karunk

Congrats!! BTW how old is Harvey??

all.. good news.. Chikki is slowly coming back to his self.. he is not eating as much as he used to, but i can clearly see he is improving.. and i am slowly weaning him out of the seeds business.. morning he has some cornflakes/oats placed between bits of seeds.. during the day my wife gives him some snacks and in the night, it is rice and fresh vegetables.. coated on top with some seeds.. and he is doing just fine!! the good thing is, my wife has taken a break from work for a few months.. so she is there the whole day at home and lets him out at about 4 in the evening.. and Chikki has learnt to get back to his HOME when he is sleepy or hungry.. which is so nice.. and he is getting chattier these days.. today especially my wife said he has been trying all sorts of sounds, especially when my wife is on the phone.. i sometimes try to decode some meaningful words from his chatter, but not been successful so far.. but he is getting there i think!! cant wait .. otherwise he is the same old self.. now that he eats something other than seeds, i can start training him from the weekend treating him with seeds!!

i have a tent like thing for Chikki.. being just 5 months old, he is still exploring the world and he loves the tent.. but it is a bit too big to be put in his cage.. so i leave it outside the cage, and whenever he is out of the cage and wants a secure place, he just walks into it..

Hi austinrngr.. i have been trying clicker training as well.. but i havent been as successful as you have been.. i am sure Chikki, my 5 month old CAG is really smart.. but i am not as smart a trainer as you are probably!!.. is there any book/website that you follow for clicker training..!!

Hey.. dont worry.. I often dream such terible things as well.. but my parents always say, when we dream about someone's death, it just means they will live longer.. i am not sure how true that is, but it is a good consolation after a horrible dream.. Long live Chimay!!

guys.. some updates on Chikki.. i have noticed something very weird in his eating habits.. i found that the breeder gave him a seed based diet. i had got him out of it in the lost 2 months.. anyways i am slowly getting him to eat.. but this is strange... i place seeds in his usual bowl and he doesnt touch it.. so i put it in a plastic cover and place it in his neighbourhood and he is happy to forage it and make a mess of the place.. what is he going through.. from what i see he is eating ok.. just that doesnt have it from his usual bowl!! please help..

Dan I am sorry to say that I have never weighed him so far.. i wasnt aware of the importance.. i will order a weighing machine straightaway!!

Petrea, try this findtoto.com. This would immediately broadcast the news to your neighbourhood.. it might cost you a few dollars though.. but if you manage to get the AG to his owner I am sure he will be very grateful!!

How nice.. Leia, Chikki is 5 months old.. thats what i was thinking as well.. should give a call to the breeders.. his nostrils are fine.. eyes are sharp and he is as mischievous as ever.. will keep you posted.. he does eat food.. but previously he used to eat rice/cornflakes/indian pancakes and a lot of stuff really well.. but now he just has a bite.. which worries me..it took me 3 months to get him to this indianised diet .. and a week has spoilt it i guess!! haha..

All.. please help.. I had to rush to India last week as my Grandfather was critically ill. I had to let Chikki stay with the breeder. She is really very good in terms of the conditions she provides to her birds.. Chikki had a seperate cage for her, and seemed to be a happy bird when i brought him home this monday.. Since then I have noticed that he doesnt eat as much as he generally did before last week.. even his favourite foods are not enough to lure him to eat.. he either has just a bite or throws them away.. i have never seen this behaviour in him.. otherwise he seems to be pretty normal.. makes a lot of noise, is very active and is the same in his habits.. in fact this week he has been out of his cage almost 5 to 6 hours everday against 4 hours previously.. is this something to worry about, or should i just give him sometime to regain his self after this change!!

Chikki was microchipped a few days back.. the vet kind injected the chip somewhere between the left leg and his body.. and he did tell me chikki will feel a discomfort for 2 hours.. and he was right.. chikki is a left legger and for those few hours after the microchipping he preferred his right leg.. but the next day he was fine..

wow.. how did i miss this one!! i thought i was alone.. when i decided to get an african grey my wife was totally against it.. my in laws who love pets where deliberately supporting her.. i had to finally show them it was my house and i decide who lived here.. till the day i brought chikki home i wasnt sure how it would be.. but once i brought him home some criticisms have died down.. and when chikki flew off, i am sure i heard a few peoples' minds chuckle at me.. but now that i got him back, and they all think its a miracle, he has become the God sent bird .. my wife is a lot more supporting these days.. either she likes him or she has learnt to endure him.. and my in laws are absolutely in love with him.. but she still cant tolerate him pooping at different places.. think she will slowly tolerate that as well.. but as you say, it does need something special to be able to love animals as we do!! thanks for starting this post.. finally i poured it all out!!

guys.. serious apologies.. coudnt update you all.. have been held up with a release and working like mad the last few days.. i am just off work.. but decided i would surely post today irrespective of my work load.. if we go we will surely take chikki.. but now it looks like we may not go.. a couple of logistical issues and one of my friends is visiting us from scotland that weekend.. so, plans postponed.. btw chikki is doing well.. he is making all sorts of sounds these days.. whistles screeches some kind of clicking sounds and all that.. not sure if that is the prelude to talking.. atleast i hope so.. anyways, today i allowed chikki to be out of his cage in the conservatory when i was out for work.. he seemed to be ok.. may do it once or twice every week from now on.. just to see how he takes it..

Hey so glad for you.. how old is Smokie.?? i am sure you must be really excited.. i really cant wait to see chikki talk..

All.. thought of posting on the rescue topic, but decided I wont as Chikki has been home for a week now.. Chikki got back to his old whistling self over the weekend.. difference since he flew are, 1. he seems to eat a lot more, as the vet told 2. he seems to try a lot more varieties in whistling and seems to be a bit more creative in the sound department, which is nice 3. he is not as active as he used to be, may be he is tired, may be is being a bit cautious 4. He doesnt fly as much.. not even his favourite play top perch jumps.. which makes me feel bad a bit.. but i dont force him to do things which he is not ready to yet.. 5. Otherwise he is the same.. i have started harrisons food for him as well.. one more input i need from you guys.. looks like we will be going out for the long weekend in august end to south of England.. i prefer to take chikki with me.. and the hosts are happy to see him home.. but, he would be travelling in his travel cage and may not get too much time outside the cage as he would normally get.. I could leave him to the breeders but i want him to be there in the vacation.. i know the breeders used to take him to shows across the country when they went there overnight.. so he is used to travelling.. but please share your thoughts on what you think would be good for chikki..!!

Before talking more about chikki, LindaMary, something for you.. I am neither a complete believer nor a nonbeliever of all these animal communication.. what i believe is this, the direction they give will more or less be right, but the magnitude may vary a bit.. say for eg: things i considered from the session were, chikki is alive and safe, he is not far from where he took off.. he is unhurt.. the rest, i didnt consider it too right.. because, there are a lot of houses in our area that has wooden fences, beautiful flower gardens and old wooden house like structures.. so it pretty much gave me the direction that Chikki was within the residential area and didnt fly into the adjacent industrial area(which was worrying me).. and i think all these facts put together in a jigsaw puzzle helped things, atleast in progressing in the right direction(getting posters out) even though i might not have found Chikki in the exact place as Suzi predicted.. anyways it is just my opinion.. didnt mean to offend your opinion!! but the prediction really did help.. about chikki.. i felt last night that he was growling because he was trying to imitate the pigeons.. this morning i realised that it was due to some trouble in his throat.. he ate fine and walked fine.. he was a bit less active which was understandable as he would be tired.. the Vet confirmed that he had sore throat due to whistling non stop.. otherwise he said he was fine.. he had an injection for that and also got the microchip on.. but he has been fine since the visit to vet as he spent about 2 hours after that on my lap and on my shoulders.. he is yet to start whistling freely.. will keep you guys posted on how he behaves in the coming days..

Thanks for all your wishes.. tears.. love.. very grateful.. Chikki is back in his cage.. i have taken half a day off to take him to the vets.. hope he is fine because he has been growling whenever i pick him up.. a short repeated growl like the pigeons do.. he never had that before.. may be he picked it up from the pigeons.. or he is trying to tell me I stink.. i dont know .. hope the Vets will clarify.. JillyBeanz, i got aviator harness for chikki even before i brought him home from the breeders.. but the little bugger doesnt wear it comfortably and it ends up in a mess.. i have to also learn to put it on him properly.. well, i learnt it the hard way, to make sure he has his Harness on when i take him out.. generally i leave my conservatory doors open when i go to the garage.. but didnt dare to do it this morning.. never will i do such a mistake again.. i will leave him alone for a couple of days to settle down.. he still seems a bit nervous, shaky.. but i can see he still remembers me as he grabs the frame of my glasses when he is on my shoulders:).. may be over the weekend i should try to do some clicker training and get back to good old days!! I hope the Vets dont have any concerns about his health!!

Dan.. i dont quite understand.. do you mean the growling was contact calling??? what does that mean "scratch my head more"??

US Folks.. this is a link i found was real good idea.. i am planning to implement something similar in the UK.. not sure how easy it is.. http://www.findtoto.com/

Thanks Folks.. They had found chikki just an hour back.. seems he was whistling a lot from the roof top.. and they coaxed him down with bread.. they even got a tree branch for him as the RSPCA had told them that they would collect the parrot tomorrow morning.. what a 72 hours its been for us.. but he is now famous in the whole of KnightsManorWay, Dartford!! I am still pinching myself.. i havent even changed my office dress.. have to go do all that and have dinner.. this feeling is good..!!<br><br>Post edited by: karunk, at: 2009/08/04 23:43

GOOD NEWS --- CHEEKY CHIKKI IS HOME!!!!!! Thanks for all your prayers.. the Lord is listening!! This is how it happened.. I got about 50 posters and was pasting and posting it all over the place in my area.. and we met a mother and a daughter(messenger of the Lord 1 and 2).. handed a poster to them, and walked off.. My weak wife felt really hungry and i asked her to return home while i did the posting.. when i was coming back i got a call from my wife saying she met messenger 1 and 2 and they said an african grey was sighted in the shops near by and one of the guys(messenger 3) there have him and gave me his number.. i spoke to him and got his address which was pretty walkable from my home.. we then walked over there and met a psycho on the way who said he sighted the parrot and killed him.. i felt really hurt, but my wife was very supportive and we ignored him.. the real guy Wayne came down and met us.. he asked me what the cost of the bird was and i said 400 pounds with a lot of fear.. he took me upstairs and the moment i saw chikki i was on my knees!!.. he was on Waynes shoulders and flew to me in a minute.. seems they had told RSPCA.. and RSPCA had advised them not to give it to anyone who claimed ownership.. but within 5 minutes of us being there, they were totally convinced we were his parronts.. we had the parrot food box in our hand and one poster as well.. just one left(truly gods grace).. and we showed them that, and showed some snaps of chikki on my phone.. and they were glad that chikki was safe and asked me to take him with me.. but they had all got attached to chikki by then and felt so bad about giving him away.. so i gave them a quick briefing on the parrots they could buy and recommended my breeder.. they said they had called up the police.. so did I.. not sure what kind of matching of records was done, they werent informed that there is a parrot missing in Dartford.. finally.. he is back in his own sweet home.. he was growling a bit after i brought him home.. i gave him water and food and put him to sleep.. may be he is tired.. tomorrow i am taking him to the Vets.. hope i will get an appointment.. thats the long story short(or was it).. but i am sure you wont mind !! Again thanks for all the noble hearts and souls that got chikki home through their prayers!!

Linda.. cant really leave any options untouched.. if it works or not is a different thing. i have got about 50 posters printed out which i will be advertising in my area and announcing a reward as well.. i spoke to John in the parrot soceity and he promised me that he will let me know once he hears any news on it. I am having my lunch at office as we speak and it really hurts me to think that I am having food when I have left the poor soul to starve in the wild.. cant forgive myself for what I have done to him.. Hope he can feel what i am thinking.. and come back to me soon..

All.. This is what the bird communicator had to say!! Hi Arunkumar, Thank you for choosing me to talk to Chikki for you. I would consider all directions from where you were when he took off and would look for an area that's similar to what he describes - it doesn't have to be exact. At one point he flashed me a picture of a flower box but didn't say anything about it. Let me know when he's back home Blessings to you both Suzi Here is what he had to say to you, I hope it's enough to help you locate the area he's in. “Yes my soul essence is still within the physical parrot body known as Chikki that lives with Arunkumar Krishnakumar. Yes the physical body is breathing air into its lungs and the heart is beating and pumping blood throughout the body as you are talking with me now. No the physical body is not injured. Yes it is for my highest good to live with Arunkumar and it is for his highest good for me to live with him. Yes it is my instinctive nature to want to fly. When we were out walking I felt the urge to fly and fly and fly. Yes I am not far from where we were when I left. (he’s showing me a wooden box about 3 feet wide, he’s standing on top of it, moving back and forth, he shows me a opening in the back where he can get in and he feels safe in there.) From where we were I am to the left of that about 50 feet or so. ( I can see a small building beyond the box he’s on, the building looks old, and wooden, there seems to be some grass between the box and the building, can’t see what’s in front of the box. I can see a tree to the right of him as I’m looking at him, the leaves are coming over possibly it’s a fence, towards the box he’s on.) (I would checkout all places that could possibly provide him with shelter. He didn’t show me him flying like he wanted to fly. Yes you have given me a proper home and I do appreciate this. I would prefer not to go for walks as I cannot be in control of what others do and I do not like loud noises. I’m safe enough for the moment but wish to be back home. (he keeps showing me a tree over a fence or it’s a large bush growing over a fence and he’s very close to that)

Folks.. No news yet.. Have been doing my rounds in my area.. Whether I get Chikki back is a different thing, but I will soon be known in Dartford as "The man who lost his parrot".. trying to force some sense of humour into what has been a stressful 48 hours.. I have emailed John in the parrot soceity JillyBeanz.. He asked me to give him a call tomorrow midday.. If I hear anything I will let you all know even before i inform my family.. thanks for the support.. please keep praying!!

Tycos_mom.. i am doing everything humanly possible do get him home.. i took a day off today and have been going around my area often.. i even tried to call him using my clicker as he responds well to clicker training.. thankfully i have got a good neighbourhood and seems the news has spread to a lot of people my word of mouth.. many ppl i missed informing spoke to me today and wished me good luck and promised me to pray for Chikki.. meanwhile i have got in touch with an animal communicator and i hope to receive an email from her today/tonight.. so i should know what Chikki is going through from her.. today i even did a check through a lot of bushes.. not sure where my chikki is!! have been praying all the time myself.. hope to hear something soon!!