sandra902

i've always had good luck with temp agencies and in food service. serving and bartending are nice because the hours are so flexible and every day is pay day. temp agencies are nice because there is almost every kind of work available without you making a big committment. plus those contract positions can work their way into a permanent position too. hope things are looking up for you soon! -s

have you checked out the recipes on this site? plus if you subscribe to any of the birdy mags they will also have lots of healthy recipes that you can prepare for your birdy. let us know how you do!

pretty big week here at the monkey house! merlin has been loving daddy man for many weeks now, nuzzling his hand, rubbing beaks, preening his beard and such. this week i accidentally left peetey out of his cage at lights-out and left peetey's light on so merlin did not get a good night's sleep. he was in a FURY the next morning and rushed out of his cage to bite my finger. that was not punishment enough so he flew at my face with jaws and claws (missed me by a mile). but we had quite a display of bad temper from our little grey fellow. i was completely in the wrong and owned up to it. so we had a very quiet day of toy making and ambient togetherness and lots of pine nut eating. i let him cool off for a couple days. well! yesterday he and i did the face to face minuet that we'd been doing for a couple days: he'd approach my face and stop and stare then back off. repeat repeat repeat. usually toward the end of this little dance i would offer him my finger to see if he wanted to step up or maybe take a little taste. he would always decline and i would say 'all righty merl, maybe tomorrow.' yesterday i offered him my finger and he actually approached it and gave it a little taste! it was definitely not a bite as i'd learned what that was a couple days ago ha ha ha. so i sweetly praised him for being a brave and smart boy and he approached me again and played with one of my rings! so maybe i have graduated from Devil's Daughter to Tolerable Human!

i live in a city between milw and chgo. our water is so heavily chlorinated i can taste it. so i filter my water for drinking and coffee making and for the birds. i figure if i do not like the chlorinated taste the birds won't either. i use a big brita pitcher in the kitchen and i found a little 'travel brita' which is a pint or so with a filter cup that i use upstairs for the Boys. it is easy enough and quick to do and even if it is a waste of time it still makes me feel better. have a great day -s

hello n3t and welcome to the forum! may i respectfully ask you to consider parrot rescue? it is a wonderful thing for the right people and oftemtimes it is overlooked in the decision making process. my merlin is a joy and a wonder every day. thank you for your consideration on this matter. please let me know if you would like to discuss it further. there are a lot of worthy birds out there that find themselves homelss through no fault of their own. you might very well be a perfect match for one of these little ones. have a great weekend! -s

when people impose their childrens' photos (or grandchildrens') and anecdotes on me, i then have the opportunity to regale them with photos and stories of MY 4-yr-old (merlin) and MY eight year old (inga). people at work are very indulgent of the kraazy pet lady in their midst. merlin is a joy and a wonder to not only me but to non-bird people as well.

we make a big fuss when merlin flaps. whooo-OOOO-oooh merlin! good flappin! then when he is by himself you can hear him imitating me: "whoo-OOO-ooohh merlin! good flappin!" he seems so very happy when he has flapping time.

my little tiel is pretty new to the monkey house and mostly shrieks. he will wolf whistle occasionally followed by some tongue clicking sounds. i have heard of cockatiels that talk so i am hoping little peetey will pick something up along the way. and we are working on extinction with the shrieking...except merlin has now picked it up. he got a couple 'verbotens' for it but now i ignore him after i flinch. gotta work on that flinching.

we are Kat People! imagine us with 2 birdies. but it works well. anyway our most recent kat, kitten little, cannot bear to be parted from me when i'm in the house. she sits on top of the medicine chest when i am showering, sits patiently outside my office when i am working (that is where the birds are so she is verboten). it is wonderful to have such independent little souls choose to attach so completely. enjoy!

howdy neighbor! i live between milw and chgo. let me know if you need any good bird supply vendors. my favorite shop is jo's exotic birds in kenosha. good stuff reasonably priced and friendly helpful staff. plus they are usually at local bird shows, i have visited their booth at the monthly bird show at south hills country club right off the I north of racine. cute birdy! -s

of course you can stay! please do! you have a lot to offer and we have a lot to offer you. i was welcomed so warmly in the weeks before merly came home. you stay put and keep us posted! edited to add: although i did not yet read up on your story, may i suggest considering parrot rescue? perhaps it is completely out of place to say that since i did not read up yet on your circumstances...i will do so right away and will also apologize for my forwardness if i was out of place. -s<br><br>Post edited by: sandra902, at: 2008/07/15 17:44

i did not read all the posts but i can tell you how we handle mr merlin who has a strict no-touchy-birdy policy and who greatly prefers big daddy over mamma. merl allows big daddy to touch him and he will also touch big daddy but for mamma, there is no touching. he will take a treat from my hand which satisfies me for now. we interact richly in other ways and since parrot time is next to the eternal i am working on my own inner patience. but back in the cage time is not next to the eternal. so what we do is gently hold out our hands and arms from our bodies as if to embrace the cage and softly tell merl it is time to go back in. it might take a rotation or two around the cage to guide him back in and occasionally he will go spud (hurl himself to the floor in which case he will climb right back in up his ladder) but he usually is very willing to go back in when it is time. and of course he gets lots of praise and macadamia nuts for his cooperation. as for the biting, he has not had opportunity to bite me so i am taking it very slowly (he has been with us since oct) and maybe one day he will step up for me. i am expecting him to step up for big daddy by the end of the summer with the great progress they have made together. personally i do not begrudge merlin's preference for daddy. with his rocky start in life i am happy he likes anyone! and the interactions he and i have together are sweet and funny and very satisfying. i can wait for him to come round someday. and really rescuing a bird is more about the bird's happiness than it is about mine. tell us all about your seminar with miss barbara. i had the good fortune to see her in minneapolis last sept and you will gain very valuable information as well as lots of great exposure to other birdies. i will say those birdies had all the people wrapped right around their little talons!

oh boy don't i know it. little peetey the 'tiel has an absolutely piercing shriek that takes place for about an hour mid-morning. we are working hard on extinction of this shriek. was it ever hard at the beginning to ignore it. i slipped a couple times and softly told peetey 'noooooh' until i heard merlin tell peetey 'noooooh' then i really worked hard on offering no response whatsoever. i do give peetey a lot of reinforcement for acceptable sounds and am hoping for the payoff soon. merl did surprise me this morning with an AG-sound-level imitation of peetey's shriek. i gave him the stink-eye for that one before i caught myself.

good morning lauri and THANK YOU for rescuing your birdy! big daddy and i have rescue kritters and we believe in changing the name when they come to us. my german shepherd, inga, was formerly named abby. my AG, merlin, was formerly simon. granted i did not like either name as i did not believe it fit them, but we also believe in a new name for a new start. who knows what their memories are of times under their old names? i certainly do not want to be the one reminding them of the bad old days every time i speak their name. and granted also i might be anthorpomorphizing the concept but it is something we believe in and it works for us. both inga and merlin learned thier new names very quickly. now if i could get little peetey the 'tiel to settle in things would be running more smoothly. but that is another thread all together. anyway those are my thoughts for your kind $.02 offered. happy friday -s

hey nicole welcome to the forum! THANK YOU for adopting an older grey. my merlin is 4 years old and came from a parrot rescue. every day is a joy and a wonder. i am in WI as well. may i ask generally where you are located? again, welcome aboard! -s

hey all added a little cockatiel to the monkey house aviary this weekend! a friend of mine had been talking to me for some time about the need to rehome her little fella and so little peetey came home to me this weekend. we were going to rename him 'mr whizzer' as he is such a little zippy guy and to be in line with 'merlin'. anybody here old like me and remember mr wizard cartoon? 'drizzle drazzle druzzle drone - time for this one to come home...' but peetey just kind of stuck and there you go. he is hand shy and a bit over caged due to circumstances but he is doing great. he is a shrieker too but we are training that out of him and he has already come a long way in just a few days. merlin has been very interested in him and not the least bit anxious which makes me both relieved and happy. originally i was going to keep peetey's cage farther from my desk in keeping with merl as First Bird. but i found it more important for peetey and me to have lots of eye contact during the anti-shrieking training time which i would not have had if i had him across the room. and since merlin prefers big daddy anyway he is still doing great. of course merl comes first in all things and he is even speaking more in my presence. those two clowns do compete for my attention and it is tough to keep up with them. and is it ever hard to turn my head away in silence when peetey shrieks! it was such a habit to say 'noooh' in a low voice i had to so consciously zip it and turn away. but ol' merl picked it up and once when peetey shrieked today merlin fixed his gaze on him and said 'noooh' in my low voice! peetey is still flighted (for now) which gives merlin quite a lot to consider; you can almost see the gears grinding in his little grey head. peetey does not like the stick coming to him when it is time to go back in the cage but we are working it out slowly and patiently and you can see physically how he likes to hear the low 'gooood booooyyy' when he steps on the stick. little peetey has had a big morning and has had a fine snack and has settled down for a fine nap.

oh my goodness how exciting! are these your first birdies? i can't wait to hear all about them! -s

i am sorry you got disappointed! may i make a shameless plug for parrot rescue? perhaps your intended birdy is waiting for you elsewhere. just a thought from the other side of the fence. my merlin is a rescue and is a joy and a wonder every single day. no pressure, just presenting an idea for your consideration. i know the UK has a number of parrot rescue organizations. keep us posted as to your progress and welcome to the best forums ever! -s

miss amberly, welcome to the forums! congrats on the arrival of mr woody! and most of all THANK YOU for rehoming an adult bird. i applaud you. what a wonderful adventure you are about to undertake. you have gotten all good advice so i cannot really add anything to it especially since my rescue, merlin (aged 4), does not step up yet. there is a really good article in the newest issue of bird talk magazine about your bird mouthing as a form of affection and interaction. happily, merlin does this with big daddy and does not exert any pressure when doing so. lots of ambient time spent with mr woody will really help him get used to you and to become a part of your flock. i have found toy making time is a nice time spent with merlin. he thinks i am the devil's daughter so we do what we can together within the limits merlin has set. but those limits do stretch and have stretched since he came home. as for the stepping up, i have read that having a very desirable treat in one hand and your stepping up hand as the other can get your birdy to step up in order to get his treat. i will admit merlin does not fall for this tactic however. he cannot be too careful when dealing with the devil's daughter after all! and merl's favorite hand treats are a bit of cheese a bit of eggy raw macadamia nuts pine nuts i will check back tomorrow and will be expecting a full report from you! welcome woody! -s

re: grammar police: i'm still here...

welcome! i too found this forum well before merlin came home. it helped my confidence greatly! and in those shaky weeks after he came home and i was a DA greenhorn the help here was invaluable! go ahead and search this forum for any issue that crosses your mind in the middle of the night. plus i have found great help and encouragement from parrot clubs and rescue organizations. my merly is a rescue bird and i have gotten such help and encouragement every step of the way.

i know this does not answer your question, but may i make a plug for parrot rescue? oftentimes you will get a dandy bird and lots of support from caring enthusiasts. just a thought.

i have a german shepherd (fraulein inga) who is gently interested in merlin. they have only met a couple times as merlin stays in my office. merlin was also gently interested in inga as merl was fostered by a family with a rambunctious young labrador. i only allowed them to meet so inga knew merlin was in her house. she likes to keep track of such things. she doesn't much like being in my office as it is so far away from the front door. i also have two cats, one young and full of the devil and a fine old gentleman. they NEVER have access to merlin's room. i love the bigger breeds, especially rotties, but you'll want to get that power steering on them when they are very small and young otherwise they will be out of control before you know it. they grow so fast and are so powerful that an adolescent rottie can be a real danger to itself and others. but you already know that as one doesn't get a powerful breed like that unknowingly. big time obedience with very little slack given is essential right now. please post pictures of your menagerie (especially the rottie - i love them!)!

welcome to the forum! there is a lot to learn, before and after your birdy comes home that is for sure. i was pretty anxious about getting things right before my merlin came home! he is a joy and a wonder every day. i recommend you find a local bird club or rescue group to connect with also. i have a wonderful bird shop nearby that has been a wonderful resource. these boards are wonderful but sometimes one needs to actually see and be with fellow bird brains. my merlin is a rescue bird and has been a wonderful experience. please do consider a rescue bird, they are not all in rescue because they have problems. oftentimes their human has taken ill or has passed away. just presenting another option for your consideration. as if you need more to think about! anyway welcome aboard and we are all awaiting your new arrival, whomever it might be. well better go, merlin has just made his little 'tweedle' sound meaning it is time for hide and seek.

i just picked up some raw macadamias for merlin and some dried unsulphured apples. plus he really likes pine nuts and they are so little they really have to get close to The Hand to get one. a bit of scrambled eggy is also a good Hand Treat. better git - big daddy is making popcorn. have a great nite -s