katana600

This is a perfect place for the rescue topic. I have often wondered who really is rescuing whom? Who is the caregiver and who is the teacher? Something resonates in the broken promises, broken hearts, broken homes and broken trust of the rescue grey that strikes a familiar chord. The difference is we have a choice and our beloved feathered friends have not, until we sit quietly and patiently, sometimes for years to hear their story and their song.

I had no idea Phenix has been with you so long Val, aka birdhouse. You were such a huge supporter that helped Gilbert and me through some rough sailing. Ray's quiet and gentle soft approach was also our predominant MO with Gilbert. We are still not sure how many homes he has had, maybe four previous ones. He also spent time in a fast, busy, loud house with lots of small children and other pets. Who knew that would be so scary, but for him, it was. We are still away from home and life in the country is agreeing with him, and me. We wake to sunrise and watch the beautiful peaceful sunsets as we drift off to sleep in the same room. He was really grouchy when we got here and now that its time to leave he is warming up slightly. He was so I love with my sister but has now broken her heart by trying to bite her if she comes near. A few weeks ago while we were here he got out of his cage every day and this time he wants no part of it. It may be that his view before was wide open fields of snow. This time the fields are green and he sees many animals out the window, including hawks. It is certainly a lot different to deal with the emotional issues he brings from his history. When he finally really shows deep trust, it will be better than a lifetime of birthdays and holidays. One big thing I have learned from this thread is the unsuspecting triggers of what we say that reminds our companions of worse times and sets the motion for an I start recall and preparation for battle. I know we are making progress because he no longer self mutilates nor does he huddle and shake. He is able to more quickly shake off a bad moment and regain his composure without bloodshed on his part or mine. I so look forward to others sharing the experience of integrating a bird with a past into a new home. Thanks so much for each of you for all you have given to this forum and especially for the parrots you bring to share with us.

Happily I admit to reading from newest to oldest so I knew you had a happy ending to retrieving Penny. I could still feel the knot in my stomach and live through the awful time while you were searching for her. We also live in Suwanee, on the Forsyth county side. If I had been home I would have gladly searched with you. There are so many trees and she was probably quiet and still if she heard or sensed a hawk or any other animal which would make her fearful. That's also why they sometimes get driven far from home, or carried by the wind they have previously never experienced. Such elation at the great news she is home again. I was just thinking as I read the posts that in all the years I have been on the forum, I have never heard of the same parrot escaping after the first time. So happy you are reunited.

I just got online again, still out of town. I am so sorry to hear Kiki is scaring you to death. Hopefully she is looking for you right now to come back to her loving home. Don't let your mind harangue you about being mad at her recent,y, you had good reason and it has nothing to do with this escape. Kiki knows you all love her. This was an opportunistic escape and hopefully you will all be reunited soon. My heart is with you in the trials you are enduring.

Yes we can use every experience here regardless of the type of parrot or what the first home was like. Those preceding facts are out of our control. I like the term "surrendered". That's how Gilbert was transferred to our care. He had been taken in to a "forever" home when an unexpected, life altering, serious illness of his 32 year old caretaker made it necessary to change his plans. He didn't choose me and we are still working out the kinks but even with little parrot experience, and his plucking and trust issues, we are making the best of things and it gets better in small measured doses and many missteps a d with much forgiveness. Anyone is welcome to tell how their meeting with an older parrot came to be and how that relationship has evolved. It won't hijack this thread and you are just as welcome to start a thread of your own if you would rather.

Gilbert recognized everyone here in Pennsylvania and seems pleasant enough but he is taking a while to warm up. He is NOT happy about it taking two or three days to set up his travel cage to suit his fancy and he attempts to bite me whenever I close the latch so I installed a barrier to protect my fingers and his dignity. I do think the travel and meeting new people under protective circumstances has helped him rise above his fear that meeting someone new means a transfer to a new home. We both like it better at home in our own routine so in a couple of weeks when we get home we are going to stay put until Thanksgiving. It's nice to be here in summer. Gilbert is positioned near an open window. He can see us outside in the gazebo and his whistling, hooting and talking can be heard across the entire valley.

We had a rough start on our journey and drove first from Atlanta to Jacksonville NC to deliver a refrigerator. Our hired movers dropped it down the outdoor concrete stairs. That night Gilbert slept on a desk just inches from my face. He softly sounded his "foghorn" alarm several times in the night. When I opened my eyes he asked for a reassuring head rub. The next day we drove 17 hours. It took longer because the dogs were whining every half hour. They have had carsickness so would stop and let them out. After a few stops, I made a spot on my lap up front. I heard whining and said "it hasn't been the dogs whining now has it Gilbert?" He laughed. Whenever we stopped, I gave the birds an almond to keep busy while we walked the dogs. He ate in the car while it was moving on this long trip.

With a rehomed parrot, sometimes they will cooperate in the beginning, that's why it is referred to as a honeymoon period. Gilbert went through this where he stepped up for me for months. He suddenly would avoid me and has not stepped up for me for a long time now. Yet, he will step up for any of our family members and even for people he has met for the first time. I believe it initiated with him at the time I got braces on my teeth. The odd thing with us is, if Gilbert is on the floor, away from his cage, especially if he needs "rescued" or to join our family in another room, he is all up for me to offer him a step up away from his cage. He stepped off his travel cage for me when we were away. It seems somehow associated with his own cage here at home that he does not want to step up. I go about it by enticing him off the cage with something he wants, then I offer a step up and he will usualy oblige. Gilbert is about the same age as your little girl, maybe older. I think long term patience is the way to go. If you have moved any furniture, or changed any small thing you might be able to trace back when she started balking at a step up. I have about six more months with the braces and wonder if Gilbert will come back to me when they are gone.

Even though I have been here a little while, I still get lost myself but that is usually because I can't remember what I was doing five minutes ago. LOL. It was a great idea to ask because there are lots of people in this forum who are willing to teach even us long term members new tips and techniques. Welcome to our forum, we are really glad to have you with us.

There are a few well known and complex rehomes represented here in the "Rescue Bird Haven" room. We all need to read about how much dedication and time it takes to rehabilitate a traumatized grey. For those of you out there who have acclimated and successfully turned around a rescue grey, I would love to hear about your beginning and how you overcame trust issues. I would also love to read about all of you on the forum who brought in a rehomed or rescued grey that readily accepted your family or acclimated to the change over a period of time. We need to read about those experiences too. It would be enlightening to long time members as well as any newcomers or curious guests to have a wide variety of information. What is your story?

Over the weekend, I was bringing in groceries. Each appearance through the doorway was met by Gilbert's familiar refrain "Hey LuLu". When I finished, I came to his cage, opened the door and greeted him and he said "Hey LuLu li'l lady" in the male southern drawl he often uses. I am so certain he is going back to his happy place and bringing up more memories and it is just so endearing. In the beginning when he came to us he called one of our dogs by his given name, but has always referred to the other (Baxter) as Lou. He only calls me LuLu and doesn't get the two mixed up. A couple of weeks ago, I deep cleaned his cage and when I put things back, they were not in the spots they were formerly placed. He refused to go down his cage or to the exact same floor stand and basement apartment just because the two were switched. He overcame that reluctance today and is finally taking great pleasure in tearing apart a "new" foraging setup. I found a small cardboard box, with chipboard dividers and he has been in there just shredding and enjoying himself all morning. Little does he know that in the wee hours tomorrow morning we are making another thousand mile trek to see family and finish up some business in Pennsylvania. This time I expect to be gone just two weeks. I will try to get online a little if I get out of the countryside to a wifi hotspot. It has been really good for Gilbert to see my sister and then come back home. I believe it is helping him expand his horizon to find lots of other humans who talk to him and treat him like a cherished family member. Then he returns home and I imagine his fears of being abandoned are relieved and he goes through a real growth spurt. This is the first time I am going back to stay at the same house with the same people that he had time to really get to know them and return. I can't wait to see how he reacts to seeing Marilyn again. I told him today that we are going and when I mentioned her name, he spun his head around to look me in the eye as if he was giving me a lie detector test. LOL.

Phoenix is a lucky little guy to have a cooperative set of caregivers, a good vet and a great start in life. Congrats on getting a clean bill of health and great comments from your vet.

Great job on the stand and for your patience to give him room to decide he was really going to like this set up. Have you put a picture of this in the homemade stands and toys section. Forgive me if I missed it, I would go look but I just think it is a great idea with the basket of toys and the silicone cupcake treat cup.

Thanks for putting this together and making it so accessible. Your explanations are excellent. Now all I have to do is to get Gilbert more acclimated to seeing a camera so I might someday get an actual video of him. I have tried the tripod and remote to start the video. If the camera is up, he will be a little stone statue and he remains wary for two weeks. I keep trying new methods and some day when I succeed, I will be looking for this thread again.

Nothing to see here, move along now. LOL Jelly Bean looks like he was caught with a talon in the cookie jar. What a beautiful boy. Your photo is also a textbook example of well groomed toenails so that the entire talon rests on a flat surface. Your public service announcement for the well kept grey.

I love that look. Sukei notices everything doesn't she? I love the creative drapery tie back, I am going to use that idea. Thanks.

Is this it? http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?199735-New-Bird-Incoming&p=287388#post287388 When I was in "forum" view I saw your headline asking for help. I pointed my mouse at your name on the thread and a dialog box pops up showing "forum posts". When you click on that link it takes you in search mode to the posts initiated or threads you posted in.

Wonderful; Extraordinary; Inimitable; Remarkable; Distinctive and Outstanding Three cheers for fellow "weirdos" Love that Dorian.

So glad to hear you are home and partially rested. Decisions decisions on the naming rights. If you live with him a week or two and see what name fits him best, that might solve the dilemma. Or write both names on a slip of paper. Put them down and whichever one he picks up first, he chooses his own name. If that doesn't work.... then whoever has naming rights is agreeing to clean up his droppings for ever after. LOL. Welcome to the forum Phoenix. LOL. Just kidding there.

Where there is a will, there's a way. It would be fascinating to watch her figure out how to rise above the restrictions on her and do what she would normally do with preening and getting around. It amazes me the spirit with which our parrots just see what they want and go after it without considering "limitations".

Dan, Your descriptions of Dayo and these changes in his life give me insight to a "normal" grey that I can apply to Gilbert that open my eyes. When he first came, he would pump his head and regurg, I thought that could be a mating interest. He has not done that with me since his early days. This morning he was so happy to see me and made that deep, sighing kind of sound and then he tried regurging. Until I read your words, I did not have the insight to connect it to being relief after a fear reaction. It stormed hard last night. In the beginning he would shout and sound sirens at storms. He lived on the Mississippi gulf coast through several major hurricanes. He has become more stable now, didn't sound his alarms and hasn't had a feather chewing nervousness. Thanks so much for this thread, it helps me understand my journey with Gilbert in new ways.

His voice is beautiful. His color is beautiful. His sentiment made me laugh and watch it again. Great video. Thanks, you made my day.

Believe it or not, I love my gray hairs of wisdom and my "patina". Every scar has a really good story behind it and I have worked hard and had fun getting to where I am today. I thought I took it in stride because I had so many "tricks" and coping techniques up my sleeve. I have always enjoyed that poem about wearing purple when I am old, so I started wearing purple when I was about ten just so I could be irreverent and care free.

Congratulations on your new home Dan. If you are still going back to the former home, you still have time to swap those fixtures in the kitchen out for Dayo. It's the least you can do. I really appreciate your description of Dayo being disconcerted at being in a new home. If it would disorient him when he has you, Kim, Jake, your dogs and all your own furniture it make me more keenly aware of the upheaval Gilbert has had. I am sure that having his own cage and his routine has been a big help. It won't take him long at all to find his way back to the kitchen. Take care and enjoy your new home.

Whoa, that thing is formidable. I was wondering how they would make something she could not get off. She seems to not mind it terribly and is eating but bless her little heart she can't reach her napkin up to wipe her beak. I know she is going to be so happy and free when the time comes when she is past the stage that she would focus on the pin feathers. She will be so busy getting into all her toys that she can reach better she will leave this whole preening gland problem far in her distant memory.