neoow

Cute video. Alfie started whistling in response when he heard it hehe.

I love your photos. I especially like the first one... looks like he's trying to eat a cloud! =D

Hahah yeah and don't I know it! He tends to be ok for most of the time - likes perching on the back of my chair and watching what I'm doing. Occasionally he will creep over and start investigating things. I've managed to get this far without anything being broken though - the best trick I have is distracting him with something else like a plastic ball or another foot toy that he is more interested in! Thanks for the tips on introducing him to different parts of the house. He's generally pretty good but it's always obvious when he's not happy with something. So I plan to take it slow and steady and see how he gets on.

Cute video!

I used to have a dog and a cat. I now have two cats. Alfie has always been interested in the animals. He is always a lot friendlier/calmer around animals than he is new people. For example, my dog (A German Shep) used to wander up and sniff Alfie's cage. Alfie would climb down to investigate the dogs nose. Wouldn't bite it or anything. He never tried to go after the cat either. However, if a strange person walked up to his cage, he woudn't be very happy, which is fair enough. With my two cats now, he is very tolerant. They quite often stick a paw in the bottom of his cage and one even tried to climb the cage the other day. Alfie doesn't mind too much. The worst he has done is fire off a warning shot- going to bite but deliberately missing the cat and hitting the side of the cage to make a noise. This is usually enough to deter the cats. If they remain with their paw in the cage Alfie will ever so slowly and deliberately move his beak towards the paw. I've seen him touch one of their paws once- but he has never bitten them or been vicious. If it was a human, he would get annoyed and try and bite them. The cats (despite being very prey driven) mostly leave him alone. They sit and watch from a distance and sometimes stick a paw in (usually to dig out something Alfie has discarded to investigate). It was always a bit of a worry getting the two cats with Alfie but it's worked out well. Though I would never trust any of them with Alfie out of the cage- not sure who would be most at risk - Alfie from the cats or the cats from Alfie!! When Alfie is out, the cats are shut out of the room he's in as he's fully flighted and I bet they would chase/jump at him/torment him if they saw him out of the cage. Alfie doesn't really make warning noises about the cats though. He will tell him off if he thinks they are being naughty though. If they jump up somewhere they shouldn't he will say "off!" and if they are generally being naughty (or just too rowdy for his liking) he will say "No!" in my voice. If he thinks they need ushering out of a room he says "come on!" Same as he was when I had the dog and the other cat really. He would give commands to the dog- sit, stay, down, outside, come on, no, good boy and whistle to him... not that the dog paid any attention to it! He would do similar to the cat (e.g try and call him in from outside). I think he thinks he's the boss around here haha. The dog used to get very concerned if he thought Alfie was distressed or in trouble though. If Alfie was being silly and fell off a perch/toy the dog would rush to his cage to make sure he was ok and sniff him as he climbed back up. I always found that really sweet. However Alfie never really displayed similar towards the dog. He was mostly just curious and more interested in giving him commands hehe.

And some bonus videos from the same day - just the same thing really, Alfie hanging with his toy. Got a bit snap happy! Haha. One of them has one of my cats (Widget) meowing in the background- think he was getting jealous!! [video=youtube;FR-AvURgpzk] [video=youtube;Vj5uWUo-doA]

Couple of bonus photos from the other day too: I missed a good photo op yesterday. Alfie shared some of my roast gammon dinner (minus the gammon) and tucked into his mash potato, peas and carrots. He sat there munching away, beak covered in mash! Unfortunately I didn't have my phone or camera to hand though.

This will be my next move. He seems happy with the lounge/diner where he is based but I haven't yet taken him on a tour of the rest of the house- thought I was best to give him some extra time to properly settle in to this room before tackling the others! But he seems perfectly happy and fine with this room. The best part is, I now have my desk next to his cage so he has a lot more attention/company than before and can see/hear what I'm doing. He seems really happy about this and will perch nearby to keep an eye on me/what I'm up to. And of course there are times when he tries to "help" with my work as well! Haha

I moved house two weeks ago and I'm pleased to say that Alfie took it all in his stride. I was far more stressed than he was about everything. I was really worried about moving him and my two cats. I left all of the animals until last to allow me time to move furniture roughly in place in the new house. Alfie was fine with it all. He watched as we took all the furniture away. He didn't really want to go in his carry box but did so without too much trouble/hassle and when I put him in his cage in the new house he settled in much quicker than I thought he would! Not really sure why I was so worried now haha! He just sat and stared and checked everything out. New surroundings but familiar furniture with the same cage (and same cage layout as he had at the old house). It didn't take him long to start whistling away at me again. It took the cats twice as long as Alfie to get used to things! I'm very lucky really because Alfie isn't as change adverse as some other African Grey's I have read about. He has been on holidays before and has always settled in quite quickly. He's usually pretty good with new toys except for the odd one or two that he freaked out about when he first saw them. Happy parrot = happy owner!

Here is a video of Alfie just 'hanging around'. He's been quite playful this evening and this toy has been his focus. He kept hanging upside down and making himself swing and spin in circles whilst poking at the two bells. It kept him happy and amused me at the same time! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151553072697037&l=3320691539354566139 [Edited to add: Although it might look like it in this video his foot isn't stuck. I've got another one (which was out of focus) which shows him swapping feet quite freely! Just thought I'd better add that in case anyone was concerned hehe! He just likes hanging upside down on things]

That's awesome. Great idea! Seems to work very well too

Thanks, I've got a dish which is similar- it's a food bowl meant for smaller animals like rabbits/guinea pigs etc but it's quite shallow and has a good surface area. I've shown it to Alfie, filled it with some water and played with the water to try and tempt him but he usually isn't interested. He poked at it a couple of times but didn't play with the water or seem overly interested. It never even occurred to me to put toys in there to perk his interest. I've got some I could use as well. So that's a useful idea for me to try. It's not a problem when he baths in his water bowl. I normally help him out by getting the spray bottle out, which he is fine with, thankfully. It's just he can't fit in it and have a good splash around. He normally only gets one foot wet or just his toes. The majority of it ends up on the walls and floors instead of himself as well. So I'll try some toys or ice cubes in the larger bowl and see how he gets on.

Will have to try this with Alfie. He'll bath in his water bowl but won't go near a tray or any other container with water.

Amazing bird!

Looks fantastic! I'd love to have a bird room just for Alfie but unfortunately just don't have the space to do so. We make do with what we've got though!

That's amazing. Alfie never ceases to surprise me with the things he does.

Hi Jeff, I've had him since he was 11 weeks old. He'll be 10 in April this year. He's always favoured noises and whistles and picks these up really quickly. It takes him longer with words and he always seems to pick up male voices much quicker than female ones as he learnt more phrases from my dad than he did me and he picked up "good day" from my housemate really quickly. He will chatter away when I'm in the house but usually goes quiet when I'm in the room. It's only now, almost 10 years later, that he's starting to make more noise when I'm in the room. Perhaps he's getting fed up of me chatting to him and is just trying to shut me up!! Haha! He also says hello more often when I'm in the room - normally this was said when I was entering the house or in the near vicinity. Now he waits until he can see me or says it multiple times. Same with bye- he'll say that more often in front of me instead of waiting for me to go round the corner nowadays. I love how he practices things too. I often hear him practising new noises and sometimes mumbling away to himself. He always does this when I'm not in the room though, which is fine- as I can still hear him. I'm just really pleased that he's now happy enough to start talking and making more noises when I'm in the room with him. He knows a few words and phrases: Hello Bye See you later Alfie Oi! Put the kettle on! (my dad taught him that one) Naughty naughty naughty! (in a bit of a mocking tone- again taught by my dad) nag nag nag nag! (again taught by my dad, directed at my mum, much to her disgust! Hehe) Good day Trina (my name, shortened) usually followed by a disgruntled sounding "What?" (from years back when my parents used to shout up the stairs and I used to respond in typical teenager fashion haha) Oi Sit (learnt when we used to have the family dog) down (for the dog, again) outside (dog, again) Come on! Ow (usually said after biting someone or something) Off! (talking to the cats when they jump up on something) No (elongated... talking to/warning the cats when they're being naughty) Hello? ... Alright then... alright then... alright then.... bye (mimicking phone conversation) night night! dance! (usually followed by some enthusiastic bobbing up and down...) I've always been fascinated by listening to him learning things and making noises. Especially when he chatters away to himself making all sorts of weird and wonderful noises!

Alfie never normally talks when people are in the room. He might let the odd squeak or short whistle out but never normally makes many other noises. He's 10 this year in April and I've had him since he was 11 weeks old. He's always been the same- will make lots of noises if you're pottering about around the house but won't make much noise if you go into the room and sit with him or if he's out of the cage. However, he has recently started making more and more sounds when myself or others are around. He doesn't know that many words (always been much more interested in whistles and sounds than words) and he seems to prefer learning male voices than female ones. He doesn't want to copy a lot from me but learnt quickly from my dad when I lived with my parents and also from my ex-housemate who often visits. I love that Alfie is starting to make more noises when I'm in the room and encourage it, as I love to hear him chattering away but don't like having to hide out of the way for him to do it! Earlier this week I was half asleep and getting ready for work. I had said good morning to Alfie whilst pottering about and he had whistled back a couple of times, as usual. I went into the room to iron a shirt for work and whilst I was busy with that he suddenly said "good day" (which he learned from my ex-housemate) to me. I was thoroughly amused and really happy about this. I knew he could say it as I'd heard him many times but this was the first time he has said it when I was standing right next to his cage. I laughed and gave him lots of praise and encouraged him to say it again but that was my lot for the day. It was enough, to be fair. I left for work with a big smile on my face!

I don't notice much of a smell with Alfie but then again I also live with two indoor cats- I definitely notice when they smell! The only smell I notice is the smell of the cat litter I use to line the tray in the bottom of his cage. It's biodegradable and made from trees and sometimes gives off a faint smell. It's not an unpleasant smell at all though... it's like pine.

Alfie practices when he thinks I'm out of ear shot. He'll mumble away to himself and most of it is incoherent. Then eventually after a while you realise what he's trying to say. He won't ever say the words until he's pretty much nailed them. However, Alfie isn't much of a talker. He loves whistles and sounds and picks them up really quickly. My friend taught him to quack like a duck within a couple of days (words take weeks). He also picks up sounds from mobile phones really easy (the same friend has a bubble popping noise for emails/messages and Alfie picked that up after hearing it a couple of times one afternoon). The only problem with him picking up sounds so well is that when I was living at him my mum burnt a couple of dinners and set the fire alarm off both times and he picked that up. Fortunately he went out of favour of that sound pretty quickly. Pretty sure he did it just as loud as the real thing!!

My apologies! I completely missed that one. I'll go and take a look now, thank you. -Katrina

Hello all, I'm looking for a new carrier for Alfie. Unfortunately money is a bit of an issue at the moment (housemate moved out a few months ago and I'm still paying off the credit card bill for Alfie's new cage that I got last month) so I need something that's reasonably priced. Up 'til now I've just used a plastic dog/cat carrier but I don't really like it. It's ok (as in- it does the job of transporting him) but I'd rather get something I can put a perch in so he can grip on to something rather than slide about on the paper in the bottom of the carrier. What do you use or what can you recommend? Many thanks! -Katrina

Thanks Dave. Blunt and honest is good! I'd rather people didn't edge around an issue but tackle it straight on. I wasn't insulted at all and I found it all very useful, so thank you. I think tricks was probably the wrong word to use, really. Alfie already flies to me- but mainly when he wants to and it'll take some persuasion. So I think I just need to continue working on this so it's more consistent. Same with stepping up and turning round. He can do those, but it does take some persuasion at times. I think I just need to get to the point where Alfie wants to follow commands because he's happy to do so rather than just to shut me up!! Interesting about the shoulder and non-shoulder birds. Alfie will quite often seek out my shoulder to sit on and will stay there for some time before he'll make a move for my ear. I tend to move him off my shoulder at that point. If he continues to be a bit nippy then I'll move him to a perch. He'll then either sit there for a while or will fly back to me. I realise that everything with Alfie is going to take time and patience to rebuild the relationship which has unfortunately suffered. I know I need to do a lot more and need to be much more consistent with my time spent with him. I need to be a lot better with my time management so that I can spend much more quality time with Alfie rather than constantly bringing work home and studying and not giving him enough 1-1 time like he needs. I was probably being a bit hopeful with the harness. And I know that's a long long way off if it will ever happen at all. I was trying to think of all the things I could do with him really and everything I want to achieve, hence the big long list! I'm not planning on trying everything at the same time. My first port of call will be to work on my confidence with him so that if he nips at me I can deal with it in the right way and not become wary of him for it. Many thanks for your response Katrina

Hehehe. It always amuses me when Alfie comes out with a noise and I have to sit and figure out what it is and where he got it from. The worst one was when he learnt the noise of me unlocking the front door- it sounds so realistic that when he did it and I was in the house I thought someone was coming through the front door!! The only noise he has that makes me cringe is a really high pitched and really loud squeak. Not entirely sure what it is or where he got it from but it makes your ears hurt when you're standing near him and he does it. Fortunately he doesn't do this one too often- probably because I do my best to ignore it when he does it as I don't want to encourage him. He does manage to make me jump sometimes though! Haha

Thanks danmcq, I'll bear this in mind when working with Alfie if I can't find anything he likes to eat. That's why I was wondering about the orange juice really, because it's something that he likes that he doesn't have very often and whenever I have a glass he always wants some!