Cheeky African Grey

[AllyV]

All day my african grey cheeks me. It calls me bawheed, heidbanger. Im getting upset.

 

[ladyserpent7]

whats "cheeks me"?..like bite you?

 

[AllyV]

He calls me names all the time.

 

[Cat_72]

He only can speak the words he's learned, it's not his fault.

Have you tried teaching him some nicer words?

 

[AllyV]

He says really bad words. I tried to teach him to say oh what a lovely day. But he goes back to swearing at me again.

 

[Cat_72]

The trick is to be repetitive. When he says a bad word, respond with a nice word, and keep it simple.

He doesn't know what he's actually saying. I worked at a pet shop YEARS ago, and there was a big beautiful grey that used to swear at me all of the time....often in Spanish for whatever reason. But at the same time, he was cuddling up to me for a treat. He didn't mean what he said.....LOL.

 

[AllyV]

Im really struggling with my parrot now. Im so down about it

 

[Wolfy-hound]

You have to remember that to your parrot it's just noise. It's not like he knows what he is saying is something you don't like. It's foolish to think so.
You have a fairly intelligent bird. Repeating the phrases you like will eventually get him to repeat those. Try ignoring the bad, while paying attention cheerfully when he uses any phrase you do like. When he gets attention for the stuff you like, he'll do more of it.
Wolfy

 

[Playnwifsnot]

We had a bird stole from our store once, a rose breasted too...when we finally got it back, it swore up a storm(I remember it saying STF up while in its carrier). Our bird director took it home to where there was no foul language, and 5 months later the birds no longer said it. Birds remember things, but their brain is like a sponge, it can only hold so much info. Quit saying those words and your bird will also. When it says a bad word, ignore him, turn around and not face him, dont talk to him, just ignore him, when he makes a different call(different word or sound) turn around and say another word you want him/her to learn, and say it excitedly, say something like buttered toast! or something equally stupid, but the key is to be excited about the word. Over a few months your bird will pick up on what youre saying, and not the other words.

 

[Miss Tuniwha]

the thing about swear words to a bird, is that when people say them.. they say them with a LOT of enthusiasm.

THAT is why birds love to say them.. One of my parrots says.. well.. when he tries to bite, he likes to say "OUCH.. DON'T BITE YOU LITTLE F***ER!!!!"

yes.. I taught him that. HA HA HA HA. He knows it coensides with biting, and I said it ONCE .. ONCE.. but used a LOT of enthusiasm.

so.. the trick is to say simple, happy things SUPER excitedly.. makes them more apt to wanting to repeat them.

so.. now, I got my guys laughing instead of some of the choice words they knew before I got them.

Laughing, saying I love you, pretty bird. peek a boo.. simple happy things .. just say them allll the time, say them REALLY , even obnoxiously happily.. and they will learn them, and choose to say them.

when he calls you bad names, reply very happily with I love you.

takes time.. but he will get it

you should take a video of him swearing.. everyone loves nasty mouthed birds.. LOL

 

[Playnwifsnot]

lol....thankfully none of my birds swear, although my eclectus used to tell my caique to shut up, he would go, "shut up shut up shut up Malikai!" Since we have moved, and Mali is in my bedroom, he no longer says it because he doesnt hear anyone say it. Although for awhile he was doing the vontage commercial...wooohooo woohoohoo when the commercial came in, he would sing along with it, and usually go it for a few moments afterwords. Or when he gets in trouble and I put him away for a short time out, you will hear hm say in a low voice..."noooo....noooooooo" he elongates words

 

[cherries_angela]

ha ha my female dyh zon will bite you and laugh and call you a wh*re or a sl*t! she calls you a b*tch! then my umbrella too will call you an a**hole! i along with all my friends think its cute! but there was a heated debate about this same topic on another board that im on! a bird is like a 2 year old toddler they hear something and repeat it they dont know weather it is right or wrong and being a mother of a 2 year old i still snicker when my 2 year old blurts out a new cuss word he just learned tho he learns much faster not to say it then the birds do!

 

[deborahbroadus]

That is sooo interesting, my bird doesn't curse, but when I first got him and he was learning not to bite, every time he bit, I would thump him.

He now bomb dives me when he's angry.

 

[cherries_angela]

my female zon use to dive bomb people lol thats cuz she was never locked in her cage and she thought the whole house was her cage and then she got "cage" house aggressive and would attack everyone! but yeah birds are something else!!!!