What to expect

I got 3 year old African grey parrot 6 days ago. I was told (no proof, just sellers word) that it spoke human words in previous home. First day it was quiet. After that it seems to be well adjusting to new home and takes seeds from my hand and makes a lot of 'natural' vocalizations/whistles but not a single 'non parrot' sound. Is this normal at this stage? Or was I lied to about it previously mimicking human speech? I mean does it make sense that the new home caused it to stop all 'mimicking' and human speech, but continue to make 'parrot sounds and whistles and vocalizations?

If the bird is anything like our rescued Grey, once he gets started talking, he'll never stop!!

Don't worry, it'll happen. He just needs a little more time to settle in. Think in terms of weeks, at least, before he gets rolling. In all likelihood, he won't initially talk while you're in the room - he'll want to practice when you're out of sight. Even now, our Grey practices new things he wants to say before "going live".

I've also found that they seem to like to get used to the voices of people they live with, voices that are new to them, so they can copy the new intonation, pitch, accents, etc., and that takes awhile for them to do. Our Grey speaks in several different "voices", including mine, my wife's, the bird's previous owner, her daughter's voice, etc. Each voice is distinct, and absolutely accurate for the person mimicked.

At 3 years of age, your new bird is young yet. From what I've seen, they just continue to collect works, phrases & sounds as they go. A bird that may only know a few words at 3 years of age may know many hundreds by the time he's 10.

Welcome to the forums. Does your parrot have a name? They are very sensitive to their surroundings. So try to make your new companion as happy as possible and in return you will have a loving companion for many years to come. African Greys can live for 40 plus years so in the scheme of things your parrot is doing very well for only being 6 days. I was still being bitten by my African grey at this point and now she is the most loving friend I have. It’s was a few weeks before she got comfortable enough to talk to me. And she still won’t talk in front of people she doesn’t know wel enough. She likes to study em first. Again welcome to the wonderful word of African Greys just remember that you have a beautiful new friend who’s smart enough to know if they are being called and “it” or a friend. I hope I don’t sound rude I just love these guys and have come to learn just how smart they are.

Regular "sounds" seem easier for them to mimic. When Smokey (TAG) first came to live with me,it took no time at all for her to mimic the telephone,alarm clock,microwave beeps,the "clicking" of a clock,even my moms cough.

I didn't even know if Smokey was ever going to speak. One morning when Mom went into the spare bedroom Smokes had her sleep house in,as Mom lifted off the covers,before Mom could even say good morning to her,Smokes yells out HOW ARE YOU?? ( those were the words Mom said to her each morning as she uncovered Smokeys house)
Mom almost s*** herself lol!

Within a few days ( it seemed) Smokey was talking away..It'll happen,believe me


Jim

Omar81 said:

I got 3 year old African grey parrot 6 days ago. I was told (no proof, just sellers word) that it spoke human words in previous home. First day it was quiet. After that it seems to be well adjusting to new home and takes seeds from my hand and makes a lot of 'natural' vocalizations/whistles but not a single 'non parrot' sound. Is this normal at this stage? Or was I lied to about it previously mimicking human speech? I mean does it make sense that the new home caused it to stop all 'mimicking' and human speech, but continue to make 'parrot sounds and whistles and vocalizations?

Click to expand...

Omar you have too give him a chance greys are fickle but once they trust you and feel safe are great parrots and will stop you dead in your tracks with what they repeat.

Thank you very much for your replies. My new parrot' s name is Charlie. Actually I have no proof of his/her gender but chose the name Charlie and therefore will refer to him/her as 'he'. In the day that passed since my previous post I have progressed to being able to pet/rub Charlie's head (of course he is still very cautious but with slow movements on my side he lowers his head and let's me pet it!! I'm very happy with my progress. I have two questions (the first being a bit of s repetition of my question from my first post, but I want to be sure I understood correctly). So in your opinion the fact that he is vocalizing a lot in 'parrot noises' (whistles, instinctive parrot sounds..etc) is not an indication that he is comfortable/adjusted enough yet to talk/mimic non parrot sounds and words? So in other words you are saying it is normal for an 'unadjusted' CAG (a CAG that is not totally comfortable with its new environment) to make all sorts of natural instinctive parrot sounds but 'hold back' on mimicking new words / sounds or saying the words and sounds he has already previously learned? I would really appreciate if you would confirm I understood this point correctly. My second question is about my pet cat Kitty. If allowed to be in the same room as Charlie, she spends a big portion of her time sitting near his cage or standing up with front paws up against the bottom of the cage. Charlie doesn't like this. He ruffles up his feathers and makes clicking sounds while staring threateningly at Kitty... I have been limiting the time Kitty spends in the same room because I want Charlie to get 'comfortable'. Do you think I'm doing the right thing? Or should I let Kitty spend as much time as she wants in the same room so that Charlie can get comfortable with her at the same time he is getting used to his new environment? Do you think this will prolong the period before he becomes fully comfortable and starts talking? Do you think I should continue to keep them in separate rooms untill Charlie gets more comfortable with his new family and home (Charlie is in the living room were my wife, son and I spend most our time), then get him comfortable with Kitty at a later stage?
Thank you very much in advance for any input you can give me.

The Rickeybird is a cute mimic around the house... calls us by our names, sings.
But never once has he spoken at the vet's, or for that matter, anywhere outside his cofoet zone. I agree with the comments above.

About dear Kitty... I am one of the most paranoid-about-parrots people I know, butttttt...
the tiniest claw-prick could be toxifying and fatal for a bird. And cats are such natural and agile predators... it can happen in a heartbeat. I myself would train a cat or dog not to go near the cage at all, and I'd never ever leave a dog or cat in a room wth a bird alone, even if caged. We hear awful and sad stories here about pet-interactions-gone-tragic too much, even with cats/dogs who seemed totally mellow. I doubt your Charlie will ever get comfy with Kitty, nor should he. Instinct on a bird's part, almost always.

I love your attitude and openness. Thanks for including us in your plans and preparations!

Just my opinion, but Charlie is smart enuf to know a predator,and your kitty is certainly acting like he would like to bat Charlie around a but before administering thecoupdegras. Charlie is nervouds about the cat,and neverous greys don'tdowell. My opinion.

I would like to thank you all for your valuable replies. If you don't mind I have a few more questions:
I also have a canary at home. His name is Tweety. He is very vocal and sings his head off all the time. He is a few rooms away from Charlie (Charlie is in the living room, Tweety on the porch (which is enclosed by glass so no drafts..etc..). My question is whether or not Charlie listening to Tweety sing (canary songs) all day is going to affect/delay him talking and mimicking human words and sounds? I mean, will these canary songs sort of instinctively make Charlie more prone to stick to 'bird sounds' and natural instinctive parrot sounds, and decrease his 'motivation' to mimick human words or sounds? I would appreciate any input on this specific situation (Tweety being a canary and not a second parrot. I realize a second parrot might be a totally different situation).
For anyone who is replying to this post but did not read previous posts, a quick reminder:
Charlie is a three year old CAG. I got him almost a week ago. Was told (No proof) he used to say human words in his previous home. First day was silent. Day 2 onwards has been making a LOT of 'parrot sounds' (the sounds i would assume a parrot makes in the wild), but not a single non parrot (mimicked words, sounds..etc) yet.
Thank you very much.

Omar...a grey's vocal/mimicking range runs amok! from beeping like a microwave,a truck backing up,car horns blasting away,telephones ringing,to talking etc etc etc..
I doubt very much that your little canary will have any impact at all with Charlie speaking. In fact,I think him imitating a canary would be cool! You won't know who is doing it!



Jim

Again many thanks to everyone for all the replies and I apologise for my many questions. In regard to Kitty, my cat, I was under the impression that Charlie are Kitty could learn to be 'civil' together... but I guess instinct is heard for them to overcome... So, since Charlie is new in our home and is in the phase of adjusting (a process I want to do everything I can to make happen as fast and easily as possible.. for Charlie's sake). Do you think I should all together prevent Kitty from even entering the same room? Or do you think it would be better to have Kitty in the same room (for periods of time when I am able to supervise and make sure she stays far from Charlie's cage... for example on the couch in my lap across the room from Charlie's cage. That way they can at least get used to each other's presence. That is my line of thought. However, another approach would be to keep Kitty out of the living room (where Charlie is) for a few weeks to let Charlie adjust more easily without the brief periods of stress when Kitty is in the room, then a few weeks later start introducing them to each other. A third (much more drastic scenario) would be to decide that Charlie and Kitty will never be in the same room, not now, not later. I would really appreciate your opinions on the best approach. Note: I now realize and accept that no matter what my approach is, any time Kitty is allowed in the living room she will have to be under supervision every second and actively kept away from Charlie's cage because if given the chance she would spend her whole time sitting next to his cage or standing up against the legs of his big cage (judging from the previous experiments in allowing Kitty in the room with Charlie). Note that Charlie has a very large cage and could easily climb up higher but every time Kitty has been very close to his cage he actually climbs down lower closer to her and fluffs up his feathers and stares angrily at Kitty!! I guess it is a defense mechanism. By the way, something just occurred to me. Since CAG are such smart parrots and very sensitive, do you think that him seeing me petting or holding Kitty would have a negative effect on the bonding process between Charlie and myself?? Maybe it's a silly question or maybe I'm over thinking things, but I was just thinking maybe in his head it would be like: "Omar, I thought you were my friend and I was becoming special to you! How could you be friends with my ENEMY??!!"... hehe!! I think you understand my logic. But maybe I'm over thinking things here.
Anyways, I would love to hear your opinions anf advise on these issues. Thank you in advance.

I have a cat and 2 birds. I suggest that you allow Kitty in the same room as Charlie only when you are in there. She is upsetting Charlie and will affect how comfortable he feels. I would definitely discourage Kitty from approaching the cage. She will be fascinated and should be - she's a cat! Don't punish, but discourage. Kitty on your lap ignoring Charlie is good. I have found that parrots aren't too concerned about things unless they're directly effected or completely bonded to a person so I wouldn't worry about stroking Kitty.

Worst case scenario is Kitty never gets bored of Charlie and you have to separate them whenever you're not there. NEVER have Kitty in the same room as an un-caged Charlie even if they have ignored each other for years.

In terms of mimicking and vocalisation, parrot noises doesn't mean he doesn't know human words. It's about safety. First silence and stillness, then a bit of movement a bit of noise, then moving about and allowing you to touch (wow!) and more "safe" noises, finally the big one . . . words! Charlie probably knows he gets a lot of human attention when he mimics and he might not be ready for this, also it is communication with you directly and again he might not want that just yet.

Hi Omar,

Congratulations & Welcome to the Forum.

I agree with all that has been stated thus far especially about Kitty.

My Levi didn’t trust me for over a month after bringing him home.
Time & patience is the key. Here is a helpful link -
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

I sat next to his cage & read everyday and played peek a boo with a towel to get him to engage. Eventually, he allowed me to pet him through the bars on is Cage. It’ll happen just be patient. :heart:

Best of luck to you both.

I want to start this post off by thanking everyone for your helpfull replies. And I apologise for the many questions but I am really benifitting from your advise and opinions and expertise. I have continued to work on building Charlie's trust. Feeding him sunflower seeds (his favorite) through the cage bars and sometimes I open the front cage door and feed him through there. He is very cautious when i open the door and usually comes closer (very cautiously), takes the seed and moves back to his perch to eat it. Surprisingly he is really letting me stroke his head and neck and seems to really enjoy it. But I've noticed when I say "wanna scratch" (which I say whenever I am stroking his head), he doesn't like coming to the side of his cage (near his perch... He seems more nervous of my hand down there) but instead climbs up to the top of his cage and presses his head /neck against the bars for me to strike his head/neck... He seems to enjoy it (today even started closing his eyes as i was doing it (like a cat does when being petted by the ears and is really relaxed)! Am i interpreting this correctly? I mean that he is enjoying it? Otherwise he would move away, right? But I am kind of puzzled by why he seems less comfortable with my finger and hand lower down in his cage... Down on his perch or near the side of the cage he acts like the new parrot he is in his new home and with new family, but when he climbs up for these 'scrathes', he acts like a parrot that is totally bonded and comfortable with me.... Any thoughts on this? Also if I put my hand in his cage he moves away and does not let me get near his head.. He climbs away. I haven't been trying to 'force' that because I hope birds feel that their cage is their safe place and I'm trying to let him know I respect his space. Am I reasoning correctly or do you think I should work on making him more comfortable with being touched/approached by my hand inside his cage, by for example very slowly advancing my hand and moving it after him as he climbs away from it, till I am able to touch him with my hand inside the cage so he sees it is not bad and I mean no harm? Or do you think I should not invade the 'safety zone' that his cage is to him?
Also today I decided to see what would happen if I allowed him out of the cage. I opened the top part and he climbed out and perched on the open top doors.. I could tell he was nervous about being out. I thought he would climb all over the outside of the cage but he just moved around the open top. I also thought he would climb back in if he felt nervous or uncomfortable but instead (even though he was very cautiously regarding me and moving away from my hand, he wouldn't go back inside... unfortunately i got an expected urgent call from work so I really needed to leave so I didn't have time to wait for however long it took for him to decide to go back in... so I tried using a spare wooden perch to very slowly and gently get him to step up on it or guide him back in but he kept biting it and pushing it away (this was all very calmly done with no moments of true 'upsetness' on his behalf... it was just like he was saying: I don't want to go in and also I'm gonna keep pushing this perch away every time you bring it near me"! Hehe! I tried the treat in cage approach but also he refused to follow it in. Anyways after many minutes of gently working with the perch I was able to guide him in.. I don't know what to think of this whole situation. Was it too early to let him out? Was it the first step towards letting him out and making him more comfortable with the whole idea and in the greater picture more comfortable with his new home? Or should I wait till a later time to attempt this again? Him coming out and being out does not strike me as something that is going to be an issue, but it is the 'getting him back in' part that is going to be challenging and I'm worried my attempts will be uncomfortable for him and will delay / take us backwards in the process of building trust. What do you think?
One last question: when stroking his neck and head with my finger, is it better to stroke along the direction of the feathers? Or the opposite direction? Or both ways? Is there any risk of damaging feathers or causing them to fall out by stroking them? Also, during normal daily preening, is it normal to lose a few feathers? Because each day I find a few (one or two or maybe three) feathers on the bottom of the cage (mostly the type of feathers one would find on the chest or under the wings or on the legs). Is this normal or does this mean Charlie is mildly plucking?

Thank you very much in advance for any input you could give me on these issues.

Hi. I haven't gotten any replies to my previous post, probably because it was so long. Anyways, I would really appreciate any input on the following issue: yesterday I let Charlie out of his cage for the second time since I got him approximately 12 days ago. Both times he climbed out and onto the top of his large cage almost right away. But both times he seemed very cautious/nervous. No excessive reactions such as growling or fluffing up feathers..etc... But once out, he was hesitant to take seeds from my fingers and also I couldn't get him to let me stroke his head.. Both times I tried to regain his trust by gently speaking to him and trying to offer treats and trying to very slowly approach his head for a scratch. But the time he was out (maybe half hour each time) ended up being spent with him moving away from my hand and climbing down the other side of the domed top of the cage and me going around for another attempt and then him moving away to the other side.. etc.. Also both times it was very challenging to get him back in and it took a lot of guiding (once with a spare perch and yesterday with my hand (with no contact) to finally get him to retreat back into his cage.
My question is: am I doing this wrong? Is it too early for him to be out of his cage? Should I just leave him in his cage (large cage) for now until he is more acclimated to his new environment? If you believe I should let him out of his cage, should I just let him be out and not try to interact much or should I spend this time close to him trying to interact (as I did both previous times). Also, since he will let let me touch him out of his cage and he does not step up, what are my options for getting him back in? Should I use the same technique I used the previous times?
Does it matter that the top of his cage is higher than my head? I read some place that you should always be higher than your CAG (it has to do with dominance and who is 'boss') Is this really an issue?
Thank you very much. I'm looking forward to your opinions.

Hi Omar,

This is exactly how it went down for over a month after I brought Levi home.
I used a wooden perch & treats to bribe him to step up on the perch to return him to his cage. Not only did he run away from me, every time I tried to offer my hand he’d lounge & try to bite me.
Baby Steps. It’s only been 2 weeks. It will happen. And no I wouldn’t try to dominate, be gentle, kind & loving. You are trying to build a trusting relationship. Not overpower the poor thing.
I dont know about the cage height. But, Levi’s cage is taller than me.
They are not like puppies that will just love anyone who gives them attention.
He is scared and trying to make sense of this new environment & these strange ppl. Time, Patience, kindness & understanding.

This is how I treat Levi.

Modify your behavior, your looking at this like he’s a pet.
Treat him as if you just adopted a young child. Be gentle, understanding, respectful give him his space to figure it out. Think about that. New surroundings, strangers, new smells, new sounds and a CAT.
He is frightened, dominanting him will only make matters worse.
I can’t stress it enough be kind & considerate of his feelings.
Trust me I’ve been there.

Thanks, Tami, for your reply. So you suggest I start letting Charlie out of his cage on a daily basis even though i have only had him for 12 days? Even though we are still in the building trust phase? And if I understood you correctly, with Levi you used a wooden perch to get him to step up early on? So you think if I use that technique (which at first is going to be more of a scenario of me gently chasing Charlie around trying to get him on the perch), this will actually have positive results and actually help him get more comfortable over time? I was worried this technique or approach of having to 'chase' the parrot around would be stressful to the bird and cause it to be more afraid... But I guess not.
Btw, when I used the term 'dominance' I didn't mean to dominate Charlie. I had read some place to always do training with the parrot on a perch or surface that is below the trainers head level, because if the parrot is higher it stimulates some instinct in it and gives it the feeling it is the 'boss and that would have negative effects on the training.. . Maybe this is totally wrong.
Thanks.

I never said chase!! That will only yield a negative response.
You need to coax him and bribe him with a treat so he comes to you and steps up on the wooden perch.

Think about it. If you were his size in a scary strange place and this giant stranger is chasing you. How would you react??

If he runs away, walk away & give him space. Come back in a little while and try again.
Speak softly & be pleasant & encouraging.
I learned early on Levi loves pistachio nuts. I but organic unsalted ones. Lure him to the stick w/ his favorite treat.
If you don’t know call the previous owner/breeder etc.. Find out what it is.

You have read this right?
http://www.parrotforums.com/congo-timneh-greys/59366-cag-101-a.html

Yes, Tami, I understand what you mean. As for the approach and letting him out of the cage (my questions from my post right before this one), what do you think? What is your advise?
Thanks