Favorite Grey Books

[jonathan_split]

Hello everyone,

 

 

It seems that Dr. Irene Pepperberg and perhaps her colleague, Roger Lewin are releasing a book titled "Alex and Me: a 30-year Adventure." I'm a bookseller and our distributor has it's release date for November, 2008. There's not that much info on it, other then the title, but it seems to be a biography of some sorts. But I'm pretty certain we would all love to read it, and I'm sure there would be much valuable information in it for our own grey's. Let's hope it gets released!

[lovemyGreys]

Thanks for that inside information,im sure that many of us would love to read it,lets hope it's in the bookshops for november,just in time for xmas

[Sevi]

I thought I might ressurect this thread to recommend The Parrot in Health and Illness by Bonnie Doane. It's a little dated since it was written in 1991, but it's still a very valuable reference and a great place to start if you're looking for something specific.

 

I've read it from front to back and still refer to it once in a while.

[lovemyGreys]

Sevi i find myself having read my vast collection of grey books, i never get tired of re-reading them & often refer to them to clarify certain things.Thanks for adding your book recommendation to the list

[SarahDavid]

I have read the book: "for the love of greys" it's everything you need to know before getting your African grey, but it's only the basic stuff in it. I specially liked the list of food and that is importan for African greys.

 

Anyone who have read this book "me and alex" if so what do you think about it, do you recommend it ?

 

Zahra

[lyndaelyzoo]

I just finished reading Alex and Me. It was the best animal-related book that I have ever read. It is an emotional and intellectual account of Alex, the parrot who changed the perception of "bird brain", and Dr. Pepperberg, the scientist, who despite all odds, showed the world the intellectual capacity of the African Grey parrots. I have never before been so emotionally affected by a book, but it was impossible to hold back the tears while reading. This story is truly an inspiration. The story not only describes the scientific studies on avian intelligence, but also explains the interrelationships among species, and the passion and perseverance of a scientist who has forever changed our perception of intelligence and language acquisition. This humbling book is truly an inspiration and a must read!!!!!

[danmcq]

This Book was just released in October. reviews are fantastic.... ordering it now.

 

Thanks for posting this. :-)

[Poppy]

I got it but its wrapped up as an xmas present !

So will have to wait to read it ! :silly:

[John_Woodside]

The african grey handbook was really good, I read it in 2 days and learned a lot

[Lex]

i have most books on greys and they do tend to differ in lots of ways so you do need to take with a pinch of salt lol i think using this forums is far the best way as you all have been through alot of topics on here also if you want to get you book cherap why not use amazon and select the used book as they are just as good as the full price ones!. Good books out there none the less!!<br><br>Post edited by: Lex, at: 2009/11/01 03:13

[Chris and Matt]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I picked up three of the books mentioned, I can't wait to get them

[CRYROLFE]

I have this book and really love it!

[Arjadaga]

I heard that Alex died at age 31. Is that true? I thought normally greasy live to be 50? So sad for his death. I watched a youtube video (Its an hour long) on alex http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_Fpad20Zbk. I'llnever look at animals in the same way again.

[Arjadaga]

There is also another vid, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62rXKjXgr60. At the end it said that we are a part of nature.While we also have the bird act of 1992, there are no laws to govern the breeding facilities. So now we have many bird mill all over the country.

Edited November 9, 2010 by Arjadaga

[DinoUndies]

You people are SO helpful. I wrote up all the books you guys wrote up (or at least, if you mentioned both the author AND title of the book), and I'm definitely gonna read all... six... teen... good thing I like reading

 

Anyway, thank you all!!

[Cupid]

I highly recommend that same book, "For the Love of Greys" by Bobbi Brinker, another one I have and love is "The African Grey Parrot Handbook" by Mattie Sue Athan and Dianalee Deter.

 

 

Thanks Im waiting on mine to arrive!

[Popsicle]

As some of you may already know, I'm gonna get a baby Grey soon and I'm trying to prepare myself for it, learning everything possible. I'm not new to parrots. I've had 2 amazons and 2 parakeets before. But at the time I didn't understand much about birds. So I decided to do things right this time around. I'm currently reading "The Parrot Problem Solver by Barbara Heidenreich". I noticed no one mentioned it here. And unfortunately I didn't see this thread before I bought my first book. However, even though I think the author is sometimes repetitive and the book has some typing mistakes lol, overall I'm enjoying it. It's been great for me to understand more about why parrots behave the way they do and how to handle and train them properly.

 

But I'm gonna be honest with you... I probably won't read all the books everyone mentioned here. Since I'm already reading one, which one do you think I should buy next? Which one would be more useful for my situation?

 

Thanks a lot!

[Zen's Mom]

The one mentioned about - The African Grey Parrot handbook by Mattie Sue - it was awesome - and I've read a lot of books. I have books by

Barbara as well - also I bought her training CD's - was really disappointed with the CD's - they were very short for costing over $20 each, and didn't seemed to be packed with a lot of info. Could be I have read so much that I knew the info in them already - but don't think so. Anyway - the AFGP handbook was REALLY full of good info. Covers huge amounts of training issues, behavior... health - In fact - I'm going to read it again now that we have brought Zen home! -

[Popsicle]

I saw many people talking here about the books Alex Studies and how amazing the book and Irene work with Alex is. Many probably won't agree with me but I have a few doubts about Irene's methods... Have any of you noticed Alex was a plucker and so is Griffin? I know parrots love stimulation and creative activities but sometimes I wonder if she "abuses" her birds too much in the name of science. I mean... no one likes studying/learning 24/7. At some time of the day they want to just relax, nap or play around and be silly. Of course I don't know whether she provides them fun time or not. But her birds don't look very healthy. So I am a bit weird about her. I'd rather my parrots not to know much and be happy then look miserable like hers do. Sorry if I'm upsetting anyone with my comment.

 

And sounds like The African Grey Parrot handbook by Mattie Sue has great chances to be my next book. Thanks Zen's Mom. Anyone else agrees it's my best option?

Edited July 8, 2011 by Popsicle

[Dave007]

As far as Alex, he was a chronic plucker before she got him. He never had a full set of wings. She got him when he was 3 yrs old.

 

***I mean... no one likes studying/learning 24/7.****

 

Training consisted of 4 to 5 sessions a day, 5 to 6 days a week and each session lasting 20 minutes.

Most of the day was spent siocializing with the lab techs that worked there.

 

She's only recently gotten Griffon and he also plucks at times but his plucking isn't chronic. Alex was a chronic plucker.

Edited July 8, 2011 by Dave007

[Popsicle]

What makes a bird become a chronic plucker?

[Dave007]

A chronic plucker (like Alex) is a bird who starts plucking at a somewhat early age, is comfortable with the plucking, has no desire to stop plucking, includes plucking in it's daily life and nothing can stop the bird's habit or personality for doing this. The bird is perfectly content.

 

An acute plucker is a bird that has bouts of plucking, will stop plucking, will respond to different medications or bird plucking items and there's a very good chance of the bird outgrowing the habit. Sometimes, the bird will have a minor relapse. Some acute plucking happens when different things happen such as moving, new environments, new people, new family habits. The bird becomes nervous and plucks.

 

A chronic plucker will simply pluck no matter what's going on.

 

In the human form, you have chronic nail biters and acute nail biters

[Popsicle]

Thanks for the explanation. But is chronic plucking just a habit or is it genetic? What makes a bird enjoy plucking no matter what you do to make him stop?

[Dave007]

Thanks for the explanation. But is chronic plucking just a habit or is it genetic? What makes a bird enjoy plucking no matter what you do to make him stop?

 

It could be both. Plucking can start at an early age when a bird isn't fully weaned. When I say fully, I mean that just because one person says that the bird is weaned at 14 wks doesn't make it so. That type of bird can be nervous.

Genetic----taking 2 birds who arent in good shape such as birds who've been overbred countless times will pass on many weak genes in their bodies to the chicks. The breeders aren't prime stock and it shows up in the chicks.A bird who is totally weaned makes for a very calm bird.

A bird who is not totally weaned makes for a very nervous, high strung bird and in a grey, that isn't good because the first thing they do is pluck.

Another example-------puppy mills. Breeders who are over bred, in terrible condition. The puppies are wonderful looking but have mqny weak points that werepassed on by the parents and those bad points show up at a later date. Usually those are medical or mental problems.

Edited July 8, 2011 by Dave007

[Popsicle]

That's interesting... would you mind telling me what I should be careful about when choosing a breeder and a bird, in order to avoid over breeding/genetic weaknesses? And if breeders say the birds are weaned in 14 weeks, how can I check whether they actually are or not? Thanks for your help, Dave!