pearllyn

No have you ever sent something back at a restaurant?

#10 his soft furry

I absolutely believe animals can tune in to our feelings, although I think some have a better ability to do it than others. I see it regularly with my dogs, and even my horses react to the way I'm feeling. I was in hospital for a whort while last year and when I came home Alfie was literally stuck to my neck for about 3 days. After that she relaxed to the back of the couch where I did most of my convalescing. She was an absolute angel while I was feeling poorly, but as I began to feel better she started to get up to her old tricks again - pinching things she shouldn't and so on!! We have a charity in the UK called Pets as Therapy (I think there is a similar one in the US) consisting of dogs and cats which are taken by their owner to hospitals, nursing homes etc and the resident simply pat and cuddle them. I think animals are so theraputic because of their empathic abilities. This is an excellenet thread to have started Xtreme575, I hope it throws up some more great stories like Paco's!

You really sound like you have your work cut out Julie! I think at this stage you're willing to try anything? Good luck with Argyle - I hope you see at least some progress soon.

Haha that's brilliant! She's so relaxed!

no did you get a new (to you) car in the last year?

Poor Spock. I think about him often and wonder how he's doing. x

judygram wrote: Me either Lyn but the debate is interesting to read, . Just to clarify - I didn't mean that I'm not interested in this debate/thread, I just meant that if something has a question over wether it really is bad, or might it be ok, I wouldn't consider taking it off my "don't even think about it" list! If there is enough of a doubt to put it on my list in the first place, that's good enough for me! I'm enjoying the Thread Jay - and it's an excellent reference for what is good or not for our birds. I've always steered well clear of apple pips - so there you are!!

No Can you do the splits?

I love this clip! It just shows how relaxed a grey can be!

A pidglet?:blink:

Wow! That corner cage looks lovely! Grab it!!!

These birds are just so beautiful. It's just too sad that they are under threat because of mankinds greed.

An interesting thread no doubt, but if there is even a slight chance of a food being toxic it goes nowhere near Alfie. I'm not at all interested in the debate on wether or not something is actually toxic or just suspected to be so - I'll not be testing the theory!!:laugh: :laugh:

What a great Atom! It's really lovely to see Rishi having fun and enjoying himself on it!

Wow! Bouncy!!

I'm not English but share the sentiment. Thanks Bernie.

Brilliant. Karma coming your way for two such thoughtful posts. x

Ahh Julie that's just lovely. Brought a lump to my throat. Thanks for sharing this - I'm sure Ram and Sabi will love it.

I don't believe it!! Not sweet little Emma!!! Lol! Thanks for sharing.

Lol - loved the vids - especially the Ho ho ho ho! Thanks for sharing.

Hi Elvinking, Isaac sounds like a real sweetie. It is so great to hear of a new parront going to these lengths to make sure their new baby is going to be happy! It's amazing to me that there are so many of them on this forum! I'm with the others - there are many more experienced members on this site than me, but here's what I've found in the nearly two years since Alfie joined us. The flight aspect I've already told you on your other thread. As far as stepping up goes, I would agree with Xtreme575 and would be slightly concerned about grabbing him - however gently. It's forcing him to do something that he is trying to tell you he doesn't want to do, and that won't lead to anything good. If he doesn't step up when you ask, try gently raising your hand until it is firmly touching his belly just above his legs - he will stand on his tippytoes and the next natural reaction is to lift a foot - and conveniently, your hand will be there for him!! If he stil avoids this, I would really respect his feelings and leave him a while. I understand that when you need to go out to work and have to get him back into his cage, time can be short, but it's a different thing lifting him to put him into his cage. He needs to see his cage as his safe place - if you take him out of it by force, the safety aspect will be gone. The talking is different for every bird - some never talk at all, although I don't know of any on this site. Alfie said her first words - "hello Alfie" at 6 months 1 week and 3 days old!! (notice doting parront!!) She's been steadily adding to her vocab since. Will go through her repertoire every day, but definitley has a favourite at any one time. She is a smashing whistler and can mimic sounds like a tape recorder!! Generally, they need at least 4 hours out of cage time every day. I don't think there is an upper limit, but they do need a lot of sleep - 12 hours is not unusual for a young bird. Alfie still needs at least 10hours, and while she is often reluctant to go to bed, she never ever asks to be up before we are! Ocassionally she will take hereself off to bed, but not very often. Night time is cuddle time for her and she really enjoys just sitting on a lap of an evening. Toilet training will only happen if you are consistant and pay attention. We still have the odd accident, but usually she will fly to her perch when she needs to go. She never poops on us anymore, sometimes the couch gets it. I don't really know why she has her little accidents, because she knows to go to her perch when she needs. Maybe she just gets sidetracked and forgets to go. Initially to train her, we put her on her perch every 15 minutes and gave the command. We still do this when she is sitting on our knee and she goes whenever we ask her to, so if she has an accident it's our fault. Good luck with Isaac - it sounds like you are on the right track with him. Do read through the many threads on what a grey needs - diet, uv lamp etc, there are so many things you need to know, and be sure to just ask any questions you may have! Lyn & Alfie.

Ooh Janet! How exciting! I hope you get some good advice from some Amazonions!! Nilah does seem like the sweetest little bird ever! They can't all be like her though - can they? And doesn't Pat have a character - Fergie? Good luck with deciding. x

Kathryn you've done the right thing by calling the specialist yourself. The vet might be short staffed but that's no excuse for leaving you going through goodness knows what with a baby who has broken his back. They charge plenty for the service they provide and if they can't provide it, they need to be up front about it - especially in a potentially life and death situation. Well done for taking matters into your own hands. You haven't let Vree down at all, and when he is all better again it might be worth getting back to the original vet and making a formal complaint. I'm not one for rocking the boat, but when it comes to the welfare of my animals, I need to know I can trust my vet completely. It's good to hear that Vree is a little more in control though. x

Oh how hard! I really feel for you having to give him his jabs - you feel really guilty about doing it don't you? Even though you know it's for the best and must be done! Stay strong. x