katana600

You are doing a great job with Baby. I read once that a bite is a communication method, that greys don't like to bite, they are more subtle. Once subtlety is not enough, a bite is necessary. Just like some of us, after many many times of trying to be subtle and not getting results, the bite is prefered because it gets a result every time. So, you are patiently and successfully getting Baby to realize you can understand his first language of subtlety and soon he will not need the bite reflex. I am so happy to hear about his progress and how much fun you are all having.

Thank you all. I have signed on and off too many times to remember which posts I have read and am struggling to find my way back. What a perfect tribute. We may not take the chance to light a candle in our homes to protect our birds. The peace that comes from sitting quietly with dignity and watching the cyber flame is what I needed. The forum friends are what I needed. The rainbow bridge is what I needed. I stopped shaking. I can breathe. I can rest.

Take your time, work through the sadness, it has prepared you for better days. What you have done getting ready for Ipo has opened your heart to the grey world and the right bird is going to be matched to you at the right time, you will just know. Don't hesitate to look at all the opportunities. Even though you were let down in a big way, no one knows how they will feel about something until they live it. When you catch your breath you will see that you are meant to have a grey in your home and your preparations have been a good purpose in your life. I am so sorry for your loss, for the dreams and plans. You will have another grey soon and we will all be here to share your joy.

Josh, it is wonderful to hear about you and Griffin and the lengths you are going through to help him adjust and welcome him into your family. Dan is right, just be patient, if someone else can handle him and he is calm, use that to your advantage, he is much more likely to accept you when they are near him to give security. You are patient, loving and kind to him, he is just keeping you at length until he learns that. Keep your interactions positive and happy, keep singing to him. If most of his loving humans have been female so far, he is just looking at you as an alien. Perhaps... LOL... if you don a bra and wig.... LOL. Just kidding of course. Take your time he is going to love you as soon as he gets to know you better. It is a way with cats, babies and greys that the more you advance, the more they retreat. I think the secret is to be present, let them scope you out and come to you, it will happen and the joy of when he chooses you for the first time when he has other options will make all the patience worthwhile. Griffin will get there, hold your excitement dear but give him his choice to embrace you.

Georgie and Louie are beautiful together in your picture. I am so glad Louie is such a sweetheart to welcome your new baby. For Jill... just think that the nemesis team is getting shat upon from a great height.. the birds aren't rooting for the team they are in the perfect position to cover them with disdain... and other things. LOL.

and in the bathroom... Laughter sparkles like a drop of water in sunlight. My love and laughter to all of you for a special holiday with your families and friends.

I thought Java was reminding me of the words on the wall at the entrance to our home. It is hard to read on the picture, but says "May our home know joy, each room hold laughter, every window open to great possibilities" I walk past this every day and forget to see it sometimes, it is appropriate at this time. We do have joy and laughter and great possibilities, today and every day.

Java is free and taking over the house again!

Thanks so much again everyone. CaseyandMikey, you are so right that our happiness should last a lifetime and it did last for Juno's lifetime. Even in the void of his loss, I wouldn't do anything different if I had foreknowlege of the time we are passing through now. We just got word from the breeder on the initial exam and there was nothing to give us any answers. Even with the slides we are sending away we may not find a reason for this and that is okay too. What we will know for certain is if there is any contagious factor that could affect our other bird and it is not likely. We will celebrate Juno's life with us and remember the delightful whoop when he would fly to me. We will cherish the look on his face when he spotted a banana within his reach. When he was feeling down and I read Jay's recipe for mashed sweet potato mash, he ate it with relish. He really only had one day of failing and was kept comfortable thanks to advice from this forum. Please enjoy your holiday and know we are all together here for a reason. You have all brought me great comfort at an awful time. I am staying connected with the forum and will get through the rough times knowing you care. Better times are ahead and what is meant to be will be. There are great mysteries and great joys in our lives that human minds will not understand, but I think the African Greys the world over are ahead of us to live in the moment and be joyful.<br><br>Post edited by: katana600, at: 2009/12/21 04:03

The greatest tribute to the spirit of Juno is for all my friends on this forum to know that strength and healing is wrapped around us through our friends. The best thing you can do for this holiday is to know I want you to love your babies strong and tight. Hold your family and friends dear. Speak often of your love to them and don't let any precious opportunity pass you by. For every tear shed there is an angel with Juno and he is in a good place, no suffering and all the bananas, sweet potatoes, peanutbutter and sugar snap peas he could imagine. Don't let sadness linger in your holiday. We are finding all the bright spots and creating a store of the happy moments to get through the void. You are all part of the best and most happy times. Thank you.

After Juno passed away yesterday, I took him back to Jacksonville to his original home. Our breeder and their vet are handling the final arrangements. Perhaps in a week we will have scientific information that will benefit someone else if this could have been prevented. His breeders were there for me and his vet stayed in her office past seven pm to receive him and will work with a specialist in California. Nothing will ever replace our joy and love for Juno. If we have any answers that will benefit someone else it will be a balm to our broken hearts. Thanks for being here for the good stuff and for the compassion and kindness.

Thank you friends for caring, compassion and putting your hearts out to our family. I will stay with the forum and move to different thread to finish a tribute to our boy.

Thanks everyone for being there in our darkest time. We took Juno to the vet to be on the doorstep when the door opened this morning. Sadly, he passed away within minutes of our arrival. I came home to change and get my own car and will pick him up to take him to the vet in Jacksonville personally for his necropsy so we can hopefully get some answers that will help his brothers and Java too. I am sorry to bear such news to all the people who have been there for us, but would rather not leave you worried. I held him in the car wrapped in a blanket and had the heat up for him, he didn't suffer and I will follow it to the end to see if we will know why this happened. His blood panels were back from yesterday and everything on all the panels and cultures is in normal range. We know he has had good vet care from the onset. We may not have answers for a week. Our family thanks you for your strength and support.

It is actually seven am here now, I hadn't realized I have been sitting with him for two hours. As every hour passes it is closer to the vet coming to his office so I have some support there as we watch and wait and pray. Please be well, know we are strong and we will get through the rough times together. I am so thankful this is an international forum and someone else is up and on with their day, loving their birds and this too shall pass.

At five am, he is awake, still stable, not showing improvement or decline. Your caring and support has been keeping me calm and in control as much as can be possible while a baby is fighting for his recovery. Dave said going up to the perch is a positive sign that we have half the battle as solid as we can hope for at this point. As gross as it sounds, his poop looks solid and formed, so his inner workings are doing what they are supposed to do. He is warm, making quiet little peeps when I go to him, but I am just giving him his quiet warm space and watching.

It is about 1:30 in the morning, he is still on his perch, so that is a good sign. He stepped up for me and doesn't seem worse. He is quiet and doesn't seem to be in distress but it is clear that he is not feeling well. Will let you know when I know something different. Hold your little ones dear close and dear, or as Emma says to love them strong and tight. It is in a quiet moment in the wee hours that I am ever so grateful that I have kept the quarantine for so long.

What fun you must be having, it must feel something like listening to a miracle in the making as your baby bird grows up and starts making conversation with you. I am so happy for you and Cleo and look forward to hearing more about her talking and other antics.

Even when it looks the worst, knowing all of you have your hearts wrapped around a gnarly little talon, knowing you are holding yours dear, it really is uplifting. Juno kept down the first formula and is still perching, hunched up, fluffed up, definitely not feeling well but stabilized. I fed him with a spoon and he shoveled his lower beak like a little steam shovel and was definitely pleased to have baby formula. After two hours, I weighed him and was happy to see he was holding the formula down. When I went back to the kitchen he made loud sounds like a seagull, hadn't heard that before, but it was robust, so I'm happy with that. I mixed more formula and he took two 10cc syringes. My daughter called his cagetop setup with the heat lamp a paradise penthouse. I am going to bed early and will get up every two hours to check on him, so far so good. Your good wishes and prayers help me a lot. Thanks friends.<br><br>Post edited by: katana600, at: 2009/12/19 03:57

Lyn, that is so sweet. Little did I understand the depths of talent among our forum friends outside the caring and nurturing of our families and birds. Then to see the pics of our dear Alfie landing on the Christmas tree, she must have decided she and her little tail light were Santa's little helpers.<br><br>Post edited by: katana600, at: 2009/12/19 02:06

Not only is it a great thread Bernie, now you have a Bernie folder on my computer so I could save the sites and go back to look at them when I can think clearly. Thanks, will get back to you after I have actually read the articles.

Look at that beautiful girl, she looks like a picture postcard on the tree. She is a brave and adventurous girl. I am so impressed with Alfie. Great photos Lyn, Thanks.

So glad you are sharing your life with a special friend in Simba and with all your other beautiful pets as well. He does look like he is happy and healthy in your care.

Ecko is keeping a delicate balance on that glass of juice. It must have been a big surprise to him when it didn't tip over as it usually does. It did remind me of the dunker Chris, but I had a college professor that also reminded me of that toy. He would put his hands in his pockets and suddenly lean forward and I had to pinch myself real hard to keep a serious face.

It is so good that Yoshi is staying with someone familiar to her and as vested in her good care as you are. It really is good for her to trust someone besides you to care for her and interact. It is also good for you and your family to enjoy time away from home. You will all enjoy a happy reunion soon and it will be her vacation home/breeder missing her next week.

Thanks for the support, I don't know what I would do without all of you. Dave suggested to put him in a box so we did modify his favorite small travel cage with cardboard sides with an adjustable heat lamp. He did climb up off the floor of the cage, ate a couple spoonfuls of warm baby formula and is at least perching now. Thanks to Bernie for the hand-holding on the chat when I was feeling scared for our little guy. It helps to know you are all out there, having birds of your own, so you know the feeling of being helpless. We have his original vet on standby in Jacksonville FL and will drive him down if he shows any signs of destabilizing over the weekend when we can't get into a vet here in Atlanta.