katana600

I have a fairly predictable, routine and am home all the time and that has not been a huge asset where Gilbert is concerned. If we do have total predictability, it would likely compound the stress when something is not the same as usual. I think Spencer, like Gilbert and some of the other rehomed parrots has had some unpleasant experiences and it may take them a lot longer to get settled in. I think it will happen and I think he can figure out that when you leave you come back. Some of that builds trust. I think it is what you do while you are there that gives him a little confidence. Climbing down into his own travel cage is a big deal, he likes that you take him outside. Slowly, he will learn to communicate with you and I do believe it gets better in such small increments that sometimes it is hard to see progress, but I am sure you are making progress.

It is uplifiting to hear how both parrots are opening up to you and getting more active. Gilbert does the head bob feeding thing. When we first got him he was doing his droopy wing love coos for me and I would just carry him back to his cage and tell him no thank you and try to distract him with something else. In the past few days he tries to lick my fingers when I scratch his head. He isn't bobbing or making sweet love noises or anything so I am just watching to see where that is heading. I am so glad that Oliver is feeling somewhat better with the good vet care and your TLC.

I was desperately hoping for a silver lining in our grump fest and I see some positive changes that make me more certain that this is a developmental stage or phase Gilbert is going through. I had heard about the honeymoon phase and unpacking baggage and all, but it seems that a year in we would have seen most of the worst of it. Last night at bed time, just out of the blue he ducked his head and begged for extra attention. I stayed up a long time stroking his head and neck through the bars where he feels safe. This morning he greeted me and went from spot to spot to ask for a scratch and I obliged. He seems back to his old self again. The new things though are so encouraging. He goes to the cage top and so very delicately, cautiously, he picks a toy from the bucket and then jumps and drops it. I see more evidence that he was playing while I was out of the room yesterday. This morning he rattled the empty bottle with an almond in it and was much more assertive about it. He also pulled a thick leather lace down through the bars of the cage top and then he swung on it. The way he was flapping and squawking, I couldn't tell if he had a grip on it or if it had him. He has been beak grinding a little more and that just is music to my ears. He makes my heart smile too Lyn. I think every sweet moment is accentuated when he has been so unpredictable. I am seeing him be more... hmm, I don't know what, I guess less uptight and frozen with fear would be more like it. He is coming off the cage several times a day now and they are not precipitated by a fright, more that he is exploring. When I come to pick him up, he always leans in to me and lets me kiss the top of his beak and makes a kissing sound back. I spent the entire day downstairs yesterday at the long arm quilt machine. He kept calling out to me and I would come upstairs and check on him. It was still too cold down there to take him with me, but it is looking better for today. Maybe a change of scenery will do him some good.

I laughed until tears ran down my cheeks, he is so adorable. What is he saying about a red booty choco chicken? I think the funniest thing was when he said "I have no lips". He says so many sweet things, I can tell that is how you talk to him. Thanks for posting, your video made my day!

Gilbert still doesn't let me get that close to look at the nuances of his ragged little feathers, and if he did, I would be looking for where his eyes are looking. I know the day will come when I can get that close to look for a violet tinge though. Java on the other hand is a female red-bellied parrot. She looks gray but as the light hits her feathers they are irridescent and have greens and oranges and all sorts of lovely highlights.

This sounds like such an inspiring place. I also felt like I was along for the ride. It doesn't seem possible so many birds clamoring for attention, that would be magical and hard to resist. I understand the heartbreak part too. It makes me want to go snuggle mine even closer and be grateful we are blessed with them in our lives. I appreciate being able to create a little haven in our home for the ones we have and to look for the spot to hold the next cage.

I just keep going back to look at all her pictures. She is just adorable. I have to keep telling myself that I have my hands full. The amazons are calling to me and you aren't helping matters with this wonderful new sweetheart in your home. LOL. She has just come in and taken your whole family by storm, I can tell you all are smitten with her. She deserves this kind of a welcome. I am glad you have her.

Thanks Wingy, I will look into respite care, I have done some reading recently about CASA and once our wedding is finished in May, I will look into it more seriously.

I know it is still early, but I am getting more certain that Gilbert is on the verge of flight. Today he landed in a chair in the living room at least twelve feet from his cage, there was a lot of flapping and bouncing and his little chest was heaving. It didn't "really" look like "flight" but it is a start and it is the farthest distance he has covered without being almost on the floor. We went out of town to Austin Texas for a wedding. I was concerned for the little guy since he has been in a bit of a change of behavior, but our daughter is one of his favorite people and he did fine while we were gone. I found a few of the downy feathers from his chest around his cage, nothing alarming. He is definitely a little more grumpy so I am gently giving him a little room and letting him lead the way. Last night he refused his night time almond and then sounded his foghorn warnings while he watched me snuggle Java and scratch her head. He called out to her and called her pretty girl, so it wasn't her that made him "owly". I don't think my absence was too traumatic, more that he is just letting me know it wasn't on his agenda. On the bright side, today he has been extra acrobatic on the outside of his cage, crawling around on the grates at the bottom and had ventured to attempt to fly several times toward where I am in the room. As soon as he gets to me, he steps up and asks to go back. The mood swings seem to show much internal conflict. My greatest hope is that he really is on the verge of being able to fly. It would change our lives. I am convinced it would give him a lot more control and I think that would ease a lot of his fright and nervousness. It might increase mine though, LOL. His occasional tantrums have so much rage, it scares me just a little, but we can handle it together.

Spencer's new travel cage looks plenty big for weekend travel and it is bigger than the one I had Gilbert in this summer when our two weeks turned into three months away from home. I did take a smaller cage and backpack for time in the car. On the cage he was in for the most time, I was able to put some ropes on the outside as well when we were in motels and while I was with him in the apartment. It doubled his space and he was very happy in his travel cage. Spencer looks so much like Gilbert, the posture and the things he does with you. I think we will learn a lot from your experience.

That is such a sweet moment when she realizes she can trust you. I hope your relationship blossoms and is everything you both want it to be. She looks relaxed and calm.

Wouldn't it be something if we found out Gilbert and Spencer were from the same breeder? It is a long road and the journey is certainly filled with rollercoaster thrills-a-minute. I think we have been slowly chugging uphill for the past year and when we hit the crest we will be cheering and hooting together through the twists and turns. Today when my husband came in the door, Gilbert made a monumental effort to fly. He carried himself twenty to thirty feet losing altitude the whole time but then he did it again an hour or so later. You know Wingy, I think you are onto something there. I have taken classes and prepared for foster children twice, but we were too likely to get moved out of state so I couldn't commit. So, I have taken it upon myself to find families through our children at school and help foster families take break time whenever I can. I am just getting started working with a quilt group to make quilts for foster children and it is a goal to be involved even if I am not in a position to be a foster parent myself. I had not thought about Gilbert's behavior in that particular perspective, but you are right, his trust has been broken and he is paying a heavy price for the decisions of others. I know he is going to shine in his own right, it just will take some time for him to find his way. My daughter is one of his favorite people and she is coming to stay for the weekend while we go to a wedding in Texas. I am of the mind that for the short term, it is really just a day and a half I will be gone, but hoping absence makes the heart grow fonder. That would be on his part, even when he is grumpy, I love him to the last little pinfeather. I would have to admit, I would bite someone occasionally if it were socially acceptable. LOL. He has been particularly active today and I even saw him digging foot toys out of the stainless steel bucket that has been on his playtop since he came here. I often pull toys out and show them to him. I untie the leather laces and give him a bead, then let him watch while I tie it back on. It just warms my heart to see him getting more active and a little more physical.

That is such a great picture and awesome thread, good for Misty. Gilbert's job is to take me down a peg so I don't get a big head that I am successful or 'nothin like that, he is the first man to come along and put me in my place. LOL. Wrapped me around his little gnarly talon. He is pretty good about telling me when the dogs want to go outside and he tells me when to go to bed and when to get up. So, I guess his job is to be my supervisor. I think he is cahoots with my husband.

More happy news, Gilbert is on top of his cage trying to get almonds from the apple juice bottle! He has been up there for an hour now. He has been going to the cage bottom for a few days scrounging around looking for an almond he might have missed and didn't find any. I put the almonds in the empty bottle, with no lid, and he has managed to roll it around and get two out of it so now he is rolling it and working it over pretty good. I just can't say how much it pleases me to see the changes he is exhibiting, even if it means he is more apt to bite while he is working up his courage. Late last night, after midnight, when David returned from a business trip, Gilbert was very excited and talking to him from a dark room in his cage. We let him "get up" to see Daddy and he was letting David scratch his head just as sweetly as if he has been doing it all his life. We turned the lights back off and he gave his little "hey" which is a request for attention, so we turned the lights on again and he let David scratch him again but would not let me. He is still very unpredictable with me and tries to bite me through the bars one minute and wants a scratch the next. Something new he has been doing is when he holds the bars to get in his friendly position, if he is uncertain and keeps swinging around nervously, I have been rubbing his toes. He stretches them right out and lets me touch them. He has also been letting me rub his beak through the bars. When he sees us coming, he runs quickly into his cage to his favorite spot and gets into his head rub position, so he really seems to be coming around.

I am so glad to hear you are getting some cooperation from the university and hope it all goes together smoothly to finish your work. I would love to read your thesis, I sent a private message with my email address. I have to admit, it sounds like your major is in social sciences and that was my weakness and downfall. My only B was in history. You just never know, I might even learn something.

I just had to come back in for a huge announcement, Gilbert is sitting in his cage contentedly grinding his beak. This is the first time ever. In fact, I thought it was Java and had to peer in there in partial darkness to see that sure enough, it is Gilbert. He will never cease to surprise me.

Gilbert is definitely showing signs that he is getting braver. Today he "flew" off his cage twice to follow me from the room. He has been consistently playing with the paper. I feel like jumping up and cheering for him though when I see him move the foot toys on the cage top and when he plays with the little plastic "busy box". I am being very aware of this being a transition time of some sort. Sometimes he postures and bites his bars and throws almond shells or his pellets at me. A second later he tucks his head and asks for a "tickle" which to him means he wants a scratch on his head. I have identified why it made me so darn mad when he bit my finger when I was giving him his almond. Usually, I can pinpoint the loud noise or other stressor that will preceed a bite and I know that he has bitten me from a fear response. Two or three nights in a row when I give him his almond, he may take the almond every so gently as always and then fling it and try to bite me. It seems very premeditated and it just dawned on me tonight that he is absolutely unapologetic. In the past, if he bit me, he would almost immediately look shocked and start saying he is sorry. He has not been saying sorry and I suspect if he is sorry, it is only when he misses. LOL. Sometimes just minutes later, he is letting me scratch his head or asking for a step up. I can't even begin to tell you that in all the years we have had different parrots, the unpredictability with him just in the past few weeks makes me wonder if my friends are right when they say I must be crazy to let him get close to me after the wicked bites he is capable and willing to inflict. I keep thinking, this too shall pass. When he is sweet, there is nothing like the warmth of his head in my hand, it makes me forget to be scared. Or.... maybe it is my increasing age that causes memory lapses. LOL. He gets farther from his cage lately and looked every bit like a rooster strutting around on the kitchen floor today trying to follow me. It is the greatest distance he has branched out from his cage all on his own. I was watching from afar but quietly just looking to see what he would do. Something is changing, I can't quite decide what that is, but I think he is finally getting more curious than his usual tightly wound fear and trepidation.

Three years ago, I would never have guessed just how mesmerizing it would be to watch Marcus chomping a fresh crunch sweet pepper. He is just beautiful. I was admiring his feathers and his happy attitude.

He may think it is a joke, but anything to make him wear a reflective vest. It is kind of like sneaking veggies into his pasta sauce and putting it through the blender. No wonder I get along with parrots, always something up our sleeve.

I am so sorry. Rest assured it was nothing you could have prevented and your love for Twix put him in the kindest gentlest hands for his short time but your life with him was his entire lifetime. He was so lucky that you were the one to care for him and love him so deeply. I am so sorry for the heartbreak and loss for your entire family. I have been where you are with a baby, twice. Your grief is so powerful right now, be kind to yourself. In time the sweetest memories of being with Twix will come through.

They teach us in motorcycle safety the sure way to crash is to approach with fear. They say don't look at the ditch, look for a line to follow on the way out. Freezing and doing nothing is the worst thing in a crisis. Take a deep breath, look at the one thing you can do at this moment that will bring you closer to your goal. Gather every resource and look at where you are going five years out. This is a blip on the radar, you can do this. You can finish your thesis by the 26th. Focus. If your illness derailed you, put your mind on healing and get well and take another look. If it is humanly possible to finish by this deadline, you will do it. If this is not your path, don't let the fear of failure guide your way, there will be another deadline and you will find a way. My best to you, you can do this. You didn't get to the deadline of doctoral thesis without already showing that you are a success story. You have what it takes. A little creativity will brighten the darkest moment and you are almost there!

I have an older rehomed TAG that is a stress plucker. We are just about at the one year mark. Slow consistency is the thing that has helped him the most. We had the longest stretch of no plucking, have traveled with him and he calmed down, but he is dreadfully frightened of storms and we had to take shelter in our basement from a tornado and he got so upset he went into a flurry of plucking his chest. I think it is key to not take it personally as a failure to have a plucking parrot. Of course we would change it if we could, but it is from what has gone before us as rescue caretakers. I do believe if they see us getting stressed from their plucking it exacerbates their nervousness. I try to keep things predictable for Gilbert, but if I do see him plucking, I just talk to him gently and tell him I understand he is scared and he is okay. Sometimes a loud noise with startle him and before I can come reassure him, I hear him come back and say "Gilbert okay" with shaky little voice that definitely sounds like he is trying to reassure himself. Sometimes seeing their plucked little self causes deep emotional distress, it tears me up to think of the first day I saw him after he had pulled out nearly two dozen flight feathers. Keeping yourself calm and assured and focused on the future seems to be the best we can offer. Four homes is traumatic for the little guy. The silver lining is that by documenting and writing a journal, when it seems like he still looks ragged and tattered, I can see by my own words that it is getting better when I wouldn't have been able to see that on a day to day basis. Every parrot is unique and different and not knowing his history is tough, we don't know much either. Sometimes what starts because of trauma and fear perpetuates from habit. Keeping him occupied and talking gently seems to help. We have a very quiet house and that was the elixer for this particular parrot. In one year, I see progress just beginning. Keep the faith.

You and Twix were the last thing I thought of before falling asleep and the first thing when I awakened. It had to have been the scariest night of your life. Hopefully this morning you were able to get him to the vet and get some answers. Sometimes it takes a little while to see progress. My heart is with you, you won't regret the love and care and sleepless nights for your little one.

One more from the jokers at work. He wore this all day at work and will wear it for his pre-dawn jogs.

That was just fabulous. I love that they have an outdoor aviary and could relish that bath. I have never seen a grey take a bath with such delight. I loved at one point when he leaned in and showed his little red tailfeathers. Thanks for posting the videos.