katana600

I am so very sorry for your loss. As I started to read the thread, I had no experience with the avocado but wanted to offer my support in your time of crisis. I have experienced the loss of my six month old cherished baby grey. It's devastating. My heart is with you and your wife. No harsh thoughts toward you at all. You are suffering. You lost the joy and light of your life and have my condolences and full support.

I am going to fight the visuals on Sterling climbing up the counter. Y'all are too funny. Our daily routine is to get up early, fix a bowl of oatmeal and let Miss Gilbert have her share mixed with almond milk. Then she sits next to her food door while I freshen her food and water. Cages for both parrots are open for the day. Most days they climb up to the play top and are very quiet unless I go outside or to sew in the basement. Then there are contact calls, giving me a shout out if the dogs go to the door etc. By 8:30 every evening Gil will tell me its time to go night night. When I go to the cupboard to get an almond they both hurry to go inside the cage, have a snack and a scratch on the head and they are happy to go to bed. When I come through later to go to bed, Gil always say "hey" when I turn out the light in my room. She can see in there from her cage in the living room. When I say "hey yourself" she says "woo" like she had a surprise. Then she laughs. It's a rare night when I don't fall asleep with a smile at her antics.

This thread brought up a few suggestions that I would not have considered and some I had forgotten since adopting a baby grey five years ago. One thing that saved my clothes was to buy five button-top, Henley style tee shirts. I cut them off just below the sleeves and cut open the sleeve seam. Then, I had a quick "drop cloth". It was easy on and off, I could pin toys to it and minimize the opportunity to go to the grocery store with poop down my back. If you buy them all the same color, Felony will quickly recognize it as an invitation. I lost my baby and his brother too soon to PDD and have a rescue parrot and pine for the moment she could fly to make mischief. With that said, she also vexes me sorely with a recent penchant for biting off a chunk of my door frame with newfound courage to come off her cage.

The written world of texts and email leave out the nuances of verbal or face-to-face interactions such as tone and body language. I remember when I first lurked of months and then joined this, my first and only forum, I thought members were "fighting" and it made me nervous. What I learned is our members work to keep this forum a place to come to share and lift each other up to the task of living with incredibly intelligent exquisite companions who will give us a daily challenge to dodge and weave and never catch up to their antics. A short answer to the original question is 'not really' Limiting undesirable behavior is more about distraction and substituting a less undesirable option. I heartily agree with suggestions about Barbara Heidenreich's work, particularly the one about "Problem parrots". That one helps me so much in the beginning to avoid the pitfalls of inadvertently creating a tyrant.

What a great name. As Inara said she has "stolen" your heart. She is sure to have daily 'misdemeanor's and 'do justice' to her name. You have started a life together on an adventurous trek to bring her to your heart and home. Thanks for joining us. Something tells me its going to be really interesting to follow your path and get to know this cherished little wisp of feathers and intellect.

You are so right Ray. It's time, giving her predictability and keeping promises. Something I noticed when I arrived home was evidence that she had been mobile in my living room. When I picked David up at the airport I finally had time to talk with him and asked about it. She launched off her cage and explored the living room and every time he offered her a lift back to her cage, she came back to him. He may be be her touchstone developing a bond to be her "one". As much as I would like for that to be me, it's enough to know that with patience and hard work to gain an understanding of her, she is showing positive signs of having the capacity for trust and affection. The encouragement from you and others gave me faith that she is worth the long wait in grey time. I think in the coming year she is going to show who she really is meant to be on the inside. For so long she has frozen herself in time inside a shell being anxiety and instinct driven. Her walls may not be tumbling down but there are chinks in the fortress and I am getting a few toeholds to climb over and reach into her heart.

Aww, I love her. She has impeccable manners compared with Miss Gilbert. She likes to cuss at new people for the shock value. It's amazing the way Inara puts things together. It will be interesting next year if she remembers your friend.

This is a great thread. I will have to think about flying with Miss Gilbert instead of the long drives. Her travel cage fold flat and would fit in a checked bag. The time under the seat would be only for takeoff and landing. It makes me wonder if we paid for an extra seat if she could be strapped into the seat in her bigger backpack.

What a precious moment. It won't be long until Kilaya is running the house and greater community. He is a beauty. Glad to hear he is eating a little for you.

I think she was relieved to see LuLu back in the kitchen fixing her vittles. Once she saw me get settled in, she has been a little abrasive. She called me a lady of the night three times last night and I pretended to be deaf. She knew I could hear her and she laughed. She was up to her tricks today being happy and a little nicer. Its a lot better every time I leave and return. This time I didn't find any chewed feathers floating around. Hopefully I can stay home for a while. I am exhausted. Between cat rescue, changing out ceiling lights and fans, moving furniture and helping my daughter settle her home, the drive and wild flight schedule, I'm thinking like Gil girl. There's no place like home.

You really have gone the extra mile with Roxy. It's good news how she is perking up with treatment. Hoping you get this behind you and just enjoy your happy, healthy friend. Thanks for coming to our forum. It was my first and only forum too and it took a while to find my way around but everyone is like an extended family and we care about everyone else's parrots too.

I couldn't get to the video. Both videos took me to advertisements and no video. I agree with others that its hard to tell from the photo. How hard is it to find an African Grey in Istanbul? I agree with others that age isn't as much of a factor as the unique match between you and your companion. When we consider the lifespan of this parrot, ten years is a fraction of your lifetime together. My rehomed parrot is at least ten and her age was not near the factor as her unfortunate experiences with other humans that made her a "bird with issues". She was a perfect fit for me and not only kept her age a secret but also surprised us with a gender switch up after the first couple of years of thinking she was a he. It can't hurt to meet your grey and observe behavior to see if you are a good fit.

Good one Sterling, it took me a second to 'get' it, very clever. Ray, you find some great articles and this is no exception. Who knew? Not me.

My youngest daughter coincidentally found the best cat ever at the public shelter in Fort Worth Texas when she was nine. KittKatt was a Siamese cat and the breeder discarded her because she was "ugly" with a face that was not symmetrical and she had a half mask, vertically on her face. She followed my little girl around like a puppy and was with us until a couple years ago. This little cat I met in Texas has the most wonderful and affectionate behavior and has captured my heart. I would love for him to find his own family and will follow him to be any assistance. I have met all kinds of cats including the kind that have shown up at your house. The same can be said for people.

You and others have given great credence to the value of sunshine. We are working to make it a daily commitment as well. Congrats to Isaac for overcoming his urge to give in to the itch for chewing his new pin feathers. You really worked together to understand his unique experience. Kudos Dad.

I had a moment of wickedness when the seasoned cat rescue lady accompanying the newly christened lovely lady helping with this one asked me "How many cats do you have now?" Before I had enough sense to realize I was being interviewed I quipped "None, I don't really like cats very much, I'm a parrot person". The gasp and look on her face made me feel quite devilish. Hahahaha. I'm no angel, Ray. I do sincerely believe we are tested and this little soul was sent my way for a purpose. My kids have had cats since they were old enough to ask, and I really do like cats. Bwahahaha.

My homecoming was a five airport twelve hour day. I never thought I would hear this announcement from the cockpit "Due to waiting out the storm in Houston and flying through the storm we used more fuel than expected. Atlanta has had a weather closure and we are in a holding pattern. Unfortunately we do not have enough fuel to hold so we will be diverting to Birmingham now to get gas". Miss Gilbert was just as happy to see me arrive home as I was to be here. She has been incredibly sweet, relaxed and chatty. This is a turning point in her confidence that my absence will be followed by a predictable return. The sweetest thing was when she offered me an opportunity to rub her head, leaned back and sang out "Gilbert okaaay" followed by "Time to go night night Gil girl". All is well in Miss Gilbert's world. No cussing today even when I ran the vacuum cleaner.

In our "silence is golden" moment, silence was the color of an open jar of peanutbutter. What fun they have. I laughed at all your parrot "tells". I can just hear it now, especially Nilah humming and purring with delight as she makes mischief. Funny funny flocks we live with.

You are going above and beyond to create a happy place for your parrots and an extra special place for them to get all the feather and soul enriching daily soaking of sunshine rays. They must all be twittering about your home improvement project. Kudos.

This is a much needed validation that our world has good to overcome the senseless heartaches. Some day when you need it, there will be drivers willing to create a convoy of helpers doing what they can to connect the dots between rescue and a permanent solution. I will be among your faithful followers. Thanks for the posting and for your part in changing the lives of every small soul in your realm.

Thanks for caring and offering advice. The vet where I took him initially gave me leads and one "Texas Pawprints" is a rescue for special needs. On Monday a foster home contact met with me and took over care for the little guy until he is well enough for rehoming. She is committed to at least a month while she arranges and transports him for immunizations, micro chip procedure and neutering. if he doesn't have a home in a month, I will drive back to get him.

My kids are telling me this cat is already mine and working overtime to find a way to get him home. Unfortunately I'm thinking through the difficulties it will cause for Miss Gilbert and Java as well as making me miserable with allergies. It's a back up plan but a better one is to find him a family. I have two offers for foster families and if they have not placed him in two weeks, my kids will meet me half way and fate will have her fickle way. I am getting the suspicion he may be partially blind. He knows when the door is open to his quarantine room and can get through in a flash. When he is eating or up close, he has trouble locating the food or water and "misses" the bowl. The vet care here has been exceptional. I am willing to be his sponsor and give him a good chance. It will all work out.

This is the way I imagine my reception in Miss Gilbert's mind. "Oh, it's you again turning up like a bad penny. Well I guess that's for the best. Your substitutes don't do anything right. Gawd. I've worked more than three years training you to perform your duties adequately. I hope you didn't forget everything you have been taught. Sigh. It's so hard to get good help these days." Hahaha. I am looking forward to getting back home though I have had quite the adventures.

That one made me laugh. Gilbert just keeps me guessing trying to figure out who she is on any given day. Maybe Nicky renamed Colin for you, like I'm LuLu and Karen is Jamie. And round and round we go.

Moving furniture is a sure stressor for her and I did as much as I could out without disrupting her. She is just too observant to get anything past her. David said once I left, she is just fine. I think it was Dave who wrote recently about rescues is that they never forget. As we go along, the things she can remember is that she is always safe and I always come back. I will be back Wednesday and I know she is going to be relieved to see me again, but she will hold her cards close to her tattered little fluffy chest and give me her poker face and perhaps the stink eye.