# Give me the bird!!!!



## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

I am an animal nut, and in addition to my love of GSDs, I also share my life with Louie the African Grey Parrot. I raised him from an egg and he is 17 years old. (I have been an aviculturist for 39 years, and bred my first pair of parrots in 1971, and first African Greys in 1985) Louie should easily live into his sixties and beyond.










Any other parrot owners out there?? Parakeets & cockatiels are a parrot species...so give us the bird!


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## Lynn_P (Mar 17, 2004)

Love parrots.. I use to have African Greys.. but they went with my ex when we separated.. 

I now have a Quacker Parrot.. that keeps the dogs in place.










African Grey, that is now with ex


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## Lynn_P (Mar 17, 2004)

Dante guarding the birds...


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i use to have a salmon crested Moloccan Cockatoo.


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## benjamin1 (May 9, 2011)

i love birds looks like a very healthy african gray parroit


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## Two (Jul 18, 2011)

Very good looking birds! The African Grey is very attractive.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Here is the bird x's 5~ A handful!! I worked in an exotic bird breeding retail facility for about 6 years and was addicted to parrots(til I had kids) They specialized in Quakers...they are difficult to breed in captivity because the are community type nesters...huge nests with holes for different families in the wild, hard to please them when breeding in captivity, but we had several clutches and they are great pets, though a bit loud, they love to hear themselves talk and squawk!

African Grey Magnum will be 23 in October, raised him from the day his eyes opened. My mom has his clutchmate Myrnie.
I also bred Moluccan's, Amazons, lovebirds, parrotlets and budgies. Talk about responsibilty for the life of an animal as a breeder, I have no idea what will happen when my birds all outlive me. 
My flock is down to 5~ Magnum, a senegal named squeakers, an English budgie Enzo who is the sweetest thing ever!, American budgie Roxie and an American cinnamon lovebird Cinco.

20 yr old male Squeakers(handfed from hatching):








Magnum:








Magnum knows so many words and different tones of voice it is scary. He always asks the dog if they wanna go out(in a northern UP Michigan type accent/I do not speak that way!)

Cinco(my daughter bought her on May 5th a couple yrs ago):









The budgies(Roxy is not tame):








Enzo:


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Wow! I am in awe of the "bird people". Such beautiful birds and such commitment. Jane, do you even have time to breathe? Lynn, Dante is so good. Thanks everybody for posting such great pictures.

W. Oliver, Louie is GORGEOUS! Don't you have a pond store, or something like that too? If so, boy could I use your help.

I have only had small birds - canaries and finches growing up. My budgie died in 2010. I had her for 5 years. No idea how old she was. I found her flying around the neighborhood. She used to come to my bird feeder. I caught her. (For better or worse.) She was a nasty little bird. She would bite and fuss. She refused to leave her cage. I think it was a security thing with her. She was a bird with issues. I am the only one who cried when she died.


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## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

Stevenzachsmom said:


> W. Oliver, Louie is GORGEOUS! Don't you have a pond store, or something like that too? If so, boy could I use your help.


Thank you, I am very proud of Louie until he starts cussing....picked that up from my wife & kids don't ya know. I should try to get a family appropriate video of him running-off at the mouth.

Yes, I am a retired auto industry man who is now a proud pond & aquarium guy. I'd be happy to help if I can, please PM me with your questions, and I'll do my best.


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## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

This thread needs a nice photo of, oh, I don't know, lets say......a Blue Fronted Amazon. Anyone?


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

I have a BFA....heading to OB in a few mins but will try to load some photos of him tonight.


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## e.rigby (May 28, 2011)

I have a Congo African grey, a Timneh African grey, a Blue Front Amazon, and two budgies. All of my birds are rescues. I'm in the car right now, I will have to post pictures tonight when I get home.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Waiting on the pics - Rerun and e.rigby. I did not realize there were so many bird enthusiasts on here. And yes! I am jealous.


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## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

Bird people are just another kind of crazy.........


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## Jelpy (Nov 8, 2009)

Two umbrella cockatoos here. That should count as four of anything else. 

Jelpy


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## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

Jelpy said:


> Two umbrella cockatoos here. That should count as four of anything else.
> 
> Jelpy


....as needy, loud, and dusty as they can be....I'll give ya that!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I cannot imagine having a cockatoo in my life again. The wildcaught whistle(scream) is ear piercing.
Magnum has every bird he has ever been exposed to in his lovely vocabulary so I have 100's of birds making noise in one cage. Dusk is not quiet in the Jean house...he just did the red-rumped parakeet noise and that pair was only with us for a month or so(20 yrs ago) while I bird-sat.


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

yay a bird thread!

My newest: 








Menchi, the blue-headed pionus.









Left: Bork bork, Bourke's parakeet
Right: Checkers, Zebra finch









Bitey, Black-capped conure









Woody, cockatiel









Demetri, Budgie

and in a week, I'm getting a male Red-sided eclectus .

Chrono very lovingly wants to eat them all.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

OMG Syaoransbear! You and Jean could open a bird exhibit.

Soooo.....Do any of y'all ever get to go on vacation? I cannot imagine.


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## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

Syaoransbear said:


> Menchi, the blue-headed pionus.


I have these on my "life list" in regards to birdwatching....saw flocks of them in the wilds of Trinidad....amazing to witness.


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## WarrantsWifey (Dec 18, 2010)

Wow, I just LOVE the pictures of all these birds, my aunt has 3 African Greys and when I'm on the phone with her, it's like living in the middle of the hood, they do car alarms, they tell each other to shut up, one barks just like a dog, another one mimiks gun fire.... 

All birds were taken from other households that could no longer care for them, so she is trying to work on their "manners"...... LOL!!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Syaoransbear, you have the most quiet/gentle parrots! How did you manage that and also the most gorgeous color combos? Smart one you are!!!!
I can't imagine a flock of rescue Greys in the house, they sure do tell secrets...and never, ever forget what they've overheard.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

He's the nicest BFA you'd ever meet...hand raised and super sweet. Talks, sings, whistles....etc


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## e.rigby (May 28, 2011)

Nero (the 'mostly' white one) and Sunshine (the 'mostly' yellow one) are my two budgies. Super good birds, both hand tame. Nero started it all! He's my only 'non' rescue as I bought him from a pet store. Sunshine came to me much later because her (though she's really a he) owner couldn't keep her any more. 










Gavin is an 11 year old Timneh African Grey. He's mister personality. He's had 4 homes before I got him and never really 'bonded' to anyone -- thus, he's never learned to speak. He is great at imitating different noises, I call him the sound effects bird!










Sammie is a Blue Fronted Amazon, he's also a bit of a character. He's about 3, but for the first year of his life he was never handled or taken out of his cage; his second year consisted of living with a new person who wanted a bird she could handle, so she would reach in his cage and grab him out by his feet. Needless to say she got bitten multiple times, but she put up with the bites and made him learned helpless... he doesn't bite, but he's absolutely terrified of hands. He loves people, loves making people laugh (because it's attention!) but if you have your hands near him he'll run or fly away. We're working on it... as you can see in the next picture... I taught him to step up for a crackberry (what I call his nutriberries -- which he gets for good behavior)










The cage behind Sammie is Dante's cage. Both Sammie and Dante have similar cages, they are huge! 










And Dante, my favorite  But shss, don't tell. I got him when he was about a year old. He was on an all seed diet, lived in a tiny cage, and when he was taken out (which was rarely) the owner's cockatoo would fly over and attack him... needless to say, he developed a fear of stepping up (and though he considers me his mate -- something I'm trying to decrease -- he still won't step up for me and freaks out when he thinks I'm even going to attempt to ask) He also has had trouble growing back in his feathers, as he's huge for an CAG! His primaries were cut so short whenever one tries to grow in it gets broken because there's nothing there to protect it.



















The last picture of Dante is most recent, his feathers are looking much better with his improved nutrition and baths (though he despises bath time)

Just the other day I was cleaning out his cage, and he reached over and grabbed my shirt. It scared me and I jumped back and he then looks at me with his head cocked and asks "what's wrong? what's wrong??"










Quakers... oh how I hate quakers! I fostered two (sibling) blue quakers for a few months... they about drove me insane. From their tendency to want to chew all the molding in the bird room, to their constant obnoxious sounding noises... I didn't shed a tear when they found their forever home!










And so there it is, that's my flock


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

onyx'girl said:


> Syaoransbear, you have the most quiet/gentle parrots! How did you manage that and also the most gorgeous color combos? Smart one you are!!!!


Thank you so much! I have to say most of it was luck, since half of them were adopted or rescued because people seem to think that every unwanted animal they find needs to go to me . I think the pionus was the only one I specifically got because of their quiet and gentle disposition(and super cute blue head :wub.


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## Doubleyolk (Aug 5, 2011)

I am also a parrot head! I have a 32 year old B&G,GW,YNA,CAG,TAG,MSC2 and a Lovebird. All but the TAG are rehomes.


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## Two (Jul 18, 2011)

Rigby: That second to last picture is amazing!

Joe: Let's see some pictures! I have no clue what those "B&G, GW, YNA, etc" mean!! =]


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## Doubleyolk (Aug 5, 2011)

Sorry Jimmy.

Blue & Gold Macaw

Greenwinged Macaw

Medium Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

African Congo Grey

African Timneh Grey

Yellow Naped Amazon

Here is a picture link.
doubleyolk's photos and albums on webshots


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## Two (Jul 18, 2011)

Awesome pics! and no problem =]


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

Just got my newest birdy for my birthday, Yoshi!

























Rawr!

He's a red-sided eclectus and he's about 6 months old. He's still pretty spooked from the plane trip. I hope he calms down. Right now all he wants to do is bite the crap out of me.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I had a pair of the Solomon Island Eclectus. Jewel and Gem
The female, Jewel was wired wrong, a total B, she bit thru my fingernail and was a feather picker. The pair never bonded because my male was such a sweetheart(I finished hand feeding him), they were both good talkers. I do miss Gem, Jewel not so much!


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## jprice103 (Feb 16, 2011)

I also have an African Grey named Floyd (named after the hurricane that blew through here when I first got him...because when we took him out, he made such a mess that it looked like a hurricane hit!). He is 10 years old now and is a sweetheart! He calls the dogs over at dinner time, and throws food out to them. It is so cute seeing my little dogs just sitting around his cage waiting for handouts! He is quite a talker too! Constantly says..."Come on guys, gotta go potty"? And the dogs will run to the door! Also, when I get home from work, he yells out "Hello, Mother!" :wub:


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

Two said:


> Joe: Let's see some pictures! I have no clue what those "B&G, GW, YNA, etc" mean!! =]


 

Now you know how I feel...I have no idea what 90% of the acronyms after some of the GSD's names mean.  I figure them out as they come up in conversations.


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

We had a cockatiel for years. She was rehomed to us after our friends got a divorce. She was a lovely, sweet, cuddly bird. We purchased a gold capped conure before we had our oldest child. Boomer decided that I was his mate and NO ONE else could come near me. His affections were nice, but dangerous to my baby and husband. When we got orders to Japan, we had to rehome him. BJ (the cockatiel) passed away in 1994, a day before we left for England. 

I would like a bigger parrot someday, but for now Scarlett fills our lives with fun and games. Eventually, we will retire and live in a place where we can have all the GSD's we want, a few goats and some parrots.


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## Cusack's Human (Sep 11, 2010)

I thought of this picture as soon as I saw this thread!! Don't worry no one is in danger. Cusack is way more scared of Paco(Blue Front Amazon) than Paco is of him for sure! :laugh:

Our vet estimates Paco to be somewhere between 30-40 yrs old, he is an import. He thinks he is a dog!:crazy:
We also have a Sun Conure that is about 2 yrs old. He is very very sweet and silly!

Are any of you on AvianAvenue.com?


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

I used to have a proven pair of Moustached parakeets, and Alexandrine Parakeet, and a few others. The proven pair...I had my doubts...until one morning I heard a small chirp from the nest box and sure enough it was a chick. Just one that year. I hand raised him, named him Noodles and he was my Baby! LOVED that little guy. Long story about what happened to him. The next year, right after moving, which really surprised me, I ended up with 4 eggs. They say the first and often the last are not good/won't hatch. Well, all 4 hatched and I raised them by hand too. Love watching their colors come in! I could reach my hand into their cage( a BIG cage) and all 4 would hop up and come out for some lovin's


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## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

Eclectus are one of my favorite species......


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

B&G is a blue and gold macaw

GW is a green wing macaw

YNA is yellow naped amazon, BFA is blue fronted amazon


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

This is Zazu, he's a Mexican Red-headed Amazon we have had the pleasure of sharing our lives with for the past 7yrs.
Well maybe 6 1/2 was pleasure. LOL


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## e.rigby (May 28, 2011)

Zazu is gorgeous


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

This is my little Hoshi (the date on the camera is wrong, this was taken about a month or so ago)


















He *hates* the flash so I don't take many pics of him. If I try without the flash it comes out all funny lol.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Hoshi is adorable, love the name! Lovies are so cool and playful....we have a female that is an alligator in her cage, get her out and she's a snuggly sweetheart.


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

hehe, Hoshi is sorta like that. Hes not protective of the cage, but he refuses to be got out, he has to come out on his own. Then its like, "oh hey whats up, can I chew on your hair?"


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

I'm going to ressurect this thread!!!! It was so awesome to look at these pics!!!

Here's Echo (the grey), and Ellie (the quaker)

I attached two of Echo and my cat London ... as you can see ... Echo won the rights to drink out of the cat's water bowl!


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

Right now I have a Senegal named Meeko, he's two now... I got him from an awesome breeder in Texas and he literally bonded to me right off the plane. He loves being petted and loved on but also loves getting into anything he's not supposed to. 

I used to work for a mom and pop pet shop owned by a husband and wife and we specialized in hand raised baby parrots. It was an amazing job and I got to hand feed everything from a little parrotlets to green wing macaws... My favorites were the macaws and lories! Someday I'd like to have a larger parrot like a macaw, grey or cockatoo but right now I just have too much on my plate.

Here's my Meeko


Untitled (2012-12-16 22:49:54) by snowypony, on Flickr


Untitled (2012-12-16 22:50:05) by snowypony, on Flickr


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

Awww, he's a cutie!!!!


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## lorihd (Nov 30, 2011)

we have a severe macaw (a can opener with wings), he loves my husband but hates everybody else. very pretty birds you have there. oh and we have budgies (that i love) my female is smart as a whip.


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## holland (Jan 11, 2009)

Great thread-beautiful birds


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