katana600

Glad to have you back, my sincere condolences on losing Brandy, let your love for her overcome the loss as you move forward with Smokey, Rocky and Opey. If it weren't for that TAG/CAG thing, Smokey and Gilbert could be "twins". His posture, the look in his eyes, the multiple rehomes and the occasional impolite expression. As Smokey hears sweet things from your home, the rest will fall by the wayside for the most part. One thing Gilbert used to say in the beginning was "Shut UP, you IDIOT". Now he scolds the dogs occasionally with "Shhh, quiet." Once they realize the shock value has passed and the naughty word is not rewarded, you will hear it far less. It looks like Smokey chews his feathers moreso than plucking and with consistency and stability he will probably stop that too. Gilbert still will get down to his fluffy grey underwear occasionally if he gets really stressed but for the most part will go months as his feathers grow and become more beautiful.

Thanks Chelsea, I have channeled Biscotti's happy chatter that has gotten me through many days of uncertainty. "Santa I been goooood". Grey time may move ever so slowly but it does change. Dan, I do have a vet appointment next week for Gilbert and this time will remind them to get an extra blood draw for his DNA testing. When he comes out with his one and only naughty word, I try so hard not to look at him, not to laugh and to give my family the stink eye to tell them don't encourage it. It is right on the money EVERY time, he doesn't just spout it out all the time for the effect. And... okay... I have to admit I have said it once in his presence when he bit me and his beak went right through the pad of my finger and into the nail bed from the inside. In fact, that was the day I "reminded" him of the word. He obviously knew it because it is in the most endearing Cajun accent and male voice. Also, while I am telling tales about myself, I said it again Sunday. I was having some problems with my motorcycle and took it to the shop. In the meantime we got a new one and it is taller. While I can reach flat footed on a level surface, Georgia is not a flat state. I went on my first real long ride Sunday and had to stop on a steep hill. When we started through the intersection, someone in front of me stopped suddenly and my foot would not reach on the slope and when it started to go, down I went. I was able to hit the kill switch before I tumbled down the street. Luckily I was in protective gear, the bike had a roll bar, no harm no foul. We rode about a hundred miles home and just before I went to sleep my husband mentioned that I said Gilbert's naughty word... I had forgotten we just put the communication devices in our helmets. Oh, lets not forget we rode the last forty miles in driving rain, lightning and wind that knocked a tree down in my back yard. The Billy Joel song "You may be right" is usually what I sing when I get caught in the rain. So now you know. At home with Gilbert, I sew quilts, I am kind, quiet and gentle. I have an alternative stress buster but dog gone if Gilbert can't read my mind from a hundred miles away. I bet he was chuckling.

This was added to our forum after I lost Juno and before I ever thought of Gilbert. Thanks for bringing the thread back to read again, it means so much more to me today than I could have understood before. I like the part promising to be good. Gilbert tells me all the time how good he is, I still have time to be convinced, LOL. Living with him and seeing the effect of him trying to cope with new homes, new people and trying to trust again has been a process. I wouldn't change my life with him for a second. I know he is a loving, good parrot that was temporarily lost but is finding his way and learning that "Gilbert's okay".

You were so loving and dedicated to Jasper that he had a lifetime of pure love. My heart breaks for you too. We have been through the loss and it is no better or worse when it is totally out of our hands. The silence and loss is crushing regardless of circumstances. Please give yourself the kindness of forgiveness, I know Jasper knew more love in his life with you than many will ever see.

A picture is worth a thousand words and I wouldn't doubt for a second that you will record at least that many words from Radar in due time. He is such a cutie. I loved how he says his name and asks to step up. You better believe as Echo sits silently he is absorbing it all too. Thanks for the video, it is wonderful.

What a heartwarming story of people coming to the understanding that parrots are part of the family. They recognize from this little conure that someone has been his loving companion and is out there missing him and have gone to great lengths to get the word out and find his family. I have great hopes for you Nancy, that someone will see the news clip and know someone who knows someone and find Kiki to bring her back to you too.

I whole heartedly agree with the bubble bath, deep breathing and meditation as you await news and what it means for Jake. Seriously, after an internet search your own adrenaline will be coursing through your body and keeping you up all night. I have had to wait three weeks for biopsies a couple of times and as much as I wanted to research and see where it might be that it would go so I would be ready for anything, the best thing was just to breathe deep, decided that until there was a diagnosis, today is just like yesterday. Go from there. Deep breaths, love his little grey self with all you have inside you and don't get ahead of yourself. Its a lot easier on this side of it to say it than it is for you, I know. All my thoughts and prayers are with you tonight.

Good to see this thread revived. Lots of good humor along with excellent advice. Gosh I love this forum. I hadn't thought much about sunflower seeds because it just wasn't something that attracted Gilbert. Then, after reading all the benefits, I wondered if he might be missing something. We use almonds every night for a bedtime snack because the vet suggested it was a good calcium source. We do keep pellets on hand and I just went to get the bag and read the ingredients because I thought sunflower seeds were in there. As it turns out, we use Harrison's lifetime coarse and the first ingredient on the list is sunflower seeds. Little did I know I was providing such good nutrition.

It is a great idea. I am always looking for anything that will get Gilbert a little more interested in getting close to us. I will have to try a little frozen treat of some kind. Love how they are all gathered around wating for a sample.

Aww, how sweet to watch him eating on his own from a dish for the first time. One little step toward independence for Echo.

Great way to get him bathed while his attention is focused on Echo. We just never know when a happy coincidence will make our life just a little better. Awesome way for him to overcome his fear of the spray bottle, even if that wasn't the intention. He was cute about blowing you kisses to distract you too. I love how clever these parrots are, it never fails to amaze and delight me to hear their antics. Thanks for painting such a vivid picture of Radar's imaginative interactions.

I love watching Dayo and hearing all the things going on in his house. He is constantly in motion. He moved more in six minutes than Gilbert does in two days. I loved when he talked about turning off the light, then he pulled on a toy near his light, and said "there". You have a great relationship, thanks for letting us enjoy it with you.

That makes a lot of sense. I have been giving him lots of room and encouragement to flap, he has been working on that a while. His favorite is to hang upside down in his cage and flap like a maniac. I moved all the perches and took out a boing before we traveled and when he started the flapping in travel cage, I have picked up on that. We tried giving him a ride on my hand, then gently lifting him up and letting him flap on the slow ride back down. He is so off balance and it makes him fall, but if I try to hold his toes, he gets into a real panick about that. So, when he started this flapping I cheer for him and tell him "dance Gilbert dance". My sister started that and he responded in a big way, so we are keeping it up. I had never heard him rasping like that, but he did go from zero to 60 as you said Dan. You have no idea how close you are with the neck pinch hypothesis. I can not be more pleased that Gilbert has been coming down off his cage and walking around on the floor again. Today though, I had some procedures with my braces was half asleep on the sofa when he came to the floor so very slowly and cautiously. Soon I heard him flapping and thought he was having a panic and was on my feet immediately. Instead to my great surprise he had gotten up on the chair near me. He had to have "flown" to get there, the legs are high and smooth so he couldn't have climbed. You know Dan, he might have a point, he may be planning the neck pinch implementation and just testing to see how close he can get before I catch on. I had another "first" with him, when I got up to help him back to his cage, I stepped in bird droppings. I may have exclaimed my displeasure because he then launched into his potty mouth of you-know-what on the floor. Looking at what we have now and thinking of where he was coming in, I had little hope of him being so interactive and no clue he was going to be such a character.

I have not been in the position to give up a parrot willingly, nor a child for that matter. However, on one hand I can feel for her sense of loss and failure. With that said. If someone really responsible and dependable came along and had a better home to offer Gilbert and he opened his heart to someone else in a way he could not manage for me, I think all the work, expense and love we have had for him would be big enough to really consider what would make him happy. I can't imagine being in that position and I am not now nor in the future going to look for another home for him, just (heaven forbid) if I could not reach him and someone else obviously could, it wouldn't be a matter of attempting to recover my loss or financial expense. Maybe with a little time she can come to grips with her decision.

We are getting so close its hard to contain myself when I think of the possibilities for Gilbert. I try so hard not to get ahead of myself and not to build unrealistic expectations that might me feel like he is "less" than he could become. Times like this I am still elated at seeing him come to the kitchen twice in one day and ask me for a step up by waving his little foot. The thing I keep thinking was when he got scared and launched off the kitchen counter, he cleared the whole island at the same altitude as the spot from which he "flew". It was a little alarming because he was so distraught that he bounced off the handle of the oven and held his wing away from his body so I was concerned for him getting hurt. That consumed my attention as well as his breathing that in just seconds from being relaxed he was gasping and his lungs sounded horrible. He threw himself against me and was also growling and very upset so I was focused on getting him through his 'crisis' and I hadn't really processed that he had just accomplished a major feat, for him. He has been a sedentary grey for more than five years, so I am going to see if his vet has some suggestions to build his strength now that he is becoming a little more cooperative.

Oh now I get it, he is learning from my husband, after 33 years married he still doesn't want for me to know its a sure thing. LOL. Gilbert is getting this calmness about him that is such a balm to my heart. He still will startle easily but it is a far cry from being vigilant and on guard all the time. I would settle for knowing he feels safe, but I do see glimmers of his personality wanting to emerge and become more interactive in the household. On those days when he surprises me and stays off his cage for a while, eagerly steps up and chats me up in the kitchen, I just can not get enough of him. I have learned to give him a lot of space and let him come along at his own pace and the rewards have been tremendous. It is all the people on our forum who have gone before me to pave this path and I am keen to listen to their wisdom. Slow and steady progress with a few hiccups and we are on the road to becoming a home with a very active grey. I'm only one neck pinch away from being "all in". LOL

Oh dear... just to be clear, when I was wishing you many more it referred to more happy days. Many more parrots could be a bit much, even for you. LOL

Oh honey, it was official a long time ago. This is just another confirmation. LOL. There is something to be said for us crazy ole bird ladies, and gentlemen. Each of yours brings something special to the flock and you are able to keep up and care for all of them and still have some semblance of a social life, so the more the merrier. Cotay sounds like a lovely addition. Happy day for her, wishing you many more.

Good one Ray, I can just hear him thinking "Well, it isn't Jim now is it?" "Oh all right, it isn't really all that bad, but don't tell her, I've got her right where I want her." And thanks Judy, he is a good boy, he tells me that all the time. LOL. Thanks for helping me sort out the video posting Janet. He is making great strides and I still have dreams that he will fly some day. And Jamie a.k.a. Karen, the changes like this make every day of trying to work with him all that much sweeter. I can't get enough of his decision to let me rub his head and neck through the bars twice a day now. He has not had any second thoughts or quick swipes at me in many weeks. There is such hope when I see him relax, close his eyes and move his head so I can reach down the back of his neck and around his ears. Maybe, just maybe, if I learn to do it right, he will decide to stay. LOL.

Great going. I was reading about not eating and drinking on the day of his vet visit and even though it is scary and not normal for him, it is understandable and I get that from Gilbert on a really stressful day sometimes. Glad to see he was ready to eat today. Who wouldn't be with that presentation? Jake has an airplane hobby, all boy, isn't he? I agree with your determination to stay away from the internet "studies" on abnormal white blood cells. If you get really really anxious, call the vet and ask if you can be directed to information on what his concerns are for this. You never know if it was mentioned in passing and not a huge concern, but just something to investigate now and watch for a while to see a trend. It is good to be informed and prepared, but looking up the flight schedules is a better enhancement to your relationship with Jake in the short term while the vet sorts through his part. Happy to see Jake settling in and chowing down.

I just loved the way he seem to think for a second about it not being time to go night night. Then he swung quick to look out the window, then he laughed. I think really he decided he had had enough of the kitchen and wanted to go back to his cage. Every night before bed time when he is on the floor stand or cage top I ask if he is ready to go night night and he scurries as quick as he can to get inside. Other times if I carry him away from his cage he asks if I "wanna go back". Last night he was totally exhausted from his adventures and just slept between his jaunts to the kitchen. That is a long way for a little bird to walk in unfamiliar territory. Today he is showing some mild signs of anxiety, but I am pleased to announce he is taking that out on a coconut rope ball and not messing with his feathers at all. As a side note, we gradually weaned him off the rescue remedy drops starting in late May. He has not had any drops at all in more than three weeks now. I think they helped some but were not a magical cure all. Time and patience and reassurance to him have been slow, but are showing some hopeful improvements. He is calm and chatty in his cage or on his floor stand a lot like this video but not if I get up to record him. The best part of all is that he was the one to decide to come out with me and he stayed for a long time before getting into a panic attack. Then, he returned for the second time in the same day. This is more than he has done for me in well over two years.

Thanks, this has been our most awesome day ever. He climbed off his cage, explored the house, came to me in the kitchen and asked to come up. He had a little bit of a scare and then he flew, hop-skip-and-a-flap, but he made it over the island and went about 25 feet. His breathing sounded so raspy, it was scary and I was afraid he hurt his wing so I helped him back to his cage and watched him. He was fine and we left the house and came back to him and he climbed down on the floor and came back out to the kitchen and let me pick him up again. He was singing and talking and hooting. I have a hard time catching him on video but he was obliging this time. He is really having a big day of breakthroughs today. I plied him with lots of fruits and vegetables and he flung them in to the sink. So.... he is behaving like a "normal" grey today. My heart is filled with such a joy. Thanks for sharing it with me.

I was still working on the settings. Will you try it again for me please?

It takes my breath away. After living with a few parrots, I don't think I will ever think of any parrot as 'just a bird'. I have such an awe of them. It would surely be a complicated endeavor for a poor farmer to try to outsmart these parrots if they are determined to feed on his crops though.