Aviary & Birds
CHUCKLES - In the beginning
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The newest member of our household is a little baby African Grey, who was born on 2/16/99. We're pretty sure it's a male, and we've named him "Chuckles". He has just finished his breakfast and is "talking" to the other
"Baby" of the house before she takes off to school. He's stretching his wings getting ready to fly. I'm teaching him to "raise his arm" so I can rub the underside of his wing. (He doesn't know he's a bird yet.) At 45 days old, Chucky has many new feathers to show
off, his face and wings are starting to look like a true Grey. His coloring is going
to be a lot darker than Sammy's. He has many pins hidden underneath his thick layer
of down. HE FOUND HIS TOES!! (he nibbles on them all the time) Like any young 'un he's such a mess at meal time, that I've started giving him a warm bath after each meal. I let him get his balance in my palm, and then I'll wash him off in warm running water in the sink. His balance gets better with each bath. His favorite part is when I dry him with the hair dryer. The whole family has taken an interest in him, someone is always talking
to him or petting him and holding him. We're keeping him in the one of the
busiest rooms of the house right now, the kitchen. He is always watching
everyone, and talking to them when they look his way. At 62 days old, Chuckles has most of his feathers now and he truly looks like an African Grey. Chuckles has become much more active and we built him a playpen so he could climb and
chew. As you can see he's very much at home in his new playpen as he takes his
morning nap. Today I walked up to the playpen as he was playing and he stopped what he was doing and climbed the highest rung on the slanted ladder, stretched his neck as far as he could chirping and talking to me the whole way and gave me a kiss. This is the highest he has ever climbed. He surprised me even more when he stepped off the ladder into my palm. He has found his favorite toy on his playpen, it's the rice and lamb flavored rawhide. He makes all kinds of noises when he gets a hold of it, chirping and squealing as he tries to gobble the pieces as if they were dinner. Chuckles was very interested in the cam-corder as he watches me watching him.
I placed a perch about 2 inches off the floor of the playpen and he spends plenty of time climbing on and off the perch. He's still all "thumbs" and can only perch for a few minutes at a time. October 1999...
Chuckles is making all kinds of noises now. I hear
him mumbling sentences but
I haven't a clue to what they are... YET.... We finally purchased him a new cage, and he thinks he's king of the roost now sitting up high next to Sammy. He figures that Sammy's cage is his "other playground" and he is constantly crawling on her cage to visit. She tolerates him because she couldn't scare him away. Chuckles has been very curious about the newest member of our family, the big Monster bird. He tries to get on Monster's cage but Monster is not having any visitors yet... |
Each morning I'm surprised at the difference a few hours makes in his
appearance. We are hand feeding him 4 times a day, using a syringe. He sweet talks
you after every meal, and occasionally will honk at you (he must be testing his vocal
cords) . He loves to be talked to and cuddled, he'll stand still and chirp
in response until his head begins to get heavy. Then, like all babies he falls
asleep. 
He
is down to 3 feedings a day, and he gets very excited when we give him a taste of
something new. He loves potatoes and cheese balls. 
Chuckles
has been weaned for a while now, and is a true member of our
"Flock". He follows me around the house demanding his fair
share of attention. In the morning he expects his good morning kiss,
and a hug. When I hug him, he gives me a soft bear hug growl. He has decided that his evening playground
should be at my feet while I cook dinner. With all six of my family
members in the kitchen at one time, you
would think that all those feet
would be intimidating. Instead he thinks all those feet are for his
entertainment. He has a lot of fun tickling my toes. It really
makes his day if other members of his "flock" are helping me
cook dinner. He'll puff out his wings and take a running leap at
your feet. He loves it when you jump and squeal. If he
can sneak up on you and get a reaction that is even better.
Chuckles
spoke his first word a couple of months ago, it was "COME HERE"
it sounds more like "cu-mere" but he gets his point across.
If all else fails he resorts to calling me with his "honk, honk"
Momma call. He's working on his second word, and who would have
guessed, it's MY NAME!! He hasn't managed to get them both together
yet, but I know it's coming.
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Water Garden
Biological Filter |
