HeatherStrella

How do you keep his attention? I've tried teaching/training various things with AnnaBella but she won't sit still long enough for me to work with her on one thing.

I've been where you are. (long time ago) I thought I wasn't spending enough time with my little one. I made some changes and was able to spend more time with her. Shit happens now and then where I can't spend time with her for a day...or so. She just gets the basics. That is very rare. I would never re-home her at this point. I would do anything to keep her...she is absolutely number one in my life. It probably sounds awful considering I'm married, have a dog, and have some family (no kids) still alive. She comes first...if it ever comes down to it, she will get fed before me. We're far from that place but I often think about the "what ifs"...and she will always come first. There's just something about her...we have this bond. I'm sure people on here know what I mean. I'll bet once you're through this difficult part of your life, you may feel the same way. The people telling you that you're a bad mother are full of...you know what. You're a wonderful mama...don't forget to take care of yourself during this difficult time.

AnnaBella was 3 months old when we got her and she was already talking. She's almost 3 years old now and knows plus or minus 200 words/phrases. If you go to my album below, you'll see a partial list. I haven't updated it in a while, though.

Fun... 1--Each person should tell how much their bird paid for them. I didn't pay anything for my mommy...but my mommy paid $900 for me...however, the accessories cost much more!! 2--Whether you were purchased from a private breeder or purchased from a pet shop. Breeder 3--Whether you were in a rescue and when you were adopted. Not a rescue.."purchased" 4/6/06 4--The age you were when your bird decided to let you live with him/her. 3 months old 5--Whether you are being fed good food. Yes!! My favorite is artichoke leaves 6--Whether you feel that your owner has spoiled you. Totally! When my mommy gets home from work, she greets me before her hubby. She has never left me longer than about 8 hours, and she never will. I have all the toys I could possibly want and she lets me fly around the house as long as I'm safe. 7--Whether you feel that your owner has treated you with respect. Yes. But I had to teach her...when I felt disrespected, I let her know with a BITE (cRuNcH)..she's good now. 8--Whether you think that your owner was overcharged. No way. Now that my mommy knows me, she'd pay whatever it took to get me. Here I am doing my favorite thing...

A friend of mine has one of those...so cute...she named her "Coco-pufferina"...lol

I am such a sucker for this!!! Perfect...I can totally relate...good job

What do you mean by 'papers'? Congrats on getting your new baby!! I'd probably cancel my trip just to bring him home earlier...lol. But then again, I'm NOT a traveler what-so-ever. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you when you get back...and you'll be nice and rested

For some reason, AnnaBella loves to come in the bathroom with me while I'm getting ready for work. I put my foot on the toilet with my knee bent and she perches on my thigh. It's in the perfect position for me to get ready in the mirror. She loves it!! She'll do that weird head thing in the bathroom...but no where else....ha. :woohoo: I used to use a perch in the bathroom but she didn't like staying on it. That's why we do the leg thing...it's the only way she'll stay put and not fly away. She loves it so much in there, I had to think of a way for her to stay put.<br><br>Post edited by: HeatherStrella, at: 2008/10/31 08:23

At first, we thought "she's an exotic animal and she's not in her natural element"...so we thought we should take her 6 months after we got her. But, because the first vet did such a bad job w/her wings, we went to a different vet. I absolutely love the second vet. They send us a card every 6 months to have her checked out. She's always tested negative with this second vet.

I'm just curious how often you guys take your bird(s) to the vet. I took AnnaBella to the vet the day after I brought her home and then every 6 months since. I'm wondering if she can go yearly...I'm so afraid she'll have something wrong and I won't know it. My husband thinks that since she hasn't tested positive for anything since her first visit (2.5 yrs ago), that we should go yearly...especially because she hates going and it's so stressful. So, did you guys take your fid(s) to the vet when you first got it/them? How often do you do vet visits? Thanks!! Heather

Harvey, did you get some? I'd love to see them if you did. I got a couple more of AnnaBella flying. I don't know why I'm into these flying photos now. I guess I'm running out of ways to photograph her. I need some new ideas, anybody have any? Her feathers look really tattered in the first photo but they really don't look that bad in person.

Oh cool. You're a photography guru, huh? I really wish I could sit down and read the whole manual but my brain just doesn't work that way. Have you looked at my album? I've got pics of geckos, my dog, people, a couple concerts, etc...I think there's more of AnnaBella than any other but that's ok . Anyway, the link is in my sig if you want to check it out. Maybe give me some tips if you see there's an overall problem I have or something?? Thanks!

Oh you're all too kind!! Thank you!! EFGriffith, you said "the only ones that look even a little off are the ones that are cropped"..all of them are cropped. Thank you for the kind words. I really need to study my manuals and fiddle with the cameras to learn how to use them.I take pretty good photos but not the quality the cameras are capable of taking. danmcq, you asked how I got the shots. There are times that she just loves doing to fly laps around the living room. She was in one of those moods yesterday and I got my camera out. As she did her laps, I stood in the middle of the room and spun around, snapping pics as she flew. I have a few more of her flying but they didn't turn out very well...she was in front of the window and they're just too bright. She will fly to me sometimes on command...when she feels like it, I guess. Lyric, Casper and Fairymyst, thank you so much for your compliments. I really appreciate them. :lol:

Thanks you guys...you're so sweet. Dave, what in the heck...or who in the heck is Shhim? You're very funny. I guess I should have put a little pink bow on her head to really bring home the name...well maybe if I want to lose a finger. :pinch: AnnaBella wasted no time...I've got a bleeder. I guess I moved too fast for her. Sometimes I forget and I don't watch myself. Oh well, live and learn.... I just don't like that she had to resort to biting. Poor baby.

I'm a reformed clipper. My baby was clipped by a vet and they did a terrible job. It took two years to grow back. She now loves to fly and I don't ever want to take that away from her. I've had to bird proof the house so that she doesn't hurt herself...to me that's better than house-proofing my bird But I respect that other people have different beliefs or are just learning. I was just learning at one point and was open to constructive criticism.

Thank you both. I meant to tell you...in the 5th picture down there's a shade that seems kind of random. It's the doorway (although there's no door) between the living room and the kitchen. We pull it down when we're cooking so she doesn't become...well so she doesn't burn herself.

Here she is....the newly named African Grey whose name was of the male persuasion, it just did not fit her alluring, delicate essence. Her new name is.... ANNABELLA!!!! AnnaBella Strella to be exact. Thanks to those of you who gave me input, I really appreciate it. I thought for sure I was gonna go for Sophia but there's something about this name that suits her. Here are her first photos as AnnaBella: Pardon the quality...I used my Nikon D40 on some of them and it just didn't do as good as my D300. I had to adjust some stuff. I think I need to adjust some of the stuff on the camera!!! as u can tell!!!!

Hey Chelsie, glad to see you made it on!! Isn't it great here!!

judygram wrote: I think I need to get a few more birds so I can use all these names I like!!! Think my hubby will go for that one? LOL. I know about the signature part. I'd love to just have a lil picture of her with NO fricken explaination!!! Maybe just "formerly known as Harrison" and that's it. DebbieKnd, Harrison is definately not a creature who should have "missy" in her name...lol...she's a rough and rowdy lil thing. I don't like Harriet...I assume that's what you meant...or did you mean Harret? Although, Miss H. doesn't sound bad. Thanks, guys, for your input!

Harrianna? That's too funny! As far as Lucy, I had a cat named Lucy...I had her for 13 years...I couldn't do that. But I do love that name!! I was also thinking about the name AnnaBelle or AnnaBella. But with my last name, Strella, lol I don't know. AnnaBella Strella. LOL. I've asked some of my friends and they've all said Sophia is their favorite. One of the reasons I want to change her name is I'm sick of having to explain why she has a male name. And no matter how much I explain, people still say HE or HIM...but still, if I do change her name, I'll probably end up saying (here on the forums) this is "female name" blah blah blah...then say that she used to be named Harrison so that people will know who she is and that she's not a new bird or whatever. Make sense? I just don't know what to do. I do like JulieAnna too..Hanna, no, there are too many Hannas out there that I know. Christiana, too close to my cousin's name, Christina. Maybe HARRIANNA is the best..lol. I'm kidding. Someone suggested Allison...but I know an Allison/Ally and I don't like her!! lol. Mrs. Harrison is good too...The school where I work, the new lunch lady who works there is Mrs. Harrison...but she's cool, I wouldn't mind calling H Mrs. Harrison. Really, when I'm talking to Harrison, I call her things like baby, sweet girl, little girl, terms of endearment..but she still knows and says her name. I don't think it would be that hard for her to learn a new name, though. Oh well, I guess I have some thinking to do!!! Thanks for all the suggestions! Heather

I wish I would have had her DNA tested when we first got her and then I would have named her a female name from the start. But, the breeder was sooo sure she was male. Oh well, we can't go back. But, I've decided I want to re-name her a female name. I've come up with a few names and I'd like your opinions about them. 1. Sophia..I'd probably end up calling her Soph, Sophi, (once HARRISON is out of my head...lol) 2. Carolina...I just really like this name 3. Gabriella...Gabby for short, she's such a talkative little birdy. 4. Emily...Emma or Em for short. These are kinda old fashioned names...which I like. I also like names ending in 'Anna'...like Maryanna...but NOT Maryanna. lol. Do you have any suggestions? Or do you like one of the 4 above? For those of you who have never seen or heard Harrison, I'll provide a link to her album. There are a ton of photos and some audio links that you can listen to. http://imageevent.com/heatheranddenis/congoafricangrey Thanks so much for your help... Heather

Very cute animals! The chipmunk is especially cute...is s/he tame? What's s/he like as a pet?

I usually put Harrison in her cage around 9pm. This is after a lot of playing and cuddling with me in the living room. She'll either eat or play around in her cage for a bit and then when we hear she's quiet, my husband will go in and turn her TV and lights off. I'm too much of a sucker. As soon as I see she wants to 'step up' (she lifts a foot), I'll bring her back out to the living room. So, I'm banned from putting her to bed. lol

Very cool!! Aren't you concerned that your bird(s) will fly away?

Awww..I watched both of them...it's sweet to watch. The little noises are cute. You'll have to let us know if they end up doing the deed off camera. Have you guys had babies from these two before?