Contact Calls

[Julie]

My African Grey calls me with loud obnoxious whistles and phone ringing when I leave the room for even a second. I tell him I'll be right back, but that doesn't help. I feel like I'm going to lose my mind when he does this. I know the books say to ignore the behavior and only respond when he's quiet, but I live in an apartment building so this isn't always possible.

 

I try to take him with me when I can, but it seems to me to be ridiculous that I have to go pick him up off his cage and carry him to the kitchen with me to get a Diet Coke out of the refrigerator. I've had him since he was a baby and he's never been left or abandoned so I'm not sure why he's so insecure.

 

We have a new baby Eclectus in the house, but my CAG was doing this before the Eclectus arrived.

 

Suggestions?

[BaxtersMom]

I think all greys do this to a point. Baxter is always calling me when I leave the room. It isn't a problem for me because we live in a house but I can see the problems if you are in an apartment with neighbors.

 

I have one of those boing ropes that hang from the ceiling. Do you have one of those? You might want to get one or maybe even a portable perch and put him on that for awhile to keep him occupied and not wondering what you are doing all the time. Usually when I put Baxter on the boing or a playstand/perch he is usually pretty quiet enjoying being in a different place.

 

I really don't know if there is a cure for those contact calls though. Maybe someone else will have better suggestions.

[Julie]

Thanks. Yes, his beeps sound like a fire alarm going off. I keep asking him how that loud of a sound can come out of such a little bird. He has a boing and used to go on it all the time, but now he doesn't. I also have a cage outside and I sometimes put him out there to distract him, but then he just "alarms" outside. The only way to make him stop is to put him on my hand. Sometimes if I whisper or keep talking to him he'll stop but not always. I hate that I'm scared to leave the room. Lucky for him he's cute and I love him.

[Perch]

Julie-

 

I am still new at this, but have made lots of observations during my time with Gracie; who is a little over 8 months old now.

 

I took some advice from this site and my friends at the bird store about initital cage placement in our home. Gracie's line-of-sight lets her peek into two adjoining rooms. I have 5 kids, so there is much talking between rooms and movement.

 

While reading up on Greys, I found they have the ability to embrace the concept of places out-of-site, which are still within the overall area. The idea is to continually tour the Grey throughout the living space, so they develop a concept that when you leave their sight, you are not actually leaving the flock area.

 

I was worried about my weird schedule when it came to purchasing Gracie. I work constantly rotating hours. I am starting to think however, that this may be a benefit overall, in that she never knows exactly when we are going to hang out together in a 24 hour period. Today for example, we are spending the morning puttering around the house. I bring her to each room with me, and she perches to watch whatever I'm up to. When she goes back to the cage-ma-hall, like when I have to clean the gutters later, she is content to play and wait for the next outing.

 

I think the most quality time is spent on a perch in the kitchen, because we spend a huge amount of time there. If it's too busy however...she can still see the kitchen from her vantage point in the adjoining room. I think somehow she keeps track of her flock in her mind, and to some extent conceptualizes where we are in the house. Gracie only uses one particular calling whistle for one of my teenage sons. She knows when he is in the house, even if he is out-of-sight for long X-Box periods. She calls out once or twice...he responds...and the mental note is made.

 

Again, I am too new to offer advice; only observations and what I have learned from others. I find this whole adventure facinating.