Hi from NJ!

[nightfly]

My name is Don, I currently live with Toby (congo gray) and Max (white cap pionus). Toby is 25, Max is 23. Both males. I didn't pick them, they just turned out that way. We live in a first floor apt, their cages face the front window where they can talk with the people outside when the weather is nice enough in the daytime to keep the windows open, which is about six months out of the year. Both parrots talk and whistle. Toby's first word was 'what', that was at about 4 months. When he started talking, we used a steno notebook, with one letter for each page, first page with words beginning with A, next with words beginning with B, and so on. He knows enough words and phrases to fill a steno notebook, and once it was filled, I stopped writing them down. Sadly, somewhere along the line, we lost the book, and I just didn't have the ambition to write everything down again. He usually won't say much when I'm in the room (am I the alpha bird?) but as soon as I go to another room, he starts to chatter non stop. Oh, and he will say either: Hello, Hi, How ya doin when I come home, and so long, goodbye or see ya later when I leave. He knows what grapes, peanuts, pistachios, raisins, pizza, spaghetti, and cookies are and will ask for them. As I usually keep their water bowl full, only on occasion has he ever asked for water when the bowl was empty like after he took a bath in it and there was nothing left to drink. Max, hard to say how much he knows, we didn't write stuff down with him because he didn't learn as much as Toby, but I can think of about a dozen things he can say when he can get a word in edgewise from Toby; it seems he waits until Toby is done talking and then will start himself. Max started talking about age 1, and he tends to say different things than Toby does, I suppose each has their favorite sounds. Sadly, both like the f**k word which they learned from a devious relative. But I have found that if I don't say it, they will forget about it for a while. And Toby thinks that when you drop something, you have to say Ohhhhh, sh*t. My fault for that one. Oh, and Max just learned to whistle when he was 22 years old. So for those of you with birds who either talk OR whistle, there's always hope. Oh yeah; as a side note, back when I was married, we had a peach face lovebird who, at about a year of age, learned to say both Hi and Hello. But after we mated her and she started having chicks, she never spoke again. Both Toby and Max live in 2'x3'x36" tall cages, with drawbridge doors which lower out to a sort of 'patio' they can stand/sit on. They are seperated by a sheet of clear plexiglass because they will fight. At the end of the cage table, there is a soft spiral rope covered perch hanging from the ceiling for each one. Each does not appear jealous when I have the other on my shoulder, as both get lots of shoulder time. Toby will poop on command, Max only did it once and I don't know if that was by accident. It's hard to train him because if Max poops and I say it, then Toby will. Food, I feed them whatever I'm eating. They get an assortment of pellets when I go to work, and one of four types of lefeber's nuggets as snacks if I'm eating something they can't (like ice cream or steak). I put Lefeber's bird vitamins in their water. Only Toby was ever sick, he had bronchitis when he was 1 year old, but some Keflex and proventil nebulizers cured that. He's been healthy ever since. Outside, I have travel cages, and take one at a time for rides. They eagerly go to the travel cage, as they like to go for rides because they know we're going to stop somewhere and get snacks, and they get to interact with whoever is around. That's about it right now. I'm busy moving, so I will only be here intermittantly. I know my ex wife is out there somewhere, I've lost track of her, but I know she loves birds and still had some when we broke up,so maybe she'll find me here, or I'll find her.

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.

[Wolf]

Welcome to the forum, I hope that you will find it to your liking. We tend to be a rather straight forward bunch and sometimes forget about words of encouragement when talking about problems in relation to your birds although I think that when the problem is solved that we are pretty good at remembering to encourage people to continue with the improvements and so forth. We also are pretty vocal when we see a potential problem and jump right in with questions and/ or suggestions.
I don't know what to think about the diet that you are feeding as it sounds like it is too high in protein and vitamin suppliments and giving your birds what you are eating may be a great thing or a bad thing depending on what it is as I am sure that you are aware.
I wonder if your birds might be just a little hormonal. I wonder this due to the described diet and the fact that they will fight with each other. I know that most of the time a Grey will usually ignore a rival or bird that it doesn't care for and Pionus tend to be fairly laid back or at least that is the information that I currently have. Or it could just be the way that they are and has nothing to do with being hormonal.
You know your birds much better than I do and I am just suggesting that if you think that there may be something here to look into these areas and see what you think.

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum, Don, Toby and Max! Hope you like it here and that we can be of help in improving your birds' lives.

I would have to agree with Wolf that they have to be hormonal - I mean, after living together for over 20 years, they should be, at the very least, accepting of each other if not friends!