At a Little Over a Year Old

[Lambert58]

Willow and Leo are 15 & 16 months old, respectively.

 

They're the calmest, most well-behaved fids in the flock. They're recall trained, love to play rough but never bite hard. We play "GOTCHA!" and they are very careful to only gently use their beak in play-mode.

 

So I post this to ask: We're going to soon be sneaking up on what I've read as the "terrible twos" where they'll reach maturity and totally change their behavior.

 

I had one friend who was a grey owner that said his fid absolutely loved him until he hit 2, then preferred his wife.

 

We've gone to great lengths to make sure our little ones get the best care/environment, but there's this little nagging voice in the back of my head (based on what I've read and anecdotes) that makes me worry that they'll hit 2 and it'll be a whirlwind.

 

Should I be nervous? Or just keep doing what I'm doing?

[Birdnut]

I'll also be very interested in any answers/comments on this question.

[Jayd]

I only have a minute, but will answer more later today.. T2's You Grey can have 2 or 3 bout's of T2's! LOL What there doing is "Pushing the Limit's" Asserting there powers to see how much they can get away with. Sad, but a Grey can change his loyalties any time in his life, more then once. Keep doing what your doing, I know your doing good...Talk later.... Jayd

[danmcq]

Each Grey is different. They are not by any means mature at 2. Many start the terrible 2's around 18 months, some earlier,some later than 2 and some people report never noticing any change in personality at all, other than just becoming more and more independent, but not a crazy out of control child.

 

They become sexually mature on average, around 5 years old.

 

You will probably notice a difference between your two greys during this time as well, since each has their own personality. I will say, so far my wife is still Dayo's cuddle muffin....... I was hoping he would switch to me, but thats a no-go. I'm just a buddy he loves to play rough house games with and his favorite is "See if I can Nail Daddy unexpectedly" when we are playing a game together.

[Lambert58]

Each Grey is different. They are not by any means mature at 2. Many start the terrible 2's around 18 months, some earlier,some later than 2 and some people report never noticing any change in personality at all, other than just becoming more and more independent, but not a crazy out of control child.

 

They become sexually mature on average, around 5 years old.

 

You will probably notice a difference between your two greys during this time as well, since each has their own personality. I will say, so far my wife is still Dayo's cuddle muffin....... I was hoping he would switch to me, but thats a no-go. I'm just a buddy he loves to play rough house games with and his favorite is "See if I can Nail Daddy unexpectedly" when we are playing a game together.

 

Yeah, lol, I sort of thought as much. We try to stereotype their behavior, but I'm constantly reminded that they're all just as much individuals as we are, and the answer is: "It depends..."

 

Just like human children, though, I think that if you provide them enough direction and love early on, they'll develop in a healthy environment and will behave likewise.

 

I'd thought this thread would be a mile long...as long as my uncertainty is about being a parront...but I guess it's just that simple.

[Jayd]

Back again, Here's a little thing Dan wrote, Everything you wanted to Know: http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?126227-Grey-Personality-changes-in-years/page4&highlight=terrible+twos Thanks guys ....

[Lambert58]

That's a great post, and explains why Willow looks like the result of someone setting off an M-80 inside a pillowcase. We call her "cotton ball." What's interesting is that Leo, only 4 weeks her senior, looks all smooth and perfect.

 

As a side note, has anyone else noticed that if you're around fids enough you can pretty much tell their sex just by observing their behavior? I guess it helps when there are other fids in the flock, but when we got everyone DNA'd, there was only one we were wrong on, and that's Dusty, our GCC that had his wing broken by our german sheppard, we thought he was a she. The other 6, when the vet called, we were like, "yup, figured."

Edited July 29, 2010 by Lambert58