The African Gray Parrots

[miniwhinny]

Please share your amazing grays.

This is my 10 year old Timneh gray parrot. He's AWESOME. I can't list his vocabulary because it's SO extensive. Not just single words but entire sentences and songs. As well as being able to reproduce my voice exactly (which is bizarre - listening to yourself)...he's so good at doing my hubby and sons that he's had me replying to him thinking it was hub or the boys that I was talking to lol.

And of course he does the horses whinnys, dogs barks, cats meows, microwaves, phone tones, beeps, water running etc etc. It never ends. I'm simply amazed at how he can hear something one time and repeat it exactly. I have to prewarn anyone new coming into my home (kids friends) to make sure they leave any potty mouth outside

. Last week I was veggin' in front of the TV and a "phrase" came along in the show....Matt walked into the room when it was said and wrongly made a comment...I say wrongly because anyone with a gray knows if you make a fuss of things your bird will want to join in...an hour later I was floored when Pepper yelled "what's up B****ES?" (substitute female dogs). I had to leave the room before I could burst out laughing ( I'm sorry but it was funny!)

His intelligence also amazes me...he KNOWS to say "goodnight mom" at night time and "goodmorning, how'd you sleep last night " first thing in the a.m. lol and don't think of giving him a grape when he's asking for popcorn hehehehe....he's yell "NOOOOOO" hahaha.

So anyone else lucky enough to share your lives with a gray. Please share if you do I'd love to hear more about your feathered friends.

 

[~Lisa~]

we have one named Rootie. To be honest he was my x-'s bird and somehow I ended up with him. He bites me sometimes and I really do not like him much but I guess I am more attached to him then I think. When he is quiet I worry and have to go run and check on him

He to says amazing things and can not say something for a long time like years and then start it up again. He speaks spanish and does so only about once a year for reasons known only to him. He calls the dogs and the cats by name pretends to be the phone ringing and answers it, sings his favorite song by Flo-Rider- curses like a sailor and some things he just makes up on his own and cracks himself up with. About 5 years ago he started saying Raven is a bird and Rootie is a girl. I have never ever had any need to say that so not sure where he got it from but when Raven was little she used to argue with him and he would say it over and over and then laugh and laugh.

He talks in sentances and like you said thinks ahead of time about what to say and when to say it in fact the last time he bit me when I was changing his water.. I didnt even see him coming I just heard him scream and I mean SCREAM- OWWW FU**@@

and then he bit me hard at this time I promptly screamed exactly what he knew I would OWWWW FU****

He whinnies like the horses, screams like the stallions, meows like the cats and loves to yelp like a dog who is hurt pretty bad. He will whistle and scream HEY HEY YOU I am your left eye (another thing I have no idea where he got it from who says that)- lovely when someone is walking down the street and keeps turning around looking at the house.

when he is really fullof himself he will repeat it I am your left eye your left eye your left eye FU****

He calls me a whore every day it is the only thing he doesnt scream he always mumbles it uner his breath so you walk in in the morning and that is what is says you say goodnight and that is what he says sigh......

Seems like the things you want to teach them to say they wont most things they do say they hear once or hear parts of and decide it is a wonderful thing

They are not for everyone for sure they are very loud, take a lot work, bite pretty darn hard but nothing else can be so entertaining in fact as I type this he is giggling and cackleing to himself in the other room plotting something I am sure LOL I watched Katt Williams the other night so God only knows what he will have picked up from that

 

[LindaL]

LOL! I have always wanted an African Grey...and think I would crack up at anything it says. I watch YouTube videos sometimes of them...sooo funny!

I am sure, like Lisa said, they are not for everyone, but they are the bird for me! (I have helped raise Cockatiels, which are fun, too, but I doubt not nearly as fun as a Grey).

Maybe when we have our own place, we'll get one...

 

[~Dan]

They seem very cool and very smart, I would love to own one, but I dont think im a "birdy" type, but who knows.

If you do pony partys, you could have cart rides or pony rides, and then have the bird sing happy birthday to the person

nice bussiness venture I'd say.

 

[horsefeather]

Hubby & I have ALWAYS wanted a grey. We thought we would get one when we retired so we could spend more time with it. However, now that we are retired, we are afraid the bird would definately outlive us!! Also, we go to lots of horseshows and don't know if the bird would travel well or not. But I have always, always loved them. Those of you who are lucky enough to be owned by one

should feel lucky!!

Pam

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Just curious....can ya potty train a bird???

 

[Watcheye]

You can potty train a bird.

 

[KanoasDestiny]

You really can? My friend had a cockatoo and it pooped all over the furniture. I swore after that, that I'd never want a big bird! That's so awesome...definately something to look into!

 

[drk]

I have an African Grey and Blue & Gold Macaw. They are both potty trained. I keep them out in the evenings and basically time them on when they need to go. I just pick them up and place them on their perch and say "Go Poopy" and they go and then I bring them back out. I have had them both since babies. They are now 17 and 18 years old. They both talk ALOT...LOL

The Grey imitates EVERYTHING.. microwave beeping, our alarm system, telephone, dog barking... you name it and she copies it.

Here is my Gray...

Here she is last Christmas opening her presents

They LOVE Christmas !!!

Below is my Blue & Gold Macaw..

 

[miniwhinny]

Oh DRK what awesome photos...I love the Christmas one and your Macaw is simply stunning.

I feel so lucky to be able to share my life with my bird. People without parrots think that they just mimic but those of us lucky enough to have one know differently. It really is like having another family member. Sometimes when I'm alone in the house Pepper and I chat from different rooms...certainly never feel alone lol.

 

[minie812]

DRK ...somehow our paths always cross. You have a African Grey and a Blue & Gold. I do too! Opie is 12 yrs old now and I sold my Macaw several years ago. Opie will always have a home till we are gone and I will have to "WILL" him to someone. He too can talk none stop and loves his peanuts and veggies. I have had the others like the Cockatoos but OPIE is the BIRD! They are so smart and catch on quickly and he does all the usual stuff with the talking. He is by the back door with a window and can watch the dogs and horses so he natually nickers and barks and whines and beeps and answers the phone and etc....

 

[drk]

DRK ...somehow our paths always cross. You have a African Grey and a Blue & Gold. I do too! Opie is 12 yrs old now and I sold my Macaw several years ago. Opie will always have a home till we are gone and I will have to "WILL" him to someone. He too can talk none stop and loves his peanuts and veggies. I have had the others like the Cockatoos but OPIE is the BIRD! They are so smart and catch on quickly and he does all the usual stuff with the talking. He is by the back door with a window and can watch the dogs and horses so he natually nickers and barks and whines and beeps and answers the phone and etc....

Too Funny, I also had a Cookatoo but unfortuniately gave her to a friend due to my other half not liking her. Hindsight... I should have gotten rid of him instead

You and I seem to like the same things... Now you need to get a couple appaloosas...lol

 

[drk]

Oh DRK what awesome photos...I love the Christmas one and your Macaw is simply stunning.
I feel so lucky to be able to share my life with my bird. People without parrots think that they just mimic but those of us lucky enough to have one know differently. It really is like having another family member. Sometimes when I'm alone in the house Pepper and I chat from different rooms...certainly never feel alone lol.

Thank You !!!!!

They both LOVE opening presents. I agree with you too,

My birds seem to understand me MOST of the time.

One day I came home from work and heard my Grey talking constantly like she was having a conversation with someone and then after several what seemed to be sentences she made a loud beep. After hearing her do that several times I realized she was coping my telephone answering machine...LOL I guess she hears it several times a day when people leave messages.

Now she rings like the phone first and then starts her conversation and then beeps at the end...LOL They are too funny.

 

[nbark]

I have a Timneh, which is a smaller Gray...and she talks a blue streak. The funniest is that my corgi will try to snatch food from the bottom of her tray and I will yell, Hey, get outta there...and you hear feet scurring away. One day while working (I work at home) I hear the bird yell Hey, get outta there, and hear my dogs feet scurring away... almost fell off my chair..and I can't open the windows because I live on a main street, where people are always walking by with their dogs or children and she loves to say "Let me out, let me out...can picture a knock on the door by the police thinking I have some youngun tied up in here....She imitates every foul noise my husband can make.. Quacks like a duck, clucks like a chicken, meows like the cat, sneezes, coughs, burps...yep, imitates my husband. She does let the dog lick her face, but will remove the fingers from anyone attempting to enter her space other than me...go figure....and she is scared to death of the parakeets...weirdo bird...but I love her to death. She comes out every night and hangs out on her cage from 6 to 10 or 11 and will always say night-night when she is ready for bed. If you want a great bird, Grays are the ones to have.

 

[miniwhinny]

One day I came home from work and heard my Grey talking constantly like she was having a conversation with someone and then after several what seemed to be sentences she made a loud beep. After hearing her do that several times I realized she was coping my telephone answering machine...LOL I guess she hears it several times a day when people leave messages.Now she rings like the phone first and then starts her conversation and then beeps at the end...LOL They are too funny.

HAHAH yeah, mine does that too...hahaha a full conversation...but only one side of it heheheh and then beeps at the end AFTER saying "goodbye" HAHAHHAHA

Such cool birds.

 

[miniwhinny]

I have a Timneh, which is a smaller Gray...and she talks a blue streak.

Mine's a Timneh also. I did a lot of research on the three sub species before purchasing (one is very rare and rarely seen) and after learning that the talking ability is identical I opted for the smaller bird because I already had a really nice smaller size cage.

Also we purchased an AKC dog kennel - it's welded not chain link because of the danger of getting toes stuck. It's outside by the koi pond and Pepper goes out there every day in the summer. I just planted two different types of grapes. I want them to grow over the cage so they shade and hang into his area. Grape plants are parrot safe too if he wants to eat them hehe

Of course I'm not sure if having him out is a good thing...he can mimic every local bird species we have now