katana600

I was thinking about you and Charlie today. You will have doubts and setbacks and if you keep learning about Charlie and giving him the grace to shake off those difficult times he will learn to be happy in your home. We have been doing this with Gilbert for two years and many times I wondered if we were the right home for him. We stuck with it because every change for him made it that much harder for him to adjust and we are determined to see this through together. He is starting to show some real progress and all those worries and bad days have disappeared. It is a lot of work and is a journey worth taking. Hope you are doing well.

I am still out in the country without internet trying to get a little piece of the forum with a tiny little screen on my phone. We are half way through the course of eight weeks of radiation. I am driving about six hours round trip every day. Gilbert is thriving in this new environment just when I thought he might feel neglected and out of sorts. He can clearly say my sister's name. She went to work Saturday morning. I heard him calling "Good morning sweetheart". When he repeated it he hesitated after "Good Morning sweet..." Then "Marilyn ". He called her name several more times. Then he cajoled sweetly "Get Up ". She had gotten a hair cut and its the first morning she didn't stand in the hallway to blow dry her hair. He must have thought she was still in bed. He says "Mike" and lets both of them rub his head and steps up from inside his cage for both of them. He is saying many new things and is really secure and happy here. I am amazed at his new confidence. He continues to accept new toys and to try new things. I miss being home but am also feeling at home here. We should know more in a week if this treatment is helping my husband's brother. His numbers are not promising and he is gravely ill. I will be here for at least another month before even considering s visit back home but my girls and husband will be flying in for Easter. Thanks for all your caring and concern and especially for your cheers for the strides Gilbert is making.

We have gone away from home again to help family through a serious illness. All my pets are with me and getting along splendidly. When I get an internet connection I will get caught up with you again. Gilbert and Java are spending time in my bedroom with me at my sister's home. We made a scaffolding with two tall ladders so they are high and secure from four large friendly dogs. We have gates up in the hallway and bedroom and are vigilant to keep everyone safe and none of us are taking any chances. Meanwhile Gilbert is smitten with my "little" sister as she is also quite taken with him. He has been stepping up for her and is quite thoroughly enjoying a growth experience. I put some new small toys in his large travel cage and he has been joyfully playing. He is amazing me to be so accepting and accommodating in new surroundings. He is very affectionate and requesting head scratches and has even "flown" from his cage top to get on the bed to show off for his newest "love". He is being ever so sweet and relaxed and just gets better every day.

You may be seeing a little regression from Charlie after his visit and I have seen where others have had a similar experience with the emotions our greys experience after a reminder of their former home. This will at least give you an indicator that future visits may be discouraged. Gilbert has has a few steps back after something reminded him of previous experience. The good thing Charlie will learn is that you are still there, his new life is still okay and he will build trust. Give him reassurances and a little space to regroup. In our first year together, Gilbert would get upset in a heartbeat and would take a long time to warm up. As time passes he weathers the upsets with more stability and regains his composure much more quickly. Keep a diary if you can so you can look back and see Charlie's progress. Hope he is feeling better now. He will be okay and will learn you are always there for him.

It is kind and sensitive to provide Pete a burial ceremony with your son. You are a good leader to help him sort out his feelings about it and to have respect for the life Pete had with your family. I am sorry for the loss, even the tiniest soul among us has a mighty impact.

Yes, "Foolish woman, it wasn't YOU I was looking for, you just happened to be in the line of sight for the termite inspection." LOL Good one, Dan. Gilbert is still so suspicious of me, it often makes me think he really does read my thoughts. LOL. Glad I don't have the gift of hearing his. Last night he allowed a rare step up just before bed time and he was wanting to so some flight practice. He will start flapping his wings so I lift my hand higher to give him the feel that he is rising on his own power. His strength is building, of that I am sure. It may be a question of his endurance level to overcome the few gaps he still has in his wings where he is missing a few flight feathers. At least he is getting the "idea" of progressively getting closer to flight readiness. He gives me the impression of an athlete preparing to come out of retirement, pushing his limits, just testing the air currents. Lately he has been much more active inside the cage too. He hangs by one toe and twists and gyrates. He has a grim determination about it, he makes no sound whatsoever, not so much a carefree boy playing and cavorting as a prisoner marking a line on the wall for each day of his captivity and secretly building strength and digging out one more teaspoon of dirt from the tunnel to avoid detection. Gilbert is fascinating and I am sure he is thinking that he is the one studying me this whole time.

I am impressed at how strong he is to be albe to hold a frisbee that is almost as big as him. It is a first for me to see a frisbee playing bird. He looks like he gets the best of it though.

I am so sorry you have gotten some disheartening news. Hopefully with your good care Luigi will be comforted and have a chance to heal the recent injuries. Gosh, it is a lot to take in all of the sudden. He will build up strength again with the medications he is taking and be feeling better. My heart is with you as you have been such a trouper to get Luigi the help he needed.

He is such a fascinating and vexing little character. I try to get him to come down with me and have a floor stand down there for him and he refused to come down. If I am in the room with him upstairs he acts as though he wants no part of my attention. But, if I leave his sight, then he is doing all he can do to coax me back so he can ignore me some more. I know it is a sign that he really does feel secure with me near him, he just hasn't really established the trust. I have faith that he will. It was nice to see him trying to come find me to verify he does like me a little. Just a tiny little bit, not too much too soon. I can just hear his wheels turning "those needy humans, always needing attention." LOL. I still can not believe my good fortune to have found him. I needed a challenge and he needed to prove to me where my limits may be.

Dan, you bet I am laughing now. In fact, I was going to mention the coming of the potential neck pinch from Gilbert as karma for laughing so many times with you, then I thought, no sense calling attention to it. But since you have, I laugh until tears run down my face at the shock of a stealth attack from Dayo on the back of your neck. When it is Gilbert's turn, the tears will be mixed of laughing because he CAN do it and crying because it hurts darn it. LOL. I can handle a few neck pinches and mischief, Gilbert has well earned his freedom and a little naughtiness. He has fought so hard to be brave and to find his way through so many changes in his life. If today is any clue, it is going to be mayhem around here until we all get accustomed to the new order if Gilbert can fly. I need to cut 275 strips of fabric to get ahead of my sister. She comes tomorrow and we are making a quilt in a weekend. It is getting down to the wire so I gathered the dogs and took them with me and shut the door. I could hear Gilbert up there telling me all sorts of things to coax me upstairs. He called the dogs and exhorted them lets go outside. When that didn't produce my instant response, he shouted over and over his naughty word of what they did on the floor. Well, they were with me, I knew better. Then he got quiet. Until I heard a bark, I had not realized one of the dogs really did have to go outside, so up from my hideaway I emerged. Gilbert had been quiet a while, he was on the floor at the top of the steps peering under the door. It is already like having five toddlers in the house when I try to get something done.

I keep cautioning myself to dial back the observation that he is going to fly, but anything is possible. His plucking was so intense before he came to us that I saw for myself it was likely to have included follicles and I was resigned to accept he may never fly. For the longest time he was still chewing and damaging feathers from stress. Just a few short months ago, I didn't expect he would come out of his cage or play but he is slowly getting more courage and now he may have a quiet day or two spent recharging in the safety of his cage. Then he is back out on his playstand, the cage top and all over the outside of his cage. His feathers are a little ragged here and there, but he is filling in and much less fervent in his grooming. The idea of him someday flying and choosing where he would like makes my heart flutter. Maybe out of hopefulness, but a little out of understanding he could be a handful if he chose to go rogue on me. LOL. He is a little rogue all right. The feeling of his weight lifting off my hand to the wonder of my astonished eyes as he got his first real lift is so enthralling, I may lose my usual calm demeanor when he deliberately and intentionally really and truly flies. I have had many great days with him, I can only dream of the exhilaration of his flight potential.

I know, when Gilbert refused to come out, he may have been thinking I would give up on the cleaning business and leave his "stuff" the way he likes it. He was trying to thwart my efforts for most of the day and I decided it was time for a good cleaning and would do it with or without his cooperation. He was still mad at me at bedtime and not only refused his night time head scratch but he flung himself at the bars and showed me his momentary wrath just for standing close and talking to him. Then when I turned off his light, he was begging me to come back. I did come back and he was ever so sweet again. It is hard to know when to approach and when to hold off, but I think we are getting far more good times and the rough moments pass quickly. I keep trying to take his picture and he will have nothing to do with that. I have hidden around the corner so only half the lens is peeking through and he knows. I have tried the telephoto lens and he still looks so defensive that it is better to wait and not provoke him. I would love to record a video of him at his best. That is last thing before bedtime and first thing in the morning when he tucks his head and asks for a scratch. After I touch him he pulls back and looks at me and makes the sound of a crying human baby and then tucks back down for another touch. If he had come to me being one of those sweet greys that would accomodate me, I wouldn't have known the joy of breaking through his gruff exterior. I love this little guy! It is uplifting to see him tolerate me, just a little. LOL. I believe he will fly someday and that is going to change everything for him.

If David ever demonstrated excitement the way Gilbert does, I will certainly want to videotape that. @Timbersmom, more and more, with Gilbert and Timber declared cousins or long lost hatchmates, your family is on a parallel to ours. Congrats on your upcoming anniversary too. Gilbert has been exploring and getting into mischief more and more. Of late he will get on the outside of his cage and work to get the grate and lining drawer out of his cage. He has been fixated on it. At first, I thought he had dropped something down there and was trying to get it back, but his cage has been cleaned several times and it doesn't matter if it is fresh, he is still trying to pull the paper up out of a corner from the outside and he is still bracing himself and pulling the drawer and grate out a couple of inches. He has been a lot friendlier to me lately so when he refused to come out while I was getting ready to clean his cage, I leaned in and kept mindful that he was above my head. I cleaned and got everything back in its place while he watched but he didn't try chasing me off this time. Then, I dropped a quick link as I was reattaching a boing and it startled him and he flew right out the door over my head. As usual, he did a leap and flapped furiously to slow his descent. He hurried to hide under a chair and was happy to step up for me. Then he tried to fly off my hand. I thought he just lost his balance and was falling so I put out my other hand and he stepped onto my palm. This time, he was flapping hard and he came up off my hand almost like a helicopter, rising up about three feet as he propelled himself up and forward. I am getting more and more optimistic that he may regain flight. The feeling I got when I felt him leave my hand and watched him rise was indescribable. He was directed toward the wall where the stairs go up so he may not have seen the banister or he lost his strength to get enough lift, had a crash landing but wasn't hurt. When he got back on my hand, he gripped tightly and flapped and I could feel him lifting my hand. This was a great day.

I just learned the hard way when Java flew over and got into my ice cream, not to scoop up a piece of the ice cream she flung when I removed her back to her cage with a treat of her own. The ice cream was on my mouse pad, so I scooped it up with my finger so as not to get it all melted and sticky. It was not ice cream. And she could have had the whole bowlful after the realization of that fact.

When our CAG injured his wing by flying into a wall at the breeders a day or so before he was coming home to me, he was put on Metacam for pain and was on it for a few days after he was with me. Also his brother was on Metacam when he was with me and we didn't see any balance problems. Our dog injured his hip and back about six months ago and he was prescribed Metacam as well and he was on in as needed for about twelve weeks and we didn't see any balance problems. As I understand it, it is like an over the counter NSAID for inflammation and pain, no narcotics or anything like that. I am with you on taking him to an Avian vet to have his leg evaluated, his balance may be more related to not being able to tolerate his weight on his injury. Birdhouse has good advice for you. It is always better to trust your instincts since you know Luigi best. If it turns out that his injury doesn't need specialized treatment, you will at least have a contact with this avian vet for future reference and be able to call to get advice as your treat this leg injury. When you make the appointment ask about the Metacam dosage. Once that is verified to be accurate, the vet may advise giving it to him to keep him more comfortable in the car on the way, or may advise not to give it to him as not to mask symptoms on evaluation.

I totally enjoyed all the pictures and had a hard time choosing. Congratulations to all, well done.

So far, I have gotten by with misting Gilbert with aloe spray. He is starting to get a little more cooperative. Thanks for bringing this post up, it might be just the right time to revisit a sink bath, especially when I can enlist the help of his favorite person to bring him to the kitchen where I can give him the bath.

Romeo looks great. Glad to hear you are in his good graces. Sharing food is a great bonding experience. We let ours eat at the table with us and even if they aren't out there, I put aside something they can have and walk in to their cage to give them a bit before I eat. I love how he has drawn your mom in and is getting his own setup at "grandma's house". When we brought home our first parrot it was quite a surprise to realize they are not like any other pet, more of a companion and now, I can only hope to be their equal. Coming in to the bath is pretty funny, Gilbert still isn't that friendly even with his favorite buddy.

It takes a lot of work to get to the place where we can get ahead of these greys when it is something they don't want to do. Congratulations on your happy success. They are a bit self serving so we are always looking for a new method of persuasion. We were lucky that Gilbert only wanted to eat in his cage, so he would go in to eat and we could close the door. We do give him a treat and high praise when he goes in by himself. It took a while, but now when we say we are leaving or going to bed, he hurries right inside because he knows there is an almond or treat in it for him. Alfie will have you cleverly trained in no time and might even let you think it was your own idea.

Brandi is still young and may go through many phases of favoritism. Gilbert was about ten when he came to us and at first I was his wonderful companion. He would step up for me, do his sweetheart dance and regurgitate for me. Then he became enamored with my daughter and I was cast aside but still okay. Lately he has become captivated with my husband and I am LuLu his domestic help and he will only deign to come to me if David isn't home or if he jumps down on the floor and wants a lift back topside. Oh, I am called upon when he wants breakfast or a treat, but I am treated like a barbaric invasion if I touch his cage without his explicit approval and even then it is under a wary, suspicious guard. I have faith he will come around to me again when it is my turn, or when he is darn good and ready. I hope Brandi will do that for you again too.

Congratulations on a successful year. Can you believe the changes in your life with your flock? Your birthday treat looks tasty and fun, I am guessing the rest of Bongo's buddies enjoyed sharing his bounty. I agree that he is realizing he is the luckiest boy on the planet. What a happy place you have created in your home for some very special parrots.

It is wise to be up front with the expectations a prospective home may face with Darby. I was also told of Gilbert's issues and it made me think long and hard whether it was a commitment I could choose to accept. I would like to say that although it has taken time, he is slowly and consistently becoming the wonderful companion I knew wanted to be under that "ornery" exterior. I do believe there is someone out there willing to be patient and give Darby a chance to thrive. It is a rewarding experience to be able to watch the changes that are the result of a good match.

This is a terrific thread. I read the headline and came to say that Gilbert doesn't beg, he demands. Then I saw Timber's Mom beat me to it. I think Gilbert and Timber are long lost brothers. Gilbert can't fly to come get what he wants but he shouts "Hey" and then "want some". His favorite is to eat my oatmeal off my spoon in the morning before I get any. Our other little character Java has the sweetest little secret weapon in her begging arsenal. When she wants something really really bad on the rare occasion that she doesn't get it immediately, she will meow and purr.

Believe me when I was introduced to my TAG, I was concerned if I had taken on too much. As time goes on those moments of concern get fewer and fewer as the worries are replaced by successful interactions. Pippin is doing really well in just a month to get adjusted. She is very clever little girl and as she sees how pleased you were with her "step up" and "don't bite" I am guessing she will be watching and learning and soaking in everything you say to get another dose of that joyful moment.

It was a huge surprise when Gilbert bit me the worst right in the middle of his bedtime almond routine. I still don't think I am over it and wonder if ten years will change that. But if you have read Kiki's signals for ten years without suffering a bite, I would say that is a pretty high success rate. I didn't look at the dates of your posts, but was wondering if Sophie is getting more range and Kiki is picking up on that and wanted to guard her refrigerator perch that she recently discovered and didn't want anyone else to join her up there. I do agree with Dan that my own birds go high when they are trying to avoid anything that I am doing that they anticipate they will not like. For a little while Java would go to the top of our highest windows in the living room and just cling to the window frames. Then she was a screeching little harpie when I consistently got a telescoping duster and chased her from her great height. She would do a flyover and try to pull my hair in her snit. Once she realized that going higher wasn't going to stop the inevitable, she hasn't gone up there any more.