The Things Our Greys are Afraid of

[Spiritbird]

African Greys are notoriously weary birds, consequently they are afraid of many things. The other day I read here on the forum that buttons can be a toy. I have many old buttons so I cleaned some of the smaller ones and gave a few to both birds. You would have thought I exposed Rosie to a large bird of prey by her reaction so I took them away or at least thought I did. I put two of them on the platform where she likes to sleep while cleaning the cage and forgot them. Being so small I did not pay any more attention. Rosie slept on the opposite side of the cage, stopped eating and was very quiet this morning. I then saw the buttons, removed them and she is now fine. These two 1/2" buttons put so much fear into my little sweetie pie I feel so guilty.

Have any of your grey people experienced anything like this??

 

[merlinsmom13]

He's not a grey, but Merlin is afraid of popsicles. He startled when I was eating one & I was afraid he was going to hit something. I tried to show him it was food, but he thinks mommy is crazy. lol

 

[nofearengineer]

SB, I know that of which you speak.

Gandalf was stark, raving TERRIFIED of a brown chew stone I placed on top of his cage one day.

He loved to play with golf balls, plastic soda bottles, and the yellow handle of the broom. But a 4" long oval rock was too much to bear.

Greys are really silly birds, and there is just no predicting what they will love and be afraid of.

 

[xreinx]

back when we had the Umbrella too, we had just gotten new toys for the cats (yes yes, humans play with laser lights too) I was fiddling with mine and was pressing the button when it came on, well were were in Larys room (the cockatoo) when he suddinly hit the sealing of his cage, and let out this strangled scream.

needless to say, it scared the crap out of my coworker and I so I stopped pressing the button, we both asked lary what was wrong and he just glared at us... later on someone else was fiddling with their new laser toy and he went ballistic again. we found out what he was afraid of... laser toys were banned from his room after that.

I think its any birds, I know my chickens loved the laser light, the teals love it too, but lary vary nearly got hurt as he tried to flee the tiny spot of light.

 

[wuvzbirdies]

Oh this brings me back, my Mother moved in with me when Russell was about 9 months old. One day my Mom walks downstairs in her pj's with teddy bears all over them and Russell near died of a heart attack, she had to go change. a few weeks later forgetting about that incident she wears them again, sure enough he loses it and she has to change. She moved out about a year and a half later and the whole time living with me she couldn't wear them and couldn't understand how a bird could dictate what she could and couldn't wear. Cue to a few months after she moves out I buy my Daughter pj's with ONE little teddy bear on the chest, Russell saw that thing coming like a mile away and lost it, sadly she could not wear those pj's either.

 

[mtdoramike]

African Greys are notoriously weary birds, consequently they are afraid of many things. The other day I read here on the forum that buttons can be a toy. I have many old buttons so I cleaned some of the smaller ones and gave a few to both birds. You would have thought I exposed Rosie to a large bird of prey by her reaction so I took them away or at least thought I did. I put two of them on the platform where she likes to sleep while cleaning the cage and forgot them. Being so small I did not pay any more attention. Rosie slept on the opposite side of the cage, stopped eating and was very quiet this morning. I then saw the buttons, removed them and she is now fine. These two 1/2" buttons put so much fear into my little sweetie pie I feel so guilty.

Have any of your grey people experienced anything like this??

Awwwww, I bet it really made you feel sick to think that you caused that. But they do bounce back right away.

 

[suebee]

lmao an awww although its funny to read, bet it wasn't for your birds!!! at the time lol

 

[xreinx]

oh, I know this isnt a CAG, but an amazon, but this ties into this too. I went with a relation who was closing some kind of deal (car, that turned out to be a lemon, I tried to tell him, but he wouldent listen) I heard the bird and wandered into the livingroom to find him in this ratty cage (pretty good for a handmade one) but the bars were huge spaced, so his head was sticking out and he was laughing...(vary playful bird)

anyway, my hair was a mess, and I was going to fix it and the guy my cousin was talking too suddinly got mad and told me to quit playing with my hair. offeneded I just blinked at him and he said if I needed to, then do it out of sight, cause the bird was afraid of claw hair clips!

generic claw hair clips, the kind you see kids wearing in their hair all the time, he said it was fine with them in the hair, but once you had it in your hand he would flip out. (I didnt try it out, the guy was kinda mean, and his house, Everything was dirty, oddly except for the bird and its cage)