Caspersmum

Casper hates baths too - but as Penny says, I force the issue! I feel so cruel, but he looks so much better for it. I take a shower first, with casper in the bathroom. Then I get casper onto his shower perch, and attach it to the side of the bath (you can buy them on-line). I sing 'singing in the rain' as I shower both myself and him - and he's starting to whistle it himself now. I woudln't say he really ENJOYS showers, but he doesn't seem to mind them now. And I built him up to it slowly - taking him into the bathroom while I showered, and putting him on his perch in the bath without any water. He's not started feather plucking, he still talks to me, and he's not lost any weight, so I guess he doesn't mind it TOO much! Julia

I don't mean to sound like a paragon of virtue or anything, but afew years ago for personal reasons I had to get rid of my birds. I was heart broken, but there was no way I could sell them, so I gave them away to a good home. It just seems so cold-hearted to sell these little beings that are such a big part of our lives. I guess I'm just a mug, but then I'd rather be a mug than a git! Julia

Sorry to rant, but it really makes me mad that these people who mistreat/ don't understand their birds then ask for loads of money to get rid of them, to people who actually care. {Emotions-00020076} But I'm really glad Gina's got a good home now

I'm a medical student - four years at medical school makes you pretty much blush-proof!

Sounds like a great idea - but is there any chance you could provide a translation - or maybe Rae could do the translating? Julia

Sorry Frank - but you should have read what I was going to write - that'd really have made you blush! Julia

Hey Lidia, Thanks for sharig this with us. I must say I'd been reluctant to try to teach Casper tricks, because I wondered if it was taking advantage of him to get him to 'perform'. But having thought about what you've been saying, it's really just another way of playing with them, and stimulating their little birdy brains! And Ice - I'm glad you're enjoying it here so much. It is totally addictive isn't it!{Characters-00020058} Julia

I've come to the conclusion that the most powerful weapon against people like this is humour. I love the way South Park deals with it (sorry , it's one of my guilty pleasures!) - if you've not seen it, it's not going to be very funny if I try to explain it. But it reminds me of this war on terror thing - over here in the UK, a young muslim lad went to a march last year in protest against the cartoons of the prophet dressed as a terrorist. I heard his Imam interviewed. The first thing he said was 'He's not a terrorist' and I thought he was trying to defend this young man. But then he said - 'he's not a terrorist - he's an idiot!'. It was so totally disarming. I think if all the sane people in the world could make the mad ones look like a bunch of mupets - laugh in the face of adversity, we could overcome a lot of our problems. I'll get down off my high horse now - just wanted to share my thoughts! Julia<br><br>Post edited by: Caspersmum, at: 2007/06/08 20:24

Hey CD - I knew you were a real bon jovi fan, but I didn't realise it ran quite so deep! I think my favourite all time lyrics are from a song by the Waterboys called 'Trumpets'. Your love feels Like trumpets sound I said your love feels Like trumpets sound Your life is like a mountain Yes, your life is like a mountain And your heart is like a church With wide open doors And to be with you Is to find myself in the best of dreams Your love feels like trumpets Your love feels Like high summer Your love feels Like high, high, summer Your life is like an ocean Yes, your life is like an ocean I want to dive in naked Lose myself in your depths I want to be with you To find myself in the best of dreams Your love feels like trumpets Please don’t wake me No don’t shake me I want to be with you When being with you is the same The same as being you Your love feels like trumpets All i need to do now is find a man to play it to! But seriously, it's one of those songs that makes me go weak at the knees however many times I hear it, Julia

Hey Snowman, wood definitely wouldn't show up on x-ray and I'm not sure what would show it up - so it'd just be a waste of money! Thinking about it, I doubt it'd do him a lot of damage - I think it would all be broken up in his crop, but I'm not sure, and I'd go along the 'better safe than sorry' route. But hey, it could be worse - when I first got Casper, his previous owners informed me that he liked eating cigarettes - who on earth would be stupid enough to let their bird EAT cigarettes. Needless to say, I didn't carry on with this once I got him home...{Characters-0002007C}. Thankfully, he seems perfectly healthy, although I worry about the long term effects. Julia

What's a typical day like at your house? - I get up at 7, then get Casper out about 7.30 for a poo and breakfast. He plays on his play stand and gym while I sort out his food. If I'm having a shower, he comes in too. I go to the hospital at about 8.30 If I can come back at lunch time to let him out for a bit I do. If not, it's when I get home at night, and he's out while I'm cooking dinner and studying How often is your bird out of their cage? Most of the time I'm at home - about 5 hours/day How often are they put on a playstand? If he's out of his cage he's either on his play stand or his cargo net. Or the floor. Or my knee! How much time do you spend actually handling your parrot? I pick him up loads, but usually to move him around and out of harms way - or to stop him chewing the furniture! We also have afew cuddles during the day - especially when he pootles over to see me - and of course before bed time - it seems to be a good way to calm him down for bed time. What's your cleaning routine like? Since Casper refuses to poo in his cage, I clean it out twice a week. I clean out his dishes every day, and replace his water at least once a day - more often when he (regularly) drops stuff in it. What time do you cover/uncover their cage? I uncover him at 7.30, and put him to bed at 10ish - but it can vary a bit. I'm not too rigid, as I don't think its good for either of us How often do you feed them? Casper has pellets in his cage all day, and he has another pot on his play stand, so he can have a munch whenever he wants. He'll also have a bit of whatever I'm having for breakfast (fruit and fruit juice), lunch (houmous) and dinner (could be anything!). He also gets banana chips for being a good boy - especially when he goes back in his cage - it might not be the best thing psychologically, but he knows that he'll always get a treat when he goes back in his cage, so he never minds going back in. Do you take them outside, in the car, on vacation etc? I've only taken him in the car when I've had to take him to friends' to look after him, or to the vets so far - but that's because I don't have a travel cage for him yet. I'm planning on getting one once I've got come spare cash. I also plan on getting him a harness so I can take him outside for walks. Even though he's clipped I wouldn't risk it without a harness. As I'm sure you've gathered from all our different respnses, while there are wrong ways of looking after your bird, there's no real right way - you just need to make it work for you! Julia

Hey Karla, The book I've been droning on about on the site for months - 'parrot training - a guide to taming and gentling your avian companion' by Bonnie Munro has instructions on loads of tricks in it - including waving, nodding, dancing and high-fiving. I've not given any of these a go, but they don't look too difficult if you've got a bird that's willing to learn. Certainly, the other stuff in the book I've used with casper has worked really well Julia

Hey bronxboomer, I've never even HEARD of a food dehydrator! We're obviously very behind the times in the UK! I'd go along with what Moniques says though - Casper loves dried banana chips, but I think variety is the spice of a birds life - in the wild they'd be able to eat all sort of fresh food. I'd stick with the fresh stuff if its not too difficult for you to get hold of it, Julia

Hi Ice, I'd go along with what the others say - although I'd add that I tend to just give Casper his veggies raw - he likes green beans, mange tout, broccoli, peppers, courgettes... I just give him a bit of whatever I have in the house for myself (I'm a bit of a vegeholic, so there's always plenty around). I thnk he likes the texture, and it's easier for him to hold them if they're not cooked and mushy! I also feed him whatevery I've cooked for myself - he likes tomato based sauces (to which I've usually added lots of chilli and herbs - but no salt), vegetable soups, mashed sweet potato, vegetable curry sauces... its nearly tea time, and I'm geting a bit carried away! But basically, if you cook from scratch, you can just try all sorts of things - and flavours. Julia

Hi Thumper, welcome to the site. Sounds like you've got a lot of great advice to share - and I'm looking forward to hearing all about Joshua! Julia

Hey Rae and Greylover, Would love some spannish lessons - maybe we could start up a new forum just in spannish! I think I'll have to wait til I get back from south africa though, as I'm trying to learn some Zulu at the moment, and I don't think I could cope with more than one language at a time! Really glad you're making such great progress greylover - keep us up to date with your progress, Julia

Hey Spookyhurst, Thanks for the information - that's really useful - and reassuring to know that I haven't over-stuffed my bird (or is that a bit of an unfortunate phrase?!). Julia

Hey Beccy, Hope you have a good trip - and that it's not TOO traumatic! Julia

Hey guys, Casper has just discovered he LOVES scrambled egg - he's really going for it. I just wondered if they can have too much of a good thing - is it safe to leave him with the whole thing, or is he likely to suffer some harm if he overdoes it? Julia

Hi Beccy, I know its really hard leaving your parrot behind - I had to leave Casper for a few days not long after I'd got him. But he was absolutely fine, and I'm sure Brian will forgive you! Does anyone have any experience of being separated from their birds for a lot longer - I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to prepare Casper for 8 weeks of separation{Feel-bad-0002006A}. Julia

Hi Number6, Not much I can add to what everyone else has said, but welcome to the site - and thanks for the cute photo! Julia

Hi, I'm trying to deal with similar problems with my Grey Casper. I've had him about 8 months now. When I first got him he actually attacked male friends of mine - flying to them and biting them, although he's fine with female friends. Has your neice met him yet, and what was the reaction? The way I'm dealing with it is to get Casper to interact with other people. As Monique says, it takes a lot of commitment on the part of the other people. Whenever I have people round to visit, I get Casper to sit on them, so that he gets used to them on his terms. It's going slowly, but at least it's going forward! With Casper, if he wants a head scratch he'll put his head down. It may be that Freddie feels scared of your sons, and if he's allowed to go to them on his own terms it may help, Good luck - I know what it's like! Julia

Hey all, Casper whistles along (but not in tune) with certain songs, but he doesn't seem to have any particular favourites - some songs just seem to set him off. I whistle to him alot, and he's picking some tunes up - he does a fairly good version of the laurel and hardy music, and he's getting to grips with bring me sunshine and singin' in the rain (We sing it in the shower!). But he also makes tunes up - he takes his favourite phrases and puts them all together into his own tune -does anyone elses bird do the same. By the way, CD, you don't fancy visiting Dundee to look after Casper while I'm in south africa do you?! Julia

Good job greylover. Don't feel guilty about it - you were only doing what came to you when you were feeling desperate, it's just that as you've found out it only makes things worse. Keep up the good work, and it will get better. Have you taught him to step-up yet? If not it's the next thing you really need to teach him. By the way, NEVER appologise about the quality of your english! Its far better than my spanish (which extends to '2 beers please'!) Julia

Hi Glinda, I'd say if you're buying from scratch, and if you have enough space, to get a bigger cage - the general advice is to get the biggest you can afford/ accomodate. That said, it's about the same size as my CAG's cage, which I 'inherrited' with him. He seems pretty happy with it, and like you're planning, he spends a lot of his time out of his cage, Julia