MarcusCAG

Thank you both for your input, that's just what I was hoping to hear.

So we have a bedroom that I painted years ago with paint that was kind of leftover, since we didn't have much money for other paint back then. So we have a big bedroom set arranged in said bedroom now, which in no way will I be able to dismantle and move unless we move. So I would like to change the look of our bedroom without painting--because of the issue of the birds and, of course, I cannot even move our bed! So I was looking into wall decals... Anyone use them in their home? They're like humongous stickers that are really wall murals, or something like that. I was thinking I'd like to get a big one and just stick it to the wall and change things up a bit in there... But our room is next to the birdroom, and I was wondering if the decals really off-gas or anything like that which might be harmful to our flock. One of the websites mentioned a 'faint vinyl smell' upon opening up the decals prior to placement on the wall, but it supposedly fades quickly. (???) Any constructive input would be appreciated, thank you! (And if this thread would do better in another room, so be it. I just thought it would fit best here...)

I'm so glad to hear it! I'm sure if your Marco is raised on good foods they will just naturally become a part of him. We had to work at it to get our fids to eat their veggies and fruits because they came to us with less-than-stellar diets--Bunsen is the only one who won't touch the 'real' foods anymore, but at least she enjoys her pellets now over the supermarket birdseed mix she had been given before.

Hi all~ At the beginning of the year, I started writing down Marcus' sayings at my mother's behest; she kept telling me I'd forget everything and then regret it. So it's not quite a journal, but if Marcus says something particularly interesting I try and remember to write it down anymore. He's still not the most talkative of parrots--I watched a video recently of one of the other forum member's Greys, a lovely little girl, and she just won me over with her singing and talking and everything. Marcus isn't like that, generally-speaking, I wish he would talk more openly like that, but at least he's getting a little better. He loves peppers now and will actually say "pepper" when he wants one... he requests little things... but he's still less talkative than many, it would seem. Nevertheless, when he does talk, it's usually with a point, and he can be mind-blowing for me/us at those times. For instance, when my parents were visiting from out of state last week, our smaller parrots were all screeching for some seemingly unimportant reason while I was in the birdroom. I turned to Marcus and said something about how they were all talking so loud, I couldn't hear him (I think I was asking him about something--although most questions anymore earn me a neutral "Mm-hm" response). Then I laughed and said of our cockatiel, "Well, I guess Bunsen doesn't talk, she just yells," to which Marcus said very clearly in reply, "That's her regular voice." I laughed and told him, "Yeah, I guess you're right!" But later when I told my hubby what he'd said, he was like, "No, really?!" But Marcus did say that, and it tickled me pink to hear it, even though I tried not to let him know that. So even though he's quieter most days (aside from his microwave beeps and et cetera), and doesn't regale me with ready conversation like I'd like him to--he talks as he wants to. Which I'm beginning to realize is all any of us can expect from our lovely Grey friends, really. It's a lesson I'm still learning.

Yes, it's lovely to hear from you again, Paul, and to receive the update on your Missy and how things have been going with her. I'm so happy to hear you've both reached a point where the trust between you is obvious, you've covered a lot of ground together already, and the road ahead would seem to appear very sweet for you both!

I always find myself admiring your Isaac for what a handsome Grey he really is, physically-speaking. But he's so cute too! Loved that Andy Griffith whistle--it'd be nice if Marcus would whistle something I can recognize, too, but no go. Anyway, thanks for sharing the post and the vid. Your boy is a smart one and so obliging to you... it's lovely.

I really enjoyed that post, Ray, thanks for putting it up--very straightforward and so true!

What a sweetheart Gilbert is in that video... I love seeing how such a tiny little man contains such a big personality! Marcus agrees that chewing up paper is fun and he will attest that, little by little, even rehomed birdies with more 'colorful' pasts (that's a nice way of saying it) can eventually mellow out and begin enjoying their lives with their human parronts as they should. I'm so glad to hear that Gilbert is still on his way down that road, himself, one step at a time.

I'm glad to hear that things are going so well for all of you and your Scarlett! She certainly is a beauty--love that pic of her with your son.

Today I shot this cute little video of Marcus enjoying some organic sweet pepper... that is his new favorite food, and "pepper" is his new 'food word' that he generally uses anymore to indicate that he is hungry besides the occasional "Want some". (This is a big step up from everything being called "french fry"!!) In any event, in this video he also talks a little bit: At the mumbly part, if you turn the volume up enough and can tolerate my booming voice besides, you can hear that he says "A pepper" and then "That's it!" as he drops it in his bowl. Afterward, more clearly, he says, "Mmm, like it!" Just wanted to share.

I'm sorry, Dave. I just thought that since I had posted about the possibility of Marcus going to work here in the Lounge, it would be okay to follow-up with what actually happened, pictures and all. If you want to move this thread to the Photography Room instead, that's fine. (It might do just as well in the Cages/Homes room, too, since some of this thread revolves around the Adventure Pack carrier and where to get it.) Either way, I'm just glad to be able to share Marcus' little adventure here in the forums with everybody. Although, are posts with even one photo in them not supposed to be posted to the Grey Lounge? And Gwen: Don't worry, Roscoe will go in someday, when he's ready. Then it will all be 'perfect' for you both because it will be on his own terms.

Aerial, petiteOne... we bought ours through Parrot and Conure World: http://www.parrot-and-conure-world.com/adventure-pack-cage.html I created another thread here in the "Cages" section a number of months ago, inviting members who owned one to post the pros and cons of the Adventure Pack Travel Cage, as I had never seen it in any stores but only at one or two sites online. (So I didn't know much about it and wanted feedback before we made such a purchase.) In the end, seeing a video that was shared of Emma African Grey in her (pretty purple!) one--thank you!--helped make the decision for us, and we bought Marcus an Adventure Pack not too long ago. He loves it! And it's made of stainless steel so should last him quite a while. None of the pictures really show the 'backpack' aspect of it too well, so here's another for reference: It's very light, the 'window shades' can be rolled down as desired, and the top part of the pack snaps off to create a little tote to haul stuff around... but I'm afraid of wearing out the canvas by unsnapping it too much and so just have left it on for our little walks and trips. Hope all that helps! And everyone else--thank you for all of your lovely comments! I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures and reading the story so much.

First off, Scarlet is beautiful, and I am so happy you were able to take her in--she obviously needs a good home after all this time! And about the quarantine (or the lack thereof), all I'll say is that in this one book I own that my husband and I have come to refer to as "the parrot smuggling book" because of all the tragic stories and such in it, there is a nice chapter that talks about some off-the-beaten-track parrot rescues/sanctuaries. One of the ladies had a story of this one cockatoo she took in, and the vets and everybody said to keep it away from the rest of the flock, but she followed her gut instinct and put it in with the other birds. I don't quite recall if it was an issue of illness and contamination, or they were afraid the other birds would tear into the weak newcomer--I can look it up if you really want to know--but she said that the other cockatoos actually opened his little cage and sat with him, as if they really understood he was sick/weak and wanted to help him back to health. So sometimes, perhaps, there are times to bend the rules. Either way, what's done is done and you can only plow forward with love and happiness for everyone, assuming the best; and I do think that really can make a big difference, sometimes more than we expect. PS--I missed the part where everyone said you are 'reckless and foolish'. I think everyone's just happy you're able to help your dear Scarlet!

^^ It would be funny if our Dahlia dog ever listened to what Marcus tells her, she just completely ignores him now! (And, oh, does he try to get her attentions sometimes!) But it was funny, I heard the greenies, Tybalt and Beaker, fussing at each other in the birdroom the other day when suddenly Marcus' voice called out sternly, "Eh-eh-eh-eh, Beaker!" He was such a good baby-sitter!

I've never heard of it either. Perhaps this is something you should talk to your avian vet about first before you give any to your baby... I remember reading somewhere that, on avian autopsies, they can tell who gives their fids liquid vitamins in their water because it literally burns their insides out. (Maybe that's not exactly how it was phrased but that was the gist. I'd say, better safe than sorry.)

I agree with Nancy--you never know how Gracie will grow with you. If I had a penny for every time my hubby told me, "Marcus will never..." Haha. So just wait and see and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised how you two continue to grow and bond together.

Yes, so the question mark I posed in another recent thread was resolved when everything pulled through and we were able to drive Marcus to "work" today in the city, where my husband's workplace is located. So before we left, I put some food and water and foot toys together in a little bag and had Marcus enter his handy-dandy Adventure Pack Travel Cage... I just love that thing! (It's a backpack-style parrot carrier and I think Marcus enjoys it very much, too.) Anyway, so our dog was very jealous as we walked out the front door without her, but I buckled Marcus in his travel cage into the backseat, I settled myself beside him, and my husband acted as the chauffeur. Off we went! Pictures of our journey were requested so here is a shot of Marcus buckled up beside me in the car: The drive took about an hour, during which time Marcus tried chewing on the little bit of exposed zipper he discovered on his Adventure Pack. But he didn't do any damage to it. Once we arrived at our destination, my hubby left us to go do some preliminary stuff inside the building as I let Marcus out of his cage inside the car. He climbed to the top of his carrier and was a real cutie. Once I got everything together, Marcus and I went inside, ourselves. My husband had to move his desk (rather, his stuff in his desk) from one side of the building to another cubicle/area located maybe halfway across the building. Marcus got a bird's-eye view (haha) of the process, first in the hallway... ...and then he and I took a little detour into the lunch room. My husband laughed when he saw this pic, apparently he didn't realize we had visited there. After that, it was down to business. Marcus and I trekked across the building to my husband's new work area. He wanted us to stay and help him, but I thought it smelled kind of weird over there and was worried for Marcus, since I wasn't exactly sure what it was from... so we popped in and out of the building, taking frequent jaunts out into the sunshine to get some fresh air. And it was blustery today! But then we would pop back inside to see how things were going (although we never stayed long). Marcus said one or two things but I don't quite remember what they were except that once he said "Hello!" when he saw/heard his Daddy again, when we first walked back in: But, like I said before, we didn't stay there long. I told my husband I wanted to give Marcus some food in the car so he and I went back outside. Once inside the car, I let him out and he didn't eat, but he had some water at my prompting. Then he kept prompting me for songs and head-tickles, so he was spoiled until his Daddy came back out to the car again. I love this picture of Marcus, he looks so sweet in this shot! Mr. Saucer Eyes. On the way home, I don't know how we got into this, I guess we started warning Marcus whenever we would have to stop for a light because sometimes he would be caught off-guard. I kind of got into the whole "See, it's red, now we're going to stop!" and "Now it's green, we can go!" thing, and Marcus apparently was paying close attention, because once he said, "Why?" And so I tried to explain to him about stoplights and such, and my hubby was like, Now you're trying to teach him how to drive? and we got into a little bit of an argument about the silly issue--which apparently upset Marcus. He started up suddenly with the insistent, "Ross? Ross! ROSS!" in an urgent voice, which I realized was him trying to tell my husband to be quiet (or at least stop arguing with me). Of course, me explaining that fact to my husband was not nearly as effective or convincing as if he had understood Marcus' intention, himself! But we really had a nice time together and we all got home, safe and sound, after a long drive. We thought Marcus would be tired after his big adventure today, but he was quite riled up until he went to bed a little while ago with the other birds. Funny boy.

^^ You know, luvparrots, I was thinking that too! Hopefully we'll get the green light and have a lovely adventure together on Saturday, and perhaps it will be 'documented' to boot!

I just shot this a few moments ago in the birdroom. Marcus received his new toy yesterday and took to it rather quickly, as you can see! I thought he was rather cute and I was just tickled he let me record him, so I thought I'd share the clip here:

Thank you! My hubby says he's getting 'clearance' now... hopefully it'll come back as a yes!

Munch, you seem to be in a similar boat with your Took that I felt like we were in with our Tybalt (IRN) the other day. Except that I realized part of his attack that left me in tears was my fault, I had carried a bowl into the birdroom. I don't know why, but he goes nuts over bottles, silverware, bowls... anything like that in my hand. My hubby and I were talking about clipping him and Beaker (Beaker's feathers grow in so fast, he can gain altitude a few weeks after--so I figured Tybalt wouldn't be too dissimilar, it's not like Marcus who's finally flighted now after about a year), but I haven't heard back from the groomer, and in the meanwhile I've ordered that book by Ms. Heindrich (sp?) and thought some more about things. Took might be going through her terrible twos, we missed that phase with Marcus as a re-home, but I read Ringnecks are similar and go through a stage called 'bluffing'. Everyone says to ride it out--but I cannot just 'ride out' the bites he gives me when he gets like that, he rips flesh off sometimes, and repeatedly so. So when I was calmed down, I realized it was the bowl, and I've been working with him again more patiently. So maybe it's a mix of hormones (or whatever) for your Took, and other things as well. I'm not sure if we still won't clip the greenies at least moderately (I read online that for Ringnecks a style of clip of just one or two feathers can take some of their 'cockiness' away) but for the time being, I'm just happy that particular issue has been put behind us. And, honestly, I would like to keep Tybalt flighted, he is so beautiful and capable in the air, I know he loves flying, and I don't know if he's ever been clipped before and how he might take it (Beaker is fine with it, he's been clipped a number of times, but I don't want to make Tybalt 'crack' because of it or something)... With you and your Took, it might take a bit more time to figure things out, too. Just know I'm thinking of you guys, and know you aren't the only ones dealing with something similar (and I have a frustrated hubby who wanted to get 'dominant' for an evening, too, and it became an issue because I kept trying to remind him, they aren't dogs!). There is always a better way than the one, perhaps, that comes to mind first. I know you'll figure it out for your household, just as we will here.

I'm glad to hear things worked out so well, Gwen, even if you had to be separated from your little Grey man for a while--when I was visiting my parents' for a few days back in November, I missed our flock (and other pets) so badly! Once when my hubby put me on speakerphone for all of them to hear me, he said Marcus mumbled "I love you" when he heard me talking. Just broke my heart to be so far away, but you know how good it feels to come home to their love again.

It just shows how in-tune Misty Parrot is with you.

Yes, I agree with everyone, that was just adorable! And Zoom and Gwen have a nice idea to write all these lovely things down... my mom keeps telling me to do that with Marcus' sayings, and I do kind of sporadically, but it's the type of thing you'll look back on with your Ella-Rose and Missy and just smile, years down the road.

Hi everyone, On Saturday, my husband says he needs to go to work to "move his desk" and do some other things during non-business hours (at least, I get the impression there won't be many people there). It's an office-type environment and, as Marcus asked if he could accompany us to our religious services this past Sunday and we had to say no, my hubby thought it would be nice if we could both go down there and bring Marcus along, instead, so that he can see what "work" is like. We have a little carrier for him, and I've worked out how we'll deal with things if everything takes a bit longer than expected, but I was just wondering if there are some other things we should take into consideration before we decide to make this trip. Like, I don't know, something I might be missing! Like, for instance, if there are people there and the coffee maker is on (many models are made with teflon, right?), would it be all right to take him into the building if we are far away in another room? Or would the circulating air still be a bad thing for him? Thanks in advance for any input...