Sid Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Our African grey has started to bang her dishes when she wants attention - it is quite annoying to say the least Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Sid, why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us some more about you and your grey, like what is her name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Char Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Does she get attention when she does that? Ignore her when she does it and she will soon learn that it does not work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Im so saddened to hear of your predicament. Yes you're right--To say the least it can be quite annoying when a parrot does that. My deepest sympathy. Lets look forward to better days with less noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamsDad Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Sid: I feel your pain! My previous grey Nelson would do the same or worse yet, he would pick a part of the cage to pluck at with his beak. I would sound like he was taking a small hammer to bang on she sheet metal of the cage. I would say to my wife that the "prisoner" wants out of his cell because it reminded me of an inmate banging the bars of his cell with a metal dish. What to do? DO NOT re-enforce the behavior. If the bird ends up getting what he wants you are doomed Ignore it, don't react is all you can do. Nelson never completely stopped doing it, but it wasn't one of his common tantrum tactics. When your grey uses a more acceptable behavior to get attention, re-enforce it by giving it some attention. Good luck - it takes time and patience. You have to train the bird rather than the bird training you. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrettyPax Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Wow! That's interesting. They're certainly bright creatures. I can't say that I feel complete sympathy for you because my Parrot likes to land on my head and dangle herself from my hair when she wants attention. Ouch! My hair is pretty long too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyparrot Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 I have no sympathy at all . Greys are very intelligent social beings but we keep them in conditions that are unnatural for them for our own selfish pleasure. The very least we can do is give them as much companionship and attention as they need. I believe that most "bad behavior" including plucking and other phobic actions arise because we try to conform them to our needs with out respect for theirs. If they request attention then give it to them. If they want to be left alone sometimes then respect that as well. If we can't do that then we should not be keeping them. Always remember they never had a choice but we did. We must accept the responsibility that comes with that choice. B) Steve n Misty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
she Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Charlie like most greys knows what he wants and how to get it.Ignore the behaviour at all cost but do ensure he gets plenty of atention and out of cage time,im sure you do anyway.I must say Charlie has me very well trained . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 I know just how you feel my Tyco has a habit of emptying her food dishe a 6:00 am do you have any Idea what its like to wake up to pellets and seeds hitting the metal tray over and over until there is nothing left in the dishes it takes her about 15 minutes to empty each dis becaus the dishes are locked down so she has to kick the food out. I usuallt take everything out now except a few Pellets because I work until midnight and by the time I wind down enough to sleep its around 2am Its definatly not fun to be woken up by the sound of parrot food hitting steel. just Ignore the bad and look forward to the day he goes on to something else to drive you crazy:laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Mistyparrot wrote: Always remember they never had a choice but we did. We must accept the responsibility that comes with that choice.B) Steve n Misty That was very well said Steve, thanks a million! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Though I feel for you Sid, I also agree with Steve. Well said Steve, I salute you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jamalbirdbiz Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Well said Steve. We all no that birdz like to fly around and do bird thingz. Sometimez it all getz the bettter of me 2. like trying to get molly to say my name and get her to stop removing chunks of skin off my arm :evil: while attempting to anchor herself on my arm which doubles as a makebelive branch. Really thinking they were put on this earth for our amusement is just plain goofy. :side: but if U think I am going to open up my windowz and let them fly freee U must be offf ur rocker :lol: and have more than just a few screwz loose. Jamal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamsDad Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Tycos_mom, Great story! And your change in tactics to deal with the problem is the kind of creative solution we must often come up with to "modify" unpleasant behavior. Nothing drastic was needed, just a small amount of pellets in the dish helped avoid the behavior. I feel that as we gain experience we learn that what seems like terrible or frustrating behavior, can often be modified or even accepted as part of the animals personality. My story above about Nelson reflected behavior that really wasn't a big deal in the big picture. Yes, there were times it bugged me, but I'll tell you, when Nelson passed away that was one of the many noises I missed in my house. To others, Go easy on Sid. Expressing a frustration with a behavior is ok. We've ALL been there at some level, at some time in our lives with pets. It doesn't mean we are unfit pet owners. Some suggestions or constuctive encouragement might help Sid get past this problem. Giving our pets all the attention they want, whenever they want isn't always practical either. There is behavior I discourage in all my pets, and there are times I can't stop for a pet, yet they are all happy, healthy well adjusted pets. One example is I have trained our cats that the kitchen counters are off limits. I just don't like the idea of hearing a cat covering his "deposit" in his catbox, then jumping to the cournter where we fix our food so see if there's anything yummy sitting around. I never punish or spank, just a command like "get down" and I lift them to the floor. By practicing this consistently they've pretty much all stopped visiting the counter and if I hear one jump up, all I have to so is say "get down" in a firm voice - even from the other room - and they jump down. Despite having some household rules, both my wife and I have commented that our pets probably feel like they've died and gone to kitty/birdie heaven with the home we've given them! Uh, ohhhh... speaking of wanting attention. I gotta go, someone just sssssslllllliiiiiiid down the leg of his cage to the floor and is over beneath my chair "clucking" to be picked up! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovethatgrey Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Interesting. Not sure how I feel about this. Emma doesn't have any behaviours that annoy me. I think that if she were doing the banging thing that you talk about I'd have to investigate and try to find the root cause of this. You haven't said very much except that she bangs and you find it annoying. Certainly there must be more to this story.<br><br>Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/04/19 02:32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Sid needs to come back and tell us some more about what is going on with the grey and introduce his/herself in the welcome room, just that one statement doesn't tell us much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 WOW!!!! A one sentence post that doesn't say a blessed thing. The main character in this story is a parrot who's acting like most other parrots. So what's the big deal? The bird is annoying??? Get another kind of pet, preferably a domestic type pet like a dog or a cat. They can be trained. HUGE difference between a domestic animal and a wild animal such as a parrot. Parrots are wild animals and will always remain that way no matter how long you own the bird. A wild bird can't be taught to not chew your shoelaces. That's annoying. A bird can't be taught to not slide down his cage. A bird can't be taught to not fly when it wants to even though a person doesn't want that to happen. A bird can't be taught to not fly into a kitchen or other room when he hears the bag of nuts being moved around. Hell, a bird can't even be scolded cause the reaction doesn't exist with a bird. I can think of at least 10 things birds do that can annoy people and at least 20 reasons why those birds do those 10 things. If a bird likes to bang his dish around, so what? i really don't see bad behavior if the bird is looking for attention. Should the bird lightly tap on his perch and say " pardon me sir, would you be so kind and rub my head--on the right side please ?" Believe me, my earlier post in this thread was not meant to be taken seriously. A better description is tongue in cheek. Either a person should do some homework on the basic habits and personalities of parrots or get a dog who will gladly play fetch or a cat that will purr. ACTUALLY, I'm having a problem too. One of my birds rings his bell in the morning when he wakes up and to say the least, it's very annoying because it doesn't sound like it's in sync with Jingle Bells. He's only waking up the other birds and he really doesn't care about what he's doing to me. I"M SO CONFUSED!! Please help!! :( WAIT, WAIT--I finally got the solution-- Take the bowl away. Really took a lot of deep thinking to come up with that solution.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/19 03:24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamsDad Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Come back Sid, tell us some more - we won't bite reeeeally we won't. We might nip and screeeech and huff and puff cause we like DRAMA too!!! Dave brought up a very good point. These bird have not been domesticated like out cats and dogs so having the same expectations about thier behavior can lead to frustrations. What IS amazing to me is, despite thier still-wild genetics, is how well they can adapt to our world if we just learn to read thier behavior properly. When was the last time your dog walked over, lowered his head and said "Scraaaatch??" or looked staight in your eye and whispered "I love you". These feathered creatures have an amazing ability to show cognitive understanding, problem solving skills and genuine emotions - all using a brain the size of a peanut! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Must be a very large peanut for I always thought their brains were the size of a shelled walnut, correct me if I am wrong but not likely:whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm_2007 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I'm kinda with sam here. we have a one liner from a newbie that wanted advice and we all assumed the worse and let him have it. Now he is afraid to come back and we cant help the grey! We dont even know what he has tried to alleviate the situation. Was that smart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Hey Everyone: Before you go and start bickering over the "words" and "opinions" that members write...remember, that this person's first post, is a question that gives us no information, no history, no explanation, no timing as to when this happens, why, how long, etc. Those of us that have been here for years, have seen such posts as this before, and MANY times, it is a troll, or someone trying to get regular members all riled up and arguing.......I'm NOT saying this is the case here, but BEWARE, and without further info from this person, we really can't offer any GOOD advice! How about giving it a rest and waiting for this member to come back and answer some of the questions...if they really wants help, then that's what they would do. But asking a "one'liner" and then disappearing for 3 days tells us otherwise so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jamalbirdbiz Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Itz not nice to be mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 Well, I thought I might get some actual advise but instead most of what I read is "oh whoa is me" and "there must be a reason - I'm doing something wrong" etc. I'm sorry you think I just went away for 3 days - I am not able to check blogs/forums every day and respond. Thanks to some of you who "defended" me - Oh well... P.S. My name is Pam and the grey's name is Sid (Sidney) - I can't seem to change me profile to correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Well, Thank you for that explanation. But as I previously stated, If we had a little more background, perhaps you would receive the advice you were looking for. B) P.S. I don't recall anyone "blaming" you or saying you did something wrong.....please don't be so defensive. We are only trying to help.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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