katana600

I am so happy someone else is patiently waiting with me. Our CAG's hatch date is 5/18/09 and the breeder told us ahead of time that until the entire clutch is weaned and independent she won't let any go because it makes the baby left behind regress and that one would be the least ready to handle the trauma of separation from siblings. With that kind of caring attitude toward my baby, I know waiting is good. Well, for the bird, not so fun for us, LOL. It will be worth it!

This forum has been such a good source of information and advice, thanks to everyone. I can hardly wait to graduate from the introduction thread to the nursery when Juno comes home. I will get all my traveling and visiting done before he comes home and that helps pass through the months of waiting patiently. I get to go to the Houston Quilt Festival in mid October and when I get back, he may be ready. It is well worth the wait, and watching him with Ann and Tom, I know he is not only in the hands of experts, but really good people who love him too.

We are going to see Juno again this weekend, both days! I have been busy trying to read all the posts on this forum and get ready for when we finally bring him home. The advice you offer is really helping, especially how to handle our little spitfire Java and make sure she knows she is the alpha-bird. By now, the dream cruise would have been photos on my computer, but I have so much to look forward to with Juno every day. I have the Aviator harness, have watched the video. I have been on gathering mission with everything from foraging toys, to foot toys, swings, boings, perches and more. I have read books you've recommended and read ahead about all sorts of good behavior and even how to avert some bad misadventures. Although we have all agreed to wait for another month, I'll surely have the backpack in the car, you know, just in case he weaned and they "surprise" me and let him come earlier. LOL. We are waiting longer than average from what I read, but his breeder has done this for a long time and she is wonderful to him and his brothers, so if a month more helps him be more ready to leave his nest, I have the rest of our lives together to enjoy the benefit.

I am so sorry that you lost Macey. Since you had her with a vet and even he thought she had improved to go home, I hope you have the consolation that you did everything you could for her. May you have peace in your heart and to know we care.

I'm with Yoshi, I love her cage too.

That is so touching, it made my eyes leak a little. Karma to you Dave.

She is such a lovely girl and her name is perfect. It almost looks like a camera trick because she is so beautiful. I hope she stays that color forever.

While you are heartbroken at the circumstances with your beloved Destiny, I hope it helps to know that we are sharing your grief. It is hard to find words to say how much we care and want you to feel better. May years of love and caring and happy memories bring you solace.

That Koko is a sly ole toe pincher. LOL. Good on Mocha for holding ground better than I could if that beak was after my own toes. It really looks more peevish and testing than actual intent to cause any damage though. Before long these two will be happily coexisting if not companions.

This is a spectacular exchange. The expressions on Koko's face are priceless. It looks like she is giving that dog a piece of her mind all the while. Thanks for posting these pictures, all three of them will be getting along soon.

Hooray to Petrea and her family for working so diligently to find the family missing their parrot. You should be given open visiting rights! Congratulations and all my heartfelt gratitude for not only welcoming and caring for the "stray" but for posting it for us. I am guessing that many of us on this forum are celebrating as if it were our own family made whole again.

My hometown is in Pennsylvania and I love cold weather. We live near Atlanta GA now and you wouldn't think it would get so cold, but it does snow, and I like to walk in snow in bare feet. It is exhilarating! After being too hot all summer, I don't use the heater at night so sometimes it gets down to 40F Before we got the heated perch, I would find my bird all fluffed up in the morning with one cold foot that was holding her up. Now both little feet are toasty warm, LOL. My husband also makes fun of the animals in this house, they each have their own little warm spot with heated perches, heated cushions for the puppies, even for the cats when they were getting elderly. When I see the bird's breath making a little cloud, I'll know it is time to turn on the heaters. Just kidding of course, LOL.

Thanks Dan for reminding all of us that we can present our facts and still be considerate. I am new to using any kind of forum. What we mean and how we talk to each other in person comes across with emotion and our expression softens our words. Text is less forgiving and sometimes seems harsh. I don't think it was intentional to seem harsh and critical, we are all very passionate about loving and caring for our birds. Still, my stomach is knotted on this particular thread. It makes me a little less inclined to be excited and share my new bird because I WILL make mistakes or do things someone else sees as unwise. I would appreciate the encouragement and advise but with an understanding and gentle tone please so I can learn something without being stung into avoiding the best part of sharing with friends. If all our birds are individuals, and all are lactose intolerant, some would have more severe symptoms at tiny quantities, and some could eat a little in moderation without the intestinal distress. The cage papers tell the story, so to speak. A lot of "stuff" I read on the internet is conflicting, it is exactly the sharing we all do here that helps us sort out for ourselves what works for us and for our own little charge and that is a tradeoff sometimes. I promise I will be aware of milk products, but while avocado, chocolate and alcohol specifically are toxic and off limits, I would like the latitude to try a little morsel of what I eat because the social aspect of sharing is important too. I would like to also say that almost all of your other posts have been wonderful, so it isn't one person or another that was "wrong" here, but if we escalate into what seems like a harsh debate, some new folks might not have the thick skin to stick around and let me just say that I think this is the best forum I have found in three years. Every one of you have made great contributions and I appreciate the time you have taken to share so I can come to you with my concerns as well as my enthusiasm. Thanks.

We use a heated perch in the winter in her day cage and her night cage. She has other choices to perch, but on a cold morning when we get her out of the cage, her feet are toasty warm. She used to tuck one foot at a time and when we picked her up, one foot was warm and the other was cold. She really seems to like the heated perch and I don't worry near as much when the house gets chilly throughout the night.

Thank you so much for posting these pictures. We are patiently waiting for our baby's time to leave the breeder. We see him often, but I was wondering if I would miss all the baby time. He will be the same age as Yoshi when he comes home. Looking at your baby lets me know he won't be all grown up by then. Also, I bought the wooden toy like the one he is playing with just today. Thanks again for sharing.

Thank you so much for posting these pictures. We are patiently waiting for our baby's time to leave the breeder. We see him often, but I was wondering if I would miss all the baby time. He will be the same age as Yoshi when he comes home. Looking at your baby lets me know he won't be all grown up by then. Also, I bought the wooden toy like the one he is playing with just today. Thanks again for sharing.

Chezron, if you look up above you will see a place where it says "search forum", type in "The Atom" and look at some of the posts. There is a place in the forum where there are pictures and links to find the atom. It is a cool play toy made of ropes. It looks like a lot of fun for the birds.<br><br>Post edited by: katana600, at: 2009/08/28 03:49

Your picture is magnificent! He looks like a magician unveiling his "tricks".

Congratulations to your family and welcome to Ziva, what a great name!

When we reserved our little one, I started reading your posts. I have been reading every day for a month now and still have lots to learn from all of you. Thanks for taking the time to share your advice. We are so lucky to have made friends with a breeder for a few years before getting attached to a baby. Our breeder teaches them to wear this harness and is teaching me to put it on him before he comes home. Reading your posts helps me to ask questions when I visit my little one and to prepare our home for his arrival. Thanks so much.

I am thoroughly enjoying your Gracie posts. We are a couple of months behind you, so you are leading the way for when we bring home our little guy. Thanks for keeping updates online.

We are waiting for our little boy to grow up with his breeder, so looking at the baby pictures is a godsend. It seems like we are waiting longer than most and not taking a baby home. We see him with the breeder every couple of weekends for a few hours each day. We have talked to others in our area who said it is worth the wait for a confident bird. The babies sure are fun though. Thanks for the pictures.

Your bird room and toys are inspiring, thanks for sharing. What a great place to play.

Thanks for taking time to post to this forum. We have a three year old poicephalus (red bellied). We kind of looked at her like a "mini grey". We are getting a baby CAG when he is weaned, late October is our plan for homecoming. I have been concerned that he and Java may never be able to be free in the house at the same time. If we take it slow and let them decide, you are giving me the hope that it might be plausible for them to have a peaceful coexistence. Thanks, I needed that.

Congrats on getting your Adventure Pack! My baby doesn't ocme home until late October but I got one to transport him and so he can go along when we walk the dogs. His breeder is training him for the aviator harness, but I like that the back pack can be fastened into the car seat and he can ride along on trips in it too. I would love to know how your bird gets along with yours.