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I was his chauffeur, his maid and his cook. No change from normal really. 🤣 I do have a backpack carrier for him as well, but that only has one perch in it and the food/water bowls are fixed in with velcro, so he normally rips them off and chucks them to the bottom of the carrier, leaving me with water running down my back! It also only has one perch in it and I was worried about him being knocked around if I used that at the show. His travel cage is obviously a lot sturdier (but also heavier) so the wagon makes it easier for us to get around at that kind of event. Plus it has space for all the goodies I bought whilst there, so there was less for me to carry! And it also means I can chat to people as they come over to see him, whereas with the backpack they'd always be behind me. And again, Alfie being the boisterous little so and so that he is, it didn't take long for him to adjust to it at all. He's less keen when we had to go over grass or bumpy areas but once we were on concrete or inside the building where the flooring was smooth, he was fine and settled really quickly.

Yeah I think we're really lucky to have something like this here. There is another similar event being held up North in the UK but I met someone at the Think Parrots show who said it wasn't as good and they said it wouldn't be worth me making the trip all that way for it. So I think I'll stick to this one for my annual event and keep an eye out for other bird events closer to home as well. I'm also really lucky that Alfie is so boisterous. He takes most things in his stride and seems to adapt really well. I knew he'd be ok with the long journey as we did it last year. I wasn't sure what to expect in the hotel and figured he might be a little unsure at first, but when I let him out he stepped out if his cage like he owned the whole hotel, let alone the room we were in.🤣 He did really well at the show itself. Again, I knew what to expect from last year and the time I went without him a few year back (pre-covid). I knew it would be full of people and quite noisy but he got some respite whenever we went to the masterclasses and used that time to preen himself and have a quick powernap. When we were in amongst all the people and stalls he took it all in and enjoyed all the attention he got along the way.

I have some mixed feelings about it. I think my preference would for them to be harnessed with a long line to allow some freedom of flight, but also still within control. Last year they had one person with all sorts of different species of parrots (plus a toucan!) demonstrating free flight and it was a lot more controlled. He brought one bird out as a time, talked about them, explained about their species and some of their training then did short back and forth recalls from perches or through hoops that were being held up by people. It didn't attract any attention from the local birds (e.g seagulls or crows) and it was really interesting and informative. And all of his birds were very well trained. Each bird had a short session out and then was put away safely before the next bird was brought out. And it was all at a low height as well. This year it was a bunch of people with macaws - just regular parrots owners instead of any kind of specialist trainer. It was led by the guy who did the second 'masterclass' called "confident wings". I'm not sure why they asked him to speak because he's not an expert and not a parrot trainer. Although it was an interesting talk it wasn't very professional and there wasn't much information to take away from it compared to the other masterclasses. This years free flight display was a bit more chaotic as they just released their macaws to free fly. It was impressive to see so many macaws in the sky and to hear them communicating. But then it all went a bit awry when they couldn't recall their birds back and the seagulls got involved. And some of them flew too high to had difficulty getting back to their owners. That kind of free flight concerns me more because it's a lot more unpredictable and dangerous.

Wow, Alfie really had a nice haul there. I hope someone turned down his bed while he was staying in such nice accommodations. Something about dragging them around in their wagons that really appeals to me.

Oh, I am so jealous! That looks super cool! Alfie seemed to enjoy it. I am someone who can't stand to see parrots outside loose like that. I don't care if they have Clipped wings ( which I am very much against) IT scares me to see..Thanks for sharing, I loved the pictures! Looks like so much fun!

Sounds like a blast - thank you so much for sharing the photos -- I thoroughly enjoyed seeing your adventure!

What a cool thing to do bringing Alfie along with you! Thank you for sharing all your pics with us. Alfie is one spoiled birdie!

Wow, wish there was something like that in my area! There isn't to my knowledge. It looks like you got a nice haul of stuff too. We used to have a "bird fair" about 1.5 hours away I went to ever year. Not as large, but I could pick up all kinds of goodies. It has disappeared though. Glad Alfie did OK in the hotel. I've always thought Timber would be OK as long as we were there with him. He's pretty adaptable if he can see his "people." To locations anyway, toys not so much He still takes take warming up to any new toy or cage addition. Glad you had a good time and enjoyed the pictures. Thanks for sharing!

I went back to the Think Parrots Show again this year! This year I decided to break the driving up and stayed in a hotel for two nights, as it meant less stressing about timings and traffic etc. So I drove down on the Saturday and came back the Monday. The hotel was about 2 mins away from the venue and the show was on the Sunday. This meant I could enjoy the show and not have to worry about driving back or leaving early etc. It took about 2.5 hours to get there and about 4.5 hours to get home (traffic on the M25 was atrocious!) I took Alfie with me and this is the first time he's stayed in a hotel. I wasn't sure how he would react but as usual, he took everything in his stride and had a lovely time! I stocked up on all sorts of toys and treats for him which should hopefully last a while. Here's some photos of our adventure! Hotel with Alfie in his travel cage/wagon: Alfie exploring the hotel: Waiting to get in Inside! We saw lots of other parrots and watched all three masterclasses on various topics. There were loads of vendors there selling all sorts of parrot related goodies. It was a great day. Alfie wasn't too worried and enjoyed all the fuss and attention he got- except when people tried to poke their fingers in his cage (why do people do that?!). I warned them but then he gave them an extra stern warning by lunging at them if they didn't get out of the way quick enough! There was also a free flight display - which wasn't quite as well organised last year. Last year there was one guy with lots of different parrots and he intoduced them all, talked about them for a while and demonstrated them free flying. This year it was a group of people with lots of macaws who let the bird free fly but didn't really talk much. It was impressive to watch them all flocking together but then it went a bit wrong when some seagulls took an interest. One landed on top of a large sign and refused to come back, one got chased into a tree and hunkered down to get away from the seagulls, one ended up on the venue roof and wandered off. All of the goodies! Back at the hotel. Alfie was really tired after his busy day so didn't get into too much mischief in the room on the Sunday evening. He just chilled out and had a nice snooze! All packed up and ready for home The haul! One tired birdy, back home and safe

OMG! HE sounds like such a little adorable stinker! LOL I LOVE it! I NEVER thought to take any of my greys outside while I garden! I think I will start that tho! Great idea!!

He is top naughty. After my last post he got another spot in our carpet so he's now on no out-of-cage time unless he's being closely watched. Greycie's not this destructive. She just likes to toss stuff off the counters, run around on the floor and ankle bite for fun and take an occasional chomp out of the top of a door or cabinet. So she gets watched closely too. Huey is indifferent, doesn't really care. Odie however would love to start a fight, he thinks he's a brawler. Btw...we still play the same games on top of the fridge with Greycie, she loves it.

Thank you for the update! So has he pushed Greycie into the second place naughtiness category? One of my all time favorite videos from many years ago is when you and your family were playing games while Greycie was on top of the refridgerator. She was so full of sass and enjoying every minute of attention! What does Hughie think of his new 'friend'?

What a sweetheart! Amazing about his language skills. Timber gets it right once in awhile, but often seems to talk just for the sake of talking. My son's girlfriend said she came down to the kitchen after bedtime to get a bottle of water. It was dark. When she opened the refrigerator door, Timber said "Watcha doing?" She got a kick out of that.

Odie had a vet appointment a few days ago. Still awaiting blood work results. The vet agreed with the ruptured air sacs. She said it doesn't seem to be affecting his breathing at all so she's just going to leave it be. He got his photo taken with the vet. He has settled in really well. He's about as naughty as can be. Loves to secretly get into stuff and seems to love getting caught. I used to feel bad for him that he would always say "Odie you're a bad bird" but after watching him he seems to relish getting caught being naughty. He ripped up some carpet next to my wood stove. He also snuck onto a table where I was doing a puzzle and dismantled 3/4 of the puzzle. When he got caught doing that he let out a human giggle and ran back to his cage top. Hard to be mad at this little guy, so he gets away with murder. Now we strategically place things on the table that he can get into and we will ignore him for a while and then pretend to make a huge deal when he gets 'caught'. He loves it. He really excels at talking. A couple examples: - Greycie was being her usual bratty self and throwing stuff around on the countertop in the kitchen as she does when she's had it with waiting on breakfast. I started talking to her and saying "...you hungry Greycie? Are you hungry baby?". Odie then said "you got some food Daddy?". I nearly fell on the floor. I've never witnessed a bird speak in such context. First he interpreted what I was telling Greycie. Then he strung that sentence together. And I assume he used to call my aunt's husband 'Daddy'. He's not a bird that sits around talking constantly. He just blurts out words and statements and most of the time they are in perfect context to what we are saying. He's a very smart birdy. - I put him in his travel cage and I pull him around on top of a wagon. He works with me in the garden and mostly under the carport working on truck/side-by-side/whatever I got going at the time. I am always playing my Soundboks listening to classic rock or classic country. Odie love to sing in a deep voice and also he uses a high pitched baby-talk voice that I'm sure he stole from my wife. One day it was getting a little hot and I said to Odie "it's getting hot Odie" and he immediately countered with "I Know!". Another fall over moment. Some recent pics of the little nut

How's Odie doing? Did you ever look into his air sac issue?

Aw that's amazing news! I was waiting for the update! Hopefully Gracie settles down with the change soon enough. Can't blame her for being a bit grumpy about some added competition!

Aww . so sweet! I am really happy he is back with you to live a safe & happy life! Please keep us updated, I love seeing your updates!

What a story and what a blessing that you have him back! I can imagine Gracie's reaction. Hope the vet visit goes well.

What an amazing story! I'm so happy he's now back in your care. He will have a chance to eat well and to be loved again by his very first human. Love everything about this! And that GreycieMae...So like her to make such a grand statement! I sincerely hope the air sack issue will not be of concern.

If you haven't seen my original post about Odie: https://greyforums.org/topic/26222-my-long-lost-odie-podie/#comment-282822 Odie has finally come home after 30+ years. When I went to see Odie in 2019, my aunt told me she wants Odie to come back to me. She actually put that in her will. So when she passed away a in April, I asked my mother who lives in the area to go get Odie. Four weeks later I hit the road to New Mexico. Unlike last time when I met Odie, Odie knew who I was right off the bat. There was no shyness, or acting like he was unsure if he wanted to be on this 'new' person. In 2019 he didn't know who I was until I started talking to him the way I used to and you could see the light come on. He looks like he's in terrible shape from all the feather plucking. My aunt told me this started when TIgger died who was his buddy bird that was also another bird I had way back when. Odie is full of personality. We believe he's male although I've never tested him. Has huge feet! He reminds me so much of Huey that I accidentally call him Huey all the time. He loves to work on cardboard, just like Huey. Odie is a talker. He talks in my aunt's voice. He was not a talker when I had him years ago. He loves to tell my mom's bird, Kiwi, to 'shut up' and 'stop it' all the time when Kiwi gets into his squawk mode. After a while we were all telling Kiwi to shut up and stop it with Odie leading the chorus. He will ask 'want to go outside, hmmmm?' in my aunt's voice. He has rattled off some other sentences in her voice that I just can't make out. She always talked in a frail little voice so that's what he does. Odie loves to give kisses and loves a good head scritch, but if I do it too long or try to cuddle him to much, he will tell me to 'stop it'. 🤣 He's been fed a junk diet of bird store seed and peanuts his whole life. He transitioned well to the sprouts/cook that I feed. He acts like I feel, an old bird, seems to sleep more during the day. Loves to watch TV, I guess that's what he did with my aunt in the later years when she retired. He also spent a lot of time outside in the garden because he asks to go out a lot. He's not much for my wife, still shy around her and really doesn't want to be touched by her. I suspect that will change over time. With me, he seeks me out wherever I am. He can't fly so he gets on the floor and hikes it. GreycieMae is being a brat about it all. The second day I had them all in the living room, she did one of her fake screams and a hot lap around the living room from the kitchen and got Huey and Odie launched. Odie ended up hanging from my pant leg and Huey was doing circles around the living room. Greycie did this when we introduced Toby for the first time. She is such a spoiled diva. Odie seems to have busted airsacs. Whenever he whistles/talks and has his wings lifted I can see an air bubble under the skin that blows up and pulls back in. THat really bothers me. No idea how long that has been going on. Going to head to the vet about it and a general checkup although I'm not sure I want to hear any bad news. We'll see. Hopefully I can give Odie a happy life from here forward. I feel really bad the condition he is in but all I can do is give him the best from here on. He seems to be a happy bird so I'll take that. Odie with sleepy eyes at 2:30am sitting in the truck about to head for Texas: Odie cute as a button working on his cardboard. e8d7442a-91c8-4f95-90f6-0073874d510b.mp4

Do you have Odie now? If so, how's it going between your other red feathered butts and Odie so far?

Beautiful birds! I love seeing pictures.

HI ! I check in but when I dont see any new posts, I dont log in. I appreciate everyone checking in here! My Nilah turned 16 last week. No special presents for her. She is celebrated and spoiled every day..so.I did sing happy birthday to her, but she didnt care! My flock is good, of course with springtime, my amazon is yelling her head off, but this too shall pass. Here is a few updated pics! I rarely get the 3 together in 1 pic, so I am happy with that one!

Oh, this is so exciting! Things always happen for a reason & I am so happy Odie is coming back to you. Can't wait to hear the updates! Congratulations!

Your secret is safe with us!!