MonkeyBird

Marco still says almost none of the words we endlessly repeated to him, from the time we visited him weekly as a chick. Much to our chagrin! That said, he speaks well over 60 words/phrases, so who are we to complain? Does anyone else's grey almost climb in your mouth when he is learning a new word/phrase? Marco will stare and stare into my mouth and practically try to climb on in to get closer to the source. A little annoying, but we know a new word is coming when he does this.

As a fellow "Marco" parront, isn't that the best thing about their name? Our Marco does this too, usually with dramatic side-to-side headbobs.

HA! Bear with this period, more will come. Marco's first real word was 'good' and he went through a phase of nothing but 'good' in every possible tone and inflection, most often as if he were addressing small children. We laughed it off and persisted with new words until he picked them up eventually.

Our CAG, also a Marco, also loves ice (which I call 'crunchy water'). I found that rather than spilling his water bowl contents when being wheeled outside (or risk opening the service door while outside), I can just fill his water bowl with cubes. Fascinating stuff, this ice!

I know our Marco is all about some new word or phrase because in addition to being obviously focused on the word/phrase, he actually puts his face almost into my mouth trying for better 'reception.' I speculate that he is detecting vibrations. Invariably, he will start repeating that word/phrase within days of getting this extra information. Has anyone else noticed this with their grey(s)?

My CAG, Marco, loves to fool our dog (Great Dane/Cole) into thinking my husband is home from work by saying 'Who's coming?' and 'Welcome home'. Marco listens to hear Cole's nails on the floor and bobs enthusiastically when he hears Cole run to the door. I've watched this happen up to 4 times in a row, until I just can no longer take Cole's disappointment when, once again, there's no one there. Marco loves it best when he can see Cole go running, but will settle for hearing the result he sought. Lately, Marco has taken to saying 'Puppy chow' to get the gullible Cole to think it's dinner time. If we had a video feed of them during the day, I have no doubt we'd see even more of Marco's treachery. Wicked bird.

I agree that rehomed animals should be allowed to form their new home without undue confusion, but say in my defense that the TAG was not bonded to me, rather he tolerated me very well, him being a lady's bird and me being not a lady. No matter how much work I did with him, any female stranger could walk into the room with us and was immediately greeted with affection--I was immediately forgotten. For his welfare, I did not visit him for over a dozen years. He enjoyed our reunion, but was not adversely affected by it, as I repeatedly confirmed from his new parronts. I was always considered part of his flock, but not his chosen by any stretch.

I've had a similar experience. In 1999, I rehomed a TAG to some friends when I could not keep him (he was always a lady's bird and lives happily with 2 of them now), but did not visit him in all that time. I wanted him to know he was in a new home and it was too sad to visit for quite a while. He is friendly with them, but not strangers. About a year ago, I finally asked to see him and was granted the OK. I walk in the door and he begins whistling and did the "hand" shake I taught him when asked and gave kisses. He clearly remembered me, and fondly at that. It was one of those experiences one never forgets--to meet an animal that remembered you from over a dozen years of no-see.

Pepper drives a lot better than that damn cat, Toonces. I so want one. Seriously, this could be very useful for footless birds like MissOMalley's Emmy, don't you think?

Marco does what I call schizoid cussing when battling his toys. He'll let out the pterodactyl scream with others thrown in for good measure and then in the next breath, rub his head on them as if asking for scritches. Equal parts terror and delight for me, all delight for him.

I doubt she forgot you, too. As evidence, I recently reunited with an adult Timneh, Opie, I had about 13 years ago (wild-caught but tame-ish). Opie was always a lady's bird, and has lived happily with 2 ladies all this time (I've gotten regular reports of his welfare all along, of course). I did not visit him for my own sadness and his happy adjustment to his new home. No sooner did I walk in the door, did he wolf-whistle to me and clearly remember me, as he also gave kisses and "hand" shakes as I taught him so long ago. I was told he is not accepting of strangers visiting, so I could not have been seen as a stranger. He never did really bond with me, or allow scritches, but seemed for all the world to be glad to see me. (There was no problem with him as a result of my visit, so it's not like he was traumatized) To him, I must have been seen as a flockmember who flew the coop a long time ago?

Thanks all for the reassurance. I was pretty certain our boy was not getting enough sleep, it was just too darn fun to play/bond while off for his first 2 weeks home, but this has been corrected.

Marco (4+ months) continues to do very well. He eats like a little piggy (pellet, seed, and veggies), and is busy being a goofy baby grey all day. He weighed 13 5/8ths ounces when brought home on Dec. 10, and has not gone below that, although he fluctuates from that up to a whopping 14 ounces once, with no more than an eighth ounce gain or loss from day to day. He gets weighed each morning after his morning dump and before breakfast, which he is always eager for. Given that we took our remaining vacation time for the last 2 weeks (to spend with the new family member), we figured he was not napping enough during the day, so we added naps to his days, and also put him "to bed" by 10:30 at the latest (even then, he would really prefer to keep playing but rules are rules). Is it normal for a very active baby to fluctuate by such small increments from day to day? As I said, no other concerns, appetite and activity levels are both high. We noticed when we put him to bed earlier, he generally gains, so we corrected our bad habit of keeping him too late.

Thanks to all who help alleviate my parental neurosis! I'm not completely new to parrots, given that my white-eye conure, BoBo lived to a ripe age of 24+ (and I had at various times, greys (a Timneh and a Congo), macaws (a severe and a B+G), a Goffin cockatoo, and some other conures--why didn't I keep them you may ask: apartments are not the best places to keep "exotic poultry"!!), but it's been many years since I had a baby parrot. After BoBo died, it was odd being birdless after 24 years, and I enjoyed the poop-free life while it lasted, but I knew eventually another would take his place after some time passed. Oh, about those pictures. Here's a link to Marco's breeder's page to whet the appetite for the true glamour shots to come. Marco is on the left, #60: http://www.mdparrots.com/grey2.html

So, CAG Marco will be 4 months on Dec. 22, and has been home since Saturday (to all who welcomed me here yesterday, bear with me as I re-give The Facts). We visited/handled him since he was 3 weeks, so is adapting to his "new" flock without issue. As a new (again) "parront", I secretly worry over everything, of course. Is it normal for him to be preening out down rather a lot at his age? Naturally, my worst fears of plucking are activated when I see him do it, even though there are no bare spots, and I check cage and house floor for full feathers with none found. He seems quite content, eats like a little piggy, is not fazed in the least by household activity/noises. He prefers to stay in or on his cage more than his java tree (which is in another room), but given that he just got home, it seems natural that he feels most happy/safe there. He is still learning to climb complicated maneuvers like the professional monkey he is, and has taken a comical dive or two into his bowls when he got a little over-ambitious. All his perches are different types, from rope (cotton and sisal) to manzanita to rough, and he uses them all. I basically set up his cage interior for maximum climbing, since that's pretty much what in-cage exercising is. His breeder did clip his flight feathers a couple of weeks before he came home, so he is not currently flighted (boy, oh boy, was he before that!). He works his wings righteously just the same, and is always busy with either food, toys (foraging and shredding), or climbing about. No vocalizations (a tiny growl at a spaniel at his first vet visit) other than adorable baby squeeks/peeps, but he is clearly studying our speech, and we've gotten many peep-y responses to words we're using appropriately (welcome home when we come in the house, eww when he poops, thank you when given a treat, sweet dreams when we "tuck" him in for the night, etc.). We feel early speaking is the only way he'll get into a good school later. . .chortle! So, there's his little history. How do you all think he's doing? Anything seem amiss in his happy world?

Thanks to all for the welcomes, really. I've been watching and studying you all for some time (like an unseen bird, one might say) and it's clear now I picked a good grey forum to join. Off to topics. . .

Aw, shucks, Gwen, you'll get me kicked right off this forum on my first day for talking too much about our Dane, Cole, and not Marco! Yes, one cannot keep a Dane without a tolerance of friendly moisture! I was so very pleased with young Marco's response. He watched the brief petting of the other members of his new flock and endearingly awaited his turn. And he's not even 4 months old, and only in his new home for 4 days. He's eating plenty (mostly Species Specific African pellets, 2 seed/nut/fruit mixes, and fresh goodies--he even eats them in recommended ratios!), gaining weight daily, and plays/stays well in/on cage, and his java tree. We started right off saying things at appropriate times (each poo gets an "eww" from us, "welcome home" whenever we come indoors and he hears the door, "thank you" when given a treat, etc.) because we already sense that he's taking in more than might be expected from such a young bird. Other than visits with him as a chick when he was really, really ready for that syringe of formula, he gives only the gentlest of love nibbles, all the while making baby sounds--like a baby R2D2!

Thanks, everyone. Pics will follow eventually, but I already have a tale or two to share. So, last night, I was giving some lovin' to the dog and cat, which were both in close vicinity of Marco's cage (cat curled up on short stool, dog still dripping a quart of water from his jowls from a drink--Dane owners know this treat!). Any new pet in the home means extra attention to existing pets to help them understand the family has grown, but that they are still very much loved, right? Just a "hey, love you" pet, nothing involved. Marco is about 3 feet away, watching with typical interest from his open cage door. Dog and cat are satisfied and move along. I turn to see if this is a "teachable moment" and Marco leans way far out and bows his head, neck feathers fluffed, inviting a scritch, which OF COURSE he gets. Just like what he saw the dog and cat get, he gets. Brief, but he's satisfied, and resumes preening himself. Teachable moment done.

Just joined after lurking for some time, while we waited for our baby CAG, Marco, to come home (which he did on Dec. 10th). Hatched on Aug. 22, me and my partner visited him at his breeder all but 3 Sundays since September 11 (awful date to commemorate, but what can you do?), and the early bonding is obvious. I've had many types of parrots (none besides Marco now), ranging from wild to hand-fed, but none has adapted so well and rapidly as Marco. He is more like a new puppy, carefree and chill with everything, including our Great Dane and our cat. (The dog and cat scarcely even notice Marco, since both are bird-friendly, owing to having always lived with our conure that died after 24+ years last winter.) We took some time after the conure died, to grieve, and think before we leapt back into parrot keeping. We are thrilled with our new little guy, and he seems pleased with us. So, welcome me/us to the forum, and bear with me as I gush unabashedly over the Chick Who Would Be King. Oh, BTW, he earned his name because he was an explorer from the get-go, always curious about everything even as a small nekkid hatchling.