Rico's Mom
Just Hatched
Joined: January 2015
Posts: 4
Pets: Rico, Deuce, Diesel & Hazel
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Post by Rico's Mom on Jan 20, 2015 16:34:10 GMT -7
Stopping in to Say Hey Ya'll.... I'm Rita, Rico's Mom. He's a 6 year old (we think) We rescued him at the low low price of $650 lol. He was with an Amazon that seemed to dominate him. the people that had him didnt have much info and had never taken him to the vet  The first thing we did was take this sweet boy to the vet. Thank goodness he's healthy. He's very quiet? Only makes two sounds? Wolf whistle and a sound of a heavy steal door closing?? Never screams or yells. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I just worry. He was on seed only when he joined our family:( He joined the family in November and is now on pellets and fresh veggies and fruit. He steps up and gives me kisses. He spends most of his day out of his cage and he is joining me in the bathroom for a misting at least every other day. We have three dogs and he's very tolerant of them. I'd love advice for feeding and to help him become more verbal. Suggestions?  |
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Post by beakertrout on Jan 20, 2015 23:03:54 GMT -7
Welcome.
Looks like a nice bird.
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Post by Jane on Jan 21, 2015 3:12:42 GMT -7
Hello and welcome to the forum. It sounds like he is a lovely bird, has settled in well and is now on a much better diet. While many Greys talk and/or imitate sounds not all do. I have one who doesn't talk, he only whistles and squawks.
However, as time goes on in his new home with you, Rico might pick up other sounds or words. Sometimes they can be quiet for a while when changing homes.
Just keep talking to him as much as possible, and always tell him what you are doing and where you are going and what things are so that he learns in context. They do tend to choose for themselves what they will say. My female Mitzi talks but there are some words and phrases that she has never picked up despite hearing them a lot while others she picks up quickly. Sounding excited about something can encourage them to repeat it.
Jane
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Post by wesselg on Jan 21, 2015 4:15:53 GMT -7
Hi Rita
Welcome to the forum.
I got my first CAG in October last year so I'm all new to them too.
What I've done with Banana (no points for guessing why she got the name, lol) was to simply sit by her cage and talk to her in a low, clear voice about everything I could think of. Thankfully birds are like dogs: they don't care if you're talking a bunch of nonsense as long as you use the right tone of voice.
At first what you say isn't as important as getting the bird accustomed to your presence and voice. We are now at a point where me and her can have entire "conversations" that only she's able to decipher even if I'm in another room. What I also found helpful is if the bird try and say something to repeat back to it what you thought it said...it might help him to vocalize more. Leaving the TV or radio on while you're busy elsewhere might also help. I'm not sure how food-motivated Rico is but if you know his favorite treat you can always use it as a reward if he makes any noise that's not natural for him to make.
Having said all that I struck it very lucky with getting her from a dedicated breeder that hand-reared her for months despite the fact that she has a foot-deformity so she was already fairly well imprinted on humans. But then again she has her "I'm getting things done my way and no other way" days - you just have to accept that that kind of thing will happen and work around it.
Kind regards,
Wessel
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Rico's Mom
Just Hatched
Joined: January 2015
Posts: 4
Pets: Rico, Deuce, Diesel & Hazel
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Post by Rico's Mom on Jan 21, 2015 6:26:06 GMT -7
Thanks everyone  He's very sweet. I learn something new about him everyday. Question... Is there a good touch and a bad touch when I rub his head and neck? Sounds silly but a girl at petsmart said "...don't touch his back" I was totally confused? He's getting more comfortable with letting me touch his wings when I hold him. I run my hand over his whole body and he seems fine. Thoughts? |
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Post by Jane on Jan 21, 2015 8:56:02 GMT -7
The advice about not touching the back is more for female birds as this can encourage mating behaviour.
It sounds like Rico is definitely settling in okay as some Greys don't like being touched or will only allow touching in some places, or will only allow one family member to touch them.
Jane
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He's very sweet. I learn something new about him everyday. Question... Is there a good touch and a bad touch when I rub his head and neck? Sounds silly but a girl at petsmart said "...don't touch his back" I was totally confused? He's getting more comfortable with letting me touch his wings when I hold him. I run my hand over his whole body and he seems fine. Thoughts?