"Make him talk!"

[Kiwibird]

That Tusk is really something isn't he? In all fairness, the kid did want to hear one of them talk

 

[Psittaciformes]

HAHA! Gosh, way to go, Tusk!
Did the kids leave?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Oh what an awesome read! Way to go, Tusk, and thanks so much for sharing this awesome story, Mark!!

HAHA! Gosh, way to go, Tusk!
Did the kids leave?

I bet they had to pick up their jaws off the pavement first, LOL.

 

[Psittaciformes]

LOL I think you're right Wendy!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

When my mom was alive,she had a cat. And when the cat irritated her,she would yell DAMN CAT!GO!!
When the cat walked around Smokeys cage,Smokes would try to yoink on the cats tail,all the while yelling the same phrase! Too funny



Jim

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Tusk began picking up entire phrases at around six months... He was starting to talk IN CONTEXT by one year, and by two years was saying some things absolutely in context.

TEACH a gray. Show them objects. Tell them what it is. They get it.

Use phrases in context consistently with them. They pick it up in context.

And I think Tusk picks and chooses his phrases.

He uses "Knock it off" because that's the term I use to discipline the other birds. When Sweepea is "pushing it" with him, he will use it in context, and get Sweepea to back off...

Same thing with "the cat" phrase... "I need to remember that one."

He was using that one the very next day...

He has also taken commands I use with the other birds, and used them himself... either to mess with them, or to mess with me.

And he has used phrases from one context, in another context. Most famously the "Gotta clean up the poopey mess!" (In response to telling the conures to go poop on me using my voice!) So, YES, that is absolutely demonstrated cognitive speech process...

My Smokes was a wild caught TAG..she didn't like hands at all. If she had no place else to go,she would reluctantly step up,then tell me she was a "good bird"

I had her on the kitchen table one day while I was cleaning up. It was time to bring her back to her house so I tried in vane to get her on my hand,all the while she is walking around the table. she finally stopped,looked me square in the eyes and said "what the H*** are you doing"???
I was floored! I have never said that to her! Geez I miss that girl so much

Jim

 

[Psittaciformes]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhXz60f0HLU"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhXz60f0HLU[/ame]

Had to share this lol worst movie I ever saw

 

[gracebowen]

Your birds sound like so much fun. I too would like to know what the kids reaction was. I also gotta be in the minority and say I might have said he might feel like talking and asked the bird to say hello or something. I'd rather have an overly insistent kid wanting it to talk than a mean kid being mean to it.

 

[Birdman666]

Did the kids leave?[/quote]

I bet they had to pick up their jaws off the pavement first, LOL.[/QUOTE]

Yeah.

Actually, two of them had been told that same phrase on prior occasions, so they were less than shocked or impressed. They're out there all the time, so they are used to it.

They went back to skating the hill...

 

[Birdman666]

... she finally stopped,looked me square in the eyes and said "what the H*** are you doing"???
I was floored! I have never said that to her! Geez I miss that girl so much

Jim

Yeah, but you had said that to other people, and she picked it up in context... and used it in context.

Which is another prime example of they actually UNDERSTAND certain words and phrases.

 

[Kae]

Lol, Tusk must be a good talker