BaxtersMom

He is a beautiful grey. Nismo is quite the camera ham, huh?:laugh: Looks like he likes his pictures taken. Look forward to seeing more.

Hello and welcome to the forum. Can't wait to hear more about Tizzy. Sounds like quite a character:)

{Feel-bad-0002006A} More tears from me, too. I think that poem is right on on older rehomed and rescued birds. They might have some quirks but don't we all? They want love just like we do. Oh gosh, now I'm all emotional now. :blush:

Those are great pics. You are quite the photographer:) Thanks for posting them.

Baxter, Bonkers, Tigger & Cooper have made plans to attend Gryphons play date, too{Characters-0002005C}

Yep, I think so too. I am really excited about it and can't wait to get some great ideas! I am ready to build some toys!!!!{Nature-00020085}

I'm not sure but am glad you asked. When I got Baxter he regurgitated during the first or second week. He was in his cage and then he didn't do it again anymore....untill 2 nights ago. He was on his portable perch and he was holding on to my finger. His wings were low and all the sudden he is reguritating. Gosh its such an ugly sight but I was wondering why he was holding his wings low and kind of squatting too. Was wondering if it a sexual thing:ohmy: or just reguritating? Congradulations on the reguritating though. He loves you already:)

Mika is one spoiled bird. He is going to have a blast shredding that to pieces. :laugh: You just think of everything Carolyn. You are such a good mom.

Thanks everyone! And thanks for the karma:) That video is really cute:laugh: Amazing how they can figure things out and turn simple things into tools. I've heard of back scratchers but neck sractchers. Too funny.:laugh: Cooper is doing really well and getting situated. He's only been with us for a week. He is coming out of his cage on his own and going on top by himself. He loves all toys!!!! Or non toys:blink: Anything we give to him he can turn it into a toy and have a blast with it. He is starting to step up from the cage. Well, only cuz there is not better alternatives;) When he is on top I will get him to one corner and put my arm behind his body so he can't run across the cage and put my other hand in front and tell him to step up. After pacing a few times he gets on my hand:) He's not scared of our hands but does not want to be petted any yet. I put him on a pillow on my lap the last few nights with a baby blanket on top and he just had a blast pulling and tugging at the blanket. The second time (last night) I gave him a toy to play with and he was in heaven:) I have my hands on the pillow and he walks into them and bumps them and has no fear of them but still cant really touch him a whole lot. I try and sneak a few pets in on his chest and wings but he clearly doesn't like it. (He will eventually) When I try to pet him he will step up on my hands:lol: I think that is the only thing he can think of so I don't pet him. If he steps up on my hand I can't use it to pet him. Smart bird. That's ok too cuz that way I keep saying step up and he does so he is really learning a lot. He is a real clown and I think he is going to be a great addition to our flock. Any time we turn anything on with some kind of motor like the vaccuum, mixer, washing machine, hair dryer anything with a hum or motor sound he will laugh hysterically and say some of his words. He also cries too, just like a real baby. He says a few words when it's quiet and sometimes if we say hello to him, he will answer back and say Hello bird:laugh: So not bad for one week. He's fun!

I am making plans for my day right now. I need to tidy up the house a bit, my fids are so messy. There is always cleaning to do!<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/12/22 05:12

I'm not having too much trouble getting him off his cage anymore but it's still not as "smooth" as I'd like. He spends alot of time on top of his playgym so when I want to get him down I will try and get him to one corner of the top of the cage and I will put the length of my arm behind him but not touching him and kind of seclude him to that area. Then I take my other hand in front of him and tell him to step up. He tries to back up and realized my arm is back there and he will pace a couple times and figure out the only place to go is up on my hand and he does it. He doesn't get freaked out but he really doesn't want to get up on my hand but he does it:) Then he stands up really tall like he is proud of himself.:laugh: Then I turn his back to the cage and do the step up command about 4 or 5 times and he knows exactly what I am wanting him to do. So we are coming along nicely. There still is no way to get him to step up out of the cage and I haven't even tried either cuz I know he won't do it yet. The last 2 nights I have taken him to the couch and have a square pillow and put it on my lap. I cover that with a baby blanket and he gets on it and just plays with the baby blanket by tugging on it and walking around. He looks like he is having so much fun too. He is not scared at all either and not wanting to get away from me either:) . I put my hands on the pillow and he will bump into them or beak them and he doesn't even care at all. I have been sneaking a few pets in on his chest and he still don't like it but is letting me do it for a few seconds. Last night I gave him a toy cell phone on my lap to play with and he was in heaven. He can push the buttons and make it make all kinds of sounds. He had a really good time last night:) .

Well good for you getting him away from the cage and getting to pet him all over. And he enjoyed it so that is even better!!!! Its tough to get them away from the cage but they are so much better when they are away from it. I don't know of a easy way to get them off the cage when they are determined thats the place they want to be. I think it's just a time thing. Baxter was like that, he would get spooked and jump off the cage but he would come right to me when he was on the ground(before he knew how to step up) Those were the times I would teach him the step up command and it just got easier with time. It's not an easy process though and I am remember that all over again since Cooper came to live with us.

I am just now starting to leave the house again since I started my bird binge. :blink: I was so obsessed with Baxter and then the others that I just didn't want to leave for any amounts of time at all. And when I was out all I could think about was getting home:( Plus, all my interest that I used to have have just stopped it seems. I don't think that is good for me though or healthy. I need to quit being such a bird brain:woohoo: Last week I did go out and work in the yard and did some rearranging of some furniture and got into some of the things I used to do and I must admit it felt really good. I kind of felt like I was getting back to normal for awhile but my intersts quickly went back to the flock:laugh: I am a willing prisoner I guess. But I do think I need to start doing more of the activities that I did before.

I have a male eclectus and he does the figure 8 with his head too:laugh: Funniest thing I ever seen!! I think it's a normal thing for ekkies. He also will turn his head upside and just sit like that sometimes. He is a real clown. I wouldn't worry about the figure 8.

That is really good news. Ice must be settling in nicely. From biting last week to head scratches this week. That is great progress.

I have soaked them in apple juice too and noticed my eclectus would eat them a little more that way, too. Not soggy, just put them in apple juice for 15 - 20 seconds, just enough to wet them. He really enjoys the Zupreem though and don't have to sneak them in any foods or soak them.

Baxter was 12 years old when I got him in July, He weighed 465g the first time I wieghed him. He has steadily gained wieght in the 4 months I've had him and now is at 485g but he is not fat at all, more on the slender side. (He's a Cag.)

Hello and welcome to the forum. I like your profile pic. Olly is one handsome grey:) If you've already been lurking for awhile you already know this is a great place to get information. Good to have you here.

It's all going to work out fine for you when you bring Tanner home. And as for your questions, yes I did list in another post that I worked with race horses and had to really stand my ground or could get hurt real bad.(I even lived at the tracks at racing seasons, it was a blast) I seen others that were so scared of horses and they really can tell. And the other one, yes I have gotten all my flock in a short period of time starting with Baxter. He was my (early) birthday present and he came to live with me on July 13th of this year. I knew I would get another one large parrot in the future and then my neighbor brought over a lost Conure, we couldn't find the owner so we took him in and he runs the house now:evil: :laugh: , we thought that might curb our urge for another parrot but it didn't and I found Tigger online and I just love how they look. I wanted him but decided against it, thought the time just wasn't right so I gave up on it, I almost had him out of my head and was okay about it and the guy called me back so I went and looked at him and fell in love immediately and took him home:) My husband seen an dyh at a bird show and wanted one of those and that's where Cooper came in. Baxter is pretty much my personal bird, my husband can handle him but I think I was so protective of him when he came home and did everything with him. I was determined he would choose me as his chosen personB) Bonkers likes my husband best but will go to any shoulder he can find. He is a pest, like the little nieghbor kid that never goes home:laugh: But he has his special place too. Tigger will go to either me or my husband and he is probably the sweetest bird we have. And now Cooper, other than me getting him out of his cage my husband does most of the work with him. I am trying to stay out of it for awhile so they can bond but it's really hard;) So we got all these birds starting in mid July and added one member about 1 month apart. :woohoo: Crazy huh. I work from the house though so I have a lot of time to spend with them all. At the current moment, I do not have any urges to add to my flock. Plus I am out of room in my house now with all these cages:(

I already feel so rewarded by all of them as it is. I love them all so much{Love-000200BF} I just want to spend all my time with them:)

I remember Mr. Magoo too. I forgot about him. I was still pretty new here to the forum and didn't realize it was you who had him. I agree with cflanny. You are an angel!

Well, you are too kind. :blush: Thank you. I'm giving you karma for that one;) I'm still gonna give the credit to the flock though. They are just sooooo good and perhaps they can shine here cuz we do love them lots!

Thank you. I think Tigger is gorgeous. The green has an irridescent shine that I haven't seen on other birds, even the females, although they are gorgeous, too. I was so surprised with Tigger cuz I read before getting him that they are a misunderstood bird and alot of people say they are dumb, slow, not intelligent, etc and not all people like them. Well, I got him anyway and I can see why people may think that if they aren't "in tune" with their personalities but I think Tigger is so smart and so funny. Totally different than my grey in so many ways too. Tigger talks soooo good. His biggest phrase is "They call him Tigger, Tigger, King of the Jun-Gullllll" :woohoo: All in one sentence. And the gull sound goes on forever:laugh: He is such a love bug and I don't regret getting him one bit. I don't regret any of them:laugh: They guy wanted $750 for Tigger(with no cage) for him but he took $500 for him cuz he knew I was close and would take good care of him. Baxter was $600 with a cage, Bonkers was Free:woohoo: and Cooper was my most expensive and way overpriced for the condition he was in. She advertised him for $900 with cage and said thats what she paid. Over the phone she said she would go to $800. We seen 2 other dyh online for $500. Anyway, once I seen Cooper in there I had to get him out of those circumstances all together and just paid the $800 for him:pinch: We could have gotten a much cheaper amazon but I felt this one needed rescueing more. I am still uspset with her & that she wanted so much for him not being handled and all but once we got there it wasn't about the money anymore it was about saving Cooper. Hopefully, we will be rewarded in some way for it;) I guess with all the money we have spent on older birds we could have had one or two babies but I am a softie for the underdogs & misfits.<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2008/11/12 19:40

Yes, Cooper is still in quarantine. He is in the dining room and my other guys are in the front of the house. After seeing the filth he had to live in I was a bit concerned about his health but I think he is fine but still keep him away from my other guys. Baxter my grey was my first and he is still my "top bird" and I'm sure he always will be. The lost conure came and I tried to quarantine him but Bonkers had other ideas. I could not keep him off of Baxters cage (he is expert flyer;) ) and the quarantine was blown. I tried & tried to keep them separated but Baxter didn't even seem to mind so I quit fighting it. They are buddies and Bonkers hangs out on Baxters cage half the day. And I quit making a big deal out of it. I have noticed though when I wanted Bonkers off Baxters cage and I would be raising my voice saying "You come here, Get off his cage" and stuff like that Baxter would team up with me and go after Bonkers:ohmy: . But if I didn't mind, Baxter didn't either. If I would have kept it up I think I would have taught Baxter to be aggressive with Bonkers and I don't want that. Tigger, my eclectus, I did not quarantine either because he had been at the vet prior to me getting him. Baxter didn't mind Tigger either. He would watch me when I talked to him and pay attention to him but didn't see any signs of jealousy or aggression. Bonkers is the only one who wants to visit. Baxter is fine with it but Tigger will growl at him and Bonkers quickly makes a u turn in flight and goes somewhere else:laugh: I did always and still do make sure Baxter got the first greeting of the day, the first food and water, the first snack, the first petting and last to go to bed, so he didn't really have to be jealous. That seemed to work out good. I was really worried about how I would divide the time up between them but it was actually alot easier than I thought it would be. Baxter is not a morning bird and does not really want any attention from me untill late afternoon or evening. Tigger on the other hand wants attention during the day and he goes to bed on his own around 8 pm. So their schedules work out for me really well:) They kind of decided what their schedules would be. I did feel guilty at first though anytime I would pick up Tigger, I thought Baxter would have resentment but he didn't show any signs of it. When I got Tigger I did kind of feel like I was betraying Baxter but it was really all in my head. I actually think Baxter likes having other birds around him. I do think it is important to not make a big fuss over them being together and act like it is natural. I have heard so many other people say their birds do not get along and can not be let out at the same time. I am so lucky I have not had this problem at all. Maybe it's the birds themselves or maybe because I didn't act like there was a problem so there wasn't one. I leave all my birds cage doors open and they come and go as they please in and out of their cages. They don't fly off the cage very often either. Cooper is the only bird I have that has clipped wings because I seen from the start when we had him out of his cage he was always looking for somewhere to fly to. And he jumped off our hand and flew wildly a couple of times. I am hoping that when his feathers grow back out we won't have to clip him again. :unsure: Another thing is sometimes I take both Baxter and Tigger to my office when I work and I have a wood shelf cabinet that I open the doors on and sit Baxter on one side and Tigger on the other and they have never seemed upset about it:) Baxter, Bonkers & Tigger are in my front room and their cages are only about a foot away from eachother too. They all seem happy with the arrangements:) I am not sure I even have enough room for Cooper to go in there without rearranging furniture but still have a ways to go on that.

Isn't it nice to see them up on top of the cage? It has to be exciting for him too. He is a beautiful bird. Cooper came out of his cage on his own one day but the next it seemed like he didn't want to. Then 2 days later he comes and goes all the time. I guess he finally figured out it was ok to be out and fun too.