MarcusCAG

Hehe, I can't help but giggle--the poor SNAKE! It was probably high-tailing it away from you as fast as it could, thinking, "Predator! Predator!" Well, when I found a little corn snake (presumably) in our garage, I just got a broom and swept it into the dustpan and carried it out into the yard and set it free. When my brother's red-tailed boa got loose when I was still living at home, though, we searched high and low for him (particularly because I had a chinchilla--and fancy rats at the time too, I think--and we didn't want anything wretched to happen to them!). In the end, my dad picked up the centerpiece on the dining room table, a branch-y, wicker-y basket filled with fake flowers, and it was unusually heavy... and there we found Bart... curled up and comfy as can be! Snakes like to stay warm, and if you have air on it might try and stay behind some electrical equipment, or in a place that gets a lot of sunlight. In any event, I hope you find the little guy and can set him free outside, safe and sound, as soon as possible!

I just had to log in just now to say that ^^ is a VERY thought-provoking post, kingsnake... And as regards Murphy: I know it can be frustrating, Marcus poops in his water bowl occasionally in the mornings and I have to run around and make sure it's clean again before I run out the door; but kingsnake's theory is interesting and might hold some weight to it, yet if it really bothers you a lot (changing the water so often) I just hope you two can figure out a workable solution soon!

How sweet! So glad to hear all of this!!

Maybe she learned "bull frog" during her overnight adventure outside? That's kind of cute, actually! We personally have never had anyone land in the toilet, but there have been a few close calls. I often bring Beaker into the bathroom ("the Showertime room") and always put the lid down when he's out of the birdroom. Recently Marcus started allowing me to pick him up with an actual lift-the-foot-step-up :) so that he can perch on the towel rack while I shower, and of course I put the lid down too. There are a lot of things you have to be aware of with flighted birdies in the house! I found a site the other day that deals with household safety and birds: http://www.birdsafe.com/household.htm It was a bit of a shock to read, because there are a LOT of personal stories (most, unfortunately, with sad endings) from people with parrots who became 'comfortable' with how they had been dealing with their babies, but one day that laid-back attitude allowed for tragedy. So it was a wake-up call for me to be extra vigilant (and to hound my hubby about all the precautions that need to be taken around here). Maybe you'll find that site informative and helpful, too.

Hehe, do you have a picture of that you can share??

I always like reading about other people's stories of their birds. I love discovering their little personalities, and I sometimes get ideas how to tread my boys a little differently in ways I wouldn't have thought of, myself (like, fun things). And I'm just an "animal lover" all around, so the more the merrier, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, horses, porcupines, whatever!

Katana600, I'm so sorry to hear of that situation with your best friend's mother, that must be very stressful and saddening, but I am happy to hear that Gilbert seemed to be "okay" while you were gone (as in, it wasn't worse than the little bit of plucking). And, yes, now you know how he might react to another separation, so you can plan for things a bit differently in the future so that things will be better, and he and Java will be happier. I'm just positive that everything you do for your friend and her family is very much appreciated; please take care of yourself too during all of this travel so that you will have all the energy you need to help those others whom you care for, and who care for you so much...

I read online somewhere that in other countries, the standard is that a parrot's head should be able to go in and out of the bars easily, but not the body. Whatever article it was said that only in the US do people stress not allowing a parrot's head to get through the bars at all. So I was like, okay, whatever. But that second point you made makes perfect sense, sometimes my little guys land on Marcus' dome-ish cagetop (when he's on his playgym, usually, else I'm up and running before toes get nipped!) and you can see their little feet are just so uncomfortable walking on such far-apart bars.

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I'm sorry I can't address the main point of your post, I don't even have an Amazon anymore (I grew up with one at my parents' house), but I just wanted to say your Chili Pepper looks so handsome in that photograph!

I just adore that first picture of Cricket! What a beauty!!!

First off, wow, what a sad place for such a sensitive baby to be! A loud saw mill! I am so happy your Milo is with you now... Secondly, are you right on the water? I've never been to Kenya, but I've never gotten the impression it's exceptionally cold (I could be wrong though, haha). We don't cover our parrots' cages unless it's deep winter and the temperature drops below 70 at night in the house, but there are many members here who cover their parrots' cages regularly, year-round. So it seems to be a personal choice, and sometimes one that is dictated by the parrot, themselves. If your Milo doesn't like the cover and you don't mind his normal waking hours without one, if it's not too chill, I don't see why you'd need to cover him. Lastly, sometimes it takes parrots--Greys in particular--a long time to really get used to their household and feel comfortable enough to want to come out of their cage and explore their surroundings. If Milo can be in a room by himself when he's let out, if it's parrot-proofed and he can be supervised by someone, then he could conceivably come and go from his cage at will and yet remain out of the dangers of the rest of the household--even if there is some trouble getting him back in his cage when the rest of his family wants him to. Just an idea. Either way, I'm just so glad Milo is with you now and hopefully someone else will post in this thread, too, and give you some more (and better!) ideas as well.

The honeymoon phase, from what I understand, generally lasts a few weeks to a month or so. I might be totally off by that, though. Hopefully someone else can comment with more certainty. When we adopted our Marcus, I really can't say when the honeymoon period ended, nor can I recall that date with any certainty for any of our parrots. They just were here with us when before they weren't, and since they had all come from situations that weren't as good, I think the fact that their respective worlds were so different, the shock to them to be in a new situation was even greater than it would have been for a happy little baby someone brings home from the breeder or store. So they bit even during what surely was the honeymoon phase, and they were sweet too, and we all just got to know each other each time we brought someone new home. Good and bad. But for some parrots, yes, I've read the change is more pronounced once the honeymoon phase is over. Whatever happens with you and Aristotle, though, with love and patience and education the transition will be made easier. Aristotle is a beautiful Grey, regardless, and I'm just so happy you two have found each other!

First off, when I told my hubby about Biscotti calling your doggie a "dork", he broke up into giggles. Thanks for sharing that! I hope your dog didn't take offense at Biscotti's comment! Haha, occasionally we will let Marcus out of the birdroom to walk around the floor once the cats have been let out or put in our bedroom or something. Sometimes, though, he slips out on his own! The other day our dog, Dahlia, was lying in the hallway just beyond the birdroom and Marcus scurried out so fast... when we saw where he was, he was right by Dahlia, who was just looking at him curiously, very calm. My husband told her, "Dahlia, go to bed," so she would move, and she started to get up, but Marcus whistled immediately and said, "Go lay down!" He thinks he's king of her, but she has no respect for his 'authority', either! All of these poor dogs!

I'm just glad I can 'share' him here with everyone. Sometimes I tell other people about the things he does, and there's just this silence, like, So what? I guess they just don't understand how much we adore him, or what it really means when a parrot says something they haven't been taught to simply mimic, that they're actually thinking on their own. I think a lot of people don't realize they can do that. Anyway, thank you for all the sweet comments!! I will let Marcus know that "people Mommy talks to on the computer" think he's a "good boy".

Thank you, everyone, for all of your sweet comments! Yes, in most respects Beaker is being a good influence on Tybalt--he (Tybalt) will take food from my fingers now, pieces of pepper or almonds or something, but when Beaker gets in his evil Quaker moods he's start lunging at me... and I've seen Tybalt do this now too a couple of times! So there is still a bit to work on, besides the issue of stepping-up, but the two of them are obviously such good friends now and we just love them both to bits. Updates as warranted!

I am SOOOO happy to hear you got your little Val back! When I saw this thread just a moment ago, I thought Uh-oh! but then with your last post I was just grinning, so glad for you.... Perhaps you might want to take Val to the vet soon, too, just for a check-up? I was reading online yesterday that parrots who escape outside sometimes encounter wild birds that can spread to them various illnesses or bacteria. It's just a thought, to see what the vet says; or at least call them up. Anyway, congrats on getting your baby back! Yay! I am so glad for you both. Kisses to Val for me. Personally, I don't think it's "cruel" to clip, not in all cases. Some parrots, yes, I think would react too badly to the change for me to want to do it to them--like our Ringneck, for instance, I just have a feeling that would change his personality too much (in a bad way) to do it. But our Beaker, our Quaker parrot, has been clipped numerous times and after that first attempted flight afterward it's like, Oh, I can't go high anymore. And he just continues on like nothing's different, he just walks instead of flies. (He's flighted now though and he's quite the aerial dynamo anymore!) So it's up to the owner to make an educated decision for each of their birds. Parrots were meant to fly, that's definitely true, but they really weren't meant to be in captivity either. So if you feel you need to do this now, find someone who knows what they're doing and has lots of good recommendations so Val gets a proper, safe clip for her age and species, and if in the future you think you can allow to let her wings grow out again, then you can always do that too.

We've had Marcus a number of months now and the only time he's ever bled was during those strange couple of days where he kept banging his head inside his cage, being startled by things. (I guess it was a 'spooky phase' for him.) Anyway, he gave himself a couple of nice gashes between his nares and on his forehead. They weren't horrible, gushing things, so I just put some organic aloe vera juice in a spray bottle and spritzed him all over his head to help clean them out a little, and put some organic apple cider vinegar in his water, and within a handful of days (after he stopped reopening them) you couldn't even tell he'd hurt himself.

Yikes, she pushed the envelope! Fine, I'll log back in.... Well, it just sounds like he's being territorial right now. Our little guys seem to go through moods where they'll all be fine and then somebody will "step on someone else's toes" somehow or other, and I have to lock somebody up because somebody else just had a few feathers ripped out of them. But then--the next day they're all fine. Or it's an issue with someone else in the flock. I mean, I'm not saying that I think all parrots will react the same, and maybe it's something else entirely with your Jon and Shelby, but maybe this aggression will blow over in a day or so if you don't enable them to physically get in a row tomorrow. (Like, maybe take one out and play with them while the other is still caged, hold them close to the bars and see how they react.) Perhaps this isn't exactly helpful, but then again maybe it will be: Today when Bunsen landed on Marcus' cage while he was perched to the side, Marcus pinned his eyes and got all fluffy and started climbing the bars fast to get at my poor, myopic little cockatiel. I got Bunsen to step-up just as Marcus rounded the top, huge and scary-looking, and I said sharply, "Marcus, Bunsen is little. He's a little boy. You're a big boy, you're scary! Be nice to Bunsen! Climb back down to your perch!" And... after staring at us for a moment, his feathers lowered and he did. And when Bunsen, the silly thing, flew back up to his cage top again after that a little later, Marcus was absolutely indifferent to it. Not that I'd leave the room with them like that, but I was glad to see he had mellowed some. So, I say just give them a breather from each other (ie-don't allow them to reinforce the fighting) and then see how it goes. But maybe someone else will have even better advice, in which case totally discard everything I've said.

Maybe Pancho is just very excited around your husband, generally-speaking? The Amazon I grew up with would often act like that when he was in a feisty mood. Either way, Pancho is just beautiful! Congrats on your new baby!!

What a lovely story! My husband said "Awwww!" when I read it out loud to him. I just hope you're doing better soon...

I managed to snap a somewhat non-blurry picture of the two of them, snuggling and preening. It just makes my heart melt to see them like this, and I have to share the cuteness!

I read once, somewhere, that a parrot will generally start talking "for real" at ten months, or at the ten-month mark in a new home. We've had Marcus almost nine months now, so if that little concept has any truth to it, that might be an indication as to why he's started expressing himself a bit more lately. He's still relatively quiet (save for his backing-up garbage truck sounds and his shrill telephone rings), we never hear him practice anything, but... the boy is obviously taking in a lot of what we say. Or remembering things from his previous situation(s) and choosing to apply that knowledge appropriately here. Much to our delight. The following are a couple of little memorable things he's thrown out over the past few days: Scenario #1: It was hot in the house, I was hungry, and I went to the fridge to get out an (organic) apple. I paused before biting into it because I thought, maybe the boys would want a nibble first? So I walked into their room and offered it to Marcus, asking, "You want some apple?" I didn't want to turn the ceiling fan off to open his door, so when he looked kind of excited I just pressed it against his cage bars. Marcus went to town! At one point I realized I should move on down the line to Bunsen (um, yeah--but you never know!) and so I told Marcus that was enough, and I turned to Bunsen, asking him if he wanted to eat some apple. Almost immediately, from behind me in Marcus' cage, I heard the most adorable little boy voice I have EVER heard from him when he literally squealed, "OooooOOOOoooh, I DO!" Scenario #2: Earlier tonight, my husband and I were in the boys' room and--I forget what happened--we started arguing a bit, something about Tybalt and Beaker. I really can't remember what the issue was! But apparently our voices, although not at all overboard to either of us, had entered tones that were disturbing to Marcus. He was sitting in his cage near his food bowl when he drew out the unsettled-sounding, "Sto-ooooooop iiiiiiiiitttttttt..." Scenario #3: For whatever reason, maybe because he's green and comparatively small like Beaker, Marcus calls Tybalt "Beaker" and seems to have no desire to learn his name, too. Anyway, Tybalt and Beaker have become two troublemakers in their own right, and sometimes I think Marcus might be annoyed at how fast they zip around the birdroom together. And at first I thought I was hearing things, but whenever either one of them will do something to irritate him--for instance, fly too close to him on the top of his cage--Marcus will say "stinker" instead of "Beaker", like he would before, a reprimand ("Beaker!!") . We never call either of them 'stinkers' so he must have heard this word somewhere else and pulled it out of his memory just for them!

We found Marcus last year on Craig's List. You'd be surprised (and saddened) by how many wonderful animals are advertised there... We adopted him with a few issues from his being neglected for so many years, but for the most part they're all water under the bridge now and he is just the most wonderful little boy we could ever hope for.

Congratulations!!! I am sure Pancho will just blossom with all of you and, yes, I hope he serenades you too! There's nothing quite like an Amazon singing for the pure joy of it!