Mishka's attempt to be in the Guinness Book Of World Records

[antoinette]

Quote: Originally Posted by JerseyWendy
I have to add something here:

If you google "thinking bird" or "how can you tell if a bird thinks?" There should be one, and only one picture: Mishka!

I swear, you can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he's taking it all in, Ant. AND he thinks BEFORE he speaks. A quality some people lack.

Truly remarkable.

All video also clearly show your devotion and love for each other.



Mishka would rather sit on my lap, chatting away, than play in his cage. If he does not want to train, we just skip the session and play.

Many sites mentioned that birds are capable of imitating human words. Many can learn to use phrases in context, they can also be trained to imitate any words, but not understanding what they are saying. I beg to differ there, Mishka is living proof, that they do understand fully, his videos prove that.

Came across this site, a while back http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking...n_Grey_Parrots

Where they mention various birds including
Puck

In 1995 a bulgerigar named Puck was credited by Guinness World Records as having the largest vocabulary of any bird, at 1,728 words


I wonder if Puck, was tested in the way they are wanting to test Mishka? No bird would sit there, saying over 1,728, in a period of over 24 hours. Do not tell me they used prompts, and the guardian not talking to the bird.



Last year Mishka won an International Bird Talking Competition, beating over 60 birds worldwide
The bird mentioned below Einstein....... Mishka beat him........
Video clips show her making the sound of a laser beam and an evil laugh..... there is no comparison between Mishka and Einstein.

Einstein

Einstein appeared on many television shows and became famous for her ability to recreate sounds as well as voice. Video clips show her making the sound of a laser beam and an evil laugh.

The "experts" always mention, train the bird in a quiet place, in an unfamiliar room.
I tried it with Mishka, he just kept looking around and would not concentrate for one second.

Mishka sits on my lap, beak to face. The Tv is on, with Steven sitting next to us, often walking in and out.
Mishka stares at me, waiting for me to talk. When talking to him, he tilts his head to one side, and I know he is concentrating.
When answering Mishka's questions, I add in some other words and ask another question. He has no choice but to think about LoL

I must try take a video of when I am training him, will try this coming Saturday, but during the day. (We train together a night, during 7pm to 8pm)

Love your statement
he thinks BEFORE he speaks. A quality some people lack.
I AGREE WITH YOU MANY PEOPLE LACK THAT QUALITY


Like my two sons, Mishka is my life.

 

[antoinette]

Quote: Originally Posted by JerseyWendy

I don't believe for a split second that the budgeriar was tested in the same way they want to "test" Mishka. Absolutely, positively no way.

And as for Einstein, have you considered dropping Dr. Irene Pepperberg an email and ask her HOW they tested her?


I agree with you, I would love to know how they tested the budgerigar !!!


Einstein is trained by Stephanie White.

I am going to e-mail the budgerigar's guardian..

 

[antoinette]

 

[antoinette]

i'd buy that book if she got in it

Thanks for the lovely thought......

Please read the thread through, to see exactly what has transpired, and perhaps you will be able to assist me..

 

[Sarahtheumbrella]

Oh my! Those guidelines are quite cruel. Dont they know that birds are very vigilant animals! There is no way a bird can just be put in an unfamiliar room with strangers and be expected to speak. 24 hours? Um minimum of 10 hours of sleep? Get tired working after 3 hours MAX. It is very unreasonable. I think you are better off keeping Mishka's talent to youself and her little army of followers.

Trust me she broke my mental world record A LONG time ago.

EDIT: Sorry but I will not be able to help you at all .
You really are bringing in the BIG guns ( Dr.Pepperburg etc.)

P.S. I agree the others were most probably not "tested" the same way they intend Mishka to be.

 

[antoinette]

Oh my! Those guidelines are quite cruel. Dont they know that birds are very vigilant animals! There is no way a bird can just be put in an unfamiliar room with strangers and be expected to speak. 24 hours? Um minimum of 10 hours of sleep? Get tired working after 3 hours MAX. It is very unreasonable. I think you are better off keeping Mishka's talent to youself and her little army of followers.

Trust me she broke my mental world record A LONG time ago.

EDIT: Sorry but I will not be able to help you at all .
You really are bringing in the BIG guns ( Dr.Pepperburg etc.)

P.S. I agree the others were most probably not "tested" the same way they intend Mishka to be.

Thank you X X
As I mentioned before I would never put Mishka through what they are suggesting, it is so cruel

Over the weekend, I will be e-mailing budgerigar's guardian..
As well as Dr Pepperberg.

Will keep you all updated

 

[antoinette]

This makes my blood boil !!!!!!!!!!

The SPCA are going to be visiting Mishka and I to check that he will not be removed from his natural environment for the training of a TV advert and radio commercial. Making sure he is happy and content and not being stressed out at all.

When I attempted to enter Mishka into the Guinness Book Of World Records these rules were stimulated: (just to mention 2 of them)

1. The attempt must take place in a public place or in a venue open to public inspection.

2. The attempt should not exceed a 24 hour time period.

It is extremely stressful for any animal to be placed in a public venue for a number of hours.

 

[JerseyWendy]

You have GOT to be kidding!

I am speechless! And SO angry.

 

[antoinette]

You have GOT to be kidding!

I am speechless! And SO angry.

I am definitely going to take this further believe me.
Not doing it to get Mishka into GBWR but for the safely of all animals.


I will mention it to the SPCA, ask for names etc where I know I will get feedback from.

 

[Captsteve]

Ant,

Try not to get too worked up over all this. It is wrong and I applaud everything you do.

But to keep it in perspective, all that matters is Mishka and he does not care if he is in a record book, He cares that you are happy and not stressed.

If mommy is not happy, Mishka is not happy!!!


I am not saying not to do anything about this stuff, just step back and take a few deep breaths and de-stress!

 

[antoinette]

Ant,

Try not to get too worked up over all this. It is wrong and I applaud everything you do.

But to keep it in perspective, all that matters is Mishka and he does not care if he is in a record book, He cares that you are happy and not stressed.

If mommy is not happy, Mishka is not happy!!!


I am not saying not to do anything about this stuff, just step back and take a few deep breaths and de-stress!

Thanks Captsteve

I am not stressed about Mishka being in the GBWR
BUT
What upsets me is as I mentioned previously is for the safely of all animals.

I will speak for all the animals that can't speak.

 

[antoinette]

[FONT=&quot]I e-mailed PETA the following stating :

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]I have contacted GBWR to enter my African Grey Mishka in the following category:[/FONT]

LARGEST VOCABULARY FOR A BIRD

This record is for the largest vocabulary for a bird
It is based on the number of individual words spoken in any language.
1. The attempt must take place in a public place or in a venue open to public inspection.
2. The attempt should not exceed a 24 hour time.

[FONT=&quot]These rules and regulations are quite cruel but also detrimental to an animals' well being.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Birds are very vigilant animals! [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]One should always respect the fears a bird has [/FONT][FONT=&quot]and placing a bird in unfamiliar surroundings such as a public environment is fearful and frightening to any birds health.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Parrots are detail oriented and even the smallest change can cause them fear and aggressiveness.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A bird should never be placed in a situation as such; being frightened and terrified surrounded by strangers and is expected to speak.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]I would never force my bird to do something he is not comfortable with and petrifies him. It would destroy the trust he has placed in me, which may never be repairable.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Even a visit to the vet has caused birds death, as I have experienced with one of my own birds.[/FONT]

Eagerly waiting your response

Thanking you kindly

Antoinette

 

[JerseyWendy]

Well looky here. The trolls found one of Ant's threads they hadn't rated yet. They must be losing their touch...not so quick on their feet these days. Pity, pity, pity. Maybe I should direct them to MY thread, as they didn't get the hint in the last thread they tried to manipulate - to NO avail, of course.

Here, I've got more where THESE came from, since you seem to thoroughly enjoy looking at my buttcheeks these days.



OH..wait...I found a better one for you trolls:

===============================================================================================

Sorry for the brief interruption, Ant! KUDOS to you for what you are doing for ALL animals who cannot speak! BRAVO!!!!!

 

[henpecked]

I must have missed something,,,again. Butt i do like the emos !!!

 

[antoinette]

Great news !!!!!!

I received a reply from PETA - PETA Asia-Pacific - activists in South Africa, pertaining to the cruelty of animals wanting to participate in the Guinness Book Of World Records.

Hi Antoinette,

Thanks for writing and for your concern for animals. I’m sorry it took so long to get back to you. I was forwarded your email as PETA Asia-Pacific currently works with activists in South Africa. We share your concern that any organization would promote any kind of cruelty to animals such as you described. I have passed this report along to the appropriate people here at PETA and I thank you for sharing.

I also encourage you to contact Guinness Book of World Records yourself and let them know all that you have told me and urge them to stop such cruel regulations. Often letters from people like you can make all the difference! Take a look at this Letter Writing Guide for tips. We also encourage you to share your story on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter as well.

I would also like to invite you to join PETA Asia's activist network! If you would like to join, simply go to http://www.petaasiapacific.com/activist-signup.asp, and fill out the form. The network consists of people who care about animals and who want to make a difference. Once you've been added to the network, we’ll contact you if there are any events or volunteer opportunities in your area, and we’ll keep you posted on our campaigns and other ways you can help.

Thanks again for your compassion for animals, and good luck with all that you do to help them!

For All Animals,

Edwina Baier
Campaign Assistant
PETA Asia-Pacific

 

[MikeyTN]

That's pretty awesome news!!!!! Congrats!

 

[faeryphoebe1]

Antoinette, It's disturbing that GBWR would expect people to put their pets through such cruelty.

Alex may have been labeled "the world's smartest parrot", but his story seems so sad. I don't think he was ever loved. He (she?) was simply an experiment. What a sad life for such a special, intelligent being.

We all here know that Mishka should have won this title, hands down. After reading about GBWR's appalling requirements, I am glad to hear that PETA is making an inquiry into them, thanks to you.

Ant, when it's completed, will you be posting a link or a video of Mishka's commercial? I'm excited for the both of you. Mishka is so very lucky to have a mommy that adores and loves him so much.
I love his South African accent! Blessings to you both.

 

[mtdoramike]

That is great news. I'll have my fingers crossed for both of you. Here you spent all this time getting Mishka ready for a world record attempt, while I have spent the last few weeks trying to break Mac's bad habit of picking and plucking

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I have to ask, is PETA Asia-Pacific full of good people? That letter sounds like it's from someone who actually likes animals. If so you are very lucky.

PETA here in the United States is full of terrible anti-pet activist, they fully support and even push kill pounds, and euthanize around 98% of all their "rescued" animals within 24 hours of receiving them. They believe nobody should have pets at all, if they had more power they would seize all our parrots and euthanize them without a second thought. PETA does a lot of good for animals, but when it comes to pets they are a doing it all wrong.

 

[JDlugosz]

I've heard bad things about PETA too. In particular:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMbLu_HEA3o]Peta - Bullshit Part 1 - YouTube[/ame]

(warning: their show is NOT TV-G rated)

It's tied closely with ALF.