katana600

That is a great video. I loved watching him get so engrossed in his play. When the cat came in at the end, he was at full attention. Thanks for the smile you put in my day.

There is nothing quite as amazing as the life we share with our birds. We do learn something new every day from them if we pay attention. I love having ours next to the room where I sleep. They seem to know whether I am rustling about in my sleep or beginning to awaken. They are very quiet until they know I am awake. It always delights me that the second I open my eyes, they seem to know and call out to me. As for messes... hmm, I would have to admit when I look around all the messes are mine. The birds keep their mess near the cages but I seem to create a mini tornado of mess everywhere I go. LOL. Sometimes I get grumpy at my family because the house is a mess and look around, lo and behold, that was me again.

Oh goodness, it is hard to think of neighbors complaining about the very sounds that set my heart aflutter in a good way. We don't have close neighbors and live in a quiet neighborhood. But.... my grown daughters who moved back in to finish college will complain sometimes about the birds waking them early on the weekends. It is one thing to bristle at some of the abrasive things that our birds will do, it does get annoying when it is bedtime and someone wants a second almond, but entirely another when it is happy sounds greeting my day that make me so happy. If someone slams a door, or comes grumbling down the stairs, I remind them that the birds came to keep me company and the sounds they make are delightful to me. The complaining, on the other hand, not so much, not pleasant at all. So, wear earplugs or get up earlier and enjoy my morning delights with me. I also like to remind them of how many times they wakened me from my restful sleep and I didn't come stomping in to take care of them either. While I am at my rant, I can't wait until they have homes and families of their own and I am going to visit and make messes and leave them and I am going to be a curmudgeon for a house guest. LOL. Of course, first I will make copies of their keys so they can't lock me out. Hahahahahahaa. As for frowning neighbors, suggest they go to the hardware store and get those noise cancelling headsets, it might improve their looks as well as their attitude. Okay, then try being really sweet and nice "Oh, I know honey it is hard to get used to the happy chatter of our birds, but you will eventually get used to it. I know it must be hard, I have been working really hard on ignoring you and still I keep on trying."

Oh goodness that sounds delicious. When I cook for my birds, I usually crumble the eggshells into the mix, but golly, I think I will leave that out and eat these with my family too.

I had not been online for a couple of days and missed your posts. I am so very sorry for your devastating loss. I know you were doing everything possible for her and I hope it gives you some small solace to know she was in loving hands. It is such a shock to see a vibrant healthy bird take a sudden turn in illness. I don't know what to say except you are in our thoughts and prayers in good times and in bad.

Gilbert is great! He has been talking some in a garbled quiet way that I can't always understand. Today he was talking to himself when I was taking the dogs out and he must have realized I was not understanding, so he t a l k e d real slow. He has quite a southern drawl when he uses a man's voice. He said "Come on bud, come on over here buddy". LOL. Some of the things he says and the way he says them tell me his previous homes were kind and sweet to him. He certainly talks sweet to me anyway. LOL. He isn't being quite as persistent with his sexy dance and gurging, so that is good. He got scared by a paper towel I put on the arm of my chair yesterday and screamed bloody murder. It was the first real growling or vocal upset I have seen. I would say he is getting settled and feeling more comfortable about making his wishes known. He also puffed up and refused to go inside his cage early when we were going out on Saturday evening. He offered half heartedly to bite me, then flung himself to the floor and dashed around hiding under things to escape me from going through with putting him in his cage. Then, just as suddenly as his little tiff began, he talked softly to me and waddled out from under the sofa and went in his cage without any more trouble. So, he got two almonds. LOL. I thought for a moment that I was rewarding some unpleasant activity, but he does know the difference... plus I was feeling guilty about leaving the house. As I locked the front door all of could hear him saying "Bye bye, see ya later, come back soon" and then he added one of my sayings to him "Have fun". My friend was joining us and she asked how I could ever leave him it was just so sweet.

Thanks for the Joey report. Great news for the little guy. He may have gotten off to a rough start, but he seems to know how lucky he is to have found you as fast as he could. We learned a lot from you and Maggie over the past two years. Then, we were really blessed for Gilbert to find us. I am happy to say that he is talking from his previous homes and it has all been kind and sweet. It would be hard to take to think anyone had been rough with him. I don't know if he will ever fly but I know you will be right there celebrating with us when he does. Congratulations on your success with Joey. He may have a history, but he doesn't have a sad story. He has an uplifting and inspiring story of rising above his raising. Thanks so much for the update.

There are some good things that get forwarded so I do read them, then I copy and paste and leave out the guilt inducers or exhortations to send it to five people or else. LOL. It is kind of like the preaddressed postage paid junk mail that sometimes provokes me until I stuff it full of their own stuff and pop it in the mail so they get to pay to have their junk sent back to discard it. Ah, all those little rebellions keep me from bothering the real people I live with sometimes. LOL.

Today... I choose to be a brat. LOL. That is a great insight for our birds Ray. I do try to look at their life from their perspective and give them opportunities to do what they do naturally and still keep my house from being destroyed. With our recent rehomed fellow Gilbert, I try to meet him where he is and it is a wonderful thing to look at life and play at his level.

Oh Isaac, you are such a character. That is so interesting, I am thinking he did see her take a drink and identify it by the sound he made. Or maybe he was communicating to you to serve him a martini. LOL. Our television isn't at an angle where Gilbert could see it from his cage, I might have to think about rearranging the living room if he would watch it.

Gil is getting more adventurous. He has been climbing out of the cage and sitting on top of it since day one. Now he is climbing down to the table top and walking around to explore things that previously were a little intimidating to him. This morning he gave me such a startle. I got up way earlier than usual and didn't do my normal routine. I sat in the dark and did my computer stuff when I heard a loud obnoxious clanging that caused me to make an exclamation and he said OOOOOOH! He had pulled his empty breakfast dish out of the holder and flung the small stainless steel dish onto the hard floor. The he was soooo satisfied with himself that he got me to my feet and said "Want a cracker?" Which is what he calls all his food. So, that was my cue to feed the birds and dog and get off the darn computer. LOL. I am being well trained. I love it.

Hahaha Robin, while you are studying to discover what you want to be when you "grow up", so is Beau. I think he has been to the career fair and has decided he will be a con man and safe cracker! LOL.

I am glad to hear it is just a fun new noise... for his sake, not for your's though. I am more noise sensitive than anyone else in our family, so sometimes I resort to the silencer headphones that look like big bright ear muffs... for the shooting range. Seriously though, I was a teacher aide in a kindergarten lo those many years ago. One favorite teacher taught me something I often use. When the noise level in the class picked up she would dim the lights and whisper. Everyone would just stop in their tracks and get silent so they could hear what she was saying, then, even without knowing why she was whispering, soon everyone else was whispering too. We have dogs that will run to the door barking madly when they hear a noise at the neighbor's house. I will start toward the door, and then they bark and I stop, whisper and walk the other way. If they get quiet, I come toward them again and keep turning back when they bark more. It is taking a really really long time, but I try to think I am modeling the behavior I am seeking to encourage. And boy, sometimes I want to run barking mad at them and smack them with a newspaper. LOL.

Spoiled rotten is by far the best way to be a "kept woman". Dixie knows just what she is doing, the little vixen. LOL. I love that your whole family is bird centered and that Dixie has her own relationship with everyone. Paul must feel like he is seven feet tall when she bestows him with her charming side. I am going to learn from Dixie's wiles and start greeting my husband at the door and following him around when he comes home from a long business trip to "surrender" myself into the spoiled rotten zone. Go Dixie.

The initial period of rehoming is stressful and scary... and probably the bird doesn't like it much either. LOL. I felt apprehensive at first with the recent acquisition of our older bird. You are in for some real treats as you are introduced to his true self once he opens up and becomes more secure with you. Like the others have said, you are on "grey time" so all the positive things you do to let him get to know you and be able to predict your behavior will be in his best interest and yours. It does take some time for them to get past their confusion and the changes in their life. Stay close and keep a general routine that will help him know when to expect clean water and food and approach him on his terms. I love that you haven't renamed him and are willing to hear what he has to say in the matter. I just love that. He isn't a computer that can be "rebooted" and reformatted for a fresh start and once he is past the introduction stage, you will know more about his preferences and how to get him started off on his best little gnarly foot. Conratulations on your new friend, this is going to be a wonderful journey for both of you.

I don't have much parrot behavioral advice but my "mom-sense" says Georgie will tell you what his needs are, he may be doing that in subtle ways, and now obviously in not-so-subtle-ouch-that-hurts ways. My general philosophy is "this too shall pass" which keeps me calm enough to think ahead of the little contrary booger. You are right that it is a combination of things going on with his age and your new addition. He may not see you giving Milly affection, but he probably hears you. If you leave him to his own devices, try to figure out how to protect yourself and the rest of the family and flock and watch him carefully for signs that he is eliciting your positive attention you will get through this trying time. I think you and Georgie have a pretty solid relationship that can survive his terrible twos and you will find a balance again soon. My strategy is usually food related. If you can find something he loves and give him early morning and late time one-on-one it might help him remember how wonderful you are. I know that is hard in a busy household, but it may pay great dividends in your future harmony. Good luck. You will get it sorted though, and he will make some adjustments and learn to compromise.

The natural environment of a parrot's home is going to be tattered, messy and pooped upon. I will have a friend over, or one of my family members will tell me "he pooped on you". I look and say "Yep. It surely can't be mine clear up there on my arm" LOL. A little poop, a little mess, all in a day of parrot pleasure.

Our little Timneh was a plucker so he is currently strutting around in his little grey underwear. LOL. He has one little red feather on his right "hip" and I think of it like a birthmark. I will start thinking creatively to see if I can find a way to get his picture too. I love that you are so close to Isaac that you see every little detail even the most obscure. It never fails to warm my heart the way you love him. I don't know the science behind it but it is probably something like the way some people have flecks of color in our eyes that would take someone we trust and love a whole lot to get close enough to see those nuances that make us all so unique and wonderful. I wonder on a daily basis whether you or Isaac are the most lucky to have the other in your life. The verdict is still out on that one. Thanks for all you do to bring his joy into our forum.

Time for me to chime in. My first experience with greys was with the CAG, I fell in love when the little guy jumped right out of the brooder and into my heart. I loved his color, I loved his personality and everything about him. When I lost him and got his brother, it seemed like the CAG was meant to be for me. Then I lost him too. When I read about a little TAG looking for a new home, I wondered if it would be okay. I wondered if I would be wistful for another CAG and that a TAG was "second best" in my situation. Within hours of meeting Gilbert, the distinction between TAG and CAG just disappeared. As many would tell you, it is about the individual bird. I just learned that my preferences had nothing to do with reality, just preconceived notions and what I thought I "might" like. Follow your heart, trust your instincts and do what you think is best for you personally. Of course my experience is very limited over a short period of time, nothing in research would prepare me for the immersion into the grey world and CAG and TAG are just labels that biologists put on these birds based on the geograpical location of their origin and a visible difference in their stature and color. I could no more say one is more preferable than the other than I could choose my favorite daughter. There is no favorite, there are just unique differences and individual traits that make me love them as though each of them is my most favorite in the moment. LOL. So, no help here I guess. I think both CAGs and TAGs are mesmerizing and delightful characters each in his own right.

That is such good news. I like to think that no news is good news, but it is absolutely reassuring that she is playing and talking. I am happy for you.

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement. I love this little sweetheart. It brings tears to my eyes to know he is accepting me so readily. I am in awe when I ask him to step up and to go into his cage and he readily obliges my requests. It is a wholly different experience from bringing home a baby but ever so fullfilling and exciting. I find I have to go back to the beginning to read some of the advice on this forum. A mature grey with life experience outside our own home makes my mind work extra diligently to find ways to help him feel secure while at the same time try to interact. Yesterday was my group quilting day. Gil has been gradually warming up to a comfort zone to leave the living room again, so I took him downstairs to meet the ladies. He was a little charmer. He asked everyone what they were doing. LOL. He stayed on my shoulder for a long time watching me draw and cut plastic templates and he got on a table top to walk around for the first time. Not a day goes by that I am not just deeply appreciative that I took a chance and invited Gilbert into our lives. He does one thing that is perplexing and that is to lick me. That has never happened before, but my bird experience is limited to only to four birds including him. It seems as if he is testing and feeling things. He does an unusual little head motion where he licks out one side of his beak, tilts quickly to the other side to lick and repeats it really fast over and over. When it turns to the pumping of his head to "gurge", I give him "work" to do. He seems to like to untie knots in a leather rope. I just keep distracting him and politely turning down his advances and he seems to forget about it for a little while. I think it is partly due to the season, partly because he is in a new place and just plain adult bird lust. I try to keep it in perspective because he does go off to do other things too. I keep in mind that in spite of how loving and attentive he is, in grey time, he has only been with us for a blink of a little golden eye. We are all learning our place in the new flock order. He is a little rascal and in spite of his small stature, he is bigger than life. His first vet appointment is coming up and then he will have a chance to see how he and Java get along outside the cages. She has been uncharacteristically passive about the whole setup. She gets a cuddle every night before our bed time almond routine and she has shown no curiosity to fly around investigating him. It amazes me that she will just get a cuddle and then hop right back into her cage sweetly without so much as a flyover. I just think this was meant to be and am more grateful than I could imagine for the love and laughter he is bringing to our home.

Your pictures are charming. It is so good to see Milly is home with you and all is well. I hope George is a good big brother and he and Milly become lifelong friends. You have really done a great job integrating not only a new baby with existing birds but now to add a new baby bird to your family. Congratulations, you are an inspiration.

It has taken a full week to get back to the place we were with Gilbert before the misting debacle. He is back to happy chatter at all times, he tries new foods and has a good appetite again. He has accepted a bucket full of foot toys and he plays with some of the original toys brought with him from even before Sarah took care of him. It never fails for him to ask "What are you doing?" when I sweep around his cage and table. My daughter wanted him to talk so she gave it a try and he hissed at her and did his best cobra imitation. He will take food from her hand and sure doesn't mind when she opens the door to his cage to let him out when we come back home, but I guess she is not to be his housekeeper. Also with Gil's return to sweetness, he is back to making advances to me. He will bow his head for a scratch and when I scratch his head, he quickly turns around and "feels" my fingers and it seems like he is trying to lick me. I am discouraging all his advances, put knots in his leather ropes and give him puzzles and "work" to do. The proverbial cold shower did the trick last week, but I am not willing to upset his system the way it did before. We will keep moving forward and balance the need to have him bond and settle into his new home while at the same time convince him that mating is not an option. I think my absolute favorite thing about Gilbert is his night time routine. As it gets dark, he and Java both get an almond before bedtime and as each person goes off to bed Gil is shouting out "time to go night night" "ready to go night night" and sometimes he says the first part and when he gets to the second part he will belt it out like an opera singer and we all laugh. Gil and Java have continued to laugh out loud when the lights are off and I am in bed. I don't think there is any happier moment in my life than to lie in the dark and hear two parrots chuckling and laughing out loud around the corner. If I could bottle that feeling, I would be rolling in riches. Who am I kidding? I already am rolling in riches of the love of two parrots and the sound of their laughter, and mine.

I just noticed the subject line of this thread. Coincidentally, Gilbert is in love with me... in the wrong kind of way. He is accepting the rest of the family near him and will even step up or let them scratch his head, but when he lets me pick him up or any time I am within a foot of him, he singing me his love songs. I am hoping it is the spring weather and this will pass and he will like me about half as much. LOL.

It is unimaginable to be in your situation. It is always hard to say goodbye to a beloved pet without the trauma that was involved. As time passes you will have a chance to sit quietly with all the best memories Rocco had with your family. I am so sorry for your loss.