rbpittman

Thank you all for the sweet words of praise. I have always been blessed with patience, but I find it's the trust I have in myself on reading my birds that allows me to know when and when not to pursue something with them. Of course this confidence has only been brought out by the wonderful people on this forum. Robin

Dixie does the same thing - and it's like the others have said - do I really want to do this...make up my mind. I too worry when I see them quivering, like what's wrong, what can I do to help. Robin

Dang those flies! I bet she was trying to protect you from that awful pest and she didn't realize she was hurting you in the process. She wasn't going to let that fly get near her beloved! Robin

With loads of encouragement from other members of this forum, names withheld to protect the innocent (RAY), my bond with Morgan has taken on a new light. For those who don't know his whole story - Morgan came to me at 4 months of age, still being hand fed and scared of his own shadow. Morgan integrated into the jungle of birds in my office making friends with Beau somewhat and hanging out on/in his cage. Progress has been slow, hand feeding stopped and his transition to pellets was good. Getting Morgan to eat fresh food has been a struggle, but we're making progress - I know this is not the normal attitude of a 'Zon. He's a very picky eater for some reason, but he loves his Harrison's and walnut's are his favorite treat. As far as bonding goes, it's been hit and miss. Stepping up is a major no-no. Morgan cannot stand hands. He will use my shoulder to move from the rope door to his cage; cage to play stand; play stand to rope door, etc. I understand this and have not pushed the issue. If for some reason Morgan is on the floor he will step up on my hand, but this is rare as he is flighted so he really doesn't "need" me. Morgan talks to me though and we have that relationship. When I walk out with breakfast in the morning, he's the first to talk to me, is happy to see me and it shows in his enthusiasm when I set his bowl in. He plays and talks and is coming out of his shell more and more every day. Some of the progresses - other than conversation, which has been key in our relationship, is Morgan now gives me kisses. He's always leaned toward me when he wants to be near me, but the most I could do was offer my shoulder or he would back away. I've slowly started pushing the issue with my nose on him. Taking the opportunities when I could to use my nose to go near his beak and softly snuggling his beak with my nose. Most of those opportunities were through cage bars and the progress has been noted. Morgan will gladly now snuggle my nose with his beak, through cage bars or out of his cage. This has progressed to kisses. Kisses are a wonderful thing from Morgan. He likes to explore my upper lip and then go into beak snuggles with my nose. The hand though, that's a big scary thing! I had to try a different approach. I've used my index finger only to try to approach him when we get beak snuggles, and I've made progress slowly but only through the cage bars at night when saying goodnight. Obviously those bars protect him from the "hand." How do you go forward when you have such an issue? Three days ago I tried something different, and really pushed the issue. It was night night time, and I was going through all the normal steps of night night, but something in Morgan was different. He was pushing up against my finger with beak snuggles. This was odd. So I opened the cage door. Well that went over like a lead balloon. Morgan quickly backed away, moving to the side of his cage. Still within reach I continued. I put my hand in there! OMG! Back of my hand up, fingers hanging down and just left it there, no movement. Well what seemed like forever went by and Morgan decided he was going to explore this "hand." WHAT? He beaked my fingers, explored my ring, and then started snuggling my index finger. Did I expect this to continue? NO WAY! I have four children, 7 parrots, 3 dogs and I know what they do or like today, won't be the same tomorrow. But guess what, the next day Morgan got over on Beau's cage and started to lean. I was in my chair and slowly reached my hand up to him, backside up, fingers dangling and the little bugger snuggled my hand. Go figure. Wait though, it gets better. That night I tried the same thing again, and again I got snuggled. And again, I pushed my luck. I reached up and snuggled back with my hand, scratching the back of his head. OH MY! Did I ever get a reward. I had this little head snuggled up inside my hand with my fingers scratching the back of his neck and the top of his head. I literally cried. I had reached my baby 'Zon. To say the least, I am over the moon. I've always loved Morgan, but I've reached him in a way I didn't think was ever going to happen. It's only been 7 months to be do something that the others have let me do from the beginning. Does this mean I'm going to stop pushing things with Morgan? Not in this lifetime. Robin

Oh my, what a naughty little girl!

I know there are a million different types of foraging toys for our fids, and I've invested in quite a few of them, but the best one I've found is a roll of adding machine tape and the floor. I noticed this the other day and have been playing with the format since then when Beau climbed down his cage and was wandering around on the floor. Of course this is normal behavior for Beau has he doesn't fly at all. I was working on a paper for class and you know the routine, don't like what you wrote, wad up paper, attempt to hit waste paper basket, wadded up paper on floor. Beau thought this was great fun, he would run over to the waded up paper on the floor and proceed to shred it. Oh great, now another mess to clean up. WRONG! Apparently he found one of my basketball attempts that included my paper towel with a piece of bread crust in it. I had to investigate what he was eating (mental block on not putting this into the trash can). Of course it was fine, he was in heaven, he had found food! Wait a minute, my Beau was foraging! Dixie was sitting on watching the entire thing, until Beau found food! She had to get into the act. Yoshi was not going to be outdone, so she climbs down her cage. Here I have three Greys, all trying to get this waded up paper, hoping to find something tasty. Quick thinking parront that I am, grabbed some paper, tore it into smaller pieces and started wadding it up, then strategically stuffing pieces of dehydrated papaya, banana, walnut, pecan, whatever I had available, and tossing these tasty pieces of trash near the basket. I can tell you this, one parront is not enough to keep three greys happy when doing this! It's like preparing for a snowball fight, you must have all snowballs made before engaging in war, otherwise you'll get pummeled! For the past couple of days now I've been prepared though. I take adding machine tape that is usually useless in my house, some type of goodie (that incudes their pellets too!) and wad up the paper, stuff and load into my special little bowl and then while they are napping, or playing and not paying attention to me, I seed the floor with the treats. It's like planting little gold mines for my babies. Beau is always the first to find something, and then the other two have to get into the mix. The hardest, getting them to put their paper in the wastebasket, they are no better at trash can basket ball than I am.

Great video Janet. Thanks for sharing. Ana Grey is such a brilliant Grey! Robin

I love my Dyson! of course I pick up all big pieces and actually sweep the tile floors first and lift the edge of the carpet to get whatever may get under there and then vacuum away. With all the dander of the birds I couldn't live without the dyson. Robin

We have a poop routine going here...lol. First thing in the morning - just after changing out the food bowls and water - fresh paper under their porches. Porches get opened, everyone climbs out - POOP! Then I can pick up the paper - those are the worst of the day. Then it's when ever and where ever. I will say that Beau is more polite - he won't poop on me, but will climb down my arm and poop on the desk. Dixie always squats dramatically so I know when it's coming and I can get her moved. Blue and Bean have a tendency to poop out the front of their cage (no porch) and attempt to hit me when I'm putting the paper down. They've missed so far, but then again, there's always tomorrow. Robin

Pine nuts are a huge hit around my house and with 7 parrots they have varying tastes on everything. Pine Nuts is an agreed on subject. Brazil nuts - only Sterling will eat them, Walnuts - Morgan; Almonds - all the greys (Dixie, Beau & Yoshi). Unsalted, unshelled roasted sunflower seeds are used for training. Pecans - well those are mine...lol. Robin

Unfortunately, as with many people and pets, they want the beautiful creature but they don't want the responsibility that accompanies them. They believe they are being empathetic by not returning the bird or rehoming it, but they cannot handle the noise, mess, needs of the bird. They are incapable of admitting their own failures. It's no different than people who have children and don't take care of them. Society has far less ability to care for the unwanted, abused and neglected pets than it does for the abused and neglected children of the world and there is little difference between them. Robin

Beau is harness trained and it's something you have to do on a routine basis, even after you've gotten them used to the harness. I made the mistake of not doing so for a few weeks with him and you would have thought I was killing him all over again. After they get used to the harness and they are rewarded with either a treat or an outing that they enjoy they will come to look forward to the harness. Beau does and we make weekly visits to my parent's house with him in his harness...he's such a big bird. Robin

Dixie just went to the vet on 4/11 and he found her in perfect health. She lost the feathers after the visit to the vet so I'm assuming she was playing rough with her ball in her cage (she does this at times) and has caused them to come out. She lost a total of 4 feathers on her left wing, but yesterday I found three from her right wing in the bottom of the cage. Dixie is 3 years old now and has never gone through a molt like I'm seeing now, feathers everywhere, downy ones that float in the air, soft grey feathers that are so beautiful and yet she still looks great. Morgan on the other hand is molting badly and there are feathers everywhere from him and he looks scruffy. I did notice there are three new flights coming in on Dixie's left wing so I'm assuming she's the odd bird in the bunch. Robin

I've tried giving mine jalapenos and other types of hot peppers but they won't eat them. I'll try the hot sauce and see if that makes things any better......great thought! Robin

It's funny how similar our lives seem to be (those of us with fids that is). When I walk into the house I'm greeted by Sterling who in turn greets me. When I enter my office I greet from oldest (in household) to newest and obviously in reverse on my way out. Night Night takes about 5 minutes because everyone has their own special night night kiss/hug/cuddle routine. Thanks for sharing Jay, now I don't feel quite so weird in my greeting and leaving my babies. Robin

I took Beau out with me today while shopping at the bird store and the pet store. Everyone was so impressed to see a bird on a harness and in a store, and a million people (or so it seemed) wanted to reach out and touch him in some way or another. I was very quick to say "Please don't reach for him, he doesn't know you!" At one point I think there were three store employees standing there gawking at this CAG riding on the handle of the cart as we walked down the aisle looking at toys. Beau is quite used to this type of outing, and most of the time it's as if he's not there, but today was totally different. Kids were kind enough to ask if they could "pet" him, and again I instructed, no, he doesn't know you. The kids were better mannered than the adults. Robin

All of my birds have dome top cages except two - Yoshi's cage has a play top and she's there all the time and loves it. Sterling has a playtop as well and he either hangs out there or on his playstand. The rest of the flock climb all over their cages with lots of perches attached and toys on the outside as well as inside. Everyone has turns on the playstand, rope door, my desk, the floor, wherever they want to go - it's their room, the cages are for their protection when I'm gone. Robin

If I could get Morgan to eat more "people" type food he would be great - he loves to be photographed. Unfortunately it seems I have the only 'Zon who only eats pasta outside of his pellets and seeds. Little bugger! Robin

I live on a cul-de-sac and if my neighbors can't hear my birds when they are outside the only thing drowning them out is the C-5 that just flew overhead. I can hear my conures when I get out of the car after pulling into the driveway. Sterling (U2) starts before I make it to the porch. Morgan calls "MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM" non-stop until I make it to my office to tell him hello from the minute he hears my voice coming into the house greeting Sterling. Best alarm system I've ever had. As far as my neighbors go - who cares - I don't listen to hear what they are doing and I don't care that they hear my birds. On a beautiful day I open the windows - to share the beautiful noise! Tell your neighbors who are staring in your windows that they are "peeping toms" and they have been officially warned! Robin

My poor Dixie bird....she has been molting terribly over the last week or so (along with the rest of the flock) but it seems that she's lost quite a few flights and only on one wing. I rechecked all the feather's I've picked up and none were chewed, none with blood, all very beautiful feathers. I didn't realize they were only from one wing until she tried to fly across the room to me tonight - only made it about half way and going down fast. Poor thing, I'm assuming this is normal. I've checked her wing, nothing abnormal about it, no bare spots, some new feathers. She's not been "over preening" as she really looks good for her molt. The dust buster is getting a major workout though. Anyone seen this before? Robin:confused:

The reality of the situation truly depends upon the amount of time you really have to devoting to the care of your flock. I have 7 parrots and 4 parakeets. The parakeets take no time at all - they pretty to look at, make wonderful sounds, are easy to clean up after and are rarely out of their cage. They were not handled young so they are frightened to people beyond belief. The parrots on the other hand take up the majority of my day. I am a stay at home mom/full-time student with no plans of working outside of the home. That doesn't mean I don't have times when I have to be away from them in my own house. Run down of the flock: Sterling - 13 yr old U2; Dixie - 3 yr old CAG; Beau - 22 mo. old CAG; Yoshi - 2 yr old. TAG; Morgan - 10 mo. old Amazon; Blue & Bean - Sun Conures. Dixie was the first and does not interact well with all of the others. Sterling cannot stand Greys (or other birds) and is housed in our living room while everyone else is in my office. Beau, Morgan, Blue & Bean are quite comfortable hanging out on each other's cages and no problems have ever occurred between them. Yoshi was from a one bird home and has been here since February. She cannot be left out with everyone else out for even a few minutes unsupervised. With supervision she's good. She is inquisitive and wants to be friends with everyone, but seems to go about it in a very weird way (or she's very aggressive?) Before you consider adding to your flock with another of the same type you really have to look at what implications the addition will have on your current flock. I will admit they do learn from each other, but Beau is still not talking much and he's been around Dixie since he was 4 months old. He can say his name and a few other words, but they are what I say to him. Dixie has picked up everything she can from Yoshi, Yoshi's language has more than tripled since she arrived. Morgan repeats what I say, but doesn't say anything that Dixie or Yoshi say. The conures, well they just scream a lot, great alarms system. Dixie says everything you tell her for the most part, and she is the one who is the most receptive to learning new words and things. She is also the one that seems to have the most cognitive abilities, but she is the oldest. Getting a new CAG because you miss the "baby" you once had is like saying you want to have another child because your first baby is growing up. That's not a judgment on you, (I have 4 children) but at some point you look at what the real reason for the new addition is and what they can bring to the flock. Maybe what you need to look at in this instance is what can you challenge your CAG with and expand their abilities to. The relationship is changing and sometimes it's very difficult to change with it. I wish you luck on your quest to the answer of this question. Robin

Dixie doesn't sit - she reclines..... And she does it quite often. Of the 11 winged creatures in our house, I've never seen any of them sit. The Dogs on the other hand sit quite often. Robin

When Paul is out of town, I'm still not the apple of her eye - that job goes to my son LP (Little Paul). She has always been very receptive of me, knows I'm the one who feeds her, cleans her cage, gives her a bath, buys her new toys, etc. She gives me kisses and doesn't do that for anyone else, she steps up more readily to me than she will my daughter or my son, but will do different things with each of us she won't do with the others. It's like - I give you this much and nothing more, but for Paul - she gives her all....lol. She flies to him the moment she hears his voice, she follows him throughout the house and will gladly sit on him for hours. She is spoiled rotten if you ask me. Robin

I have on my desk a plastic container filled with unsalted, kernel sunflower seeds that I use for training purposes. I'm sitting here working away on my paper that is due Sunday and Beau is happily playing on my desk - the portion that is to my left and out of my peripheral vision. First it was the cardboard box that he loves to chew on. Fair enough, I put it here for him. Then he has started chewing on the top of the plastic container holding the seeds. No biggie, he can't get it off. WRONG! Not only has the little bugger managed to put a rather large whole in the lid, he now has it off and he's chomping away at the endless supply of seeds. Stop working on the paper, go find another container for the seeds. The things we do for our fids and the things they do to us! Robin

Ray, this post has helped me understand why my relationship with Morgan is so much different than the relationship between myself and my greys. Dixie and Beau are quick to be with me, much more trusting in display and attitude, but Morgan, ever so leery of really letting me get close. I know there is a relationship there because he talks to me. In ways that the others do not, but he doesn't want to sit on my shoulder, he doesn't want to just step up and be with me, he uses me as his taxi. I see him leaning off the edge of his cage, leaning right to me, but just won't let go and come on over. One day. Robin