katana600

He really is feeling his oats and making mischief. Is there a way you can let him out for a little while each evening just for some one-on-one? You certainly can't have him wreaking havoc on the poor dog and other parrots. I have had a little success with Java when she went through some unpleasantness to only let her out in the evening and if she went wild, I could turn off the light to calm her and get her into her cage again. Bless you as you deal with this trying time.

Oh goodness, I was reading so fast, I thought you said you left your finger with Gabby and went to find Pat. Oh dear oh dear! I'm sure it was bad enough without leaving your finger behind. LOL. What a wonderful time you are having watching each of your parrots evolve and become family members. I am happy for Bongo and I believe Oliver is going to come around too. Gilbert will often have a lot of improvement in one day and then have a quiet day or two as he mulls it over. In the long range, it is coming out well for me. And Marguerite, your poor poor nose. I saw Java pierce David's nostril and it still makes me cringe. Every day at your house is an adventure Lisa-darn-it.

Ray, I tried. "I'm not going to look, I'm not going to look." It didn't last long enough to finish reading the thread. What a gorgeous creature. I have been spending a great deal of energy staying away from looking at Amazons. I do know the limitations of Java and Gilbert so that is keeping me afloat against the MBS that is haunting me. Thanks for sharing your picture and your strength Janet.

It is not because you are new, I was amazed at the ingenuity of using the cardboard to rub her head, and even doubly amazed to watch Emmy use it herself! It made tears come to my eyes. The fact that she comes to the open cage door while you are there and that she is relaxed is huge for her just being with you a short time. She is showing signs of acceptance and is certainly calm. You will learn as you go but Emmy is amazing to me already. Dutch in the background whistling is a nice touch, he sounds wonderful too. You are doing great with these two, I am betting it is going to get better and better for all three of you, and your other little parrot too.

She is sure having fun on that video. The ac sound was just white noise, I couldn't keep my eyes off her as she was talking and moving about with such delight. It only gets better as she takes on a personality all of her own. Isn't it fun to share your life with a "flock"? Thanks for sharing.

This too shall pass. I agree that you don't want to relegate him to the cage and feel like you are neglecting him but whether he thinks your shoulder is his entitlement or not, you have to protect yourself while he is going through what I am thinking is a rite of passage or phase as he decides he wants to make his own darn decisions. I have not gone through this with a baby so many others will have advice to help you mitigate any damages and keep your relationship intact. One thing I am sure about is that if he gets a chance to bite, and he takes that chance, it may have started for one reason but may be perpetuated for another. For as long as Simon has been with you in a loving way, Gilbert has been looking for ways to get a bite out of me and he is slowly, slowly changing and not being so determined to seek me out for practicing his blood drawing skills. I do believe Simon is going through something and will return back to a more predictable sweet guy soon. Blessings on you both as you figure it out.

It will take a couple of weeks and every minute seems too long to get answers. When I was at my most distraught, Acapella posted a video where she and Dorian were sharing a song "Just Breathe" and that played over and over soothing my broken heart. Just breathe, take one moment at a time and I promise you are going to see this through to better days ahead.

I for one believe they do enjoy being in trouble some times. After six years, Java knows the hot button issues and will sometimes go right from one to the next. I think too... if I could pop a hole through a shirt on occasion, that might be very satisfying too. LOL. Okay, I do understand this is undesirable and I do agree with others that the best thing you can do for now is to avoid giving Romeo those opportunities. If he has to stay off your clothing for a little while, he will quickly come to realize that he has chew toys. When Java was little, she would run to my back so I couldn't get her off me. I started wearing big baggy tee shirts over my clothes and when she did that, I pulled up the bottom of my shirt and "bagged" her, gently of course, and I took her back to her cage. It didn't take long before I offered her a step up or a distraction that she flew to her cage all by herself. You will find a distraction technique that works wonders with Romeo. Then he will find yet a different tactic to make mischief. They always seem clever enough to get one step ahead of us.

Welcome to you and Felix. Our Timneh came to us much older and it seems like when I see them as babies, I learn more about him. What a precious baby with his dark eyes and perfectly gorgeous feathers. Glad your found your way to us so we can share with you as you get to know him better.

Yesterday I went to change Gilbert's water and found a hairy critter in there, gasp. In my hurry to get it out of his cage, I realized it was only shreds of a coconut fiber ball that he has had on top of his cage forever. He shredded it and he chewed on some other toys that I noticed bits in the bottom of his cage. I am so thrilled a the prospect of watching him play and some day hope to be able to add some of the toys from his stash in the cupboard. On closer inspection as he has been letting me touch him more, I am seeing that his chest feathers are really looking good. His back used to look like a jack-o-lantern with great gaps and now there is just a small area that has missing wing flight feathers. I am hoping he will eventually regrow those feathers and have the gift of flight returned. Wouldn't that be just amazing? I am open to all possibilities with him and the idea that after four years he could become flighted once more has my heart aflutter. The day he gives me the Dayo neck pinch will be a good time for all y'all to remind me how hard I have wished for this. LOL.

It is a courageous choice to seek answers. I held my breath in fear that I was negligent in some way but having some answers did help, just not at first. Your hopes and dreams for Elwood have been crushed and it is such an unbearable loss. It is hard right now, but you never would knowingly jeopardize your baby, so give yourself some of the compassion you would give to anyone else suffering. I agree that I never could have expected the extreme heartbreak of losing a little feathered companion with whom I had invested so much of my time, learning and had grown to love in such a short amount of time. My condolences as you find your way through your heartache.

I am so sorry for your family Emma. We lost ours after only seven weeks together and I went through so much of the same thinking as you, what I must have done wrong. We did take him for a necropsy and our vet had a way to preserve him with cold soapy water but he did say it needed to be done within 24 hours to have optimal results to find pathogens. I drove him by myself more than seven hours in the night to get him to a place where his original vet had the facilities and lab. It was four hundred dollars and revealed he had a disease that had nothing to do with our household or anything I worried I may have done. I cried for six weeks even though we had confirmation of the cause of his death. I don't think in my entire life anything had made me cry before. It really does take someone who understands your connection to Elwood to realize this is not just a pet but a real family member. The bottom line on the necropsy is it could help you understand if something caused his death but it will not change your feelings. You know full well that you did everything in your power to give him a good life and he had more love in six months with you than some humans have in a lifetime. You are not putting anything on us, we do care how you feel and are sad for you and send condolences. What helped most for me was the friends on this forum who were here to support us through the loss of two baby Congos and then through the rehoming of a Timneh over time. It also helped for me to make a tribute to Juno after his loss when I sewed a quilt to be raffled for avian research. It took almost a year, but in the beginning I cried while I sewed and later, the sadness started to ease a bit until I could smile at all the joy he brought to my life. Take your time and let your love for Elwood lead you to what is right in your life to grieve for him in your own way. I am so sorry for your loss.

I am glad you found this forum too. While it is often said, every parrot is a unique individual, a rehomed parrot adds exponentially to the possible behaviors, temperments, and innate traits common with the species. You have so many variables coming into this, not to mention the emotional aspect of your grandma's situation. Add to that Emmy's physical abilities and bringing in two at a time from the same home, I believe we are going to learn much from your posts. As far as the early morning wake ups, you might consider covering the cages at night, or even possibly moving them to small roost cages for sleeping. Controlling the amount of daylight, especially for a female parrot dimishes the mating behavior associated with the natural breeding season when food is abundant and long sunny days encourage reproduction. Thanks for your kind words about Gilbert's thread. I am still learning and he is making great progress, though we did have a slow start.

Gilbert did that mating dance a lot in his first days, I took it as a sign that he was in love with his new life. Mostly though, I thanked him and walked away, returning when he stopped doing it to praise him and give him attention and treats apart from the behavior and it gradually diminished and went away. We haven't seen it now in months. The beak grinding is also another sound they make when they are relaxed and comfortable and happy. From being from a rough background, they both show signs of having been loved and treated with gentleness. For you to be able to get so close with your camera and for them to be happily whistling and beak grinding in just a week and a half are very good indicators that they will adjust to your home well. Maybe it is because the two know each other and that gives them confidence in a new home. They look and sound great to me.

Both of ours have the cement perches for wearing down their nails and we haven't trimmed their nails. It took a little time to get started once our vet recommended the perches and we had to experiment with where to put them. Java is a dipper so I put her dry food away from the water so she has to climb over the cement perch between them and that was the magic spot for her. Gilbert has a higher cement perch where he perches during the day but he doesn't sleep on that one. It does take a little time and energy to figure it out but after the first vet visit where the tech did their nail clipping with much drama from Java in particular, Dr. Jason said it would be a whole lot easier on all involved to let them handle their own grooming with the cement perches.

In just two months Gilbert seems to have covered a lifetime of transition to a more healthy and normal Timneh. I have to say, it does coincide with the addition of the Rescue Remedy at our vet's suggestion. He has also had some upsets that I would have expected to set him back a few paces and they were hardly noticed. For instance, his sweetheart Rachel moving away, two out-of-town visits with nine hours in the car each way. Instead of a few days of quiet withdrawal, he has been an energizer bunny climbing around his cage as I have never seen him do before. Today he was hanging upside down from his toy hook and beating on his toys and shaking them. This is a guy who has huddled in his cage and never would even touch a toy for eighteen long months of being very timid and anxious. He has not been chewing his feathers or plucking and his chest is getting feathered and smooth. Today he found an almond in a shell that was tucked inside a wooden foragaing toy more than three months ago that he has never gone before. It seems as if I closed my eyes and awakened with a younger, more playful and energetic Gilbert. As for he and Java, our vet and I agree that Java's emergency was likely caused by Gilbert biting her head. Two of us were standing nearby and never saw contact but we are definitely going slow on the introductions. Luckily it was not any worse than two vet visits for Java and I have to say, it took her down a notch with her "assertiveness" so maybe a lesson was learned and she will be on red alert to fly away from Gilbert. With all his changes, it would not surprise me too much to see her fly away with him in hot pursuit some day.

We all get lots of advice in the beginning when we get our parrots. Sometimes, with certain foods like chocolate, avocado, alcohol and caffeine there are immediate toxic results. Sometimes it is advice to avoid the teflon in pans. This is something that may accumulate over a life time, or it can be lethal when heated over 400 degrees Fahrenheit very quickly. This type of thing we can avoid and take great care of our new companions. Other things are less clear. What works for one species of parrot may not be particularly healthy for another. Some of our breeders are adamant about clipping wings because it prevents loss of a first parrot when inexperienced owners don't realize what kind of intelligence they have and how they might look for a chance to follow a beloved person right out an open door. This type of leg leash may be one of those things. You have a chance to read and ask others in your country what the positive aspects and potential risks are and as you become more aware, you will make a choice based on your own research, it is a removeable device if you find enough support to keep Charlie safe in a different way. I have no experience with this sort of thing and have never seen one. When you see your avian vet for Charlie's first visit, you will surely get more information there. I don't have experience with vitamins or supplements either. Our vet recommended a commercial pellet formulated for African greys with the calcium he needs along with other recommended nutrients. But that is just a part of his diet because the vet also recommended lots of vegetables, grains and almost the same nutritional needs as a healthy human diet low fats, but not as much fruit as we would normally enjoy. One thing is sure, Charlie is beautiful and you are learning just what an amazing bond you will create with him and you will search and learn as you go. Best of luck for you and Charlie and your whole family. This is one journey of companionship that will last your lifetime.

So glad to hear from our many members who have been in harm's way or even had to endure colder than usual weather with power outages. Our family was uprooted and we lost everything many years ago when Hurricane Agnes brought flood waters to northwestern Pennsylvania. Things are not near as important as our loved ones whether they are human, or nearly human feathered and furry friends. Even though our minds know that things can be replaced, precious memories, photos and other heartfelt items feel like a kick in the gut when you lose them whether by storm or other means. There are so many people in the path of this storm that have changed the way "normal" has ever felt and will ever feel again. I am so sorry for all the losses and hardship for everyone affected. Glad to hear from those who have weathered the storm. Blessing to all who are uncertain and hurting.

Eshana, you have been in my heart and thoughts. I am hoping you have gone to safety and will know we care when you get a chance to log in again.

You have a beautiful baby and a great attitude to do your best for him. Welcome to the forum. Have you chosen a name for him yet? I noticed his leg band is a different style from any I have seen and the temperatures you are discussing may be Celcius. Our members are from many parts of the world and we learn so much from our unique situations. Dave is much more experienced to give you good advice on babies and on feedings. Good luck with learning along with your little one. There is nothing like sharing our home with such an exquisite little character, you are going to have many happy surprises.

Gilbert continues to expand his horizons. Last night while I was doing some airbrush painting in the basement, I came up for air and immediately noticed he was not in his usual hangouts and asked David where he had gone. He had slipped quietly down the ropes, walked across the living room and was at David's feet just under the edge of the sofa. This is the first time since his kitchen adventure that he had gone looking for his buddy David. There is no doubt he is building a new relationship with David, different than he has with me. I am just thrilled to watch them together. We might end up with Gilbert being "daddy's boy". David offered him a step up and they had a few minutes together before Gilbert asked to go back to his cage. Now that Gilbert is not so fearful of everything, I have been giving Java more freedom too. Previously, they each had to have separate time out of the cage because Java would taunt him. Well, this time was much different. Java rappelled down my computer cord to the floor, marched her little self over to Gilbert's area and climbed onto the travel cage that is now his basement apartment. Rather than back away and be upset, Gilbert came right down from the playtop, climbed to the rope connecting his cage to her and he drove her off. She flew around like a screeching harpy for a few seconds, then went to her own cage. Success! They are finally starting to come together on their own terms. He is standing up for himself and she left him alone after that. They are both out, both doing their separate things and we have started reaching a peace accord.

I got the medium size perches for Gilbert and for Java from http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=10899&cmpid=04csegpl&ref=6111&subref=AA&CAWELAID=525358019&catargetid=1570185209&cagpspn=pla The part closest to the cage is wrapped in wire so they don't chew it and it also is low voltage coming from a 12v transformer that attaches further away from the cage. We have never had any issue with Gilbert or Java trying to chew the wires, but I have the cage against the wall and the wall outlet is covered and they are blocked from getting in there. I know this perch is not something they need, but there is something so nice about coming out on a cold morning and having them step up with toasty warm little feet. I loved the little exclamation of surprise from Gilbert when he stepped onto his perch for the first time, ohhhh. He has not embraced it yet, but has stayed on it for a few minutes at a time when it suits him. The length of the perch is warmed at varying temperatures and I do check the bottoms of their feet frequently and test the perch with my hand on a daily basis to make sure it doesn't get hot. Java has had hers for more than five years and we leave it on summer and winter as it is her favorite spot to sleep.

It is always a pleasure to hear from you and Isaac. Right when you think you are lulled into a routine, Isaac will trip you up and learn a new way to thwart your efforts to keep the countertops clear and I am sure many many other ways he finds to get into mischief. I love the peek a boo game you play with him and how he melts your heart with his interactions with you. Even when you are not amused with the clean up efforts, I bet he finds a way to make you smile anyway.

Hi Ricardo, welcome to the forum. Frankenstein looks blissful in his glamor shot. He is going to be a great companion to you. Glad that you found your way to us to share your journey.

Gilbert has been giving me a lot of opportunities to rub his head at his request. Previously, he had one favored perch to get a treat, another for a touch and lately he has been asking for head rubs in several new locations. I just love the little tilt of his head when he says "Hey" as he invites a touch. Sometimes I even get cramped from standing at an odd angle for so long now that he is more receptive, not that I am complaining. Last night, we must have stood together for twenty minutes. This time with the relaxation and extra time, I noticed the back of his skull has a crease in it. My other parrots, skulls have been smooth and round. He bends in and closes his eyes so I can reach further into the cage to gently tug the feathers on his neck and he seems to melt when I massage his neck. It is such a treat to see him become so relaxed that he rests his head on thumb of my left hand while I touch him with my right hand. Last night he didn't even look up when the dogs barked at something where he would usually have jumped back and looked to see what the fuss was about. Another "new" thing for him in recent days has been to add his heated perch. He steadfastly avoided it even though I attached a food cup nearby. He would climb up and over to hold the bars of his cage to extract a treat and take it back to a different perch to enjoy it. Today he was intent on chastising me for touching that food cup and came quickly over as if he might want to bite me. He was so distracted he stepped onto the heated perch and said "ohhhh". Then he sat on it while he ate a few bites, so I am hoping he may warm his toes on chilly nights.