katana600

It was difficult to watch and keep the realization that these are paintings and not photographs. I could smell the fresh country air and feel the morning mist. That was like taking a quiet vacation to a simple enjoyment of nature. I grew up next to a dairy farm and the picture inside the barn was just as I remember it. Nice way to start my day. Thanks Dave.

Last night I was cleaning a big batch of blackberries we brought home from a farmer's market. I offered one to each of the parrots and they were not impressed. Gilbert immediately flung his to the bottom of his cage. I forgot about that until I just heard a large plop on the floor. He was standing triumphantly on the bottom grate at the door and had expelled that rejected offering to the pad in front of his cage. He seldom goes to the bottom of the cage, so now I am thinking to entice him down there, I may put a blackberry down there every day. LOL. His expression and body language were so funny, almost haughty, like how dare I defile his home with such a thing. LOL.

Lisa Christine, we are on a similar track with Gilbert. I have to admit there are days I wonder if he imprinted with his beloved Jim and as a female I may never be accepted. Then, I realize that rehoming as has been done with him before was not the answer. No one will ever be Jim and even if Jim walked in the door today, chances are Gilbert would not accept him now either. So, we just take one day at a time, give him reasons to trust us and wait. As with you and Rosie, we can't see changes on a daily or weekly basis, we need only to go back to the beginning of our time together and from that distance we can see a remarkable progress. As you say, Gilbert is stuck with me now. When I get discouraged by a setback, I mark my calendar for six months. It is a lot easier to evaluate with a big picture approach. I think it says a lot for you to work every day without appreciation and acceptance. The day Rosie comes around and lets you know you are okay in her book will be a grand day for all of us.

It is so hard to know what to do, when to do it, when to push and when to wait. Patience, kindness and acceptance is key with these rehomed parrots. Any day that he shows an interest in the greater world outside is cage is a good day and we try to take advantage of his curiosity to help mitigate his fear and suspicion. He is still taking opportunities to barber off those brand new beautiful tail feathers. So far, he has removed three, each on separate days. He carefully places the feather in his water dish to ensure I will see it. My theory is this is a habit much like humans chewing fingernails. It started out for one reason and now just continues until we can replace that habit with a more positive activity. I believe when he gets more tolerant of leaving his cage and exploring the house, that one day we will just realize it has been a while since he destroyed any feathers. Every day I am grateful that we have not seen the kind of frantic fearful full feather plucking we saw on the day we met him. My measure of success with Gilbert is to see him leave his cage, move around the house a bit and come back still calm and centered. We get a glimpse of that occasionally and celebrate with him. Those celebrations seem to be happening with increasing frequency. I know when the day comes that he wreaks havoc on my house and other pets, I will be wishing for him to slow down a little. LOL. I do look forward to that.

Isn't Gracie clever? She uses whatever is in her repertoire to coax you back with her. I think this is just as much of an effort to make sure you are okay out there somewhere without her as it is for her own desire to have you near. Both our parrots do much of the same thing. Whatever usually gets you on your feet such as going to a spot where she knows you will come get her will be her favorites. I have read that parrots can hear contact calls from their flock in the wild from miles away and that each member of the flock has his own contact call that lets them all know where the others are happily gathering food and doing other parrot stuff. My favorite with Java was when she learned to meow because we had an old infirm cat that would meow to go inside and out. I was sewing upstairs when I heard the cat and dutifully went to let her out, but she wasn't there. After the third time up and down the stairs, I went outside to see if maybe a neighbor cat was close to my house. I looked in the shrubs, I looked in the garage and couldn't find a cat. As I started up the stairs, I was on the third step when I heard the distinct meow... and it was this little bird getting me back in her sight any way she knew. I can sew for hours as long as I do a contact whistle every now and then and both parrots just go about what they were doing once they have established all is well.

Okay, I am watching all of you have fun. I decided to get a little braver today. Mumsie left the room and was gone a long time. So, I took a deep breath and jumped. I have to say it was scary, I screamed like a girl. Hmm. Nothing happened. I hid under the couch for a minute and saw mumsie and went to the kitchen. She lifted me up and put me on a perch... in the sink. When I said "whatcha doin bud?," she said she was making beans. Ohhh... I like beans. I watched and watched and she let me taste some. I stayed out there a long time and when I said "wanna go back?", she took me right back to my toys. She isn't so bad really. I just don't want to get too comfortable. These humans are conflicting. I have to say though... cats are much worse. I laughed and laughed about Jac... sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Well done! That goes for you and DJ as well. You just kept going and going until the moment DJ jumped in and gave it the seal of approval. I love how you go the extra step to make your flock and family happy. Thanks for all you do.

Well said Ray. I think it says we have discovered the secret that is the intelligence and potential of our feathered friends and we are committed to making the life of our flock the best it can possibly be.

Gilbert took another step in a postive direction, literally. Rachel has been making strides in gaining his trust. She will offer a scratch and sometimes he will be in the right mood to skitter into this cage to his approved scratching spot. He almost never will allow a scratch unless he feels safe inside his cage with the bars between us. Today he looked like he might want a scratch so she walked up and asked if he wanted a scratch and instead he surprised her by offering his foot out for a step up! She carried him to the back of the sofa and shared pine nuts with him and they are officially "buds". It is heart warming for both of them to have reached this day. O Happy Day.

It seems that Xandir wants to write his life story to be filled with adventure. He will start with "You are never going to believe this one..." The whole time he was probably whooping it up and enjoying his new found friends. It is so good to know he is home with you. Reuniting had to be the sweetest bliss. I know it was for me just to read that you found him. That had to have been multiplied exponentially for you. What a relief.

Your video is touching, sweet Jojo. He was a beautiful boy. His time with you was too short but it was filled with love and care. I am so sorry for your loss.

What a great series of photos. Misty makes herself at home and is certainly going to be happy wherever you go with her. It is a big job to move, good thing you had help to give you time to take her lovely pics. She is always looking out for you and making time to bring a smile to your face, and ours. Thanks, this thread just made my day.

huh, hello? hello? peck peck peck. Is there anybody out there? Dear oh dear, this internet business is confusing, and scary. Ahem. Hello. This is Gilbert. It's okay here. I get warm beans and pellets and plenty of fresh water. I dunno. I shouldn't complain. Mom and dad are nice and all. They try. Its just. Well. They aren't Jim now are they? It doesn't smell the same here. I can't seem to get too comfortable. Sometimes I just get so frustrated I want to take a bite outta somebody. Oh, and just so you know, it was mom that said that naughty no no word first and reminded me. You should see her face when I say it now. Dad laughs, I know when to say it so he is in the room and it makes mom get up and leave. Hahaha. Now that's funny, I don't care who you are. LOL. I guess it isn't so bad here. Do you think they are going to keep me?

When I glanced quickly at the subject, I thought it said Happy Birthday Jaybird! LOL You are our Jay bird, part of the best flock on the internet. Thanks for sticking with us, for sharing your life and for giving advice for the good of all our parrots. Happy Birthday Jay.

I am sorry that you are so far from home and have so much stress. It sounds like a bad situation. It is not a bad person to tell your neighbors that you do not wish to babysit their child. It is enough to tell them that Momo is not a bird that likes to be around children and that it is unsafe to have them together because the child can get a bad bite. Be firm, say no apologies, just "No, this does not work for me." Practice with your husband and maybe he will tell them for you and keep you strong. Maybe taking away one thing that is upsetting will help. Can you get any earplugs to help at night when the people are talking outside in the security area? Maybe if you talk to the manager and another apartment would come to be available, they would let you move to a different unit, that would help a lot.

When I clicked here, I was so afraid it was the original thread from when you brought him home from the breeder. I checked and doubled checked the date and sure enough it is today so that means you have recovered Xandir from his flight of adventure. I have goosebumps for you!

Vintage is right. Good one Dave.

Thanks Judy, I have been online reading all the information and tributes. The best I can do is to sign up and go to be a volunteer. They have a long waiting list. This is a good place and I will find a way to contribute. It really is amazing what they have done to make a peaceful place for these elephants and to protect them from further exploitation.

That is an incredible documentary. While it is painful to realize that man put the chains on this exquisite creature, others have created this sanctuary to give them peace and compassion. Looking into her eyes even on a film was powerful. I have seen another video from this sanctuary about a dog and one of the elephants. I am going to have to look into this place and drive up to see it in person. Thanks Dave.

My stomach is wrenched after witnessing this. Anyone with a parrot knows chocolate is bad for them so it should have been protected from even being in the same room with a heated fountain. I am so glad you posted that it was a fail and not a funny thing. Not a single person rushing in there to the aid of this poor cockatoo. Jerks.

I agree with our forum members that there is nothing wrong with getting a different baby when you see them growing and don't have a connection to the one you originally chose. This is a life time commitment. Bringing home your baby should be joyous and never a case of buyers remorse. It would do a lot more harm in the long run to try to make it work with a baby that is not meant for you. It's hard to know without being there to see if the little guy is just curious and looking to get into things rather than interacting or if he is set aside from the others by his own choices or other reasons. If the breeder is saying he is a loner or that they will try to bring him around, it seems to be a red flag, they know the natural behavior of the clutch and have experience. I think if you are feeling reluctant, follow your heart.

Hooray for Tango and kudos to you Maggie for quick thinking and escaping her clutches unscathed. You will have to walk backwards when you leave the room now to make sure she doesn't do another surprise landing on you.

It is such a shock and horror to see your baby in this circumstance. My heart goes out to you, I can't come close to imagining what you are going through. I hope you get some good news soon and get Xandir back at home.

It seems like it is taking a long long time, but in a lifetime measured in decades, this time is just a blip on his time line. Thanks for your support, insight and kind words. Our trust is still in the infancy stage and is very shaky and easily broken so we just keep going slowly with each other. The analogy with foster children and older adoptees is spot on. I was reading a book about African greys this weekend and one comment really hit a chord. It said that bringing an African grey home is not like getting a pet, it is more akin to getting married, having another child or adopting a child. To me this isn't to mean they are treated like a child or spouse relationship, just that it takes that kind of commitment and is going to need the emotional energy as well as the physical and time commitments. When Gilbert progresses, we rejoice and join him there and when he regresses, we step back and meet him there too. Sorry little buddy, but there is no place to escape to. LOL.

I love that your whole family is welcoming Piper with open hearts. Nilah is always a surprise for you.