kave70

I'm late to the thread, but sending lots of positive thoughts for Java and yourself. I'm glad to hear she's improving.

happily signed and shared.

Our experience was quite similar with Sam. When he arrived he seemed to be "calling his old flock", belting out loads of phrases, sounds, dog barks, and lots of naughty words. After about 6 weeks, he went silent, with the exception of whistles and the word "help". It's been over a year now, and our progress has been real slow. He mostly whistles, but has delighted us with the occasional word. Have patience- it may take a while for Wozzie to begin to say new words, but when he does, it'll be such a treat!

I definited liked the bowl doors on the A&E cage better, too.

This might be a silly question, but how do you find out about where these are happening? We live in upstate NY, in a very rural setting and I would just LOVE to check one out and see what it's like. How do I search for one?

Thanks for sharing, Ray... a good reminder to take time to sit and appreciate all this nature around me.

It sounds like you are doing a great job and Momo is learning to occupy himself in other ways. Keep up the great work!

It takes Sam a long time to adjust to anything new. I would just leave the playstand where Charlie can see it for several days, and casually bring him closer to it, without asking him to step on it. With Sam, the fright wears off with familiarity. Maybe it will be the same for Charlie. It's a cool looking stand!

It might take several weeks for us to have a repeat performance, but I'm sure it will happen again. These special moments give me the energy and the patience to just keep going.... especially when it's such a slow process. I'm very proud of him!

Such a great photo!

I just sat down to read this board and Sam was whistling up a storm so I went to reward him and say a quick hello. He put his foot out to me (a huge wooo hooo) so I picked him up and brought him here to the computer. I had a water bottle here and he leaned down and grabbed it. I am so excited... this is another big step for him. If and when he is out with me, he is usually so timid and trembling. While I know it isn't the ideal toy, I am so happy that Sam interacted and stole my water bottle. I even took a photo- it's not great because I'm balancing him and the water bottle, while sitting here. This has turned out to be a great day!

timid silly beautiful

Sam's foraging pyramid, shown in my photo. I can put anything in it and he'll be brave and take it all out, searching for that almond, that he knows will be there.

lucky birds!

Great idea!

Thank you so much for this post. It really hit home and made me feel good about my relationship with Sam. Your words made a difference and I truly thank you for that.

Such pretty, vivid scenery. Thanks for sharing.

We've recently put down linoleum where all the bird cages are. I took the leftover and made "mats" that go just under the front of the cages. Sam likes to sit on his perch, that is attached to the door. When the door is open (all day) he poops on the mat constantly, and I can wait till he goes back in and just pick up the small mat and clean. I don't like to scare him off, if he dared to come out at all. It's easy to wipe down that way.

Thanks :-) I feel like Filbert needs a dozen of these to keep him busy. Sam, on the other hand, just likes to observe.

So glad to know it has changed. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to look into it.

Would vinegar work? I know I use it to clean/sanitize everything and even bought the higher acidic content jug to spray my weeds. I had to get it at the flower nursery, but we have free range chickens and ducks so I wanted pesticide free. It might be worth a try.

Here is one of the playstands we have for the boys. I switch up the toys often. Sam isn't completely thrilled, but he is beeping and whistling, so I think we're good :-)

What is the next step? I'm afraid to push him, as he's so timid.

The colors are so vivid. What's Merlin like? Does he enjoy all those trips?

Filbert's hatch date was March 15th. It took him a day to acclimate, and now it's like having a young toddler who was given mounds of sugar.. hehehehehhee He's always on the go- I have to come up with loads to keep him busy. I sprinkle his veggies (very finely chopped) on a paper plate at the bottom of his cage and he eats a bit from there, but never veggies from a bowl. Anything and everything is a toy- he's attacking a set of baby keys as I type. Good luck today!