katana600

I keep coming back to look again too. Ya'll really need to quit being so wonderful with your photos and descriptions of other birds because I am getting weaker against the multiple bird syndrome. What a beautiful pair these two will make in your home.

Oh my goodness, poor puppy. I have read about the flock mentality of parrots trying to drive away intruders and to "test" other flock members. Our first small parrot did this with our daughter when she was coming home during college breaks. It will take time and vigilance to keep her from hurting your puppy and he will grow up wary of her but could retaliate at some point. I'm sure others here have had similar issues and will have better advice (than me) for teaching them to get coexist. I just realized how lucky we are that our dogs are low to the ground and our parrot stays up high.

Thanks for the links for webcam. I think I will figure it out so Gilbert could watch me in the sewing room when he is upstairs and I am downstairs. I have taken him down with me but he is still too nervous but this would be a great way for us to be close and I wouldn't have to keep his cage closed while I was down there. I sure wish we lived closer because I would be happy to be your bird sitter. We trade with neighbors on dog sitting and understand what it means to have a backup plan to supplement family help. You are caring and astute and will get Lucy settled. Have fun on your vacation.

Here I came in to find out about feeding our parrots filbert nuts. LOL. Your Filbert is much more interesting and entertaining. What an awesome pair. I love the designer look where one is bright the other is grey on their opposite body feather parts. Filbert's bright crest gives him panache, he is rockin' the mohawk look. I love how you are introducing them and preparing for a peaceful coexistance in your home. Great photos, thanks.

Thanks Dan. I have a recall attempting to come through of a similar reunion with one of our members a year or so back. This kind of story was exactly what I needed this morning, I have goosebumps. It is a shame that some negative person had to comment at the bottom of the article with their great knowlege to chastise the owners and take the smile off that little girl's face. I am quite sure they are feeling bad enough and will take care of their parrot. The intelligence of our greys and other parrots surpass young children and sometimes it would seem they surpass a few of the adults.

Good to read this thread. When I have read about the odor of an Amazon, I have been thinking it might be an unpleasant scent. As you know, I keep hanging around the Amazon room gathering my "intelligence" in the event it is meant for me to have one some day. It won't be for a long while now because we just moved our little Italian greyhound home and brought home a young cat as well. We have a full house and Gilbert is still the king. I love the fresh linen scent of Gilbert and Java has a similar scent. I am going to either have to find an ap for smelling a zon or come to your house to smell yours. LOL. It is very interesting that this scent emanates from the nares, I am intrigued.

Aww, poor little kitty. I am so sorry you have been through this and glad that it turned out okay for you to be bringing Jaime home. We just added a cat to our home when my daughter moved back, she is such a sweet little thing. Sharing your story helps me because even though we are going through some unheaval right now, the first order of business will be to take Pumpkin to the vet to have her spayed. She is only a few months old but it is a pressing matter now so she can be spared the ordeal you all have gone through.

I am so sorry for your family and for Charlie. Thank you for coming back and letting us know the sad news. With all the struggles in life, losing a light and wonderful presence in your life is so hard. My heart is with you during this time of grief. My condolences and support are with you and your family in this time of loss.

Congratulations, this is a great day for you. You have respected him and showed your love and he returned your acceptance and rewarded your patience. What a wonderful moment for all of you.

I have to say there is a fine line between trust and lunacy. I am well aware that he is still a wild animal at heart and a kiss on the head could mean losing a chunk of my lip at this point, but he is a charmer and I can overcome a little fear in the process of letting him show me who he can be. Moments like this when he tries so hard to fly and gets a little bit of distance before descending less than gracefully, I wish with all my heart and soul that a miracle will happen for him to regain his wings some day. I've read about the grafts for feather shafts and I would make him wings if I could. Heck, I would make myself wings if I could. LOL. I just love him so much and will accept anything that comes as he continues to bring a smile on the hard days and full on laughter when he gets a mind to be a comedian. Our family is still coming this weekend to have a show of support for the cancelled wedding and to celebrate our daughter's graduation with honors with a degree in physics and chemistry. She is going to be fine and we are going to surround her with family and love and Gilbert is giving her his best. He actually gave us a disgusted sheeeit when we were talking about the events surrounding our upheaval. Of course that could have been for the benefit of the plumber who had to come when we broke the handle off the shower as we are expecting a house full of company. Anyone who leaves our house has plenty of stories to tell.

Wow, I had no idea what I didn't know. I never have given it a fleeting thought to whether birds could smell or taste. Java does have a preference for a pellet with a fruity scent. She also used to pick through the Zupreem blend to take out the colors she liked best. Now when I am looking for a new kind of pellet, I smell it to see if it has a fruity scent. So, she has trained me well. I thought the hot pepper theory had something to do with the oils that carry the capsaicin and that a bird's tongue is dry. Little did I know the points I would ponder on reading this thread. Way to get our processes started.

We have had a rough week and Gilbert hasn't had his usual attention and has been in his cage more with me being gone quite a bit. Tonight I was weary when I got online but wanted to check in with my friends. I was signed into the forum reading a particularly touching thread when Gilbert launched himself off his cage and made it across the whole room before crash landing on my foot. I felt his warm little body hit my bare foot and was expecting him to bite me with the indignity of the flopped landing. Instead he chirped and tweeted and raised his foot to ask for a step up. He sat on my hand looking intently into my face and he bowed his head and let me kiss him right on top of his head for the first time ever. There is something about the blessing of having a spirit in our home who seems to look right into my soul and respond with grace that has my stomach fluttering just a little. As I asked if he wanted to go back to his cage, he was getting a little nervous and as I stood about three feet away, instead of leaning in to step onto the perch on the door as he usually would, he again launched himself trying to fly. He went right into the cage through the open door and then confidently climbed up from his landing on the floor. I don't know if he will ever regain his wings, but I know for sure that today he thinks he can fly.

Way to go mister carpet cleaning man! Ha ha, that is the out take from your post. I want that on video, it would be the greatest cheerer upper I could find. Don't be so hard on our friend Mark about life's little issues that you really only have an imaginary sense of control. You don't make Spencer pluck nor can you make him stop. You can only love him and accept him and some day he may or may not stop the plucking. He is part of a loving family, that means he is living a charmed life that many humans can't experience much less a little leftover parrot. You are the man. You cleaned the carpet, I am doing a little happy dance for you and your wife.

He looks so much like Gilbert! Of course he has a lot more feathers and looks like a smooth operator. Gilbert still lunges occasionally to bite me. What I do to help with the razor sharp beak is to give him an almond in the shell every night for bed time. It does more than keep the sharp tip blunted just a smidgen... he has gotten to so look forward to his almond he learned to ask "you got a treat?" and when he sees me head for the tin of almonds he runs as fast as he can to get from the cage top to his favored perch for his treat. We also have one of the pumice perches and that helps keep the tips of his nails smooth and I see him rubbing his beak on that too. Gilbert has "rules" about touching him. When he is approachable, he will hold the bars with a talon and tuck his head to show me he wants a scratch. It doesn't happen as often as I would like, and he always wants the bars between us, but some day I am sure we are going to be solid friends with touching rights. LOL. You might ask if he wants a scratch, he may have heard it before and when he is ready, he may bow his head for you.

Marguerite, when my baby grey Juno was dying and I was so distraught, you posted a video of you singing "Just Breathe" I felt like that was the only think keeping me strong. When i was scared, when I was distraught with grief at his passing, I heard your voice. When I went out of state, nine hundred miles from my home and stayed with someone I loved to be her caretaker while she was in hospice, I was scared out of my mind. I didn't get proper sleep and had little help and when I felt like I couldn't make it to take one more breath, I heard your beautiful song. Little did I know the pain you were standing tall and finding your way through. I would like to tell you that there is more than Dorian out here who would be deeply touched by losing you. I was here needing someone and you were my light. Today I am sitting in a quiet room in tears as my daughter's wedding just a week away has been cancelled. Her heart is breaking even though she knows it is the right thing to do to stop it right here before she loses any more of her self in the process. It is still so hard to see her hurt. I was hearing your song when I signed on to say something about Gilbert making me happy and here were your words that connected to my heart. Just breathe. This too shall pass and the good moments will rise higher in joy because of the adversity we have endured.

Jeff, I am so sorry you have that memory seared into your brain. It had to have been traumatic. Considering the circumstances, you were not cowardly, you just were shocked and didn't know what to do after the fact. It isn't like you continued to go riding around looking for dogs with that group on subsequent rides. Other cultures do things differently and you were a guest in their country. I saw things when we were abroad that I didn't think was right, but you just can't change everyone and you didn't have foreknowlege to save the poor thing. I was with a friend once and she went out of her way trying to hit a squirrel. I told her it was awful and she said they are rats and vermin. I never rode with her again and she is no longer my friend. I have seen cars on the road swerve to hit a snake or a turtle and it is horrifying to know that some people are too shallow to have empathy for other creatures. I so agree that it is good to be on a forum where other people love all creatures, not just our exquisite African Grey companions. I appreciate knowing all of you have such deep feelings.

I think one of the engaging stories I heard was about a great aunt that I never had the chance to meet. Her husband Ralph worked the afternoon shift and would be annoyed if she didn't wait up for him but sometimes she fell asleep on the sofa. When their parrot heard the car in the driveway he would say "Wake up Jenny, Ralph's home." I thought it was pretty clever on his part, but even more clever for Jenny to teach him that. Good luck with your book.

I have had the need to come and go occasionally with Gilbert. He is an older rehomed bird with a past and issues. He has some problems when I am gone and leave him with people he knows in our home. It is minor, he adjusts and after a couple of days of being grumpy when we get home again, he does fine. I like that you are looking out for Lucy's emotional health as well as her safety and care. There are times when we are gone all day going to work or whatever and many of our parrots are home alone all day. Maybe it would help for her if your parents came at the same time every morning so she would have fresh food when the wakes up and that would give her some predictability. If it were not a hardship, or if someone else could come in the evening for just a little while to do whatever her night time routine has been like. We give ours an almond and tell them it is time to go to bed and they seem to like that and get happy to go in the cage at night to get that almond and a transition time. If you already do some of those things, you might have your parents or a friend start a day or two before you leave and show them what you do so they can be your surrogate. She may not love them like she does you, but she would learn that other people are good to her too. I would love to figure out how to Skype to my birds and dogs when I am away. I would love to hear more about your webcam when you return. I think it sounds like you have a delightful, healthy, happy girl and you already look out for her and will handle whatever comes.

I am so sorry for you and Charlie. We went through serious illness with two of our first greys, it is such a helpless feeling and you want to comfort them and make them all better. They seem to understand so much, I am sure he knows how much you care for him. I hope you get some answers for him soon. I am every so sorry you have to go through this but glad he has you for his buddy to get him the care he needs.

I don't have advice since this is beyond my experience. I do love that you have spirited, flighted greys and they let you know what they want are such a child when they don't get it right now. LOL. Dan, I will never get too tired to laugh at the imagination of Dayo sneaking in for a neck pinch, the little toot. A water bottle is a pretty darn good enemy for Isaac to get into a dither with every now and then. He may be just getting excited about the game, and he may be getting impatient with the expectation that you will finish your water bottle and give him a good play session. It does me good in heart and soul to think of the greys out there who are playing and getting exuberant. I know that the grass is always greener in the other grey's cage, but I really enjoy having my mind on other things right now and your post made me laugh. Thanks.

Thanks for taking Jaq'O into your heart and home. I know it is discouraging when you know you just made his life exponentially better and you will be patient and kind to him, but he doesn't know that yet. We have an older grey with "issues" and past rehomes. We have had him a year now and he is just now starting to play and sometimes will be trusting and sweet and ask for a scratch, but it takes a long while for these guys to settle in sometimes. It all depends on the parrot and his own personality and experience. While the small cage is inadequate and let his previous people "get him", he still is probably attached to it because it is what he knows. He is scared and disoriented and biting is his first recourse to try to stop what he sees as an intrusion. The biting and defensiveness is exactly what to expect right from the get go. It will take a little time and the above posts have the best advice. It may seem unnatural to just let him be left to settle with a minimal of interaction. They build trust slowly with every interaction that ends on a positive note. After about a week of settling in, he may be a little less fearful. If you approach and he growls or gets agitated just tell him okay, not now and back away. Sometimes I would stand with my hands behind my back and just talk as it took Gilbert a while to start coming toward me with interest. He is just now starting to explore his toys, they have scared him too much to play or explore and he just now starting to feel more at ease.

What a warm introduction, thanks so much for joining us. We love to hear how other people live with their parrots of all kinds and what they mean in your lives. It is always good to share our wonderful and unique parrots with others who understand. Welcome to both of you and your happy flock and your Huskies too.

It just makes me have a warm glow to see the lengths you go through to innovate and create fun activities for your parrots... and they reciprocate with ideas of their own to keep the laughter rolling.

Aww, I am so so sorry for this to be part of your day. It is a tough one to get past and being sorry is an indication of your capacity to love and have empathy. I had a similar thing happen in our neighborhood long ago and I was crying and trying to go door to door to find the owners. My husband came and helped me to bury the cat and keep the collar when we couldn't find the rightful owner. Then I posted a "found" ad in the newspaper and they didn't want to publish the details so they just put found and two poor ladies called and thought it was their cat and my husband answered the phone so we didn't get a phone number and it has been one of those things I never quite got over. I have always hoped one lady had a miracle when her cat came home. It has been more than twenty years now. I am sorry you had the experience but count my blessings to have you and the rest of our forum in my life to remind us of our human capacity to care so deeply.

How about another... isn't that cool? happy story. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9240683/Lost-budgie-taken-home-after-it-recites-entire-address.html