JeffNOK

It seems kind of sad that Earthchild has not posted anywhere on the forum since May 17th.

Kins, you said it well--lots of work but SO WORTH it. It is a labor of of love and we benefit as much or more than our greys do.

They are beautiful markings. I hope they stay. If not--grey and white are a great color combination as well. Welcome to the forum.

Kins, thank you. I think you are right on target. My first strategy is to AVOID the bite, but I do think that "time outs" are called for if it happens again. I've noticed that in the past few days she has been "talking" a lot about "NO BITE". I reacted to her bite this last weekend with a raised voice and I am suspicious that this may have given her a sense of power. Tonight when she was about to dump her food bowl, I reached to take the bowl away and she nipped at me. She has NEVER done that before. I think she sees this as a battle of wills. Now her nip didn't make contact and all was well, but I know she is testing boundaries, so I am prepared to take action. I do love her so much. She is such a joy, but I can't allow her to misbehave. I don't see this as a set back, but as the natural course of our relationship. I am devoted to her and will do everything to make sure that we co-exist in harmony. After the nipping incident, Gracie said. "Gracie wanna kiss. No bite" She came forward and planted a sweet kiss on my nose with no bites. She does mean well--but she's a parrot after all....we will make this work.

It's wonderful that Janet has such a sweet "zon" in Louie. It's good to know that stereotypes are just that--generalizations that are not always true. I know others here have zons like Nilah and Cricket--who are female. It does seem there is a difference, although Jayd mentioned that with Double yellow headed the females can be quite a challenge at a certain age as well. I'd love to hear more from parronts of mature zons--both male and female. So much has been said about the "hot three", but according to Barbara Heidenreich even males from these species do very well under the right conditions. In fact, I think zons are her favorite parrots. I guess what I am trying to say is that a lot of the reputations that are ascribed to these birds is based on testimony from people who may not have known how to work with and live with these birds. Before I got a grey, I was discouraged by all the talk of phobic, shy, and neurotic behavior. Now that I am on this forum, I see that in general NONE of these claims are really true at all when greys are given the love and care they need. In fact, the only time I read about such behavior is from people who have rehomes or rescues. I tend to think that people create the problems out of ignorance rather than it being part of the bird's nature. I think this is probably true with zons as well.

Gracie does not like to be left alone if I am home. I have a small condo and as long as she can see me she is happy as a clam. If I leave even for a minute or two she calls for me, chatters, or gets into mischief in order to beckon my return. Once I'm back she chills. She is only 22 months, so this may change, but as far as Gracie is concerned, we are a team and I better be there!

Jayd, I agree wholeheartedly that scare tactics are the LAST thing we should do with our greys. I do think the "shark hat" was suggested as a joke, however. That cute little Caique didn't look scared in the least. Now, a grey might be frightened by such a hat, though. They notice everything! Caiques are so different. I notice that Gracie seems to be wary of beards. My brother and a family friend have beards and she flies away the minute they get near. As you said Jayd,--teaching is the way to go with a grey. Thankfully, they are so smart that they learn quickly.

I think Greywings nailed it. Your reaction was very likely associated with reinforced behavior with your other animals. When Gracie bit me the other day at my parents' house I raised my voice to her in a way I never had before, but had done so with the dogs. The minute it came out of my mouth I was surprised at myself. I know not to raise my voice to a grey--but it came out before I had a chance to think. To be honest, I know better now than to raise my voice to a dog, cat, or person as well, but in the past I acted out of mis-information. Guilt won't help, but it is always good to do a mental assessment and learn the roots of things, so they can be avoided going forward. I'm glad things seem to be getting better. We are all sending you positive thoughts through this.

Thanks for all the responses. It seems I am definitely not alone. It hope redirection, safe set ups around the house, and maybe gentle nudging off things should solve most of the problem. I may have her step up on my arm rather than hand when I am removing her from things. She hasn't bitten my arm yet. I love my little girl so much. I don't want you to think she is always a brat. 90% of the time she is a little grey angel....but that 10% remains.

Thanks. I think I might try the perch advice. Like Dayo she will probably fly off of whatever she has gotten into. Now that we are home, there have been no bites and Gracie has been sweet. My hand just has a few little scabs as a reminder.

Don't beat yourself up now. I'm sure your relationship will weather this. I know you just reacted and never meant to do any harm. Just learn from this and don't let it happen again. It is not a small thing, but move forward with the best of intentions to always think before acting. Keep us updated how things go. You love your grey and I feel for you.

Loved Dayo dancing! He is truly a rockstar.

Enjoy the journey. It is wonderful to see them grow and mature and become themselves over time. I got my grey as a baby and although she is just 22 months now, it seems like we have gone through so many stages already. More to come! It is an adventure. Thanks for the update. Cute pic.

Congratulations on the progress. I know the sexual behavior is kind of a bummer, but there is obvious trust there. He is a beautiful bird. Keep us posted on the continued bond.

Step 1: We admitted to ourselves that we were powerless over spoiling our parrots and that our lives had become unmanageable. Step 2 : Repeat step one. It's just a two step program rather than the traditional 12-steps The Parront Serenity Prayer: God, Grant me the serenity to accept that I spoil my parrot. The courage to continue spoiling my parrot. And the wisdom to know that if I stop spoiling my parrot there will be hell to pay.

It sounds like Escher is at the "jumping off" point with language. Things are going to heat up fast! Pretty soon you aren't going to be able to keep track.

That is one thing that has amazed me. Our greys take the language they have learned and mix it up to fit the situation. Gracie puts sentences together that I have never said. For example this past Mother's Day my Mom dropped a knife on the floor and Gracie said "Mommie Stinker Stinker". I call Gracie a stinker when she dumps things on the floor. She has NEVER heard me say "Mommie Stinker" but she put it together. Alfie is a smart cookie, and he is using his language meaningfully. It is so cool. I wonder how much other parrot species do this.

No, she was not allowed on those things. My parents weren't sure they could handle her, so she was in a make shift birdsafe "birdroom"==AKA my Mom's office while I was gone. My parents took turns spending time with her in there.

Gracie my CAG is 22 months old and seems to be exhibiting some "terrible-twos" behavior--some funny and some frustrating. Gracie knows she can get my attention by "being bad". Being bad for Gracie is to dump her food bowl or knock something over onto the floor with a crash. If she is out and I am not paying attention to her or I leave the room for a minute, I inevitably hear a "crash" and Gracie exclaiming "Gracie's a stinker. Stinker! Stinker!" I come back to find a toy unhinged and cast on the floor, a tipped over vase, or a food bowl with it contents scattered hither and yon. On Mother's Day my mom accidentally dropped a knife on the floor. Gracie heard the crash and said "Mommy Stinker! Stinker!" On a more serious note, Gracie has started to bite me when I remove her from things she is not supposed to get into. My home is pretty parrot safe, but at my parents she sometimes flies to the wood blinds or lands on lamp shades with the intent of having a nice chewing session. I go to her and she steps up nicely, but then she nails me! My right hand has about 5 chomp marks as I write this. I usually don't raise my voice, but I overdid it a bit and harshly said, "Don't you bite your daddy!!!". Since then she has spent much time attacking/biting a toy and saying "Don't you bite your daddy!!!" I know the best thing is to avoid the bite, so now if I go to my parents house, the blinds will be closed so she can't land on them and pillows are to be placed on the top of all the lamp shades. I figure the less I have to remove her from the less I will be bitten. I haven't done any time outs, but that may be next if the problem continues. Again, this never happens at my house, just my parents. Any thoughts? The posted video shows her attacking her toy and saying "Don't bite your Daddy!" among other random musings of "stinker" "don't be scared" and "bird bird bird-bird is the word", etc

I don't think we were suggesting to put a stick or perch "into" his cage. Most any grey would go ballistic with such an intrusion. I was wondering if you opened the door and he came out, would he later step up on a perch or stick outside the cage to then go back in. It is very very ill-advised to stick foreign objects into the sanctuary of the cage.

I just read this post. I would have loved to share the experience with you all.

Sadly, my Gracie imitates a cough I had last winter. She knows it annoys me so she uses it when I'm doing something she doesn't like (like leave for work). Loved the video. Your TAG has a cute little voice. Gracie sounds like a 75-year-old chain smoker!

Hmm that's a tough one. Will he step up on stick to go back in his cage?

Our greys do seem to love engaging the dogs. Gracie was barking and saying the dog's name very early. Before she even said her own name.

It is so amazing when your grey uses language to engage. As others have said, this is just the beginning. It isn't just the fact that they use words, but that they use them to communicate meaningfully.