katana600

How is Annabella doing? I may have missed some posts but have been wondering how she did with the antiotics and all.

Good to see Kito is on a healing trend. A good appetite is always reassuring. Playing is even better. Hope your good luck continues to get better and better along with Kito's health.

You learned a lot from your vet visit, that is awesome. Also, since it was a relatively uneventful visit for Gizmo, it was a good intro to the avian vet for both of you and gives you a "parenting" resource. I don't know about you, but I felt very reassured after your vet visit. LOL. Glad it went well.

The depth of your despair over losing Grey is a direct correlation to the joy of bringing her into your lives. When the time is right and your whole family is ready you will know. When our first baby grey died, I thought it would break my heart forever and it was a hard time. Five months later when I could hear his clutchmate whoop in the background, I could not overcome the delight that I felt for a second grey. We all loved him for ten more months and lost him too. It was right about five months later, just wondering if we would be ready that right here in our forum I found Gilbert and his rehoming is the breath of life back into our home. Regardless of whether you get a baby or if you get an older bird, trust yourself, the right moment will come and you will know it when you see it.

Ah, the mystery of love. It is just wonderful that your husband responds to Dixie with such sensitivity and helps her accept your place in the family too! When your husband is out of town, does Dixie tolerate you well, or does she warm up to you over time?

I already loved this little guy before I ever met him. He is still very grumpy three days after the misting debacle. Where he was running excitely to see me he is now more likely to scoot away, so I just don't press him. I am retreating and giving him room to make up at his own pace. Of course, I am offering him bribes and tidbits when I come to see him and he is still talking and basically happy. He is just sooooo precious. I love his antics and every sound he makes. When he whooped this morning, I whooped back at him and he got so excited, bobbed up and down and repeated over and over again his happy shouts. He absolutely knows the difference when I go to the door to let the dogs out or if I am going out for a walk or to visit a neighbor. He knows if I head toward the garage door, I am leaving and he shouts Bye Bye, See ya later. But I haven't figured out how he knows the difference at the front door, the dogs always run to the door with me, so that isn't his clue. He seems so wise and knowing. I am daily in awe at this exquisite little character. I hope to live up to his trust and companionship. We are still getting to know each other.

You all have some great ideas on getting our birds into the sun. It is something I have wondered about. The way our glass is coated in the house and car, it blocks the UV rays. I can't get any houseplants to grow and my transition eyeglasses do not darken while sitting in bright sunshine. I know that is wonderful for the floors and furniture not to fade, but our birds need something more. We do have an enclosed screen porch and even if it is not in bright sunshine, I am sure it is better than not getting any natural light, so I will strive for fifteen minutes to a half hour out there with them every day. Thanks for the encouragement and ideas. We do have hawks too, we have a mating pair right outside the windows but neither of our birds seem the slightest bit concerned. I will still be extra careful, stay outside with them and maybe soaking up a few rays will work wonders for me to perk up and be a little nicer and less hormonal too. LOL.

Thanks Lyn. Sarah helped me again to be forgiven. She sent a text last night as storms moved from her state toward ours that Gil would be nervous during a storm. A few hours later as the storm and hail hit our area, I was prepared and talked to him about the big noise, then I left a light on for him so the flashes of lightning wouldn't be so shocking and I came out and talked to him a couple of times. This morning I awakened to his sweet little voice asking what I was doing and telling me it was okay. He is the king of his world again today, standing on the perch on the outside of his cage top. He is flapping his wings and just feeling frisky. My plan for the near future is to let him come perch in the bathroom while I run the shower and let the steam build up. Gradually, I will get him to perch in a safe dry spot in the shower and when he is ready he will let me know about playing in the water. Also, I recall Java and Kopi being intrigued by ice cubes floating in water, so when he is settled and back to trusting me again, I may put them in a dish where he can play and splash around and find another way to bathe him that he will accept and not be so upset. I know greys in general don't care for a shower and we have to be creative. His adverse reaction lasted a lot longer than just the casual dislike. His two day stint was not pouting or grudging his misting, he was really scared and stressed. On the positive side, it did cool his ardor for "feeding" me and he was certainly distracted from his amorous gestures toward me and he no longer wants me to be his girlfriend... so THAT is a relief. LOL.

Thanks for sharing about Rorschach. Their trust and acceptance is a gift. I feel so lucky to be accepted by this little bird. I have to admit I made him mad yesterday and he stayed mad all day. He was looking a little dusty so I told him he needed a bath. In ten minutes, I looked up to see what he was doing and he was in his water dish happily splashing away. I thought this was a chance to initiate bathing, so I put a shallow ceramic bowl in his cage and he wanted nothing to do with it. While it was fresh on my mind, I filled up the mister and sprayed him a little. He acted more scared than angry, but boy the rest of the day I got the cold shoulder and a quiet gurgling growl from him. It was the first growling I have heard and he is still holding a grudge this morning. I know how much he needs to be bathed, but will take a new approach to see if he will tolerate being on a shower bar and getting steam and mist in the bathroom and gradually work up to the spraying.

Our time with Gilbert just keeps getting better and better. He accepts everyone in the family and allows anyone brave enough to approach him to give him a scratch on the head. Every single time I sweep around his cage he asks "What are YOU doin'?" This morning he changed it up a bit and said "Whatcha doing honey?" LOL He gets out of his cage, walks around the top and sides and last night came down to the table top to examine the toys he rejected early on. He really loves small foot toys. He has been happy to sit on my hand, on the arm of my chair and on my shoulder. This morning when I headed to the door to take the dogs out he encouraged them "Let's go potty". My favorite moments so far have been the times when he sits at my elbow and just in the quietest gentlest voice says "Gilbert". It makes me happy that I didn't give any thought to changing his name. He is a priceless treasure in my soul.

That was a great start to my day, sure to have me going back to read the ones I forgot and to laugh about it all over again.

Hooray for Simon! It never ceases to amaze me how much time and effort our breeders and surrogates put into these babies when they put their heart and soul into facilitating each little grey's entry into the human world. Your fun is just beginning. Congratulations on your new addition.

Congratulations on bringing Pali into your home. Thanks for joining us, we all learn from each other. Every bird is unique and individual. Pali may object to cuddling or being held close, but he will show you how to be close to him in other ways. In a week, his whole life and what he knew is changed and it will take a while before he realizes you are safe and okay. Your gentleness and patience will pay off big because once he is settled he will show you wonderful things every day.

Thank you for staying with us. Sharing your story draws us closer to our own love for our birds. It is a lonely time for your family and for you to reach out during this painful time speaks highly of your courage and your love for Grey. I am so sorry we didn't have a miracle and equally in awe of your tenderness and caring. As time passes you will find the right way to fill the void in your lives and to keep all the happy moments in your heart, forever Grey. We lost one little boy grey with only a short time in our home. I still have a small bundle of his things that I have not been able to release. After a few months we brought his brother home and eventually lost him to the same illness. After the months of sadness and feeling empty, the right situation came up and we are again graced with a precious grey Gilbert. His joy is greater than our sorrow. He will never be a replacement and our other boys are still with us every day. The hard parts do fade away and it does give us the capacity to deeply appreciate the gifts in life we have today.

I am so sorry for your loss. It is hard to say good bye to a flock member and no matter how long we have them to hold in our hands, they are always in our heart foverver. Your little Rodan will be missed and his time with you was a treasure.

I love your post. Yes, I do tend to take more pictures when we have a fresh set up with new toys, especially with a new bird coming in. I also have photoshop so I can certainly remove "ratty" toys, LOL. Not that I do, but I could. Every bird is beautiful and they do have favored toys that are beat up, or run over with the lawnmower/can opener. There are also days when I think my house is a total wreck, but something funny happens with the kids or birds and I take a photo and later looking at the happy picture, I come to realize that when I am in the middle of it, all I see is the mess and work waiting for me. When I look back, I remember all the times I put the dusting and sweeping aside to make happy memories, and that serves me much better.

I do love to put some unseasoned, healthier fare off to one side to share with my birds while I am eating. Have you ever read the book "Give a mouse a cookie"? Well, in our case, give a bird a sample and she will take the whole plate and start guarding it. She goes into full attack mode at the mere suggestion that anyone else should get a bite before she has gleaned every morsel she chooses. So... she and Gil get fresh food in their dishes at dinner time. I do get up and share bits from my plate so they enjoy our flock time, but I save my table time for when I am home alone and give her a plate of her own and guard my own. She is just not a friendly little sharer.

How endearing. I want to get a blanket and tuck you both in. That is just so sweet. I am glad your wife had a camera nearby and shared with us.

When I went to get Gilbert, Sarah had shared all his issues with me and said she held back a little on the talking aspect because she wanted a good feel for where he was going before glamorizing a talking bird that someone might just get incentivized to take him for all the wrong reasons. I was willing to take on all his baggage and previous homes and meet him where he was and go from there. What I was not anticipating was such an easy transition. He is amazing our family every day. Last night I was leaving to get David from the airport, I told him Bye bye Gil. As I put my hand on the knob of the door to the garage, he said "See ya" "See ya later, Bye bye, back soon" Then, this morning after my husband and daughter left for work, he went through a whole recital of bye bye and welcome back. The other blessing has been the way he and Java are talking back and forth. He seems to be referring to her as "pretty girrrrl", and she is talking and responding more than I have heard her in four and a half years. She seems totally smitten with him and he is the first newcomer to our family that she has not tested and tried to drive away. He is such a treasure and I can barely wait to get up in the morning to see him again. Of course, he is awake at sunrise asking me what I am doing and if it is night night time. LOL.

Wow, good job on getting Spock's weight up, that is fantastic. I was happy to see that you put a rest time in that busy day for you and Jay too. I don't know how you fit it all into your day, but am impressed that you do.

All hail the Dixie queen. LOL. That is so funny. Next with a wave of her gnarly little talon, she will say "You're dismissed". Hahaha, LOL. I used that once on a "superior", he left his office, then came back and said "This is MY office, you can't dismiss me!" I smiled nicely and asked "Then why did you leave?" Hahahaha.. LOL. Go Dixie!

Yes, he is a little worried about new things, different rooms, but he really is taking our home by storm. Last night my husband was traveling and getting in late, so he said he would send a text when he arrived at his hotel. I heard the text come in, and was already tucked in, so I assumed all is well. Then another text came in, still I didn't want to get up, it was getting close to midnight. When a third text came in, I got up to see if he needed me to get online and find directions for him. Sometimes the GPS isn't accurate and I help out from home. No, no, just one text saying he made it safely and was going to bed. So, I thought my daughter must have left her phone downstairs and I went off to bed. This morning when I checked with her, it was not her phone. Gilbert was the one making the tone of the incoming text message. Hahahahhaa. He got me and I am loving every minute of it.

It is just the sweetest caring thing for you to post photos for us while we share a small bit of your loss. Thank you so much. She will forever be a part of your hearts and your lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with you while your whole family adjusts to this wrenching loss.

This guy is doing something to make us laugh every day. We tucked the birds in and went to bed early last night. One of our girls came upstairs and we said our goodnights. Gil murmured a little. The second one came up, said good night and I replied, Good night sweetie. Then a deep voice in the living room said "Night night". We were all laughing and then we heard the deep voice repeat "Night night" and then he regaled us with hearty laughter. He is awesome.

Yes, Gilbert is doing the same thing. First I tell him goodnight and turn the lights down low. He stays talkative but turns it to the lowest volume so I almost can't hear him. My bedroom is right around the corner from him but he still kept softly talking while the house was completely dark. I was surprised to hear him because usually when it is dark they are silent. I have noticed that the dimmer the lights, the softer he talks. He just can't seem to get enough of his day that he would talk into the darkness.