Nychsa

Well ToysRus is certainly a brand new experience now that Jiggy and Bella live with me! It's amazing how much I see for the parrots LOL! I was able to restrain myself and not buy a whole room full of stuff that would have overwhelmed them. I settled for one of those talking phones that counts up to 4 and teaches colors and songs. And a wooden bead gym with a mirror on the bottom. Bella, my grey, is pretty good about new things - she investigated the gym right away and found scooting the large wooden beads up and down through the gym quite interesting. She hasn't played with the phone yet, but the message starts off "let's play with numbers" and she's got that down and is repeating that. Jiggy, my conure - well, his first reaction to anything new is ATTACK!

Hi, my breeder is in Del. But given what they did for my Bella and all the birds they raise, the trip was well worth it. The two ladies who run this avairy are nurses and they use every ounce of nursing nurturing for their birds. When I picked Bella us she was incredibly loving, knew 'step up', and 'no bite' - and of course she was in great health. The web sit is www.kandkparrots.com.

Tracy, Thank you for the kind words. It seems you're taking on a good deal - many blessings to you for being there for this little guy, and all your greys! Look forward to hearing many stories about Indy. Cheers! Terri

Hi Ziggy, Thank you for your response - point well taken. I will be cautious of any bratty kind of behavior as it relates to wanting to be with me. As of right now, Bella isn't acting bratty when I need to do things without her. If I have to leave or do something else where I can't have her on my shoulder or hold her I will get her interested in one of her toys by hiding a treat in them, or put things in her foraging cups. She's so curious about everything, she's instantly interested in what I did with her toys, and then she starts playing and I can close the door of her cage. As for people coming over - she's shy around people she doesn't know. She prefers to stay in her area and space and not be around strangers. I had a group of people over for an HOA meeting and everyone wanted to see Bella, but she stayed in her cage behind her hanging toys. She did come out but then when people approached her she flew to my male greyhound and sat with him. If I'm not in the room, she goes to the dogs if she feels uncomfortable. So, we're ok for now - I will keep my eye on her behavior though and make sure she doesn't get bratty if she can't be with me. Thanks again! Terri

Tracy - good luck to you and your new addition - do you need help with anything? I know getting a new birdie baby runs up some bills pretty quickly - do you have paypal account or something if someone would like to make a donation to your efforts?

Hi, Here is the link from Bella's breeders. They also have tons of supplies, and give great discounts. www.kandkparrots.com

Judy - understood re: not having time all of a sudden - but I think I'm lucky in that I determine my own schedule and can spend time with the animals. The only time I would be concerned is when I go on retreat in the summer for four weeks. I think during that time I'll board them with the ladies where I got Bella. I think they would be able to help the birds overcome any separation anxiety.

Oh this is all great news LOL! Well, I have to get some gifts at ToysRUs tomorrow so I think I'm going to pick something up for Bella too. She is so different then Jiggy - she readily explores anything I share with her - Jiggy's first reaction is to attack it and RUN! He only comes around after he watches Bella play with the new thing.

Judy, Thank you for your response. My partner isn't here at the house all the time. He's here every other week. So, maybe he's feeling like the odd man out as Bella and Jiggy are quite different then dogs are - they are much more specific about who they understand as "their flock". He's been unable to help me understand the exact concern he has - he just says "well, she's just really fixated on you" - but really can't say why that's a problem. Again, thank you for the response. Unless it harms Bella in anyway, I'm going to continue the way we are. Cheers! Terri

Dan, Talon, Thank you very much. Your response actually brought a tear to my eyes! I was staring to feel terribly conflicted by my partner's input. The way things are with Bella and I feels "right" and neither of us seem to have a problem with it, and if we continue like this, I don't think it will become a problem. Talon, I am lucky that she is so content. The breeders where I got her are two nurses and they really nurture all the babies they raise - it is an incredibly loving environment. When she came to me she already was very loving, knew how to "step up" and know "no bite". Thanks again for the feedback - it is really a relief to have a "grey" community to chat with about these "growing" issues! Cheers! Terri

Greetings Everyone! My partner has started to voice concerns that Bella is WAY too attached to me, and that I should encourage her to back off a bit. I'm not perceiving a problem with our relationship as we both seem to get a good deal out of it. He is specifically concerned that she follows me around all over the house. She either flies to where I am, or she waddles over to me. She doesn't necessarily want to climb up on my shoulder all the time, she is content exploring things on the floor, or riding on my foot. But she also likes to "hang out" with the dogs. In fact, if either of the dogs leaves the room, both Bella and my conure "call" them. In the evening she sits with me in front of the TV and we snuggle and chat. She also joins me in my meditation practices (I'm a Buddhist and do daily meditation practices). In fact, she seems to really enjoy that - I had to make a little hanging bag that I drap around my neck for her to sit in as she tries to sit on my chest whn I practice, and seh slips of fall the time. So, yes - we do spend a lot of time together, but she is also quite good at playing on her own, and spends a good deal of time playing in her space with her toys. So, is there such a thing as "too much" if everyone is having a good time?

Awwww Too Cute!!!! I'm sure you're really excited! The weeks I was waiting for Bella to come home seemed ENDLESS!

Super! Thank you all for the response! I think I"m going to go for it - and get her a telephone so she leaves mine alone too LOL!

Greetings Everyone! Bella has taken a great interest in my computer (no wonder, I'm on it all the time) and she plays with the keys, particularly the ones that make noises when she plays with them. She repeats that over and over. I'm wondering if she might find Children's toys of interest that would do the same thing (and would save my computer!) Does anyone have any experience with Children's toys and greys? If so, which ones did you find were of particular interest? Are there any concerns re: the materials? Thanks! Terri

LOL it is a riot isn't it! When ever I talk to her about something, she looks at me SO intensively, watches my lips move and then she "mouths" a little after I speak to her as if she's saying it to herself. I'm going to try the "no poop" when it lands in the wrong place and do the poop praise party if we get it in the right spot. LOL my life has gone to poop!!!

Well, I think we've got it down what "poop poop" is, we just need to fix where it goes - my shoulder got hit again today, but she sure told me it was coming - "POOP POOP" Incoming!! *sigh* Well, she's a smarty, so I think if it lands in the wrong spot, I'll just quietly put her on her perch and not do the poop praise with her. Hopefully she'll connect with poop here and not there. I also believe she understands what "no" means as the breeders where I got her from taught the babies "no bite" and she hears me tell Jiggy "no" and she's heard me tell her "no" on chewing on things. So, I'm going to see if she will understand "no poop". I don't think I've ever written so much about poop! LOL Cheers! Terri

Mike, When we put the Christmas stuff in the dining room, I picked up Bella and held her close to me, stroking her head and whispering into her ear and we "investigated" the new stuff. I could tell she was anxious about it because when we got closer her talons clamped down on my arm. I reacted by covering her head with my hand and letting her peer out from behind my hand. We did this a couple of times and she doesn't care about the Christmas stuff at all any more.

Thank you all!!! We'll keep working on it. Bella studies my facial expressions very closely, so I think I can leverage that. Today is day two of our success, so I'll pay close attention to the circumstances that cause us to have an accident and see if we can't avoid tose. pssst - she knows we're talking about her - she's sitting in one of my house palm trees watching me!

MikeSearson wrote: Hi Mike, My Bella growls at my partner even though he would do anything to get her to like him. But he is a bit wary of her beak and talons, so his body language somehow tells Bella that she could spook him if she wanted to. Unfortunately she is so smart, she's started to play on his fears and she now has the upper hand in that relationship! She growls at him when he gives her carrots, when he stands up, when he sits down, you name it, she growls! She's escalated the game now in that she flies over to him when he's on the couch and looks at him quite onery as if she's saying "I think you need to move." I've told him over and again that she's playing him, but he can't get over his concerns about her beak and talons. So, I guess Bella is going to be ruling that relationship. I don't know if your wife is sending some kind of body language signal that something is bothering her, but you may want to look into that. These guys are smart!!

Greetings everyone! I've never imagined myself posting about birdie poop but this is exciting stuff! Two weeks ago Bella proudly announced every time she had to poop - she's day "Poop Poop" in a high excited voice. The problem was, she would do that sitting on my shoulder, on my lap, or anywhere else she happened to be (I've been going through some sanitation wipes and detergent lately LOL!). Today she was in my lap and I saw her get into position and I put her on her table top perch before she had a chance to do bombs away and I said "do poop poop" and she promptly went. We made such a big deal about it, she tried out that success story 6 more times this evening! Now if I can repeat putting her on her perch, and telling her to go "poop poop" and she does it, even getting a little out even though she didn't really have to go, I'd say we have success no? Whooo hoo! I'm hoping this now means my shoulers are safe!!! But, somehow I'm wondering just because she knows the perch is what gets her praise, will she still drop the bomb in other places??? Thank you for letting me share our little success story with you! Cheers! Terri

Bella loves pomagranates juice. I drink it a lot and she sits on my shoulder and snags my glass and gulps it down. She even tries to feed me some! Now that makes a HUGE mess! She dribbles the juice all over my lips!

Hi, while I allow Bella to sit on my shoulder, she really prefers to be nestled under my chin. When she flies to me, or I pick her up, she gets on to my hand and I put my hand close to my body, positioning her close to my chest and under my chin She loves it there. Maybe if you try that Cookie, he'll find it's nice to be there instead of on your shoulder?

Oh thank you for that information! I think if Bella's beak were to all of a sudden start changing colors and flake, I would be freaking out and driving my vet up a tree!

Jane08 wrote: I think if I were to approach Bella with gloves on she'd freak out too. But as for touching her if she doesn't want it, there I don't think I'm quite in agreement, particularly if her health is invovled. I'm finding out really fast that Bella is VERY smart and she certainly tests the waters to see how far she can get with something. She knows that if she starts chewing on the window shades (which I have no idea if there is something that is dangerous to her or not, so I'd rather she not do that!), I'll get up and tell her "no,no, no" - I look her right in the eye and raise me finger in front of her and frown. She knows what I mean because she promptly wants to give "kisses" after that (oh, and I melt when she gives kisses LOL!). But the minute I sit back down, she goes for it again, so I get up, and before I get there she runs off knowing that I don't want her to do that! So, we go through this drill a couple of times until I actually pick her up and put her in her cage for a little time out. She squawks furiously when I do that, but I know she's testing the waters with me and she is TOO intelligent for me to let her have control like that! It's not like she wouldn't have appropriate toys to play with - she has more toys then most kids do! It's just that one thing she wants to see if she can get away with, and I KNOW she's a mischief maker! In addition, her beak gets VERY messy between fruits, yams, noodles you name it! So, I do hold her head and clean her beak. She squawks about it, but we've gotten used to that routine now, and while she still protests, she's much better about letting me clean her beak. When I show her something new, like her carrier that she hasn't seen in a while, I've found that if I can hold her close to me and whisper in her ear and we look at the new thing "together" , she's much more inclined to go along with it. Cheers! Terri

LOL I feel like such a "new mom", I'm sure those of you who've been living with these wonderful animals for quite a bit longer have many many stories that would keep all of us in stiches for hours!