Elvenking

Well I had a great weekend with my baby. (Yes....he is still my baby). I had a lot of time to spend at home with him and hang out. I was doing work in the house and on the computer and chatting with my lil guy. He is definitely getting the idea that when he talks, daddy gets crazy happy about this. Seems he is stepping the efforts up. I realised it required extra praise and not just my regular 'good boy'. So I started clapping my hands and putting a little more into telling what a good boy he is. Now he will say "Hello" right after I say 'Hello' to him and make an effort to make it sound more like what I am saying. He also is refining how he say 'Boy' too...experimenting with lower rumbles in his voice. It's super cute. Another thing I realized is he loves to spend time in either one of my bathrooms and just be vocal. I will set him on the door top in one of the bathrooms, and he will sit there for a good half hour or more making every sound I have ever heard him make. I could also swear I heard a few clear phrases of "Hello Boy" and maybe "whatcha doin" and what might have been "I love you". We'll just say I am "hearing things" for now and keep my fingers crossed. When I get to spend that extra bit of time on the weekend with him, it's somewhat magical. He gets anywhere from really playful to really loving. This weekend, I mean REALLY loving. Twice he landed on my shoulder and started panting then pumping his neck to 'share' his food with me. This morning I was regurgitated on again. Then another time he drooped his wings waayyyy low and started panting in my ear and I was like, "Ohhhhkay boy thank you so much but this isn't gonna work out". LOL. Lots of rubbing his head against my neck and face and just being the bird I love him so much for. His confidence is very, very good. The reason I say that is because he is not afraid at all to communicate the good with me, as well as any displeasures. He is so nice about it most of the time though...picking my finger up and moving it away. If he is really passionate he will clamp down a little harder. If I have just gone too far for his taste...BITE. He's not afraid...and I like to know that. I also changed the way I do one thing. I started getting impatient with the time it took to get him into his cage, so I would trick him or just get my hands around him in order to get him in. As I kept doing this, he would get a bit more stand-offish and not let me cuddle him as much because he thought it might be a trick. So I talked to him and made a deal that if he would just eventually go in, I would not trick him with my hand covering him up anymore. (Which is the way I had it before). I value being able to approach him and kiss and cuddle him a bit so I think its a good choice. The run around usually never goes over 5 minutes and is almost always much less. If you can ever give your bird a choice in a situation, I think it's a good thing. He seems to respect my desires after a while. Anyway, that's all for now. Just though I would share a bit about my little friend with you all. I hope some observations are helpful. Take care and love up your birds.

Issac takes the time to open almonds, but when he gets the nut...he cracks it in half and that is it. No interest in the nut itself. What is Issac thinking?

I was just about to post a thread on how Issac loves to break into nuts and drop them. He will spend 5 minutes on an in-shell almond only to break it in half and drop it. Like its a toy. I was wondering if he was just weird....he is not huge on fruit either but will take an apple from time to time. I still feed him formula in the morning and evening though so i wonder if this influences his diet. He is about 15 months now.

Issac does the very same thing. I love to hear him do it and show people that he can be such a sweetie.

Way to go Murphy. Issac has been bobbing his head up and down a bit lately as well. As usual I encourage his whacky behavior.

Yep...he is a flier and he has total confidence in his abilities. When he first did that...I was amazed. He gets very into this activity now. Pterodactyl calls and all.

Ohh...and here is a link to what that looks like.

Issac has a couple of ropes that hang near his atom that he loves to do some acrobatics on. And he does flap his wings spinning and rolling in all directions, including the 360 x-axis roll you describe. It's truly amazing to watch. I love watching the body arches and the wing control...they are amazing.

I present....spider-bird...

If one could only see the way my face lights up everytime I come home to see the little guy. I don't even have the door closed before I am saying, "Hello lil boyee. Wanna come out?" My daughter might be getting jealous. LOL.

It is super nice to know that my love for my feathered friend is appreciated. I am glad that you understand the relationship I share with Issac. Thank you for reading about my best little friend, Issac.

It's funny, just when you think they are just going to stop amazing you, they amaze you.

So I have had my little friend for about a year now and wow has it been a ride. I don't go out or stay out as long as I used to. Virtually every plan I make is around Issac. I can't say that it's any trouble though. He has the power to both drive me insane, and make me laugh with love for him. It is hard to come up with updates when Issac really only does something new here or there and I don't want to just come on and gush over my baby for the hudredth time. So these updates are further in between. Anyway, on with what's new with Issac. As I have mentioned, Issac still makes his attempts at talking...or at least saying "Hello" and "Boyee"...or "Hello lil boyee". Those are the things I say to him all the time. I say attempts because it's somewhere between parrot and english. I can certainly tell that he is saying those words, but it may escape the untrained ear. I had thoughts from the beginning that Issac might not be so chatty since I am always talking and paying attention to him. But I really don't know. People talk of word explosions after hearing the first few words but I have heard only the ones so far. There is always time though. One thing he is excellent at is the mimicing of noises around the house. (And the strange sounds I make since I am kind of a clown). Sometimes I wil yawn and then shake my head afterwards making a kind of "brbrrbrbbrbrrrr" sound. He not only picked up that sound but will actually shake his head while making it at times...and that really gets me laughing. Virtually every time I go to get a cup of water, he starts making the sounds of me swallowing. I still love that one. He kisses on command and will sometimes touch his beak to my cheek when doing it. When I am leaving the house, both of my birds are making kissy noises back at me. It's a nice moment. One thing I never thought would be so prevelant is Issac's desire to be anywhere i am...all the time. My shoulder if I am standing, and my knee if I am sitting on the couch. He will sit and watch TV with me...preening his feathers and letting me scratch and ruffle his feathers. He seems to like it when I drag my fingers lightly backwards over the feathers on the back of his neck. He is such a sweet little thing in those moments. Sometimes I wonder if I actually 'play' with him enough. But he is not really an interactive player. If I have a toy he wants...he will come get it and he is not much of the sharing type. I might be more likely to catch a bite playing like that. I still get down on the floor and play peek-a-boo with him and he crawls under my hands hiding my face. It's pretty cute. One thing to note is how he gets with things he is not supposed to get at. Like my remote control, my cell phone, and the mini keyboard for my movie computer. He tries to go after them and when he sees that i will not let him get it....it's bite time. So i have to do some evasive manuvers to dodge the bite. Knowing what you are dealing with is half the battle. But he is consistantly pissed when he cannot get at these three items when i am using them. Ohh yeah...he gets all horny and pants when I am on the phone. Climbing and rolling into my hands trying to get at the phone. A bit less aggressive with that item and more funny than anything. Sometimes he scares me with how long he can hold his poop. If I am gone for an 8 to 10 hour day... and sometimes I see nothing...I am like...'Wow boy....saving it all for me huh?' Yesterday I did come home and see one in there so I know he is not afraid to do it...it seems to be a strong preference to wait till he is out. Then hey, anywhere and any time goes. My house is the toilet. For some reason unknown, I no longer have to trim his nails and they don't scratch my hands anymore. His play must have a side effect of dulling them, but what a relief I tell you cause I could not stand the trauma in trying to trim them myself. He is impossible to towel. A true escape artist. I know this because as soon as he catches wind that I am going to put him in the cage, he makes himself scarce and the chase is on. It's hard to believe how close they get to you. It's impossible to imagine how I lived before I had my little grey friend. It just never gets old seeing those wings flapping, eyes beading on my shoulder like, 'Here I come daddy!' What an amazing bird.

Issac loves the chicken drumstick too. He will splinter that thing into bits. I totally understand watching this and thinking, "Is this right?" Issac also loves eggs so much. I can say, "Ya want eggs?", and he goes nuts. He can bearly let me scramble and prepare them before trying to get at them. I scramble in some red palm oil too for an added treat. Pan or microwave, Issac loves em.

LOL...Issac is the same way. It's getting him IN the cage that is the issue.

I suspect Issac of being one of these types. When I am out of the room...I hear words. Though occasionally he will fly over and land on me and say, "hello boyee" the best he can at this point.

Issac definitly gets into play mode. To the point where i am like covering up and wondering what is gonna happen next. He spins on his rope like a gymnist and then flies off of it, screaming like a pterodactyl and lands on the back of my chair poised behind my ear. At which point, he might try to rile me up by landing on my shoulder, tweaking my ear and flying off and then looking at me like, "Yeah...and what are you gonna do about it." Yeah...he thinks he is invinceable. Hard to believe the same bird will snuggle up to my face and sit on my knee for a nice preen or some loving scratches.

What a beautiful bird!

LOL...ohh...sorry. So...I am gonna take a wild guess and say your bird is flighted. As Judy said...I wish i could say that there was. It is something now that I have come to accept. Now if I am preparing something on the counter foodwise or something of the sort, I have two options, be a total ninja when it comes to guarding the food and keeping him away from things that might hurt him...or putting him in the cage. But as a genral rule, I just let him fly to his perching zones which are the kitchen counter and the refrigerator top....and the lamps...the couch...the top of my computer screen...the TV...the shower curtain rod....the coffee table....the window sill...the desk....the frame of the door....the door tops (be careful there)...ah...and sometimes his cage area. LOL.

Just love her...it's going to be wonderful.

Yep...Issac will do that too next to the couch bottom. Sometimes I think he sees something under there and that he thinks it will eventually come to him if he keeps going. I always ask him, "Are you digging to China, boy?" I will usually distract him and show him something else so he doesn't keep doing it.

That is cute. How old is yer baby? Issac used to crawl up my chest and lay down as seen in the avatar to the left. This was a very limited time. Now he rubs his head against my face and is super giving of scratches. He has a toe fetish too and loves to rub his head and neck on my toes for some reason. I cuddle and kiss his back all the time cause he is just irresistable. So he doesn't have an aversion to cuddling. He just doesn't go nesting or laying on me anymore.

I am no expert, but if you notice a big change in behavior like that, I would take him to see an avian expert.

I sat with 5 plus baby greys at Eva's when I was picking out Issac...he was the most gentle. He came and sat with me willingly..I was in love. And sat with him for some time before I could actually take him home. And I still remember his little head looking at me as we drove home while he was cuddled in a shoebox with fluffy padding. Ohh my....I love my bird. PS: Baby greys are so darned cute.

I have a grey who is 14 months old and still LOVES his formula. Your's seems to behave like most of the rest...he seems ready to stop. I wonder why Issac just goes and goes with his formula.