MarcusCAG

I loved reading about Gilbert going to the dentist, thank you so much for sharing that story! And it sounds like that he is assuredly making himself quite a part of the family with all of you... so happy to hear that, too.

Um, what kind of eggs? (Did I miss something? Hahaha...)

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Congratulations on adopting your Chipper! It may take some time for him to be comfortable in your home, but I'm sure on one level he already knows you're just trying to help him. We've had our Marcus for eight months now and, in the beginning especially, he let us know in his own way some of the "stuff" that he came from in his other home, and we had to work through it (still are, in some ways--but it's much better now, at least). More than likely, as the trust between you both grows, Chipper will let you in on a bit of his past too, the good and the not-so-good, and your relationship will grow as you deal with his past issues together. There is a lot of wonderful information and advice in the different 'rooms' here. I just want to add that the big three no-no's in terms of food are avocado (lethal to parrots!), chocolate, and caffeine. Like Judy said, you don't want to feed mushrooms either, and Teflon cookware can kill parrots too... but even after reading everything in the other rooms, if you have any questions or concerns, just ask! I think it was Dan who said we're all here to help if we can, and we're just so glad you're trying so hard to make this transition easier for your Chipper, it's heartwarming, really. He sounds like he needed a good friend.

These are all such lovely expressions, thank you so much for sharing these stories of your beloved Greys and other fids! I'm enjoying reading them very much... Sometimes I think my family and friends get irritated by all my stories of Marcus and the boys, but it's nice to be able to share them here and I'm just so happy to read everyone else's experiences with their special babies, too. Haha, you all understand!! And Dan, I've seen videos of your Dayo, and heard some of your stories about him... I can see why you would just say what you did. Simple and sweet, nothing more needed to be said.

I'm sorry, I don't have any personal experience with a Hawkhead parrot, but I will say I did see one up on our local Craig's List once--I think this was before we adopted our Marcus, actually. I replied to the ad and inquired after the Hawkhead; my husband has expressed an acute interest in them for a long time now, but I never heard back from the owner/seller, so it obviously didn't end up with us. Ah, well. I hope he/she got a good forever home in the end... There are a few articles online about them though, and maybe you can contact some of those people on YouTube who put up videos of their Hawkheads and get some more info that way? Just an idea.

So now that we have a household with four parrot friends in it, I've started comparing them a bit--I can't help it! Granted, the difference between the species I'm sure affects their temperament and habits, but there are obviously individual characteristics that pop up, too. For instance, while Quaker parrots are generally known as being bright little birds, my husband and I are under the impression (sigh, hehe!) that Beaker is really not too smart. He's a sweet little thing though, fiesty at times as all Quakers are, but generally quite a lovebug and very dear to us. He doesn't talk much, really, which I think is interesting considering they're often labeled one of the "top five" parrots to have the tendency and/or ability to have large vocabularies and speak with comprehension, but Beaker sure makes up for that lack in other ways! And thinking about Beaker like that, I got to wondering what makes all of our other feathered babies special? We're still getting to know our Tybalt (the IRN) and our Bunsen (the cockatiel), but Tybalt is sharp as a tack and I think he has the potential to be very loving someday, and he's just a dynamo in the air; and Bunsen is just a little doll and, oh, actually a bit brighter than Beaker, we think. Haha. Then--of course--there is Marcus: our intelligent, loving, observant little Grey boy. He strikes me as still coming out of his shell, in terms of speech ability and shown affection and the like. He's the first Grey I've ever been around and although I know other Greys I read about here are more chatty in general; and some are much more cuddly; and others are more playful; I think Marcus is just right as he is--but aren't they all? I think Marcus has a great talent for language and a lot of potential although he's still a little hesitant to express himself in most situations, but whenever something happens that he really takes an interest in, out pops a near-perfect (sometimes perfect-perfect!) question or comment in English that will leave our heads spinning. He's also developing into a rather good climber, a little monkey on his playgym. And although the letter "S" is still his absolute favorite of his alphabet letters, his interest and excitement whenever I pull them out makes me think that perhaps, in time, he might make a few great strides for himself in terms of understanding the general concept of 'reading' a bit more. So, that all being said: I'd like to hear about what makes your precious Grey babies special! Are they great talkers? Are they aerial acrobats? Do they like to sing? Do they just snuggle up on the couch with you and make your heart melt? They're all so different, but so lovely, I want this thread to be a place where you can "toot the horn" for them and let everyone know what a proud parront you are! (And if you want to, you can go on about your other fids too, I won't tell on you!)

Marcus has started doing this recently, too. Doesn't throw his pellets out of his bowl, just doesn't seem interested in them. I'm rethinking his diet a bit with the help of some friendly forum member comments here and he seems pretty happy to be without his pellets for now. I'm sure he'll return to eating them with relish in time, but considering he's still eating well in the meanwhile, I've decided not to sweat it. And to the OP: maybe he's looking for his Jungle Mix in his pellets, and that's why he's throwing them out? I've seen my boys sift through mixes I've given them (with pellets) and they'll just pitch out EVERYTHING that isn't what they're looking for. It was such a waste, I just stopped giving them the frills after a while since they obviously didn't want to eat them in the first place. (Which left merely the pellets, actually. Sounds like the opposite of what you're dealing with, perhaps?) So maybe getting rid of the Jungle Mix was a good move, if it was more like a bedtime treat than "real food" and making him cranky for it the rest of the day.

This is interesting to me. May I ask, did you teach Patty this so that she could tell people where she lives in case she ever gets lost? That's a wonderful idea, really! Even if it all didn't work out quite like you wanted it to, more than likely if she's prompted she'll still pop out the question--and then, more importantly, the answer--as needed.

I figure I'll tag this little experience onto this thread instead of posting it out in the Lounge, since it has to do with Greys and language and cognition. Anyway, this is what happened last night: My husband has purchased a little used scooter with which to get to work in case our only car dies (very likely, very soon, unfortunately--and we don't have enough for another car yet). Marcus was up on his playgym when my hubby's ride drove up yesterday to pick him up, because he was just going to ride the scooter back home afterward. He (Marcus) seemed to be listening as my husband's friend called hello, as my husband replied, as they got in the car and left. So I started telling Marcus where Daddy had gone, that he was going to get a "big toy" called a scooter, "Daddy's big new toy" that he would use like the car. I attempted to make motorcycle-type sounds as part of the description because there are a few that zip around our street occasionally, and you can hear them very clearly in the birdroom, so I thought by doing so it might give Marcus a better idea of what I was talking about. In any event, Marcus kind of fluffed up a little bit, and so I asked him something like, "Do you understand what I'm saying?" I honestly don't remember if he said this immediately in reply, or if I made some more pantomime-type gestures for his benefit, but the point of this all is this: at one point Marcus turned to me and said, "He go for ride?" Hehe, I was delighted! He did put two and two together, at least in some respect.

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I read that article at that site a while ago, I thought it was very interesting. We got Marcus at age eight though so I figure he's way beyond the age of possibility where he might "switch loyalties", so all I can say is that I'm Mommy--I can tickle him just about anywhere, I'm the one he'll really step up for if he steps up at all, I can kiss him all over his head and under his neck, I'm the one he generally requests songs from, et cetera. My husband is Daddy--he plays the rough games that I can only hope to be allowed to play, he can get Marcus flapping up a storm and dangling off his bell like a wild monkey, and all those other lovely things. What I'm saying is that Marcus obviously allows different things from each of us; not that I can't play with him at all, or my hubby can't kiss him at all, but there is a difference. I think all relationships are that way, really, different aspects of soul-meeting on different levels with different people (or animals). We are both close to Marcus though, if I was honest, I'd say if he is bonded to one of us it's me. But he hasn't at all rejected my husband because of it.

Very interesting stuff! That explains a lot when Marcus waggles his little feet searchingly below him while he's climbing down something...

That was just wonderful! Mario (saw Part II, too!) looks so happy with Dominic there, you just wonder what made him stick out to him out of all the other people in that park? And what's even more special is how Dominic cares enough for Mario to visit him regularly like that, even at the zoo. Happy sigh!

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You have such a way with words, katana600, and your love for Gilbert just shines through... I really shouldn't be online any longer, I need to get back to work here, but I just wanted to post a quick reply and say again how happy I am that you two are working through everything together and are so patient with one another. It just makes me so happy for you both.

Last night, things were a little crazy before I put the boys to bed and I didn't change out the papers in Marcus' and Beaker's respective cages (I'm evil, I know!). So this morning they weren't all nice and fresh like normal, and the big morning poopies weren't as apparent when I glanced over everything. I cleaned up Marcus' playgym and its papers, then I had plans to move onto the boys' cages. But while Marcus was out on the floor, he made this little poop that was kind of odd-looking... it was small, for one thing, and it was all white, it had none of the green in it. (He made another little poop since, and it had some of the normal green slender part in it, but it was still a little smaller than normal, and not so watery-looking.) Anyway, concerned after that weird poop, I peeked in his bowl and realized he hadn't really eaten many of his pellets, which I had given him fresh last night before bed. He did eat his usual morning treat of a birdie cookie (homemade with organic corn flour and oat flour, a little peanut butter, pureed kale, pulverized roasted eggshell, an egg, etc.), but usually that's consumed along with a massive number of pellets. So I thought, hm. And I offered him (and Beaker) some garbanzo beans, which they often get in their grains/beans/veggies mix. Marcus kind of nibbled on them but ignored them for the most part. Sooo... when he said "French fry!" in that familiar tone, I thought, aha! I put more garbanzo beans with some pellets in a mix with some organic baby food (fruit), carrot juice, and spirulina. These are all things Marcus normally gobbles down. He ate all the semi-solids and left the beans and the pellets! Now I am a little concerned. Do parrots go through changes of "palate" like humans? I mean, should I be really concerned? Yesterday he did eat some pellets, he drank fine (he had some water this morning too), he ate an almond, he had a sweet potato with some banana and other things mixed into it, he had a couple of birdie cookies... so yesterday Marcus was eating 'normally'. Am I getting worried over nothing and this might just be a fluke (like he's thinking, pellets are boring today!) or should I keep that peeled eyeball on him and take action somehow if he keeps avoiding his pellets into the evening? I feel totally paranoid with this but I am a little worried and don't want to make little of it if it's something bad. Thanks in advance for any replies...

Congratulations, you must be so proud of your green girl! Yay Cricket!

Katana600, Ray P... thank you so much for posting. It really made my day to read your comments and your encouragement. I feel like Marcus is just blooming right now in some ways, and yet a part of me is afraid I'll do something wrong to make us backtrack for a bit, or worse. But on relatively 'happy days' like yesterday, and today too (Marcus just figured out how to climb down the vertical posts on his playgym to the food bowls, I'm so proud of him and he seemed pleased with himself, too--he went up and down a couple of times, apparently just for the fun of it!) I feel I can relax and believe it's all going to be good, even with the mistakes.

Wow... I was just planning on lurking here for the night (it's been something of a long day) and simply reading over the different threads that caught my eye, but I just had to log in and say something when I read your last couple of posts. I read your comment at my new thread, about how you see some similarities between your Gilbert and my Marcus. Now I understand what you're talking about! I felt a little scared for you when you said Gilbert attacked you like that, but reading your follow-up comment about thinking about how he had been moved before--it makes perfect sense. He probably saw all those big pieces moving, and everything all in disarray, and it brought back such memories... he must be so happy and contented with you now that the thought of leaving such a secure and loving place made him go ballistic! And after he apparently had to leave behind someone else whom he loved very much. So sad! I'm just so happy that you and Gilbert are together now, and that he has faith in your reassurance that you two are together for good. Heart-hugs from Marcus and me to you both.

Is there any particular place that you're petting him when he screams like this? Perhaps you're scratching a blood feather or something that's irritating him...

Today, although quite mundane in many respects, found Marcus acting a little bit... different. Our one new boy Tybalt, quarantined with his buddy Bunsen in our bedroom, had a day of firsts (here in his new home, anyway) the other day--I heard him practicing some English behind the closed door--so perhaps Marcus thought he should have some notable accomplishments, too? I was home all day today, and I spent an unusual amount of uninterrupted time with Marcus and Beaker, as I was writing letters with them in the birdroom. Recently, some friends of ours found a near-perfect parrot activity center just Marcus' size on their neighbors' curb, put out for the trash (they actually asked them if it was really for the trash, it's so nice). Anyway, they kindly dropped it off for us, so I scrubbed it up and let it sit in the sun for a few days; and when we brought it inside, Marcus just fell in love with it. He actually "stepped up" for me (on my forearm) a couple of consecutive days in a row, just so he could be placed on it!! So I was a bit surprised today when he kept resisting my offers to step up (which is still a bit of a three-ring circus, compared to the ease with which we can have Beaker step up, but that's another story). My husband, whom I called at work and to whom I related my story, suggested that Marcus was acting funny because I had opened the awning on their one window, which is usually shut for privacy as we have no workable blinds on that window. He said maybe it made their room seem like too big of an open space for him to want to be up high like that, up on his "playgym". So I went outside and put down the awning again and--not long after that--Marcus stepped up enough so that he could kind of crazily fly over to the lowest part of his playgym. Success! He stayed up there all day... Beaker went back and forth to his cage, but Marcus was more than content to stay put on his playgym, regardless if I was in the room or not. When my hubby got home, he offered to make me dinner and so I just hung out with Marcus and Beaker some more. I was reading by then, and I felt a little guilty that my husband was doing all this work in the kitchen (and having an issue with the cats on the counter or something, from what little wandered into the birdroom to me). So I asked Marcus if it would be okay for me to go out for a bit and be with Daddy in the kitchen? "Stay heeeere," Marcus said from his highest playgym perch, drawing out the word "here" in an interesting kind of way. "Okay, I'll stay here," I told him, pleased that he actually responded--and so clearly! I went back to reading. After a bit, I realized it was almost their bedtime at 9:30 (and dinner was still not ready!). So I informed Marcus that he would have to come down from his playgym soon, it was almost bedtime. Marcus kind of bobbed around on that top perch for a moment, stretching his wings a little. "Mumble-mumble stay up heeeere!" Marcus warbled, drawing out the word "here" again. I replied that, yes, he could stay up there on his playgym until I was done cleaning out the boys' respective cages. But it would be bedtime after that. And so he did stay there, quite happily, and was rather put out when it was time to 'go to bed'. I gave him the option of flying down or stepping up to go down to the floor, and he lunged a little when I offered my arm but then made a little kissy sound afterward (apparently an apology), and in the end he jumped off and flew over almost violently, landing hard against the side of his cage, flapping madly. He wasn't hurt though (good thing, because he gave himself another crack on the head early this morning!), and I told him what a good boy he was for flying like that. When they were both inside their cages, after closing their doors, I sang Marcus and Beaker a song they like. Then my husband called in "Good night, boys!" and it was lights out for them both. (Although I know Marcus stayed up for a while while we ate with the other mammals on our laps or nearby and then spent some time with Tybalt and Bunsen. He makes little noises sometimes as if to say, "I'm in bed but you can't make me sleep!") So, this is just a little 'day in the life' kind of post, and even though all these little things might seem insignificant and ordinary to most parrots (talking, flying a bit, etc.) they're pretty special to me. Marcus makes me so proud sometimes, especially considering his background--while not the worst, it wasn't the best, either--and I just wanted to share a little more with everyone here about my own special Grey boy. Mommy's prerogative.

I hope Greycie's doing better now and that the trip to the vet was helpful for your situation...

Those are especially GORGEOUS pictures! I particularly like the last one where they're almost "kissing".