LindaMary

Congratulations! You must be so excited! What a handsome bird McKenzie is!

I can just report my own experience with Maxi, who also gets very nervous when crows are around. We have a big wetland behind our house which the crows use as a gathering place sometimes, and there are usually a couple of crows hanging about the neighborhood at any given time. Seagulls, too, in our neighborhood. She really dislikes them and gets very nervous if I have her outisde in her travel cage when they are cawing. Result : I usually bring her inside if they are around - after all, outside time is supposed to be pleasant for her, not frightening! I don't know whether it's an instinctive fear - crows are omnivores of course and will steal baby birds from nests, and they do have crow species in Africa - but in any case there's something about crows Max really doesn't like. She also has Extremely Sharp Vision and can spot a hawk VERY far away (or high up, as the case may be.) Quite a few times when we are outside I have noticed she is fixated on something in the sky, and when I really look hard I will notice there's a hawk circling so high up it's just a speck in the sky - but she's watching its every move. Again - I just bring her inside. I'd suggest you follow Pumpkin's lead: she's shown you she doesn't want to look out that window - it's too scary. So just keep the blinds down, or maybe put a heavy curtian over it. Is her cage at least against a wall on at least one side, so she can feel secure? There are skylights in Maxi's room,and she is just as cautious about hawks she sees through those windows as when she's outside. Keep us posted, and good luck.

Well the way this makes sense to me is that your grey is using the voice of the human who is closest to the person he or she is bonded with. Kind of like you were getting at in jest, Dan when you talked about Dayo wearing your clothes and wooing your wife - I actually think that might be what he's trying to do.:evil: He probably sees that when you speak your wife responds to you - and Jen that when your husband speaks you respond to him - and so when they speak "human" they pick the voice that usually gets a response from their most-loved human. Clever little devils!:evil: :evil:

What a great update, Pat! He looks just beautiful now, and I'm sure that eating issue will eventually change. He just seems like a guy who does things at his own pace - and look how your patience has paid off already! If you think about it you really haven't had him that long yet, and what a differnece in his looks and behavior. You deserve a huge pat on the back! {Feel-good-000200BB} And guess what - Tanner's coming out of his cage by himself now, too - in fact that's the first thing he wants to do when I come into the room: once I open his cage door he crawls around over his food dish and onto the door, and then wants to step up on my hand from there. Yesterday he stepped up on my hand from inside his cage for the first time, but that's still scary for him. Outside his cage he wants to be on a shoulder all the time, and is usually pretty well-behaved up there (altho yesterday for some reason he was having a bad hair day and being way too beaky so I kept putting him back on my hands). The beak rubs and head scritches - I wonder if it's especially a macaw thing, because Tanner just loves that, too. I've been misting him a little every other day , and getting him damper each time, and he's finally starting to learn that the world doesn't end when that bottle appears. He's a fruit junkie - bananas, apples, papaya, pomegranate, cranberries - and will eat edamame and carrots. Maybe his biggest progress, tho, is that he seems to be learning that he gets more attention if he speaks softly ("Hello", "Hi" or a soft macaw sound) than if he emits those ear-shattering macaw shrieks. What I really like are the crow-like croaking sounds he makes when he's happy. Only one more week in quarantine - I can't wait to get him and Max in the same room where they can see each other. They are talking back and forth a bit, and Max now says "hello" much more often because she's seeing it gets someone else some attention, I suppose! I even heard her say "Hey Tanner" once! Well, I didn't mean to take over your thread - yikes - got carried away. :blush: I hope you don't mind - it is fun to see what "the other Severe" is up to - they do seem to share a lot of behaviors. Keep up the good work, Pat. You rock!

Count me in... just now getting over a cold so bad it actually made me stay out of work a couple of days. Haven't been on here, either, because every chance I get when I can half breathe, I'm asleep! So glad the fids can't catch it! Hope y'all feel better soon....

Wow, Carolyn - that is terrific! I didn't know you were working with him on this - you must be so proud!

WOOHOO Janet - congratulations! So glad you finally have your little Timneh home! It sounds like she is settling right in quite well. I still like the names you were thinking of before, Tallulah or Cisco.... In any case, the fun starts now!B)

Welcom home, Rossi! What a beauty! It sounds like the two of you were made for each other!B)

Pat, I'd swear that bird gets a year younger with every fortnight under your wing (so to speak)! He's just SO handsome - and looks so relaxed now! I think you should be really proud of the progress you and he have made - just think how long he was cooped up! I think it's GREAT that he's coming out onto the door of his cage now - regularly, it seems - maybe you should just let him do that for a while until he feels really solid with it. Thanks for the update - and we don't mind dark pictures if it means less stress for the bird!

Check out the thread "Ina's Flock" on this forum - there's a picture of a jardine's in there. (I don't know how to post links to other threads...sorry...)

Jardine's are SOOO beautiful! I can very well imagine how you would fall in love with one that is falling in love with you! Congratulations on your imminent homecoming!

BTW Mary and I are also planning on using the winter to try to harness-train both Max and Tanner. I have one Aviator so far and will be getting another. Maxi is getting more comfortable with me touching her body and wings (and Tanner's got a jump on her in that department), so that's another option we are working on.

No, Pat, Tanner's tail won't fit! In fact I really feel like a large CAG would be a little cramped in one. I know they have made them slightly larger since I bought Maxi's (like a inch) and they have started using a larger perch diameter, but I feel like my older one is just about right for Max, and she's pretty petite even for a Timneh (260 g). I don't really have a good solution for Tanner yet - kind of glad that I have the winter to keep my eye out. Let me know if you see something, okay?

Check out the Adventure Pack by Flying South, Mingus. Several people on here have them, including me. They are a good size for a Timneh - Maxi loves hers!

I think you have a little brainiac on your hands, Mingus! Congratulations!

That's terrific, Barbara - so glad to hear that your efforts are paying off! Good for you!{Feel-good-000200BB}

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Where do you GET these, Dan? Thanks for the laugh!

That's great, Pat, and so funny! They are almost as bad as cats sometimes. :evil: Do you think Tyco's switcheroo has anything to do with Gizmo coming out of quarantine and joining your bird room? Like maybe she is trying to make sure she keeps her rank with you? Whatever the cause, I'll bet BOTH you and Tyco are feeling better for it! Maybe you told her how all of us said she was the most beautiful grey...:silly:

I think what I'm going to do with Max is pour myself a little cup of Harrison's pellets at the dining room table, and sit there with her next to me and let her watch me eat a few of them with a great display of how yummy and good they are, while trying to keep them AWAY from her. Maybe a little reverse psychology will work....:evil:

Wow, Pat - that's excellent! Isn't that funny that they both gave it a try on the same day! I am SO proud of Gizmo - after all he's been thru that is a huge hurdle for him to have crossed, and I think the credit goes to you for being so patient and consistent with him that he is learning it's okay to take a few risks in your house. Bravo, Gizmo, Pat and Tanner!{Feel-good-000200BB}

That's great news, Pat! I also picked up some Harrison's when I went to the vet this week, but so far no interest from either bird. Maxi is hard core - loves the fresh food I give her but I am really not sure she has ever eaten a pellet - and I've tried several kinds. She won't even touch them dunked. I have seen Tanner eating some pellets (Zupreem), but he looks slanchwise at the Harrison's so far. Still a long way to go for me.... If I were youI'd just stick with what they all seem to like - maybe buy some coarse for Fergie and see if she's more interested. What does your vet say?

Big Excitement! Tanner came out of his cage this afternoon - on his own! I was just hanging out with him, talking, and he seemed very relaxed, and actually started experimenting with crawling out onto the door of his cage - it seemed like he just wante to be closer to me. So I backed off a little and kept cooing to him, and he came a little further, but was undecided. Now I'm feeling determined, so I pulled out a new toy he hadn't seen, and checked to see if he was interested - he was. To make a long story short, there was a lot of back and forth, but within about eight minutes, he had crawled out onto the door and then onto me. Naturally I made a BIG fuss and told him he was the bravest boy ever! I was so excited! I kept him out for about half an hour, and then didn't stop him when he looked like he wanted to go back in. About a half hour later, I was back in the room, and here he comes out again. Didn't want to get on me that time, and gave me a really nice pinch on the wrist for offering my arm. So he got my back and the silent treatment for a few minutes. We still have so far to go to really get stepping-up down - although actually did that once in his cage yesterday. And the out-of-cage thing is so new, that's no guarantee either, he makes it clear he doesn't want me TAKING him out of his cage. But I was so thrilled he finally felt secure enough to try it on his own! Pat, I'm sure Gizmo will get there, he's just been in his cage SOOO long. I know I am lucky in Tanner's case, even if he is younger. Keep up the faith, and I still think waiting a week and then insisting is a good plan - it's still my plan, too. After another week, I think I will amp things up on him a bit and start trying to teach him that he should come out when I want him out, not just when he wants to come out. And I will be going out to dinner with my mom and my daughter on Wednesday night, and then coming home to make the pumpkin pie:) ! (I'm the Thanksgiving cook around here...) WOOO-HOOO Tanner!

Yes, I am being careful to give Maxi her time, food, etc. first. Thank you for the time estimate on how long it generally takes for new flock members to get integrated. It really helps to have a goal in mind, even if it's a more-or-less goal!

Great ideas, Erika! Maxi is definitely drawn to simpler toys, too - I'll bet she'd like that firemen on a rope one! She still seems to think a two spools on a rope is just about the perfect afternoon playmate.

Yes, I agree, Pat. It's one thing while he still in quarantine, but once he's cleared to share space with Maxi I am definitely going to want him to feel more secure outside his cage, so we don't have to be bound to the room he is in. After all - he'd miss all the fun at the dinner table! I do worry a little about Maxi being jealous once he moves into the same room and when she actually sees me spending time with him and playing with him (which she hasn't yet), but I suppose we will simply cross that bridge when we get to it. So far, she's definitely aware that there's another presence requiring some of my (and Mary's) time (a presence which occasionally squawks!), but she doesn't really seem to be too bothered about it. So far so good - keep your fingers crossed for me!