JeffNOK

I always love watching Dayo. I still can't get over how human-like he sounds. Gracie talks all the time, but she does NOT have my voice. Do you think size makes a difference? She is a small female CAG. I wonder if her vocal equipment is just different than larger greys.

I love his little dance!

Hi all. Gracie is trying to learn "Respect" by Aretha Franklin. She is practicing the spelling and then saying "Respect". I shot a video of her practicing. I had to be far from her and filmed on zoom. Otherwise she clams up. I hope you can hear her. She gets the spelling right sometimes and messes it up other times, but it is cute as heck if you ask me.

I hate the thought of such amazing beautiful creatures being killed as pests. I wonder if there might be some other way to deter them from damaging crops.

Hi and welcome. You might consider posting a picture of your IRN. By looking we may be able to get a better idea of what the situation is.

She knows 4 animal sounds: Dog, cat, chicken, and monkey. She also sings the main verses of 3 simple songs. Right now she is learning Aretha Franklin's "Respect". I will start with colors and numbers. That might be a challenge. I would like to teach her to express her feelings. So far she just says when she is happy or sleepy.

My CAG Gracie is a real talker. She is two years old and says about 200 words, almost all within meaningful phrases. The thing is, her 200 word vocabulary pretty much encompasses our daily life. I live alone, so what we "talk" about regards our daily routine. I want her to expand her language skills, but I' not sure what else to teach her. She already greets me daily with "good morning", asks for her breakfast, comments on my shower and shaving habits, says goodbye when I leave for work with "Daddy go to work. Daddy go bye bye in car. I'll be back." She greets me when I return, "Daddy's home. Daddy stay with Gracie.". She knows all my friends by name including my parents' dog.. She comments on our various activities: "Daddy whatcha doing? Daddy on couch. Daddy use computer. Gracie, whatcha doin'.? Gracie in cage. Gracie on perch", etc. She says, "Gracie likes toys: when she plays. She says, "Gracie stretchy stretchy...or Gracie scratchy scratchy" when she does those things. When she preens, she says, "Gracie has feathers." When she flies, she says, "Fly fly fly". She knows what she eats by name: peas, carrots, corn, potato, egg, beans, etc. The other day I gave her a veggie mix that had broccoli and cauliflower, and she dumped it on the floor saying, "Gracie wants peas and corn" with irritation. She asks for fresh water and baths. She talks about bites and kisses and touch. At night she tells me when she wants to sleep, "Night night time. Back in cage. Sweet dreams." When she is full of exuberance, she says "Happy! Happy! Happy!." She asks to go to the park, "Gracie go to park. Gracie like sunshine. See birdies. See people." I guess I am just at a loss at what else to teach her. Some greys have 1,000+ word vocabularies, but Gracie can pretty much narrate her life with 200 words. I don't want her to learn words just for the sake of it. I want to find ways to deepen our communication. I'm just not sure what the best course of action is. She isn't limited--I am.

Last month I posted about Gracie being kind of a snot. It resulted in a bite to my lip when she "lured" me into a kiss by saying "Gracie wanna kiss. No Bite. Trust." Well, I have to say, she has made a complete turnaround in the last few weeks. Now, I don't trust her enough to get my face near her, but she has been the sweetest, most adorable little girl lately. She hasn't even nipped me in weeks. The most she does is say "Ah Ah" and does a half-hearted bluff nip that doesn't even touch me--no contact at all. She often asks for kisses, but since I don't allow them anymore, she has changed her tactics. She says, "Gracie wants touch. Touch Daddy." I go to her with my hand or my shoulder, and she reaches out with her beak and gently rubs my hand or shoulder very sweetly. No attitude, no attempts at bites. It just warms my heart. Now this may all change tomorrow and BirdZilla may return, but for now it seems she has learned that bites are not a game. What I sort of feel bad about is that when she asks for kisses, she always says "Gracie sorry. Sorry." But I still won't go there for a kiss. Shoulder and hand touches are all that is on the menu.

I feel for you Nancy--and Sunny and your son. I know how hard it has been. Still hoping for a happy ending.

"It's never too late to be the person you might have been."

I saw on the news today that this raccoon recently passed away. The man has a new raccoon and a possible reality show deal.

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing about your growing flock. Glad you are here.

Thanks Dan. I have called all family and friends and told them that kissing is now verboten. My lip doesn't look too bad, thankfully. I have two small puncture wounds. It hurts a little, but I will be on the mend soon.

The thing is, I wasn't afraid in the least. I was sure she was just going to give me a nice kiss.

She IS smart. She is just what I wanted in a grey for better or worse. But I have to face facts and be sensible. If she had decided to twist or pull her beak when she bit me, I would be in the emergency room now getting stitches or even making an appointment with a plastic surgeon. She pierced my lip deeply, but it was sharp, and she released quickly like two sewing needles going in and out. She could have easily taken off a chunk of my lip if she had meant real harm. In fact, I don't think it is a good idea to even give her "air kisses" anymore--at least for a while. I also will not allow any of my friends or family to kiss her. She can't be trusted. When she beckons me with "Kiss Kiss. No bite" I will completely ignore her.

Well.....as I posted earlier, I was worried maybe I was being paranoid about giving Gracie a kiss. As I said, she has sweetly kissed my family and friends (even though I tell them she bit me and to be careful and not to attempt it --nobody listens to me). I started to wonder if maybe I was being paranoid. So, two minutes ago she asked for a kiss and so sweetly made the kissing sound. I thought to myself, "Oh what the heck. She is harmless with people she isn't even bonded to. Why the concern?" So, I leaned in and decided to go for it. I AM NOW APPLYING A PAPER TOWEL TO MY LOWER LIP TO SOAK UP THE BLOOD! She got me good! Now, I'm not angry. I should have known better. I still want this thread to be about her Hatchday. I love her and she loves me. But, it makes me take pause. Why would she do that to me and not to my Mom, Dad, or my friend Marie? My guess is that she knows she got a reaction from me before, and it somehow excites her. I may be stretching it, but as I wrote earlier, is it possible that she kissed them sweetly as a ruse to get my trust so she could nail me? Could she be that devious? If she is that devious, then I am amazed at her cunning. I doubt that is really what is going on though. I guess I have to admit defeat and say goodbye to those kisses that were our only physical contact aside from stepping up. When she bit me, I didn't really react. It was bedtime, so I asked her to step up and I put her in her cage. She did seem a little upset when she saw the blood. I could tell it bothered her, but I can't say or hope that was remorse. I love that little stinker no matter what. Again, Happy Hatchday + one. You will always be in heart even when you shed my blood.

Wow! I am a 6ft4 210 pound 46 year old man and this made me shed a tear. It is important to read the disclaimer at the top to know the whole story. So refreshing and a testament to the fact that humans do not have to be the natural enemy of wildlife. We can be a support, encourager, and lifeline. I'm smiling ear to ear!

I loved reading about your outing to Dairy Queen. Jake seems to want to engage with the world. He is clearly smart and loving. I don't get the impression that he realizes he is hurting you. I think he is just being exuberant and hasn't yet found the appropriate way to express it. What warms my heart is your devotion and patience with him. You see the bird he can and will be, and you appear willing to do whatever it takes to get him to that place. He couldn't be in a better home. I just know he is going to learn the ropes and you will all be a very happy and well adjusted "flock" in due time. Your commitment inspires me. Thank you for sharing. I have no advice to give, but I am cheering for you and expect good news.

Lol--speaking of kisses, she has been kissing all of my friends and family without any bites. After she kisses them, she looks at me and says. "Kiss? No bite." But I still don't trust her. I'm giving the 4-inch away smooches. I may be paranoid, but I wonder if she is just trying to lure me! "See Daddy. I'm safe and harmless." Am I being too suspicious?

I just wanted to announce Gracie's Hatchday. She broke out of her egg two years and one day ago. For all of my recent talk of Gracie's "terrible twos" I wanted to celebrate her two year milestone with all of you. As I reflect on my life so far with Gracie, all I can say is that I plan to live and enjoy the rest of my years with a little feathered girl who has taught me much and has brightened my days in a myriad of unexpected ways.

We may be number three. My guess is that India may be ahead of us. They have a billion people and English is used quite widely. I taught English in China for a summer, and everyone is required to learn English. They don't all learn it well, but they all know a bit. Much more that we Americans know Chinese.

Loved the video. Amazon's can sure belt it out.

I'm feeling a bit guilty as I write this. I was irritated with Gracie the other night when I posted on another thread about her deceptions and manipulations. During her "nite nite" routine that particular evening she said "Nite nite time, back in cage, time for sleepies.", and when I went to have her step up she ran from me several times saying "Ah Ah no no". She did in fact step up after a couple of minutes and she didn't nip or bite. To be honest, she hasn't bitten me since 4th of July weekend. She does say "Ah Ah " and pops me with her beak sometimes, but it is harmless. As I read my post, I realized I characterized her in an unfair light. She is asserting herself, but she very rarely nips or bites in a serious manner. She is just sort of grumpy and protests. I watch her as she attacks her toys (ironically saying "Don't you bite your daddy!" while going full on Tyrannosaurus Rex on the unfortunate toy) and realize she never goes at me that way. I mean, she has power, but she restrains it by 80% at least. I have never received a bite with anything near full strength. Yes, she is in her "terrible twos", but she is generally just a joy, and since she can't speak for herself, I wanted to advocate for her.

What about frozen vegetables? I mix frozen and fresh for Gracie's meals. Do I need to wash the frozen stuff? Is frozen stuff bad?

Lol..when I read your headline I thought "OMG they don't have parrots in thrift stores now do they?!?" Thank goodness it was just a tacky sculpture.