katana600

Hi Nicola, thanks for joining us. Your introduction shows what a deep regard you have for your family, feathered, furry and humans alike. I offer condolences on your losses. It is unbelievable to lose your sweet Missy in such a tragedy. We do all we can with caring for our home and pets not often even considering an outside source of smoke like that would affect your pets inside your own home. The memorial you created is beautiful. Welcome to the grey forum.

This is great news Ray. Coincidentally, while I was visiting my sister in northwestern Pennsylvania she asked if I knew anything about keeping peacocks, which I do not. She lives on a huge lot of land with few neighbors. I would love to know more about your peacocks. Hope your eggs hatch and you have healthy chicks.

This is just the happiest news. I have seen signs of Miss Gilbert following Dorian's progress. It is such a big change for him to set out to get what he wants for himself. Well done to create a safety zone for him to evolve and become part of a brave new world. We are celebrating your milestone moment at our house!

You know Ray, this is the same with us as humans. I know I have gone through times when I was a little less loveable, a little more highly reactive. The truth is, I have bitten a person or two in my wilder youth. Hahahaha. But once I was in a loving relationship I reinvented myself into a fine feathered companion. Every parrot to human relationship is affected by genetic composition, early imprinting, life experience and is subject to change on a daily basis. I do believe a successful relationship depends a little on chemistry, a little on expectations, a lot on successful interactions and most of all on mutual respect, trust, kindness and sometimes forgiveness.

We went away from Thursday until last night. We had a neighbor checking in and feeding our birds and caring for our dogs. When we walked in the door it was as if I had gone out for groceries. There were no signs of discomfort in Gilbert, no feather chewing. We are making progress. Java has been a little cuddle bug against my neck all day today while Gil is content and quietly staying in her cage. She has come a long way to take a change in stride like this.

Every word you have ever given me to foster the belief in miracles is from the knowledge you have started at square one with a diamond in the rough. I look forward to your thread as well as your continued advice and support. Thanks Ray.

We have a smaller version of this cage, we got it from the bird fair. http://countryfeathers.net/TRAVEL-CAGES.html prices are less at the bird fair, but maybe it's been a while. We have had to modify the spring clips because Gilbert dismantles them. I use the quick links on each one for additional security. Now those cups are interesting. I have a solid blue one with that type of connection but the clear acrylic is way cool. That is a double bonus on that great bargain. I am thoroughly amazed you can set your cages on the grass. All my parrots get upset about being set down below waist level.

I just had to clarify the growl seems to be just what Phoenix has done. Juno and Kopi each growled on our first day and would do so when they were in the travel cage when they were placed too low. That kind of growl there is no mistaking. It is danger and is accompanied by a percussion sound much like the tractor trailer "jake brake". This recent growl was more low and grumbly, more like "Oh dear, this is not good." Another puzzler is with all her shouting and cussing lately, she has been having evening regrets where shortly after dark she has asked for a treat and settled in happily beak grinding when she softly says "Sorry" or "I sorry" and "Gilbert sorry". It's positively wrenching. I just tell her "it's okay" and reassure her in the way she is accustomed "Gilbert's okay". She hasn't said that for about a year. It's amazing how she lets me know she is thinking about other times. Of course she may be picking up on my own emotions. We have a lot going on with summer travel plans, a one year anniversary of my brother in law's passing as well as going up to PA for our first Relay For Life without him. With that, construction, braces overstaying their welcome and our little black dog, Mick has suffered a recurrence of a spinal injury. We haven't been "emotional" just pressured and she may be responding to that. Time will tell. I just have the firm sixth sense that she is on the cusp of a good change.

Howardine, I am constantly tamping down my own wistful longing with firm acceptance of limitations and reality of Miss Gilbert's fragile mental state. There are moments I wonder if she has had a head injury or mental illness. It's a very long road with no promises, no instruction manual, just steady love and trying new things. Val, I think you hit it exactly. Gil hasn't growled before except on very few stressed and brief disturbances. For her to approach me while growling and extending a foot to step up, my brain was saying "Don't Do It!" while my compassion for her insisted on responding. I have to say, I offered my wrist with fingers tucked safely out of reach. I do believe this is a lot like when she would posture for a touch early on but would get too nervous to allow more than a nanosecond of a head scratch. I do think she has an awareness of her flight ability and a tiny little spark is being ignited while at the same time she is scared to try. I keep thinking about her sustained flight distances where she stays just inches off the floor. She has a bump on a wing which her vet said was the result of a broken wing. It's within reasonable speculation that she may have flown into a wall or something. She may have decided flying is just too dangerous. I sure hope she changes her mind and gets the courage to keep trying. We are actually in the process of remodeling to create a different exit for our dogs from the basement so there will less of a chance to forget and open the front door just a little to far. I am a believer. I believe Miss Gilbert is going to fly again.

I agree Dan. I believe she has the ability to fly now, she has to overcome only the limitations of her mind and her body will gain the strength and agility. The growling was a puzzler, even David was surprised as he has never heard the grey growl. It was soft and low and she growled at the same time as she was running toward my hard and lifting her foot for me to let her step up. She probably didn't like the low altitude of the sofa arm. She did the same on my wrist and knee while I was sitting. She ran, flapped and climbed frantically to get on my shoulder but her goal was for me to take her back to her cage where everything is perfectly the way she likes it and everything is predictable. Every time she takes a few steps forward she has to retreat a step back. She continues to bait me with the Jim/David debate. She says one, then more emphatically says the other often followed by "What? What? What?" Then she laughs. For now, I am happy for her to cuss in those highly charged moments, it sure beats the self destruction she did when I first met her. I do believe it will give way to happier behavior as she gets more acclimated and involved with us physically as well as her new verbal interactions.

Aha. Gluten free parrot stew if they displease the queen! If they thought you didn't like the gluten free bagels and toast, they wouldn't want it either. I was just reading a recipe for thickening mushroom soup with canned cannellini beans puréed with an hand held immersion blender, it sounded really good. It's a huge lifestyle change. Your flock is cheering you on while they tell you how great this gluten free diet change is for them. LOL.

That's exactly how it was Dan. She is so unpredictable. No sooner than I posted last night she flew from the top of her cage. I took her to the back of the sofa where I was sitting and she acted real nervous with shaking and biting her foot. I offered to take her back and she couldn't run to me fast enough for the lift back "home". As we were a foot from her cage she launched off my hand to her cage. No sooner than I was sitting again she flew right over David's head and landed on the floor by my feet. She stayed with me that time for twenty minutes but she was obviously distressed and growling. She has never growled much so I am not sure what to make of it. I think she knows she is on the cusp of flight and making her own decisions and it is very scary for her. Again on the way back to her cage she launched and flew the last few feet. I will keep giving her opportunities and encouragement. She is a woman of mystery. When she really lets me in, it's going to be worth every minute of the dance.

Cricket knew you were her protector and she gave you her respect and her heart. Even when Gilbert has been at her least sociable I can't imagine anyone in our home talking smack about her. Nothing personal against your brother in law but I am glad Cricket set him straight about her new home having new rules. My guess is that Cricket heard too many times from them they did not have respect and honorable intentions toward her. No wonder she fell in love with you and your wife.

She does seem to be coming out of her spring grump fest. She has once again returned to tucking her head to posture for a head rub last thing at night and first thing every morning. She also has become so active that she is moving all day long. She makes huge messes and I still don't mind because it is progress from those months of being shut down. She does allow me to pick her up and take her away from her cage, but only when something has caused her to attempt flight and she ends up on the floor. She still gets so stressed that I have only a few minutes to get her to sit behind me on the back of the sofa or on my hand. She shakes and its not just a quiver, her whole body starts trembling and she has a wild look of seeking an escape route. Her "hands off" policy is respected but I keep trying to entice her to be with me. She seems to love it when I am in the kitchen, she can see me but I am far enough away that she is exceptionally brave with her taunts, cussing and maniacal laughter. I can only assume this is a phase and I do think its progress. My orthodontist has "lost me" with promises for seven months to take these braces off "next month". If memory serves me right Gilbert knew me nine months prior to braces. This was still our honeymoon period. I don't believe it's really my braces that keep her at a distance. This is mainly because I'm the only person she has seen with them in three years and she is just as scared and standoffish with all humans. With this newfound power of remembering cuss words and using them judiciously and emphatically, she is the one changing up her game. As much as I would rather not have her using that language every day, I am trying to understand her purpose and message to me. She certainly hasn't used those words every day. It might be a bridge to acceptance if she can't drive me out of my own house maybe she will relax and stay.

Oh what joyous times have been generously bestowed upon your household. The pic quality was fabulous enough for me to feel the delight in Inara as she finds her mum and best pal. I am just filled with happiness shared. I'm a little wistful for my turn, yet confident with our slow steady progress that I will get there too. I am getting that salt shaker, even if it doesn't soothe my girl's inner "savage beast", it will give my parrot stew a little flavor. Hahahaha. Congrats on catching the awesome photos, I know you will get many more technically perfected snapshots but I bet these "firsts" will always be your favorites for capturing the magic that is HRH Inara the beautiful graceful flight princess.

Thanks Judy. I was so caught up and smitten with Rio's face and adorable little sound I forgot what I was looking for. I hadn't thought about that regression even with abundance weaned babies when they are removed from the familiarity of the breeders home and always being with clutch mates. He does seem to be asking for something. Our baby was closer to twenty weeks when he came home and now that my memory is jogged, he didn't cry or call out like that.

You have a good point about helping him learn to find his happy place with the cage door closed. What he is learning now is that you are wonderful, safe and predictable. On one hand you don't want him to get so clingy he can't be alone at all and on the other you want to be with him every minute you are home because he is so darn adorable. Since he is brand new and your baby, I would tend toward reassurance now. When you do put him in his cage, leave the house for a while, just a few minutes at a time. Leave a tape recorder to listen to what he does in your absence. My guess is that he settles right down. The other thought is from your baby pictures. Did his breeder have his cage in front of a window? The reason I ask is that some greys are overstimulated by having no quiet little corner to relax. You might try moving his cage to a spot against a wall or in a corner so he can be approached from one predictable direction. If you can't do that, maybe cover two sides with a blanket just to see if he feels more secure in there. Also, mine didn't like the play top "drawer" on top. When I removed that so she could see her ceiling she climbed up there to hang upside down. When she plays on top she tends more to hang onto the edges rather than walk across the grates.

It's heartwarming to see Stanley's happy homecoming pictures. He is so bright eyed and innocent going on his very first solo adventure.

He wants to be with you, that is especially endearing to me as my older rehomed girl has worked that hard just to avoid any contact. I wouldn't be able to resist Stanley's charming entreaties to be with me or on me. He is still new and as others say, this baby dependence won't last long. When he is out with you, teach him to play with toys and soon he will be curious about other things and learn to entertain himself. I think it's too soon to worry about him being a "Velcro" bird. Comfort him, build a bond and he will settle in and learn when he can be with you and when he needs to entertain himself.

Ray, I am so looking forward to your reflections and insights. I spent a lot of months wishing for Gilbert to stop being scared and to interact with me, just a little. Now I need to know the "How" that will build a tiny fraction of the relationship you have with Cricket. She may not be physically on your shoulder but you still have her in every fiber of your being.

That is sooo funny. It's really interesting that Brutus is changing and picking up your voice just about the same time as Gilbert started mocking me saying my husband's name. All the other words she uses have a definite Southern drawl and are often male sounding in tone. When Brutus begins to do those yoga poses you are going to have to get video. I love that he is finding ways to make you smile. He is a great yoga buddy.

What have I started? A couple of weeks ago when I thought Gil was playfully saying "Jim" to counter my saying "David" I had no idea what I was setting in motion. First, she said Jim at least a hundred and fifty times the next day. Then she went through a series of saying Jim, then David as if she was arguing both sides of that debate. Then "What? What? What?" as in "OMG What am I going to do?" I have tried not to engage, I am not sure where this is going and she gets so riled up and animated that I think she is stressed more than "playing". Tonight however, she heard the garage door opening and shouted "David" as he arrived home from work. Whatever came over me, who knows, but I shouted back "Jim". She countered with "David". Now I know she is being contrary just for the opportunity to argue. David walked in on the exchange just about the moment she recognized I had turned the tables on her. He asked "What Gilbert? What do you want?" There was a moment of silence and in a tone that conceded "you got me", she exclaimed "$h@! Dam# DAVID" then laughed. I have to admit after the week or more of worrying me that she was indulging multiple personalities or having a breakdown when she made a funny, I laughed in spite of her colorful expletives. It's only a matter of time before I lose my mind totally and just join her.

To have your wife together giving Cricket a touching, loving tribute is a good start to soothing your loss. You both have special memories. Your caring way of sharing your favorite shirt with the spirit of Cricket's perfection brings a smile.

Thanks for opening this topic Ray. Juno was my first baby, he was flighted and learning his maneuvers. He was trying to land on my head, but I put my arm out. He made a second lap and returned for a landing. He was getting winded and dropped too low and his chest hit my forearm and he flipped over to land feet first on my lap. He stood up straight and tall to accept an Olympic 10 scorecard. He left me before his eyes turned color, he was my first love. My favorite memory with his brother Kopi was when the new puppies came near his cage and he did the pterodactyl scream and threw water on them. They ran to hide in my bedroom. He sweetly said "It's okay. Come here puppy" and he did it again! With Miss Gilbert it was when I came back home after the loss of a beloved family member. In those early days with Gilbert I would put her on the back of the sofa and this particular night she came slowly near me and felt my face with her beak like a blind bird getting a feel for my looks. Those tender, funny, enjoyable moments make me know that no matter how long or short of time we spend together, the blessings of our special friends in our lives leave us with a deep appreciation for those opportunities.

Way to go John, jumping in with both feet and creating an overnight flock. You must have that magnetic attraction to find two beautiful boys just meant for your home. It's going to be a great experience with challenges exceeded by the joys of living with two African Greys. Welcome to the forum.