katana600

It will be an interesting study to see how your new puppy learns to be a service dog and companion for your daughter. I love that you are working hard with the whole zoo and making it work for your family. Don't let yourself feel guilty about spending your tax refund, it was earned and of course we will always have new expenses. You won't regret the love of your grey or the new mini aussie. You just can't put a price on love.

That is great! I am a believer that she knew just what she was asking of you. Did you step up for her? Hahaha. LOL, I bet you came bolt upright with glee. I love that she is tuned in to you and finds ways to capture your attention and your heart.

Great pictures of your beautiful parrots. I look forward to hearing more about them. What kind are they? They are both so pretty.

I laughed when I read about your sudden urge to try to clean and prepare for you new arrival. That's classic nesting behavior of a new mommy and even more appropriate as the flock leader. LOL. The homecoming sounds just wonderful and I have to admit, I forgot my own wedding date a year later and had to engrave it inside my ring so that wouldn't happen again. You are entitled to the excitement and delight that you are enjoying with Whitney and the rest of your family. Enjoy this magical time with your sweet little girl. The picture is just adorable. Thanks.

That is just so precious that he wants to come to you. What an exciting day. Go Charley!

There have been fleeting moments of self doubt and "what ifs" in the past couple of days. When I saw him open up so positively and amazingly to Sean, I was elated. Sean was very thoughtful in telling me that the year of patience and building trust helped Gilbert to be more approachable. When Sean left, Gilbert seemed genuinely let down. My what if moment was what if someone else came in and was the perfect match for Gilbert, could I ever let him go? I guarantee I would want to do what is best for him but I don't think it would be the magic wand to heal and restore him to that wonderful guy I know is inside him and the one I get a glimpse of more and more these days. Nope. I could not consider anything but moving in anyone he falls this much in love with. Sean can come once a year for a couple of weeks and see if it gets better every time and then he will just have to move closer. I absolutely love to see Gilbert shine. I love the joy in the eyes of anyone he favors with his sweeter side. David has been the go-to guy for a few days and it is nothing but good. I believe every loving person that comes into his life will enrich and build human trust and is a boost to our plan. In two weeks we have a wedding and I am so looking forward to seeing Gilbert with all my neices and nephews.

Do you live close to Atlanta? I have a grey and a red-bellied parrot. We fostered a cockatiel for five months and it was entertaining and rewarding. Hopefully you will find someone with grey experience. Even if they don't make friends with your girl, they will be good company and have an awareness to let you know if she is having any adjustment issues. She will probably have an adjustment issue regardless of how you plan carefully for your absence, but as a caretaker for a rehomed grey I can attest to the heartache of a grey who was someone's wonderful companion and now is older, has been rehomed a few times and carries a heavy emotional toll. Not to say your girl would be abandoned, you have a motivation and need to make this life change or you wouldn't be considering it. I wish I was close enough to help you out.

This is such an exciting time and brings back the happiest memories. It is a little scary at first. We had visited and held our baby since he was six weeks old, but that was always with his breeder near us. Coming home is a big change for your little one but if you take it slow, get advice from her breeder and let her take it all in at her own pace, in a couple of days you will be sharing a wonderful journey. The last day to wait is the hardest! It is so close. Congratulations!

When I was a kid, I used to love the "fortunately, unfortunately" story book. Unfortunately, Gilbert seems to think I banished Sean. Fortunately this has brought him closer to my husband and he is asking him for scratches and pine nuts. Unfortunately Gilbert has been keeping his distance and giving me the stink eye. Fortunately this means he is getting his exercise. Watching him rapel to the greatest height of his toy hanger and then spiral down only to climb back up and beat his wings to show me he is the king of the mountain gives me a sense of how far he has come. He has been really active and plays more every day with his toys. This morning I saw him chewing a "new" wood toy he has had for about a month now. It is the first time I have seen him splinter the wood so he is overcoming his reluctance to interact with his environment. Yay Gilbert!

Thanks for the nudge Barbara, as with most of us, I put off my unpleasant testing and it is time for a return check, ugh. But I will make the appointment and get it done. So glad you are okay and are enjoying Egan.

Okay, so who is more mysterious Solomon on his journey or you pretending to be asleep while you watch him traverse the distance between you? Haha, what a great story. I love that he wants to be with you and will work so hard to make that happen.

In the week and a half that Sean was here for his art festivals, I saw more progress with Gilbert than in months prior. It makes my heart soar to see that this little guy is capable of that much action and affection. It has come to my realization that my gender is part of the slow going with Gilbert. It amazed me how much a young, burly guy with a beard was an instant attraction. Gilbert let Sean scratch his head and openly begged him to come to the cage when he was in the room. When Sean left yesterday two of our dogs moped all day and Gilbert and Java both seemed extra quiet too. I am either going to have to get a good makeup artist and a beard to see if that will help or just tell Sean he has to move in with us! This morning Gilbert came to his special place for a scratch but was not about to engage, so I was going to give him a couple of pine nuts to reward him for coming close. He gave me a big surprise when he took the first two pine nuts and ate them happily, then suddenly struck through the bars to bite my thumb so hard it is still numb. Afterwards he had a full on tantrum, throwing things and just posturing and looking so upset. The best thing is that he found a way to calm himself with no chewing on his own feathers nor retreating to a fear withdrawal. What I take from that is he is finding new ways to express his frustrations and he is still moving forward and building confidence in himself. It is a fearsome scary thing to see his tantrum, but I think it is progress because he got over it just as quickly as it came. We have a lot more company coming in two weeks and it will be very interesting to see if my nephews will have the same effect on Gilbert.

Your English and expression are heartfelt and crosses all cultural boundaries, we understand the relationship you have with family and your flock. I do so look forward to your joy in DJ and his affection for you. Those wonderful moments with DJ and Doug with Ellie are a thousand times more enjoyable for me cheering for all your success and may you always feel for your parrots the devotion and love you have every day that they grace your lives.

Ohhh my goodness, that photo is precious. I know how hard you are looking to find a good packaged food for DJ over there. With all the other good food, this is a fair supplement but I do agree to take out the peanuts and if you can find more almonds in the shell, this seems like a good treat mix. Peanuts come from underground and I don't know the particulars for a mold or something that could cause a serious lung condition. What I don't know is if peanuts are in contact with the other food, does that transfer to the other food. Someone with more knowlege may be able to answer that for you, but that seems to be why most of us avoid the peanuts. He may be the king in your house, but I think that photo needs a halo, he looks like such an angel.

Bless you for taking on Skuttle and loving him through his transition. We have a TAG rehome and he has been with us just a little over a year. It is very rewarding but slow work to build trust. Gilbert was distressed when a guest left yesterday and I was caught unaware this morning when he sweetly took a pine nut from me and then swung quickly around to bite my thumb. What I have noticed is a slow progression to him being able to manage his frustrations. I am grateful that he is more and more able to calm himself from stress plucking as time goes on but as I learned this morning he is still working on the frustrations he has no other way to express. I am so sorry Skuttle bit your toe, that had to have hurt more than just the toe but your feelings and trust of him too. We have days when Gilbert will ask for a scratch and be so loving and the next minute he is upset for seemingly no reason. The good part is that he is getting better every day, he is getting more trusting and trustworthy and the bad moments get less ferocious and farther apart. They are so intelligent and it takes a long time to reprogram the instinct to protect themselves. With time and patience though it will get a lot more rewarding for you and Skuttle.

Two weeks is still early in your relationship and he has been in another strange house (to him) in the interim. We have a Timneh who was not abused, but didn't adapt to several moves between caretakers. It has been a year long exercise of patience and gentleness to get him settled in and he is just now starting to come out of his shell. Gilbert didn't growl much at us, he was more withdrawn and fear driven. Time and patience and giving him space has been the key in our case. Bless you for taking on this little guy, he deserves so much more than he has had.

I was showing your posts to my husband and he suggested Dorian was looking for a little cat nip.

Welcome to the forum. We all learn from others here and we will learn some things from you as well. What are your bird's names? We have a TAG, we aren't sure how old he is, maybe between seven and eleven years old. He was rehomed and has been with us for a year. He talks quite a bit and doesn't like to be touched much at all. With time and patience he is starting to trust. Some parrots have learned to bite because when they were subtle, the humans around them didn't "listen" and observe. The best thing you can do is to avoid getting in his zone until he is ready and let him come to you. They are all so individual and their background makes a big difference. Ours seems to like predictability and routine and he does a lot better in a quiet environment as he is still getting to know us.

Thanks for the support and cyber hugs and stories of your own birds. That is something that helps a lot. Gilbert is our first rehomed parrot and while I had some idea of what I was going to be facing, it is an unpredictable journey. I try to imagine how unpredictable life has been for him. When I saw Dorian's playstand and how he was gently touching your fingers, I thought how sweet that would be someday when Gilbert gets more comfortable. Then, in the middle of giving him some pine nuts, he kind of nuzzled my fingers. It is so amazing and wonderful to have him exploring just a touch on my hands. I could feel his warm breath and it always leaves me wanting more but when his little chest starts quivering, I back off and let him tuck close and make his own overtures. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate knowing you are celebrating the same kinds of progress with your own little angels.

Another WOW, what a beautiful place for Oliver and Stewart to join you outside in a gorgeous setting. I love it! Great job, it looks like a lot of work and a very rewarding haven for you and the parrots.

Nice video tour, Dorian is so relaxed and happy on his beautiful new play stand. Great job and thanks for sharing so we can be inspired to come up with our own someday. I love the natural look of your wood. He is a lucky boy for you to work on his happy place. I love the adding machine tape for him to do his "financials". Jac looks relaxed and happy in the background. I saw your other post about Dorian trying to get a little cat tail snack and laughed. This was very informative and fun to see. Thanks.

What an exciting day to bring home your baby! I can't think of a name this moment, do you pronounce "Lee lo" or "Lie Lo"? Naming is tough work. Maybe Lilo will name the baby for you when he gets settled in. It is such a happy time to prepare for your little guy.

I love the name and meaning. It is so exciting that you have a baby to watch over while he grows and gets ready to come to you. Listen to your heart, hold your little one and you will know. If you try it on for size and call him what you want and then change your mind, no worries, you may decide on a nickname or derivative as you get to know him.

Hi and welcome to the forum. When I was looking at this cage link, I was wondering how difficult is would be to open the top and whether the perch has to be removed in order to give him a place to play up there. My cage is similar to this one http://www.northernparrots.com/bolivia-play-top-parrot-cage-2-colours-prod950550a/ I like that I can just open the door and Gilbert will climb up there to play and I don't have to change and move it. My guy is an older rescue and doesn't like me to mess with his cage so if I had to open the top it would upset him. It is hard to know what your home space will accomodate and how much Casper is out and what choices you have in your country. It is nice for you to be upgrading and making a great place for Casper to play.

Uh oh, my husband travels extensively and when he is home on weekends, I am the one with the honey-do list that keeps him from his fun weekends. I will just have to put a little more effort into pruning that list and open up time for fun too. Nah... it may already be too late and I may be too set in my ways to change my vocabulary. LOL. Just for you though Ray, I will try, just once.