Elvenking

I spent 24 hours like that and that was certainly enough. I know how you must feel. They are everywhere when they are with you, so when they are suddenly taken away, you miss them everywhere. Your explanation is so heart wrenching and it aches to hear it. I think you will get a new baby when the time is right. You have done everything possible to find Murphy and have obviously felt for your lost friend. Murphy is probably still making his way and cleverly finding ways to carry on, but I am sure he misses you. It just really sucks.

HA! You aren't getting through a poll like this without some personal views. I don't clip my boy's. I already had some post going on about why so I will leave that out. A truly sensitive discussion.

This is a good one to make sure you do. I got one of those digital meat thermometers to measure the temp of Isaac's formula and it works great. Don;t take chances there for sure.

This is incredibly tough after losing yer baby. I have still left Isaac flighted. One thing I do know is that once you have made the decision to let them fly...I could not see any good in the world...taking that away from them. Birds which are clipped early don't miss flight. Isaac would be super upset if he couldn't fly...I just know it. There is 100% no way...I will ever clip this bird. I will watch my doors....cage him when people are over....and limit his out time to the times I can manage control of exits....but never ever...will I take my baby's ability to fly away now that he is so wonderful at it. It really is a personal choice from the get-go. I also feel that properly clipped birds live a wonderful life. For me...it has always been...let em fly. I am all too quick to put myself in the birds position...my goodness...if I could fly...definitely let me. It certainly is a MUCH different world when you keep a flighted bird. I am not so certain it could be a practical recommendation for bird owners....but it was a risk I was willing to take on..and I will see it through. Point being this...never down anyone who is willing to take the risk to keep a flighted bird. The same way clipping gives the clipped bird owner the comfort that their bird will not get away and hurt themselvs, is the comfort us flighted bird owners get from knowing that our birds are allowed to be their full bird selvs. The majesty of flight is a beautiful thing....and seeing your bird fly...the feeling just cannot be described. The first time Isaac stopped going down, and started going up...was a really amazing moment and I took it really close to heart. Knowing that he can come to me when he wants..and does so with so much excitement...ohhh my....the love. Be compassionate to both choices.

Ohhh when can we get LoJack for birds.

It's the sound I make when he bites me. LOL. This mostly happens when I have something in my hand that he wants, and I am not going to give it to him.

Isaac started out liking to chew soft plastic things apart like plastic bottle caps and other soft plastic toys. He now loves to crack the small wooden beads off of leather straps. I bought a bag of 1000 a couple months ago, and I would make him a new toy with about 75 beads or so on it every morning and put it in his cage. Come home...most all the beads are snapped off...he loves it and it's super cheap. He like's the thinner wood pieces too...bout 1\8" thick. He'll splinter those babies too.

This is something I feel like a lot of people should know when they consider bringing a parrot into the home. "Your parrot will become your newest family member and should be treated as such". I would feel a lot better knowing that anyone approaching the idea of owning a parrot considers the gravity of taking care of the life of one of these beautiful and intelligent creatures.

Two birds at once might be a little too fast as one keeps me busy constantly depending on your familiarity with birds. As others have said they are like children and require a lot of dedication to provide a happy and healthy home for them. It is so easy to think that due to the size and appearance of a bird, that they are just cool and beautiful things to have around. That may be the case with smaller birds...but when you graduate to a mid to large sized parrot, the presence really changes....especially with an African Grey. I would urge you to do a lot of reading and research on Greys to determine if one is even right. It can be a bit of a trojan horse if you go in without the research. These guys live an average of 50-60 years and re-homing them is disturbing to them, so just make sure it's something you really want to dedicate yourself too. As far as the cage situation, most people I talk to recommend separate cages. Welcome to the forums...you have just signed on with people who really love Greys.

I got an HD Camcorder yesterday and the thing is amazingly, incredibly cool. At times it's like looking into a window to the past, shockingly clear and in High Def glory. I took a few samples of my daughter and Isaac yesterday and it was truly cool. So I will try to get some footage of him being a rascal and we will see what I can post up here soon. Cheers.

Sorry I missed by a couple days....Happy hatch day Ana Grey!!

So sorry bout Murphy. I know that when I heard that he flew away I felt the same thing. They are close in age and knowing how I felt for the 24 hours Isaac was loose, I can imagine how hard it must be to visit this site. I still hope for his return.

I am looking to step it up as far as updates with Issac. That is why i am lookin to get a good video cam that lets me convert quick...you guys gotta see him in action..what a sweetie. And yep...he knows he can get away with. Most people would have roasted him for dinner by now...but I love him no matter what he does. And he does a lot. He is in fact very lucky I love him now that I think about it...LOL. No really...we all know its not always just paradise with birds flying in beauty...they can get to stuff...but what I love is that...even given that...I just love, love, love, him.

So I am once again inspired by my little friend to write about our relationship and how the lil guy is doing. Well he has been doing just great. Sometimes he perches next to me and just goes through all the wierd sounds I make at him, some words, and sounds I am not sure where he gets. Probably from the TV while I am gone for the day. I leave the sounds of KPBS on for him which is a lot of kids shows. The other day I came home and he made the sounds of a spring going boing like in cartoons. Too funny. He loves the uh-oh game of tossing stuff on the grond and saying 'uh-oh'. He says 'Hello', 'Uh-oh', 'Hey boy', 'Good boy' and it really looks like he is working on his speech. What a cutie. He says "Ouch" too...ohh I wonder how he picked that up...right? Also, he makes the sound of my daughter screaming when he flys after her when she has something he wants. I got a call from my step daughter the other day asking if everything was alright cause she heard my daughter screaming upstairs. I said, "No we aren't even home but the bird is apparantly impressed with his ability to make her scream and has learned to mock her in that way." Most of all, it's just his presence. He is just so incredible. I love him sooo damned much. The way he is so accepting of my contact with him, hundreds of kisses on his back, pats, pets and scratching of the neck. I just melt when he lands on my shoulder and tucks his head into my neck like, "I love you". I constantly cuddle him and tell him that I love him so much. He must think I am insane. I will actually take a few moments just to explain to him how much I love him as if he can understand what I am saying. What can I say...crazy about this bird. When I come home....I take him out...he does his wing stretches and lets me kiss his the part of his tummy right below his neck....ohh it's super sooooper soft and a little bit tender cause I guess he has a little meat on his bones there. Then he flexes his wings all the way back and allows me to plant another kiss or two under his wings on the side of his soft lil bird body.. (Yes...I love kissing this bird) I feel strange explaining this, but that is how it goes down everyday. A little 'welcome home' ritual. Lately, he has taken a facination with my mouth and anything that has to do with it. I don't know what it is. He wants to explore in there and he makes himself a silly bird trying to do so somethimes. Why my mouth...I don't know. He acts like a child when I get on the phone too. He gets all sloppy and sappy by hanging off my shirt and rolling around on his back on my arm. Rubbing his head head all around and just making himself that much more present. I think it's like a kid who acts out to get the attention back. He is silly. Whenever I see a picture of a Grey, I immediatly want to go home and see him. I thought I might think of him less as time went on...but everyday...can't wait to get home and see him. Below are some pictures of my lil friend. I am thinkin of getting a new video camera so that I can easily record and save to the computer. My current camera is a DV cam and it's a pain to capture and edit. Which makes taking video dreadful. So maybe look forward to some videos of my baby. Might just get one tomorrow and start saving moments with my bird and my daughter. Thanks for reading about my boy.

Yep...that was it...I came home to view the page...it's like a completely different site. Our company filter does some strange things to content. Thanks for the link!!! I really want to find something I can make in large batches like this. Issac still loves his formula but I would just love to ahve another option like this for his health.

Okay...I was able to dig into the source code of the page and find the direct link to that video. http://videos.videopress.com/gAcZD6qF/chop-video_std.mp4 There it is if anyone else is having troubles seeing the player. For some reason it's not coming up in my browsers here at work.

Still nothing. Only one picture on that page at the top and when I click that it's just a bigger picture. It is possible that my work computer is blocking some of that content so I will check when I get home. How far down the page....before the comments?

I went to that link and do not see anything but a short paragraph and then tons of comments. It speaks of a video but where is it? I am not a very savvy cook and need the most help.

Can you explain exactly how to make this? Thanks. I wish I could make something like this but I can never find a GOOD recipe that explains how to do everything.

It's a perfect food coma. I keep looking at it with a huge grin.

Cutest lil things ever. You gotta adore them. Gimmie one. PRICELESS!!

Ohh gawwwd...just love the babies. I wanna tickle em.

Well...some bad news folks. I got some great photos yesterday that I have posted below, but I am afraid it is an account of the babies last day. I went to go check on them this morning and the mama was gone. I peeked up on the nest, and it appears that the baby has passed on. Sorry for the bad news. My daughter and I had just saw the mom feeding the lil guy yesterday. So it's a bit of a suprise, but nature ahs it's problems I guess.

I will continue to share more pictures as I get some good shots.

So, I have been keeping an eye on a Dove nesting under my roof at my apartments, and this morning, I saw the little baby for the first time. Here are some pics.