katana600

What an acrobat, she really is giving herself a workout. What a nice way to have a laugh with you and Alfie. Thanks for catching her on video for us Lyn.

Uh oh, I may have missed the day, but I sure wish Miss Hannah a happy bird day and having her in your life is a sure cause for a celebration every day! Enjoy.

OMG Dan, I sure appreciate the warning to set down the coffee. I laughed so hard and so loud, Java is still chuckling at me. That laugh rates right up there with a Dayo neck pinch. I am not a grandma yet, but I have always said if a peeping Tom looks in my window they darn well deserve what they get, and it might just be a "cure"! LOL.

Jan, Thanks so much for starting this thread. It is just what I needed right at the perfect time. You are right about the "magic" of having a grey companion in the house. I laughed more in one year than in the previous ten years combined. I still can not get over the feeling that I had every single morning when I looked at the clock to see if it was time to get up yet. It reminded me of my little girls at Christmas time. I started every day with a smile just in anticipation of uncovering a cage to see that eager little face ready to come out and greet the new day! Every bird is special and wonderful, but our greys are something more. That is why we have such a dedicated forum. It is magical... and I believe!

Thanks so much for posting these videos, I found myself holding my breath while she was doing her tricks. It is just that no matter how many of these greys I see they all are unique and breathtakingly beautiful. She is a fabulous entertainer already. Thanks Kito.

That picture tells it all and as much as I hate to admit it, I am laughing with you! Good that you are taking it all in stride and realizing he had too many changes in one day to made adjustments. Women's intuition? I think my husband would have "known" immediately if he had been on the same planet because he would have heard me shriek with shock and awe at how quick a sweet little kiss could turn to carnage when subtle body language on Timmy's part didn't get his message across and he had to "get a bigger hammer". LOL.

Well just look at you go! It has taken me a long time to get over the "perfecting" of my projects. I like what someone told me was an old Russian proverb meaning "good enough is good enough". If you were engineering a safety basket to bring someone up from a precipice on a helecopter, it would need to be pretty near perfect. In showing your love for your companion, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I think they are beautiful, creative and thoughtful. I have learned not to look so closely at my own stuff, in my quilting, if I am feeling like a seam didn't behave well, I have a policy of taking off my glasses, stepping back at least six feet, turning quickly to look and if it doesn't glare out at me that it is really misplace... good enough is good enough. LOL. I find I a getting a lot more done these days rising above my "analysis paralysis". I just love that the reversible Thanksgiving one has little birdies on the other side. Way cute!

Hi Bodnar and welcome to our forum. I had the same outlook as you when our grey came home, I just wanted to show him how much he was loved and welcomed and how excited I was to have him in my life. Like you I was wondering, what can I do? The secret is to do nothing and her curiousity will get the best of her. She will show you every step of the way when she is feeling a little less stressed and more open for your loving contact. I felt like I was spinning my wheels trying so hard to figure out the magic that would "flip the switch" and he would "know" I was safe. Keep doing what you are doing, sing to her, talk to her, sit in the room just reading quietly and she will realize you are not a predator that is going to scoop her up and do scary things. My husband travels a lot and it took months for our grey not to growl and try to hide from him. So if she is not showing fear, trying to hide, or outright growling and screaming when you come near, you are already half way there. Believe me, when she leans toward you and asks to get out with you and when she shows you a little trust, just act calm and that little trust will grow until you have the relationship you desire with her. Think about it, if you were suddenly taken from your home by big unfamilar strangers speaking in a different language and doing unusual things, it would really be hard to understand they are looking out for your best interest. My guy was only ten months old, and it took me almost six months before he was trusting enough for me to walk around the room while I was holding him. It takes tiny little baby steps and then it happens in grey time. I know that it is hard to wait, but believe me, it is sooooo worth it when the bond is formed. Most greys don't like to be touched and "cuddled" once they are mature. Give her the space to be who she is and you will marvel at the personality even if it was not what you expected at the time. Good luck, you are in for the experience of a lifetime when you slowly gain her trust.

I love your dark sofa with the parrot dust. It reminds me of making angel wings in the snow! Tui is a joy, love that he is playing happily and that picture of him with his feet up is my favorite.

Karen, is there any possibility your palm oil is outdated, maybe it got too warm in shipping or something. I have a really acute sense of smell and have to get my nose right up to the jar to smell mine and it smells like olive oil, just a really light scent. Do you have any bird friends who have it so you could smell a different batch. I would hate to think yours could be rancid, but that would explain their aversion to it. Sometimes I will have vegetable oil in the cupboard too long and when I open it, I couldn't bear to use it because of the strong smell. My favorite way to deliver the palm oil was to warm little pouches of cooked mixed beans and stir a little into it and my birds loved it. It is hard to wash off the spoons and dishes, but Dawn dish detergent is the best thing I found to dissolve it to clean up.

Ray, I think we are talking about two different things here. As you say, if I were in the unfathomable position where I had to rehome a faithful companion, I would absolutely want to do a home visit, make sure the new home was a good fit etc., but I think this person wants to not only see the bird placed, but wants visitation rights indefinitely and to have an option to take it back. We actually stayed in touch with our breeder and became good friends even though we are seven hours apart. Something that was a little heart rending was to have a visit with the breeder later and Kopi shunned them and it was painful for all of us. He was really grouchy for a week after that and we agreed it wasn't in his best interest to do it again. The emotional toll of trying to let someone "keep" their bird from afar would really be hard on all involved in my view.

Just look how bright her eyes are and how interested she is in her surroundings. She is a beautiful new friend and I am so happy for you to share your life and your home with her.

You know, come to think of it, we have had four years to perfect our night time routine and there were a lot of nights early on that it seemed like putting a toddler to bed... lots of distractions, chasing her from room to room and trying to dodge her tricks. It just took repetition, rewards for cooperation and consistency but it sure has paid off in the long run. I think what I like best is that her roost cage is in my room, covered, and it just makes me wake up with a smile because as soon as I stir, she starts making cautious little whispers or low whistles, testing the water, making sure I am the one she hears in the room. Once, I was coming in the room and bumped her cage by accident and she made a really big sound, like a hawk. I guess she was scaring off a predator, LOL. So, there I have a guard in my room too, just a bonus.

I know our grey story has been the highest of highs and the lowest imaginable lows to lose two in one short year, but I have to treasure the changes they made in my life. When I made the decision to take Kopi knowing he could be afflicted, I know for sure I wouldn't have it any other way. Our kids are grown and I was dealing with an empty nest, so I had a lot of time to expend on our greys and it has paid me a thousand times over what I invested in them. Since bringing Kopi home in March, I was so tuned in to his dietary needs, that I lost 25 pounds myself by eating his "leftovers"... you know, the day old veggies that I didn't trust to give to him. LOL. One thing is for certain, it was a powerful feeling to wake up in the wee hours and wish for the clock to go faster so I could get up, uncover his cage and fix his breakfast. I am still in awe of the raw intelligence and the capacity for making choices and of course the communication of these magnificent creatures who have been the greatest gift in my life.

I don't usually give a warning before I bite, but I always laugh afterward. LOL. Java may have learned this from me because she laughs a wicked chuckle after taking a nip.

So, does Timmy have a red tail as camouflage to blend in on a "red" neck? LOL, couldn't resist, but I wouldn't call you a red neck. That first picture was a shocker, I liked the second one best too. That smile on your face really says it all for how you feel about Timmy. He is a cutie too.

Lyn, We love our sleep cages for a variety of reasons. At bed time we have a routine and ritual where Java has some snuggle time and then I ask if she wants to go to bed, when she goes in the sleep cage in the bedroom, she gets an almond. After she eats her almond she shouts at me to come back in to turn off the light. I know she would sleep as well in the living room just by covering her cage, but the routine and ritual gives her the ability to predict what is going to happen next. Also, our family lives far away and if we got a call to leave in a hurry, her sleep cage is also her travel cage, so it would be ready to go in an instant in an emergency. I hope never to have to use it for an emergency, but when I think of birds getting out the door, I have a couple of these small sleep cages that would be easy to set outside to hopefully entice her back home again. I do know Java likes her sleep cage because when I ask if she is ready to go to bed, she usually flies in there before I can get the almond out of the jar.

I have read this again and again... committing it to memory, LOL. Unfortunately, I can see myself running to rescue a sleeping bird, and maybe thinking about it... but not poking it with a stick, but it still makes me laugh and make everyone in the family listen to another recitation. LOL.

You are already well ahead of the transition simply by trying to think things through from Sadie's point of view and to give her the time and space to let you know what she is ready to do to change for the better with you. I am so happy for her to be in your home and for her real life and personality to have the chance to shine through where we all can enjoy the journey with you.

When I see these shows, I think that these people were "normal" once and that I could be one tragedy or misfiring neuron away from a step down that path. I do feel horrible for the animals or children trapped in that situation. It has to be tough on everyone involved in the smallest contact.

I am so hoping Shanti comes looking for you and finds you. Keep your hopes alive and keep going out there looking for him. He may just be hunkered down, hiding and waiting for the moment to let you know where to find him. Bless you and Shanti during this painful time.

Well happy happy day for Koko to perch. He is beautiful just the way he is. Glad you are enjoying him so much, I am sure the feeling is mutual. He is a cutie.

I wouldn't be quick to think it was an accident. Alfie may have decided it is much to her advantage to have a shower on her own terms rather than getting sprayed when it is your idea Lyn. LOL. Whatever was on her mind, she got in and got wet, so that is all good. She IS my favorite star.

This, coming from Jill. If memory serves me right, she was the same one to charge in to rescue a wild bird only to discover it was a plastic bag. LOL. As I was reading, I was expecting a dramatic rescue and then laughed so hard, I nearly needed a rescue myself. LOL.

I never found a food treat to encourage ours either, but isn't it lovely when he responds to love and devotion? I don't think I have ever found anything else in life nearly as rewarding as spending months with a little guy who would willingly step up for me but then would lean toward his cage and ask plaintively "wanna go back?" Then after building his trust came the day he leaned away from the cage, toward me waving his little foot at me and saying "wanna come out?" There will come the day when Neo finds the delights of getting into his harness and meeting new people and regaling them with his personality that he is going to go get the harness and bring it to you to ask for more.