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merlin learns the word NO


sandra902

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ok so they say greys have the cognitive ability of a 3-yr-old. so to me that includes the meaning of the word 'no'. well it also includes the same reaction to the word 'no'...

 

i moved merlin's cage to get ready for the arrival of his companion this weekend. i never thought that its closeness to the drapery would have any attraction for him at all.

 

one of the first things he did when having a scrimble-scramble out of his cage was to approach the curtains and give them a good tasting. i thought that was funny and said 'hey there merl whatcha doin there?' well i was so happy he was not afraid of it as he has been of EVERYTHING that i just remained amused...until i thought a bit more about it and pictured chewed up drapery on one side of the window. so i thought to myself that my children learned 'no no' so maybe we'd give it a try with merl.

 

next time he tasted the drapery i said sweetly 'merlin. no no.' which interested him, so he thought he'd see if my response to his drapery tasting would be consistent. which it was. and it was. and it was. as i could see this was quickly turning into an irritating game i started to praise him for turning away from the curtains after i told him 'no no'. that seemed to work well as a new component to the 'no no game'

 

so what did i learn here? i learned that yes indeed he has the cognitive ability of a 3-yr-old in fact he picked up 'no no' faster than any toddler i ever met. i also learned that he is just as wilful as my children were and happy about it too. but i also learned that he really responds to praise. that pleases me as one does not always have a treat ready at the opportune moment.

 

and when he was alone the next day chattering away he said 'no no merlin' about 30 times to which i nearly burst into the room to defend myself. hey! i did not say 'no no merlin' 30 times! it only felt that way.<br><br>Post edited by: sandra902, at: 2008/05/01 22:48

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"i moved Merlin's cage to get ready for the arrival of his companion this weekend " Have i missed something Sandra ??

 

Yep i firmly believe they can grasp the word NO in the correct context, Merlin was testing you ;) Praise is a great way to reward your grey, positive behaviour doesn't always have to be rewarded with a treat :) how clclever he picked up no no merlin ;) He's going to drive you mad now :laugh:

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yes i am bringing home a companion for young merl. his foster mum has a wonderful female eclectus that we believe will be a good addition to the monkey house.

 

she is lively, loves to be handled and loves also to be in the middle of all the action. so she will be a good complement to merlin's more guarded approach to life.

 

we have taken a long time (oh boy since at least january if not before) to consider bringing in another birdy but the more she and i talk it over the more we agree that merl did much better as part of a flock and by observing the good behaviours of his pals. she actually had him stepping up and got to handle him a little while she had him which we chalked up to the good example of her flock. of course i factor in her far greater experience too!

 

so that is the big news from the monkey house. i leave tomorrow for a very quick trip to & from. i wish it were longer but i need to be home saturday nite so it'll be a fast trip but an exciting one.

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thanks you guys for the support. i was afraid my friend, in her enthusiasm for having a new birdy buddy was moving me along too fast. but i really did take my time in making the decision.

 

we did laugh more than once because when she and her daughter brought merlin to my house they each exclaimed: "wow! she has room for at least 3 parrots in this room!" so i have been accusing her of setting me up for MBs as her diabolical Master Plan.

 

but we have always had multiple katz so why not multiple birds?

 

and i haven't screwed up merlin any worse than when he went into rescue in fact i daresay he is slowly and surely coming into his own even with my being a greenhorn. 'love covers a multitude of sins' i guess!

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Wow Sandra, Merlin sounds like he is becoming a real character and blossoming at the same time under your care.

 

I am envious for your new eclectus. Is it a male or female?

 

Can't wait to see the photos and hear how everything works out. :-)

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thanks again everyone, i was hesitant to say anything til lucy actually came home...didn't want to jynx it you know...lots can happen between times.

 

miss lucy is a lively female eclectus, she likes to be handled, loves to be in the middle of all the action, dances to american idol, we think she wound up in rescue because she is a squawker. that is toning down though so i am sure the squawking will continue to diminish with plenty of attention, which she will certainly have.

 

i am reading up as i can on squawking and we'll see how we do.

 

and yes our merl is a joy and a wonder every day. he makes me so happy i only hope i make him a fraction as happy (i think i'm doing OK). he is the little king which i am sure he was definitely NOT before he came to rescue. he still has his limits but don't we all. if he stayed just as he is right now we couldn't love him any less or any more.

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well i'm home.

 

empty handed.

 

but not unhappy.

 

miss lucy quickly and decisively decided she did NOT like me on ANY level and did everything possible to repel all intruders. and she maintained her strong opinion the next morning as well. so respecting her opinion, i had a wonderful time with my friend and her flock and even got to meet lisaM from this very forum!

 

miss lisaM can attest to miss lucy's high disregard for me. it was rather extraordinary really. but c'est la vie, it's about the bird and not about sandra so there you have it. that perfect match is out there for miss lucy, we just have to find her or him. i think a gentle man would do well for her.

 

so here i am with my merlin flapping away happily on his cage -- flapping in a good and happy way, lisaM if you are out there -- not an angry and aggressive way like lovely lucy did!

 

too bad about the price of gas but i still had a great (but short) time with my friend and it was worth the trip to meet our own lisaM too!

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Well Sandra, I am sorry to hear it didn't work out after all. But, it's great you recognized that the Eclectus is waiting for it's true owner of destiny.

 

Guess you'll just need to shower all that stored up love and affection for the Eclectus on Merlin. :-)

 

What a great coincidence to have run into one of our own Forum members! I'll bet that was worth the trip in and of itself.

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Sandra, I'm sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you and Miss Lucy, I guess it was just not meant to be.

 

Glad you got to meet one of the members of the forum, that is always exciting when you are able to do that, I have been here almost a year now and I have yet to meet the first one but I have plans to meet several of them in the coming year.:P

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I'm sorry it didnt work out Sandra, but I suppose Lucy knew what she wanted :blink: As you said the right owner is out there for her, and perhaps the right eclectus is out there for you;) I'm glad you had a good time though.

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aw shucks guys thank you. when bon and i all those months ago were talking about miss lucy i had hesitated taking on another birdy since i did not have merlin to where i thought he should be.

 

but there you go, merlin is where he is and he has come a long way since october and he and i will continue to figure things out.

 

bon and i are thinking about taking that susan friedman online course this summmer if we can get in. miss lisaM also recommended it highly.

 

merly got his daddy in trouble while i was gone. i had typed up 2 pages of directions of what to do when and why. so imagine my irritation when i came home and found grapes in his kibble dish!

 

invariably i had to take big daddy to task for this grievous error! and when BD assured me nearly on his mother's grave that he did not put fresh fruit in the kibble dish i had to reflect...hmmm those grapes did seem a bit the worse for the wear, kinda chewed up come to think of it...so in merlin's rascally little way, he chewed up his grapes and then deposited them in his kibble dish.

 

and i did get a great big wing flappin from young merl when i came home, he really gave it the gas for quite a long time. so all is well at the monkey house.

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Some things are just meant to be Sandra, fortunately you was able to meet Lucy & instinct & judgement came into play for both you & Lucy.Sometimes birds just dont get the correct vibes from us & vice versa.Im sure Lucy will find the right owner.

not to much of a wasted trip if you had a good time :)

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