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Guest Sammie

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Hi My name is Mike and our wee man Sammie has just turned 1yr old last month. We live in Southland, New Zealand. We have had him since he was 2months old and so far it has been enlightening to say the least lol. This is our first post but we have been reading a lot of good advice and info about Greys on here and it has been very helpful as well as insightful. We feed him a handful seed mix, a handful of sunflower seed as well as fruit and veg. We also have Kaytees exact rainbow mix that we give to him as a treat (He absolutely adores it) so not sure if we should give him more on a regular bassis as it is a good bonding tool/bribe. He loves peanuts and dried banana chips and we only have to put some in his food bowl to get him back in his cage. He used to step up all the time when he was younger but has stopped doing this now and does not like being taken out of his cage by hand so we just leave the door open. I think he has decided he wants to be more independant nowdays lol. he vever used to bite till about 4-5 months ago when I inadvetantly taught him thats how you get people to leave you alone. So have had some real good finger crushing ones. He makes all sorts of wierd/funny noises and whistles which we whistle back to him and teach him new tunes. He often mimics the other native birdlife in our area as well. he hasen't quite spoken clearly but you can almost make out some words. Though he doesn't like being picked up much these days he loves sitting on your shoulder or lap especially when there is a zip to chew and loves neck and chest rubs. He lets you know when he doesn't want to be touched by making a loud "TOCK" and backing away and if you persist he tries to bite. Im so amazed at all the different things he does and getting to know more of his personality as it develops... and what a personalty these birds have!!!! lol

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Hi Mike, Welcome to the forum to you and to your little friend Sammie. Thanks for joining us. Lots of us have greys that are not inclined to be touched until it is their idea on their terms. I am guessing Sammie practices his words when you are not in the room to hear him and one day you will get a surprise when he speaks to you. As he is learning your language you are also perceptive to his as when he "tocks" at you. There is so much to read and learn here, I lurked as a guest for at least six months before I joined my very first forum. There are lots of good threads for feeding and behavior. It is hard to know what is available to you there but the veggies are a great start. Like you, I am amazed at the antics and can't get enough of our guy.

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Thanks Katana. Yes we often hear him making all sorts of noises when we are in other parts of the house my stepson reckons he's heard a couple of words when he was lying on the floor reading a book and sammie obviously didn't know he was there.

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Hello Mike and welcome to our family.

I can relate to the "tock" sound, I guess all our greys pretty much do the same sound, sort of like a click with their beak that means back off a little or not right now, you do learn quickly some of the ways they communicate their wishes to us.

Greys do tend to get more independent as they get older, sometimes they are just content to be near but not right on you, Josey will come over and sit by me sometimes while I am watching tv or looking over my shoulder as I type on the computer, of course she sometimes has to battle for my attention from the other two birds I have but usually as long as there is a little distance between them all is well.

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