Rob's Birds
Alex

Please read if you love parrots.

This is Alex, a nine year old (2006) male lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo. When he was three, he needed a new home after his owner's husband had a stroke and started pounding on Alex' cage. (From his reactions, I believe Alex himself was hit, and possibly teased with food.) Alex lived with my sister and her birds for about a year (2001), but from the start, he liked me and would attack her. This meant I had to go to my sister's house every day to take care of him..... Alex and Casey both moved to my house, since they were used to each other, even mimicking each others' calls.

Alex has a fairly large vocabulary, though he doesn't always use it. Now and then, he'll say something I've never heard before, and might not hear again. Other things he says anytime he has an audience. Alex loves to have new people to talk to, he's a ham. During a bill-trimming visit to the vet, I heard Alex start to holler -- soon, one of the techs came out and told me Alex was fine, he started yelling when everyone left the room!
Some things Alex says.

The vet says Alex' weight and musculature are perfect for his size. He weighs 330 grams.
Over the last few years, we've discovered that Alex's weight fluctuates between 315 grams and 330 grams. He seems to be fine, though. He sees the vet every four to six weeks for his bill-shaping, and has yearly check-ups.

Alex was raised with a Rottweiller then lived with my sister's collies and cats, so as far as he knew, dogs are large, cats are small. One day at the vet's, there was a Jack Russell/chihuahua mix roaming the lobby. Since they were both curious, I held Alex' cage down near the floor so they could see each other. Alex checked out the four-legged, white with brown patches critter and pronounced it "Cat." I told him it was a dog, and Alex gave me a "you've got to be kidding" look. When I set Alex' cage back up on the counter, the little dog barked. Alex grumbled at me, and barked at the dog.

A few of the things he says are "Hello" and "Hi, Alex" and "pretty bird" -- some days, when asked his name, he'll tell you "pretty bird Alex." He learned very quickly to say "Bert." He seemed to have trouble with "s" sounds, so I started saying "yep" to him instead of "yes." He started saying "yep" and has now progressed to "yes." He can also now say "silly" (and use it appropriately).
One of the things I find fascinating, with Alex especially, is that he will learn not only how to say a word, but also what it means, and then will use it appropriately in new situations. Not bad for a critter with a brain the size of a peanut!

Out of the blue one day, he said "Wanna buy a bird?" He laughs in two or three versions, and barks like a big dog. If he's in disgrace, he'll sidle over and ask, "We love Alex?" (I found out, while taking care of him at my sister's house, that pointedly ignoring Alex -- even for a minute or two -- was a most effective deterrent of unwanted behavior, like biting. If he bites, he is put (or shooed with a towel) back into his cage, then I pay attention to the other birds, and literally turn my back on Alex.)

Alex is adolescent. Bert's presence magnifies Alex' hormonal behavior, leading to competitive displaying and crowing by them both. I take only one bird out of cage at a time, even when they're not hormonal.

During the year he lived at my sister's, Alex' weight increased by one third, and his self-confidence more than doubled. To start, he was terrified of towels, so I would leave a towel in sight but as far away as possible (across the room). I gradually moved it closer over several weeks. When he would tolerate having the towel within a few feet of the cage, I put one over my shoulders while taking care of Casey and the lovebirds. Later, I started putting a towel on top of his cage while he was out, and gradually he got brave enough to check it out, and progressed to biting it then throwing it off his cage. Then we could play with the towel, say, a bit of tug-of-war. I'd put a towel over my head while leaning up against the cage, and pick up a corner to play peekaboo with him. Then I started holding the towel like a tent over my head, and coaxing Alex to come under the towel with me. After a while, I could drop the edge behind him without him panicking, and eventually I could cover him with the towel and let him find his way out. When he emerged, he would display triumphantly and throw the towel on the floor. He's not afraid of towels anymore, but we still play with one now and then. (Playing with a towel is helpful when he's hormonal.) Getting him to this point took several months.

While at my sister's, Alex got to see her grandsons when her daughter came home for a week at Christmas soon after Alex moved in, and then for a day or so the next year, before he moved to my house. The last couple Christmases, they didn't get over here to see him. This summer (2004), they came home for a visit, and I told Alex that Nick and Jamie were coming to see him. When they did, he yelled at them the whole time!
He remembered them as little kids, 3-4 and 5-6, and would not accept the much taller 7 and 9 year olds as the same kids.

Larry the vet says Alex has become so accustomed to having his beak trimmed, that Larry can use his finger to hold Alex' beak open. My sister, who was badly bitten by Alex several times, says she can't believe it!

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Please read if you love parrots.

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