Inara

[video=youtube;Qx-EMTVn0nc] A couple of weeks ago, I began whispering to Inara, and she loves whispering back. She picked it up immediately and we have a lot of fun whispering back and forth. She's usually very camera shy, but is beginning to warm up if it's quite a way from her. Her latest fascination is with the squirrel who comes to visit in the morning on the back deck. She will give a hiss at him. From time to time, we'll be standing together near the window, and she will turn her fact to mine and give a hiss, as if to remind me to be careful about the squirrel. What turned out very interesting in this snippet of conversation, is that she connected squirrel with tree. She has never even used the word tree before. I was stunned at "What shall we do, I'll be good." She apparently has put that together all by herself and has never said that before. We chat back and forth all day long, whether just being silly and nonsensical, or whether having serious conversations. The whispering cracks me up. Does anyone else whisper with your birds? Off to see the squirrel, Inara's Human

HRH Inara loves her Featherland Stainless Steel that we also purchased from the folks at http://www.getbirdstuff.com (no affiliation with them, just a satisfied customer). She made the move into her new cage with ease and couldn't be happier. I was very happy with their service and friendly business approach when I phoned them to ask specific questions about the cages. I did, however, take the time to run my hands physically over every nook and cranny of the cage and smooth down any place(s) that I felt could be a bit rough. This was mainly on the latches to the door and to the feed area doors.

Rosalita is beautiful! She apparently has landed in just the right place. Way back when, my Amazon, Elliot, came to live with me -- a loooooong story that I won't go into here. Suffice it to say that he was a complete mess. He was wild caught, had been badly mishandled, and was absolutely terrified of cages and hands. So the first thing I did was make him a huge perch from a branch I cut from one of my trees and set into an old coffee table. He could perch high above everyone/everything and climb around to his heart's content. For the two decades I had him, he never ever would come to my hand, and always preferred to step onto a small branch that I would hold out for him. Once upon it, though, he would climb from it, up my arm and onto my shoulder where he was a complete love bug. Your Rosalita sounds like a real sweetheart and I can't wait to hear more about your adventures together. There is always a special place in my heart for anyone who takes in a bird in need of a good home, especially an older bird, and/or a bird with a checkered and difficult past.

What a great photo, and how cool is Timber?! Go Timber, GO!! Boing, boing, boing..

What very, very sad news. Your diligence in pursuing vet care is to be commended and likely spared your companion prolonged discomfort. My heart aches for you.

Muse, so good to see you drop in. How hard each day must be for you, I'm sure even giving us an update was painful. It is good to know that Megan is doing well, and that all is well with your little Aria. Mar so enriched your lives, it has to be hard to feel that loss daily.

VERY nice swing, Quirky! Jake looks very pleased with it

Great video! HRH Inara enjoyed watching it with me, and gave a bit of commentary while doing so. She laughed at one point, joined in with a quick bark, and told Lucy, "Good girl!" Like Quirky, I loved the electronic shutdown sound -- very cool!

You've already received some great commiseration and advice, as you knew you would -- that's why we love it here. Just dropping in to lend my voice to the rest of the flock. It will all be OK and you will probably fare worse than your fids.

My front door is literally at 7300 ft above sea level in the Rockies. We're used to tons of snow: driving in it, shoveling it, snowblowing it, and playing in it. However, we're far enough south in latitude that we don't get the days on end of sub-zero weather and the horrific wind chills that states further to the north get. I grew up where it often would be 45 below zero with wind chills of 80 below. We used to say that we had two seasons: winter and the 4th of July. So this seems mild and more than livable to me. We do have a working fireplace, and we live in a solar home. Since the sun shines here over 300 days per year, even when there is snow on the ground, as there is today, I open the solar shades and the house warms up to about 15 degrees warmer than it is outside and/or in the summer if I close them the house cools to about 15 degrees less than it is outside We have been hit with massive forest fires here the last two years in a row, and last year we were on pre-evac status as the fires crept closer and closer to our home. We have an exit plan, a list of what to take in a moment's notice, and all of those things are easily reached and packed, as well as a portable fire-proof safe with our most important docs in it. We annually take a video walk-through of our home and store the video on two memory sticks. One kept outside of our home, and one in the fireproof box. Another reason that I'm glad we have Inara acclimated to her travel cage and she is happy to step right into it with no fuss. Her home cage, also breaks down and folds flat within no time and can easily be slid into our Honda Element. Great thread, as it's always important to plan ahead for unforeseen emergencies.

Just want to say welcome and compliment you on your beautiful flock. I have no experience with baby Greys as our current gal, Inara, was 2 years old when she came to us and is the youngest Grey I've ever had. So when it comes to nursery stuff, I'm at a loss. You've landed in such a great place, and as you can already see, there is a lot of combined knowledge and experience here

Inara will sometimes stop using words and phrases that she knows, so I reintroduce those to her when she is just chattering away by herself. I will say them to her from another room, and eventually they work their way back into her talking "rotation." You're probably already doing this, but if you aren't, be sure to chat back to Rio whenever Rio does say something. This lets Rio know that talking is a good thing. Often the way to extinguish words/sounds we don't want to hear is to not respond to those. It's just as important to respond to the things we do want to hear so that they get reinforced Again, you probably already do this, and as Judy said, Greys have their own ways and time frames. It's great that you are enjoying Rio even during Rio's more quiet times

Thanks Carolz. Our order was beautifully packed, and HRH Inara is thrilled. Pictures speak louder than words so I'll let these show you how happy she is with her new things: giving the new boing a few test beaks testing out the new boing it's a big hit! stepping onto the new platform -- she loves this! clanging the bell on the wooden shoe toy done playing and feeling relaxed and happy Last night Inara had so much fun with the colors/counting rings and I can't wait to bring it out for her to play with today for great brain stimulation. KimKim -- the wooden beads are placed in the platform on wooden dowels. They appear to be placed in very well, they spin nicely. Inara especially enjoyed feeling them with her feet. Very delighted with our order!

WOW! Is right! What a great post to tune into! Isn't it just so cool when they realize that their wings actually belong to them and that they can *choose* to use them? Fantastic, and like Birdhouse, I've got an ear to ear grin just reading this!

My own thoughts are: 1) How much time do you have currently to spend with Marco, up close and personal daily? Do you have the inclination to extend that time commitment to encompass two birds without shortchanging Marco? 2) Do you have the physical space and financial resources to commit to two birds for food, vet visits, toys, etc.? 3) What is your motivation for getting another bird? Is it simply because it is available, or because you have really, really, really wanted another companion --specific to this breed? 4) Are you ready for double the responsibility, double the cleaning, double the attention, double the noise, etc? 5) Do you have someone in your life who would bird sit for two birds in the case of an emergency? Those are all practical questions that you've no doubt asked yourself already and have answered or you would likely not be considering picking up another bird, but it doesn't hurt to really spell them out. There are many people here who have several birds in their flocks that include Greys, and they could speak more to the jealousy issues, etc. I had overlap between my CAG and 'zon and they did fine and so did I. However, both came to me under extreme circumstances, and were independent from one another, basic loner personalities and content just to have a quiet, safe home. So I would venture to say that a lot depends on the individual birds' personalities.

Cypress is lovely! What a beautiful name to go with such a beautiful girl. She and you have hit the jackpot in finding one another. So happy for you both.

Good morning, Incubus. Others here with more experience with baby Greys will no doubt have more specific information for you. It is possible that your Ruby is experiencing her first molt. However, my own inclination is that any time you see a sudden change in your bird like a sudden drop of lots of feathers, that it's a good idea to give your Avian Vet a call, ask some questions and then if necessary have your Avian Vet take a look at her. It's worth it for your own peace of mind as well as to ensure that all is well.

It is so heartwarming to tune in with my morning coffee for The Adventures of Miss Gil Girl. She is really getting quite adventurous. No small feat when one has had such major trepidation. What a brave girl she is, and how well it speaks for your patience, and your really being tuned in to the subtle shifts in Miss GG's demeanor. It was nice of her to have shown a modicum of politeness to your visitor, even if she was not dressed for the occasion. One can hardly blame her for giving you a bit of the cold shoulder for not having given a girl a bit more of a warning, so she could have at least taken out the rollers and put a bit of beakstick on. All of those wonderful moments, where you see how far she has come, and how much she is stretching herself are like beautiful pearls being strung together one by one.

Ruby is a beauty. It really is amazing, I agree, on how fast time goes by with our companions. There is something very comforting knowing that they live such long lives and that we have many, many more years ahead to share.

Same here. I've never had any issues with Inara, nor her predecessors in coming to me from either high places or low. I have head of other birds who become cage aggressive up top, but I've never experienced that.

HRH stands for Her Royal Highness. I dubbed her this after a few weeks of her living with us, as she likes to think she rules all that she surveys She's a little over 2.5 years old. Great video! HRH often likes to sit on my shoulder on the trainer also, if it's later in the day. This winter, I've been hitting it at around 5 a.m. -- she refuses to be bothered until 7:00. She really is quite the character. My first CAG was a talker (eventually after he became healthy) but nothing like HRH! I am home with her all day, so we have lots of interaction all day. A lot of our interactions can also be pretty silly and nonsensical. Your guy sounds like a sweetie. Does he whistle any tunes or do you play with doing whistling duets with him? I read an interesting article one time that parrots when learning to whistle music, will practice the notes out of order off on and on until they get the pitches then they string the notes together into the tune. I now listen for that with HRH. GC180, Yes HRH is for Her Royal Highness When I'm cleaning out her cage and she says, "good girl," I always say, "My pleasure Your Highness," etc. hahaha Inara really is so funny, and is the most interactive bird I've ever had the joy of living with.

Gosh, I didn't ever even think of it way back in the day when I was dating. I had my 'zon and CAG back then (mid 70's - late 90's) and I just never even thought to mentioned it unless we were talking about pets. If I felt someone was cool enough to bring home to my home, then they noticed my birds. I never had anyone who didn't think my birds were fascinating. Most guys thought my Afghan Hound was more exotic and interesting than the birds. That being said, after their respective deaths, I was birdless for many years and it was during that time that I met my current husband. I didn't think to bring up the subject of getting parrot(s) with him, until a couple years into our relationship when I said I missed having a parrot in the house and was ready to have another one. Well, this opened the proverbial "can of worms." He told me that his mother had had little birds and that they were constantly noisy and really messy. I explained to him that parrots were//are much different and that they are not nearly as noisy (only periodically during the day) and that messy was relative and in complete correlation with cleaning chores conducted by their humans. We tabled the discussion. We reopened negotiations late last summer, and my guy being the wonderful person he is, did a lot of research on his own, watched several youtube vids, watched a couple of documentaries, and decided that if it was that important for me to have another Grey, that he was on board. The final tipping point for him was when we met HRH Inara, formerly known as _________. When she stepped up for me at her then humans' home, climbed up to my shoulder and laid her cheek against mine for several seconds, he melted. I awoke to an oddly quiet house this morning, looked at the time and realized I had overslept, walked into the kitchen and there was HRH happily perched atop Joe's hand taking dainty bites out of a sliced grape, with the remains of a nutriberry scattered upon the countertop. Not her usual breakfast, but woo hoo, great for me, and great for her and Joe. She has really enriched his life as well as mine. He is constantly laughing at her antics and when she says, "Joe-oh," in a sweet voice, or "peek-a-boo" when he's trying to ignore her, he's mush. So the moral of the story is: Is it really something that is necessary to even mention until you're actually interested in someone for longer than a few dates? If the guy continues to be interested in you, introduce him to your flock and see how he handles that over time, not just for awhile -- as guys can have "honeymoon" periods too. 2) Since you already have them and they are your family, love me/love my birds or hit the road Jack. EDIT: By "not necessary to mention" I don't mean hiding the fact or being cagey about it. Personally, now, if I were on a dating site, I'd probably have at least one photo with me and HRH as well as with my Rhodesian Ridgeback. If that's a turnoff, then too too bad.

Welcome Sabina and Rio. What a handsome guy you have there. It's apparent that you are so delighted to have him, and rightly so. Greys are such wonderful companions and a day will never go by that something interesting, funny, or just plain outlandish occurs when living with one (or more as is the case with several here). You've found the best forum on the 'net, and will find friendly advice, open minds, and a lot of brain power. And that's just the birds...

Hahaha, Ray! Beautiful photo and very clever, Steve! Loved this!

Recent conversation: HRH: Want some cookie? It's great, OK. ME: No thanks. HRH: Are you a girl? ME: Yes, are *you* a girl? HRH: Very good girl. ME: Yes, you are a very good girl. HRH: Where is Joe? ME: At work. HRH: What is work? ME: Joe goes to work so he can bring home more cookies. HRH: VERY good girl! ME: Joe is a boy. HRH: Oh boy!! ME: Well that's close enough. HRH: Quackery. My husband was laughing when I told him about this transpiring, and said that it's like living with Rain Man (Inara) and Pippi Longstockings (me). Naturally, both HRH and I took that statement as a compliment. Yesterday morning while I was riding my urban pony (my bike) on the indoor trainer, I had been off to a late start. This meant that HRH did not get her usual morning breakfast on time. Much like the Queen of Hearts, rather than shouting, "Off with her head," Joe and I heard (all the way downstairs) "Hello. Hello (in a sweet voice)." then bellowing: "Coffee!!" Natch, I cut my exercise session a bit short. One does not risk raising the ire of HRH. Happy Valentine's day! Pippi and HRH