MarcusCAG

I'm so sorry to hear about Shelby! I hope he's doing a bit better by now... Especially if you don't get any pertinent advice from anyone else tonight (I'm sorry, I really don't have anything to offer but my sympathy for your/his situation!), I would call the vet tomorrow, yes. It sounds like the little guy lost a lot of blood... what comes to mind for me is, keep an eye on how he's eating and drinking, and make sure he doesn't open up the wound again, at least. Poor little guy! I hope it was just a freak accident of some sort and that Shelby's back to normal in no time.

Thank you, Dave, for clearing that up. I just wanted to be sure what was meant.

Yes, Paul, this is good news, even if you weren't able to bring him home with you today. I can imagine how frustrated you're feeling right now, but Murphy is out there still and he's keeping well-fed, and now the woman with the fruit trees will probably be very aware of Murphy's presence if he chooses to feast near her home again--and hopefully next time she'll be able to get in touch with you sooner, or somehow keep him around, in time for you two to be reunited. You're little buddy's alive and well even after all this time "out on the lam"! And you have so many eyes and ears on the lookout for you, your chances are very high that things will work out soon. Thinking of you and your Murphy.

Oh, they're gorgeous! I love how relaxed their wings are, such sweet sleepy babies...

I'm so happy to hear that Sully feels so bonded to his new family! You made a wonderful choice for him in giving him to Jordan.

That was a cute video. It seemed they were both about the same age.

Wow! So much has been going on for you! About Ziggy and the profanity: For a while, a couple months after we adopted Marcus, the neighbors who lived next door were out almost every night. They would drink and have the radio on and be loud, and their language wasn't always very nice. I'm afraid Marcus picked up a couple things from them, or their vocab reminded him of things he maybe learned in a former home. I wouldn't acknowledge him if he said something nasty, and for the most part the words died away once those neighbors all moved away and he didn't hear them anymore. Phew! Every once in a while, though, he'll mutter something quick and fast under his breath and I think it's a swear word, and it makes me wonder, What is it that got you angry? It's generally a response to one of the 'Greenies' (Beaker or Tybalt) and it's not even that often, thankfully, maybe once every few months. But again, we don't acknowledge it so Marcus doesn't get anything out of saying those words, so they generally fade away not to be heard again for quite some time. Regarding Koko: A Hahn's macaw now, did you say? Isn't that one of the mini-macaws, maybe conure sized? I believe we saw one of them in a pet store not too long ago, barely more than a baby, just too adorable! He didn't even look to be "Beaker-sized"! Koko most definitely has added another dimension to your life with Ziggy, I'm sure. It sounds like you really have your hands full now!

Val sounds like a little doll! I'm glad to hear this new and happy update of her life with you.

I'm sorry to hear this little family didn't have a happy ending, but sometimes that happens... thank you for sharing his/her little life with us though, short as it was.

I don't worry so much about our boys flying away at this point, but I am very paranoid about doing something within the home that might inadvertently hurt them. Like, our Tybalt has finally started using the Jolly Ball (yay!) that's been hanging pathetically in our birdroom, untouched, for months now--so yesterday I thought to dust it, and when it was wet it started smelling funny! So I had all these thoughts of accidentally killing my boys with noxious fumes... it's a constant thing for me (having an obsessive disorder doesn't help!)... so I can understand the overwhelming feelings that would go along with seeing those empty cages, even though you really know they're just having a blast with Picasso. Things can happen so quickly, that's why they're called "accidents", but while we do have our precious feathered ones with us--because, sadly, even the best and safest parrot/owner relationship will end after a few decades--we love them and teach them as much as we can, and they know it, and that's why they love us so much in return. And so, really, can't we say they're being fulfilled by that? That's the best thing a parrot in captivity can hope for, probably, to have an owner who attends to its needs and desires as best they can, and develop a wonderful bond in the process.

I hope that today brings you another true lead, Paul. Murphy, perhaps, has something of a routine for himself now, and possibly even a semi-permanent roost to go with it... I know in this one nonfiction book I read, the macaw had its "very own" tree that it chose, it would sleep there every night, so if Greys are at all the same then maybe Murphy has found a 'summer home' too... you just have to be given enough clues to be able to figure out what vicinity he might be in, and find him in his new neighborhood. I'm sure when he sees you he'll be very happy to say the vacation's over! I just can't wait for your happy reunion, I hope and pray it's soon.

Yes, if I hadn't freaked out like I did (which I wonder now if that was really necessary, but better to be safe than sorry, I think), I would have grabbed the camera and tried to get a couple of pics or even a video. Tybalt is something else, really!

Hopefully you will get some more good news soon. Thinking of you and Murphy...

Thank you so much for your comments, everyone... Marcus is just his sweet little self today, playful and using his new favorite phrase a lot ("Oh, wow!"), and apparently I'm the only one who remembers the incident in the bathroom and am still worrying over it a little, what could have happened! But, yes, Dahlia was such a good girl--she has a sweet temperament, and is generally very gentle with the other animals. I'm very grateful that she was so unperturbed with Marcus climbing all over her like that!!! My goodness, thank you for sharing your insights and knowledge, Dan, I had no idea--and I hadn't even thought about the possibility of Marcus not being able to breathe, although thinking back now on that half-second where I ran in and took in the situation, I don't believe he was squished against anything that would make him under that kind of pressure. What do I know, though? It happened so fast... he was just a limp little puppet, who thankfully came to life again. Thanks, again, everyone for your concern.

"Playing possum" is right--he was a complete rag doll for a few moments, completely unmoving. It scared me to death!!

I love the tiny little red spots on his/her bottom!! Such an adorable baby!!

He's out there, Paul, at least you know now he's been sticking around the area and probably looking for you, too. I hope you get another lead soon and that it brings Murphy home to you!

Yes, today has been a pretty eventful day where the boys have been concerned... even before the bathroom incident I posted about in the Grey Lounge, something "interesting" happened to unsettle me in the boys' room. Marcus had been on the Boing for a while, and Tybalt and Beaker were both out and flying around. (I don't let Bunsen out while Tybalt's out because he has a tendency to get picked on by his bigger green flockmate.) Anyway, I should have paid more attention to the 'warning sign' when Tybalt settled himself on top of the china closet, about eye-level with Marcus on his Boing, hanging a foot or so away... and made his happy Oh-let-me-feed-you! noise. I thought, he's just being silly. This is Marcus, after all, not Beaker. Anyway, I was doing some stuff, and then I thought to call a friend of mine. I had just dialed and her husband had just picked up and said "Hello?" when I heard all of this crazy flapping... I looked up to find, to my horror, both Marcus and Tybalt on the same level of the Boing, their beaks locked, Tyablt stretching up on his little tip-toes as high as possible and flapping like mad, Marcus' head bent slightly lower. Tybalt was trying to feed Marcus!!! I honestly don't know if Marcus' body language was friendly or not, I didn't give myself enough time to guess whether Marcus was appreciating Tybalt's advances or he was just ready to find a good time to lunge at him. I sputtered something to my friend's (probably confused) husband on the phone, "Wait a minute!" and I jumped up and jammed my arm between Marcus and Tybalt--who resisted flying off until I kind of pushed him off the Boing. What a determined little green boy! Anyway, Marcus gave me a slight nip on my one knuckle, nothing major at all, just a wee bit of a pinch. So... I don't know. Was he enjoying it? Had Tybalt really regurgitated for him? I don't know, I don't know. I'm just so glad nobody got hurt, and that Tybalt didn't try for an encore performance at all the rest of the afternoon. I just thought it was just a bit strange, really, and--in retrospect--actually kind of cute.

Today, when I went to help Marcus down off his Boing, he decided that he didn't want to step up for me and instead took off. As he has a few times before, he sailed out of the birdroom, across the hall, and into the bathroom--and landed unexpectedly on our dog, Dahlia, who had shoved herself between the bathtub and the toilet this afternoon because of the heat. I ran in there as quick as I could, and Dahlia was just standing and backing up from between the tub and the throne, but Marcus hadn't moved! In my mind's eye there was suddenly this horrible split-second vision of Dahlia accidentally stepping on him (she's 60 pounds or so)... There was simultaneously the cool, detached thought that zipped through my mind that perhaps she already had, and Marcus was hurt, or even dead somehow... For he was a totally limp little Grey puppet just dangling there from her back haunches, and with these wretched thoughts just flitting coolly in and out of some part of my brain, the other part of me took control and instantly grabbed Dahlia around the waist, yanking her rear end up in the air so that her paws were off the ground. It was so strange, the very moment her feet were off the floor, Marcus came to life again and righted himself, grabbing at her fur with his beak. Apparently his one foot, at least, was tangled in her fur back there, and he shook himself loose after a moment and essentially scaled her hindquarters until he was about on top of her back. By then my other arm was there for him to step up onto, and Dahlia finally seemed interested in this little creature who was climbing her like a mountain. But by the time it all had congealed into reality in my mind, Marcus was on my forearm and Dahlia had been bellowed out of the bathroom (despite being quite innocently involved with this unfortunate scenario, and actually very well-behaved during the whole thing; I gave her a few treats afterward to apologize). Marcus was promptly rushed into the shower, being told that Dahlia was "dirty" and so now Marcus was dirty--I didn't like how he had been rubbing all over her fur--and he needed to be cleaned. He was such a good boy, though, once I offered him my arm to stand on again he almost seemed to like the spray, and not just tolerate it like before... Then, back in his cage, it was as if nothing unusual had ever happened. Marcus ate two almonds and was his normal, lovely self and I could almost forget that he terrified me for a moment, dangling so limp from Dahlia's back end like that. My husband later suggested that perhaps his actions reflected a natural instinct that kicked in so that he would be less likely to be hurt while the bigger animal essentially had control of him; either way, I am just so glad that nothing bad happened because of my shortsightedness, but I honestly would not ever have imagined Marcus landing on Dahlia like that! So I guess I just kind of want to remind everybody, just be aware that your parrots can and will surprise you with what they do and sometimes the innocent little things that happen in normal situations may end up being dangerous. So please be careful! I guess that's all I can say, and it might seem kind of obvious, but I just want to say it anyway.

^^ Dastardly is right! What a beautiful boy you have, Dee, ever the charmer and now apparently the perfect companion for you on your various "adventures", on the road and in hospitals and such. I'm so glad to hear he's making everyone laugh and feel good while he's there and that he's being such a good boy for you in these strange, new situations.

What a precious baby, thank you so much for sharing the pics!

I'll say! When my husband got home from work tonight and showered, he then walked in the boys' room like normal and talked to them for a bit. He came to me afterward and told me that as he was leaving, Marcus said to him, "Go get dressed!" And then, not too long after that, when my husband saw me yawning, he suggested I go take a nap before dinner; so I stretched out on the floor of the birdroom--which I've found is the one place in the house where I can often become relaxed enough to actually catch a few winks, outside of crawling into bed. Anyway, after a number of minutes, I realized the nap just wasn't going to happen, my brain was too wired, so I opened my eyes and blinked a little as I stared up at the ceiling. Above me in the semi-darkness, I suddenly heard Marcus say, "Gonna get up?" Yee, he's becoming very comfortable with us!

It's thundering here and the sky is turning dark so swiftly. I just got in from being out of the house this morning and let Marcus out of his cage; the door of the birdroom is open, Marcus on the top of his cage now, and while I was out in the hallway and passed by his door a couple of minutes ago, he said something relatively loud and quick, but not exactly intelligible to me. So I made some halfway-distracted reply, just to acknowledge him. And then, only a moment later, some part of my brain twisted around and deciphered his sounds enough so that understanding dawned on me: Marcus had said, "That's the rain." I turned on my heel and called over, "Yes, the rain's coming, that's the thunder!" Because I've been talking about the thunder lately whenever we can hear it in the birdroom, and then when it does start raining I've been going on about how that's the rain, water is coming down from the sky outside. Stuff like that. So Marcus has been paying attention to everything after all!

Thank you, Dave, for your replies.. (And my hubby was happy to hear he was right, haha!) But I do have another question, now: wouldn't a skin condition fall under "skin disorder"? Or are the disorders you're talking about ^^ just side-effects of plucking in general, and not the other way around (like a loss of feathers from a condition, which your first post in this thread would seem to indicate is not possible)? Again, thank you for your input! This is the ad: http://tampa.craigslist.org/hdo/pet/2497298191.html He looks bright and attentive, though, in spite of the condition of his plumage. I hope he finds a good forever home who is able to take care of him as his needs dictate...

Even though Tumba is not 'out of the woods' yet per se, I am so glad he's doing better now and eating a bit. I hope that things continue in this positive vein for all of you...