questions for andrew (tui's dad)

[Guest briansmum]

hi everyone. you tube video's of a grey named tui, her dad andrew and his videos have been posted in the useful training video thread.

 

mentioned that i was in contact with him and would ask him to join. well despite his busy schedule he said he'd drop by, he isn't a professional, but he has a great relationship with his bird and she talks up a storm. just like many of us started out from scratch.

 

i'm sure he would love to offer advice as best he can so please post any questions you have here. and he'll get back to us when he can.

 

i'll start:

i've seen you touch you touch tui all over, greys are renound for not liking this, how did you go about teaching her to accept you doing this?

[matt314159]

I can't think of any questions off-hand, but if Tui's dad is going to be reading this, I want to say that Tui is one of my favorite parrots on youtube!

 

I'll post back if I can think of any questions, but I thought I'd make sure he knows how famous Tui is! We've got a celebrity among us!

[Zarlock]

Hi guys and thanks Beccy for the invite. Looks like a great website and I look forward to having a search around it time permitting.

 

A) I was not aware greys did not like being touched (well I know that Tui spends a lot of her time running away from it) so I guess that it was a case of not knowing the rules. I did see a grey in my apartment complex whose owner had nice big boobs and her grey used to snuggle into them, so I thought well I would not mind hugs, I should get Tui used to me touching her when I want so I did the gotch ya game then touch game and she got used to it.

 

What She will do which I guess could because they don't like it (if thats the norm) is step up and scratch me back (fingers in the beak with tongue flicks) or flip over on her back so she can be picked up upside down. We do a few Step up's to show her I am boss and start over again. Also it is a game so I am laughing and enjoying myself and the greys being social animals if they think it is supposed to be fun it becomes fun

[judygram]

Some allow touching more than others, mine does allow some touching and I am working on her allowing more. Now what she won't allow is for me to put her on her back, she absolutely refuses to do that one.:blink:

[Guest]

Radar & I watched you & Tui a few nights ago. He really was interested & actually climbed up on the keyboard of the laptop so he could see Tui better, he was shaking his head & whispering to her. Maybe he has a crush on her!

 

Look forward to hearing from you again.

[Guest briansmum]

hi andrew, thanks for joining. i suppose the saying ignorance is bliss applies sometimes with greys. it's easy to over think things "am i doing this right, is this normal" etc, when really if you just do what comes natural to you and the bird you'll find your own way.

[Hannah_Rae]

Andrew,

 

I watched the Tui videos. Loved 'em!!! I love the bond you two have. I am hoping to build the same active, learning bond with my new baby grey.

[danmcq]

Regarding touching all over - We have been touching, scratching and cuddeling Dayo all-over since he was 8 weeks old. He loves it and welcomes it most times, unless he is busy playing with a toy or trying to chew a key off my keyboard, then he will get annoyed and move or turn around and look at at me like "Do you mind"?

 

Question for Andrew: How did you get Tui to "Dance" like he does? I cannot get Dayo to "Bust a move" for the life of me. No head bobbing, swaying nothing....

[lovemyGreys]

Good question Dan, my daughter asked me the same one this evening !i'd love to know the answer

[imran]

hey zarlock.. its nice to have you here..

i really appreciate the love, patience and hard work you have dedicated to her..

i would like to ask u some general questions

1) what is tui's diet ?

2) how often do u give her a shower B)

3) how old was she when u got her ?

 

thanks

[Zarlock]

The head bobbing I believe is a natural thing the birds do. When I saw it I thought it looked like dancing so I associated the word "Dance" to it by saying it or "let's dance" when I saw her doing it. I would also get up and Dance myself saying "Let's Dance" and "Dance". I am not sure if it is because I am a white man or just have no ability to dance but my dancing was a little like a heavy metal rocker with lots of head bobbing. (like her)

 

For a few months part of our morning routine was to play a few songs and dance around Which is where she learnt to sing as we dance. The songs were the same each time.

 

Tui's has two food bowls one is fill of pellets and the other is whatever I am eating at the time. So it gets cereal, salads, curry, pasta and all sorts of human food. She does tend to eat when I do, so when I make somethng I give it to her as well.

 

She comes in the shower with me everyday, sits on a perch and gets steam. Tui is not so keen on getting into water despite my attempts to get her to use a bath bowl

 

I got tui at 6 months old, and had her for almost two years now

[siobha9]

Its so sad I have just seen Tui's latest video on Youtube, the poor bird. I have a question for Andrew:

 

Has Tui recovered from the All Blacks defeat yet?

 

That was the funniest thing I have ever seen! If you guys havent seen it yet, check it out

 

 

Siobhan

[Zarlock]

Siobhan

Yes she has managed to move on like most of us from New Zealand have had too. I rearrange her cage to give her something to do and take her mind off the humilation of France besting us.

 

We are comtemplating doing a similar type of video about how the New Zealand government won't let her move there (so far a 15 year ban on imported parrots and pets) and how we feel about this silly Law and the heart ache of not being able to return home after a overseas trip. (I am not going to leave her so we can't go home)

[Guest briansmum]

yeah! thats a good idea, then send it to them :evil:

[jimmycoop2005]

Zarlock wrote:

Siobhan

Yes she has managed to move on like most of us from New Zealand have had too. I rearrange her cage to give her something to do and take her mind off the humilation of France besting us.

 

We are comtemplating doing a similar type of video about how the New Zealand government won't let her move there (so far a 15 year ban on imported parrots and pets) and how we feel about this silly Law and the heart ache of not being able to return home after a overseas trip. (I am not going to leave her so we can't go home)

 

That is retarded!!! looks like you are going to have to think of a clever Tui disguise. I really hope you get to go home, if you need a petition put one up here, I would be happy to sign.