Control Freak

Any of you with a grey parrot out there knows that they tend to be control freaks.

Buster loves to get things going by ringing like the phone, which makes every other bird say, "hello?" He also calls the dog, says "ball?" (to get me to respond), and now has a new game.

Rico, the big Greenwing Macaw that is a long-term guest, has a cued behavior. If you say "Wings!" he raises up his wings as requested. This is a great way to detour him off his sometimes bratty stance of "I don't want to step up!" It makes him very proud of doing a "trick". Then, feeling quite good, he steps up beautifully.

Back to Buster... Buster has started saying, "wings!" and Rico responds by raising his wings. I've heard of parrots that tell dogs to "sit" and, being well trained, they do. My Buster only says, "quiet!" when the dog barks. Although, if it's too quiet, Buster will bark to get everyone riled up.

He is definitely a control freak with a great sense of humor. Life is never ever dull when you keep a grey parrot. By the way, please notice the scallops of chest feathers now growing on Buster's fuzzy belly! His improvement is encouraging. Lots of new and creative toys has made a huge difference!