neoow

Aw man, I have tears in my eyes! Who could do that to a poor little dog? Or any animal for that matter? So happy that things turned round for him though.

I spotted this on facebook so thought I'd pass it on. It's a bit too far for me as I'm in the UK [EDIT] Sorry, the image seems quite small for some reason- but go here for details: http://bird-haven.org/event/1st-annual-feather-fest-fundraiser/

Oh how sad I really feel for them.

Its the only thing I've had to do it with. He still gets irritated about us moving it through the room, but less so if we tell him what we're doing. So I just say something along the lines of "Alfie! I'm just going to walk past your cage with the washing basket so I can do some washing. It's nothing to worry about!" He used to absolutely hate wrapping paper. No idea why. But no matter what colour, how much of it there was or what kind of paper it was he would get really angry and growl at it. Any other paper was fine- he just hated wrapping paper. He's not bothered by it any longer though. I made a point to wrap presents in the same room (but as far away from his cage as possible) and again, just explained what I was doing and why. He soon learned that it was nothing to worry about. Now I can wrap presents wherever I want and he's not fussed. I can even show him the paper now and he doesn't growl. I'm sure in a few years he'll be indifferent about the washing basket too. It's just taking him a while longer to come round to that one!

I don't think there's any colours that Alfie is adverse to. I can't think of any time that he has reacted badly to something simply because of its colour. He's always been surrounded by different colours and I've never noticed him preferring or disliking certain colours.

The washing basket. It's a white plastic basket we use to ferry clothes to/from the washing machine. Unless you announce that you're walking through the room with it Alfie starts hopping about and lunging towards it. No idea what he's got against it but he always gets funny about it!

I'm sorry, I can't offer much advice with this one. But other members will be able to offer help and ideas. I just wanted to say well done for taking Alex in and being so keen to learn about him/how to handle and train him etc. I have no doubt that over time your relationship with Alex will grow and flourish and he will start to reward you in many different ways. You're doing all the right things by seeking advice and listening to the advice given.

Just a thought- as Alfie prefers it: Rather than spraying him directly, try misting it above him so the mist falls on him, rather than being sprayed directly on him. So hold the bottle a little further away from the cage and angle it up over him. Keep it on the mist setting you are using but aim above his head so the water falls on to him. Keep it at a mist rather than a squirt. Alfie much prefers it this way and he's not a massive fan of baths either. (His favourite bathing method is to go over to his water bowl and fling water all over the place! More ends up on the floor and walls than it does on him, but he still persists! :rolleyes:) You could also try giving him a shallow bowl/tub of water. It might be that he prefers to stand in water and throw it over himself (which is what Alfie tries to do in his water bowl). You may need to play with the water yourself to get him interested though. It might be worth you looking around the other sections on these forums and posting some new threads in the relevant sections whenever you have questions. More people might see the new threads and will be able to give you extra advice.

I was in the kitchen tidying up and happened to crouch down when I heard a FLAP FLAP FLAP of Alfie flying to me from the living room. Unfortunately I was too slow to stand up so he flew over me and landed behind the microwave. He sat there for a while supervising what I was doing and checking things out (he hasn't been in that particular spot in the kitchen before). He also discovered the big glass water jug I have stored behind there and took great delight in tapping it with his beak to make a 'ding' noise. His head kept popping up over the microwave so he could check to see where I was/what I was doing. It was quite sweet.

Alfie trying to hide in the kitchen.

Wow check you out with your new toy, Sully! You've clearly got a clever human wrapped round your talons!

Alfie keeps an eye on the cats for me. I know when they're up to no good because I'll hear "Oi!" followed by "No!"

Love this! I can't spot all of them- even when zoomed in! I'm look for a stand similar to the one you have in the middle of the photo- with the two birds on. Is that handmade or did you buy it from somewhere?

So happy that things are going so well for you. It sounds like Alex i settling in really well... and that's all on you. Well done for taking him in and adapting to life with him. They are awesome birds and I'm sure you'll have many more awesome/amazing experiences with him in your life!

That's an awesome idea! Not sure how "doable" it would be though, seeing as most of the forum members seem to come from over the pond. I guess it would be a bit too expensive for most! Some kind of forum member meet up would be pretty cool. Especially if parrots could attend too! Again, cost/travel might be an issue for most though.

Aww, what an adorable little greyby you have there!

It doesn't look like I'm going to be able to go. My car has a problem with engine compression so won't accelerate very well when on dual carriageways/motorways- especially if there is an incline. It's currently at the garage being looked at and I've got a feeling it's going to be the worst case scenario. I don't know of anyone else who would want to come with me (who would be willing to drive as well!) so it looks like I'm going to miss out this year. Boo. There's always next year though, I suppose!

What a clever girl she is!

Yes not sure it would be worth the trip!! I wish I knew more people who lived nearby who had an interest in birds/parrots who would want to go with me!

So glad you're having so much fun with her! Greys really are special. I haven't heard that they typically like women's voices better. Alfie goes against the grain on that one. He picks up, listens to and mimics male voices more often than he does female ones! To be fair, he seems to go against the grain on a fair few grey characteristics at times haha!

I use a different tone of voice and may raise my voice a bit with Alfie but I can't recall the last time I had to yell at him. I yell at the cats all the time because they're stubborn and don't listen when they want to cause mischief haha. So Alfie will quite often join in with an "oi!", "No!" or "Off!". Alfie generally reacts pretty well to my "I really mean it!" tone of voice and generally listens... most of the time!

I had a camera set up for a while but it was one way only, I could see and hear Alfie but couldn't communicate back in any way. I know you can get similar cameras which allow you to speak through the camera but I haven't seen anything that would allow video as well which doesn't need some kind of interaction from the person (or parrot) at the other end. Unless of course facetime (or similar video conferencing software) can be set to auto-answer incoming calls?

Welcome to the forums! What a clever parrot you have there- look at all the writing he's done!

Awesome video! How old is Kilaya? She knows lots of words and sentences!

Welcome to the forum! This is an awesome place, full of helpful people and LOADS of advice. Tell us more about your CAG- is he/she a baby or adult bird? We LOVE photos! (that was s subtle hint...! Haha)