Partner316

Rockford (Dad's house) and Machesney Park (Mom's House), Illinois. Winnebago County USA My moms is about ten minutes away from South Beloit, and Beloit, WI.

And it also breaks the stereotype even more that boy birds like female owners and vice versa. Oh I'm so excited. Thank you everyone! Tycosmom - I'm really glad that they have grown to trust you so much and will do anything for you, it is greyt to hear that! Carol- Partner is so good, he takes all his aggression out on his toys so when I do finally have him out I can just have him on my shoulder and I will just give him head scratches and he is very loving to me. I still gotta work on the pooping thing though lol.

When I took Partner to the vet he weighed in at 303g at around 4 years old. And the vet told me that was pretty hefty lol. So I'm going to ignore her comment on that because I see a lot of your TAGs weigh way more than mine.

Well the DNA results are back and according to my vet my 4 year old TAG is "a bouncing baby BOY" I was so excited to find out that Partner is a boy, I was pretty sure he before the tests because he portrays a male character in my mind, and now that I know I don't feel so bad in always telling him he is a good boy (instead of being gender neutral and saying good bird) lol. I've also been bringing him in the shower with me the past few days. He just sits up on the shower rod because he is still somewhat afraid of being in the water, so I'm letting him get used to being in there with me and hopefully soon I can get him to come enjoy it with me :-D -Nick-

Raposa - The small local pet shop that I go to has 2 blue and golds as well, one is a total and complete stubborn girl. The other is a very loud but sweet boy, and he has also taken a liking to me, along with the Blue front amazon they have. *sighs* only if I could have all three. Janfromboone - I totally agree, it is amazing what people make toys out of. Half the stuff I have seen I couldn't imagine it being used lol. Judy Lyric - wow, do you guys live in really small towns? I love the scenery and the quiet in the country but I don't think I could live more than a half hour away from any bigger cities.

Speaking of sales, as soon as I walk into the local pet shop today, huge table filled with sale items... but no bird stuff lol -Nick-

luvparrots - Sales are grand when it comes to animal supplies but I can't find any half the time lol. -Nick-

My cat is an outdoor and at my moms. But I wouldn't trust him anywhere near my Partner. He still has his claws and he hunts mice and birds on the daily so I would find it safe to assume they wouldn't get along with each other lol -Nick-

caitb2007 - I do find that the larger chains do charge more for a lot of supplies. But there are a few things that are cheaper there and some that are more expensive at local. But really, I still like to keep local businesses alive. casper- what site do you order from? I would love to have a few online stores that I could order from for things that the store can't get for me. It is also ashame that your local shop can't order anything for you. Tycos_mom- I have had that happen to me before as well, order something online, than find it in the store or somewhere where you wouldn't expect for a lot less. I too recently found a small shop in a town north of me that makes and sells there own bird toys and they are so elaborate and they are very inexpensive. the most expensive thing I saw was $20 for a HUGE toy. I'll have to check them out soon. -Nick-

I'm just curious as to how many people shop at huge corporate chains like PetCo and PetSmart for supplies, or if you guys and gals prefer to shop at local pet stores to support them. I've found that local pet stores are more helpful and willing to make you happy. Granted that's what they need to stay in business and making the customer happy is the only way to do so. I have also found that local stores will special order you anything you want. The store I go to will order me whatever I ask if they don't have it in the store, and they normally only charge me a few dollars over cost. I know many order most of their stuff for their greys and other birds online. But what about needing something quick so you need to run to the store to get it? So what do you guys do? -Nick-

Janfromboone, I too believe that they are uncanny at knowing everything, they just don't always choose to let you know that they know. Today, I'm working on laundry and cleaning the house in between loads of laundry and we were whistling back and forth for awhile (Keep in mind I was completely out of his view) when I got sucked into something on tv. Well, he kept whistling and clicking a few more times then he realized I wasn't responding to his game... *pauses* than all of a sudden he does this click and whistle really loud it kinda startled me. I guess he really didn't want the game to end right than lol... But the past couple of days he has been talking up a storm and it is really entertaining :-) -Nick-

Not really a conversation here, but it is the first time I have actually heard him use words in full meaning. The other day I walked out of Partner's room, and I'm just cleaning the house, next thing I hear is "Come here!"... I paused for a second not realizing what he said when again I heard "come here!" That was just amazing lol. -Nick-

I purchased a TAG not that long ago, the reason why? We bonded pretty quickly and he always was overjoyed to see me when I came in to see him. I am not sure what sex Partner is, but I will know in a few weeks. If he is a male, greyt! If she is a female, greyt! Either way I love Partner to death. When I purchased Partner his wings were already clipped so I didn't really have a choice. But when they grow back in I'm not going to have them clipped. Like Judy said, they are birds and they are meant to fly and it makes a more confident parrot and companion. I really don't like the idea of shipping any live animals. I think it would be very stressful for them. And for advice, be prepared for a lifetime of cleaning , and making your parrot happy. But most important, just enjoy the time with your bird and grow with them, the experiences you will share will be very rewarding. -Nick-

I had a sand perch in his cage, but he would always avoid it regardless of where I put it. He would go out of his way to avoid using it. I will most likely look for another vet, but besides being rude and the little b/s lie about the scratch, she definitely looked like she knew what she was doing with everything. I will just have to call around and talk to people to find a better one and more or less interview them to see if they are up to standards.

She didn't draw blood to come to the conclusion, when she was looking at the roof of his mouth, she said that there wasn't enough of something that connects to the nostrils (can't remember specific wording she used) ***insert word here that I can't remember*** and that is a sign on malnutrition. I also forgot to mention when she came back into the room from drawing blood for the DNA sexing, there was a small scratch under his eye and said that he must have done it while he was rubbing his face on the tall... I call b/s on that personally.

Okay, So, went to the vet today for a general check up and DNA sexing. The sexing should be in within the next two weeks, they will call with the results. She also trimmed his nails (I'm not quite sure I like them yet because he seems to be a bit clumsier) She said everything else is fine, except that he has malnutrition. Malnutrition?!?! I can see where that could happen, the store had him on a strictly seed based diet, which I know isn't 100% good and I have no clue about the previous owner who caged Partner with a Blue Front Amazon (which in itself shouldn't be done). I am working on it like I told the vet, I give him fresh veggies (a little fruit mixed in) daily and have tried to get him to eat more fresh instead of just the seed. It'll just take some time. Also going to try adding in pellets to the diet soon. She for the most part was nice, except she was rather snooty about things like I was stupid and didn't know a damn thing about anything, and she started naming off books to better "prepare" me for Partner. I was just nice and listened :-D She also weighed him. He weighs 303 grams. Which when she said that I thought that was porky, and she thought so too. I'll be taking him in on a later date to get a few tests run to ensure he is in good health. Now I just have to keep him happy and work on his diet more and he should be great. -Nick-

As soon as I read this thread I went out and bought some... Sprayed it on him, and after is was all dry, I was scratching his head and like many have said they felt and looked a lot better. -Nick-

Thanks everyone for the replies and compliments :-D Judy, thank you for giving me that information. Right now my schedule to be with him is very scattered on when I am with him, but most of the times it is more into the night, which I figured is probably better for him and myself. I have made a little bit of progress with the toweling, but not enough to help a whole lot come Tuesday. He will stand on towels (which he never would even come close to one), and I can even hold them up but he gets a bit uneasy about it but he tolerates it and doesn't react anything like the old way. I should probably get his nails trimmed too. They actually hurt worse than his beak! Out of the few times he has actually gotten me good with his beak it does not compare to what those nails are doing now!

Well, Partner has been in my home now for almost 2 weeks, and he is adjusting very well. He has had a few moments where he has got scared and has tried to fly but those are slim and none. He has taken a fond liking to (besides myself lol) my dad's girlfriend, my friend Jeremy, and a couple other of my guy friends. He doesn't seem to like to many women, but he is up for meeting any guy. I have a vet appointment set up for May 19th at 3:45 and have a friend accompanying me to his visit. Hopefully that all goes well. I am going to hopefully have a job at the kennels right behind the vets office soon so I'm going to need to figure out a schedule where I can still spend the optimal amount of time with him but I feel that it will not be difficult because I love my baby. I also went to the store last night and looked through the organic foods and picked out some stuff that I thought he might like, however, vegetables are definitely not something he enjoys. I'll have to work on it. Here is a picture I took last night after he got done attacking the toy in the picture, I really liked it and hope you guys do too. He is being such a sweet bird and I hope that never changes, I am going to begin the training soon and that should open up all sorts of doors for better understanding between us. Now I'm off to go play with Partner more and working with him to not be afraid of towels anymore lol. Everyone have a good day, -Nick-

It's my pleasure :-D... I just took a picture of Partner yesterday that I think you guys might enjoy as well

Thank you for all the kind comments once again :lol: Jan, it is actually one of my friends aquariums and I find it hard to take pictures of fish lol. So I just take pictures of the live rock and live corals as well because they are really pretty and don't move.

Nope, unfortunately the blue front isn't mine. I wish he was, he is quite the character as well, and he will probably be my next bird if I do get another one. Thanks everyone again for the kind words!!! I hope to get even more soon for your guys viewing pleasure. :cheer: -Nick-

-Nick-

Well, at one point when I allowed Partner on my shoulder while he was still at the pet store, something spooked him and he swung around and got my face, luckily it was one of his slower moments where I had enough time to react to avoid getting hurt to bad, but I believe it was my fault. Ever since than he has never done any sort of hard biting, but he does like to nibble on my fingers. This lady that came into the store where I got Partner didn't really know how to handle him, so he went about 3/4 of the way up her arm and she put her finger horizontally in front of his beak... he nip and first, she pulled away. She put her finger there again, he grabbed a huge chunk of loose skin and just completely sliced it. I warned her he may do that, but she didn't listen lol. But she wasn't mad at him, she was a good sport about it.

Yep, That is Shadow, he is 5 years old I believe and has a horrible mouse belly lol.