Treat your parrot with a treat

Sarabi enjoying a cracker, or "gnaw stick." It is a stick filled with delicious seeds and other treats that can be hung from the cage bars. Your parrot will love it and empty the stick in no time at all! Think of it as a kind of "candy cane" for parrots. So when you're feeling generous: treat your parrot with a cracker treat (just not too often as it contains more "tasty" and fattening foods than the general parrot diet ;).

New cage for christmas!

For christmas I decided to buy a new, better and larger cage for Sarabi. I just received it today and recently finished putting it up. Sarabi is super happy with it and felt comfortable with it from the start. Straight away she started preening her feathers and eating peanuts from the food bowl on the "top branch." You can see the difference between the old and the new cage in the photo underneath:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :)

Vocabulary update!

Here is an updated list of words and phrases that Sarabi knows:

New additions to her vocabulary:
"Fly, fly, fly"
"Go back"
"Go to the cage"
"Ouch"
"Stop!"
"Step down"
"Take a shower"

Other words and phrases that she knows:
"Come on"
"Come here"
"(You're such a) good girl!"
"(You) want some?"
"Hi"
"Hello"
"Step up"
"Peek-a-boo"
"Coo-coo"
"Wanna tickle"
"Gimme' a kiss"
"Stretch"
"Look at you"

To clip or not to clip?

Like a famous writer named Shakespeare once wrote: "To clip or not to clip, that is the question!" (or was it maybe "to be or not to be?"), anyway that really is the question! Should a parrot have its wings clipped or not? And if so, when is the appropriate time to clip for the first time and how should it be done? Personally I am not a huge fan of clipping the wings of parrots. "What a hypocrite!" you may think "I can clearly see on that photo of your bird that her wings have been clipped!" And if you did notice that you are very correct. I was, however, not the one to clip Sarabi's wings - it was done by the breeder. I will not clip Sarabi's wings after new feathers have grown out. She is still very capable of flying, despite having a couple of feathers missing, and when I take her outside it is always in either her transport-bag or in a harness. I would not trust having a parrot outside totally "free", even if it has had its wings clipped, since a gust of wind can carry even a wing-clipped bird incredibly far and into danger. In other words: clipping a birds wings with the argument that you can then have it outside without having to worry about the bird flying away is not a valid reason.

Young birds need time to fully learn how to fly and exercise their aerial abilities. If the parrot has its wings clipped before it has mastered the art of flight it is said that it can damage the parrots self-asteem and that it may take several months, possibly even years, for it to fully learn what it should have learnt as young. It is also a question of exercise. A bird is made to fly and needs exercise to stay healthy.

As I mentioned before Sarabi can still fly, and she's very good at it! This is because there are different ways to clip a parrots wings (it sounds so drastic, only a few feathers are clipped, not the entire wing) and these different methods result in different changes to the parrots ability to fly. Depending on which feathers, and how many, are clipped the parrot can either just loose some flight range to not being able to lift in flight from the ground. If the parrot is a bit older and already has mastered the art of flying and you want to have its wings clipped I advise you to take your parrot to a professional (preferably an avian veterinarian; specialized in birds) the first time instead of attempting it yourself. The vet can show you how it should be done.

The debate about whether or not it should be acceptable, or even legally allowed, to have a birds wings clipped is a very heated one here in Sweden. Many bird enthusiasts are strongly against wing-clipping and are trying to have it illegalized. In other countries, like the US, the topic is less heated and wing-clipping, I personally feel, is more generally accepted there. The question, I believe, is how far we can strive for creating an almost natural environment for our birds before going back to nature itself? We want to tame and domesticate animals yet at the same time we want them to be free - it's a difficult balance to keep. In the end we simply just want our birds to be happy and healthy!

How to teach your bird to "stretch" on command

Sarabi can stretch her wings on command. The command word and signal I use when I want her to stretch her wings is the word "stretch" while simultaneously stretching my own left arm (sometimes both) high into the air. Every time Sarabi executes the command I praise her by, very enthustiastically, proclaiming what a "gooood girl" she is. The praise (reward) is very important! I taught Sarabi the "stretch command" simply by saying the word, while stretching my own arms, every time she herself stretched her wings, and by praising her afterward. African Greys are highly intelligent animals and it did not take long for Sarabi to understand the connection between the command and the action itself.

Sarabi also does kissing noises when I ask her to "gimme' a kiss." Other things that she's learnt is how to tell herself what a good girl she is by saying: "you're such a goood girl!" She also mumbles "gimme' a kiss" followed by the kisses themselves.

Talking Sarabi

I finally managed to get a decent video of Sarabi talking. Usually she goes quiet the instant I pick up the camera, haha! In the video she's saying things like: "Hello, coo-coo, step up and peek-a-boo."

"Wanna teckle?"

The day before yesterday Sarabi suddenly uttered:

"Wanna teckle?"

What she actually said was "want a tickle", i.e. that she wanted to be scratched on the head, but she pronounced tickle with an e, I mean how cute is that? :D Since then she has been asking me to tickle her every now and then (okay, I admit it, she's asked me quite often). Especially during the evenings and in the mornings. Every time she says the sentence "wanna tickle" or just the word "tickle" I immidiately reinforce it by telling her what a good girl she is (in a very, very excited tone. Positive reinforcement is the key!) and give her a good head scratch. African Greys are very smart birds so it didn't take long for Sarabi to get the idea and make the connection between the sentence (specifically the word "tickle") and the action itself. The connection between the word and the action or object is very important. Talking to your grey and telling it about what you're doing and introducing different objects (and letting your grey "beak it", i.e. examine it) is the way to go if you want your avian companion to have a greater understanding for the spoken language instead of just using words in a stereotypical "parrot-mimicking-way."

Increasing vocabulary

The other day Sarabi followed me by flying after me from the living room into the hallway. She then made a smooth landing on my dresser and shouted, very enthusiastically: "Coo-coo!" I was about to die laughing, and this made Sarabi find the phrase even more amusing. She uses it quite often now-a-days. :p This is a phrase that I had never said to Sarabi previous to before she said it herself, so I'm assuming that she learnt it from my parents CAG Malaika while my parents have been "parrot-sitting" her.

More additions to her vocabulary include:

"Come on"
"Come here"

"Good girl"

and, just before I started writing this:

"You want some?"

She just keeps learning more and more each day, I'm so proud of her! Other words and phrases in her vocabulary are:

"Hi"
"Hello"
"Look at you"
"Step up"
"Peek-a-boo"

And of course all kinds of mumbling and rambling sounds that cannot be understood by anyone other than herself. ;)

Photoshoot!

Here are some of the photos from the photoshoot of Sarabi and Malaika outdoors:

Quick update!

Since the latest post in the blog Sarabi has had her 1 year hatchday (birthday)! This was on the 6th of June, 2010. She has practised talking more and more, even though her speech is still very inarticulate. She uses the phrase "step up" frequently, and it is her most used phrase at the moment. I've also taken Sarabi on more outside adventures in her harness and last weekend I had a "photo shoot" outside with Sarabi (photo on the left) and Malaika.

Say... peanut?

Took some photos of Sarabi today (not very unusual, haha). I focused on getting a good portrait photo. I had her outside on the balcony with her white Feather Tether harness. Here is the result:

I have to admit that I am personally very pleased with the portrait, what do you think?

What is cooler than walking your dog? Walking your parrot of course!

If the sun is shining and you're thinking of what to do: take your parrot for a walk! It's fun and recreational, for you and your avian friend. Just make sure that your parrot feels safe and doesn't get cold. Today Sarabi went for her very first outdoor adventure in her purple Feather Tether harness. It was the first "warm" Swedish spring day and the perfect opportunity for Sarabi to explore the outdoors in her harness. I must admit that people threw us quite a few glances, haha! Sarabi did absolutely excellent and kept her cool during the entire walk. We just walked a couple of blocks and stopped by the park before turning back home. So what are you waiting for? Don't stay here and read - go and walk your parrot! ;)

Shower perch... on the fridge?

Today Sarabi's shower perch arrived. Both her and I were very excited over this new addition. I hurried in to the shower with the shower perch and, to my dismay, found that it didn't work to stick the perch to the shower walls. Well, what use can a shower perch have if it doesn't go in the shower? I luckily found the perfect place for it - the refrigerator. So now Sarabi is happily perching and playing away on her new, baby blue, fridge perch. She hasn't been this content in quite a while - she is absolutely ecstatic over being able to spend some quality time with me, now also in the kitchen! Before it hasn't been too easy having Sarabi in the kitchen, at least not if I've wanted to avoid bite marks on the kitchen chairs (wood chairs, custom made by my grandpa), bird poops all over the place (kitchen carpet, chair cushions, on the dishes etc.), kitchen items being pushed down on the floor... well, I think you get the picture! Now Sarabi sits, obedient as ever, on her perch observing my every move, preening her feathers or playing with the attached toy. It's a win-win situation for the both of us! Thank you fridge perch, what would we do without you?

Ring that bell!

"What, another toy?" Sarabi must be wondering why she keeps getting showered by bird toys in all kinds of colors, shapes and sizes. Today I found a toy with different colored "bells-in-metal-circles" that I just had to buy. Over the next few days I'll be expecting to hear lots of ringing bells! I've also ordered a shower perch that should arrive soon. My bird is spoiled, I know, but I just can't help it! I've heard many stories of manipulative greys that make their owner do all kinds of stuff. Could it be that I've already fallen under a famous grey-mind-controlling-spell and that Sarabi is, in fact, not at all surprised to see another toy in her cage *wink wink*?

"Mommy, mommy, there's a MONSTER outside the window!!"

I was sitting on the sofa in the living room, studying, when I was suddenly interrupted by a loud "thud." When I turned my head toward the direction of the sound I saw that Sarabi had fallen of her perch and had pushed herself into the very far corner of the cage while she was shaking like a leaf. Then I heard another noice. Mechanical, this time. "Mommy, mommy, there's a MONSTER outside the window!!" I'm almost certain that Sarabi was thinking while I was shocked to find a man outside the window! Lets just say that I don't exactly live on the bottom floor, more like a couple of stories over. The man was some kind of builder and he was standing on the platform of one of those lifting cranes and his job was apparently to scrape away snow from the roof. Since it was a studying day for me I hadn't bothered changing clothes from my "pyjamas", so I was a little embarassed to say the least even though my main priority was my terrified baby parrot, so a little embarassment would have to wait! I walked over to the cage, while speaking in a soft, reassuring voice, and gently lifted Sarabi into my arms. Then I went away from the living room and sat down on the floor with one of my t-shirts as a "shield" over Sarabi. At first her heart was pounding at an incredible speed and her entire body was trembling, but after a while, when she realised that she was safe inside my t-shirt, she calmed down. She even started to scrape with her beak - a sign of her now being content. When the "danger" was over I removed her from under my t-shirt (not without difficulty as Sarabi kept trying to "dive" back in) and placed her in her cage again. To say the least, this was a very odd day for both Sarabi and me!

"Pampered princess"

Sarabi is a real "pampered princess" I realized today after having gone to the shopping mall and come home with a huge bird toy and not one single item for myself. Sarabi doesn't complain though and neither do I when I see her playing with her new toys while having that special sparkle in her eyes. The "spiral rope" which I bought is hanging from Sarabi's play top until it finds a better place. When I first introduced the toy to her she was, of course, very sceptical. She looked at it like it was a creature from another planet. I had to try and convince her that it was a harmless, and very fun toy (by "playing" with it myself while, very enthusiastically, shouting 'tooooy, Sarabi's tooooy'), before she finally decided to go forward and actually beak it. She did not show any fear towards it at any time and that is a good sign. She has already climbed it and explored all the different "hanging toy" parts, so I think she will have a lot of fun with it (at least I sincerely hope so since it wasn't all too cheap xD).

Here's a video of Sarabi with her new toy:

Fly away x-mas!

Sarabi thinks it's high time to hide away all the christmas ornaments in a dusty corner until next year. How do I know that this is her opinion? Well, I happened to catch her "red beakedly" pinching one of my santa ornaments in the nose. I even have photo proof for all of you to see! So happy ending to the holidays (a wee bit late - *in a sarcastic voice* thanks for reminding me in time Sarabi) to you all and hope that the beginning of year twenty-ten has been just as exciting as you wished for (with many grey feathers)!

Stuff that greys shouldn't "beak"

Sarabi, like most greys, is extremely curious. Although things might be frightening at first it won't take long before she starts inspecting the very object that caused her fright. This is why it is very important, as the owner, to know what can be lethal to your grey.

Foods and drinks that are poisonous to greys (and that they should absolutely not come in direct contact with) include:
-Avocado
-Chocolate
-Caffeine
-Alcohol
-Anything that contains cyanide (apple seeds, peach pit etc.)

Besides these foods and drinks some plants, for instance, can be toxic to grey parrots. Never leave your grey out of its cage completely unsupervised! They are like small children and like to "touch and taste" everything. There are tons of dangers in a home that can easily cut your avian companions life short. Electric wires, plants, the toilet (your grey can accidently fly and land in the toilet if the lid is open and drown), the kitchen (heated pans, for example, that the grey can accidently land on), open windows, other pets (dogs or cats, for example) etc. etc. Some parrot owners wing clip their birds to prevent injuries such as flying and bumping into a closed window, but with owner supervision these types of injuries can be prevented without the need for wing clipping. Personally I believe that exercise from getting the chance to fly around the home can be healthy for the parrot so wing clipping should be thought over carefully before executed (of course there are different types of wing clipping, some that just minimize the flight ability).

Harness training

When harness training Sarabi I have used these "steps" as guidelines:

1. Introduction
2. Patience
3. Reward - positive reinforcement
4. Non-forcing

First I let her see the harness then I brought it closer to her (after making sure that she was not scared or intimidated by it) so that she could "beak it", i.e. touch and inspect it with her beak. This is the step that I call "introduction." This step can take anything from a few minutes to days depending on the individual, the age of the parrot etc. The first step is closely followed by the second - patience. This step applies to the entire harness training! Parrots are flight animals and are often very suspicious of new things. Patience from the trainer is required if the parrot is to fully accept the harness and feel comfortable and safe with it. The third step is reward. I always reward Sarabi when she accepts the harness. Sometimes she can start to "feel" the harness with her beak while she is wearing it. If this happens I just wait until she stops and then reward her (when she has left the harness alone for a while). The reward is a type of positive reinforcement and can be vocal - a sentence such as: "good bird!" in a enthusiastic tone. It can also be a form of "candy", such as a sun flower seed (Sarabi absolutely loves them). The fourth step, just like the second, applies to the entire training more like a "guideline" than a step. Non-forcing. Absolutely do not use any sort of force in the training! If the parrot shows fear, uncomfortability or unwillingness to wear the harness stop the training immidiately and go back to the first step with the second step always in mind. Introduction with patience!

Toys are grey't!

Toys are a very important part of your greys life. I consider them quite a necessity for the well-being of your grey! They are a way to stimulate the mind of your intelligent parrot companion and thus prevent boredom which may result in feather plucking etc. It is also a great way to make your grey a happier bird! When I brought little baby Sarabi home (at 3,5 months of age) she was introduced to some toys and she started playing with them almost instantly (see pics). Sarabi's cage is filled with very colorful hanging toys in different shapes and sizes and I have placed two tiny toy balls on the bottom of Sarabi's cage which she "plays soccer" with by, quite violently, pushing them around the cage floor with her beak. Grey toys need to be made out of "beak resistant" material considering the fact that the African Grey is a larger parrot with strong beaks that can shread most "tiny bird toys" to pieces in no time. An example of a good online "toy store" for your feathered friend is: www.greyfeathertoys.com. Of course there are many other good parrot toy stores and it is also possible to create your own toys (just keep in mind which materials are used). Greys love shreadable toys too and sometimes I give empty toilet rolls to Sarabi. She shreads them to pieces in the a blink of an eye and she loves it! Just use your imagination and be innovative. Besides the use of material toys there are games that you and your parrot can play. One game that is usually very popular with greys is "peek-a-boo." The owner hides behind his/her hands or behind some object and suddenly pops their head out enthusiastically shouting "peek-a-boo!" It probably won't take too long before your grey starts to play the game with you by bopping their head up and down or shouting "peek-a-boo" right back at you!

Aerial improvements

Sarabi has finally developed quite coordinated flight skills. Today she, for the first time, flew all the way from her cage in to the living room, through the kitchen door (which meant an aerial turn of at least 180 degrees) and landed on my arm after a very stylish hovering in the air for a slight second. She has flown this far before and even further but every other time it has resulted in a, not so flattering, crash landing on the floor with a very innocent look and a pleading "step up?" foot in the air. If not the outcome just described, her flights usually end up in a crash landing into my curtains or some ornament by the window that, more times than I'd wish for, ends up scattered into pieces on my living room floor. Now she can even perform this very impressive aerial stunt from her cage to my arm on voice command and out of sight from the other room. I guess when "mommy" can't be seen, "baby" gets worried and will climb to incredible heights to retrieve her lost "momma." Hopefully Sarabi is starting to outgrow her baby clumsiness, even if I must admit that that specific clumsiness can be awfully cute at times - when my ornaments manage to stay intact!

A video of Sarabi

Taking a closer look at the CAG

The Congo African Grey parrot (Psittacus Erithacus Erithacus) is a, primarily grey (therefore the name "grey parrot"), colored bird with distinct bright red colored tail feathers. They are approximately 33 cm (13 inches) large and have dark grey/light black beaks whereas the sub-species, Timneh African Grey parrot (Psittacus Erithacus Timneh), have different colored beaks - dark grey and beige, are smaller in size and have maroon colored tail feathers. CAG's can live to be older than 60 years of age and are highly intelligent birds. Studies conducted by Dr. Irene Pepperberg have shown that their intelligence is comparable to that of a three year old human child. One of the most famous CAG's was Alex, one of the parrots taught and studied by Dr. Irene Pepperberg. Alex could say over 100 words (labelling objects, colors etc.), tell the difference between different matter (wood, whool etc.), could count objects, up to six, and a lot more!

CAG's have very dark, almost black, colored eyes when they are newly hatched and at around 6-7 months of age their eyes start to turn brighter in color (light grey). When they become adults, at around 2-3 years of age, their eyes turn light yellow (se pic).

Thinking of purchasing a grey?

African Grey parrots are absolutely wonderful companions in many ways. They are extremely personal, they can learn to speak to you (in your own voice and language!), they are very intelligent (about as smart as a three year old human child), they even have their own sense of humor... But before you consider purchasing a grey there are a few things you really need to think about!

1. Greys, and parrots in general, are very messy animals. Half of what is put in their food bowl seems to end up scattered all over the place. Their cage needs near frequent cleaning. Are you prepared to do a lot of extra cleaning?
2. African Greys can live to be older than 60 years of age. Are you ready for such a lifetime commitment?
3. Because of their high intelligence they need a lot of mind exercise and stimulation or else they can develop issues such as feather plucking or become screamers or biters.
4. Not all Greys learn how to speak. Would you love your Grey just as much even if the parrot wouldn't talk? Is it mostly because of the African Greys ability to speak that you want to purchase one? Then maybe you should reconsider.
5. African Greys can be destructive even if the breed isn't known to be as destructive as other parrot breeds, such as Cockatoos. Can you live with a few bite marks in your furniture?
6. Greys, just like all birds, poop. A lot. And very often. They don't have the same ability to "hold it in" as dogs do, for instance, so they are not as easy to "potty train." There are options, such as "bird diapers" but they should not be seen as a complete "problem solver" (personally I do not much like the idea of putting a bird diaper on a bird).
7. African Greys are quite large parrots and they can bite quite hard if they become scared or angry. Are you prepared to be nipped a little now and then?
8. Are you still considering purchasing a Grey? Well then, the next step is to decide if you want to buy a rehomed adult Grey or a baby chick directly from the breeder. Often times it is a lot more pricey to buy a baby from a breeder but a rehomed bird can have developed issues at its previous owner(s) already. To buy an older rehomed parrot takes some more experience since it is possible that the bird can have been ill treated or simply wrongly trained at its previous home(s) and developed issues, such as biting or screaming. There is usually a reason why the previous owner wants to sell the parrot. This does, of course, not apply in every case! There are many cases when a rehomed bird can be just as loving and kind as a baby chick from the very beginning, but usually it takes time and patience for the parrot to adjust to its new home and owner(s). Also parrots are very emotional beings and they easily get attached to "their" human so they can develop depression (which can lead to feather plucking or worse conditions, such as refusal to eat) from being parted from that human. Buying a rehomed bird can be very positive if the right approaches are used and a bond of trust is tied between you and the parrot. Keep in mind that they are very intelligent and can be quite suspicious so it takes a while to build that trust but with patience and a lot of love you and the Grey will find each other eventually!

This does not cover everything that it is to be "owned by a Grey" but it is something to hopefully get you thinking about your decision! Read a lot about African Greys and their needs before you make the purchase and a very good place on the net to ask questions about "anything Grey" is the African Grey Forum.

"Fed up"

A video of Sarabi being hand fed at the age of 3,5 months.
She is fed with a mushed up and heated (luke warm) "banana mash."
After bringing Sarabi home as a baby I was advised to hand feed her, like in the video, approximately twice a day, once with the "banana mash" and once with a special CAG baby formula (mixed with luke warm water). This is a way for the baby chick and the new owner to "tie a bond." At such a young age the baby will later think of the feeder as a sort of "mom" and will be extra loving toward this specific human. Sarabi, unlike some hand reared baby CAG's, stayed with her real parents until the age of 7 weeks before she was hand reared by the breeder. The time that the chick gets to stay with the "real parents" seems to differ greatly between different breeders - everything from hand rearing the first day of hatching to after 7 weeks or more!

Malaika

A photo of 4,5 year old Malaika, the first CAG in the family.

Malaika was hatched on the 3rd of June 2005.
Malaika's name is of African origin and means "angel" in Swahili.
She has a large vocabulary and tells her owners when she's thirsty ("want some juice"), when she's hungry ("want some breakfast"), when she wants to take a shower, when she's tired ("good night, it's bedtime!"), when she wants to snuggle ("tickle") etc. Malaika loves to dance by bopping her head around and she often laughs at her humans.

Sarabi the Grey

A little introduction of Sarabi, the African Grey Parrot of which this blog will follow. Sarabi was born in Sweden the 6th of June(the Swedish National Day) 2009. She is a Congo African Grey Parrot (Psittacus Erithacus Erithacus), a breed much known for its ability to, not only mimic human speech but also understand some of it, and use human speech to communicate with its owner(s). Congo African Greys, or CAG's, usually learn to speak at the age of 12-18 months but they can learn a few words or phrases before then. Sarabi is now at the age of 7 months and her vocabulary consists of:

1. Hi (Used as a greeting in the morning, when someone enters the room etc.)
2. Up up (Step up. A phrase used when she wants to be lifted onto the hand.)
3. Peek-a-boo (At the moment pronounced "Eek-a-poo." A phrase used when playing the popular childrens' game by the same name.)

Besides these words and phrases Sarabi also makes kiss noices when asked to "gimme' a kiss" and she stretches her wings when told to "Stretch."

The first greeting