GoDiego

thanks animalinspired, I'm thinking this may not be too good for Diego. He's a bit of an acrobat and loves to climb and hang off things showing off in front of mummy and daddy LOL. He's also a chewer, so I can just see him having a go at it. Even with his playstand in there I can imagine he would be more interested in finding a way of getting out to come and sit with us.

Love it, those cheeky Amazons do like a good sing and dance!

I'm liking the idea of the tent for outside. We spend so much time sitting outside and the only way Diego can join us is in his cage. I feel guilty leaving him in there just so he can be near to us so am thinking of ways he can have more space but able to join us. Is the tent pretty safe? Diego is an Amazon parrot who loves to climb, do you think it would rip if Diego tried to climb the netting?

Tweedle, Pippa is so lucky to have you. There are not many people like you that would have taken an animal in knowing the needs of Pippa. You are doing a fantastic job and it's wonderful to see the photos and hear of Pippas updates.

Mmmm, if this is the forum that I have experienced I will not be re-visiting. I was made to feel like I was the worst person in the world for having an Amazon parrot as my first bird, remarks like "I hope you know what you have let yourself in for, and I hope that by him having an unexperieneced owner will not lead to irreversible physcological issues later in his life". As you can probably understand this knocked a lot of confidence out of me and worried me so much that I was not the best person for Diego. Thankfully for this forum, I have been reassured by Jayd who boosted my confidence back up. I hope Tui starts getting better soon

Babysweet, one of the hardest things in the world is biting your tongue. However, just nod, smile, agree with her then get the hell out of there with your new baby in tow! I think diplomacy is the key to Jakob release from his current caregiver. Good Luck

Haha Love it!

This is so true Reggieroo, they mainly only learn what is being said to them on a daily basis. So proves Emma is very much a loved grey!

Ok, so Diego has been thinking lately about his future and what he would like to inspire to become. He has narrowed it down to 2 career choices. Number 1 - Mechanic Number 2 - Or he's wondering whether to go into a stereotypical role of being a pirates shipmate!

My word, a person would have to be dead for that conversation not to melt their heart! And they say parrots only mimic, this just proves that theory to be a load of rubbish!

Thanks Shanlung, you have told me what I need most to know and that was that the key is to watch and learn from Diego. I have said before that before I got Diego, I read time and time again the importance of training a parrot. And although I feel it is a good thing to research and learn from books, it is only now that I realise the most important thing for me to read is Diego himself and it is me that is being trained to live in harmony with him and not the other way around. Oh and by the way, I made a Tinkerbell mash for Diego yesterday. I have changed it slightly by adding more veggies in, but the main principle of it is the same. Fingers crossed he likes it as there is bucket loads of the stuff LOL.

I agree with Birdnut, I think putting a perch up high would be very dangerous for Jakob at the moment with his erratic movements. His cage however does make sense in making him feel much safer being higher of the ground, but to have his perch lower in the cage in case he does throw himself off.

Oh my goodness, how cute is that!!!

Ha ha, I know this all too well and not from Diego. I'm not the best person in the mornings! Thanks for your reply, yesterday I posted on one of your threads blaming you for my untidy house. I started reading your journal and could not stop, I found your adventures and your way of communicating with your birdies and beasties fascinating. I asked on the other thread, if you are a unique man who has a natural ability to communicate with your feathered friends or if it has all been learn't from trial and error? Was Tinkerbell your first birdie and did you learn through her, or have you always been around our feathered friends?

This is from the link I gave you of Pamela Clark It's so sad to hear of such a beautiful creature to be so afraid, has any light at all be shed on what could have triggered this?

Fab news Babysweet, I'm so pleased for Jakob that he will now have a loving home to go to and recuperate!

I'm loving the porch, shes got her own little jungle! I had a feeling that she must be in a covered area, I'm going to start introducing the harness to Diego soon just to play with. If it's a no go then I know a lovely spot outside by our seating area, where a nice big avery could go. Just need to talk the hubby around LOL.

Hi Cass, welcome to the forum

She's a real cutie and a very clever girl! Also I love your avator picture, she looks she's in her own personal Jungle! Do you have a covered outside room, or is she allowed to go outside with you? The reason why I ask is that we spend a lot of time sitting outside and would love Diego to join us, at the moment he can only do this by sitting in his cage. I would like to get a harness for him later on, but I see that Calypso does not have one on in the picture.

Hi Elvenking, before getting Diego I did a lot of reading about letting a parrot onto the shoulder. This is what I can remember about what I read, A parrot naturally becomes more territorial the older they get. They see our heads and faces as another parrot and so bond mainly on this part of our body. The rest of our body is purely a moving tree to them and when a parrot gets used to being on a shoulder it sees our body (His tree) as his territory. In the wild a parrot would defend their territory from any intruder or threat. They would then expect their mate to act the same and exhibit the same defensive postures. However, your head cannot act in the same way that a parrot can, unless you give your self an electric shock to make your hair stand on end and you have an amazing gift to pin your eyes ;P. All of a sudden the parrot gets frustrated by this and you then become part of the problem as he cannot defend your body (the tree) and your head (his mate) at the same time. So the parrot takes a swipe at his mate (your face) to make you fly away, so he can defend your body (his tree) until it is safe for you to fly back. Sorry if the above sounded like a ramble, but what I was wondering was, is there anything that may be spooking Issac? It may not be something very big, but maybe he feels he should be letting you know that there is something around he is unsure about. When you don't respond, he then gets a little tougher with your ear as if to say, "Oi are you listening to me!! This is important!!!" Or has he started to feel like your body should only be his tree and he is trying to act the big man now that he is a little older and seeing how being macho gets him and so trying to get you to move to another tree? I could be way off here with this but it was just a thought LOL.

Hi wbird73, welcome to the forum this is a great friendly place for advice and sharing all your wonderful adventures with your new Greycie. Looks like you are a very busy lady with such a house full, if you are like me a busy house is a happy house Make sure you post some photos of Greycie when she arrives!

Ha Ha, now there's a thought Shanlung LOL!

Thanks Jayd, at the moment she has no confidence around him and so has no contact with him. If in the future she wanted to give him a pet, would she be able to if she first washes her hand and used an antibacterial hand gel? Although I love this person dearly and know she would look after Diego well, I have now ruled her out to look after him if we go away. Her Quaker flies freely in the house so do not want to risk it. I have no idea Elvenking, this morning I said good morning and made a fuss of Diego before my husband, which was noticed LOL. I can never just walk past Diego without giving him loads of fuss, it takes me ages to get on with anything, they are very distracting! I think they make us crazy as all they expect from you is unconditional love without any strings attached

Thanks Elvenking, It's good to know I'm not the only one who worries about these things. They certainly pull on your heartstrings and the guilt of them feeling like you have abandoned them is awful. I know that I will return but I would hate for Diego to think I was never coming back. There are some really good posts in your thread and the thread Jayd posted so I will take all this info and maybe start the process of introducing someone I can trust now. Just in case we have an urgent trip come up or something.

Shanlung, I'm afraid I have to now blame you for my very untidy house! I only sat down for a second to see what was happening on the forum and then came across this thread. I have been glued to the PC ever since reading all your posts and blog and would like to say thank you for sharing your adventures with your beasties and birdies I have now been left wondering, if you are a unique man who has a natural ability to connect to animals at a much deeper level then most, or if you have learn't over the years from trial and error?