Inara

Some birds will actually use a dropped feather as a "scritcher," like we would use a back scratcher to get to those hard to reach places. They will pick it up with their feet or beak and scritch or brush with it. My departed CAG used to love to have me take one of his molted flight feathers and gently brush from the nape of his neck up to the top of his head with it. Would nearly put him in a trance.

Happy Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrday to Greycie! So adorable, and such a little smartie !!

How exciting!! You both are going to have Soooo much fun!

How completely adorable! Thanks for sharing the smiles and the fun!

add my "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww............." to the chorus

Congratulations on your new companion, and my admiration for opening your hearts and home. My girl came to me having been very lovingly fed a diet of southern comfort food and human food and I was able to wean her off of that within in no time. Although, I don't feed her a pellet diet, she does get a few mixed in with her food, and she still just spits them out. I refer to them as her "untouchables" and I toss them outside for the wild birds and squirrels since I know that Inara is disease free. Perhaps you could mix some of the pellets with a bit of warm water to the consistency of bologna, then add in a few little bites of bologna. Then over a few days or a week, gradually reduce the amount of bologna, as you add more dry pellets into the "mash" until you've quit the bologna and the warm water and have pellets only. This would allow your new guy to get used to the change in texture, etc. over time. Apparently your new companion is relieved to be with you and I'm confident that his dietary changes will go smoothly too. Will be looking forward to updates

A suggestion with regard to the cockatoo: Make sure that it has been seen recently by an avian Vet and that it has a clean bill of health. Then have its current person bring it over, and you handle it in front of your CAG, visit with it or a few hours, and see how that goes. If that goes well, then see about boarding it with you for a full week and see how *that* goes for everyone concerned. It's better to have a trial period with many species of rehomed companions rather than just jumping in cold. That way if things don't work out, no one is "stuck," as it is (as you know) a lifetime commitment. It's amazing, though, just how resilient birds and other creatures are when we allow them to be and they often have their own systems for accepting/rejecting people, pets, and other birds.

Hello, Jovan and Poly. What a frustrating experience to have your beautiful companion held for ransom by the people who found her. So evil !! I'm very happy and relieved that you were able to get her back and, that as you said, the thugs did not know how valuable she is in $$$. Her cage is just so beautiful, and I love the idea of being able to put different wall papers on the back of it for visual variety. It's very nice to "meet" you both, and I'll be looking forward to becoming better acquainted.

Dexter ! Great vids, and so nice that Mickey and Dexter get along so well together. I was about your age when I got my Congo African Grey, Lestat, and can relate very much to your feelings of fascination and wanting. How marvelous that you were able to find Dexter, and as a baby no less. You two will have a long and fantastic life together!

Am hoping that Echo is continuing to do well today and and that everything will heal completely and quickly.

Hi Nikki, and welcome! Gracie is a lucky girl to have found a new home with someone who is familiar with birds. Give Gracie a few days to settle in with no expectations on your part. Just go about your day relaxed and in a casual manner and chat with her as you go along. When approaching her cage move slowly (but no creepy slow haha) and use a relaxed, matter of fact voice as if her being there is the most natural thing in the world. Offer her fabulous tidbits and allow her to size you up and become used to you and your routine. Here is a great forum link to body language. Many people are so excited when a new bird arrives, that they rush things just a bit, and what we as humans think is nice/welcoming behavior to a bird who has been relocated can seem like weird and predatory behavior. If she is a relaxed and friendly bird, then just follow your instincts about your initial interactions. It can also be helpful to wear the same shirt for a couple days in a row so that you look the same. Not critical, but birds are very visual, and it's just one of those small things that can make a difference. You'll get great advice here, and reading through older forum posts is invaluable. Can't wait to see photos and hear about your adventures with Gracie.

Thank you for that insight and information, Dave. Very helpful!

HRH Inara tips in between 295-297 grams. I was unprepared for how small she was in comparison to the CAG and 'zon I had in the first half of my life. I absolutely fell in love with her, and I find her diminutive self very charming, elegant, and graceful. To my husband, she is a big bird. His mother had finches and budgies when he was growing up. To me, she shall always be my "little bird." Because she is a bit over 2 years old (26 months), my assumption is that this range will be her adult weight. Escher is much younger, and so it's reasonable to think that Escher could put on more weight over the coming months.

Love it!!! And how timely that we had all just been talking about this topic, and Cotay decided to jump in and remedy the situation at your home...there's that sixth sense... LOL

What a great buddy you have there!! Reminds me of the song from The Jungle Book: I wanna be like you I wanna talk like you Walk like you, too You'll see it's true Someone like me Can learn to be Like someone like you Which we all know goes both ways in our relationships with these wonderful companions

She does make me laugh too many times a day to count, that's for sure! She's 27 months so we have a lifetime to go together -- I have a feeling in 20 years, she'll be piloting a starship! LOL

OMLGG (oh my lady gaga!!) that just cracks me up every time you write that!!!

Well, I'd love to believe it is because she is so brilliant, but I'm inclined to think that it is because out of the sentence(s) that "occupied" is the most interesting combination of sounds. However, her timing was spot on! I will take your suggestion, and from now on just start saying, "Occupied," and see how she rolls with it

I use my food processor for making Inara's cooked "mash" then I portion it out into a mini-candy mold and freeze. When frozen, I drop the cubes into a large bag and just take one out daily for her. For fresh veggies, and fruits to give her a change of pace, I use my (as seen on TV haha) Magic Bullet. I love that thing! Easy to clean, easy to make small batches of things, and powerful!

My first two parrots were both perchers, and Inara is also (when in her cage). When she first came to live with us, her former people said that she would go to the bottom of her cage and scratch at the sides when she wanted out. She stopped doing that sometime during the first week she was with us. We have always said, "Want up?" when we offer to take her out of her cage, and she began saying "up up" when she wants out. She does, however, get walking around foraging time hanging out with me on the couch. I put a towel on the couch, and have wooden beads stuffed with birdie goodies and paper to shred, etc. I love Baileyspapa's foraging box idea, and have not yet gotten around to creating one for her, but I shall. For the folks who have cardboard boxes in the cage, my question is this. Inara is a DNA sexed female, so I'm hesitant about providing anything in her cage that could eventually motivate her to start egg laying. Do you think this would be a concern or no? I have not had 1) a youngster before (she is 28 months) and 2) not had a female (as far as I know) before. Would appreciate any insights and/or advice.

Occupied. O C C U P I E D. ----- Inara strikes again. When HRH Inara wants "up up," or "teeko teeko" and I'm busy doing other things, I call back to her, "Sorry I'm occupied with __________ (fill in the blank). Busy. Will up up later." This morning, she was on her mobile perch and I dangled her rope that she likes to swing on in front of her and asked her if she wanted to swing. She looked at it, and said clear as a bell, "Occupied." I nearly died laughing. Naturally, I took that as a "no." Later in her cage during her "closet talking practice" she said "occupied" several times interspersed with her usual R2D2 whirs, squeaks, and her other words. Meanwhile this morning, she did a short little flutter/hop from the lower part of her mobile perch onto the couch next to me. So I took the opportunity to encourage her to fly from her perch to near my hand. (Operant conditioning with positive reinforcement -- meaning that Inara makes the choice it is not thrust upon her as in the more Pavlovian classical conditioning). Which, by the way, made viewing this video all the more timely. Within a handful of tries, Inara was happily choosing to fly from her perch to near my hand in gradual increments of distance, beginning with her perch about 2 inches away and ending up with it between 10" and a foot away before we ended it while still on a positive note. She really appeared to enjoy it, and it likely will not be long before she'll be flying from across the room to my hand. Unless, of course, she's O C C U P I E D.

Absolutely loved this video!

It's so wonderful to see how you and Motu have progressed together. It is such a testament to your patience, your fortitude, and your refusal to give up. Sometimes, as you've seen, we have to push just a bit in order to help them overcome their fears, and thus their aggression. It takes a keen sense of being able to read their cues to know when those little pushes will result in some corrective emotional experiences. If rushed or pushed in too bold or harsh of a way, as you know, the effect can be deleterious. It is no surprise that your companion is turning into such a sweetheart with you.

Loved these photos!! It's so fun to tune in here with my morning coffee and start the day with smiles. I will give a try introducing Inara to a pumpkin, too. That looks like great fun all the way around. And Lady LuvParrots, I second the motion on seeing piccies of your Russian Tortoise.

My heart just aches for little Piper. You and your daughter are doing such a good job in the nursing department, and it must be so traumatic for you. I'm holding good thoughts for the two week major improvement. Thank you for keeping us all updated, my heart is with you.