Poppy

[Giannine]

Despite my household being one of 7, it is surprisingly quiet and calm. The most activity comes from our dumb Boxer, Solo:rolleyes: We have a tri-level house so the kids generally are in each of their little corners much of the time. The kids are not allowed to run around in the house or yell, etc.

 

During the day it is just me here with the birds so I keep the kids channel on the TV all day to provide some noise for the birds since I spend most of the time the kids are at school in the dining room editing but am just a few feet away from Poppy and in clear view. I would say the more quiet it is, the more jumpy Poppy is because then any tiny little noise makes her jump.

 

Sterling, that is funny. Your Conure sounds a bit like Olive. She imitates us very well. Poppy got me kind of good earlier and Olive heard me say "Ouch!" from downstairs and I heard her say, "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" She also says that when she is nibbling on us LOL . She will say "Naughty chicken" too. She says "Step up" when she knows we want her to but she has her own agenda. She says, "Good girl" and "Good bird" when she knows she has done something good. Very smart little birds they are.

Edited February 11, 2017 by Giannine

[Kya]

Our grey is more comfortable with background noise. It's just me and my husband, and before he came to live with us, he lived with an older couple as well.

 

My husband always has the tv on, even when he isn't watching it. I always have music on. The louder the household is, the more interactive Kya is. When we are at work, we leave the tv on for him, allowing him to pick the channel, which more times than not has a lot of Sponge Bob Squarepants on it, and now he mimics a lot of words in Sponge Bob's voice. His cage is also directly in front of a window, and he loves looking outside and talking to the other birds and cats in the neighborhood.

 

Of course, Kya is 10 years old, so more set in his ways. He didn't get a lot of exposure to different things / people in his previous home, my husband and I are trying to rectify that. When my adult children first came around after we got him, he would clam up and act nervous. Now, he greets them excitedly when they come through the door, and talks and interacts with them. He had a complete meltdown the first time my 5 year old grandson spent the night, and it really worried me. He adjusts to new things slowly, and if they are not a constant (I would be in a mental institution if I had my grandson 24/7) it takes him longer to adjust. Now, he loves it when Cooper spends the night, and talks to him in a child like voice, which he never uses when he isn't here.

 

Since we didn't have him as a baby, I am wondering if the jumpiness is just natural, as he grows and learns about everything?

[birdhouse]

Despite my household being one of 7, it is surprisingly quiet and calm. The most activity comes from our dumb Boxer, Solo:rolleyes: We have a tri-level house so the kids generally are in each of their little corners much of the time. The kids are not allowed to run around in the house or yell, etc.

 

During the day it is just me here with the birds so I keep the kids channel on the TV all day to provide some noise for the birds since I spend most of the time the kids are at school in the dining room editing but am just a few feet away from Poppy and in clear view. I would say the more quiet it is, the more jumpy Poppy is because then any tiny little noise makes her jump.

 

That's too bad ...well for this I mean. lol Slowing down the bustle would have been a relatively simple solution for a change. Do you take her out or open the door & let her come out on her own?

 

Points for noticing at all btw. You might be surprised by how many people don't see let alone respond to the smaller subtleties. But they count good or bad, in the long run.

 

Hopefully this is a phase, like Sterling said & you only have to wait it out. But especially if she's gene encoded to be a more timid girl, it's not going to hurt anything to show her you're paying attention & willing to respond to her. I feel like all healthy Grey egos can benefit from being given varying levels of control by their parronts. A little bit extra even in the cases where Nurture needs to overcome Nature.

Edited February 12, 2017 by birdhouse

[Giannine]

Mornings are always our one-one-one time so after she eats her breakfast, I always open the door that has her rope perch on it. She rushes to it when she knows she is about to be let out and then she steps onto my hand and I'll spend 10-15 minutes with her before placing her on top of her cage with her food. I learned early on to turn lights on before entering dim hallways or the kitchen during the day if it is gloomy outside because she is especially jumpy when we go into parts of the house she doesn't spend a lot of time in.

She does seem like she is more timid by nature. I do hope to kind of desensitize her to new surroundings to help her overcome it and be less jumpy. Thank you for your input you guys!

[Acappella]

I think some greys are just timid by nature. Dorian is kind of jumpy as well, although it has improved leaps and bounds from the way he was when he first came to me so there is hope. I agree that giving them some choice in how their day goes as much as possible helps improve their confidence and their sense of security. I let Dorian decide when he was going to come out of his cage, step onto my hand, leave the room his cage was in etc... Just now I dropped a pen into the empty recycle bin under my desk and it made a big noise. A couple of years ago Dorian would have jumped, frozen and alarm beeped. Now he just continued eating, it didn't phase him at all, so it can keep getting better. Like everything else with these guys, it just takes time. and time. and time. lol

[Giannine]

My husband always has the tv on, even when he isn't watching it. I always have music on. The louder the household is, the more interactive Kya is. When we are at work, we leave the tv on for him, allowing him to pick the channel, which more times than not has a lot of Sponge Bob Squarepants on it, and now he mimics a lot of words in Sponge Bob's voice.

 

Just out of curiosity since Poppy doesn't talk much or let her preferences be known in any way (other than trying to stay on me when I need to put her down), how does Kya choose the channel he wants to watch? That's funny he mimics Spongebob's voice!

[Greywings]

we would like an answer to the question of remote control use by Kya. Our flock just destroys a remote if they can get a beak on it.

[Kya]

we would like an answer to the question of remote control use by Kya. Our flock just destroys a remote if they can get a beak on it.

 

I guess I had that coming! We don't physically turn the remote over to Kya, if we did, we'd be replacing it daily!

 

My husband has this ritual with him every morning, he goes through about 10 channels very slowly right before we leave for work (Disney, Nickelodeon channels, Animal Planet, Nat Geo). Kya knows what he is doing, and he will show excitement - he is watching the whole time. For example, Pete hit Dora the Explorer the other day, and Kya yells happily "Hola, amigo!" That's where the tv stayed all day. Interestingly enough, he NEVER shows any enthusiasm for older cartoons like Tom and Jerry or Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote.

 

As soon as the channel is decided on - and sometimes my husband has to flip through them twice - Kya starts saying "Bye, bye. I love you. I be back". We are dismissed.

 

If he shows no interest in any tv, he gets rock and roll all day, with the tv on mute, usually on Discovery. Occasionally, he's just not in the mood, but he's always up for some good rock and roll.

[Giannine]

I guess I had that coming! We don't physically turn the remote over to Kya, if we did, we'd be replacing it daily!

 

My husband has this ritual with him every morning, he goes through about 10 channels very slowly right before we leave for work (Disney, Nickelodeon channels, Animal Planet, Nat Geo). Kya knows what he is doing, and he will show excitement - he is watching the whole time. For example, Pete hit Dora the Explorer the other day, and Kya yells happily "Hola, amigo!" That's where the tv stayed all day. Interestingly enough, he NEVER shows any enthusiasm for older cartoons like Tom and Jerry or Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote.

 

As soon as the channel is decided on - and sometimes my husband has to flip through them twice - Kya starts saying "Bye, bye. I love you. I be back". We are dismissed.

 

If he shows no interest in any tv, he gets rock and roll all day, with the tv on mute, usually on Discovery. Occasionally, he's just not in the mood, but he's always up for some good rock and roll.

 

Ha! That's great LOL I love it! I had the cable turned off several years ago so unfortunately, Poppy and Olive are stuck listening to Qubo (the only all children's programming) all day. I actually kind of miss the Dora days. That was my 12-year-old's favorite show.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Giannine