Birdnut

This problem has brought to light some very important things that my husband and I have learned with our parrots. I will share these as my two cents contribution. First, keeping a parrot, especially one of the larger, long-lived parrots, must be a mutual commitment between the partners in a household. No one should ever have a parrot foisted upon them without their assent. In this case, both of you were obviously in agreement about getting Yoshi, so Mike did not have Yoshi forced upon him. Once you have the bird, it is a commitment. It's kind of like a marriage: there will be fun times and there will be rough times. Second, a parrot is not a domestic animal. There is a reason this type of pet is called "exotic." It is a wild animal, and unlike a domesticated one, it will not retain juvenile characteristics through its life, but will grow and mature, with all the inherent personality changes that come with that process. A parrot can adjust to life in a human household only to a certain extent; we humans must do most of the adjusting. And third, and very important, my husband and I learned that to be happy with our parrots, we must keep our egos in check. We have learned that we cannot take things personally. This can be hard, as, of course, we do love the birds and have strong attachments to them. It can really hurt your feelings when your beloved bird is "mean" to you. Like my conures can sometimes harass me unbearably with little nips, but then, when I pay attention, I see that they hassle each other the same way. They're just treating me like one of the flock. If we can keep from taking things personally, then we are much more able to analyze a situation more rationally and take steps to minimize the problems. Just my two cents. I really hope you are able to work out some resolution to your problems without having to rehome Yoshi.

When I take one of our birds in, I let the vet's assistant handle the bird during examinations. If they're going to do something really stressful, like draw some blood, they take the bird to another room, probably as much to keep me from being stressed as anything But I have started removing the bird from the carrier myself. Since the vet's staff doesn't know the bird like I do and must control the risk of being bitten, they will always go into the carrier after it using a small towel. Then the bird is already stressed and scared. I have found that things go much more smoothly and less stressful if I just reach in and remove the bird and hold it facing me against my chest and then let the vet or his assistant gently grasp the bird from behind with the towel and take it from me. After the exam and/or treatment, the birds have always been very glad to return to me, and I still get to be the rescuer.

Hi jwl. Welcome to the forum. Gracie still loves you. It's just that she's now coming onto you sexually. That is what these new behaviors mean. You now need to avoid touching her anywhere on the body, as that is arousing and will make her feel frustrated, and she is becoming aggressive out of her frustration. Confine your petting to above the neck and just walk away when she displays these behaviors. I'm sure others can give much more good advice for you.

Aww. Mabel looks so sweet and so happy in her new home. Our local bird store had some Hahn's macaws not too long ago. They reminded me so much of my blue crowned conures and they even had the same cute voice. So I totally know what you mean about Mabel's cute voice. I find the mini macaws very appealing.

Sounds like you are managing to keep one step ahead of Kopi. It takes some real dedication to keep up with the meds like that. Good to hear things seem pretty stable right now.

Ooooh. I could see that coming as you were telling your story. Congratulations to you and Mabel.

So is this birdie kindergarten? Where did you get those cool little colored wooden toys?

Another poop thread!?! LOL! Oh well, we all know that keeping parrots is not for faint-hearted! I have a little plaque hanging in my house that says, "Poop happens." I also have "bird shirts" that are not only pooped upon, but have holes chewed in them.

Wish I could train my birds to sweep up. Hmmm. Maybe I need to get a dog....

LOL!!! Yep! That's a lovebird!

All sounds very encouraging. It must be very reassuring to know that you are receiving such excellent care from your vet practice. Kopi couldn't be under better care. I am holding you and Kopi in the light. Thanks for the updates.

Moussa is the same way. He will wait until he gets out of the cage in the morning to do his "morning bomb." I have a pair of blue crown conures who are the same way. I think it does have to do with an instinct to avoid giving away their nest site to predators. In any case, when the birds come out of the cage in the morning, it's paper towels at the ready!

Those are great pictures. Thanks for sharing. I like the last one. It looks like she's showing off her new toy for the camera!

Thanks for taking the time to keep us informed. I always check for new news about Kopi. We're all pulling for you and Kopi.

Cockatoos do seem to be a bit skittish about things like that. When I hang a new toy in the bird room, Gwyneth the 'Too will fly away from it and then give it a cautious examination from across the room. The conures, of course, just pounce right on the thing and start playing. Gwyneth will later sneak up on the new toy and investigate it, after she's been satisfied that the conures have played with it and lived.

I love fall too. Thanks for sharing the pictures. It's just beginning to cool off here in central Texas; everything is still green.

I just stay away from incense and candles in the house altogether. And that's a bummer, because I've always loved them. But I figure, better safe than sorry. I do occasionally enjoy some incense outside on the porch, with no birdies around.

Very sad for your loss. God bless.

I've never heard any other bird that can belt out the loud sounds that a large macaw can! They can be great birds, but with a very loud voice. I don't think I've ever seen anyone carrying a macaw in a carrier; they've always just been riding on their shoulder or on a car perch or something like that. We have a blue headed pionus, Iris, and she is very, very sweet and gentle. She is very quiet for the most part, and you hardly know she's around until she lands on your shoulder for attention or on the table to steal some food or my pen. (She's a little sneak!) But when she does decide to sound off, usually in the morning or the evening, she is more loud than any of the other birds. So they can have a loud voice, just don't use it very often. Of course, Iris lives with several noisy conures, and I'm sure they have encouraged her to use her voice! I think a bird's environment has a lot to do with how noisy they are. I don't have a mini macaw, but I have admired Hahn's macaws at the pet store, and they had one in for boarding once, and they seem like great little birds with loads of personality.

Enjoyed the sweet letter to Sully. Moussa's cage is on an east-facing wall near a window, and as soon as the sun hits that window in the morning, he starts ringing his bell for service.

Congratulations on your new baby! May it be the beginning of a long and happy friendship.

I have to add another vote to the bell thing. Moussa loves his big bell and bangs that thing incessantly when he wants out of the cage. Other favorites are the hanging boings and perches in the bird room that I've got hanging from the ceiling. He loves to climb on those things and flap and scream at the toys hanging in the boings. He doesn't get to play on them except late in the evening when the cockatoo is in her cage ('cause she doesn't like him), so it's a real treat that he gets really excited about.

Update: The Derbyan Parakeet I wrote about received some good attention from a gentleman in the store and became much friendlier. It has since been purchased, and, based on what the store manager told me, has found a very good home. Yeay!

Great story, iEgg. Thanks for having the heart to take in an imperfect (aren't we all?) friend. Also, kudos to that veterinarian for not following instructions.

Our Moussa came to us at 12 weeks with a fairly light clip. He is no 7 months and gets around the house pretty well by flying short legs from one perch to another to get where he wants to go. He can't acquire much lift, but can fly across a room at a level altitude. Hopefully, he should have no trouble adjusting when his new flights come in.