This was probably a freak occurrence, though!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
New friends?
Stella likes to fly over to Calypso's cage and eat his food. Calypso is not really a fan of this, but when I took this picture, he was tolerating her presence.
This was probably a freak occurrence, though!
This was probably a freak occurrence, though!
Beer and the greys
Obviously, we do not allow our greys to drink any beer, but they are intrigued when we do so. Stella came over and started banging her beak against the glass:
Then, Thomas provoked Max into dancing:
Sadly, for Thomas, Beeps was in the room and got a bit overexcited. Shortly after taking this video, Beeps did a fly-by bite and Thomas's ear erupted in blood. He's fine today, though will have to refrain from using headphones for about a week.
Then, Thomas provoked Max into dancing:Sadly, for Thomas, Beeps was in the room and got a bit overexcited. Shortly after taking this video, Beeps did a fly-by bite and Thomas's ear erupted in blood. He's fine today, though will have to refrain from using headphones for about a week.
Why it is hard for us to stay informed
After work, I will often read the paper while standing at the counter. Before I even get through one section, I usually have a visitor:
And when one visitor comes, the other usually has to see what all of the fuss is about:
(Nothing! Just let me read the paper in peace!)
That same day, Rocky and Thomas came to a detente -- Rocky had been trying to perch on Thomas's magazine, but ultimately settled on ripping up paper near Thomas:
And when one visitor comes, the other usually has to see what all of the fuss is about:
(Nothing! Just let me read the paper in peace!)That same day, Rocky and Thomas came to a detente -- Rocky had been trying to perch on Thomas's magazine, but ultimately settled on ripping up paper near Thomas:
Standoff
Who is bigger and scarier? Who will win this stand-off?
No contest...Rocky won. Thomas changed his shirt (Rocky doesn't like it when he wears orange).
No contest...Rocky won. Thomas changed his shirt (Rocky doesn't like it when he wears orange).
Monday, February 8, 2010
Toys and ramblings
Over the weekend, I was assembling some toys for the parrots at the rescue. I had some loofahs (purchased from The Parrot Asylum) and asked Thomas if he'd cut them into slices for me. He did so like it was a loaf of bread instead of using a saw!
Even though most of the slices will go into toys for the rescue birds, my guys all got one too:
It was a toy-filled weekend!
I have a few more toys to assemble tonight and hope to stop by the rescue later this week to drop off a box of toys for the parrots who are waiting to find their new home. I was up there last week, and came away a bit sad.
There are just so many birds looking for good homes! The blue crowned conure that I love is still there, as is a severe macaw whose personality is so similar to Rocky's that I worry about where he'll end up. I also met an parrot who was surrendered when his owner died -- after spending almost 50 years with her. What a shock for this poor guy. Almost 50 years of stability and then *poof* an entirely different world. How scary that must be.
As usual, I walked away wishing I could do more.
Even though most of the slices will go into toys for the rescue birds, my guys all got one too:
It was a toy-filled weekend!
I have a few more toys to assemble tonight and hope to stop by the rescue later this week to drop off a box of toys for the parrots who are waiting to find their new home. I was up there last week, and came away a bit sad.There are just so many birds looking for good homes! The blue crowned conure that I love is still there, as is a severe macaw whose personality is so similar to Rocky's that I worry about where he'll end up. I also met an parrot who was surrendered when his owner died -- after spending almost 50 years with her. What a shock for this poor guy. Almost 50 years of stability and then *poof* an entirely different world. How scary that must be.
As usual, I walked away wishing I could do more.
Brewing
I came home on Friday to find this:
Usually, my job is the capper, but Thomas took care of that himself since he got home from work early and didn't want to wait for me. Unfortunately, I fear this is a beer that I won't really like. But we shall see -- it should be ready to drink in a few weeks!
Usually, my job is the capper, but Thomas took care of that himself since he got home from work early and didn't want to wait for me. Unfortunately, I fear this is a beer that I won't really like. But we shall see -- it should be ready to drink in a few weeks!
Friday, February 5, 2010
The evening routine
I have been meaning to get this on video for a few months now, but wouldn't remember until it was too late. This isn't the best example, but it gets pretty close.
As soon as the greys knows that Thomas is coming home from work, they fly over near the door. Stella has already done that when this video starts; you can hear Max flying over to the top of the fridge in the background.
Then, Stella play attacks his shoes as Thomas greets them. Usually she'll follow the first shoe into the shoe pile, but she didn't do that here. (Don't worry, though it kind of looks like he's kicking her, he's not. They do this routine every day and he is very careful not to hurt her.)
Sometimes he'll taunt her a bit with his shoe:
I had stopped filming after this, but as he walks away to change into after-work clothes, she follows him, but she's like the ghosts in Super Mario Brothers. She creeps up behind him, but as soon as he turns his head to look at her, she stops walking and acts innocent. Then he turns his head away from her, and she hurriedly chases after him again. It is really funny to watch. We don't know what she'd do if she ever caught up to him; usually he'll go over to her, pick her up, and send her to a perch with a kiss.
As soon as the greys knows that Thomas is coming home from work, they fly over near the door. Stella has already done that when this video starts; you can hear Max flying over to the top of the fridge in the background.
Then, Stella play attacks his shoes as Thomas greets them. Usually she'll follow the first shoe into the shoe pile, but she didn't do that here. (Don't worry, though it kind of looks like he's kicking her, he's not. They do this routine every day and he is very careful not to hurt her.)
Sometimes he'll taunt her a bit with his shoe:
I had stopped filming after this, but as he walks away to change into after-work clothes, she follows him, but she's like the ghosts in Super Mario Brothers. She creeps up behind him, but as soon as he turns his head to look at her, she stops walking and acts innocent. Then he turns his head away from her, and she hurriedly chases after him again. It is really funny to watch. We don't know what she'd do if she ever caught up to him; usually he'll go over to her, pick her up, and send her to a perch with a kiss.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Answering a comment
I received this comment on a post from earlier this year:
Hi Even tho this is a macaw page i would to have some advise on my 15 month oh thinmen african grey. i am trying to train her to let me strok her wings let me stroke her head out of the cage as she onli alows this if she is in the cage with the door closed she also bites when you get her to step up of her cage or on somwhere where she has gone her self, i have tried rewarding her but when i give her the food she just throws it i've also tried a high pitched exited voice to praise which she just looks at me funny. basically i would like to get tips on how to make her tame where i can stroke her anywhere as you can tell she is dying for the attension, sadly she cannot be out of her cage throughout the day as we have three dogs that would like her for dinner but she comes up to my room when i get home from schools for about too hours a night and when i clean her cage but she has got toys to play with thank you too any one who relpies really need advice thanks
I have a timneh grey and a congo grey also, so hopefully some things that I write can be applicable to your situation.
1.My first question is: why do you want to stroke her wings? In general, this is a bad idea. Since she's so young, you probably won't see breeding behavior yet, but you want to do everything you can to not send her mixed signals, which might save you from hormone-related issues down the road. Touching/stroking on the wings is something that parrots save for their mates. Since, no matter how hard you try, you can never be a true mate to her, you don't want to confuse her. Keep your petting to the head area.
Greys in general do not tolerate touching. Of course, there are always exceptions, but your grey does not appear to be one! I've had my timneh for almost 8 years; she is extremely bonded to both my husband and me. She loves getting her head scratched, but does not like any touching below her neck. If I were to go up and try to pet her wings, I'd likely get bit -- and with good reason. I need to respect her boundaries. You wouldn't like it if people came up to you and started shoving their fingers in your ears; it's basically the same thing with her.
Watch her body language closely. If you insist on trying to touch her wings, she will likely have to become more aggressive to keep you away. This will serve only to make her a better biter, and for her to not want to be around you. You don't want this!
It's hard sometimes to remember that greys are wild animals. They are not little people. As people, we like to cuddle and hug -- it's our way of showing affection. But for prey animals like grey parrots, that can be terrifying. If my grey's wings are constricted by me petting her, that means she can't make an escape if a dangerous situation arises. My greys show their affection for me by perching on my arm, preening my fingers, and verbally (like mimicking what I do or when we whistle back and forth).
2. Does she always bite you after she steps up? If it's only sometimes, can you see a pattern? Long-term, you need to figure out a way to make her want to be near you. My parrots love stepping up for us because they like to be near us. Maybe we'll dance, or I'll whistle to them, or we'll take a shower. You want to make stepping up something that she wants to do.
You say you've tried feeding her but she just throws the food on the ground. Maybe you're not feeding her the right kind of food? I don't like cupcakes, so if someone was trying to reward me with cupcakes, it wouldn't work! But promise me pie and I'll do whatever you want!
Here's something to try: give her a bowl of seed and see what she eats first. Do this for several days to find a pattern and see what her favorite foods really are. My timneh LOVES cashews. She will do almost anything for one. She hates almonds. Therefore, if I tried to train her with almonds, we wouldn't get anywhere!
Once you know what your grey's favorite foods are, remove them from her daily diet. Let's say her favorite food is also cashews, for this example. If you feed her a seed mix, go through it and take out all of the cashews before you put it in her cage. If she wants her favorite food, she has to work for it! There is no incentive for her to work for you if she can get cashews in her cage.
Going back to the step-up issue, one thing you can try is to show her a cashew (or her favorite food, which I'm pretending is cashews, for simplicity's sake). Then ask her to step up. As soon as she steps up, immediately give her the cashew. This serves two purposes. First, she comes to associate stepping up on you with her favorite food! Second, she can't bite you if her mouth is full of cashew. She's less likely to throw it on the ground if she only gets them occasionally (as opposed to always having them available).
If she continues to bite, you may want to consider stick-training her. This is what we did with our macaw. He'd rather bite me than step up, and will bite Thomas in certain circumstances (like if he's in a particular hallway in our house).
3. As I've mentioned, parrots are prey animals and can become very stressed out by having predators looking at them. Even if she is safe in her cage, she may not feel safe if the dogs are staring at her. Can you move her cage to a room where the dogs are not allowed? It may also help to put some big toys up or cover half of her cage so that she has somewhere safe to retreat to if she feels scared. When parrots are scared, they will often lash out by biting. You want her to feel safe with you. I will try to take pictures of this tonight so you can see what I mean.
4. I mention this frequently, but I think you guys would be wonderful candidates for clicker training. Here is a link to a free yahoo group. In their files, you can learn how to do this. Using these methods, my timneh grey has learned several dozen tricks, like wave, take a bow, shake hands, fly to me, putting a bead in a cup, etc. Greys are very, very smart, and I'm sure she'd love the opportunity to learn new things and show off for you!
Clicker training is a wonderful way to create and cement a bond between you and your parrot. It's also a wonderful way to learn her body language. Even though most parrots can talk, the vast majority of their communication is done via body language. They are very expressive once you learn to listen to them!
I hope some of what I've written may be helpful to you. It is very good to hear that you are worried about her and are trying to provide her with a good home! Please let me know if you have any other questions, and if anyone else has any suggestions/comments, please put them in the comments!
Hi Even tho this is a macaw page i would to have some advise on my 15 month oh thinmen african grey. i am trying to train her to let me strok her wings let me stroke her head out of the cage as she onli alows this if she is in the cage with the door closed she also bites when you get her to step up of her cage or on somwhere where she has gone her self, i have tried rewarding her but when i give her the food she just throws it i've also tried a high pitched exited voice to praise which she just looks at me funny. basically i would like to get tips on how to make her tame where i can stroke her anywhere as you can tell she is dying for the attension, sadly she cannot be out of her cage throughout the day as we have three dogs that would like her for dinner but she comes up to my room when i get home from schools for about too hours a night and when i clean her cage but she has got toys to play with thank you too any one who relpies really need advice thanks
I have a timneh grey and a congo grey also, so hopefully some things that I write can be applicable to your situation.
1.My first question is: why do you want to stroke her wings? In general, this is a bad idea. Since she's so young, you probably won't see breeding behavior yet, but you want to do everything you can to not send her mixed signals, which might save you from hormone-related issues down the road. Touching/stroking on the wings is something that parrots save for their mates. Since, no matter how hard you try, you can never be a true mate to her, you don't want to confuse her. Keep your petting to the head area.
Greys in general do not tolerate touching. Of course, there are always exceptions, but your grey does not appear to be one! I've had my timneh for almost 8 years; she is extremely bonded to both my husband and me. She loves getting her head scratched, but does not like any touching below her neck. If I were to go up and try to pet her wings, I'd likely get bit -- and with good reason. I need to respect her boundaries. You wouldn't like it if people came up to you and started shoving their fingers in your ears; it's basically the same thing with her.
Watch her body language closely. If you insist on trying to touch her wings, she will likely have to become more aggressive to keep you away. This will serve only to make her a better biter, and for her to not want to be around you. You don't want this!
It's hard sometimes to remember that greys are wild animals. They are not little people. As people, we like to cuddle and hug -- it's our way of showing affection. But for prey animals like grey parrots, that can be terrifying. If my grey's wings are constricted by me petting her, that means she can't make an escape if a dangerous situation arises. My greys show their affection for me by perching on my arm, preening my fingers, and verbally (like mimicking what I do or when we whistle back and forth).
2. Does she always bite you after she steps up? If it's only sometimes, can you see a pattern? Long-term, you need to figure out a way to make her want to be near you. My parrots love stepping up for us because they like to be near us. Maybe we'll dance, or I'll whistle to them, or we'll take a shower. You want to make stepping up something that she wants to do.
You say you've tried feeding her but she just throws the food on the ground. Maybe you're not feeding her the right kind of food? I don't like cupcakes, so if someone was trying to reward me with cupcakes, it wouldn't work! But promise me pie and I'll do whatever you want!
Here's something to try: give her a bowl of seed and see what she eats first. Do this for several days to find a pattern and see what her favorite foods really are. My timneh LOVES cashews. She will do almost anything for one. She hates almonds. Therefore, if I tried to train her with almonds, we wouldn't get anywhere!
Once you know what your grey's favorite foods are, remove them from her daily diet. Let's say her favorite food is also cashews, for this example. If you feed her a seed mix, go through it and take out all of the cashews before you put it in her cage. If she wants her favorite food, she has to work for it! There is no incentive for her to work for you if she can get cashews in her cage.
Going back to the step-up issue, one thing you can try is to show her a cashew (or her favorite food, which I'm pretending is cashews, for simplicity's sake). Then ask her to step up. As soon as she steps up, immediately give her the cashew. This serves two purposes. First, she comes to associate stepping up on you with her favorite food! Second, she can't bite you if her mouth is full of cashew. She's less likely to throw it on the ground if she only gets them occasionally (as opposed to always having them available).
If she continues to bite, you may want to consider stick-training her. This is what we did with our macaw. He'd rather bite me than step up, and will bite Thomas in certain circumstances (like if he's in a particular hallway in our house).
3. As I've mentioned, parrots are prey animals and can become very stressed out by having predators looking at them. Even if she is safe in her cage, she may not feel safe if the dogs are staring at her. Can you move her cage to a room where the dogs are not allowed? It may also help to put some big toys up or cover half of her cage so that she has somewhere safe to retreat to if she feels scared. When parrots are scared, they will often lash out by biting. You want her to feel safe with you. I will try to take pictures of this tonight so you can see what I mean.
4. I mention this frequently, but I think you guys would be wonderful candidates for clicker training. Here is a link to a free yahoo group. In their files, you can learn how to do this. Using these methods, my timneh grey has learned several dozen tricks, like wave, take a bow, shake hands, fly to me, putting a bead in a cup, etc. Greys are very, very smart, and I'm sure she'd love the opportunity to learn new things and show off for you!
Clicker training is a wonderful way to create and cement a bond between you and your parrot. It's also a wonderful way to learn her body language. Even though most parrots can talk, the vast majority of their communication is done via body language. They are very expressive once you learn to listen to them!
I hope some of what I've written may be helpful to you. It is very good to hear that you are worried about her and are trying to provide her with a good home! Please let me know if you have any other questions, and if anyone else has any suggestions/comments, please put them in the comments!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Comprehension issues
Background: Thomas and I are in the kitchen, along with all 5 of the larger parrots. Max is on the counter. Stella is on the ground. The caiques are on stands. Rocky is on the table.
Me: Are you OK with her eating your mail?
Thomas: Sure. What? Nail?
Me: Mail
Thomas: Nail
Me: Mail
Thomas: Yes, she's eating my nail
Me: Mail
Finally, I stopped this conversation as it was apparent Thomas was talking about Stella preening his feet and I was talking about Max chewing on envelopes. Rhyming destruction!
Me: Are you OK with her eating your mail?
Thomas: Sure. What? Nail?
Me: Mail
Thomas: Nail
Me: Mail
Thomas: Yes, she's eating my nail
Me: Mail
Finally, I stopped this conversation as it was apparent Thomas was talking about Stella preening his feet and I was talking about Max chewing on envelopes. Rhyming destruction!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Greys' favorite things
Stalking Thomas:
And eating cheese:
(Parrots should not really eat cheese. I removed Max from the cheese right after taking these pictures. She only got a few bites of the orange and I don't think she actually got any of the feta. But she is obsessed!)
And eating cheese:
(Parrots should not really eat cheese. I removed Max from the cheese right after taking these pictures. She only got a few bites of the orange and I don't think she actually got any of the feta. But she is obsessed!)
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