African Grey Parrot Centre ™ Blog » clever parrots

This Grey Should Have Been Called Lucky!!

Paula — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:27:49 +0000

A chatty pet parrot is recovering from his brush with death after ending up in the lions enclosure at Longleat Safari Park near Warminster.

Lalji, a nine-year-old African grey parrot, was reunited with his distraught owner Pie Chambers, after escaping from a cage in the garden of her home in Corsley.

After three days on the run, Lalji, who knows more than 500 words and phrases, found himself four miles from home, in an enclosure with Longleat’s pride of lions, sparking a rescue mission by keepers.

Ms Chambers, 66, who has had Lalji since he was a nine-week-old chick, said he didn’t utter a word for four days after his ordeal.

“He obviously had a traumatic experience because he didn’t speak when he came back,” she said. “The first word he said following all this was ‘love you’. I felt very weepy afterwards.

“He’s a great chum and I was bereft without him.”

Lalji – whose name has Hindi origins with Lal meaning red, referring to his red tail, and ji being an informal greeting – escaped from his cage on May 23.

He was spotted by Longleat keepers on May 26 perching on a fence watching the safari park’s seven lionesses.

Resident parrot expert, Jon Ovens, from Longleat’s Animal Adventure was called in to help, but attempts to woo Lalji down using a resident female parrot failed and a large net had to be used to capture him.

Ms Chambers added: “It was a nice day, so he had been in a cage in the garden. I looked over to him and all of a sudden the cage was empty – I noticed afterwards it had a faulty door.

“I was actually on my way to the wildlife park to look for him on Wednesday morning when I got a call from them to say he was in with the lions.

“It was very scary – he could have become their lunch at any moment.”

Ms Chambers runs trips to India focusing on arts and crafts and moved to Corsley from India in 2008, after spending nine years there.

Eric Our Feather Plucked Grey Has Settled In!

Paula — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:44:31 +0000

I said I would keep you up to date with how Eric is getting on so here is the update you have all been waiting for… Sorry it has taken so long what with all the parrots and children I look after time gets a little short and also we are getting married in just under 2 weeks now so I am busy with that also!

Eric seems to have settled in really well, he was very quiet for the first few days but then soon started to show us what he could do! He is a very clever boy and can talk for England, the thing he says the most is ”do you want a bath mate!”, He loves his baths and he has a couple a day with luke warm water and a splash of Cyder Vinergar which is good for his feathers it will help improve his feather condition and also soothe the discomfort and prickle of bare skin patches and newly emerging feathers and hopefully stop him plucking them out. Also I add a drop in into the drinking water once a day it’s perfectly safe to drink and it will help clean out any toxins from inside him too.

He also loves his Palm nut oil on brown bread toast Yummy!

He is such a funny parrot, and makes me laugh each and everyday with the things he says and also his dances and phone conversations he has with himself.

He has plucked himself a bit more now which is to be expected with the move and change of house but he seems to be happy and has time out on a daily basis and I am sure he will settle down and hopefully grow back his feathers back, the big change must be strange for him going to live with a new family in a new house, it has not stopped his eating, he loves his food and fruit and veg and also his pulses which is good.

Here are a few photos of Eric… Will update again soon.

Missing African Grey Reunited With Hertfordshire Family

Paula — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:04:38 +0000

Barney the African Grey parrot is reunited with his beloved Hertfordshire family after Flying the nest!

The 4 and a half year old African Grey who swears at the cats on a regular basis made his escape when a door was left open in the family home.

Owners Ian and Courtney Sutton never believed they would get Barney back and thought they had more chance of winning the lotto than getting Barney back.

The owners put up posters up in the surrounding areas and were shocked when they got a phone call from a vet who said he had been found!

They said it seemed like a very long weekend and we are over the moon to have him back, he rules the roost and is the wife’s baby and is part of the family.

He was found resting on someones Balcony near the QE2 Hospital in Welwyn Garden City.

3 Of The Best Parrots That Are Perfect to Train

rick — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:20:07 +0000

Parrots are the most beautiful birds with great coloured plumage, they make fantastic pets. They can enthrall us with song and talking. They live long years and have life spans of around sixty to a hundred year. So, you can be friends with them for the rest of your life. These are the best types of parrots to train. If you are interested in any other type then please get our parrot training newsletter and know it all.

African Grey

Mai The African Grey

These parrots are medium sized and are usually of a greyish colour. Sometimes they have non standard colouring. This is a speaking parrot, it is the best for speech. They can speak a variety of words and can imitate any sound with equal dexterity. However it can never be guaranteed that the Grey you choose will talk no matter what. Sometimes a Grey will never talk or show any signs of talking though that is a fairly rare occurance. African grey parrots generally scream a lot if left with nothing to do so need lots of play time and toys to keep them happy. Once you make friends, a grey will be the most loyal pet you could ever hope for but do tend to favour one person. They say African grey parrots have the intelligence of up to a seven year old child and can also be just as naughty if you let them.

Conure

conure

Conures are small sized parrots and have very big tails attached to their bodies. You can find them in many different colours and they are very smart. They are real clowns who love to mess about. They are also good at learning tricks and take up training effectively. They will be happy if you teach them to talk. The drawback is that they are best matched to owners who have lots of time to spend with them. This is because they need several hours of training every day to learn how to socialize, not bite the owner and correct behavioural defects. These birds can be made to control themselves if you train them from an early age.

Macaw

macaw

Macaws have been known to survive for more than fifty years and knowing this you should be ready for a long relationship with your macaw, it’s not just for Christmas or a on the whim purchase. Yes, this is the biggest parrot you can get. To ensure that the parrot is happy make sure you get a tall cage. If you want this parrot to be happy then you should let it out of its cage. These parrots have a strong beak and bites everytihng. Therefore they turn out to be great furniture destroyers though with the help of toys this can be completely stopped. They need a variety of toys that have to be alternated regularly so that they can be stimulated constantly.

Remember parrot training is important, never neglect your parrot or you could end up with parrot behaviour problems.

AJ The Sporty Indian Ringneck Parakeet

rick — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:08:40 +0000

A sporty parrot who plays golf and basketball has become an internet hit.

The parrot, called AJ, can be seen putting a golf ball, slam dunking a basketball and performing gymnastic routines.

Thousands of fans have watched the sporting all-rounder demonstrate his prowess in a series of clips on video sharing website YouTube.

The green and yellow parrot’s personal trainer offers encouragement from the sidelines with comments such as “good bird” and “good job.”

And the bird psyches himself up for the challenge by repeating: “Put the ball in the basket. Put the ball in the basket.”

The Indian Ringneck Parakeet starts his gymnastic routine by playing dead and jumping to his feet as a man out of view of the camera says: “get up”.

The 18 year old parrot rolls over sideways and climbs onto his trainer’s finger, which he uses as a high bar to perform more remarkable stunts.

As the trainer says “do a flip” and “turn around” the obedient parrot rolls over the finger using his feet to grip. He then balances and turns on the spot.

AJ certainly loves golf. I would say that is his favourite sport and he even watches it on television

He finishes the routine by offering a claw to shake hands.

The parrot leaves the gymnasium and heads to a miniature golf course where he holds a club in his beak and swings at a ball.

The ball rolls smoothly across the green, avoiding the bunkers, and falls into the hole – possibly for a birdie.

Eager AJ picks the ball out of the hole and hands it to his trainer.

He then plays the ball again to demonstrate his previous effort was not a fluke.

Taking a miniature yellow basketball in his beak, the parrot climbs a ladder onto a table with court markings and a basketball net and backboard at one end.

He repeats his trainer’s command to “put the ball in the basket” and slams the ball through the hoop for two points.

The video finishes with AJ looking at the camera with a sense of pride at what he has achieved.

Owner Dave Cota, of Florida, USA, said he believed AJ was the most sporty bird in the world. The 40 year old, an entrepreneur who has worked in the sports industry, said: “It seems that he can play anything I show him.

“I have had him since he was very young and he just loves to play sports.

“I have had no trouble trianing him at all – he is very special.

“He even tells himself to do his own tricks before doing them.

“AJ certainly loves golf. I would say that is his favourite sport and he even watches it on television.”

AJ even has a custom-built golf course which cost around 2,000 pounds.

Dave added: “He also has his own custom-made golf clubs and bag. It cost a lot but it’s worth it because he likes doing it so much.”

One viewer, called davna90, loved the bird’s sporting exploits.