Raposa

Oh, you are going to have such fun!!! Babies are SO sweet!!

Thanks, Judy. Actually, I think it is a good sign that she is as attached to the breeder as she is; I'm just afraid she doesn't like ME very much! ~laughs~ Three more weeks now . . .

Smithie, I have the same worries! What if Jenna never learns to love me like I love her? Ouch . . . She is willing to come to me, but she does not like to stay on my hand. She will take treats from my hand and play with toys with me, but she does not want me to handle her. She'll let me kiss her on her head, but she wants me to keep my hands away. It is pretty common for her to fly away from me after I've been playing with her for a few minutes. But she WILL let the breeder handle her and pet her and flip her over, so hopefully she will eventually get comfortable with me, too. I want her to be a flighted bird, but I am considering having her wings clipped when she first comes home until she gets used to me . . . I am SO conflicted about that, though! I'll talk to the breeder, she's back from Bolivia today

It is a bit addicting, Smithie ~laughs~

Thanks, Talon, that is exactly what I am doing! ~grins~

Hi Judy! Guess where she went for vacation? Bolivia, to see parrots in their natural habitats. And I call MYSELF obsessed! lol But it is indeed heaven to be there with all those babies ~grins~ They are SO sweet, and beautiful, and funny. And she does such a great job of socializing them. I'm just glad that Jenna IS attached to her; clearly Jenna can be a very affectionate and sweet little girl, and hopefully she'll transfer that to me once she gets home. I am SO eager for her to get home; and at the same time, I am very aware of the passing of time at this point in my life, and I don't want to wish even a few minutes of my life away . . . Quite the conflict! I'm going to see Jenna tomorrow night since I can't go Saturday; the breeder's son kindly agreed to let me come during "off" hours so I don't have to go a week without seeing her ~chuckles~

~grins at Smithie~ Well, her son is taking care of all her birds this week while she is on her first vacation in 20 years - can you imagine how hard it would be to go on vacation when you have an aviary full of baby birds? Anyway, he said it is fine for me to come by Thursday night, so I will definitely see her THIS week! We'll work on the next 2 weeks when Wendy gets back. If I look pathetic enough, I'm sure she'll let me come! My baby is very bonded to the breeder right now; my main goal(besides just basking in her presence, of course) is to make her familiar and semi-comfortable with me so she'll have someone she knows when she leaves her first home. But know what? Even when Jenna comes home, I may have to occasionally go over to Wendy's for a baby bird fix. Her babies are ALL so adorable and sweet! She has Timnehs and Congos and Red Fronted Macaws and Alexandrines, and she expects a few Amazons this summer as well ~grins~ And she loves people to handle them and play with them because it helps socialize them. Can you imagine anything better than sitting on a sofa with 3 or 4 baby greys (one being the MOST beautiful of all, of course! hehehe) and a baby macaw climbing all over you? ~sighs blissfully~

Oh Chint, I am so sorry about your loss. I lost a 15 year old eclectus suddenly right after christmas, so I understand how devastating it is. Please let us know what you find out about Shaku and what happened. My thoughts are with you and your family.

She's gorgeous, Lupa!!!

Imme I am so excited for you!!!! I think you are probably smart to bring the baby home and go ahead to the expo. I am quite sure I will be planted permanently in the same room with my baby for the first 48 hours she is home Hehehe Not necessarily right on top of her, of course, but where I can . . . how did someone else put it, gaze at her adoringly? Another MONTH to go . . . good thing it is going to be a busy month for me!

I think they can. Bathing him daily should help . . . not sure how long you would have to keep him out of the room. Do you have a good air purifier in your home, by any chance?

You have me beat, it is only an hour each way to go see Jenna ~laughs~ I can't go the next few Saturdays so I am finagling with the breeder to let me go over there at "off" times, when she is usually not open to visitors. I can't manage three weekends without seeing her! Did I say obsessed? Who, ME? ~chuckles~ I sure hope she learns to love me as much as I already love her!

Thanks Judy, yes, I checked VERY carefully about the kind of paint and if it was safe for birds. The cage was powder coated, and had a couple of spots in the bottom tray (which the bird never gets near, by the way) that had developed some rust. I sanded those down and used paint that had been specially recommended as safe, and since she won't actually touch the part of the cage that was painted over, I think it will be ok. I appreciate your concern on that! This cage belonged to my eclectus who died right after Christmas; it is a good cage but I wanted it to be even better for the baby ~smiles~ So I tossed out all the old perches and food cups and replaced them, and put new casters on the cage, and . . . gee, you don't think I am obsessing here or anything, do you? ~chuckles~

~grins~ I have been driving out to the breeder's once a week, although since it is an hour drive each way and gas is so expensive I may not be able to keep doing that. But I just love seeing the baby fuzzy parrots who can barely perch one week practicing flapping their wings the next, and flying all around the room the following week! My Jenna is quite the flyer. She is VERY bonded to the breeder right now, but she puts up with me ~grins~ My goal is really just to get her familiar enough with me that I won't be a total stranger when she comes home. Meanwhile, I've totally rearranged my living room to accomodate her cage; scrubbed and refurbished and painted over rust spots and disinfected the cage; started building her a play perch; read EVERYTHING I can find on greys, clicker training, and anything else that seems pertinent . . . A WHOLE MONTH MORE ~sigh~ Here she is . . .

Hi Smithie, congrats on your new baby!!! It is SO exciting, isn't it? My baby CAG comes home in ONE MORE MONTH . . . .

Christoph, I would definitely call the vet!!! Weight loss is definitely one indicator that he could be ill. Please let us know how Jengo is doing

That is a lot of talking for a six month old baby! GO little girl! ~grins~

I am so glad your baby grey is doing better, Wendy! I've been doing a lot of reading about clicker training lately; it seems to help with feather plucking as well as a number of other problem behaviors. I'm no expert - haven't even tried it yet - but it's something to look into if you have additional problems with your little guy

Cool, Jess, I look forward to seeing it!

She is a beauty! I am so envious that you have your baby at home with you . . . I have SIX WEEKS more to wait!!!

Silly grey girl!

~laughs~ And I have fantasized for years about a trip to Scotland! I live in the Dallas, Texas area

I've been in touch with a guy who sells decorative woods of various kinds, and he has some untreated grapewood trees that he says would work for what I have in mind. He had a pair of Moluccan Cockatoos (until they were stolen about 10 years ago) so he does understand that they need to be untreated and disinfected and bird safe. So we'll see what he has, and I'll go from there! You folks are terrific, thanks for all your great ideas!

I hope the necropsy gives you some information. Sometimes they don't. My eclectus died right after christmas, and I did take him to the vet to be checked out, and she (the vet) could not ascertain for sure what had happened. My condolences to your sister, she must be heart broken.

Oh my gosh!!! Thank goodness you took him in to the vet!