What Things Did You NOT Expect from Your Parrot?

[charmedbyekkie]

Sure, maybe it's because I'm a first-time parront. Research, even research here on this forum, doesn't tell you everything. It certainly didn't tell me Cairo would sleep talk! He sounds too cute though when he does sleep talk.

What are other unexpected things you found when you brought home your fids? It could be personality quirks (if you're a veteran parront) or anything surprising (if you're a first-timer).

 

[LordTriggs]

One of the things I never really expected is how fast they learn something once they get going. They seem to take a while before they attempt a trick or behavior but then from the moment they try it snowballs and they seem to suddenly go from not having a clue to mastering a trick in a matter of hours

Also I was never prepared for how emotive they are, I knew they were very emotionally driven animals but I never realized how much they wear their hearts on their sleeves, you just need to figure out how to 'speak bird'

 

[bigfellasdad]

Also I was never prepared for how emotive they are, I knew they were very emotionally driven animals but I never realized how much they wear their hearts on their sleeves, you just need to figure out how to 'speak bird'

This for sure, prior to my CAG i've had budgies and a cockatiel and although I loved them so much and had many years of spending my life with them, nothing prepared me for the CAG experience. I knew I had help on hand from Enzo's prior parront, but all I was thinking at the time was an African grey was too big and THAT beak. In reality size means absolutely nothing, in fact its easier as the bird is so much more robust that my earlier fids, its the emotions and ability to communicate both verbally and physically that has totally shocked me, and continues to do so.

Im in awe, and feel quite privileged to be part of her life.

 

[bigfellasdad]

Actually one major thing I did not expect from my male parrot, eggs, yes that was a bit of a shocker to say the least.

 

[ChristaNL]

Hahahaha, oh yes... eggs wil do that to you!

and yes: CAGs are clairvoyant.
Mine will even react before the phone rings!

Right now it's like this: CAGs sit up straight and give me 'the look', phone rings, macaw goes bananas (and receives another of those "special CAG-looks" ) I go pick up the phone.

I have numberindentification, but there is no need - they have an extra special look if it is my mum ...
(probably something to do with the fact those are the longest conversations I have and they know they will be ignored for a while?)
the phone is in a cupboard for safekeeping (roaming parrots etc.) so no peeking in any way!

 

[Kiwibird]

I never expected my bird to enjoy going out and about. My parents also own parrots and they nearly stroke out on the 2 mile drive down the road to the vets office (the only place they ever go) so I was fully prepared when we drove up to get Kiwi to have a miserable drive home and a pet that hardly ever left the house. He was so calm the whole drive home compared to my parents birds, and starting within a little over a year of owning him, he started coming out on non-essential drives and with us to peoples houses, which he enjoyed thoroughly. A few years later we got the pak-o-bird which allowed us to take him everywhere and he LOVES coming out with us. It's so nice to have a pet that isn't scared of the world!

 

[itzjbean]

It's pretty different having a pair of bonded cockatiels versus a weaned baby.

My baby, Ember, has only been with me for a month but lets anyone pick him up and demands head scratches. It's crazy because my other bird I've had for 3 years has never let me touch or scratch him. Boo will step up for me and hang out on my shoulder but that's about as far as he goes for being tame and wanting human attention.

Ember is sooo cuddly and lets me pet him all over, will just sit on my shoulder for hours and try to play with my earrings. I haven't had a bird like him for at least 15 years.

 

[bigfellasdad]

(probably something to do with the fact those are the longest conversations I have and they know they will be ignored for a while?)

Ignored! Enzo takes part in the conversation, 'yeah, ok, yeah, ummm, aha..... ok, bye (followed by the sound of a phone hanging up)' 5seconds later she makes either the ringtone or incoming message sound, she does various other ramblings that I simply cant figure out. I have to constantly explain that its not me saying 'bye' its the parrot. On my team calls where I have upwards of 30 engineers from across the globe they love it when Enzo is around on our weekly calls, they keep asking me to teach her to tell my boss to '**** off'. My boss rambles on about trying to keep Enzo quiet, but of course I never hear him say that lol.

 

[wrench13]

I agree with how smart they are. I never really tried trick training with my past parrots. Salty is like a sponge with tricks, he usually learns them on the 2nd or 3rd try. He has me searching for new things to teach him. Yeah the first 1 or 2 it took more tries, but it seems like once he started learning, he love to learn for its own sake. That surprised me a lot.

 

[noodles123]

I didn't expect mine to take SOOOOO long to get used to toys etc. I figured it would be slow, but slow to me is like hyper-speed to the bird lol.

Also-I expected mine to love sweet fruits like pineapple, but that is not the case....
What else....oh- the bedtime routine that she has is very specific. She basically puts herself to bed- I just cover the cage like a good girl lol.

 

[katiea]

I didn’t expect all the weird quirks- my gcc won’t step up from the door cage or his rope perch but he will step up from the top of the cage and from the wood perches. He hates when I put in a new food bowl but loves when I put in the water bowl (they’re identical). He ate nothing but harrisons pellets and safflower seeds for five years and he recently decided he now hates safflower seeds. Paper towels make him very angry, unless they’re in the bottom of his cage then they’re okay. He hates my reading glasses but loves my sunglasses. I could go on and on about all the weird things he does

 

[happycat]

I actually didn't expect my Jenday conure to be relatively quiet and non aggressive. Hes loud but not consistently and not worse than my pomeranian. And oh do his bites hurt but he rarely bites and when he does it never breaks skin.
I guess I got lucky! Knock on wood.
I also didn't expect hissing with my cockatiel. She hissed quite a lot when we first got her!

 

[Ephy]

I didn't expect mine to take SOOOOO long to get used to toys etc. I figured it would be slow, but slow to me is like hyper-speed to the bird lol.

Also-I expected mine to love sweet fruits like pineapple, but that is not the case....
What else....oh- the bedtime routine that she has is very specific. She basically puts herself to bed- I just cover the cage like a good girl lol.

My Kiwi (although not a parrot) loves bedtime. He will complain when he is sleepy or fly back and forth showing me its cage time. Then he'll hop right in expecting his mealworms.
If I get distracted and dont come back soon enough to cover the cage he will yell at me.

When I finally do pull his blanket down over the cage he tells me " Good bird, good bird!" Lol

 

[caiquewalk]

It’s not really as if I didn’t know but... Charlie’s morning poop continues to catch me off guard. Asked a house mate to wake Charlie up one morning and forgot to mention this... Needless to say my house mate was horrified.

 

[Quincy69]

I never expected Quincy to take so long to get used to toys! He absolutely hates balls...lol......and when I do put any new you in his cage it's a very slow timely process.

I thought he would love new toys, but I was wrong!

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk

 

[Sandy19]

I was not expecting to never be able to do anything in peace again while she's around. Not eat, not drink a cup of coffee, answer the phone, use my laptop, nothing. She wants to be in the middle of everything.

 

[bigfellasdad]

I was not expecting to never be able to do anything in peace again while she's around. Not eat, not drink a cup of coffee, answer the phone, use my laptop, nothing. She wants to be in the middle of everything.

Well you are in the flock

 

[ARNie]

I was not expecting to never be able to do anything in peace again while she's around. Not eat, not drink a cup of coffee, answer the phone, use my laptop, nothing. She wants to be in the middle of everything.

This reminds me of my son as a toddler always wanting to follow me into the bathroom. :25:

 

[Ephy]

I was not expecting Kiwi to love eating ice chips.
I was also not expecting Kiwi to keep his own beak and toe nails trimmed.
And.... I wasnt expecting him to love watching me put groceries into the fridge...and every time I open the fridge he wants to get up close and look inside. He knows where all yhe yummy food comes from, lol

 

[texsize]

I did not expect Plumas my first bird to get very sick within 10 days of bringing him home.

I did not expect to own a Cockatiel until one landed at my feet in the outdoors.
I did not expect to end up with so many Cockatiels after the first one.

But most of all I did not expect to end up having an African grey and I did not expect she would choose my wife as her person over my Son and myself who actually WANT to be able to play/scratch her .