jeanna

I was watching last week's episode of "Glee" when I noticed that Jasper really enjoys certain songs that are sung on the show. At first it was a rendition of Barbara Streisand's "Funny Girl" and then Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" (which he was especially excited about, I think). I managed to get some video. I thought it was so cute that I rewinded to play the songs multiple times, so he was probably losing some gusto by the time I got these videos with my phone. Bad Romance: Funny Girl:

24 weeks old and not weaned yet?? Are you sure you have to handfeed FOUR times a day? My baby is 19 weeks old and he practically eats everything but the kitchen sink! And on one feeding of formula a night, which he has started to refuse 50% of the time now.

I have a medium for my grey who is about 400g right now. I figure he'll gain some weight and fill out more as he gets older since he's just a baby now. It seems to fit his neck well and length wise it's fine. But it looks bulky around the body like I should be using a smaller size or something. Or is it supposed to look like that?

Hi everyone! My name is Jeanna and I just realized I don't have any pictures of me and Jasper together! I've been too busy taking hundreds of pictures of him. From the tulip festival last week: Who needs wings to fly?

My 18wk old Jasper haaates his harness. It's not too hard to slip it on his head, but getting the wings through without his feet getting tangles up on it is hard! Everytime i have a finger near his feet/chest, he tries to step up on it which causes him to sometimes step through the harness and then I have to lift up his foot to untangle him while the whole contraption is all over his body. It helps to make him take a treat so he doesn't bite. Though he got smart on me and started dropping the treat immediately, haha. Once he has it on, as long as he's distracted by something, he doesn't seem to mind it too much. He definitely picks at the buckle though. He wore it for like an hour yesterday in a car and at the store and everything. I bought him the medium size, but it seems a bit big for him because he's kinda small at 400g. Should I exchange it for a smaller size? I figured that he'll probably gain some more weight and fill out a bit. Getting it off of him is the worst part. When I try to loosen the buckle he just starts trying to bite my hand, so it's like a centimeter by centimeter since I have to keep avoiding his beak. Followed by all the troubles of feet entanglement. But he's all happy and lovey again once it's off.

Jasper hates his new harness. Getting it on him is a bit of a process where I have to distract him with a treat to avoid being bitten. Once he has it on, as long as he's distracted by something, he doesn't seem to mind it too much. He wore it for like an hour yesterday in a car and at the store and everything. I bought him a medium, but it seems a bit big for him because he's kinda small at 400g. Should I exchange it for a smaller size? I figured that he'll probably gain some more weight and fill out more. My friends have all noted that he eats better than most people. I make him scrambles, bird breads, veggie and fruit salads, and even spaghetti with wheat pasta, homemade marinara sauce, and fresh veggies mixed in. I've noticed that he swallows more food than he drops now, whereas before it was just a mess. I had him on Harrison's high potency course pellets, but we ran out and I tried to get more, but the store was out of them. So i had to get him Roudybush maintenance for the time being, he eats them but doesn't seem as enthusiastic about them as the Harrisons. I still give him formula at night, but he generally only eats about half of it now. And rather than having it fed down his mouth, he prefers lapping it up from the spoon himself. He doesn't seem to like red palm oil much! I don't think I'd like it either though, it smells strange. Though when I was in Senegal and the Gambia, everything I ate was cooked with palm oil and it was pretty tasty! Jasper's new favorite place to relax with me is underneath our grand piano. He also seems to enjoy being on my shoulder as I play, either preening himself or cocking his head to one side and listening. I finally got out a nice camera to take pictures of him, I had been lazy and just using my iphone. So here are some nice pictures! Checking out the piano pedals: I got this one in mid-scratch and think it's hilarious! Some pictures of him playing on the playgym: The playgym is now right next to his cage so he goes back and forth from his cagetop all day long. I'm kinda bummed this one is a bit out of focus. Dr. Evil! Thanks for looking!

Haha, I always heard that the UK was just as miserable and rainy as it is here! I don't know about Vancouver, but we have the best summers in Seattle. It gets really warm and sunny without any of the unbearable heat or humidity, plus a nice gentle breeze to keep things cool. Except when we have a heat wave for weeks like last summer and all the AC and fans are sold out everywhere.

I have already taken him to an avian vet, asked about his wings and she said they were fine. He's healthy and happy! I haven't thought of how he could catch air if there was a breeze, especially since he has only ever been out on really sunny, windless days. But I'll be harness training him by the end of the week so that there is no chance for him to be lost.

Thanks for all the compliments and concerns! He cannot fly away because his wings were clipped by the breeder in a way that he can't even generate enough lift to land somewhat gracefully, it's more like a fall with flapping wings. It's so sad because he always flaps his wings and I know he wants to fly. I can't wait until he molts and can be fully flighted. I've already ordered the aviator harness a few days ago, just waiting for it to get here! Also, I was doing some research and there's a club for birds to freely fly inside a big empty building. So I'll definitely be looking into that when the time comes! http://www.nwavianflyers.com/

He's just a baby! Now 16 weeks old. I just posted a lot of pictures at the nursery.

Edit2: I decided to just keep all my updates about Jasper in one thread. So Week 17 pics are on the second page! Edit: I finally named him! I named him Jasper for several reasons. Both me and my brother's names start with J, it's the name of a red gemstone, means "treasurer" in Persian, and was traditionally assigned to one of the wisemen. Well he definitely treasures his toys and he does seem pretty wise and he has a red tail, so it works! I've had Jasper since 3/20 (I'm having the hardest time finding a name that fits him perfectly!) and he hatched on 12/23/09. He started as a cuddly blanket loving, gurgly baby who loved being spoonfed and has become a whistling clown who loves to go everywhere with me and eats everything I give him! Here are the last 4 weeks in pictures! Week 12: He slept in bed with me a couple of times because he wouldn't sleep by himself and I could hear him rattling the cage all the way from my room. No bad habits though, he sleeps fine in his cage now. Week 13: I made him a paper toy to shred. So curious! He has always been super interested in my iphone because he sees me with it all the time. Week 14: I started taking him out on car rides at this point! He was already attached to me and I wanted to socialize him from a young age. He steps up 98% of the time even to my friends, even though he keeps a close eye on me. When I disappear from view, he whistles and calls for me. If I leave the house, my parents said that he always flies (more like falls since his breeder clipped his wings) off the cage and walks around looking for me. I finally took him to my apt and he met Boris the bunny! He still liked to sleep in blanket caves at this point. His first time eating corn! He loved it! No more blankets, I got him his own nook Week 15: My little owl! He went to the grocery store and bookstore with me this week. He gets a lot of attention! Week 16: After his first shower with me, checkin himself out in the mirror. He enjoys being in the car, or at least I think he does. Whenever we drive around he is chirping and whistling when he's not eating or preening himself. My boyfriend and I made him a play gym out of pvc. He LOVES climbing all over it! He also met my bf's husky and didn't mind him at all. Work in progress: The finished gym! Complete with a ladder, swing, and spiraling staircase. I'm going to add more toys and the bf and I are thinking about connecting it to a water hose with a mister for a built in shower. The pvc is either wrapped in sisal rope or has a sandpaper tape on it for grip. I'll repost this in the toy forum with a better description of how we made it and more pictures. He climbs all over it! That was a lot of pictures! But of course there's more too come! Hope you guys enjoy them!

Hi, my name is Jeanna and the feathered love of my life came home on March 20. I've had him almost a month now and can't seem to find the right name for him because none of them seem to fit quite right. He is the happiest bird I've ever met though! I've had birds for most of my 22 years of life: three cockatiels and a cherry head conure, as well as finches and doves and chicks and ducklings. Now I have a bird who will hopefully stay with me for the rest of my life! I'm so happy to have found this online community, I'm sure it will be extremely helpful for me as a new grey owner. I'll post some pictures and stories of my bird in the nursery next, maybe you guys can help me name him!