katana600

You are doing incredibly well if you have only had a rescue grey for a few days and already have him accepting things from your fingers and bowing for a scratch. Thank you for joining our forum. Welcome to you and Captain Jack or whatever name you decide fits best. There are plenty of things to read and also we are a group who love to learn from one another and share the life of a our extended flock. You will get cues from your new companion when he wants more attention from you. It is wise to take it one step at a time. Providing treats and interesting things for him, setting up his first vet appointment is a grand way to get things started. Congratulations on finding this fabulous new companion. I can't wait to hear more.

Ugh to the delay. Some other birdies were probably testing it out, good thing they wrenched it away and brought it to Gracie Mae finally. Sharing is great for you. Receiving is great for Miss Gracie Mae... how is it you have not learned that by now? Otherwise you seem kinda handy to have around. LOL

Welcome to the forum! Thank you for joining us. A picture is worth a thousand words and even a few misty eyes to gaze upon your beautiful baby. Wishing for you many happy decades together and wishing for us many stories of the wonderful exquisite creature who is one in a million, your Dooble.

This morning at five am, I was packing his little trike into the trunk of my car for him to return to work!!! Still no weight bearing for about 4 to 6 weeks. It would be wonderful to have him home with me.... just not working from home in my spot! Hahahaha. While he is away today, I am running the vacuum, shampooing carpet and making noise. A lot of noise! I can run the blender, the coffee grinder, the mixer and do all sorts of loud and wild things. I have three blissful days to rearrange furniture, deep clean and find a way to get him up and down the stairs. I am thinking a zip line from trees out front to the patio below the deck. He isn't much on amusement park rides though. The cup issue appears to be settled. He used it yesterday and our little neighbor boy knocked it off the stand and it is no longer to be an issue... until I find another cup, and buy enough to hoard in the basement fall-out-shelter/pantry so I can silently replace it. My spot in bed will be settled, all I have to do is swap walls and he will be put back in his rightful place. LOL. Seriously... he has a CPAP that blows in my face if we try to swap spots. That has to be it... if I mirror image the entire room, it is bound to make me feel like I am back in my spot, right? He laughed and laughed yesterday after we went to bed, he gouged me with an elbow to get me to move over. Not happening, I reached up to the headboard in the dark, counted to the center, made an invisible line down the middle and told him he has more than his share. He was laughing. I told him go ahead and laugh, tomorrow I will get a big fat sharpie and draw a line down the middle so he know where to park his carcass. I have glow in the dark thread I can use to emphasize it after dark and if that doesn't work, I know where to buy barbed wire! To show that I am not entirely unreasonable, I do understand that he will have difficulty getting that trike out of the trunk of the car. I offered to drive him to work and wait for him to complete his day and drive him home again. All he has to do is get me a lovely room at the Hyatt next to his office and I could take one for the team... have a massage and otherwise engage myself while he is next door. He said he will think about it. In all seriousness now, he does have it tough. He has limited use of his right arm, so basically his right leg is the only thing he can depend on at this time. He has such difficulty getting down just two steps into the garage. Maybe I could put my time to better use today to build a ramp there. Miss Gilbert has actually gained a lot of benefit from him being home. Generally when I am here alone, she is not getting the stimulation she has enjoyed with her bantering with him. Her vocabulary is changing and she is so funny. Friday while he was trying to have conference calls she was barking. He finally became exasperated and said to her "You call that a bark? You sound like a chimpanzee." She just replied "mm hmmmm". About an hour later he told her to be quiet. She laughed at him. Then she started barking over and over and over. He mocked her and for the first time ever, she said "Stop it, no barking!" Hahahaha. It is absolutely priceless to have a view of our retirement. For now, I will get all my cleaning, Christmas decorating and noise making done in case he decides to stay home until he has full mobility.

You really have your work cut out for you. I'm sorry Brutus has his beak out of joint for whatever reason. That is no reason for you to be injured. I agree with the advice you have been given. There are hand perches out there with a cup that will protect your fingers. Also, if there is a certain situation of setup that provokes him and is a trigger for biting, it is easier to avoid that particular sequence of events rather than to redirect him once he is in that "mode". Do you see body language prior to him striking you? With Miss Gilbert, I have to quietly go over the events preceding a sucker punch. Invariably, I recognize that I contributed to her set up by missing some vital, yet subtle clues that she is getting agitated. She has a poker face to die for and makes it exceptionally difficult to get to know her. If you are able to change your routine with Brutus, to get him to return to his cage mid afternoon rather than being escorted there, it might be better for him to get more time in there to pre-empt the evening battle. On the companionship front, yes Brutus has been your go-to guy for a long time and has helped ease your transition through your divorce. He is still your companion and still needs your love and attention. But, he is not your mate and you don't owe him celibacy or having to sneak out behind his back to enjoy time with your significant other. It is commendable that you are seriously dating and that he is willing to work with Brutus alongside you to gain his place in the flock. If you do change your routine, it might be wise to keep it between you and Brutus so he doesn't blame it on his "rival". For instance, if you put him in his cage in the afternoon, do it while his rival is out of the house. Try to keep from having a sequence which connects his cage time with the arrival of your date. Since we really have no way of knowing what the reason is for Brutus biting you, it is much better to avoid the situation that permits him that access. I am so sorry he is being such a turd to you. It may have been building up for a really long time and will take a lot of love, patience and time to figure it out and to get back to that loving, trusting relationship you once had with him.

Hi BRD, thank you for joining us and for taking an interest in researching "life with a grey" before you make the commitment. We live with an older, rehomed grey. She loves to travel and has gained a lot from her trips between Georgia, Texas and Pennsylvania here in the US. Finding the right spot for a cage with a two year old child in the house might be a challenge but your parrot will live with you for decades and be with you as you transition from kids at home, to college years and eventually grandchildren. We make changes based on what works at any given time. Miss Gilbert has traveled in a backpack carrier when we had a car full of people and her cage was "flat packed" for when we reached our destination. She has traveled in a metal "travel cage" and was happy in the smaller cage for months at a time. Recently we bought a van which allows us to have an upright cage on wheels which is much better for our travels because we just roll it out and she is home. Also, even though she was previously in several homes, including close to three years with small children, she seems to change with time. She did not like the children in her previous home, and they did not like her right back. She was scathingly critical of my first baby grandson in recent months when we traveled to Texas. She told him to shut up, get outside and she made really obnoxious noises to express her general displeasure. Yet, I have recently started having my 3 year old neighbor boy over and he runs with our dogs, jumps on the sofa next to Gil's cage and she doesn't skip a beat nor cuss or be generally rude to him at all. I think because he and I are laughing, playing, busy and happy she gets along with that beautifully. Just as every home is different and unique and constantly changing, African grey parrots are also unique individuals. If you happened to bring one home that didn't seem to fit in, it would take a lot of time and effort but you would love your grey as a family member and learn to make it work. My experience with Miss Gilbert was taking on a parrot with much baggage and known issues. There was a little freedom in that because I seldom think of it as my failure if we have problems. I just look for a way to solve those problems as they crop up and when a solution doesn't work, I keep trying until something does work, then try some more because our greys are complex, exquisitely intelligent and challenging like no creature, human or otherwise. Best of luck to you as you consider life with an African grey adopted companion and family member. Thanks for joining us.

Yes, thanks Val and all concerned. It was about a three hour surgery and the doctor says she hopes not, but by January should know if he needs a second one. His recovery has been remarkable in that anesthesiology used a nerve block to help with pain relief prior to surgery. It is expected to wear off in 12 to 18 hours and a week later, he is just starting to get a twinge of pain sporadically but basically still has no feeling in his ankle. We have kept up with testing for good circulation and reporting in to anesthesiology. David says he thinks someone else was getting an amputation and they mixed up the syringes. I had little idea how much I am set in my ways with my little dogs and parrots and scheduled life until there is a change. He made his "office" in my living room and tells us to hush because he is at work. His job involves a lot of phone calls and he can't go downstairs to the basement where it might be quiet for him. Java gives him the game show buzzer sound to let him know she is displeased. Miss Gilbert is hilarious... not to him so much, but after days of really loud piercing sound effects she repeats as soon as he puts on the headset for his phone she has started screaming bloody murder "No! No! Noooooo!". I have heard him many times sigh and say, believe me, I would rather be in Texas... California... Yes, its the parrot, no its not my wife. Hahahaha. Okay. I really do know how much I like to be set in my ways. LOL. He is sleeping in my spot. He is sitting in my spot in the living room and we can't be quiet. I am looking at that scooter and think it would be quick work getting him down to that basement with one big push. Hahahahaha. Seriously... I think a hand rail on the right as well as the left would do the trick. I have to start my holiday baking, cleaning and decorating and having him "working" in my zone is not my happy place. He has always traveled and worked 80 hours a week or more. Now he has no boundary and can wake up and work without the added two hour commute. He does NOT want to be doted on nor interrupted. My surly side came out when he asked what's for dinner.... "hmm, I don't know, what time will you be home from work?" Did I mention he is sleeping in my spot? The next thing you know he will be using my cup. No wonder Gil girl and I are a perfect match.

I have enjoyed catching up on your thread. Glad that Gabby hasn't had any dire revelations on her health tests and hoping she settles down and stops with the feather damage. Gil goes through some phases of barbering her feathers and even went through chewing her tail off over and over again. Then she has long stretches when she seems to regrow all her feathers and look good again. Hope Gabby is having a phase and it turns around soon.

So glad to check in and find that Poppy has weathered the storm of roofers pounding and clamoring around up there. When we had our roof replaced just prior to getting Miss Gilbert, I was the one retreating to the basement, putting on soothing music and still rattled by the shingles flying and the commotion. If I had a travel cage, I would have been inside it! Poppy seems to have taken it all in stride. Since you were calm and nothing in her world was turned upside down she probably isn't sensitive to loud sounds like some of our greys. Miss Gilbert has come a long way since she was terrified of thunderstorms, the vacuum cleaner, car doors muffled in the distant neighborhood. Now if I am scratching her head and there is a loud noise, she doesn't even react at all to it. Even though I wasn't online to think about your thread as it happened, it helped to remind me of how far Gil has come in trust and security. Poppy is starting her life that way, how wonderful for you all.

Intelligent and psychic too, I believe. We were out last night gathered with neighbors to pass out Halloween candy. Everyone always asks about Miss Gilbert. I told them I was a little disappointed that she hadn't called me LuLu since February. As soon as I opened the garage door to come in she said "Hey LuLu". Then she had a virtual LuLu love fest saying it over and over. It was uncanny and considering the date... Spooktacular. Bwahahaha Thanks for the well wishes for David's injury and upcoming surgery. He is halfway through the "normal" recovery and the surgery will be a setback. But, I have a few years of experience with him and think the broken bones are the least of his troubles. I could be wrong but when the doctor goes in there I believe they will find significant ligament damage and will have to secure that as well. Not wishing for trouble but he can't afford going into retirement with another accident waiting to happen.

Great thread on a timely topic, thank you. We have gone through trial periods over our life with Miss Gilbert. We have turned off one light at a time over fifteen minute intervals to give her a predictable schedule when she was new, traumatized and frozen with fear. Later, I put sleep cages in my room but that required handling her and she was afraid of hands so that made her get too flustered right at bed time. Flash forward and we have gotten more predictable so the night time snack and natural dimming of the "outdoors" has become our ritual. But, since hubby has been sidelined and he works from home, his computer in the living room has flashing lights that he forgets to turn off. I was just thinking maybe I will move her back to the roost cage in my bedroom routine. But... Since David got his wings sheared off, we put a tv in there. So.... Covering seems like a great compromise. Your success with Inara is an inspiration. I will put some thought into creating a cover system that can be modified so we can keep her comfy and well rested.

I second that sentiment Judy and add my best wishes to agree with our forum friends that Grecie May is a happy, well loved and adventurous little soul. She is a character, no doubt due to her great relationship with a certain comedian living with her. Hahaha. Happy Birthday Greycie and thanks for the smiles too.

Yes, Miss Gilbert is a real sweetheart and a blessing in our family. She has weathered some storms in the past two weeks and has really passed some major milestone moments. We have had a sitter for her two weekends in a row. It has been wild and crazy at our house starting with my husband's first lens replacement.... and three days later he slipped in the mud on the newest phase of our landscape improvements. I was watering about sixty new shrubs/trees and 2500 square feet of new sod by hand. He was helping me by putting out sprinklers, when he went to adjust them, he fell and broke his ankle. After the initial ER visit, then the orthopedic surgeon and then new orders for CT scans, he actually broke six bones and will have surgery next week. In the meantime, I did have surgery for cataract removal and new lenses a week apart. It was super easy, I didn't even need to be sedated. A few days after the first one, I drove to Nashville from Atlanta and back in the same day. The day after the second one, I drove to Pennsylvania and part way back the same weekend. That is where Miss Gilbert has shined. I actually think now that she knows our in-home sitter and that we always come back, she is better off at home than on the road for these short trips. She did barber a few feathers, but that is par for the course. She is reaching a point of calling "Maaa", then " What! What! What!", then laughing. I can't help but to laugh right along with her. Lately I have come to realize she quit calling me LuLu sometime around February when we went to Houston. In the past month, after referring to Mildred, she seems to be calling me Mildred. Another time she was upset about something going on in the house and shouted "Sh!t storm". That pretty much described the mayhem going on that day so even though, I kept my poker face, I was laughing inside. Another new thing she has been saying and we can't figure out she means is "No sir!" Now that David is home recovering from his injury and working remotely from home, she will mumble at length punctuated by "No sir!" After our trip to Pennsylvania, she surprised me by asking over and over about Macy. She is my sister's dog. I am convinced Miss Gilbert knows where we went that weekend.

Someone taught Gil the sweetest things. I love when she asks for a tickle when she wants her head scratched, and when she says "Night night, sweet dreams". If there was someone she loved that came back into her life, I would welcome them with open arms if she responded favorably. Also, even if she acted unpleasantly at first, I would hang in there. The thing they say about greys is they can hold a grudge for a long time. Sterling, I have read your threads and believe you have such a connection to all your flock there is no doubt that your grey still loves you. It is just amazing that our greys have such personal relationships that are different with each person they have encountered in life. It never ceases to amaze me when Gil comes up with a blast from her past. My favorite was when she heard gunshots and gave a shout out "Who dat dere?" in her best Cajun recollection. It is hard to tell if Jim was a favorite, I would like to think so. My daughter taught her to call out to me and call me "Ma" in the most obnoxious way. I liked LuLu better, but now Ma it is. I haven't heard LuLu since February. Thanks for the well wishes, and good to see you back online Kitty. Eye surgery will be a snap... I waited until my husband had his lens implant so I had a bird's eye view of his prep and recovery last week. The worst part was when he had to ride in the passenger seat for an hour with me driving. Hahahaha.

That's a tough one. She may like that abrasive sound and that may be what she considers a sound of satisfaction. When Miss Gilbert asks for a treat or a cracker, and I bring her something that is to her great satisfaction she has a staccato double "chirp" that is almost like a percussion sound that hurts my ears. Everyone hates that sound. But for her it is a joyful affirmation. She gets a tiny sliver of cheese when the dogs share a half slice as a bedtime treat. She always makes that sound as she takes her cheese. Another odd thing she does that doesn't make sense to me is when she bows her head for a scratch, and she is really enjoying it, she will turn and look at me gently and make the sound of a crying baby. Sarah said she would do that at her house as well. I would think the sound of a baby crying would not be a "happy" thing for her, but it is. Go figure.

We live in the suburbs of Atlanta so we are not affected by this storm, weatherwise. It is heartbreaking to know the number of people affected, homeless or stranded without electricity. Never say never, Jim could surface and I would not say no. If anything brought joy to Miss Gilbert I would certainly go the extra mile to reunite them and see if it were a miracle that she would recognize him and benefit from his presence in her life. Something I have often considered is the way she says "Jim" longingly, as if he has gone into another room and she is trying to summons him. There is a possibility that her favorite person was not Jim, but Jim's mate. It is hard to tell whether she is using a masculine or feminine human voice when she calls out for Jim. Our household was out of order this week when my husband had eye surgery. Gil tried to bite me through the cage after asking for a scratch. My first thought was, "Aw, poor girl hasn't been getting enough attention". So I asked if she wanted to step up and she eagerly lifted her foot. And it was a sucker punch! Just as she had intentionally bowed her head, held the bars with her foot as she always does when she is really wanting a scratch. She had lured me close with the full intention of tricking me to get her sharp point across. Then, it is almost unheard of that she would lift her foot for a step up unless she was genuinely wanting to come out with me. That leaves her unbalanced, yet she surely did crunch the knuckle of my thumb. And she was NOT sorry. She laughed and hurled abusive language at me. In the past that would have set her off into a few bad days or weeks. When we got back home that day from the pre-op check up, she was singing and saying sweet nothings again.

You have the right idea to observe and learn from Poppy. That is exactly what she is doing with your and your household. Every parrot is unique in the atmosphere in which they live with us. If you haven't already read it, a good book that helped me a lot in the beginning was "The Parrot Problem Solver" by Barbara Heidenreich. What that book did for me is to look at the way parrots interpret our behavior and how changes later cause them distress and acting out. It opened my eyes to reasons other people have rehomed their parrots. Not that you are doing anything that I would see as a red flag, I think Poppy is in a great environment. Reading your thread just brings me back to when I brought home our baby grey and how easily I was drawn in to falling in love with the baby, and not having a clue of the adult parrot that would included in my life for decades. Poppy is learning about when you leave the room and take the dogs it is her short term freedom to hurry and get anything done she knows is usually out of bounds. It is so funny that just like kids, when they see mom, a big distraction helps disguise the fact they were pushing the limits.

This good news is another step in the right direction. Even though it may be difficult to enforce, it may make the risk greater than the benefit for poachers.

DNA testing is a great idea. We had Gilbert for two years before she had other bloodwork so we asked for DNA testing. On the DNA certificate it says "African Grey - Timneh", female. That was the day she became Miss Gilbert. When the vet recommended DNA, I asked what did it matter we were not going to use "him" for breeding and it really made no difference to us. He said it does make a difference in diagnosing issues related to egg binding etc. In Maggie's case, I think we all agree her coloring is unique. We also know that every grey has similarities to all African greys, Timneh or Congo, but they also are exquisitely individual. Your family has a great attitude about bringing Maggie home just as she is and loving her for being a sweet addition to your family. I wish you many happy decades together laughing, loving and learning.

Oh gosh y'all, I forgot to tell you about #3. I was in the basement working on some things when I heard quite a commotion upstairs. My husband was up there and after three decades I have learned boys make big noises and I didn't even get up to go look. Soon enough he came down to ask me how I got the last hummingbirds out of the screen porch. Of course, now I was going to go up to see. The crash was him falling through the top of the deck box. Mmm hmm. The deck box that was the object of many hours of cleaning, sanding, reoiling and hauling up the stairs. The deck box you can sit upon, but not stand upon. And there was a little male hummingbird frantically trying to find his way out of the screened room. As usual, I first try the broom method of permitting him to land and then carefully taking him outside. When that didn't work, I climbed the ladder. He was such a determined little fellow. Their feet are so tiny he could put his toes through the tiny mesh of the screen. To my surprise he also impaled his beak all the way to his nares. Amazing that a mosquito can't get through the screen but this hummingbird jabbed his beak in there and was holding on for dear life. He was too fragile for me to pull on him, I just waited for him to let go. He was in a big hurry to take off again when I got him outside. He immediately came back to the feeder to get stocked up after his panic. And then.... I listened to my husband's story of why he didn't just go get a ladder. To be fair... I was sympathetic, he was bleeding from his ankles to thighs. He had a lot of carnage on his shin bones. He actually had to go to the doctor and get antibiotics.

Hi to Jeff, Jennifer and Maggie. Welcome to the forum and thank you for joining us. I can see why you are asking about Timneh vs Congo. Before I opened the thumbnails, I saw the first one and thought, yep, she is a Timneh. Then I saw how bright those tail feathers look and looked at the larger photos. Since our Timneh came to us later in adulthood, I have no way of knowing if her coloring is unusual or if it is because she is young. I can say, I am not expert enough to weigh in because her beak says Timneh and her bootie says Congo. Hahahaha. How's that for being sure of anything? Regardless, it looks like she has chosen a great place to live and its good she gave her blessing to come into your lives. It is going to be an amazing time for you as you get to know her.

Oh gosh what a great place to visit. I just put Colorado Springs on my wish list for places to visit when my husband retires. This coming from a person with way too many miles behind her... and a firm... "I just want to stay home." Hahaha. Amazing what an online visit will inspire.

The sign says four five. Are you going four five? It looks like you are going six five. Are you speeding? It looks like you are speeding? Are you driving in the grass? It sure is a long long way from Texas to Georgia. Are we there yet?

For the first week after we put a feeder out, I thought we had one pair. The next week, I was seeing a bunch of females, up to six at a time. They were the scrappiest little kamikaze banshees. One in particular would perch half way up an oak tree to keep an eye on both the feeders up on the deck and the one on the lower patio. Little by little, I noticed they were not all females. The juvenile males had spots of red on their throats. As they would light onto the deck rail wires, I would be able to get a closer look and most of the daredevil watch keepers were the young males. It has been quite an enjoyable past time to watch these little dynamos in action.

Miss Gilbert has had me for five and a half years. Due to circumstances we just got a light sketch of Gil's past. She has filled in a little with the things she says. I never had the impression that she was abused. Traumatized, yes, but that would be through the expectations she had in life. There is no way of knowing if Jim could ever come back to her life and if that would be good for her. I would be open minded because we just never know how things have been. Miss Gilbert and I seem to be on a similar life pattern. My husband's career saw us moving too many times to count. It always made me nervous to plant flowers because when it was time for them to bloom, someone else was in my house and I was starting over again. We have been in Georgia for ten years. That is a lifetime record for me, and I am just starting to fluff my feathers and feel like I am home. I am starting to plant trees! Now that is optimistic. Gil is planting sunflower seeds, she isn't as confident as I am today.