upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

Hi im new here, i have a greenwing about 1 1/2 yr old.My Poncho is the 'love of my life',he such a fun character,anyways heres my questions-in macaws do they continue to learn words at any age ?I was told greenwings only learn about 10 words and Poncho is almost at 10 disernable words already.Another question - are blank paper towels rolls suitable shredding and play material? or could it be harmful? He has plenty of wood and toys to chew ,but once I gave him a 1/3 roll to keep him busy while i was at work, wondered if thats bad .Thanks for any replys.

Only 10 words? LOL. ALL parrots are capable of yammering away. Learning lots more than 10 words. The thing is whether or not they FEEL like talking. I have two macaws, one talks more than the other (the not-so-much-talking one prefers to just make himself known using the conventional method LOL). They learn throughout their lives. Some are real jabber jaws, some just latch onto a few key phrases that pique their interest (i.e., words that satisfy them because they see a reaction from their favorite humans or other critters) and keep them all their lives. Talk-wise, really, it depends on the inclination of the bird. I have greys. Some of them talk non-stop, some are very sparing with their utterances. You just never know. I always say, they all talk to me, in their own way; I'm the one who has to learn to "listen" to them. It's their body language, expressions, and other cues that I have learned to "read" when they talk to me

I don't see why white paper towels should be a problem. There may be concern as far as the glue used in the paper towel roll. I let mine chew cardboard; some people have expressed concern about the glue in cardboard boxes and possibly some chemicals that may be used in processing the cardboard. I haven't encountered any problems with cardboard, but different birds are sensitive to different things, just like people and allergies and whatnot. Hope this helps

Joanne

thanks for the reply , yeah Poncho is a talker he says (and sings ) hello about 6 different ways ,says "I la you!" in a mickey mouse high voice ,has been known to yell " shut up"(something I wish I didnt tell my dogs as often as i do ), "ah pau" (hawaiian pidgen for 'ah...its over'),"hey be nice ",no,ho-ho,whats up ect.. and he imitates my laugh perfectly!I got the 10 word thing from the breeder I bought him from , thier birds ,maybe because theres so many other birds , seemed to mostly randomly screech, whereas Poncho is (right now ) the only bird in our home (I am looking for an african grey to add to the family).As far as the paper towel roll - hes never actually torn up the cardboard part yet ,but Ill be careful .Thanks again for the advice

You made me laugh when you mentioned "au pau." My dad used to say that, I remember as a child, it was an expression around our house. We Americanized it and "All pow" meant something was ALL GONE, as in, the ice cream or jello or whatever was ALL POW lol. I never realized it was Hawaiian

Not to "dis" the breeder or anything about the 10-word rule LOL. I've only been around parrots for a few years (sometimes it seems like a lot longer), but one of the first things I realized about parrots is that there are rules and myths and the only thing for sure is that ANYTHING GOES when it comes to "rules and myths" and that there are NONE and MANY! The only hard and fast rules are that you get bit, they poop, and no chocolate, avocado or alcohol. Beyond that, well, common sense, whatever works and expect the unexpected. Parrots are amazing.

LOL ...yeah pau means done ,over ,finished ,gone .Your Dad was from here? yeah maybe I have an exceptional macaw (I dunno ,he is to me ) The breeder I got him from has 20 something years in experience , but they have 1 or more macaw in every room in the house (and plenty more outside).The birds seem to be in thier own bird world and seemed to communicate by intermitent screeching. I read something about birds communicating and adjusting thier call to suite thier 'flock' (in my case that would be only me and my husband who talk to him all the time )If Poncho wants attention hes likely to do a demanding version of ,"hello?...hello?..HELLO!!!!!"lol

Fortunately he gets the reaction from you that he needs by saying helloooooo and doesn't have to compete with a bunch of other macaws to get your attention! Consider yourself blessed

Compared to B&Gs, greenwings may not speak as much or as clearly, but some of them do talk more than others. Maybe the breeders meant that Poncho wouldn't ever really have that much to say, since they knew him and he hadn't been inclined to be much of a talker. But, you know, with all the stimulation and attention he gets from being in a more family environment, having his very own people, he's bound to pick up more words and actions.

No, my dad wasn't from Hawaii (although he WAS built like a Samoan!) He just had a lot of friends from all over that he hung with - fishing buddies and truck driver people

Hi Cynthia! Thanks for sharing Poncho with us! He sounds like a fun fid! And it is great that he can say that many words already... it appears he has something to say. Fids are so unique, one truly never really knows what one will be ... but, it is fun being a part of watching them become whoever/whatever they become!

Joanne is right. They can always learn new things to say. Mine are pretty old now and still surprise me with new stuff.

Mine love the paper towel rolls and also boxes. They will chew up any old thing. They have come to expect me to add a new box of some sort every time the papers get changed. Easy way to get rid of trash. They love to destroy cereal boxes.

Simba my scarlet is really weird sometimes and he likes several boxes on the bottom of his cage. He like to arrange them all different ways - line them up one way then change them around. Really weird. When he's tired of arranging them he'll chew them up but first he's got to get them in just the right order. Silly silly bird.

thanks for all the replies ! Can i ask a really dumb question...whats a fid? .Ive been offline for about a year ,just getting back into boards and really fairly new to birds-(I was cleaning out Borders of all thier bird book while offline).Ill try to get a pic of Poncho up soon[/img]

fid is a feathered kid.

oh! thanks sheri lol thats makes sense!

Funny Sheri that Simba does the box architecture. Pretty Boy has this whole downtown hi-rise thing going in the bottom of his cage too! He just likes to stick his head in the boxes, so I stick a whole stack of newspapers in the bottom and he has a grand old time shredding!!!

And Cynthia, before I got the 'net, I went to the public library and checked out every parrot book (woefully outdated but still useful in some ways) they had, even got special permission to check out that awesome Rosemary Low macaw book....Interesting stuff on anatomy, which never changes but as far as behavior and disease and stereotypes about parrots (absolutes about illness, behavior - they bother me)...like one canary book said that it's ok to cull hens (like some horrid breeder at a bird show someone posted about recently).....books are helpful in some ways, hurtful in others.

But the net is also full of crazies like us, so you have to take everything you read and hear with a grain of salt!!!

yeah jjoe,thats true about books darn near every parrot book Ive read totally contradicts the other ones in certain points.One of the first books I read said "pinning the eyes is a definate sign aggression ,and any thing causing an aggression response should be discourged".I actually removed a few of Ponchos toys after reading that.Luckily the next book I read had a much more balanced explanation (he got back his toys he loves, not hates ) ,and as Ive gotten to know my bird more and more Im getting more of a sense of what advice aplies and doesnt.Thanks for the replies I think Ill get Poncho some boxes to play with.