katana600

Most of the time I am home by myself and both our parrots are happy to go in the cage and let me close the door before I open the door for the dogs. Where I have a challenge with my mighty flighted one Java is when I am in my basement sewing rooms. Java has a thing about the sewing machine as her adversary. Generally she will play near me just fine. Other times she is determined to fight the sewing machine. She will charge the needle and I will move her. She gets really mad and has dropped partially filled water bottles on me. She snatched a pointed stiletto and gave me the flyover bombing with that too. Just today when hubby walked through he wondered why I was playing with a Happy Meal toy. It's my secret weapon. When she is being a nuisance I wind up a little monkey and he rolls around waving his arms. She is usually good for a ling time, but like a child when she has had enough she will bug me until I give her the attention she wants.

Are you still seeking TAG wing feathers? I am hoping maybe Timmy has been molting in new feathers but Miss Gilbert has been giving me some molted wing feathers in case you still need some.

That's a cuteness overload like a sugar high that brings tears to my eyes. Rio is the sweetest little thing. Love the treat time at the Sterling Ranch.

Kopi would stand on his cage, back to the room and "rub" his beak on the wall in an arc. It was more as if he as "drawing" on the wall. He would also place his beak against the wall, then talk. He seemed to like the acoustics. Miss Gilbert does a similar drawing on the wall but she swings around and stares at me, then draws another arc. I always think she is casting a spell on me and turning me into a toad for some supposed infraction of her daily expectations.

Well said and well done Penny. Ray and Cricket have been inspirational and an integral part of our forum. I've learned so much and am grateful for the time we have had with the sweet and spicy, colorful, loving creature who captured all our hearts.

Woo. That's fun! She is quite a character and so playful.

She is a precious little thing. She won't be quiet and frightened for long. Glad she has taken a little piece of your heart.

It's not just visitors, my husband and Gilbert have "something" going on. Last night late, just before bed a commercial came on for DiGiorno pizza when David mocked it and said "DiGiorno Pizza" in a comic tone. Gilbert shouted "that's sh$@". I gave him the death stare we said nothing. But as he got Gilbert her night time almond snack a bit later, he couldn't help himself from asking if she would rather have DiGiorno pizza and she gave him the reply he was seeking. He gave me the palms up helpless feigned innocence look. All I know is if we ever divorce, he's getting the bird, in more ways than one.

Ray, you have been wonderful in sharing your love for Cricket with all of us. The pain you are experiencing is unthinkable. I am grateful she didn't suffer. I am also so grateful that she found you to live her years with love, respect and affection. She led a charmed life in your care and knew that it. May you find peace in knowing your love made a difference to her.

Ohmigoodness, Delta Burke may be closer to my little Miss Gilbert than sweet and oh so funny Gilda Radner. Finally today we are back to our routine and Gil is calm, relaxed with nary a cuss. We have come so far in her evolution from panic and self destruction to the deliberate perfectly timed cuss session. In another three years she will find even better and more creative stress release techniques. She is quite the charmer to house guests. There is no amount of prepping and coaching them to please try not to react to her if she cusses that she can't overcome. She says sweet things, makes interesting sound effects and they think I am making things up about her salty side when she slips one in with the emphatic emotion and comedic timing. She uses her super power sparingly. She seems to have the wisdom of ages combined with the fragile emotional state that keeps her unpredictable and keeps me just off balance and keeps her in the catbird's perch.

It is a sign of excitement in general, it can be excitement of anticipation as well as fear or many other emotions in between. You may have to use other body language in each circumstance to add information to read Mama Mia's state of mind.

I am so looking forward to reading more about Fifi so my naughty Miss Gilbert has good company. Welcome to the forum. Nice intro

Awww, thanks for sharing some time with Miss Gilbert. In order to harvest a beautiful pearl, first you have to start with some gritty irritation. That is surely my role as she is often irritated with me. I'm not taking it personally because this was how she spent her previous years with caregiver Sarah as well. We had company recently, my sister whom Gil loves dearly and responds to favorably. Well, not this time. Gilbert said every cuss word I have heard her say and added a few more with great enthusiasm and gales of raucous, diabolical laughter. I have to admit, we upset her because we were installing new light fixtures. When we put a ladder up and climbed 20 feet to install the first of seven new fixtures, poor Gil had a near breakdown. We were far from her cage so I had not anticipated it being so dramatic. As soon as I realized it was a threat to her, I covered her cage and that helped but the stage was set and she has been a pip. Considering this is a family forum, I won't detail her language explicitly. In a deep dark exorcist voice with a charming southern drawl she called me a lady of the night. We were stunned into silence and she laughed. We didn't laugh. She knew just what she was doing as she fluttered nervously and said one four letter word after another. It might have been funny if I didn't know how distressed she was at the changes we were making. From the beginning she has said Jim in that pronounced Southern drawl that creates two syllables, GEE-um. I thought she was learning to say David. As it turns out she is more emphatically saying DAY-um. At first she said it and I repeated what I thought I heard, David. She started saying DAY-um David as if to show me, it is TWO different words. Next, if she said DAY-um and I said "David", now knowing full well that is not what she intended, she changed it up a bit and countered with GEE-um. I thought she was being funny so we went back and forth with Jim and David about six times in one "debate" and then she said Jim at least 150 times in one day. Unwittingly I added another irritation to her life by spending a day using a hose and a 30 foot extension handle on a soft brush to clean all the high windows. When I came in and realized it was upsetting her, I covered her cage again, but I am seriously on her bad list an no amount of almonds or pine nuts are about to change it any time soon. At time same time, the unexpected activities have pushed her out of her comfort zone again and she is back to making reconnaissance missions. Sometimes I return to the room and find her waddling quickly to the ladder to get back on her cage. Sometimes in a quiet moment I see her out of the corner of my eye ever so slowly come to the floor and walk cautiously around the room. Very rarely I find her droppings in an unusual spot on the living room floor and I know she was out, but must have hurried back up before I saw her. Every day seems to be something new and while I empathize for her stress, I do recognize it is moving her in a (mostly) positive direction.

Your experiment extends to your forum friends too with tips, tricks and techniques. Not just the health tips but the flock share plan. Great photo of your morning routine.

You really don't like him at all do you? Just kidding, I can hear you adoring him on the video. He is a Poi cousin of our Red belly, Java. I was checking some sites because I thought they were from the same family. The Jardine's is called "The African Amazon". One of their staple foods is the fig and that's similar to the red belly too. I can vouch for the bite and Java is a lot smaller than Rio. I am looking forward to learning more about him.

This is great news and is a great idea for an approach to Miss Gilbert. In three years we have gotten her to step up mainly when she is on the floor and rarely from her cage top. Maybe due to her past it is the step up that creates the anxiety rather than being away from her cage. Interesting. Thanks for the idea. It is just marvelous that Peck is warming up to you and learning the ways of his new and wonderful home.

Welcome to the forum. When a grey is in transition, he is getting the lay of the land. Do as much as you can to increase his ability to predict what to expect. If you are coming into the room, call to him so he knows you are approaching. Tell him something like "big noise" before you run the vacuum, blender, etc. Tell him something like "bye, going to work" and something different when you are making a short trip to the grocery store etc. He might settle in and adjust a little more quickly when he learns the expectations of his new habitat. Many of our members work full time. Open his cage and give him time and attention when you get home. Be as consistent as you can and he will nap during the day and be ready for fun when he hears you coming. Your journey is just beginning, living with a grey is unlike any other wonder in the world.

Happy Birthday to Josie. She holds a special piece of your heart and there is plenty of room for Sunny and Gypsy. Josie will have a great melon party and bask in the attention in her honor.

Thank you Kevin. She must have used my computer. I cleared my cache and history and will keep going back and ask friends to do the same. Your "wasta" isn't money, but any step getting you closer to keeping Sukei with your family is a leap in the right direction. There is sure to be a way.

Something unexpected and unwanted happened when I went to post a comment on your site. I watched the video of Sukei chewing wood, the example of eye pinning. There was a checkbox to link to Facebook. I don't use Facebook and have suspended my account. Somehow, even after taking off the check mark, it added my comment under the Facebook account of a family member. She would be upset to see her account breached and I don't understand how it could occur.

Wow. We got a puppy mill dog and saw her put her feet in the grass for the first time. She was so scared. She would spin in her crate, the vet said it was kennel boredom and anxiety. She overcame all the background "stuff" and is the most affectionate and brilliant little character. She is almost ten now and I had forgotten how profound it was to see her discover sunshine and grass. Thanks for this.

This kind of perch works great for car travel: http://www.amazon.com/Booda-Comfy-Perch-Cross-Medium/dp/B000084EDF We made the same configuration with two single perches and a heavy zip tie. That way when you are at your destination inside, in a safe place you can put one in an arch on the outside of the cage to double her play area. Keep all her hanging toys out of the cage for the trip because the motion may cause them to scare her. Don't expect her to eat or drink much while your vehicle is moving, she will be okay. One of our parrots gets car sick and it helps to cover her cage so she can only see out the front window. It's very tempting to let them on your shoulder or lap because its so many hours. But, since they are already in an unfamiliar environment, it takes so little to startle them and have a crisis in the car, that if you really need to give her a break, please do it at a rest stop. They are like a little kid and if you make that an expectation, it will make it a lot harder. We travel frequently, 1200 miles in a day stopping only for fuel. The parrots take it all in stride.

Give her a minute, she will tell you. She is very articulate. She looks so beautiful in the sunshine.

I agree with the Medium. When we got Juno, he was about the same size as Sophie and his breeder got him started out using the medium for training. We got the small for Miss Gilbert but I estimate at least a year before she will allow me to be that close, much less reach under a wing. Good luck with that. As for telling your weight? When we moved to Oklahoma, the driver's license application required you to put your weight on there and it was valid for TEN years. I refused. The kind police officer said, to put your ideal weight on it. There was a BIG sign stating they could put you in jail for lying. I was honest but I am still mad a decade later.

Rikki looks so calm, right in her element. It sounds like Nilah was saying "Let it go" and a "Hi darling" just for good measure. They both gave me a great big smile, thanks.