oblivion

Truth. Bless the vets and techs. I hope everyone is well soon enough!

Coming up on go time! I hope all's well with you, baby, and bird!

Thanks, Ray. After the nip this morning, my wife seems to be softening to him again today. She reports that he's quieter than Spencer and has been making some sweet sounds. BTW, on the honored list, I don't know what you do when birds leave us, but as I'm sure you've read by now, my sweet Anya is no longer with us, so please edit accordingly. Thank you.

So funny - when I saw this thread a week ago, I wouldn't, in a million years, have guessed I'd have one in my home today.

Awwww, welcome, little one! My first bird ever, a blue budgie from Sears, was named Sam. I have no idea where we came up with that name other than it was gender neutral (turned out to be a she).

In light of the terrible tragedy in Colorado overnight, I want to humbly and loudly say that of course NONE of what I complained about matters a whit. I hope all of you and yours are safe (I have cousins in Aurora, but they were safely at home). Hug them and love them and be well.

Ugh, little dude went and nipped my wife on the arm this morning - he's not making things easy on himself. I humbly accept much of the blame - he was being hesitant to step from me to her, and I kind of forced the issue thinking he just needed a firmer 'approach' as she can be timid at times, so I moved him towards her. Today is going to be a critical noise level test as she's trying to work from home. Wish them well!

Dan, you touched on a point I've realized I grossly mis-stated originally. Opinions and personal experiences are, of course why we are here. My point with #1 was that some times such personal views are presented as absolute facts. NO Grey does this because mine doesn't. ALL Greys do that because mine did once. Etc. That, I have a problem with, and I don't think I'm alone. Yet when it comes down to it, just like with the petty punctuation stuff, it's really a matter of style that I/we just need to live with. As I alluded, we all should remember not to take ANY one person's statements as gospel without some backup. That was my poorly-presented point.

As for why not just leave if annoyed, I have left in the past for that very reason - walked away for a bit instead of stirring things up. But the fact is, like any 'family' friction, the benefits I greedily get from the group in the way of GOOD advice and information, not to mention support and head and gut checks, eventually outweigh any peeves I may harbor. You are good people, despite my complaints. Even folks I disagree with on some things (opinions, verbal style, etc.) have valid points AND offer sincere (I believe) support. You don't just walk away from that forever because you get annoyed from time to time.

AND I incriminated myself. I'm inclusive. As for why post it, I really don't know. I've typed and deleted a similar post several times over the last couple years. I think the actual posting felt necessary to help achieving Dan's point, which I whole-heartedly agree with, "Get over it." I owned it in my original post, "It's not you, it's me." But you've said it yourself in your I Am Angry! thread, "Sometimes [we] have to get things off our chest." Even when it's not anger, but mere annoyance. One unintended consequence was insulting people's, including JayD's, education. For that, I apologize sincerely. I do, in general life, have language peeves, but I 100% realize that's all on me. If I get your point despite a few mistakes, it REALLY shouldn't matter. To point that out - even though I honestly did not mean to single JayD out on it - is not only needless, but hurtful and for that, I am sorry.

Well, that's something. I unsubscribed long ago for many of the reasons pointed out by Dave's cold, hard fist of reality, but despite the realities of print media in a digital world, I'll be a little sad to know it's no longer around.

Ah, JayD, I love your contributions, especially #5. And I also appreciate that if challenged on your opinions or advice, you could back them up with research like Blanchard or the like and not just relating what one of your birds did once as a sweeping truth. Seriously, I have respect for you despite #3. This really was intended to be a lighthearted steam-blowoff and I should have known better than trying to navigate these tricky waters at 2 a.m. Luckily I had not been drinking or it could have been worse. Honest truth, I wasn't singling anyone out overall. I definitely did not have you in mind with #1, you're not the only one who does #3 and I hade a couple people in mind for #5, ut again, not you. Heck, I know I've even commited most of those myself (yes, even #3 once upon a time) and that was part of the eye-wink I should have realized wouldn't come across as intended. Although #4, I just can't abide. Oh, there I go again.

Slightly OT, but I had to look up a growling Grey on YouTube - turns out I've never heard Spencer growl. On-topic, I guess, I've never heard him hiss either. His 'ticked off' noise is something my wife calls "the ray gun." That doesn't quite capture it for me, but it's beyond description, so I can't come up with anything better. Maybe 'Atomic Cluck."

Sometimes you've just got to let things out. I love these forums, but there are a few things that drive me nuts, or even away, from time to time. Some are silly, and I own that. Some are less so. I'm not calling out individual users, but if the shoe fits . . . well I don't expect anyone to heed what I say nor change because of it, and I'm certain I'm not a perfect poster, but I've just got to say, what is with . . . 1) Stating your opinion or limited experience as fact? With exclamation points? It doesn't make it any more factual. Luckily, I've been around forums long enough to take everything with a grain of salt. And a shot of tequila. 2) Quoting the only person I have on my Ignore list? How can I ignore a person if other persons quote said person? 3) Substituting "greyt" for "great?" I know, it's cute, but it drives me bonkers, I'm sorry. I have a hard time taking your good advice seriously if you write like a 13 year old. "Fid" and "parront" also make me itchy, but slightly less so. 4) Apostrophes? Same reasoning as #3, I have to discount a person a tiny bit if he or she doesn't know the difference between plural and possessive. For some reason, not just here, "video's" and "pic's" seem to be two of the biggest culprits. I know typos happen, but . . . 5) Replying without bothering to READ what you're replying to? If the thread is long, and you've only skimmed the first page, AT LEAST read the last couple follow-ups by the OP before replying, PLEASE. Better yet, DON'T REPLY. Good intentions can easily turn into hurt feelings. 6) People and their pet peeves? Don't they have more important things to worry about? Hey, wait . . . . Phew! I feel better already! And remember, it's not you, it's me.

That is fantastically amusing. ALL of it.

I think his name is "Navaro." I only saw it briefly. I asked if he knows it, and the foster said yes, so we'll see. My wife looks a bit sour in the picture, but I think I just caught her wrangling our anxious child. She's on board, and like I said, enamored that he reminds her of our old Nim. And yeah, Em is an animal nut just like me. She was pretty excited about that gecko behind her head, too (there are a couple in there). It's funny, my wife didn't have any pets but a couple fish growing up. Considering that, she's taken to my zoo-keeping ways (and our daughter's aspirations) pretty well. He's all settled in and I have't heard a peep out of him since lights-out. I, on the other hand, can't sleep.

So, this guy followed us home: Navaro the pretty, pretty Quaker! by oblivion9999, on Flickr He's about 5 years old, sweet as can be, and had no problem going to my daughter. He's like a step-up magnet. My wife got a little nip due to over-stimulation as we were all standing around him and talking. She wasn't thrilled about it, but I assured her it wasn't personal and she gave him another shot after he calmed down and all was well. We have him on trial with no obligation - it was either go home with us, or go home with the foster lady only to be shuttled back to the shelter, so there you have it. The only reason I could see him going back is if he turns into a raging screech-monster in the next couple days, which my wife just would not tolerate, but I very much don't expect. I don't have much backstory. The woman who just had him said he wanted too much attention. But she worked nights and had him covered all day, so . . . *shrug* The cage he came with is barely used - not even a poop spot on the playtop and the food bowls are pristine. There are a couple decent toys, but he'll need/get more. His home before that, I know nothing about other than I think they had kids. He's apparently on pellets, some seeds, and 'table foods' (mostly pasta but supposedly some veggies and fruit, too), so that's all good. And he's had a full blood and fecal panel and all's well. As Quakers go, he's got much more yellow and blue than I've ever seen before, though, honestly, I haven't paid a lot of attention to them. My wife has said repeatedly how much his coloration reminds her of our old, very beautiful budgie, Nimue. I think that was the deal-closer for her. My daughter is over-the-moon. She's always been a bit bummed that she can't handle Spencer, and as sweet as Anya was, she was pretty skittish with the kid. This guy, so far, is a perfect match for a 5 year old. As I got his cage set up, he was in a temp cage and she was playing songs and dancing for him - he seemed to approve. And, he didn't freak out when the dogs and cat checked him out. I'll keep you all updated.

Sarasota, your words hit me pretty hard last night as a reminder to slow down (in a good way). The funny thing is that after resolving to do so, just this morning I got a call about a 'perfect' Quaker who is sadly being returned to the rescue. So we're going to at least visit him while he's 'near by' before he goes all the way back. I'll keep your advice, which matches my original intentions, in mind. Thanks.

Kat, the funny thing is that he's done the bell thing the whole time I've had him, I just could never get a video and usually he'd stop when I got in the room. Then, just this morning, as I was standing right in front of the cage, he went into full-on bell-abuse. I think it shows a great deal of trust to let himself get into such a position with me right there. He reaches for the bell ring with his beak first, then transfers to one of his feet (I think he uses the gimpier one on bell first), grabs the boing with his beak, then grabs the bell with the other foot, too. I'm glad the videos give you some hope. Initially, he seemed to take Anya's death and/or my reaction to it kind of hard, but the last few days have been really good bonding between us. Last night, I'd actually decided to put the breaks on finding another bird too soon since we both seem to be doing pretty well. Of course, as fate would have it, I got a call about a 'perfect' Quaker, so we're at least going to go visit tonight. Heh. Life's funny.

Lower-tech, but I know Bird Talk used to list events in the back of their magazine. Even if you don't want to buy it, you could check it out in a pet store, book store, or magazine stand.

Yes, their feathers are constantly being replaced a few at a time, here and there. The chest feathers will fall out (hopefully naturally) and be replaced. Of course there's no guarantee they won't get chewed again, but there is hope.

Any one want to try to sell me on an Indian Ringneck? http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/23428969 Or on a poor old Blue Crowned Conure? http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/22155544

Funny, I could tell that last night Spencer WANTED his neck scratched, but he just wouldn't allow it. Turkey.

Thanks, Greywings. I FINALLY caught the snot really abusing his bell this morning.

Any of us with an aloof/rehomed bird knows JUST how huge this is. A little warning - this may be all you get for a bit, so don't lose hope and don't push too hard. I had similar moments with my Spencer (also a rehomed TAG) months ago which have not yet been repeated. Even after having him for over 2 years now, he very much prefers bars between us - then I can grab his beak, feet, pet him, etc. I'm not trying to be discouraging at all. Quite the contrary, I'm letting you know just how SPECIAL Timber clearly thinks you are. Best wishes going forward.