AfricanGrey

Question
Hello,

  First off thank you for taking your time to answer our questions. We have a 6 month old female African Grey (Smuckers) and absolutely love her to death. I read that we can feed her chili peppers ( which I love and use to grow 14 different kinds of them )and was wondering why it does not burn them like it does humans? Or if it is even true.......Next how old are they before they normally start to talk? She already does the microwave beep and Jodi's gargle sound when she rinses her mouth after brushing her teeth. I guess we are just real anxious and especially me since I want to hear her say something in my voice. Jodi's last African Grey talked in her voice and I always thought it was so cool. She died last year at the young age of 6. We live in Port Charlotte,FL where Hurricane Charley made a direct hit and we think she may have died from stress and mold. And the second to last question (sorry for writing a book). Have you used a bird harness and what do you think of them? Last, but actually most important. I am home alot more than Jodi since she is a waitress and we are both starting to see Smuckers have a closer bond with me. It is Jodis' bird and I don't want her to feel that Smuckers is choosing me over her. Is there anyting we can do to even out the bond. When she gets home from work I try to let them spend as much time as possible together without interfering, but last night she flew from her to me after about a minute. I could clearly see the hurt in Jodis' eyes and want to try and remedy the situation. Thank you for taking the time to address our concerns. I greatly (actually we) appreciate any hints, tips, or suggestions you can give.

Thank you,
            Josh,Jodi, & Smuckers

Answer
Hi Josh,
Both handle, feed, play and talk to the bird equally.  When your home more, yes the bird will take to you, but as it ages and knows who lives and loved it things will change.
My grey, Zulu on front page of my site u might take notice to I hand reared him from a peep, he is 17 now and talks ones leg off, swears some and just very entertaining.  He is a male had that done when I bought him for one grand.
He is not bonded to just me or maybe at all, he loves attention from anybody that goes over to the top of his cage and talks to him.
Now about feeding, I give Zulu a pinch of hard boiled egg yolk daily for protein among other things such as hambuger, he loves pizza, mashed potatoes, most of what we eat, but sweets I do not give him.  Mature African Greys are often deficient in Vitamin A. Tail color can give some indication of such a deficiency.  With the exception of the Timneh, Greys should have bright red tails. It is the carotenoids in vitamin A rich foods that provide for the vibrant red that is natural to Grey tails. Greys should be provided with a diet rich in this nutrient.  The best dietary sources of vitamin A carotenes are dark green leafy vegetables, such as collard greens and kale, and yellow-orange vegetables and fruits such as carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, apricots, mangoes, chili peppers, and winter squash.
You bird should be talking now, keep speaking to him with P words first, they seem easier although Greys pick up on anything.  Zulu can learn a new word, especially the names of my dogs in ten minutes if he hears it enough.  I just imported a young male puppy named INKO HE calls him alot.
Such a pity the bird died so young as they live to 60's in years, mine is in my Will.
The bird harnass is great to teach a bird to walk, it helps smooth the nails off so trimming can be less of it done.  I think they are cool and I had one for my Cockatoo, he walked nicely on it and loved it.  Greys are more talkers than trickers, so it might be harder to train him, but being young, I am sure it can be done.?
When u speak to the bird use a higher voice, to teach one u do not speak in normal tones, u talk louder so they get it.
Cover the bird at night for privacey and put it outdoors in a cage a few hours a day, mine is in our large tiled garage, kinda like a home than a garage, the big door is now up since weather is nicer, he loves to watch the birds, and people coming and going and he adores all the dogs running about.
Just keep talking loudly repeating a name until he says the name finally.  That is a start once he learns a word, he will pick up on them easily then.  Repetation is the game, but once they learn the greys are highly intelligent and learn sentences quite quickly. Feed him alot of what u eat, go to Google.com and ask what is not good for the grey to eat.
Kind Regards
Patt
WWW.SCHREKNHAUS.COM
go to my site and visit ZULU