katana600

I can not even breathe. "Oh my god, that dog that dog" I laughed so hard I couldn't stand it. You have nearly won me over to get an Amazon, right NOW! Java and Gilbert are still laughing at me laughing at Nilah. That has to be one of the hundred thousand dollar winners on Funniest Home Videos. You have my vote.

The OMG make it STOP is hilarious. Not glad they were upset, but you just have to love the dramatic reaction to what they thought was over the top. That is so funny.

I enjoyed watching this soooo much. I dream of the day Gilbert gains that kind of confidence and has so much fun playing. Dayo is especially charming and delightful.

Great pictures of your treasure trove. I would never have noticed the coconut shell on the perch other than Judy mentioning it, I never have seen a "step up" perch, great idea. After seeing Rikki and her business with the corelle bowl, I would have thought she would flinch at nothing. You have a nice array of goodies to share for a long long time. Thanks for taking us along with you on your trip so we can make a wish list.

Gorgeous pictures capture an exquisite personality

Lively bunch of little ones. I liked the one with the lorikeet bobbing up and down and the little one mimicking, then reaching over for a little shove to the get other one going again. What fun. I had my volume up and got both my parrots interested this morning.

Yes. And, they live in the moment, no worrying about the future, no recriminations of the past. Just happy to be here with us today.

My favorite is the woman with her eyes closed. You must be very happy when you draw, there is a song of happiness in your work.

Thanks Dan. The video was an inspiration, the music sounded like dreams of flight. It seems there was a documentary that my memory can't quite grasp of a goose that imprinted on a human and they took to the parasailing or something similar to train to to fly and reintegrate into the wild maybe? Can you imagine with so many others parasailing if this hawk landed on you in a mistaken identity?

No wonder it scares you, you have been through a lot with your little birds. If she can use her leg, it would take a vet to determine if it could be reset "straight" but if can't use it afterward, it would still be an issue maybe if she doesn't have the ability to use it or to have sensation to know where she is putting it. While amputation seems drastic, the alternative of this limb being a liability to her, it might be slowing her down and certainly puts her in danger if you are not there when she gets it caught. What about a larger flight cage with narrow, lightweight bars closer together for finches and the like? If her foot is splayed, like her toes spread apart, it might not fit through. In a larger cage, it may be possible to put rope perches and boings in there so she could propel herself with her beak and good leg and it might create less of a desire for her to climb on the side bars. Also in a larger flight cage, square panels of lightweight acrylic may be easier to cut and line the inside of two or three sides. A hardware store would have someone available to cut the acrylic sheets to size. Another thought would be to contact a parrot rescue, chances are they have had similar issues and someone there might be able to help modify a safe environment for her. My stomach has a little knot and my heart goes out to you as you strive to keep her safe and active. I have known other people that have one legged birds and they do very well. One of the birds was named "Skippy", what is yours named?

Oh, I just can't stop. If you don't have a convenient place to lay the quilt sandwich for spray basting, you can lay a flat sheet on the driveway, deck, grass etc, and do basically the same thing outside. It takes a little more work and in winter if you really sweep the garage floor, or lay down a good clean tarp or drop cloth, that might work. Another way I have tried it with a smaller quilt before I had my space downstairs was to use my design wall made just by stapling a big piece of cotton batting along the top of a wall, then pinning my quilt pieces up on the design wall to spray one layer at a time and put the batting on, held by pins at the top for extra security and then spray and then smooth the top on. That was a two person job, but saved backs and knees when we didn't have floor space. I would close the bedroom door, open the window and let it air out in there after I was finished.

Sorry I missed this post for so long. Yes, I use the 505 spray for quilting and I love it! Fortunately for me, I have a walkout basement for my sewing and there is a door separating my upstairs where the birds stay if I am doing anything dangerous. But, if you don't have a separate area like a bedroom where you could close the door, you might call on a friend to allow you come over, spray and then take the quilt home to work on it. Once the spray is in place, you don't get any more odor or have any issues. I think it is the propellant that I would be concerned about. So, what I would do is to lay the quilt back on the floor, I have folded and marked my centers. The back is about two inches bigger all the way around. Next, layer the batting and sometimes I will put a safety pin at the centers so I can feel them through the batting. Then I layer the top matching my centers. Now, put newspaper under the edge of the fabric to protect your floor from overspray. Fold back the quilt top and batting half way so half your backing is exposed. Spray lightly from ten to fifteen inches away. You dont need a lot of the spray nor to have every inch sprayed, it is a basting, you aren't gluing your pieces together, just tacking. Smooth and fold the batting onto the part you just sprayed on the backing fabric. Next, spray the batting lightly and fold over the quilt top smoothing it as well. That does the first half, repeat for the second half. A job that would take most of my day if I was basting or tacking by hand, will take about a half hour max to spray baste. If you have more questions on quilting, PM and I will send you my home email address. I love that you are quilting. You go girl.

What a magnificent playstand and a happy home with your parrots. Thanks for reaching out, for learning new things and for sharing with us. My daughter wants to be a linguist and learns many languages. I try, but can't keep up. Like a parrot who can talk, but still communicate in many other ways, I will work to understand anyone and to learn more about their country, their culture and their language. Good for you! You are very good at your communication.

That is such a great idea for travel accomodation. I will have to look for them before we go again. I have gone round and round making configuration changes and trying to remember which of the stack of ropes work best in the cages. Those would be easy to remember for the next time. We are like Goldilocks and the three bears over here. Small travel cages in the car, larger travel cages for hotels, larger still for extended stays with family. I set them up, fold them down, take in the perches, take them out, round and round I go until it is "just right" and then I take pictures of the successful arrangements of each cage and still forget how in the world was that? What the hey? Which perch was that? Hahahahaha... I can't wait to see how Roscoe does with his travel. In our case, this trip was just the best thing we could have done for Gilbert, he has taken a turn for the better and I can't help but to think his new found confidence is related to leaving, seeing that I am still here and he is okay and he gets to come home again. I am hoping that you get a similar view from Roscoe when he comes home again. Even if it rattles his existence a little, the first two times did that for Gilbert too, but they were little building blocks that opened up new experiences and made things better in the long haul. Can't wait to hear how it goes.

It would take very careful and sensitive interaction to go back and educate someone without the hard edge of the pain and suffering coming through. We had two sick birds and a good relationship with the others involved and it was still hard not to come through with my pain and suffering not to mention the thousands of dollars of futile treatment. I do think it made a difference to talk with them in our case, but there are times when it can help and times when the approach makes someone just dig in their heels and say "you are not the boss of me" then they take actions to prove they have a right to do so. It is a tough call and each situation is different. I agree to tell them in the event it would educate them and make a positive change for the future. I also agree that adding more pain when someone has done their best isn't going to lift them to a better place and only adds pain and grief. All the energy you have now Dawl is being poured into the care of Barnaby and that is a healthy focus. It takes all kinds of people in our world and the gentle continued example may touch thousands in tiny little ripples that didn't seem to matter. Everything we do matters to someone. My heart is with you and Barnaby but also those who touched his life before and maybe they fell short of success, but my hope is they did the best they could.

They are so good together, I would have thought they were hatchlings from the same clutch! I can see by the eye color, one is younger, so that is not the case. It is wonderful to see how they have become friends, that is a dream come true. I love those pictures. Thanks.

Thanks Dawl, I have been following Barnaby and rooting for you too. When someone who has worked with a bird with "issues" says it is going well and is sure to get better and better, it makes my heart sing. We still tread lightly with Gilbert and it is taking a while for him to warm up, but the idea that someday he might be light hearted and playful and will find his potential, it just warms me through and through. I just love this new room and a place for all of us to share the unpacking of baggage and the new life we have together.

Thanks, I am seeing two new flight feathers on his wing, they are coming in after the hollow ones came out. So, at least I do know that those two are being replaced. The question that is haunting me is whether the ones he plucked a year ago will come back in the natural order of things. I will probably never give up hope, but if I had a magic ball to tell me if it doesn't happen by a certain time, it is probably not a reality. Then I answer my own question by realizing, I will take what I can get and not think too far ahead of things. Speculating is not helpful to the process of grey time. I just have my dreams of what a different world it would open for my little guy if he regained his gift of flight. I think from the beginning of time humans watch the birds soar and it is a deep seated desire of all of us to fly free.

It is so true that pictures are worth a thousand words. Magnolia is plentiful in Georgia and Gilbert is a lightweight, so that will be easy enough to get started. He is just getting started to play on the top of his cage and any encouragement for him to play is well worth the effort. Thanks for the pictures. Ellie's eyes are so pretty, I am sure you can't get enough of such a darling little girl.

Thanks for the advice there on the sycamore branches. I will look that up on the internet. We live near lots of trees. I will look for them specifically to see about making the play top more fun. I really appreciate how others share insights and inspirations. Thanks for the help. Putting a saw in the car, LOL. Too funny. Is there anything we wouldn't do to accomodate our little grey companions?

I am wondering if you could wrap the wire "porch shelves" with vet wrap so she could climb on them yet not get her little foot caught or fall over and get a wing stuck. This really takes some thinking, it is one of those unique things that need engineered just for her situation. On the twisted leg, is she able to grab and use that foot? Some cages have horizontal bars and some have vertical bars. The horizontal bars are usually best for a healthy bird to climb. If that is the kind she gets stuck in though, you might just be able to find one that the wires go the other way. Our cage has both. In that case, maybe you could get a piece of plexiglass cut for two sides and she could still safely climb on the others if that is an option. Otherwise, I am not sure if there is bird safe wire that would have squares or mesh to line her cage so her deformed leg couldnt fit through the mesh, but she could still use her beak and good leg to propel her from one position to another. I am not sure if I am just out in left field without seeing her. I wish I could watch her and help you invent a happy safe place for her to do all she can do and still be safe. I am happy that you are being her guardian angel. Good luck.

A rope toy with a knot in the middle and frayed at the end is like the preening toy we have. At a pet store a couple of years ago there was a blue and gold macaw with a toy that had a knot on each end. He had frayed and bitten the rope in the middle and then stuck his head through and a few strong strands were around his neck. He was new to the pet shop and a young girl was attending and it was a big job for the two of us to keep him occupied while she got some scissors to cut the strands. His neck was red and raw and he rubbed it and was very upset. I think the main thing is to watch your bird, use that kind of toy carefully under supervision and keep loops from forming. I do think the frayed ends are good and we do see Gilbert playing with a rope-like preening toy, but it has a plastic "megaphone" type thing over the knot so he can't actually climb on it or get a talon caught up. I do keep that one outside his cage, on the playtop because when he is out, I am very near. I watch carefully the boing and other rope perches and keep strands cut off.

Thanks Janet. I guess what I am doing is trying to temper my enthusiasm for the potential flight for Gilbert's sake. I wouldn't find anything disappointing with him as long as he stays healthy. I just didn't want to raise too many false hopes (for me) if say one year passed and he hadn't regrown those original feathers, is that the time I stop dreaming of flight? I swear that one of the feathers on his right wing grew an inch just today. When he lost the last two long feathers on that wing, he just drops to the floor off his cage door. He isn't falling, he jumps. Just a week or two ago he was flapping and jumping and coming off the floor as much as three feet high. I had to put a cushy mat in front of his cage to buffer his fall and give him a soft landing spot. He still does a lot of vigorous flapping every day and I think he still has flight instinct. If the day comes and he is capable of flight, I am willing to do anything it takes to encourage and protect him while he learns. Thanks for the information and the encouragement.

Now that Penny is intent on finding a technique, Nilah is onto her. My vote is for tonight when Penny says it is bedtime, Nilah will fly to her cage step inside and ready herself for night-night without a fuss and then look up sweetly and and tell her good night. One of those "Well if that's what you want, all you had to do is say so" looks. LOL. Wonders and miracles are on my agenda.

Thanks Dave. We can always count on you for the detailed information, that helps a lot. I guess what I was seeing is a one year anniversary date coming up and haven't seen a molt so I was wondering if older birds still molted the downy feathers or if that was more of a coming of age for youngsters. I've learned the difference between broken feathers vs barbered feathers and have learned the difference of a plucked feather vs a hollow one that came out in good time. The word with Gilbert was that he couldn't fly, or at least hadn't had flight ability in 2 1/2 years at least. He hasn't plucked any flight feathers since the first day just before I arrived. The sight of a handful of feathers with follicles was something I hope never to see again in my lifetime. My heart tells me it is still a possibility that new feathers are coming in and he may get flights in the time they would have been naturally replaced rather than new growth following plucking. I understand there is no way to tell except to wait and see but seeing two flight feathers on one wing starting to grow has been encouraging. I am able to at least hope for a molt to come along and give him the medium feathers on his torso so he looks dressed again at some point. Thanks for the quick reply.