MarcusCAG

I think my heart got ripped out at some point while I was reading that.

Ray, I have rehomes too, as you know. I've come to the decision that if the issue I have with Marcus or one of the others seems to stem from them being a rehomed parrot and having baggage, I will post about that issue in the new room. If it is a fun story in general, say, about one of the non-Greys we have, it goes in the Other Birds room. If it is a story about Marcus being sweet or chatty or something, that goes in the Grey Lounge. So there is a room for everything, and as your Cricket has so many different aspects to her lovely, colorful self, I am quite sure there will be a room for whichever story about her you want to share--if you choose to break things down like I do, that is.

She certainly seemed pleased with herself at the end. What a strong girl she is, to pick up that big bowl so many times!! Oh, and my husband just loved watching your vids of Rikki in the kitchen, he was so tickled!

I will say that Whipper looks adorable, but being blind and everything is no fair trade just to be cute like that in an unusual way. But if he's with a loving owner who's sensitive to his needs, then he at least has a lot more than many other 'normal' birds have, unfortunately...

Our fids love music. Marcus in particular seems to like melodic music--I have a lot of albums from the seventies and eighties and he'll try to "sing" along with Patty Smyth and Pat Benatar and Dokken and stuff. When my hubby has Marcus out with him on his pillow, though, he'll play techno and disco and things like that for him, and Marcus will often start "dancing" and bobbing his head all around and everything. Very cute! When I give our flock a Screamy Time, however, I try and put on something a bit louder and fast (hard rock and/or 'nice' metal--I check the lyrics!) and they'll get all pumped up and screech and have a grand time, especially our Beaker. He just loves Screamy Time. It's a half-hour or so in the middle of the day when they're all allowed to be as loud and crazy as they want and mommy doesn't say a single word!

The original post has been removed.

Just like with people, sometimes it takes others a little longer to come around to new ideas/experiences longer than we think they should. But, you know, we don't understand what's going on in someone else's head or heart--even (especially?) our fids. So to me it sounds like Gracie plans on coming around to you in her own time, but she is coming around... the waiting is the hard part but the rewards of our patience with our lovely birdie friends is immeasurable. And like someone else said, you are obviously a wonderful knight in shining armor for your girl, and she trusts you to rescue her as needed, which I think is a big step forward in general.

Oh, I'm so sorry, I meant to address the other posts too: Regarding water bottles, most things over here in the US (at least, where we live) are bottled in plastic anymore. Relatively recently, there has been a push to use a special kind of plastic in bottles that... erm... doesn't leach out bad contaminants into the water, like the old types of plastic would, which ended up being proven carcinogens or something like that. It's called BPA or something, aren't I observant?? But I use a stainless steel water bottle when I'm away form the house and want to carry water with me, personally--no plastic issue and no fear of breaking a glass bottle, yay! Haha. Anyway, there are a few things like beer and some brands of mineral water that are still bottled in glass, but compared to everything else the glass bottles are hard to come by. I will have to see if it's just the green bottles that freak Tybalt out, but I want to say I remember pulling out an amber-colored bottle of beer once (I like one with dinner sometimes when it's reallllly hot out!) and Tybalt went after that one, too. And that orange story... oh, my! I guess with our rehomes anything's possible in their pasts and we have to deal with all the subsequent question marks, but at least when our babies find their forever homes with us we can consciously mold their future into as happy a situation as we are able to.

Sooo... if the above posts describe a 'roll', then what is an 'earthquake' exactly? I think I am confused now, I'm sorry.

Well, today kind of went SPLAT! in terms of my experiment with dear Mr. Tybalt. I put on the lotion last night after my shower, went to bed, and then was kind of lazy and walked around in my jammies for most of the morning, and didn't shower and change until later--and Tybalt kept trying to chew through my pajama shirt and kept nipping my skin all morning, and I was like, Okay, it must be something about the lotion! Because yesterday the lotion-less me with the long sleeves didn't have nearly as much trouble with him trying to eat me alive. When I called my mom earlier today and talked to her on the phone a bit, I mentioned specifically, too, that the lotion is made by a woman who owns her own small business that makes lotions and other beauty products out of her own dwarf goats' milk. My mom said that maybe Tybalt was going crazy for the lotion because of the protein in the milk, and that I should make him up a hard-boiled egg or something for more protein in his diet. So I did... and he took to it quite well, I mashed it up with sweet potato and garbanzo beans and some pomegranate arils. Yum! You can see a pic of him here with Beaker, I just couldn't resist: So hopefully I'm on to a workable solution now, avoiding my lovely lotion even at bedtime (sigh!) and wearing the long sleeves and giving Tybalt a little more protein in his diet. We'll see what happens in a few days; hopefully it will all add up to him acting relatively 'normal' (albeit more and more affectionate, as is becoming the norm!) around me again. Believe me, you do NOT want an Indian Ringneck trying to eat you alive at almost every available opportunity!

I, for one, did watch the whole thing through. Personally, that clip that was once shared in the Grey Lounge once was something I couldn't watch, the one that showed the Greys getting trapped in the wild. That was like a slap in the face and a knife in the heart. Yet while I had big, fat tears rolling down my cheeks by the end of this video, I didn't find it nearly as eviscerating on one level, and yet I had to walk into the birdroom to peek in on my flock afterward--and seeing them in their cages was kind of bittersweet, it was suddenly like, Why are you here with me, and not flying free like you should? The song they put with those images was more than perfect, I need a copy of that, "Imprisoned Bird"--in Chinese! (The subtitles certainly helped!) The images of the self-muitlation and the neglect were horrible, but the images of the happy parrots, free as well as with loving owners, made me smile through the sadness. This whole world is upside-down and there is a lot of pain mixed in with a lot of joy. I don't believe it will be this way forever.

Thinking of you guys... hope you and Barnaby have a great day together tomorrow.

Gilbert is incredibly gorgeous and insanely tiny!! I am so used to our comparably big Marcus that dear Gilbert looks like a wee button of a bird... my, but he is beautiful! Thank you for sharing that sweet little video of him with all of us, it's good to "meet" him at last!

Um... I don't see any pictures. Am I missing something? Poor, stolen babies...

I am just so sorry to read everything in your post that is making Barnaby feel so sick right now--he must be in a lot of pain. I never would have imagined he would have so many issues!!! But, at the very least, at least you know what you're dealing with now, and he is responding on many levels to your loving care and attention, and his new diet and such. It will probably take some time, but it sounds as though Barnaby is a fighter to have lasted this long with such neglect, and I truly hope that he will overcome these 'life bumps' with love and the proper care and, as was highlighted already, in a few months he'll just be so happy and greeting every morning with joy and energy and happiness. <3 Hugs to your little man...

My, thank you for all of the feedback!! And to answer some of your questions, Yes, I was bleeding after our little session together yesterday, and my forearms are a little puffy in other places where he bit into me but didn't break the skin. He didn't actually start eating any of my skin until yesterday, but a couple of days ago he seemed to be "testing the waters" and started biting at my flesh around my biceps, and left little 'hot iron' beak-shaped marks there too. Of course, when he did that I tried to deter him too and said "No biting!" and whatever at the time... again, I just haven't been wanting to scare him, just discourage him from that behavior, because he hasn't been angry when he does this. It's like he only thinks my head is 'me' or something, and the rest of me is to be tugged and played with and bitten like a toy or something. (He started doing that to my pajama pants a bit yesterday, too, and I said "No chewing!" because I didn't want a bunch of unnecessary holes in my clothes. So a part of me thinks he's just very aggressively curious with his beak, in a way that the other parrots are not.) The incident with the Pyrex cup in the summer, initially, was fine. He landed on the edge and took a little drink and, I guess, he decided he didn't like it nearly as much as Marcus does. But now any cup is "his" and he gets aggressive around them, except that he'll bite my fingers instead of trying to actually drink from the cup; he does this with apples too. For a long while, he would land on my wrist and I would offer him a bit of apple, which he would eat very politely. Since around the summer, I guess, he's started getting funny with that too. He seems to get so excited about the potential apple in his tummy that he lands on my hand and will just start biting excitedly--missing the apple most of the time, and biting me! Tybalt has done this to my husband, too. So I generally just try to walk up to him and offer him his treats, almond, sweet pepper, whatever. Because then he doesn't feel the need to fly to me, land on me, and go absolutely crazy for the food he's so excited to see in my hand. Usually, though, when he does land on my shoulder anymore (and that was a big step forward recently!), Tybalt is very sweet. He is relatively gentle with me. He nibbled on my ear once, but I said that it hurt and he really seems to listen when he's level with my head. Since yesterday, I will admit I've been a little nervous when he gives me his adoring eyes, perched on my shoulder, because I wonder if he'll suddenly start biting my face like he did my arms? But again, it seems to me that Tybalt doesn't realize the rest of my body belongs to me, too... is that possible? Birdhouse, I shared with my hubby what you wrote and he said that it was "some good advice" (with a happy face included afterward!). I, too, believe that Tybalt does not have a behavioral problem per se--he's just acting weird right now! I do think I need to somehow teach him that my arms are a part of me, too. (Beaker, conversely, seems to realize this and doesn't care, which is why his Daddy physically handles him the vast majority of the time anymore, being the favorite.) And I didn't put on any of the lotion today, and I've been wearing long sleeves. Tybalt has been stepping up for me onto my arm about half of the times that I offer it to him. Once, he started tugging on my sleeve, and I said, "No chewing!" and he stopped. So I think he wants to be a good boy, and be adored and a nice part of our flock. He is very attentive when I interact with Marcus and Bunsen, and by his flying to me so often anymore I think he's feeling a desire to be close to me like they are, too. So I'm definitely giving him the benefit of the doubt and thinking that he just doesn't realize what he's doing. So I just have to find a way to teach him that won't make him nervous around me again. (And my husband offered his arm once yesterday after I got 'punched full of holes', and Tybalt bit at him--but I kind of wonder if that was an aggressive lunge, since Tybalt likes him but is obviously more comfortable interacting with me at this point. But then, why would he associate my husband's arm with his head/face?) The idea of Tybalt grooming me is interesting, it could be, but it hurts so much I can't imagine another parrot tolerating such a thing well! But then, I don't have feathers covering me, either... Anyway, birdhouse, Gwen, Talon, Morana, Ray, Wingy... thank you for reading and posting your kind thoughts and comments and ideas, I'll let you know how this works out over the next few days. Hopefully this issue will resolve itself sooner than later. P.S.--And about the bottles from the fridge, Tybalt just attacks those. We've thrown around ideas that maybe in his first home, when he was with the other parrots, the owner drank a lot of beer or something (the Perrier bottles are green) and that maybe they signified something bad for him. (????) I have no clue. But Tybalt will try and land on the cups we hold, and go crazy on our fingers, but he'll just scream and attack the Perrier water bottles. So, perhaps he is afraid of them, or angry at them, or something. I am going to try to become more aware of not drinking from them in front of him, though, so as not to upset him unnecessarily. P.P.S.--You know, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe he did think the lotion was yummy. (?) Because like I said, he's been nipping me sharply lately, but he didn't actually start eating my skin until yesterday. And I haven't given him the chance to bite my arms today, wearing long sleeves, and I don't have the lotion on today. But, again, he didn't break the skin on my upper arm, either, he just left little hot-iron beak shapes there. Woof! I never thought I'd have to tumble around such a concept as this, living with our Tybalt!

Congrats on overcoming your one hurdle! I'm sure it makes life a lot easier for you.

I'm glad you've all enjoyed the vid! And Morana, I usually set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the cookies for about 15 minutes.

I don't have any firsthand experience with this sort of thing, of course, but what I've read in the more modern Grey books is that the longer a chick can be with the parents, the better. They can learn more and build their confidence levels in ways that are a far more difficult thing to do, learning from a human. It is good that Gracie has such self-confidence, because you always hear about Greys that are phobic and nervous and--considering especially that she's a CAG--I've read that they often seem to take a bit longer to 'wean' properly from their parents than the TAGs, and so an extra bit of time with her parents probably enabled her to develop in ways that you would regret, later, if she hadn't. So even if she's a little more independent right now, be glad. She'll be the bold and brassy girl who can handle herself in more versatile situations with less stress, later on.

Yes, Ray, I agree--it is already another wonderful addition to the Grey Forums!

Haha, thanks birdhouse. Yes, I figure you don't hear that too much--parrot eating its mommy! He really is eating the bits he's taken off, though (although the hair is questionable), and his body language is very friendly and attentive, no lunging or hissing or anything! I put the lotion on a while ago and figure it's absorbed so, again, I don't think it's that but I figure I'll leave it off for the next couple of days and see if that makes a difference. Hope so... I'll let you guys know.

I'm so glad to hear that things are moving along for you and Sam--you might not ever be "the favorite person", Karen, but I'm sure in some part of him Sam still is happy that you are attentive and caring to him. Like the others have said, you are patient and kind and it might just take some more time for him to mellow and warm up to you a bit. Our Beaker is in love with my hubby and goes back and forth with me, but I know deep-down he loves me in his own goofy way, too. But I get bitten nevertheless! And, yes, I would say that letting someone else groom Sam would be the better thing. As our groomer said to me, "You don't want to have this relationship with your parrot!" (as Marcus screamed bloody-murder and growled, admittedly adorably, during his toweling and subsequent nail-trimming). I think something so traumatic could really put your relationship back a bit if you were the one to care for it, so you'd probably want someone else to do that job for you. P.S.--Sam in your avatar is just gorgeous!!

Yes, I think that the fact that Barnaby is with you now and in a loving, attentive home will do him a world of good, even if some bad news comes from the visit to the vet's. You two can travel that path together, and the fact that your support will be there and that he won't be alone is something that, I'm sure, Barnaby will sense and eventually blossom over.

Hello, I debated posting this in the Training room, but considering everything it might do better here... Tybalt, as many of you know, is a green Indian Ringneck parakeet whom we adopted a little over six months ago. He is between three and four years old at this point, in beautiful feather, and has a ton of energy. A ton. He, more than any of our other parrots, enjoys zooming around the house. He is gorgeous in flight and standing still, perching or eating one of his favorite treats. He is also very affectionate and--barring his new and incomprehensible dislike of Bunsen (he started out adoring her)--he is very friendly with our other birds. Beaker in particular is a good buddy of his. Slowly, my husband and I have been creating tentative friendships with Tybalt, too. We are his third home, supposedly, after he spent about half a year with a nice family (the wife was allergic to him), and before that he lived with a man, I believe, who also owned a Quaker and a Military Macaw. So Tybalt has been around. I believe his former daddy in his last home made some good headway with him, but I get the impression Tybalt really hasn't been handled since he left the breeder's. (He has a band on his leg that I understand is the type that they put on baby birds.) Anyway, I don't mean to ramble, I just want to give enough back story for this situation... and I specifically have been making some headway with our Tybalt lately. He will fly across the room to land near me anymore, and sometimes on me, but he has only stepped-up once or twice onto my arm and will not allow anyone to physically touch him (as in a kiss or a head-tickle). I may have made a big mistake in allowing him to drink from a Pyrex measuring cup in the summer time, when I would greatly dilute some freshly-juiced carrot and apple juice and offer some to Marcus. Marcus loves it! and apparently it caught Tybalt's interest too, although not to the same degree. That would be fine, except that since then Tybalt seems to want to "attack" anything in our hands that even vaguely resembles a cup. And it's not as if he's just trying to drink from it, he'll bite fingers and things just because it's near the cup. The same thing goes for bottles (we keep two Perrier glass bottles perpetually filled in the fridge for cold water, and if he's out when we drink from one, you have to dance around because he'll try to land on it and scream at it as he's biting it). He's generally pretty good with treats, he'll take almonds from our fingers without issue... but recently, as he's been getting more and more jealous of my interactions with the other parrots (even Marcus!) he's decided to come closer and closer. He'll land on my shoulder, he'll land on my head, my back, whatever... okay, fine. Except that today when he landed on my knees, I started talking to him and I asked him if he wanted to step-up. He lunged forward gently, as if to test the solidarity of his 'perch' (my arm), and then he bit me and took off some skin--and ate it! When this happened again, I did more than say, "No, that hurts!" and I showed him how I was bleeding. He was completely nonplussed about it all and proceeded to eat some more of my skin! You should see my arms--I look like something out of a war movie or something, covered with weird scabs and welts! I'm wondering, is he thinking he's grooming me? Because at one point he pulled off some hair from my arm and ate that, too (or at least chewed it). Or maybe I just taste good?... I put a little bit of natural lotion on earlier, but I really can't imagine that being it! My husband says I should react more strongly and let him know in no uncertain terms that he can't bite like that, that it really hurts me, it's unacceptable. I just don't want to scare him and have him not want to be near me at all anymore. I've been enjoying very much our little green boy putting forth the effort to perch near me these past couple of weeks, and "talk" to me... and speaking of talking, when I was out today my husband texted me and said that he heard Tybalt say "Good boooooyyyy!"--which is a first! So I know he's feeling more comfortable with us and I am so happy he is, I just don't know what to do about this new issue. He can't be a carnivorous parrot, I'm sorry! So I just thought I'd share our story here and see if anyone else has any insight into the wacky actions of this lovely, rehomed little Ringneck of ours. Thanks for reading, anyway...

I am very excited about this new room here in the forums... thank you so much for adding it, I am sure it will be a great help to so many of us!