katana600

Dan, as it is getting darker, I went back over to play a shadow game with Gilbert. When you mentioned the high level thinking, I agree and he did something that was even more surprising to me. I came to one side of his cage, but my shadow was not in a good place, so I went to the other side. He had his back to me as he was facing his own shadow on the wall. I was telling him it was his shadow. I made the shadow of my hand on the wall and my shadow was touching the head of his shadow. He got really animated and was bouncing up and down and swaying. I thought he was playing, but no, he was not. He suddenly came across three feet of playtop and up the ladder trying to bite me. He knew what was causing the shadow, he didn't go after the shadow he went after my hand. This is a phase of his, he has not been particularly cage aggressive until recent weeks. I am going to leave his cage where it is for now, but I did move it six inches one way so it is not easy for him to see inside my room. Last night as I told him goodnight, he took a swipe at me when I offered a scratch. He took a swipe at me when I offered him an pine nut. He took the pine nut I offered in his dish and flung it in disdain. It could not have been 90 seconds later at lights out when I was just getting comfortable, he was enticing me with his little "hey" to come back out. He has not let me scratch his head in quite a little while, so I came back out to him and sure enough he let me scratch his head for a long long time. I guess his fluctuating from warm and sweet to a quick turnabout to a full on attack with seemingly no provocation goes the opposite way too. I try to remember than when I am trying so hard not to take it personally when he gets into a snit with me.

This is such a new thing with Gilbert. It just so happened the right bulb of three blew out to create the shadow right where he likes it. He has also been standing on the rail on the very back of his cage and interacting with his smaller, closer shadow. I have been telling him it is his shadow and making some of my own shadows on the wall. He seems very very interested, not scared at all but if I get involved too much he loses interest and goes into his cage. If I can get video, I would love to share that. He will notice his shadow but just go about his business and suddenly start talking and interacting with it. I get so caught up in the moment with him that I don't want to break the "spell" by infering to get a camera involved. Gilbert does seem to be opening up a little.

He is enjoying the interaction with his shadow so much, I am holding off on changing that light bulb. I had to climb the stairs and he couldn't decide whether he wanted to play with his shadow or keep an eye on me. The angle made the shadow look smaller than it is in person. He talks to it and it is really entertaining to him.

I do like the limeade a lot better cut half and half with water. Gilbert drinks less than a teaspoon on any given week. It just seems to be one of those things that can get him out of even the deepest funk. If he had it every day, it wouldn't be such a novelty to him. I am the one to get the bonus as you share your experience with Phenix. Gilbert is on the same path, but we were fortunate enough to hop over a couple of obstacles due to suggestions you've made. It really makes a difference to read what everyone else does, and then think about how to incorporate their ideas into our own successful relationships.

He is a beautiful grey. Even though he looks wary and watchful he doesn't look so scared a panicked. You are doing a good job of going slowly to make friends and let him know your intentions for him are loving and good. When he sees you bringing him food and good things and waiting for him to come to you he will relax more as time with you goes well for him. What is his name?

In lieu of an alarm sticker in your yard put a photo of your lip in the window with a warning about your home being protected by parrot guards.

There are many things I would do for my flock. If I knew I really HAD to, I would learn the procedure. But in this day of youtube, there is no way anyone in my house will catch me dancing and get that on video. I do my best dancing when we are home alone. Hope the birds never learn to use the camera.

And here I thought he had a wonderful unique birthmark such as I had never seen before. Well, it was a unique mark for a while until it wears off. Your baby will always be unique and special to you just the same.

It is so sweet when our family members long for a relationship when they are the "other". Gilbert has thrilled our family to no end when he rebuffs my overtures in favor of them. For reasons known only to the mind of a grey, we fall in and out of favor from time to time. It is a big step for Neytiri and her "daddy". Happy day. Timber may do the same thing with Gary. David has been patiently talking to Gilbert, giving him pine nuts and almonds and rescuing him when he jumps to the floor. About a week ago, I had asked Gilbert for a step up and he responded like he would rather poke out my eye. David was standing next to me and after a wicked swipe in my direction he waved his little foot for "daddy" to rescue him from the ole sea hag. Haahahaha. If I could have bottled the glee that David felt at that moment, it would be priceless. In our case, two minutes later it will change. The fact that our family members care about our relationship and wish for more is optimistic. I love that your families are involved too.

Great idea, I have heard of making your own type of avicakes at home and softening the ingredients but would have never connected that to softening a premade avicake to use in a toy the way you have explained. Good on you, thanks. I am going to try that today. I have some cupcake wrappers that I can skewer so at first Gilbert can see what is in there and later go to wrapping them up for foraging. Thanks so much for your tips.

I think you are right about the conflict. I can see it with Gilbert, especially in the early days. He would hold out his foot to step up but his body would shake violently. He would tuck for a scratch on the head but pull back and spin around to bite. Tuck, scratch, swipe, tuck back in again. When he does allow himself to relax for a scratch he nearly falls asleep standing up. There are times when I stand so long in front of his cage every muscle aches but I can't walk away when he turns sleepily and says "hey" for some more. I have to say when he flings himself against his bars one moment trying to bite me and then turns from Hyde/Jeckyl and is soliciting a scratch, there is always a moment that it takes to gather myself to go in for putting my fingers close to him but I do it every time. If I flinch or jump as he is trying to be sweet it startles him and he goes on the attack. I always think of you when I give Gilbert limeade. The magic potion to sooth the savage beast. Last night I floated a raspberry or two in my drink and when I offered that to him he was not having it for a second. I fished out the raspberries, ate a few, offered him one and he rejected my offer. As soon as there was nothing foreign in "his" limeade he made yummy sounds when he took a beakful.

You could just melt my heart with that photo and description. We had that for a few short weeks before we lost our baby. He will be forever young and I will soak in this moment thanks to you and others with babies. Gilbert is hands off, but in my heart I think about the day that may come when he is relaxed next to me even if it isn't touching or holding him. What an incredible family time you had with your kids too. I can almost smell the sweet grey scent warm under your neck.

Good timing on your response, thanks. I was thinking along the same lines with the interaction this morning. Now that I have been thinking back, Gilbert gets buddy buddy with me and lets me give him scritches when David is out of town all week. Also, for three weeks, when Mick was first injured he had to be crated for complete rest so no one was in my bed for three weeks and Gilbert was coming around and being sweet to me again. I will move one chair and put Gilbert back to his original spot. I will leave Java where she is for now. My thinking to move Java and spend time with her out of Gilbert's sight will still give her some time where she doesn't feel scared to be under his watchful eye. She has not been the same since her injury/illness and vet visit. If he bit her in that fraction of a second she may need a little reassurance. Also, I am not planning to separate the two as if it were a quarantine to have totally separate areas, just a place they can each call their own and have individual attention at different times of the day and then together time every day as well. When I get Java out of her cage Gilbert always uses a soft voice and calls her Pretty Girl and sings to her so I know they are not enemies. He just doesn't want it under his nose when I cuddle and let her on me. I will also take no chance whatsoever that she can touch his cage because he is more and more possessive and lately has been downright huffy if anthing is changed or touched by anyone except Rachel. And yes, thank our lucky stars, Gilbert has done no plucking, no barbering and is gaining confidence. I am still in awe at the way he responded to his shadow. When I saw it for the first time it was so big and so bold that I thought when he caught sight of it he might get hysterical. I had my hand on the light switch to turn it off quickly but he turned and saw it at that moment and his reaction was such a surprise to me, I just watched it unfold. He has been giving it a lot of attention this week.

What a pretty baby. We have a business in our hometown where they have two of these lovely ringnecks, their voices are just so cute. Your baby is going to grow up into a beauty. I like the little marking on his foot, toe, talon(?) It is unique, and interesting.

Our eleven year old TAG does the same thing sometimes. He will go through a period where he is always facing the room on this playtop perch. Then for some unknown reason, he will sit very close to the wall and grumble. Sometimes he will lean way over, put his forehead against the wall and make clicking sounds. I think it has to do with the acoustics and just his preferences to entertain himself at any given moment. If you have the ability to move her close to the wall so she can touch it, it would be interesting to see if she makes the connection to put her head there like a tuning fork creating resonance. If you have the metal seed guards around the bottom of her cage, you might put a perch up there to let her get a little closer. I know it makes it a pain to clean down around the floor, but Gilbert likes it back there and he hasn't been doing any damage to the wall. It would be interesting to see what she does. They are such amazing little thinkers.

You have identified an new species, the great grey floor sharks. That is so funny. Of course it is not my tender toes in question. I loved the progression of photos and the body language and posture of your prey animals turned predator. The once hunted becomes the hunter. What an awesome turnabout.

That is very clever and well done. The fact that they telescope makes them perfect for beside a chair or near the kitchen counter level and still keep your parrot at the preferred height. CLB you will have to tell your son "Mic stand? What mic stand? As anyone can see that is a parrot stand. See the perch?" hahahaha... I love that one person may see something for one purpose and another will come along and repurpose it for something else.

So, the plot thickens. When Rachel moved back in, she brought furniture for which we had to find space for the short term. A second sofa in the living room pushed Gilbert's cage one way about three feet. This vantage point permits him to see everything he could see before but added a peep through my open bedroom door. This morning, I was giving a little cuddle to our boy Mick with the injured knee. I was kissing and fussing over him and Gilbert peered in and said something I have never heard come from him. He said "ohhh you naughty boy". I am not sure if he was refering to himself or to Mick. But it made me think. When Gilbert started loving on Rachel and giving me the stink eye could have arisen because he gets wildly jealous if I hold Java, hug David in his presence or pick up one of the dogs and hold them. Java is a bit the same. They are both willing to accept family members and visitors but their mama is off limits for hugging anyone. Java once bit David in the face for the unforgiveable infraction of sitting next to me on the couch and holding my hand. Gilbert may have gotten snitty with me in recent weeks because he sees David in our room to "roost" with me. I am going to move his cage back to his original spot to see if this makes a difference. I have to say hearing him say something new and different was such a joy. He said something else through the open door when I was reading in my room last night, but it has escaped my memory at this moment. I love seeing him open up even if it means he is grumpy to me and showing off his rough side. LOL.

You are off to a good start with Neytiri. Your magical journey is just beginning. Even after three years of intense immersion and sickness and a gnarly lil' rehomed character, I wonder and second guess and read and read and try new things. As you get to know your girl, you will become one with her and have this down pat. Your intuition is good and your love for her is obvious. I can't wait to hear about her antics when she is all settled in and getting into mischief and making you laugh as you share her uniqueness with us. Thanks for being part of our forum.

Omigoodness, those two photos say it all. From the funny funny Bubba on the throne to the endearing Bongo (is that Bongo?) in his cozy spot. Your pics are terrific. Thanks for posting them.

I know he heard you say he didn't like nuts and is showing you what he does or does not like... today. LOL. Gilbert really cranked up the energy, I am wondering if he heard me on the phone telling a friend up north that we stayed such a short time that I would come back up to see the fall foliage in October. He is going to give me fits and not do another road trip like the last few. I do believe he has racked up about ten thousand miles since we became an item.

It is all about expectations really moreso than patience. When we see videos of some of the funny prolific talkers I know how much time has been spent working with those parrots. When I see the free flying confident and energetic parrots, I know that they also fly high, eat the woodwork and refuse to go to bed sometimes and drop bombs, sometimes on your heads. When I yearn for a magic spell to ease Gilbert's fears and heal his wings, I wonder if I would be patient with him then. Every day, all of us have moments of joy and moments of frustrations with any of our parrots. Maybe this is the time in my life that I am being prepared to learn something valuable about myself right along with learning about Gilbert. Thanks for caring for us and cheering us on just the same.

She is lovely. I found myself as with all new babies, counting toes and checking out her lovely features. There is a grace about her that is soothing.

You bet they are all unique. If you don't like their attitude, give them a minute and it will inexplicably change. I can think all I want about what I believe Gilbert is doing and darned if he isn't inclined to prove me wrong. WRONG. Nope, I am wrong. It is giving me lots of practice before my girls have kids of their own and tell me everything I did wrong from their perspective. Its coming. It is a rite of passage. The good news is, with parrots and kids, with time, it all revolves back around again and even for one day, I may be the love of his life, just for one day to keep me always wanting just a little more, just one more day. He is a corker.

To be honest, it doesn't take as much patience as you might think. When we brought in a baby bird, if they had grown up to treat me the way Gilbert does, it would have been heartbreaking and personal. Considering I had been on this forum for three years when I made the choice to bring home a bird with "issues", I wiped out my memory of all the great plans and funny sayings and things I was planning to teach my baby. I knew I was starting with a history, a past, and a trust issue that may never be overcome. I knew I wasn't going to get any appreciation or cooperation from my little guy for a long long time, maybe never. So it is all about a balance of expectations. If I don't expect a cuddle and then I don't get one, oh well, that is the name of the game. Hope does spring eternal, that is truth. I keep thinking that all I have to do is be open minded, quick to move if I am under seige and open to trying the same thing over and over again when it is calm and quiet and sweet to offer him a treat or to offer a step up. I do have to admit that when he runs quickly and attempts to bite me and Rachel speaks to him he bows his head for a scritch and then HE initiates a step up! He was just like this to her up until May and now he is smitten with her. Plus, he didn't like my husband for fifteen months and now they are best buddies. Rachel's theory is that neither of them touch his precious cage. They have never fed him, removed any dishes, changed any toys, nor cleaned his cage. For some reason he is ticked off with me and it is definitely to do with his cage. Right in the middle of a sustained attempt to bite me, while he is swaying and pinning and I step back, he has a transformation for Rachel. In the same moment, she will offer to hand him to me and he happily steps up, just a foot from his cage, just not off his cage directly to me. He let me carry him all over the house today. He sat on my lap and swilled limeade. He startled once and then made himself happy on the living room floor until he called out "hey" to me and took my offer of a step up. No sooner than I was a foot from his cage, he was trying to bite me. As soon as he had a foot on his perch he swayed and bobbed and grumbled. He flung his pellets and empty almond shells for five minutes after I moved away. He was a little terror with a temper. He grabbed the toys on his cage top and violently twisted and beat them. We let him get over it, Rachel went to him, scratched his head and he stepped right up, came out and put his foot right up to step up to me. I do not understand him but I will defend his right to have those feelings and work through them without taking it personally or having an expectation that he is going to suddenly change and be my baby. You know... come to think about it, I wonder if my husband has a forum somewhere where is saying exactly the same thing about living with me. hahahahahahaha