Richardsmommy

Anyone have video games in the same room as their bird? I wonder what that'd sound like? All the bombs, bands, whistles, beeps, etc....

I'm sorry. I tried to upload the taser sound, but it wouldn't accept a sound file. I tried zipping it but it didn't accept that, either. You'll just have to trust me when I say it's a very annoying and loud sound. Goldn1 said: NO! NO! NO! I will NEVER let ANYONE squeak a balloon near Richard! You're talking about blowing it up and stretching the nozzle as air escapes? NO! Don't even joke about this. I'd be forced to jump off a cliff and take Richard with me (though, he'd probably just laugh at me and fly away).<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2008/05/23 01:24 taser.zip

Sevi said: It blows me away when Richard says something I never realized I said...or that I said it frequent enough for him to memorize. One morning I heard him say, "I'm trying to find..." and he never finished the sentence. Then I recalled that I never complete the sentence when someone asks, "What are you looking for?". I can't seem to be able to look for something and talk at the same time. LOL!<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2008/05/23 01:09

Terri, Don't feel bad. You aren't alone. My mother's bird seller told me that she gets calls every flu and pollen season from clients she's sold birds to. They call in frantically crying that their bird is coughing, sneezing, hacking, etc. I said, "Why don't you ease their minds early and explain the possibility of picking up the sounds when they purchase the bird?" She said, "And miss all the fun?" Sheesh. I wonder if vets charge people who bring their bird in for that reason? Mine has picked up a cold sound that I HATE hearing from my husband and now I have to hear it from him. I won't describe it, but I'm sure you can imagine what it'd be. There's one noise that I find VERY irritating...Richard just learned this because my husband was recently issued a TASER. Are you familiar with those? They are remote stun guns police officers use instead of lethal guns these days. Unless you're familiar with a taser, I won't be able to describe the sound because I have nothing to compare it to (I'm not talking about the electrical buzzy noise), Every nighjt before work, my husband has to do something to the taser that involves pulling the trigger and setting something off for about 5 seconds. The best I can do is that if you take two big wooden block and clap them together real hard and super fast, you might be able to recreate the noise. I was an idiot. I told my husband, "Oh, Richard would LOVE to learn that sound! Do it in the living room, Sweety!" Now Richard makes this noise almost ALWAYS during a super quiet time when I'm dozing off. And, now that he's mastered the noise, he's trying to match the length of the noise...5 seconds. I frequently record Richard when he's on a talking frenzy and this sound shows up on every recording. On a sound graph, it appears as a large green solid block. LOL! If I can find a way to upload it, I'll let you hear it.

Richard "talks on the phone". He makes the phone ring sound then continues with, "hello? Oh, [jubberish] yeah...uh-huh?...ok?...ok!...Oh...[jibberish]...yeah...uh-hu...What?....uh-huh...uh-huh...come again?...ok...uh-huh...yeah...yeah...ok...[jubberish]...excuse me?...excuse me?...can you hear me?...oh, OK!...yeah...uh huh?...yeah...yep...I know...ok...ok...[jibberish]..ok...uh-huh...ok...ok!...well, I gotta go...uh-huh...ok...I love you...bye-bye!" His "[jibberish]" includes words and phrases he also knows along with "baby babble" that I think are words and phrases he hasn't quite developed, yet. He's more prone to "talk on the phone" when I'm on the phone, but he also does it when I mute or turn off the tv--which is rare...explains why he does it then, since I usually only mute for phone calls. Then there's the REAL calls to him: I have an extra cell phone, so I set one by his cage and put it on auto-answer. When I'm out, I call the number and talk to him...he talks to me. My husband thinks I spoil him too much. He is a bit self-centered. When I'm on the computer, he starts attacking the keyboard. I used to think it was out of boredom; but when I thought about it in birdie sense, I realized he was trying to attack what was taking my attention away from him. I would have thought it was the screen, but I use my hands to type and I look at the keys when I do. These are smart birds! One day they're all going to flock together and take over the world! (Yeah, you found me out...I watched "Pinky and the Brain")

He will. They learn pretty quick even at a young age. I love the name "Skittles" for macaws.

Sure! Rub it in, Makena! :laugh:

You got that right! I'm totally blown away over how quickly they learn. I was three years old before I began talking. What's that saying about my intelligence? LOL! He's going to outsmart me one day (and maybe even longer), I'm sure! LMBO

That's hilarious, Judy. My mother misses my calls because she thinks the bird is doing it. I hadn't realized a bird could mimmic a timer also (I use the microwave timer). danmcq wrote: Dan, I never even considered that. You may be on to something there.<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/10/27 03:21

This question is inspired by a post I just read. Last week my bird picked up a peircing high-pitch noise. It sounded familiar but I couldn't put my finger on its origin. Finally after an hour, I remembered it was from a small squeaky toy my dog rejected. I'd gently blow a series of puffs of air from the toy in a rythmic manner {puff-puff puf-puff) on Richard's belly feathers and he just stood there "enjoying it"...or so I thought. Little did I know he was memorizing the high-pitched sound to later use against me. So, my question is, are there any sounds YOU do that doesn't annoy you (because YOU'RE making them) that your bird picked up and uses...that NOW annoys you?

lovemyGreys wrote: Just curious, LMG. Has your parrot picked up the sound of the clicker yet? That method just may turn around to bite you. :laugh: I'm just having fun with you. That is a good idea (just make sure YOU can tolerat the noise before you use it on him). <br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/10/26 22:24

This game requires flash, but it's pretty fun for those who love hangman and/or halloween: http://www.dedge.com/flash/hangman/hangman.swf<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/10/25 21:26

I did a search for the polyoma virus and this is what I came up with: http://www.petcaretips.net/avian-polyoma-virus.html I'm wondering if it's possible for parrots/birds to get sick from fruit that was oversprayed with pestisides, so that washing it doesn't get all the chemicals off? I'm so sorry for your loss, Suzanne. Only parrot and pet owners know how devestating this can be. I hope your precious heart can mend quickly from this sad tragedy.

I think it's caused by back-spacing past a post field that you posted. That's the only thing I've done different.

Never given to them? I'm not trying to start anything. Just trying to clarify. I give Richard a mix of pellets and seeds, which include a sparse amount of sunflower seeds (unsalted, of course...I tasted it). Of course, this mixture is all in one bag and was recommended by my seller. They take care of a room full of parrots and birds and none of them are sick. And of course, I give him fruits and veggies. I'm a fruit/veggie addict myself so this works out great. No need to buy any extras just for him. I was told, by the way, not to give your bird ANYTHING you wouldn't eat yourself. Even the pellets should be fortified with vitamins with no gross byproducts. This is just a guess, Kiko, but did you buy your bird from a pet store that sells a few parrots and a mixture of animals? I went to a nationwide pet store and overheard the clerk advising a new cooter owner to feed the turtle iceberg lettuce and he should be fine. As a veteran turtle owner, I know iceburg lettuce should never be given to turtles and they should eat a variety of dark green lettuce, spinach, fruits, veggies and clean bugs (storebought so they don't have worms in them). Anyway, I chased down the woman and corrected her and then went back to the clerk and corrected him...not to show off, but for the sake of the turtles. I'd hope others would do the same, and wish someone was there to steer you in the right direction. My point being, the clerks in these petstores make minimum wage and don't know much about animals because to do so would mean they'd have to study up on every single animal in their store. I'm not implying EVERY clerk is this way...some work there because they DO know something about animals. And no offense to anyone who purchased their birds in these stores and/or those who work there. My advice would be to seek out a store who specializes in birds and ask them for advice (or, of course a vet who does). If you're planning on purchasing a bird, you might want to find a bird-specialty store. I would guess they'd also be less expensive (mine was) because they aren't selling a few to make a buck.<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/10/25 16:22

This is just a guess, Ubecrew, but I'm guessing it's that you gave her too much in too little time. Perhaps put her in the new cage and let her get used to it, then add toys one by one as she gets used to each of those individually. Then slowly move her to the new room a little each day, OR carry her into the room and read or watch tv for a few days until she feels comfortable in it, etc and then move her cage in there. I don't know. Richard started biting me about that time. He only did it when he was close to my ears and bit them. Who could blame him? My ears are bigger than small saucers (and flatter). When he did this, I pucked him up, placed him on the middle of the floor and walked away. He did this two more times, I did the same thing and he hasn't done it since. I've had him for almost 10 months. I'm sure others will have more to say based on their experience.<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/10/25 15:52

[like Isaac Newton he seems to have "issues with gravity" ] Now, THAT'S funny!

This subject comes up so often, I should copy it to a notepad and c&p to all the "why did you name him" threads (or maybe it could be a sticky). I posted the same thread, Nevval. LOL! But, no one complains because we all like talking about our birds (as do I) and enjoy posting things like this over and over. Anyway, I named Richard after my father. I wanted to name my second son after him (my first son being named after his father (still my hubby)) But, my second child was a girl and I gave her after a name I always wanted for a girl (besides, Richard would be a funny name for a girl). My father is the reason I even have Richard, so I thought it fit perfectly. Funny, it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I realized his name rhymes with "bird".

I can try for WEEKS to get Richard, my congo, to say a phrase or word and he just sits there staring at me like I'm an idiot (well...he IS pretty smart). Then he blurts out words or phrases we weren't even TRYING to teach him. He sneezes, coughs, barks, laughs, knocks (we knock on my son, Donny's, door to wake him up). He'll go " *knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* Donny! Hey, Donny?" We hear this all day and Donny gets annoyed. He says "what?" "Know what?" "You ok?" This is the latest and it's so cute: He makes the same ring sound our phone makes, then has his own conversation with the pauses "yeah!"..."Uh huh"..."ok" and ends with "I love you. OK...Good bye!" Anyone else have a bird who does this? It's so fun to listen to him...AND he'll reveal things to you that you never realized, like words you always say but didn't realize, tones of voice. Do you remember hearing your voice on the tape recorder for the first time and you think, "That doesn't sound like me", yet it did. The bird's the same way. You won't think he sounds like you but everyone around will nod, "Yes he does!" We all went through this in our house. He sounds just like every one of us. My point in all this being, Don't force it. Enjoy every day, talk often and he'll pick it up. Repeating words and phrases to him in his face is just going to make him think you're an idiot. LOL!

Thank you for your kind words, Dan. "That is one of the reasons I absolutely hate email at work. I avoid email conversations at all costs, if they can be handled face to face or via phone." Possibly because they don't want to face you, see your expressions, hear your tone...you see theirs (like a head-in-the-sand sort of way?) so they hide behind the big blue screen.

sorry again. Why do I keep doing that?<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/10/21 00:02

Sorry. 2xpost.<br><br>Post edited by: Richardsmommy, at: 2007/10/21 00:03

I have to say I'm guilty of doing this myself. Sorry. I post something and then forget I posted it. It's not that I don't care about it, because I generally like to keep up with my threads.

Hey, all. Sorry I've been away (not that I think you've missed me unless your aim was off) but I've been battling pain and time-consuming projects. Y'all know how it is. Those were good points mentioned and I'm glad they were posted, Dan. Can I also add a few more? Let's try to understand the poster's motive and attidude in their post. Some people like to joke around and don't mean to offend anyone. Others are misunderstood because we can't hear tones and fluctuations. Other posts could be mis-punctuated, misspelled or misworded. Not all people are language majors, and that they're even putting temselves out there and trying should be applauded, not attacked. Let's try not to take posts or statements in posts as direct put-downs, accusations, threats, etc unless it's obvious...and then don't just assume. If we think it's an attack, we can post something like, "I'm sorry. I may have misunderstood you. I'm taking that statement as an attack on the way I care for my bird. Can you please explain what you meant?"...Maybe not quite as wally/Beave corny, but you know. I've seen too many posts that are misunderstood. Because they're misunderstood, readers make a direct attack on that person, others join in, and the one misunderstood can't even try to explain what he meant because nobody wants to listen. Then the attacked fights back out of frustration and is then seen as brutal and everyone wants him out. And, if he is trying to apologize, accept the pology and move on. Let's not carry feelings from one post into another, and let's try to avoid tainting a post based on what that person said in a different post. Someone makes a mistake in one post and that person is forever labled and treated as such in almost everything he posts. Let's try not to accuse others for restating a post: "read the entire thread, idiot! I just said that in post #365!" People have their reasons for not being able to read all posts. Mine is that I can't sit long without excruciating pain (like i am right now). I'm sure I'm not the only one in pain. Others are that they don't have time to sit down and read every single post in every single thread (and don't accuse those who can as neglecting their birds and kids, or being internet addicts). It's easy to take a skip as an insult, but I'll tell ya, some posts are just too long to read every word (and I am aware that I'm occasionally guilty of lengthy-posting ). These are some I've seen repeatedly in threads. Hope I've been a help and not a hendrance.

Sorry, Loviechick. I didn't see a second page until I posted and went back to review what I posted. But, I can see I'm not the only one who's heard of using bayleaves to stave off pests.