This is my neice, Shannon, with our baby, Sammy. Like I said before, he really took to her. Paul's mom and sister just left here after a quick trip for Christmas and I know Julie,(the sis) thought Sammy was way cool! Now Jeanne (mom) wasn't too impressed after Sammy took a nip of her finger. He's still going through his terrible twos....don't know how long that really lasts, but he's improving in a lot of ways.
Remember Shannon, I know a good breeder!! LOL
I am glad that Sammy is a very personable bird. On Christmas Eve we had everyone here at our house and moved Sammy's cage closer to the action. Everyone was so enamored of him and talked to him all night long. But after 10 p.m., there were only a handful of people left at the house, one being my niece Shannon. Shannon is just like me and would have a small zoo at her house if her husband would let her. Sammy was so taken to her. He cleaned her teeth and kissed and cuddled with her for at least 30 minutes. We would warn her that he might poop on her or get some oatmeal on her but she said she didn't care. (She runs a day care). Even Paul was happy that Sam loved her.
Can't wait to see how Julie likes him.
This is a BIG deal because usually Val's scared Sam is going to gouge out an eye if you get too close. He was very sleepy at the time and just wanted to be cuddled with.
Lucky girl.
Lucy bird.
(sigh)
I'm sure you all loved that last blog...haha. It's true about them regurgitating for love. The paragraph below is from Pet Bird Magazine.
RegurgitatingWhen done in the presence or in close proximity to a human, it normally means that the bird has chosen you as it's mate, and wants to feed you! This action is also sometimes performed on a favorite toy or other object. Bonded birds show their affection for each other by feeding each other, and accomplish this by regurgitating food. This actiivity consists of bobbing the head up and down to bring up food from the crop, and depositing it into the mate's mouth. This is also the manner in which parents feed baby chicks.
Shannon, I'm pretty sure that when your dogs throw up that it's not intended to show you their love. If that were true, they would always vomit on the tile instead of the carpet....LOL
I know it's gross but it is a sign of love and appreciation from a bird. Paul has figured out that Sammy sees me as the reason he gets put into the cage. So for the past two mornings I have left the dogs in the bedroom and Sammy is extremely nice to me. He actually regirgitated 4 or 5 times while on my shoulder!! It was peaches and cream oatmeal. And he would swallow it back down and then give me kisses on my cheek. I know.
About 3/4 of the way in Curtis makes a fart noise and says "who cut one?"
Wow! This morning started out as usual. But instead of Paul putting Sammy back in the cage for me and the dogs to get up, I left the dogs in the bedroom and went into the kitchen with Paul and Sammy. Sammy was so excited to see me and to also not be put up that he jumped on my shoulder and gave me lots and lots of kisses. I was so overwhelmed and happy. He sat on my shoulder instead of Paul's and just talked up a storm..it won't be long before he really talks. He chewed on my ear, which he has NEVER done before. It was great.
I'm viewing videos from a site called Bird Tricks and it's teaching me how to gain Sammy's trust and not bite me. I hope it works but I understand that he doesn't want to go back into the cage. I'll let you know.
I started using baby talk with Sammy and he acts nicer to me. I'm always laughing at Paul when he does it but I now know why. We picked up tree limbs yesterday so when we finally were able to sit down and get Sammy out of his cage, he was starved. I forgot that I usually provide him with seeds when he's at work with me. Poor widdle feller....
Do you enjoy watching the videos I have on here or not? Let me know. Sometimes Sammy doesn't do anything memorable and so I have nothing to write. Enjoy.
This is Sammy eating his oatmeal. Watch him gulp it down like a baby bird does. He's so cute. We are covered in ice here and our beautiful trees in the back are breaking off and making a hugh crash. I went out back to bring the dogs back inside so they wouldn't get killed by falling branches but I guess my voice was loud and stressed. When I came back in I saw Sammy shaking like a leaf. We had to get him out and talk nice to him until he settled down. He wouldn't even take a peanut!! It looks like there's at least one more day of this ice stuff. Bah Humbug!
Paul and I have been discussing which type of food is better for Sammy. He loves sunflower seeds, peanuts, safflour seeds..pretty much all the seeds and nuts but they aren't good for him to eat all the time. He also loves rice, corn, oatmeal, fresh sugar snap peas and potatoes among other stuff like that. He doesn't like the pelleted stuff offered in pet stores.
But I also have been making a sprouted diet for him and the canaries. This consists of hulled seeds ......well, here is what is all in that mix.
The 15 sprouting items included in AFD-Micrograin: Triticale, Rice, Millet, Alfalfa, Fenugreek, Buckwheat, Fennel, Flax Seed, Dill Seed, Sesame Seed, Amaranth, Quinoa, Mung Bean, Radish Seed, and Red Clover Seed.
I sprout these for three days and when they are ready, they are soft and very good for him. The makers of this mix say that it is all that is needed in a parrot's diet. Sammy really likes this mix but what I failed to notice until today is that I also have another bag of sprout things that Sammy would probably love more. I thought the two bags were identical but they are not. The second bag contains.....
The 17 sprouting items included in AFD-Psittacine: Hulled Sunflower Seed, Whole Yellow Corn, Whole Oat, Brown Rice, Hi Pro Wheat Berry, Whole Green Pea, Garbanzo, Mung Bean, Buckwheat, Millet, Fenugreek, Pumpkin Seed, Sesame Seed, Quinoa, Radish Seed, Mustard Seed, Red Clover Seed.
THAT'S what we should give him, along with the other mixed in. I just put some of the second bag into the sprouting tower. It'll be ready in 3 days. YUM!! And the canaries can have some too.
I found this article on grey's and thought you guys would enjoy reading it too.
The African Grey Parrot has been called "the perfect mix of brains and beauty" (Bird Talk, Aug. 92) and the "cadillac of parrots" (Bird Talk Sept. 93). Much of the notoriety of this species stems from the phenomenal gift of speech members exhibit. While many parrots learn some words or phrases, many cases have been documented of African Greys learning multiple lines of songs, prayers, or plays. The Guinness Book of World Records lists the best talking parrot or parrot like bird as a African Grey named Prudle. Prudle was captured near Jinja, Uganda in 1958 and when "he" retired from public life in 1977 had a vocabulary of nearly 1000 words.Greys (the English spelling is usually used - not Gray) are not limited to imitating speech. Phones, microwaves ovens, answering machines, other birds and chain saws (in the African jungle) have all been documented as part of the Grey's repertoire. Many owners and some studies suggest that Greys don't just mimic but can use words learned in new combinations to convey new wants, needs and desires. Alex, a famous Grey that has been studied for years by Dr. Irene Pepperberg, invented the term "long yellow" to express his desire for more corn on the cob. A European study found Greys to have the intellectual capacity of a 5-year-old human child with the emotional development of a human 2 year old.Greys are certainly exotic but are not unusual in aviary collections. Compared to many other parrot species, they are moderately priced, moderately sized and adapt well to human companionship.
Oh, and by the way, Sammy was cuddling with Paul right before bed and I was jealous!!
I think this is the best picture of Sammy. I use it for my phone wallpaper. He's obviously at my desk next to my fax machine on his perch. Paul's been gone again but is on his way back. Both him and Sammy missed each other. Paul would call me and ask how Sammy was doing, so I told him to talk to him and held the phone up to the cage bars. Sammy came over and licked the phone when he heard Paul's voice but then the actual phone creeped him out and he fluffed up and retreated. It was sweet though.
Yesterday late afternoon when I stopped working, I put the dogs outside and was going to take Sammy into the family room but he didn't want to go. Imagine my curiosity...he never really liked the work cage. After trying more times than I can count, I finally just left the room and waited. I figured he'd start whistling in a half second, but no, he took about an hour nap. And so he didn't want to go night night until I forced the issue around 9:15. He's usually asleep by 8.
But he also slept late this morning, so I didn't feel guilty about sleeping in....haha
Here's some more pics of Sammy. He's become a very good bird to me. Anytime I eat dinner, he waddles over to me to get a taste. Have you ever seen a bird walk on flat ground? It's funny. Anyway, he liked chili with fritos the other night. And chicken and rice is a favorite too. I'm the only non-germaphob of the whole family and will let him eat off my fork.
This is Marty's biker coat...when he goes for a walk with Paul early in the morning, he gets cold because he's so scrawny and has practically no hair on his body. It's supposed to look like a leather jacket..we have to get him something macho.
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