rearing" per se as it does with the parrot's general background and initial training.

Please don't think that a hand-reared parrot won't have the capacity to bite down hard if it wants to. A parrot is a parrot is a parrot. It's a wild animal regardless if it's hand-reared by humans and loved from babyhood onward. It will probably be less likely to use its beak in defense that way, but it still is able to. And it's been said here in the forums many times over, at one point or another in its life, for whatever reason, a parrot WILL bite. If you're really that afraid of an honest bite and don't want to be bitten ever again, don't get a parrot. Even small parrots can bite hard. But if you can accept that real possibility, and deal with the situation appropriately should it arise, then you and your parrot-of-the-future will be able to work together through just about anything.

I'm sure she's not!

Yay!! Congratulations to you and Murphy both! I'm sure you're thrilled with this development! Honestly, when we adopted Marcus at eight years old less than a year ago, he was already pretty talky, but most of it was mumbly or just goofy noises and electronic bleeps. He doesn't "practice" words as far as I can tell--he'll just pop out with a phrase or a sentence for an appropriate situation that just leaves us a bit shocked for a while. So to answer your question, for me it's when he says something, and maybe the cadence isn't exactly spot-on like a human would produce in English (Marcus particularly has a tendency to draw out the last syllable of the last word in a sentence), but in my head somewhere faster than conscious thought I can push through his 'accent' and I'll find myself replying to him as appropriate. Like yesterday he told me it was hot, and I was immediately on my feet asking him if he wanted a shower. He's never said anything remotely like that before. But I just knew what he was asking, I don't know if my husband would have picked it up because it wasn't crystal-clear perfect, but I understood him anyway. Sometimes it's the other way around though, my hubby will understand Marcus better than me (and sometimes Marcus is just clear as a bell like one of us when we enunciate well--haha, maybe that means we sound mumbly to him most of the time, I don't know!). But since Marcus really doesn't practice words as far as we can tell, it's not like we really hear him building up to anything over the course of a few weeks or days, and sometimes we just have no idea what he's said because it's kind of garbly.

So here we have one starry-eyed Indian Ringneck: ever since meeting Beaker after the quarantine, Tybalt's been all over him trying to make sure they become the best of friends. In the beginning, Beaker was quite resistant to Tybalt's advances, and whenever he would start up with his lovely, exotic cooing noises and everything, Beaker would yell and lunge. He bit Tybalt pretty hard a couple of times and made him scream, but thankfully there was no blood. Anyway. Beaker has mellowed a little bit over the past few days and Tybalt, as long as he doesn't start making his "lovey noises", is generally allowed to perch next to Beaker without any aggression popping up. Yet twice now Tybalt has managed to feed Beaker, regurgitating what to me must have been the entire contents of his crop each time--he fed him so much! Today Beaker was in a bad Quaker mood (anyone familiar with Quaker parrots knows what I'm talking about!) and he was all cranky, lunging at Tybalt and screaming at him a lot. Tybalt side-stepped his lunges and just started head-bobbing... and even when Beaker yelled at him, he inched closer... and started feeding him. Beaker protested once or twice but then he just basically shut up and allowed himself to be fed! I watched the whole process, it was very intriguing to me... Afterward, Beaker was in a much better mood, all chirpy and making happy noises--and I just thought, Beaker, if you're really that hungry, just go and eat!!! Anyway, I was under the impression that only bonded adult birds fed one another, or parent birds fed their babies. Beaker and Tybalt are not bonded as far as I can tell (although Tybalt might want to be!). Is this some display of courtship? Might a male parrot feed another male parrot? We don't know if Beaker is really male or female, we've always just assumed he's a male, but perhaps we've been totally wrong all this time. Anyone have any thoughts? Thank you...

Hi Rick, I just replied to your post in the Welcome Room. Yes, that looks quite normal. Our Marcus has that little 'gap' in the lower part of his beak, too, with a bare patch of skin on his throat as well. I know others can tell you more about it but if you look around at pics of the Greys here, you'll see that others have it too. So no worries, unless your visit to the vet reveals something of concern about your new little one. But I hope it doesn't.

Hi Rick and Sunny, welcome to the Grey forums! What you described sounds quite normal. Our Marcus has that same little gap of featherless skin under his beak, too, as I know other Greys do. Perhaps someone else can tell you the proper name for it and everything, or if it's more pronounced in baby Greys than adults--because I really don't know as we adopted Marcus as an adult bird, and he's the only Grey I've ever had. But it sounds as though Sunny is settling in nicely to your home, and I know we all are looking forward to hearing more stories of her as she grows with you and your family!

Thank you so much for all the information... I honestly don't want to hijack this thread about lovely Nilah, but I looked all over that site last night and I really didn't know what I was looking for (is it considered a ladder? a bird bridge? a playstand?). I didn't see any pictures that look like it though--or what I can tell of it from your photo--so maybe they don't sell it online, just at the store.

Thank you, everyone, I'm glad you like them!

Oh, no! Poor Jimpster!!! I am so sorry to hear this... I agree though, you can't give up hope yet, I've heard stories where parrots are reunited with their owners months after the fact. But if it was Beaker, I know I'd be a mess right now, myself. Maybe put up flyers in a nearby park or something, you'd be surprised how much the little kids can notice when they're out and about, maybe someone can give you a tip that way? And I know Jimpster seemed to have a love/hate relationship with your Brutus, but I know before you've mentioned taking Brutus to an outside cafe or something for socialization. Maybe take Brutus outside and walk around and talk loudly with him, interspersed with calls for Jimpster. If he's nearby, maybe he'll try to get closer to his flock and you can collect him up and bring him safely home that way. We have lots of hawks in our area too, but I wouldn't give up home just yet. Please know we're thinking of you all right now...

Did anything out of the ordinary happen around the time that you think your Tumba stopped speaking? Maybe it seemed insignificant at the time, but perhaps it depressed him or something and he hasn't been able to deal with it properly yet... Just a thought, I'm just sorry he's acting so unusual right now, I'm sure it's a concern for you.

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I just checked the temperature here in our house; it's 92 degrees. Marcus was still up on his playgym a little while ago when I went in with a book to read on the floor. The other boys were back in their respective cages and the room was quiet and still. Suddenly, behind me, I heard Marcus say, "It's hot todaaaaaaaaaaay." Jumping to my feet immediately, amazed at his unexpected comment, I asked him if he wanted to get sprayed with the water bottle. He generally does not at all like getting misted that way, but Marcus promptly turned to the side a little to look at me with one eye and said, "Sssss!" (We've figured out that, in any context outside of his Alphabet Letters practice time, that sound is his version of the word yes.) So I got out the water bottle, and while I was filling it I told my husband what Marcus had said ("No way! Really?") and he suggested that I put Marcus back in his cage and turn on the ceiling fan. Marcus was really rather well-behaved during his little spray bottle shower, and after I had squirted all the boys, I turned back to Marcus and asked him if he wanted to go back in his cage, so Mommy could turn on the ceiling fan and get the air blowing around. He flapped over to his cage rather quickly, all things considered, and when I asked him again about turning the fan on, Marcus made puff-puff sounds in reply. He climbed down to his open door then and I closed and secured it, checked everybody's doors afterward, and then I announced I was turning the fan on. When I left the boys' room a few moments ago, Marcus was resting on his perch closest to that area where the wind can be felt the best in his cage. The poor boy really must be hot!

Hehe, I meant "Really?" in the sense that some other Greys might find the zip ties totally alluring. Considering what Marcus has done to other random objects around the birdroom I know he'd make short work of the zip-tie if he wanted to! And JDS5607, I hope the welding works out without a hitch... at least you don't have to get a whole new cage.

May I ask where you got it?

I just looked at the pics in the link Judygram shared and they are lovely-looking birds! If you feel you can give this baby a good forever home, I'm sure he will be very happy with you.

Congrats! Your Sennie baby looks so lovely, just adorable! Name?....

I almost forgot to post about this, haha, bad me! Last night we actually got to do a little M/R with Marcus and the alphabet letters. My husband's been very busy with work lately and hasn't been able to spend much time at all with the boys, so last night he plunked himself in their room after dinner and just started hanging out with all of them. I went in later, and since Marcus was on the floor already with him I just pulled out his alphabet letters. He loves the "S" so we did that one, and he got it right; we did a few other letters too, and most of the time my husband was the 'perfect' model/rival, he got them all right. I kind of glared at him once, like, Will you get one wrong for once? And so he did, so I got to correct him, and then I asked Marcus what the letter was. I honestly can't remember exactly now, but I'm pretty sure I had picked up an "M" (like, for 'Marcus'). The thing is, even though no sound came out in spite of our cheering him on ("You can do it, you're a good boy!"--that works so often with so many other things, it's like Marcus needs the reassurance) Marcus definitely was working his beak differently. I got the impression he was feeling kind of shy, and that's why he didn't actually try and say the letter out loud... but the movement was there. He was thinking something in his head but he just didn't follow through completely. He did this another time too. About then my husband told me we'd done enough for the night, and I should put his alphabet letters away. So... it's a bit frustrating, it's kind of stop and go, I show Marcus the letters by myself and spell out words, but apparently the fastest route to anything tangible will be through the regular practice of M/R. Hm. Can I teleport anyone over here to help me with this endeavor?

Really? I've had two of Marcus' perches zip-tied to his cage for forever. The one is a small maple (not one of the toxic varieties, we checked!) that my husband felled and stripped and it stretches the length of the cage, and the other is a perch that I don't have washers for (that fit the bars, anyway). Marcus has never shown any interest in the zip ties at all, but I guess he might just be a laid-back kind of guy or something, in this regard anyway. Hope everything works out for Sully in the end with the cage!

Oh, she's so cute drinking from the faucet! And what is that lovely parrot thingie in the background on the counter? It looks like it (or one like it) would be a lot of fun for a certain Grey I know.

Hehe, you can really see she's enjoying herself in that second shot!!