A silly question!

[yvette]

Ok, so as you know my bird has been here with me exactly one week and he seems pretty comfortable around us. We still cant touch him at all, but he does take treats from us and is chirping/ whisteling up a storm. He repeats all whistles and barks like a dog and hoots like an owl. I of couses melt when he does this and praise him and he does it again! And every time he does, I praise him. Not when he whistles though. Anyhow my question is this, we are noticing that his whistles sometimes sound like words. For instance you can clearly hear him whistle "pretty bird" but doesnt speak the words. Does this make sense? It seems like he replaced the words with whistles to make the same sound without speaking. Is this normal? As I said before, when we speak to him, he shakes his head and from what I understand, this is normal, but could it be that he has a serious problem and thats why he is transforming what we say into something he hears or what is your opinion? I know he can talk, he was at least saying "Hello" at the store when we bought him?

 

Also, is there any sure way without going to the yet to tell a birds age?

 

Regardless, talking or not, I love my baby, I just hope he is okay and if there is something I need to do to help him, I am ready for that too.

[LisaM]

I don't think he has any problems at all. I think he's just still adjusting to life in your family. If he's whistling to the "tune" of you saying "pretty bird", he may be practicing. My CAG does that a lot with new things...she'll sort of whistle it, she'll mumble or even whisper...then all of a sudden at some point out comes the phrase clear as a bell.

 

Even though he was talking in the store, he's in a new environment now. I'll bet he will start within a few weeks. It is possible, however, that he will decide not to speak. Just continue to talk to him a lot, with a lot of inflection and excitement. That's really about the best thing you can do.

 

And I don't know for sure, but I think even vets can only give a best guess at a parrot's age once they're adults. If you haven't brought him to an avian vet yet though I would do that as soon as possible for an overall checkup.

 

I think he's just being a normal grey. Some take quite awhile to work their way into a new situation. You have a LONG time with him so try to enjoy the little positive steps along the way. :-)

 

(My favorite sound of all is the "owl hoot"). I have convinced myself it's Kenya's way of telling me she loves me because it sounds so sweet! (And if anyone believes differently, keep it to yourself so I can continue to live with my delusion! )

[Ronda477]

yvette I think your Gray is doing great! He is taking food from your hand and he is making his noises. He's just settling in. My SweetHeart is only 9 months old and I got her when she was 6 months old and can still not pet her willingly. So just give it time. Some of them do not like to be pet at all. Will he step up for you? Does he come out of the cage? And yes whistling the pretty bird sound makes sense hon. It's normal like Lisa said he may just be practicing. Your a new mommy and of course your learning new things, just remember that patience is the key. He may never want to be held or cuddled or even pet. That comes with any bird just like mine. But they are still lovely to have around and are very interesting in the sounds they make. Mine is still learning and of course don't think there is an age limit to their learning lol. Yours will pick up more sounds in time and of course you will hear more of the ones he knows when he settles in more. I'm sure being in a pet store he heard all kinds of sounds and people talking. It would be interesting to hear what will come out of him lol. And yes every time I say something to SweetHeart she shakes her head afterwards. I think they are just taking it all in lol. And just to let you know, There are NO SILLY questions here!!! Keep us updated!!!

[judygram]

Ronda is right, there are no silly questions here.

 

I think you are doing fine with your bird at this point, you have taken in an adult bird and it just takes time for him to settle in and feel comfortable in a new home.

 

The whistling and sounds you are describing are all normal vocalizations and I bet he will soon start talking again when he feels more like it.

 

Please keep us updated on his progress but you are doing a good job so far so quit worrying.

[Shamelessmuse]

There are no silly questions...though I do sometimes give silly answers:P

 

Sounds like you guys are progressing nicely! Your baby is exhibiting pretty normal behavior, you have nothing to worry about. Sounds like once he is good and settled in he will be talking up a storm!

[yvette]

I am sure he will too, I just worry.This may sound strange, but at least with a baby, a cry can mean lots of things, but CAG are usually pretty quiet! As for the step up, still no luck. I still let him out of the cage and he enjoys it so much. Then I have to chase him around the cage until he gets in by himself! Much better than flying around the house like the first day which I knew was dangerous for him.

 

The reason i asked about the age, several videos I have seen with CAg and their owners, well I notice the birds look bigger- say "fat" . Mine looks pretty thin. I was told he was 4 years old and was still growing. Is this true? At what age do they stop? Thats why I thought maybe he is younger- he doesnt have the body of the birds I have seen, but he does have a hearty appetite.

 

He is really comming along now- still cant touch him or hold him, thats ok. I touch his feet and he licks my fingers, but thats about it.

 

He is now making more human sounds. Not words, but gargles and mumbles. Small ones, but every day is somehing new!

 

One thing that I know for sure is that I do need to give him lots of time. He was at a store for several months and according to the owner, she would just go visit them while she changed their water and food bowls. Other than that, no special attention, no "out of cage" time, so its no wonder my baby doesnt know what to do. He does know how to chirp like a finch and canary though! lol

[Ronda477]

I can't go by a CAG but I can say that birds in general like My Quaker when we first got her she was 3 years old. She was under weight. They only fed her seed and even though it tends to be fatty, they left the same bowl of seed in there for weeks at a time thinking that they saw seed still and not realizing that they are kind of picky eaters sometimes and only pick out what they want. Within a month she had already gained weight for us. The guy came over to see how she was doing once we got her and couldn't believe she was the same little bird. So yes they can still grow especially out lol. Just be careful not to fatten him too much. Work on the step up's with him for it is very important for them to learn for safety reasons as well. And yes lots of time will do you wonders!

[judygram]

You are so right, it will take lots of time and patience, they really do take things slowly and being an adult bird he is more set in his ways.

 

But you are making some progress and small steps are just what you should expect right now, in time he will probably step up for you and sit with you but you have to work up to that for now.

 

One way to tell about the age is by the eye color, adult greys eyes are more yellow looking versus a lighter shade when younger. The weight of the bird is no indication of age, they vary in weight from 300+ to over 600 grams in weight, some are just bigger. A real indication of whether he is fat is by feeling the keelbone, if it is prominent then he is not fat but if it is hardly felt then he may be too fat.

 

They do love to mimic other sounds and count yourself lucky that he is only copying finch and canary calls, my Josey screams like my sun conure and that is not really funny.

 

You are doing a fine job just continue on and in time he will make more improvements.

[danmcq]

Hi Yvette,

 

Your asking all the right questions and doing all the right things. We all fret over our Greys, which is normal :-)

 

A Grey has pretty much grown as large as they will be by the time they are 4 or 5 months old. They will build some more bone mass and muscle depending on if they or flighted or not and how much they romp around, do Acrobatics and of course their well balanced diet play a HUGE role in this.

 

If you don't already have one, you should purchase a digital scale that goes up to at least a 1000 grams and weigh him once a week to get a good average of what his normal weight is. A loss in weight of 10% indicates a problem that means an immediate vet visit.

 

Sometimes photos or videos can and do make an object appear larger than it really is depending on how close the camera is or if it is zoomed in or not.

 

Just keep staying close to him and interacting a lot as you have and he will be responding with trust more and more. Just keep working on the step-up by slowly moving your hand to him, but not to the point he starts running off. Just stop your hand motion and let it sit there a while, then move it a little closer and so on until he realizes it is not going to harm him. :-)

 

If he lets you touch his feet and licks your fingers, your are so close to having him step up it's a shoe in. Just slide it further under his feet pushing gently on them, so as not to alarm him and he will or should naturally move his feet on top of your hand or fingers.

 

Also, is it only when you are standing up and moving towards him that he runs around his cage from you? When and where is it that he is interacting with you finger touching and licking going on?

[Shamelessmuse]

Has your baby been to the vet yet? If not you may want to go ahead and make an appointment. They will be able to tell you if he is underweight or not. As well and make sure that he doesn't have any underlying problems.

[yvette]

If I bought a scale, how would I get an accurate weight? I think I need to wait until I can work more with him.

 

As for the vet, I have not looked for one yet and I am afraid this is going to stress him out more and we will have to start from square one all over again.

 

As for the finger licking, he does this when he is on or in the cage and I place my hand up to his feet.(in other words, no bars between us). If he is in the cage and lets say I am sitting on my chair next to the cage, once I raise my hand to touch him, thats when he runs off or starts climbing away. Its so funny because he almost seems to be screaming for s head scratch or a touch. He puts his beak into the widest slot (corner slot, not too big, but bigger than the side slots) and he whistles and fluffs his feathers while his little head is bent down. I can almost kiss him, but as soon as my hand comes up, he is off! He is such a tease!!!!

[yvette]

another quick question....he does not have his wings clipped yet, will the vet do this? I am afraid if I get him a traveling cage and the vet isnt careful, my baby will fly away.Sould I do this clipping before I go to the vet myself?:unsure:

[judygram]

As far as getting an accurate weight on him always do it the same time each day, say first thing in the morning before he has eaten and after he takes the first morning dump, do this every day for a week and what he averages out at is an accurate assessment.

 

He really should be checked out by an avian vet for a full workup to see if everything is ok and this will be a baseline to go by for future visits. Maybe another family member can help with the trip to the vet like getting him into the travel cage. Don't worry about your baby flying away from the vet, he will remain in the carrier until you are safely in the examining room and the door is closed, believe me avian vets know the dangers and take the necessary precautions.

 

The vet can clip the wings if you so desire it done but that is a decision you will have to make for yourself whether to clip or not. We do have some good threads here about clipping, read them before you make that decision.

[macawlover]

Oscar whistles "Merry" and then says "Christmas" afterwards. He has all kinds of whistles, not including the "Merry". lol

 

For age, I don't know if someone already mentioned this, but look at his eyes. If he's an adult, they'll be a pale yellow. If he's pretty young still, they'll be grey. Plus, if he's really young, he'll have black on the tips of his tail feathers.

 

As for clipping his wings, I'm sure the vet could trim them if you wanted him/her to. Otherwise he/she'll use a towel. You'll probably be brought into a back room so you won't have to worry about him flying away.

[Ronda477]

yvette, I wouldn't attempt clipping his wings unless you have done this before. As far as him getting away in the Vet's office, he/she will know how to get him back, don't stress about that. Look further into though on if you want him clipped for the long haul, cause they do tend to stay gone for anywhere from 3 months to almost a year sometimes. So it's a long made decision when you do it, not just because of one visit. I haven't gotten a scale yet either to weigh SweetHeart because we are still working with her as well on trying to handle her. But you may want to get one just to show him it and he can get used to it being he is a little older than a new little baby that may not be willing to accept a whole bunch at first.

 

And he does seem like a little tease with his head lol. I'm sure in no time he will be letting you do that!