Inara

My daughter was here the other evening, and Inara "sneezed." Daughter laughed and said, "That is so your sneeze!" Just as we were giggling, Inara gave out with a great fart sound then started laughing. Daughter just cracked up and said, "*That* was SO daddy!!" A great laugh was had by all three of us, me, daughter, and Inara! She does have this loud ACK ACK ACK sound that is ear splitting. She only does this when I am walking out the door with the dog. Peeves her to be left behind!

I use cotton dish cloths that I knit myself, use one for each day of the week and just wash them with oxyclean on the sanitize cycle of my wash machine. I use paper towels to wipe my hands on when I dry them, and I just stack them to re-use for poop wipes -- just spritz them with a vinegar/water solution that I keep in a little spray bottle, wipe up and toss. Also douse them with boiling water from my morning tea kettle and use them to wipe down Inara's cage in the mornings. So double duty/doodie there. Still waiting for Dave's recipe for Red Poop Souffle! Definitely want to see the petri dish... CSI: Parrot Poo!

YAY! I'm finally able to get back into the forums again, and imagine my delight at reading about sweet Sophie right off the bat. She is such a little love!! <3

YAY! What great news! Congrats, and thank you! Love these forums, and have missed everyone while I couldn't get on. So glad I caught this post! xox

Hey Timbersmom! I made soap for many many years, also using the cold process. Used to also have a great relationship with the butcher at the local market and he would give me tons of beef fat which I would render down into pure tallow. Ah my old granola hippie girl days I actually taught a group of living history "laundresses" at an historical site how to make soap from the rendering stage to the bar stage. Also made goat's milk, olive oil, etc. VERY cool to find someone else who knows how to do it. I had both my Amazon and my CAG at the time, in a huge old house. I always mixed the lye outside. I do a lot of dyeing -- and I do that outside on a two burner propane stove on nice days. I'm wondering if you could do the hot process in a similar fashion?

YAY!! Was able to get back on just now! I got the same WARNING after the last time I signed on. SO glad it is fixed. I have sure missed everyone! Talon, let me know if you got my private message with the Bill of Sale form -- I sent it when I was able to briefly log on, and don't know if it ever went through. xo

Hey! Very nice! I just spent an hour putting together one that I just got for HRH Inara. Will report back tomorrow. She is sleeping as I type.

<---------------------- Inara. Persian for "From the Heavens."

Wow! What a lovely space!

Dropped you a note, Talon, but just adding that I had not signed on for a few weeks (very busy offline) and when I first signed in the other day, all was fine. The next morning though, my login info did not work. I kept getting repeated lockouts and notices that I used the wrong username or password. Then I was given antispam puzzles to do when I tried to just re-register and got a notice that my registration was denied because this site does not accept spammers. I sent several help requests for a new password, none of those hit my mailbox nor my spam box. (I couble and triple checked all of my original login, i.e. password, etc). Then weirdly this morning, I tried again, and everything was back to normal. I also got a "dangerous URL" notice yesterday from my anti-virus, when going to the Forums link from the main page.

Hi Nancy. From getting to know Sophie through you this past year or so, she sounds like a very resilient girl who knows her own mind. I would just step back and let Sophie be Sophie and the guys be the guys. Or you might have Sean and Ryan do some fun 'hand off' games with Sophie, passing her back and forth and giving her goodies if it does seem like a hiccup in relations is forming after they are both home.

When I bought Inara off of Craigslist, I kept copies of the emails, and I drew up a Bill of Sale, complete with Inara's band number on it, price paid, and what was to come with her (i.e., cage, misc. toys, her original bill of sale from the breeder, her DNA cert, and any vet records). Talon, I also felt this was important. It gave me a good paper trail, with a copy to me and a copy to her former humans, and witnessed by a third party. Also for the large amount of cash that exchanged hands, I wanted a definite record of the transaction. You could do something similar and if the woman is giving the bird away, you could call it a Transfer of Ownership. I'd be happy to message you a copy of what I had written up for Inara, and you could modify it any way you'd like. Just drop me a note, if you'd like a copy. I also felt it was important to have a good paper trail, because you never know when traveling if you need to provide proof of ownership, etc. At some point my husband and I would like to have a 2nd home out of the country, and I want Inara to easily be able to travel there with us. Proof of Ownership can be a wise thing to have. I am not a lawyer -- but I did play a Legal Assistant not on TV, but in real life for years while putting myself through school. Documentation can be a good thing.

Well said Acappella. Lori, don't be in a rush to get another bird just because it is available. If it doesn't feel like a good match, then maybe it isn't. There are no sure bets, and as Dave pointed out, you are still strangers. Even if the breeder works with the baby, you are not the ones handling it. Is there a way that you and your husband can help with his feeding? Food is a powerful bonding agent. But again, if it does not feel right to you, wait for a bird who does. Always trust your instincts.

Glad to hear he settled down. Interrupting his behavior and giving him an opportunit to shift his focus to different surroundings was a great idea.

Nancy, relax and enjoy your vacation. Sophie is one smart cookie and she is going to be fine. So will the sitter. You already know that it is natural to have concerns, but Sophie will adapt. She comes from a long line of birds that knew how to adapt or she wouldn't be here. Her lines would have died off ages ago. So breathe and soak up some fun, lady.

Such a fantastic aviary. You have done a beautiful job. Now if you could figure out how to make it into kits so the rest of us could order one.......

Apparently Dorian thinks David Boreanaz is yummy. Certainly not the first fan to have those thoughts, I'm sure.

Welcome, Nanny, Bindi, and Carter! What a great introduction, felt like I was along for the ride with you these past few months. So glad that you found us. We're a lot like a gaggle of Aunties and Uncles who love updates, pictures, and swapping adventures and advice. Love how Bindi got her name; a very cute story. My Inara is fully flighted and lives with our Rhodesian Ridgeback. Over the past year, both have come to accept one another as members of the household, but I never leave them together unattended. Once Dez figured out that wherever Inara was, food bits were likely to be dropped, her attitude towards Inara became very relaxed. That being said, a couple of weeks ago, Inara started seeking Dezi out, by either flying over to where Dezi is lying down, or by sliding down the pole of one of her mobile perches and walking over to Dezi. Inara doesn't appear to do this with any intent to beak at Dez, but Dez is a bit disconcerted by it as is apparent by that telltale 'what the heck am I supposed to do' expression on her face. So, I just make sure that I walk over to where they both are and while letting Inara explore near Dez, I keep myself positioned to ward off any nose to beak exchanges. My first CAG lived with two different afghan hounds (who also have strong prey drives) and got along great with both of them, but again I never left them unsupervised. My brother used to have a budgie that couldn't fly, so walked everywhere, and his German Shepherd would lie down and let Grundoon walk onto his head and he would give him a ride back to his cage. So a lot depends on the dog and the bird. A great thread for you to read would be Danmcq's one on the different ages/stages and what to expect. Many sweet little fluff balls grow up to be big sweet feathered friends, and some grow up to be more aloof and independent. Nature dictates that at some point, Bindi may want to be more independent and may or may not become more assertive about her likes and dislikes when it comes to interactions, so just be aware, don't take it personally, and know that you will continue to grow together over the years. I will see if I can find that link for you and will edit this post to add it. Can't wait to hear more about you, Bindi, and Carter (love Danes!) and to see photos. If you need help with adding photos: 1) click the little icon in the menu that looks like a picture with a little tree. 2) choose the 'from computer' tab 3) then hit the 'select file' button 4) navigate to where you have the photos stored on your computer 5) choose a photo and click 'open' 5) then click 'upload file" and you're done. EDIT: Link to Grey's Changes Over the Years

Her life has changed. The best thing is to not take things personally. You both may be ready to pick right up where you left off, but Maggie may not be. Slow it all back down. Just let Maggie do her own thing without trying to reach for her, or have her step up, or anything other than just chatting with her, offering her treats, and rebuilding the relationship. If she's biting, she's telling your husband to back off for now (you guys get this already I know), so listen to what she's saying. Start from scratch with her as if she is a newly rehomed bird. If she was attached to the woman whom you left her with, all she knows for now is that woman is gone, you two have showed back up, and life is different again. Sweet talking and lots of small treats can work wonders, with no demands. We see us wanting to get close as love on our part, many birds see it as an intrusion and as a demand. So let Maggie call the shots. You've got years ahead again together, and she'll come around, in her own time.

Love that guy!!

Love hearing about Sophie. She is such a little joy filled gal!

Great post JeffNOK and very well stated. Dave brought up some good reminders about not being judgy and I am usually a pretty understanding and compassionate person. I do, however, have my less so days and at times just get peeved.

Inara was a rough preener when I first got her. Her feathers looked very similar. Over time, they molted out and as she matured more, she has become much better at preening and feather care, and her feathers are beautiful now.

Hi Nightingale. Inara didn't fly when she first came to live with me. She was two, and would just drop like a brick, or when startled would just be out of control. I started her off by first helping her get the feel, and also build up her flight muscles at the same time by using a length of thick cotton rope with some hefty knots tied in it. Then I would offer her the rope, she would latch on. I would gently swing the rope from side to side, and around, which she loved. Once she was used to that, I began swinging the rope so that it moved in a bigger area, and would let it drop just a bit so that it stimulated her wings to flap as she had a good grip on the rope. She really started enjoying this a lot. We would do it a couple times a day, and one day, nature took it's course, and she realized that she could "pilot" the rope by flapping her wings in different ways. While we were working on this, I also worked with her on just making little hops between two free standing perches. Start out with them close enough together so that Hero can reach with his beak and step over to the other one, reward him and make a big deal out of it. Then gradually increase the distance over days/weeks whatever time frame works for Hero. It's apparent he's wanting to fly, so doing things with him that help stimulate that instinct will help. Inara seemed to like short distances better at first. Then as she built up stamina and muscle power, she enjoyed and still enjoys longer flights. Have fun!

Very scary, and glad it all worked out OK. That's one of the reasons that people should also avoid cages that have any of the bars going down in a "sun ray" on part of the cage.