katana600

This is such a heartbreaking event, I am grateful for you and your husband to be safe and there are no words to express condolence for your loss of beloved companions. I am so sorry you are struggling and dealing with such a loss.

I think we all struggle at some point to find activities for our parrots for independent play. There are some foraging type toys you can make by wrapping tidbits like pine nuts and almonds in newspaper, cupcake wrappers, coffee filters etc. that Bodhi may find intriquing. Also a thought was to find a parrot dvd or something to put on for him that may be entertaining when you have to work. As most creative people, you may have to work when the inspiration moves you but if it is possible for you to create a routine where you are unavailable for a predictable time period, that could be something he learns not to clamor for your attention and then have a reuniting with a snack or something he looks forward to sharing. For posting his picture, try using the "go advanced" and click on the paper clip to browse your computer and add a file. I wish we lived closer because I have the time and inclination to help and my guy Gilbert has the opposite problem of wanting me to leave him alone to his own thoughts and I would love to entertain Bodhi. Just letting off the pressure a little while you meet deadlines would change your outlook with your Bodhi. I agree with others that we have to give ourselves some guilt free time to do our work whether we leave to go to an office or work from home. Bodhi will adjust just fine as you work to create a solution for the benefit of each of you.

Thanks Kim, as much as we would love to be his wonderful home, he has some issues that keep him from relaxing and embracing the changes in his life and we just keep trying to find ways to help him overcome his own fears and reluctance to accept us. When he develops the smallest amount of confidence and expands his comfort zone, it is the greatest joy and celebration but I try to hold my cards close to the vest so as not to push him when he makes such a great effort to move forward. I am so excited lately I can barely contain myself as he found a new safe zone on the cage top. Last night he went back to the same spot on his ladder where he tucks himself in tight next to the perch and behind a toy and says "hey" every so softly as an indication that he is prepared for a scratch on his head. He let me rub his head for almost ten minutes which is like a huge world record in his "grey time". There are so many times I wish I had a magic wand to give him whole wings and an open heart, but the truth is, it is slow going and almost imperceptible change on a weekly basis that keeps me hoping for the day he will play freely and know he is safe and well loved.

Tonight when Sean came home from the art festival, I had just arrived home as well. Gilbert climbed to the playtop and said "hey" which is usually his cue that I can scratch his head. He was on the ladder of his playstand with his head tucked and peeking out beneath the big perch across the top of his cage. I went over to offer him a pine nut but he really wanted a scratch. This is big news because almost always when he requests a head scratch he will scramble inside his cage so there are bars separating us. He seems to need his comfort zone of being inside his cage. He was really relaxed and let me scratch his head a long long time. Then when I walked away, he said "hey" again in the soft way when he is asking for attention. Sean got up and went over and Gilbert let him scratch him for a long time. Now he is perched high atop the toy hook about seven feet up. He is just surprising me every day. It just warms my heart the way he responds to Sean. Meanwhile, David is home tonight after a week long business trip and Gilbert wants nothing to do with him. Slow, steady, patient progress. I will take whatever he is capable of giving and I will celebrate these little milestones. I am so excited, he was asking me to scratch his head without a barrier between us. Awesome. I love this little guy.

That feeder system looks better than the steam tables at a buffet. I like that you can get the food in and out without disturbing the parrot should you have a bird sitter or someone helping you. It will be an awesome home when you get it filled with toys.

Today while I was napping on the couch, Gilbert had another "first". I heard a thump and then watched him systematically toss everything off his cage top to the floor. Not only is he touching his toys, he was moving them and tossing them one by one. He seemed to make a game of it, he didn't seem at all annoyed, just moving and tossing things. I have seen him move and exercise more in the past few days than in the accumulation of months of slow and cautious efficiency of motion. He climbs to the top of the metal loop where one of the toys is hanging. For a while he has been using a great amount of effort and flapping to get to the top of the narrow hoop and now he just seems to get up there in one motion. I love to watch him come down, he swings and slides and is showing so much confidence. This is like a small sampling of the company we will have in three weeks for the wedding. It is interesting how much he seems to favor Sean and how he draws him close and lets him scratch his head. It makes me wonder whether he resembles Gilbert's beloved Jim.

What a sweet rewarding experience you are having with DJ and he with you. I love to know how much he means to you and how he returns your delight. It is the highlight of my day when I read that someone else is enjoying the exquisite African grey experience, or any parrot really. There is something magical about them returning your affection and trust.

I am sure you are trying everything and are feeling frazzled on all the demands on your time in this phase of your life. You may have already tried this but when I need to concentrate sometimes I use a pair of noise canceling headphones generally used at a shooting range. As you are working through your issues with Bodhi, it may be a short term retraining issue, and give you a small respite for reducing the frustration. As for the traveling issues, you will find a viable solution as it presents itself. How old is Bodhi?

We have company at our house. I was wondering how Gilbert would do with the hullaballoo. He has been awesome. He has been talking to Sean, our artist friend from NY and Julie, our embroidery artist friend from Australia. He is grumpy to me and offered to bite my face through the bars, but he talks and regales the visitors with his banter. Early this morning I was getting ready to take Julie to Tennessee for her to teach some classes and Sean came downstairs and Gilbert positioned himself for a scratch. I was beyond incredulous when we talked on the phone and Gilbert was making friends and letting Sean scratch his head. I came home at the end of the day and Sean had made friends and Gilbert was out of his cage and relaxed and happy. It took Gilbert six months to allow David to give him a scratch. He is not letting me get close to him today so it was a blessing to know he was making friends with Sean.

I love this idea. I started reading grey forums when I got my first parrot because she was from Africa and her behavior was closer to a grey and I couldn't find any information about her. Then, I got so interested in all the African greys on this forum that I finally found myself taking care of a TAG too. It makes me feel a little guilty talking all the time about Gilbert and Java has second billing but she is still my number one girl. I would love to participate in this honored parrot listing when you get a format in mind. Thanks!

I am so proud of you for getting to the bottom of this. It is sickening to know someone walked in and made an impulse buy of your little Nova but better than thinking he was stolen and heaven knows where. There is no excuse for the behavior of this shop treating Nova like a commodity and lying to you and keeping you heartsick. I would love to go in there and rail upon them too but the truth is there is little to do except create positive energy and think this is meant to be. Your breeder will work with you directly and they are the ones who invest in all the care, feeding and raising the baby so they will be a valuable asset to helping you get started. Pox upon the other misfits.

While I was waiting for my baby CAG, I got seriously enamored with a young amazon but thankfully held off those MBS urges. I keep going to the Amazon room and watching videos for my "fix". Even on my most self-controlled days, I feel the urge to "just look" and then I wonder where I would put that third bird palace. LOL. All in good time, I have yet to meet the parrot that didn't enchant me. We are all as close as the keyboard to share our love of these exquisite characters. I am looking forward to joining you on the journey to living with your african grey.

Maui and family are in our thoughts, hope to hear he is back again real soon.

Change is hard for all of us Lexy, but sometimes just identifying what we want is the hardest part and the rest may be a pleasant surprise for you and Bandit. Take good care of yourself and everyone who loves you will step up and do better too. It is still hard to step into the unknown. You won't know how all of this has affected you until you are in a quiet spot and feeling relaxed and happy. It will all work out and you will see a beautiful new beginning for yourself. Luvparrots said what I was thinking, in all of the new changes, you will be the steady influence for Bandit and he will be responsive to your attitude that this may be a change, but it will be good for each of you.

Litttle by little on a daily basis I am enamored with watching Gilbert get more interactive with toys. Yesterday was the first time ever he sustained a period of real playing with a "busy box". He was moving beads and twirling the acrylic spinners. He has gone from tentative touching the toy and jumping back to getting boisterous and curious to make things move on his own accord. I am just elated that he is less fearful and mover involved with his environment. We have a cupboard filled with foraging toys and I am looking forward to when we can introduce him to more playthings. It has been slow going and has taken a lot of patience to wait until he is ready, but I have a joyous feeling that time is just around the corner now. He is also getting more affectionate and asking for scratches. He is so subtle, he will just go to this favorite perch and hold the bars of the cage and tuck his head up to his chest and stand there waiting for me to notice and stop what I am doing to come to him. This morning he held his pose for twenty minutes in the wee hours of the morning while I scratched his head and rubbed the back of his neck. This has been his longest tolerance to touch and not once did he spin around and try to nip. There were other noises and "goings on" with the dogs and outside noises and David even walked by and Gilbert never startled or reacted. I can just see a difference in the way he holds his wings and am watching his little "shoulders" relax and his eyes become less hypervigilant in recent days. At the end of our encounter this morning, he flung some of his pellets and got grumpy. This is the first time he has done that and it seemed to indicate that he didn't want to stop rather than before when he would do that out of frustration because he wanted "something" he couldn't quite convey to me. I look forward to every day with him and love to spend as much closeness as he is comfortable to give me.

What a pretty little girl you have. I love her little tent and the way she peeks out in the morning. She is just lovely.

How about "can you identify the gender of a parrot at a glance?" She could explain how some parrots are dimorphic (is that the right word?) like our red bellied parrot. The females are green and gray with a blush tinge while the males have brightly colored reddish orange chest feathers. Or "how long do parrots care for their young?" Then she could study the birds you have now and how they would be cared for in the wild and compare the CAG, TAG etc. I love that she wants to include her flock, regardless of the project idea she will learn more about parrots and share her family.

Oliver is beautiful and vibrant basking in the sun. He does look blissfully happy. Your pictures are serene and you have a pleasant scene to look upon. The hawks are another story. No sooner than I typed that sentence I heard the call of a hawk and it is still dark outside.

I love how Archimedes is posing for his glamour shot. Great photo.

Happy birthday to Nilah. That is such a good picture of her. In just the forum posts, I have come to love that little face and great big personality. How lucky you are to share her life and see her every day and be her special person.

I haven't gotten close enough to get more pictures since they opened their eyes. I am concerned to make the next generation human friendly since they are wild birds. The little ones huddle together and are totally silent when I have been in the garage so I am tiptoeing around. They are at the age of fledging in the next day or so. I do feel like it has been a calming blessing to have had access to see the tiniest little eggs and for the mama bird to let me watch her feeding them on the first days after they hatched.

This is heartbreaking news. I have never heard of such a thing. I am so sorry that Archie had a loving home and got close and how he must be feeling confused and scared. That makes me really mad. I hope you are able to find some kind of proof of your position. If you paid with cash, you might have a bank receipt for taking money from your account. Is there any place where this breeder advertises the cost for birds that confirms your purchase price? How did you find Archie originally? Do you have any contacts from that time? Of course hindsight is twenty-twenty, recreating the paper trail is a lot harder. Bless you in your search to make this right for Archie.

Salsa is beautiful, her feathers are brilliant. Is she as big as a grey?

Who says you forgot to lock the cage? He may be learning to let himself out. It must have been quite a suprise at any rate.

All five eggs hatched and they grew at an exciting pace. Once they opened their eyes, I have kept my distance. I don't want them to get acclimated to humans. They are fully feathered and almost as big as the mama now. A couple of days ago they had tiny flat beaks but in just a couple of days, their beaks have changed to long, thin and pointed. I expect to go out any day now to find them fledged and gone. It was quite interesting to watch this little family grow.