Lucy the grey and rough play

[Piggy'smom]

Hi everyone, Lucy the CAG is 16 months old. She's very outgoing, smart and enjoys interacting. Her favorite form of interaction is play. She will sit still for ask for a gentle head scratch when she just wakes up or is going to bed but for the most part, she likes to PLAY, and play rough. I have used the tactic where if she gets too rough with her beak, I'll immediately stop play so she makes the association that rough play equals losing your playmate, and the tactic has worked to a large degree, but sometimes she slips back into firm beaky play. I'm the only one in the house who she physically interacts with, although everyone talks and hangs out with her. So when I deny her play in order to teach her to be gentle, I feel like I'm denying her the one person she can play with. I don't want to add to her frustration. Does anyone have any experience on rough playing birds?

 

[sunnysmom]

 

[Jeff Sexton]

I have this issue, if that's the right word. My Harlan is a female CAG, about 20 months. She is an extremely active and high energy bird. She loves to wrestle and will fly full speed from one perch to another in the house, seemingly just for the fun of it, over and over. She also talks and, well shouts really, all the while.

I do recall training with her, she's done well. But as it's gone on it has become all but impossible to tire her out. She will fly between me and her cage top on command, over and over, for a hour or more.

Half the time "step up" seems to mean "grab my finger and flop upside down and swing around".

This is fun and all, but her demand for direct physical interaction often leads to flying to me and getting nippy if I am trying to do anything else. That's getting to be an issue. I have to work extra hard to keep her in toys and daily new experiences, especially foraging toys.

Everyone says African Greys are contemplative observers that don't do a lot of tearing around. Harlan, not so much... She is a handful to say the least. It's true what I've read many times, every bird is different.

Harlan learns things fast too, really fast. If I trick her into doing something somehow, it won't work a second time. She has also exhibited what I believe to be some very early sexual behavior, which she should be too young for. But she also started talking at around 5 months so she seems to be developing real fast.

 

[Piggy'smom]

I have this issue, if that's the right word. My Harlan is a female CAG, about 20 months. She is an extremely active and high energy bird. She loves to wrestle and will fly full speed from one perch to another in the house, seemingly just for the fun of it, over and over. She also talks and, well shouts really, all the while.

I do recall training with her, she's done well. But as it's gone on it has become all but impossible to tire her out. She will fly between me and her cage top on command, over and over, for a hour or more.

Half the time "step up" seems to mean "grab my finger and flop upside down and swing around".

This is fun and all, but her demand for direct physical interaction often leads to flying to me and getting nippy if I am trying to do anything else. That's getting to be an issue. I have to work extra hard to keep her in toys and daily new experiences, especially foraging toys.

Everyone says African Greys are contemplative observers that don't do a lot of tearing around. Harlan, not so much... She is a handful to say the least. It's true what I've read many times, every bird is different.

Harlan learns things fast too, really fast. If I trick her into doing something somehow, it won't work a second time. She has also exhibited what I believe to be some very early sexual behavior, which she should be too young for. But she also started talking at around 5 months so she seems to be developing real fast.

Jeff, this is EXACTLY what Lucy's like. She has lots of energy, very outgoing. Every time I tell her to step up, she instead gets on and flips upside down, and starts nipping on my fingers. Her flight feathers are growing back in and I know she's going to be insane around the house when they do, so I've actually started taking outdoor flight training classes because I think it would do her a world of good to get the energy out.

I do think that if given a couple of years to mature, we'll find that our efforts at this age have paid off but right now, patience is what's needed.