jangell

We are helping out the bird rescue that we got Charlie from by babysitting a female Muloccan Cockatoo. Never had a ton of dealings with large Cockatoo's. OH MY GOODNESS they are loud!....if you go in the other room where she can't see you she screams "MOMMA!!!". She talks a TON. Can't understand most of it, but we get some phrases out of it. Her name is Peaches and she says "Peaches is a pretty bird", "Hello", "Where'd you go?", etc. Crazy thing is, Charlie has become a little aggressive now that Peaches is here. It seems he may be jealous. Hope the jealousy/aggression doesn't turn into a habit. Anyway...she is a really sweet bird. Loves to cuddle and be held. The bad part is (besides the noise) that she LOVES to be held and cuddle. To the point where if you're not holding and cuddling her, she is screaming. Glad to be able to help out.....but glad it's not permanent....Charlie get's noisy, but his is clear speech and mimicked household sounds....not outright screaming.

Been busy lately.....but here's an update on Charlie....he is still doing great and is talking more and more every day....... He is now up to complete phrases and sentences...and they do make sense.....plus he is answering our questions, or responding to our statements much more frequently.....Here are some examples... He will say "OK" to many things........He will say "yes" or "no" appropriately in answer to a question asked.......If you go to get his food bowl to refill he says "get out of here"...when you've got it...he says "give me that back".........He says "Charlie's a pretty bird", "Charlie bird", he does an evil laugh....he barks at our dogs.....tells the dogs "go away", "get em", and "go to bed". He also says "whatever". The other day he asked one of our dogs "you wanna go outside?, You need to go potty?" which is what we ask them when they get antsy....he will ask "where'd you go", he will say "get back here" if you leave the room. When the phone rings he will answer it...always after the second ring......he will say "hello......HELLOOOO........nobody's there.........(beeep)"..........and he also says "tickle, tickle, tickle" ...........there are so many other phrases I can't even remember them all.....it is hysterical when he pops out with something unexpected......he continues to surprise us every day.....

He is doing better. Not sure what his deal was, but he hasn't done it in the last couple of days. On the other hand, his vocabulary has expanded, or at least been revealed to us, much more in the last couple of days. We count at least 150 words so far, most of them in phrases, and timed correctly to fit with the conversations going on around him.

Ok, so Charlie has been with us for 2 weeks now. He is chattering up a storm, seems very comfortable with all of us, lets us scratch his head, steps up very well, all good signs. A few days ago he began grinding his beak a lot. Then we began to notice that he was missing more small feathers. (he had a plucking issue at one time, before we got him, but worked past it), and now today he became pretty aggressive at times. He has actually bit my wife a couple of times today, and my son asked for a kiss and Charlie head butted him. He then puffed up, lowered his head and spread his wings out like he was going to attack. He has a ton of toys that he can play with. Other than times that we are not home, he is free to be in or out of his cage as pleases. My wife gives him a TON of attention, and I give as much as I can when I'm home. He is for sure not going hungry, he has his choice of veggies, fruits sometimes, and a seed/dried fruit mix available all the time. I'm kind of at a loss. Nothing has really changed in his environment since this began. We give him the same amount of attention or more. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We really love him, but we'd like for him to love us too, or at least act like he likes us.

Well. My experiment didn't go so well. Charlie picked through the fruit. Ate the three grapes that I had put in. Ate a few other bits and pieces of fruit and then wouldn't touch it. On the vegetable chop that I made, he picked at it for a while and ate bits and pieces, but he didn't seem overly enthusiastic about it. I guess I will just keep introducing small pieces of vegetables and fruit into his regular food in order to try and get him used to it.

Ok. I've searched the Fruits and Veggies thread and I've used the search tool and can't find this info. Fruits - are Pears ok? Vegetables - is lettuce OK? I've prepared a mash for Charlie and Rocky to try tonight. I put several types of bell peppers, parsley, and green beans in it. I am also trying a fruit medley. So far, testing individual fruits, he LOVES grapes. Not to keen on oranges. LOVES apples (I know, no seeds). Not too sure on Kiwi or Mango yet, but we shall find out.

Ok. Let me clarify the post. I don't push him to let me do anything he doesn't want. There are just times that I will do something and he comes in and beaks me. Generally it is something I have just been doing (rubbing his neck or his beak) and all of the sudden my "passport" has been revoked. Once he does it I back off and don't do it again. Anytime I go to scratch his neck, rub his beak, get him to step up, anything, I ask him first. If he makes a high pitched "beep" sound, I have learned that is his way of saying "NO". When he does this, I stop. I understand that I have to earn his trust, and I understand that pushing my luck will cause a setback. I will say though, that anytime I get beaked, or even bitten, I don't immediately back off. I will generally leave my finger/hand in his beak for a few seconds. My thought is that this shows him that the biting does not get him the reaction he wants (hopefully his cognition will help him put two and two together - biting doesn't make it stop, so I won't do it anymore) Now if he makes the "beep" sound, I immediately back off. I want to train him to "beep" instead of biting to tell me no. My question was more in regards to the biting and trying to rip the fingernail off. This is what I want to get stopped or try to avoid. If he bites my finger, OK, I probably deserved it. But I'd really prefer to keep my fingernails.

Ok, so Charlie is still new to the house and we are working for a few hours every night to get him used to us. My wife is home all day, so she talks to him and interacts with him all day. Although he is doing much better than day 1, and he is opening up more and more each day, he is still a little unsure of us and his surroundings. When you do something he doesn't like, or you try to touch him/pet him without his "permission" he will bite. The bite is not hard, it's more of an action of trying to stop your hand than trying to hurt. However, occasionally he goes for the fingernail. When he does this it seems like he is almost trying to pry the fingernail off. Of course this does not feel good by any means. And I'm worried that he may eventually get ahold of a nail, mine or someone elses, and break it or pull it off. So here is my question. Does anyone else have a Grey that does this or has done this? If so, how did you discourage or stop it? Like I said, overall he is just grabbing ahold and not hurting. But those times when he does grab ahold, it is not a pleasant experience. And of course, when he does it, I pull back, triggering him to do it more. When he bites my finger, I can generally keep the finger there or move it in towards him and he lightens up or stops and won't do it as hard next time. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks Jared

I have been utterly amazed by this thread. My first interaction with a Grey was when I was working part time at a friends pet store. There was a customer that traveled internationally quite frequently, so his Grey would stay at the store. This bird was amazing, and was the reason for me wanting a Grey. He didn't talk a ton, but when he did it was clear, and relevant to what was going on. Now, I've had Charlie for about 5 days now and he is not talking a lot. I am so looking forward to hearing him talk more and being able to communicate with him like I read about in these stories. On the other hand, I understand that he is a rescue, and is 15 years old, so it may be a few months before we really get to hear him talk frequently. However, I will share some of what he does now. 1. He communicates with sounds. We have learned very quickly through body language, that if you are doing something he is unsure about, or he doesn't like, he makes a high pitched "beep" sound. This is his way of saying "NO!" or "back off". If you are trying to rub his neck or something. He will also raise is foot, get ahold of your finger, and move your hand away. It is very clear that he is moving you hand and not trying to step up. This is because when he does this you can feel him pushing you away, not trying to put his weight on you like he would if he was stepping up. 2. He does not say "step up". But when he wants to step up, he makes a short whistle sound that ascends in pitch. This is accompanied by his foot being raised. 3. If you irritate him at all, he will give you a light "bite" (I quote this because it's not really a bite, but more of a "grab you and stop your action with his beak"). When he gives you this little "bite" he says "OUCH!!" I am guessing this is because his previous owner would say ouch if he would bite them. 4. Anytime water is turned on, a toilet is flushed, his water bowl is disturbed, it rains, etc. Basically anytime anything happens where water is involved, he makes the water drop sound. 5. He makes the "smooch" sound, or kissy noise. He is aware of what he is doing on this one. My wife will say "good night Charlie" and he will blow here a kiss (smooch followed by a blowing sound). If he is on your and, he will lean in and touch his beak to your cheek or lips, without being asked to, and make the smooch sound when his beak touches you. 6. He has only done this once, but the phone was ringing the other day and my wife got up to answer it. As she walked past he said "Hello, who is it?". 7. The guy who owns the rescue program that we got him from is allergic to birds (yes, he runs a rescue for birds and is allergic to them. He said he gets two shots a month so that he can keep doing the rescue). So since he is allergic, he will sometimes sneeze and will also blow his nose. When we got Charlie, he was making a strange noise when you touched you finger to his beak. We quickly realized that he is "blowing his nose". Now, we can say "can you blow your nose for me?" And he will lean in to your hand, touch his beak to your fingers, and give two or three short "puffs" and then shake his head. My wife finds this hysterical, as does my 3 year old son. 8. He is also mumbling several phrases that we are unsure of and haven't quite caught yet. One sounds like "Love You", but is mumbled and quiet enough that we are not sure. He said it last night and we very honestly thought he was uttering a profanity, as he wasn't really happy at the time (he had just gotten a shower and was wet. My wife asked, "did you like your shower?" and he responded with "..... YOU".). So, not quite sure on that one. 9. My 11 year old son was sitting in the kitchen having a snack. After taking a drink, he did what most boys his age commonly do, he burped, very loudly. Charlie proceeded to burp as well, and then followed it with "EXCUSE MEEE!!". My hope is that Charlie can teach my son to find the manners that he was taught and once had, but seems to have lost in his "pre-teen" phase. 10. He mimics all kinds of sounds in the house. The front door creaks, the alarm beeps when the door is opened, the phone rings, and after it stops ringing he makes what I think is an answering machine beep (we have started telling him "leave a message at the beep" when he makes this noise). There are also several other sounds I have heard come from him but haven't quite figured them out yet. Overall, he is an amazing bird. I can't wait to be able to share more stories.

Hmm. Glad I asked. I thought I read on here somewhere that PVC was ok. I guess I missed the "C" PVC part. Makes sense though. Looks like I will be taking the PVC back (I bought it for a different project and never used it) and swapping for some CPVC. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the help guys. We currently keep a seed mix in a bowl where he can get it all day. It has some dried fruit and stuff in it as well. We have been feeding him a larger portion once a day. I will be increasing that now with the new knowledge. Thanks again.

What PVC glue is safe to use when making PVC stands? My first thought was anything that is safe to use on PVC that is used for drinking water, but then I thought of the odor. I've got a ton of extra PVC parts that I'd like to make into stands and toys. I'm not so concerned about the toys, but I don't want the stand coming apart with the bird on it.

Ok. So my wife and I adopted our first bird two months ago (Amazon). She was always leary of birds, but fell in love with this one. Now, after visiting an exotic bird show this past weekend, she fell in love with and we brought home a Grey. We have thus far kept them on the food they were used to. However, I would like to switch them up on food to get them both on the same type, and I would also like to start making our own. I have seen several posts on here about making your own food, so I'm pretty confident I can follow them and make my own food successfully. Here are the questions I have. Feeding frequency - should you leave a dish of food in the cage at all times, or should there be designated meal times (preferably coordinated with our meal times) with some occasional snacks. Making your own food - are there any nutritional downfalls to this - for example, are there additives or vitamins present in store bought food that the bird needs. Our Amazon was on Kaytee (I think that's what it's called), and the Grey is on Bountiful Harvest (from mysafebirdstore.com). Here are my reasons for the questions. Well, question one is obvious, I want to make sure I'm not overfeeding my birds and adversely affecting their health, but I also do not want to starve them. Question two, the store bough bird food seems expensive. I know, all birds, well, all animals are expensive. But I am referring to my perception of the nutritional value it offers for the $$ per lb. In my opinion, I'd rather visit the local farmers market (all organic, naturally grown at this farmers market) and mix up our own food, possibly dehydrate some, and have the birds healthier with a more varied diet. I worry that if they get "hooked" on one type of food, then say, that company stops making it...I could be faced with a tough road to get the bird to eat something else (happened to me years ago with a dog....it worked out, but was a tough transition). All in all, I want what is best for our birds. I worked part time for several years in a pet store where they hand raised birds and I gained a deep respect for them and have really anticipated the day that I would be able to bring home one of my own. Even more so with these birds, they are both rescues, so I really want to do everything in my power to give them the best and make sure that they adjust well and are comfortable (hopefully erasing or at least reducing any past trauma they may have experienced). Any help would be appreciated.

Better pic of Rocky's "white front".

Thank you Ray. Proud to be here, and proud to have both Rocky and Charlie.

Jayd...since you appear to be one of the resident experts. He is missing a toe nail. It looks like he lost the end of his toe, but it appears to be many years old. It doesn't appear to affect him, so I am not too worried about it. What is your opinion? I know that animals adapt to nearly anything. That is why it really doesn't worry me. I am looking for a local avian vet to get him checked out just in case, but there apparently aren't many nearby. He looks (to me) and acts like he is in great health, but I'd like to get him checked just in case. Also, it looks to me like one of his nostrils is plugged. It doesn't seem to bother his breathing and I don't hear weezing. But again, I'd still like to get it checked out. Right now he is just not comfortable enough with me yet for me to be able to closely examine it. Thoughts and opinions are welcome.

We have had Rocky for about 2 months. We adopted him from a couple. He belonged to the woman's father who had passed away. He had 7 birds and had a room dedicated to them. The couple said that he was approximately 20 years old. He was very standoffish when we first got him. He would "growl" if you tried to touch him or get close to him. Many hours a day since we got him have been spent talking to him, rewarding him for positive behavior and working with him. He is now to where he will sometimes step up on our finger. He loves to have his head scratched. He loves to show off. And he is beginning to mimic some sounds around him too. He is a very sweet bird. I think the loss of his original owner was hard on him. As was going from a 7 bird household to a 1 bird household (him only). So yesterday we were at an Exotic Bird fair and we fell in love with an African Grey. His name is Charlie. So now we have Charlie and Rocky. It's funny. As I am typing this my kids have a small radio in the living room and are playing and dancing to the music. Both birds observed them dancing and began dancing with them. First time I've seen either of them dance (the birds, not the kids). It's a good feeling to have such amazing pets, but it's an even better feeling that I was able to help rescue them.

Hello. I introduced myself in the Grey Lounge, but I'll do it here as well. We adopted a White Fronted Amazon a couple of months ago and he has been outstanding. Yesterday we were at an Exotic Bird fair and came across an African Grey. I have wanted a Grey for years. I worked at a pet store part time and they had a "store bird" that was a Grey. He was an amazing bird and I've wanted one since. Well, this Grey (Charlie) was with the local rescue group. They had him, six Moluccan Cockatoo's, 1 Blue Fronted Amazon, and a BEAUTIFUL Macaw that they had rescued. The owner was an elderly lady that had passed away. The Grey (Charlie) drew our attention (my attention) quickly. And he just as quickly stepped up and was curious about us. We interacted with him for a few minutes, talked to the guy that had them and then walked around a little more. We walked past several times, observing him interact with other people. He did well, but seemed a little uncomfortable. We walked back up and he stepped up on my wife's finger. A passerby commented how well he was doing with her. Well, long store short, we ended up bringing Charlie home. He is a very sweet bird. He is around 15 years old. He is settling into his new home very well. Here are some pics. Rocky Charlie

I am new to the forum. We just adopted a Grey yesterday. We also have an Amazon. His name is Rocky. Here is a pic of him. He is camera shy.

Hello. My wife and I just brought home a new family member yesterday. Charlie is a 15 year old Grey that we got from a local rescue. His owner was an elderly woman who had passed away. He is an incredibly sweet bird. He took to my wife, my kids and I instantly. We watched him interact with others while we were discussing it and he seemed much more at ease with us. Especially my wife. I have been reading up on here since we brought him home and have found some great information. I look forward to being an active member on here and picking up some great tips. Also, having a new bird in the house has really brought out the personality in our White fronted amazon. His name is Rocky and he has been showing off for his new friend and for us if we are giving Charlie attention. On a side note. I read about pumpkin fun with the Grey's and I can't wait to try that. We planned to carve pumpkins in the next couple of days, so it's perfect timing. Here are pics. Thanks Jared