Joe Bachi

I'm glad you all like the pics (Also very happy that he looks well and healthy! )

Hey! I recently bought a new camera and I was so eager to try it out. And what better way to test out a camera than photographing my beloved CAG in action. Turns out the HS system is more useful than I thought! Anw, here's the link for the pics on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150829494245760.516887.612855759&type=3&l=5a100fa4e4

I am training him to step up and stay on my hand I move him from perch to perch in order to slowly get him used to being moved around while on my hand which will eventually lead to me taking him out of the cage and putting him back ... and in the long run, perching on my shoulder. Here's what's happening: He gets on my hand... I wait a few secs...give him a treat... put him back on his perch The prob is that he won't stay on my hand, he tries to get down as soon as he's on it What do u suggest doing?

Hey guys, It's been a while now since I started training Mikko, at first it was great, he was stepping up whenever I offered my hand and not biting. However, the past few weeks haven't been so great; ever since I started to move him from perch to perch while on my hand: *He doesn't step up as frequently anymore *He tries to think of new ways to get back on his perch before I can start moving once he's on my hand (and frankly I'm impressed; he figured out that if he moved towards the tips of my fingers my hand would get lower and he would have a better chance at reaching the perch with his foot :confused: ) *Once on my hand, no matter what I do (stay still, move him, praise, give treats, distract) his only goal is to get off and back to a perch. Oh and btw, all training is done in his cage cz he won't let me take him out of it (as you might have figured out from what I wrote ) So what can I do? What am I doing wrong? All suggestions are welcomed Regards Joe

lol she's so cute ...love the santa hat Best of luck with training Regards Joe

Thank you all for the nice comments and replies Glad you like my work I'll try to post more in the near future Regards Joe

Hey Guys, Starting next year, I go to university to study engineering (not sure if it's gonna be civil or electro-mechanical), however my true passion will always be painting and sketching, here is some of my work:My album I guess it's better to keep it as just a hobby I would really like it if you could leave me some comments and replies here Regards Joe

thank you for your replies everyone I actually did clip him myself yesterday. I posted this on another thread

if they were that would probably mean that Gandalf has been watching r rated shows :pWhat have you been feeding his young impressionnable mind?!!! lol glad it's nothing serious

This just in: More progress, this time it's huge, today during our training session Mikko allowed me to clip his nails ! No towel no restraints no nothing! I just showed him the clippers and once he was done playing with them i went straight to buisness; i positionned them around the nail while he was standing on a perch in his cage and clipped right away he didn't even notice he was being groomed! And made no reaction at all. When i was done i gave him a lot of treats lol. Not too bad for a wild caught ;D regards joe

Hey all, Today during our training session Mikko and I were able to make noticeable progress He stepped up on my hand (as usual) and allowed me to move him from the bottom perch to the high one, and we also did it the other way around And if that wasn't enough for one day, he also allowed me to touch his head feathers: I was caressing his beak (something which he has come to enjoy) and when I withdrew my hand, I noticed that he was lowering his head as if he was telling me that more cuddling would be welcomed, so I gently touched his head for a brief second before he raised his head again (I of course gave him a treat). He allowed me to do it a second time too ;D Just wanted to share my joy Hope he keeps up that progress rhythm Regards Joe

Hey guys, Today I went to a pet shop and bought a pair of parrot nail clippers. Mikko's nails aren't exactly that long but I thought it would be better to get him used to the gadget. Surprisingly it went well! I allowed Mikko to play with it with his beak for a while, then I held the clippers and touched his nails with them. He was very cooperative and even lifted his foot and allowed me to correctly position the clippers around his nail and pretend to clip them. I know that "pretending to clip" is not nearly as difficult as actually clipping but I do hope that with time and practice we will get there This is a good step I assume? Do you think this kind of training will help prevent the use of toweling in the future? (I really hope so) Also what do you guys do when it's time to clip your pet's nails (that is if that time comes for you cz I know that not all nails grow at the same rate) Regards Joe

Yes it does get pretty awkward when I'm trying to encourage Mikko to talk by using a high pitched silly voice and he just gives me that "dude what in the world are you doing?" look LOL, and he does know how to get what he wants ..................oh yes ..............manipulative pets.......................gotta love 'em ;D

Hey guys, Ever since I decided to own birds as pets, I've had a tough time training them, everyone always told me to be patient and give the bird some time to feel comfortable around me and that always made me angry; I would think:"I am being very nice to this bird, I am feeding him, giving him a safe home and caring for him, so why does he still see me as a threat?" That is one day I saw this solution: What if you were the pet and your owner was a grey who kidnapped you from your home, and chose to keep you as a pet? However that didn't really get to me until I made this pic Now every time I get frustrated with training I just look at this pic and feel a bit better. LOL Hope this helps someone out there Regards Joe

It took so long because they had to order it from abroad possibly the USA As for the authors, they're: Mattie Sue Athan & Dianalee Deter I'll try to post some sort of informal review when I'm done with it

A month ago I ordered "The African Grey Parrot Handbook" and after much anticipation I was finally able to go pick it up today Can't wait to start reading it...the perfect Christmas present

Who knows maybe a Christmas miracle is waiting for you this year! Stay optimistic anything can happen in the crazy world

Well here is what I learned, Never Ever spend more than two hours making a toy for your grey cz the result is always the same: This is a toy that I made for Mikko, it took me a lot of time and a lot of patience to finish it, It took him little energy and a beak to shred it to pieces

lol, I know, I go through at least 3 different toys every months lol

Wow! this is so cool, I love baby greys!... pics plz?

This is to prove that contrary to popular belief, african greys DO preserve their toys, Just look at this picture of a toy I bought for Mikko in it's original condition and how it still looks great after a month of usage: As you can see, this toy is still usable and you can barely notice the difference between the two LOL Joe

I am no expert on this matter, but according to what I've read on this forum, I don't think it's a good idea. A lot of members here complain that their AG is very territorial when there are other birds with them. I might be wrong though Hope that kind of helped Regards Joe

Thanks for the advice, I will try this

go to http://www.birdtricks.com and order it there

Thanks chezron, now the problem is getting him to stay on my hand; he steps up perfectly, but as soon as his feet are both on my hand he steps down :confused: What should I do?