Azzie

Feel free to have a laugh on my behalf as I don my hat and scarf (Bear in mind laugh, behalf and scarf are pronounced with a British accent, not American, otherwise it won't rhyme!) New word: RICE

First time I gave Cleo beets I got the fright of my life. Shortly after eating them, the urine and solid part of the poop (the stringy bit) was bright red, and I thought she was bleeding internally.

So....10 more sleeps to go before I head off on the big bird to Holland, where I was born. This will be my first trip back home since I moved to New Zealand 23 years ago. I'm trying not to get too excited just yet, as walking with my head in the clouds for the next 10 days will not be conducive to getting things done hah. NOT looking forward to being in transit for 30 odd hours though! Apparently the temperature over there at the moment is close to 30C (or around 87F). My roommate will be looking after my little zoo collection here, which should be interesting. Cleo the CAG loathes him with a passion, except when he has food. Lucky I guess she's so greedy. All going well, there's a good chance I might move back home permanently closer to the end of the year. It seems I will be able to bring ALL my babies with me (at a cost hah), and there are even some European airlines that cater specifically for pets in transit, so that's a huge load off my mind. But I will keep you all posted

Poesje, where in Europe are you? If I had to guess I would say Netherlands. If that's the case, I might be able to point you in the direction of some parrot rescues there, depending on what area you live in.

Just a site to elaborate on what Jayd said....(is there anything he doesn't know???) http://www.singing-wings-aviary.com/cockatiels.htm

Lychees have a lovely taste, sweet and very delicate. The only downside for me is that I think it feels like having an eyeball in your mouth, but I still eat them lol.

I agree with JJ's Tanya. From your posts and talking with you, you have done and are doing a great job raising this baby (and the other one too!). It's all new to you, so I think little mistakes are quite permissible. Yes it's not good he landed on the stove, but you know that, and there's no need to growl at you and make you feel bad about it - you are quite aware of it. In my opinion, all's well that ends well, no harm was done in the end, and I am sure this is something you will remember next time round. I never let Cleo out when I am cooking, because she just gets into everything. She tries to eat the raw meat, wants to chew on a knife I am handling, throws chopped vegetables on the ground...basically being a typical bird pain in the a**!! When I am eating she is in her cage too, because she will get into my food as well, walking all over it with her big feet, tossing things on the ground, smearing me with food etc. And as you probably remember from when you had Phoebe, when they are out, they need to be supervised constantly to make sure they don't get up to mischief or into trouble. So Tanya, keep up the good work, don't be too hard on yourself!

I was browsing through the forum today, and I was quite overcome emotionally when reading some topics. (Especially the one concerning baby Loki). The support and advice from people here is just amazing, and it doesn't matter if the poster is a new bird owner or a well seasoned one. It's amazing how lots of people get so involved and caught up with other people's issues and concerns, and how the advice just freely flows. I've been on the forum about a year now, and this forum has just gotten better and better over time. This is the only parrot forum I go to, and it is the only one I need. Bless you all, bird lovers!

Hahaha what IS the deal with these fella biting their own leg? Cleo does it all the time.

Cleo does this very cute "aaah" sound in a little girl's voice. It came about when I had abdominal surgery some months ago, and was in a lot of pain, and would occasionally moan quietly to myself (or so I thought). The problem is now that both lorikeets AND Cleo sit there for hours on end and moan at each other.

Hahaha awesome! A whole variety of telephones, burps, farts, hellos and god knows what else.

To me it sounds like 2 wooden blocks being banged together....

I live in New Zealand, and my hand reared CAG was NZ$4500. I still haven't told my parents how much this bird cost, as I think they will disown me.

When all your t-shirts have dozens of tiny holes in them from chewy birdie beaks....

Cleo loves her Boing (large spiral rope hanging from the ceiling). She is also keen on anything chewable, such as popsicle sticks, strips of leather, wooden balls or blocks, paper to shred. Visit some internet sites that cater specifically for parrots, and just copy the toys they have for sale

Cleo just likes to chew holes in my clothes, especially my t-shirts. As for not liking a particular item of clothing, I have a t-shirt with a large colourful Aboriginal design fish on it. The first time Cleo saw it she had a major freak out, and if she happens to catch sight of it these days she wearily eyes it sideways.

Heehee this thread made me lol HARD...in view of Dave's little post about parrot people: You join discussion groups and share in agonizing detail each tiny movement of your parrot with other parrot owners, who then share a more-than-unusual interest in everyone else's parrot's poop. In fact, poop now occupies so much of your thought and free time that you have lost interest in politics, career, and IRA earnings. I LOVE IT!!!

Yeah I can't see Cleo using a bottle for its intended purposes. I imagine she would spent quite some time trying to get the ball out, and failing that, chew the living daylights out of the little pipe holding the ball. She's a most devoted chewer that one.

For weeks I've been wondering how Cleo manages to get her pellets so soggy and mushy. I would give her fresh pellets in a clean dry bowl, and within an hour or so they would all be soggy and squishy, so I would change them again, thinking wet pellets would breed bacteria and that she would not enjoy soft mushy pellets. Over the weekend I figured it out. I witnessed Madam scooping water in her beak, pelican style, dripping everywhere, and dumping beakful after beakful of water on her pellets. I guess this must be a step up from what she used to do, which was grab a pellet in her beak, swish it around in the water bowl, then eat it.

Cleo is trained to poop on command. I always tell her to go before taking her out of the cage. If she needs to go, she does, if not, she just looks at me sideways. When she's out and I tell her, same deal. If I forget, she just poops at will, on me, on the floor, wherever, so she doesn't hold back. She goes during the night as well, I can hear her when I am quietly sitting at my computer in the dark. Seems she just wakes up during the night and goes, so I've never had the joys of the notorious morning bomb hah.

Hahaha that face....that tongue as he licks the lens! He's certainly not camera shy!

Cleo loves to wrestle with me. She has learned what her beak and foot are, so I might say to her "Gonna get your.....beak!", and move my hand towards her beak, so she grabs my finger. If I say I am going for her foot, she holds her foot out and I grab it. This is followed by lots of "I got you I got you", and wrestling with said beak/foot. She is incredibly gentle when she grabs me with her beak, a firm hold, but no real pressure. We are learning about our tail at the moment, so I can grab that too.

JJ I don't think you have to justify the reasons for your post to someone who obviously is scoffing at your concerns and mocking you, and yes Lambert I mean you. This forum is here for support, whether that be having questions answered, or in the form of kind words. Lambert you say you are not trying to be a jerk, but that is exactly what you are being with that know it all attitude. If you have nothing kind or useful to say, then don't say anything at all. And JJ, my Cleo is exactly the same with my roommate. She just cannot stand the sight of him, except when he has food, then she will be all over him. Cleo often does dive bombs, even when my roommate is just sitting quietly watching tv and ignoring the bird. I watch her, and I can see her staring intently at him, and for no apparent reason (except that she HATES him) goes and scares the living daylights out of him. I tried getting him to give her treats, which she will accept, but when he's standing next to her cage with the treat, she will puff all her feathers up, open her beak as wide as she can, and runs along the perch, ready to strike.

Wow what a fantastic little chatterbox you have there! I love how she adds random words from the song to her counting efforts!

Cleo is much like Brutus then, anything meat is good. She will scoff it down, pupils pinning, and if it's a chicken bone, that gets brutally cracked and the marrow eaten. I find it very amusing to watch her sitting there with half a cooked sausage in her "fist".