Nychsa

danmcq wrote: :ohmy: aaaaack! She'd squander it all on fruit juice!!

judygram wrote: Oh my gosh Judy - I wish I had my video cam (believe it or not, I just need to get over to Best Buy!) to record Bella. You are right - she was the hit of the meeting - I think she was jockeying for the Parrot Fund Mascot position! What a little jabber mouth, and she started up every time I tried to say something! Then of course when everyone started laughing, she did my laugh! I have to tell you the first time she did that, it really freaked me out a little. It was really odd hearing my own laugh coming back at me! She does it when ever I'm on the phone now too. I always have to tell people it's not me laughing, because often times she's perching on my shoulder when I'm on the phone LOL!<br><br>Post edited by: Nychsa, at: 2008/02/03 15:18

Yeah Kat and Judy and everyone else who is going to pitch in! For once I don't have to do anything for the company today, so I'll take advantage of that and get a framework put together and sent out to everyone! Super! Terri

Greetings everyone, The board for our non-profit met this afternoon and I talked to them about the the Parrot Fund. Well, better said Bella and I talked to them about the fund LOL! Bella was sitting on top of her perch during the entire meeting jabbering away and mimicking my laugh :ohmy: She had everyone in stiches! It was really hard to keep the meeting on target because every time I would say anything, Bella would chime in and jabber and jabber and jabber and then let out a laugh :woohoo: (that sounded just like my laugh - it really turned heads!) If anything, she convinced everyone that parrots are quite the characters! So, I finally brought her over to us and let her perch on my shoulder and we were able to close the business on the Parrot fund. I suppose it was only right that she insisted on beinga part of that meeting! What a little loud mouth! So! For those who've expressed interest, I'll kick off the fund next week and send everyone a pm who said they want to participate. I have a set of governance framework documents we can use to get started. Once we have the framework in place and we all agree on the terms, and the requirements, I'll open the account, kick of the web site and let Muse do her magic on the site and then I'd say we're in business! We should be able to be fulling on line by the end of the month. Cheers! Terri

Wow, thank you for that information Perfect - and thanks for asking that question BMustee.

Hi there Ronda - ouch! Sorry you got bit! One of the things I read is that parrots can read our facial expressions and we should take advantage of that. I saw this in action for the first time at the Breeders where I got Bella. Karen and Kathy would teach the babies not to bite with verbal commands. When the babies would bite too hard, one of them would hold up the baby to their eye level, they'd make a frown face and say firmly "no bite" (one of the Amazons would always say "oh, oh, oh No Bite!" LOL!) If Bella nibbles on me too hard I say "no bite" and I she looks at me as if she instantly recognizes the command and lets go. When I took Bella for her vet vist and she nipped the vet briefly, he held her up to eye level, made a sad face and said "ouch - that hurts, no bite". It seems to be effective - I mean we train dogs with facial expressions and verbal commands - I would think they work even better with parrots no?<br><br>Post edited by: Nychsa, at: 2008/02/02 03:02

Awww Woody that sounds like you all had a great time. Good for you!!! You go! It's really nice hearing about these things. Thanks for sharing

Geezum, isn't this one of those times where you wish you had like a video cam or something so you could see how she gets going when you're not around? I can really appreciate what you're going through. Hang in there! If she's fine when you're around, and then starts flipping out when you leave - I wonder how she gets that going. I bought Bella one of those mirrors that plays a recording when it detects motion in front of it. I recorded my voice talking to her the way I do when I'm around. She plays with that silly mirror when I'm here, so, I imagine she messes with it when I'm gone too. Since I have greyhounds as well, I usually play soothing music on XM (Audio Visions) while I'm gone. The greyhounds are accostomed to always hearing music during the day from their time on the race track. The parrots know now when the music comes on, I'm getting ready to leave for work. Jiggy goes automatically into his cage and starts playing with his stuff. Bella needs a bit of an extra invitation to go in, but she does and starts playing with that mirror. But - what they do when I'm gone - NO IDEA!

It really seems like very obsessive behavior. If the vet ruled out that she has some pathology that is causing her discomfort and causing her to pluck, then she really needs something to redirect her obsessive behavior. Does she have any interest in shredding toys, foraging anything that would keep her interested and occupied?

Laurie wrote: Thanks Laurie! Wow - whistle communications! Isn't that interesting! How old is Klaus?

I use Poop Off as well. I like the enzyme action and I also like the bruch on the end of the bottle that makes scrubbing easier. I also use envronmentally safe soap to clean the perches - that is usually a mess with blueberries and blackberries. As for wiping the bars and surrounding areas and toys, I use the envronmentally safe wipes I get at Whole Foods. No bleach or harsh chemicals that could harm the birds.

danmcq wrote: Making note to find appropriate torture for Dan :angry: LOL :woohoo:

Lyric wrote: Hi there Lyric, I think my parnter has come to a place with my CAG where they both understand that they both belong here, but just don't interact that much. He adores her - he says she's a magnificant animal, and most of all he is very happy that she makes me so happy. He worries about my stress levels at work and he's delighted to find me laughing my buns off doing the "tudi-tat" dance with Bella and Jiggy. So, while they'll never snuggle up to each other - I think we've found a balance Cheers! Terri

danmcq wrote: Hmm, I don't know Dan - today she's saying ouch ouch ouch all the time! She seems to go in cycles - first her favorite phrase was "I don't know" - she'd say that to everything - then it was "what the hell" and now it's "ouch ouch ouch". I'm going to try and find some of that research on Alex and see if it describes the cognitive learning phases that greys go through - you know like object permanence etc.. She's certainly beat the greyhounds in terms of comprehension. I've been trying for years to get them to poop on command - Bella - 1 week and she's going like a champ when you tell her to!

Wow what a beautiful girl! And your pictures really capture her beauty so well. Great pictures! Thanks for sharing!!

My pleasure Judy :laugh: She makes me laugh every morning - she is such a character! I have berries all over - they're on the walls around her enclave, on the floor (white tile - ) But, she loves those berries so much - so, what's a little cleaning

Ok - here's the last one - really! LOL she posed for me

Last Breakfast picture

Another Messy Beak (check out what she does to her perch with those blue berries!!!

Ok - messy beak

Here's the Breakfast Beak versions hmm, let me try that again!<br><br>Post edited by: Nychsa, at: 2008/02/01 15:48

Here's part of our breakfast routine Waiting for Breakfast<br><br>Post edited by: Nychsa, at: 2008/02/01 15:44

Greetings everyone - I think it's uncanny how they seem to connect with us so closely! This morning seh flew over to me, and she said ouch ouch ouch before she pecked my toes and then she mimicked my laugh :laugh: Now if she knows what a laugh is, that will blow me away! I think she's copying me laugh after I say ouch ouch ouch because I'm watching her and she looks TOO cute, cocking her little head after she pecks my toe to watch my reaction. Hmm - I just love her!!!

Greetings Everyone! I think Bella, my CAG is using me as an experiment of sorts: when ever I'm making her breakfast, she circles around my feet. A couple of days ago she pecked at my toes and I said "ouch ouch ouch" and stepped aside. She cocked her head, looked at me and then did it again. So I said "ouch ouch ouch" again. We did this for a while. Then yesterday she flew off her perch and landed on me and she grumbled 'ouch ouch ouch' LOL! And then on another occassion she stepped off her perch in an awkward manner and slipped a little and she said "ouch ouch ouch". Do you think she really understands what ouch means or is she just repeating from me and is using it when ever? Gosh, I'd hate to think that simply landing on me is hurting her feet!

Muse, Bruce - THANKS! Sunday am I should have word from the Skydancer board re: using Skydancer's 501C status to set it all up. I need to do the infrastructure stuff before the 18th of Feb as I'll be on the road then. Cheers! Terri