katana600

Welcome and thanks for joining us. We have a TAG with an estimated age of about eleven. He also does this ping thing. He usually does it when he is annoyed and it did help a lot when he did the ping, I would go ring the bell and he would copy that. Just a few minutes ago, he went and grabbed his bell and shook the stuffing out of it and postured a little and got it out of his system for the moment. He will also go to the cage playtop and lean against the wall with his beak and make a big snapping noise. I think he just gets pleasure from making a big noise so if you and find one that you like better as a substitute he may forget the ping for a while.

Miko is beautiful boy and you are doing exceptionally well with him already. It is so good to have him in your hands as you look at him as an individual and companion. You will learn from our forum members as they have been successful with many greys with diversely different backgrounds. You will also learn much from Miko and we will learn from you as well. Congratulations on finding your friend and thank you for joining us.

You have every right to be proud of your little girl. Sophie is going to keep working to get to an A+ on her flying skills and give Kiki a run for her money on taking over the highest perches. Glad to know you are smiling and enjoying her progress.

Oh the dance of the cold shoulder and forgiveness. I am so glad Timber has relaxed and let you back in his good graces. We have gone through this many times without really knowing what set Gilbert off and it is usually a matter of waiting for him to signal that he is back to feeling safe and ready to try again. Gilbert also came to me last night and sat on my hand for a while and talked to me while I was holding him. I have had a really long wait this time and will take it as it comes too. Great that you and Timber are on the same team again.

I do appreciate you coming here and the fact you agree to stick around while you work through placing Darby. You are in a tough spot and I also commend you for knowing you have reached the limitation of what you can do for Darby and help her get to a better place. Getting word out and working to find a solution takes some time but you are on the way to finding a good opportunity. Thanks for joining us.

Cats just don't make the fun worthwhile sometimes with their pretending not to notice. When David came home this afternoon I was telling him about Gilbert and Java having their little battle. Shortly after that, Gilbert decided to have a renactment and first he flung all his pellets in a tizzy, then started looking for an almond shell. He really does know what we are talking about. Oh, and that bit with taking his car so I get an excited greeting... yeah, that worked exactly one time. Makes me think maybe I imagined it. Today when David came home after a few days away, they gave him a full ticker tape parade and the keys to the city. What's up with that? It was the same when our kids were little... maybe I am the one to give him an excited greeting and they pick that up from me. LOL. We are about to celebrate 33 years this week and I still feel the same way when I hear the garage door open and he is home again.

Jake is just an adorable boy, I am glad you have him in your life to keep you smiling and enjoying his antics. It is funny about the tickle, Gilbert said that when he first came. He says "wanna tickle?" and he would be asking for a scratch. Every now and then he will say it and surprise me. I never knew how much we would be repeating the things he says rather than the other way around. Jake will have you trained in no time at all. He is just precious.

It is kind of a wistful time when you realize he is growing up after they were so helpless in the beginning with those black beautiful eyes and then a pretty silver grey iris. I love the straw yellow eyes too, it is the intelligence I see and a window to the soul as I have heard said. Our red bellied parrot has red eyes and a lot of people think they are really scary but I love them too. We haven't had a baby change through the black eyes to the pale yellow, so I can't answer your question. It is a great question though, I will be interested to read more about it.

Well aren't you just the handy man about town. I have been wanting to start composting and eventually have a small garden. I might have to come have you show me how to do it. Great job on your compost bin.

You and Timmy have been a perfect match, he is thriving with you. He is a lucky little fellow and he sure is handsome... or wait, that was you. Hahahaha. Thanks for the update on your success with Timmy. I love his little face and attitude to match.

Rachel, these pictures are just beautiful. I wonder if hanging a sheet over one side of Emmy's cage so she can't see Dutch's cage would give her a little "privacy" and help her calm down again. You are gifted to have gotten so far with these two, it is much more complicated working with two at a time. Great job on getting them on a good diet too. You are a natural mama.

Wally seems happy to entertain himself and play with his toys. He will be just a swingin' in the near future. Nice video of him, thanks.

Something that resonated with me after a couple of unexpected panic bites is the description that "a grey is very subtle and will go to great lengths before resorting to biting". Unfortunately for me, Gilbert's got a well tuned poker face and he was such a bundle of nerves that he didn't know how to give a warning, almost like he didn't expect it himself. So, if you are offering your hand to Jellybean and he is taking treats, you are on the right road. You know how much love and affection you have to offer, but Jellybean is learning. Gilbert knows how to step up and I ask him and get rejected hundreds and hundreds of times, then out of the blue he will step up for me and I stay close to his cage and offer for him to go back even though I want to dance gleefully. As he gets comfortable, he will make steps toward you, it seems old to hear that it takes time, but you are advancing past the glove and getting to the beginning of a trusting touch for both of you.

Eight states, thirty five hours and about 2200 miles and still I am thinking about it. It is heartbreaking that if she started plucking because she was distressed at the vacation rehoming is going to be a challenge for her. It is understandable that people feel guilty and helpless when the parrot they love start plucking. When Gilbert came he was in sad feathers and it took a while for his nervousness to settle and for him to let his feathers grow. It was distressing and I felt inadequate but time really did help him heal.

We put a perch on Gilbert's door like that. It took him months to come up to his playtop and now he is happy on a floor stand with ropes to get back and forth. Rosie is going at a faster, more confident pace. When we first started working with him using the open door with the perch, I would stand on the other side of the bars so he could have the illusion he was still safe in his cage. We used the same little trail of crumbs... or in our case, pine nuts and an almond and his curiosity got the better of him. It does get better and better and the day she calls to you and willingly offers her foot is going to be like all the holidays and best birthdays you have ever had. It is worth the slow and steady pace.

I have been the only one home for a few days and Gilbert has been my little buddy. It is the funniest thing when he has had his night time snack, is all tucked in for bed, but when I turn off the light, he tries calling me to come back for some more head scratches. One night, I was in the dark in bed watching videos on my little Kindle and he knew I hadn't gone to sleep and was out in the living room in the dark asking "Hey LuLu, what are you doing?" Last night he was out of his cage on his floor stand and Java did a strange thing. She has stopped swooping and dive bombing him and getting on his cage. This time, she climbled down my leg and got on the living room floor and was kind of stalking him from a new angle. He let her know she was aggravating him and climbed as low as he could get on his cage. I have removed the basement apartment for a short time while we are caring for our daughter's dog. Java almost never walks around on the floor and I know she was doing it just to be provocative to Gilbert. He went back inside his cage and started flinging pellets down on her. At first, I thought he just was frustrated so he was flinging pellets helter skelter. Then, there was no doubt about his intentions when he went to the grates of his cage to find a couple of almond shells to fling at her on the floor. He was definitely using tools to bombard an intruder. Then, she grabbed his artillery and flew above his cage and dropped in back on him and he got the same shell to fling back at her. A parrotty little game of volleyball was going on. They may not be friends but they seem to have found a way to "play". I am trying to stay out of it, but couldn't help laughing at the antics of the two of them.

Gilbert has changed loyalties a few times since he has been with us. Like you, I am the one who wanted him and the primary caretaker (or domestic help as he seems to think). In recent months he has been determined to bite me if I touch his cage or anything in it. One thing I did was put extra food dishes on both sides of his cage. When he sees me coming with his food, he will run to one dish to "guard" it from me and I will put the food on the opposite side of his cage and later when he is over there, I would move the first dirty dish out that he was previously guarding. I also would get ready to clean his cage and need to take some almond shells out of the grate or clean the grate, I would put a towel over my hand and kind of do it in "stealth" mode and he seemed to tolerate that well. After what seemed forever, as quickly as he decided I was public enemy number one, he abruptly changed and started asked me to scratch his head again. He isn't a baby, he is older, rehomed and a little fragile and moody. When he was in the mood to reject David, I would have him be the only one to give him his best treats and if he flung an almond because it was offered by David instead of me, I would say "be sweet" to him and if he tossed it after David tried it again, we took it back and waited for his cooperation. I like that MiracleAces is doing the same thing with his wife and Luna. We take advantage of whoever Gilbert is accepting at the moment and let him know we are a package deal.

While I see Rosie being indecisive, I also see that she really seems to like you and that she wants to please you. She does seem really sweet and she is in a big hurry to get back to that "favorite" perch for a treat. We have had Gilbert almost two years now and he still gets really upset if I reach into his cage. Even when I put food in, he is waiting at the door, wants his food, but he will take a swipe at me and try to bite me. When I clean his cage, I wait for him to get up on the play top because he insists that I not invade his territory. So in comparison, Rosie seems laid back about it. Gilbert will posture for a head scratch and it seemed to take forever for him to get to the place where even when he is enjoying a touch, he has a very short tolerance and will turn suddenly and try to bite, then immediately tuck his head for another touch. Similarly to Rosie, it is an indecisiveness, like he really wants to trust me, but isn't quite there. It has taken me some time to read him and always leave him wanting a little more. Now he will stand for twenty minutes for a head rub when he initiates it. I like the way you offer your hand, she puts one foot on it. Just my opinion, but if you stop there and praise her and walk away, she might be the one some day to initiate the second foot. I think she really wants to and just isn't too sure what will happen next. When she does step up with both feet, I would give her the option to immediately step off if she wants. Each time she does it on her own and then has the choice to hold back, I think gives confidence that its okay for her not to want to "this time" and will build her trust with you. She is just beautiful and a sweetheart.

Technically, I may only be at stage two but inside, it is full blown all of the above. I might have to keep track of the number of times I have been asked "Why would anyone intentionally bring home a parrot that has baggage, makes a big mess, would like to bite you 'for no reason' and will likely outlive you?" I have an answer for that. Because the day he finally relaxes enough to sit beside me and leans into me, it is the best feeling in my life experience and I have had lots of life experience.

That is beautiful. If they used a honey dew and some lemons they might make a "Louie" figure. Thanks Janet, glad to have a picture that will last longer than the sculpture.

I am in Atlanta and have a Timneh, please check to see if our vet could do a blood draw here and I could either transport it myself or arrange that through our vets working together.

I'm with itsjustnikki on this one. We have gone through some serious health issues with our previous parrots and with our dog recently. When the vet says something is wrong, I couldn't really hear any more in that visit. I would come home and think about it and read more and get more concerned. After I got my thoughts together again, I called and talked to the vet again and that made a better partnership for us. With the ordeal you have gone through with your dog recently your emotions are already fired up. I have seen both our healthy parrots panting after more activity than usual. One is flighted and for the most part she will fly from place to place and stay where she is to play. Other times she will take such great delight in making wild flights around the house until she gets overworked and breathes hard. Our other parrot Gilbert is not flighted and hasn't flown in at least five years. He sometimes gets startled and dives off his cage and flaps wildly and not just the exertion but his fright will cause him to pant a little. Asking your vet about this and maybe taking a video of Loki when she is panting to show the vet if he hasn't seen it in person. Another question I will ask the vet or my own doctor when recommending tests is what will change in the treatment plan when you get these test results? Also, get a quote from them on the overall cost of the test so you know what you are facing. If you are frank with your vet about the costs being prohibitive right now, they may have an explanation that either they don't have the necessary equipment or if they are having an abundance of caution from what they have heard in Loki's recent exam. The more questions you ask once you have thought about it, the better equipped you will be to handle things as they come.

That laundry basket technique was ingenious for the family on the video. We had one long battle with our smaller parrot over our daughter coming home from college. She posted pictures of the attack of the devil bird. Java was relentless and would go to great lengths to bite and intimidate her. We had to work long and hard to get them on good terms but now they are good together. What we did was initiate a truce by having Kelsey be the only one to give her treats while she was home. She was really afraid of her and it took a lot of coaxing for her to try to make friends. I don't know what the deal was with Java becoming a screeching little harpie upon Kelsey's appearance. She had never done it with anyone else or since then. Once she learned Kelsey was her only avenue for treats, then we started leaving the room and leaving Java behind and letting Kelsey be the one to go back and let her out. Then we started going to the basement to watch tv down there together instead of the living room and we would leave Java behind for ten minutes and have Kelsey go up and offer to give her access to the "flock". It was hard because during college, it was short breaks home and then a while away but we finally got to a good place. I don't know why she singled out one person and I know Kelsey didn't aggravate her or exacerbate the animosity. It was shocking to see it but it was almost like Java knew she could bully her and when Kelsey finally got brave and interacted and called her bluff, the attacks disappeared.

Thanks for coming in and joining us to help find the right match for Bijou. It is wrenching to come to a decision that is made with your heart and soul dedicated to giving her the very best life she deserves. We rehomed a little Timneh and it has been the right thing for all concerned. Blessings and best of luck as you work through the details.

Thanks for popping in to give us an update. We are getting close to our second year with Gilbert and your post gives me hope that we will have flight in our home some day. As he becomes a proficient flyer I would love to hear how that has changed interactions in your home with Timmy. I can tell it is going really well so far, I believe your grin is lighting up the sky, I can see it from Atlanta.