Darwinsmom Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 My Daughter just called, she's at work today and was with Zulu (she works at a petstore, thats where I am getting him from, they have a regular breeder they get their babies from). He says "Hi" clear as a bell and when you feed him he says "Ooooooooooohhh!!" lol lol He was trying to talk last week but I assumed he would babble for several months before he got any words out but it seems I have a prodigy on my hands. I cant wait to see him tomorrow! Now waiting for him to come home is going to be even harder *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLB Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Just think...now you will be sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for each new word! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinsmom Posted July 7, 2012 Author Share Posted July 7, 2012 Yes but he wont be home for another 3 weeks or so, he's still on 2 feeds!! *SOB* I'm just going to have to visit every spare second I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLB Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 I feel your pain. My girl is the youngest of the bunch, last to wean for certain! She is still such a baby and I can't stand being away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Sounds like by the time your grey comes home he will be able to tell you how to run your house. How are you at taking orders ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinsmom Posted July 7, 2012 Author Share Posted July 7, 2012 LOL!! I think I better get used to it Ray. I was so sure he was muttering last week but to be talking just 5 days later. I'm so excited now. I didnt care if he ever did talk, Garth wasnt a big talker, but its kind of neat thing to look forward to if he is a chatterbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinsmom Posted July 7, 2012 Author Share Posted July 7, 2012 It seems in my effort to make time go faster I have aged my poor baby 2 weeks! Zulu was hatched mid April and is only 12 weeks old, not 14!!! We went to visit today and I asked about a time frame to come home since I thought he'd be down to one feed soon but it seems I cant count...lol. We are aiming for 3 weeks though as they will be dropping the 2nd feed by end of next week or so. He's eating really well. He says hi clearly and is pretty close on hello already. He has also started to fly and is going from one side of his cage to the other and will make short trips from one side of the bird room to the other. He was doing a bit of a dancing, wing droop begging posture and holding his head out for scratches, he's a super friendly little guy and very cuddly too. The girls there spoil him, particularly since they know he is coming home with me so he is being handled a lot by several people. They said I can bring my aviator harness next visit to start getting him used to it, and now that he is really developing a personality and it is closer to home coming time I will start visiting more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 I know you "Wishing" time and getting down to one feed daily was already here. It's been years, but I remember that angst like it was yesterday as we visited Dayo multiple times a week waiting for the day we could bring him home. The breed did allow us to start bring him home at about 12 weeks old for 3 or 4 hour visits until we were able to bring him permanently. Maybe that could be an option for you as well? It is amazing that Zulu is talking already! As Ray said, you may end up trying to figure out soon how to get Zulu to stop asking "Why, Why, Why" like a two year old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinsmom Posted July 7, 2012 Author Share Posted July 7, 2012 Dan, it may be easier to just visit, its only a 15 minute drive. One of the reasons I got him from the Petstore is that I know where he came from but also that the girls working there really know what they are doing and spend extensive time with the babies. My daughter has worked there for 4 years now so I know he's being well stimulated, talked to and socialized and he's benefiting from the experience. He DOES recognize me when I visit though and he fluffs his head and does a happy dance. I'll be there a lot the next few weeks. I have a fair bit of hand feeding experience but I'd prefer to take him home on one feed, not 2. They have never had a Grey start talking as early as he has, he's been muttering and babbling for weeks now. He has a chatty Goffin next to him and they think she may be giving him the head start. She says Hi and Hello to him all day. The girls thought it was funny that I said I finally had my child prodigy, my daughter not so much (she did know I was teasing...lol). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zandische Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 How lucky for you, my greys were 14 MONTHS before they ever uttered a word! I was sure they were never going to talk, and now they won't shut up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 The last weeks of waiting are hard and we didn't have the added excitement of wanting to hear all the first words. My oh my is right. I had to laugh when you said your daughter wasn't near as amused about the first child prodigy. LOL. It is wonderful that you not only get to visit often but your daughter is also right there with him every day too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest candismalli Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I guess I should have posted in the nursery. I thought it was crazy to have a 24wk old CAG talking, and I just posted that, wow a 12wk old, now that is amazing!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinsmom Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 How lucky for you, my greys were 14 MONTHS before they ever uttered a word! I was sure they were never going to talk, and now they won't shut up! I know a year is average but its not uncommon for young birds to speak. We went to visit yesterday and he's muttering and working on what sounds like "pretty bird'. Less than 2 weeks from now he'll be home. YAY!! My last grey spoke very little and rarely, so this will be a new twist. I'm looking forward to getting Zulu home ;-) He's at the pet store where my daughter works. I know the breeder he came from and the health testing that has been done, and the girls that have had fed him for the last 10 week are amazing. I think all that socialization and exposure to many different people and other birds has help his learning curve. Our previous Grey came from a breeder, it was a quiet home and they had tons of other babies to look after. Garth was quiet and shy and hated anything new or different. I am hoping that going in the other direction with Zulu will be a benefit. He learned to say HI from the Goffin next to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWIX Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 He's a talker ! Wonderful, there will be a time when you wish he could stop talking for a minute. DJ is driving us crazy, but thank god he sleeps well when bed time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinsmom Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 He's a talker ! Wonderful, there will be a time when you wish he could stop talking for a minute. DJ is driving us crazy, but thank god he sleeps well when bed time I dont think I'll ever wish him to be quiet. My previous CAG barely spoke but was a great mimic of sounds. I cannot tell you how much I have missed those sounds and activity over the last 7+ years. I was never bothered by Garth's noise, even though other people noticed it all the time, to me the squeaks, beeps, cat calls and whistles were ambient noise. I have 4 dogs and 14 cats and a few teenagers here...I dont see Zulu making any more noise than the crew that already lives here! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Zulu, I suspect, will do just fine! He;s already talking, and hasn't even met the rest of the flock! Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianlinkles Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I want to thank zandische! My Dorothy just turned one today! She says Hi, Hello, she whistles up a storm. However she is more of a whistler than a talker at this point. Even her "hello" is not super clear. I was thinking that maybe she will not be such a talker but more of a whistler. I love her talking or whistling, however I have to say when Hello comes out of her mouth or she says hi when I take her nightime cover off her cage I do love it! I'm glad to hear that I could be hearing more talking sometime soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alnoble89 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I am so happy to see that there is someone that loves animals as much as we do. As in has a billion. We have 4 dogs as well but only 4 cats. I am so happy to see your baby is talking so early. I can't wait until my baby talks, I am sure that will be a while though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zandische Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 (edited) I want to thank zandische! My Dorothy just turned one today! She says Hi, Hello, she whistles up a storm. However she is more of a whistler than a talker at this point. Even her "hello" is not super clear. I was thinking that maybe she will not be such a talker but more of a whistler. I love her talking or whistling, however I have to say when Hello comes out of her mouth or she says hi when I take her nightime cover off her cage I do love it! I'm glad to hear that I could be hearing more talking sometime soon! Brian, aww, happy hatch day to Dorothy! Not to worry, Dorothy will get there! My birds were slow at first, but now (3 years) they pick up new words very quickly, sometimes even after just hearing it once. I agree that lots of socialization is helpful for talking, but it also depends on the bird...my girl, Seraph, is super outgoing and has yet to meet a person she doesn't like, but she was the slowest to talk - she just loves chirping and whistling more than talking. Gryph was first to talk and usually picks up new words faster, but is anti-social. Who knows? I think a lot of who they are and will be is formed in their early years, and babies learn a lot of behavior from their people parronts, so if you are patient and talkative and endeavor to show them lots of experiences and give words and names to everything they experience, then I think they have a lot better chance of learning human language. But again, still up to the bird :-) Also, just wanted to add that my birds don't speak in context a whole lot yet and it would be so exciting to be greeted with a "hello" in the morning! But they do make certain noises for certain situations, like a soft "hoooo" is a special greeting which means ‘I love you and missed you while you were away‘ and is different from 'click' which is just a standard greeting. So 'speaking' and 'language' includes their bird sounds too, and we try our best to mimic them, because it's obvious their bird sounds have a meaning they want to communicate to us :-) Zulusmom, I am so excited for you! I can't wait for Zulu to come home to his very large, well-loved flock :-) Edited July 27, 2012 by zandische Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now