kins2321@yahoo.com

Damn Timbersmom... of COURSE we missed you! I tend to worry and question after three weeks, as I don't want to pry! I am soooooo sorry for you and your son. If you have any medical questions, I will try to help you. Just send me a private message! ( no guarantee I would have the answers, but I am here for you!) . Focus on your son! Nancy

Can't I just buy from you Greytness and give it a try? I am REALLY into healthy lately. Weight watchers, down 25 pounds, another 25 to go! Sophie is a perfect weight, but she is excited with my healthy living. ( she is excited, because I am excited!) LOL She has always had a healthy diet ,but now it is even healthier! I let her know how much points on ww her peanuts cost her! She worries, around ten seconds, then consumes them! Nancy

Welcome! We can't wait to hear more about you guys and your new addition to your family. Nancy

All have excellent advice, and you need to do, what works for you. It will be a difficult road for you, as your bird is older and set more in his ways. BUT... every grey can learn, no matter how old they are. I was lucky to get Sophie at two, our Amazon as a baby, and a rescue. The rescue, WAS a challenge, but we worked it out. Sophie was NEVER allowed on shoulder, until she learned " biting", was not allowed. If she bit me or kids, she went into a cage ( not her own), no toys, nothing to do... for one minute per year. We immediately tried again. We were persistent, consistent, and she had the " same"outcome with both the kids. Six months of hell! When she would start demonstrating signs of a bite, ( they do), eye pinning, feathers flat, we would diffuse the situation then. NO Sophie! Are we going into timeout? She knew what timeout was. ( time away from us!) Nancy

Sophie hanging on my shoulder, grooming herself! ( dust flying everywhere!) When I started the video... she stopped and paid attention. Sophie says " awwwww", her approval. High praise from miss Sophie! Nancy ( I just laughed and thought it was adorable!) Nancy and Sophie

I measured Sophie's cages. One is 32 by 40. The other is 44 by 45. Doesn't include the gym at top. Nancy

Sophie already had a good size cage... so I am going to be a " Debbie downer", bigger was not better... Her cage was big enough though, but you DO need to increase your cage size Nancy

VFR__Mayday.. My son, also has an anxiety disorder. Off at college now. He has always been the " bird whisperer", in our family.We have had birds of different species, rescues, babies, adopted AND open cage concept.We could not have done this without him. Just develop trust, love and expectations. It all falls into place, no matter how anxious you get. Birds also understand your needs once the trust is there. You are gonna be a GREAT parent, and have the most amazing bird that will support you, as much as you do them. Nancy

Ollie is a dog. Sophie's best friend. Sophie is stressing out, since Ollie is coughing. Sophie is calmer today regarding Ollie. As I worked, it was hard to tell if I should make a vet appointment.When I got home at six, Ollie went out, barking at everyone, and Sophie had " no tales to tell!" A good sign. While this is a bird site,My point is how amazing our Greys can be. They can pickup on medical issues, quicker than us, and bring issues to our attention! When my kids were younger, ( both have asthma), Sophie could pickup on someone that was wheezing. Kids tend to hide their symptoms! ( not sure why!) Sophie would pickup on the wheezing, and once she imitated it, I knew one of the kids were sick! They have a sense that I find amazing! Nancy

Ollie, has been coughing around three times a day. He is eating well, and drinking. His activity hasn't changed. I also know, Sophie snuck him some peanuts past few days. He has done this several times. when Sophie has given him peanuts. I am not going crazy, as long as his activity and appetite are good. No shortness of breath as well. His lungs are clear, heart sounds are good. ( being a nurse, does have some bene fits!). He is vaccinated against kennel cough...I am not worried, but Sophie is VERY concerned! This morning, I forgot to close my room. Sophie was on my shoulder at 6 am. All she could talk about was Ollie, imitating his cough! I GET it! I don't know how to reassure her, that I am watching Ollie closely, and will seek help IMMEDIATELY, if needed. Nancy

We can't wait! We tend to " glorify ourselves", as aunts and uncles Nancy and Sophie

Super cute! Complete trust and love! Now I know how your baby feels about you.... it was great to see your relationship. Nancy

Yay for Mayday! We are so happy for you! You have taken time and patience, to develop the trust. Now start slowly introducing a routine. Greys thrive when they understand expectations. For us, bedtime is at 800. We start with reading a book together at 745. ( cloth books are amazing!) ie: Thomas the Tank Engine, is Sophie's favorite!( 15 years of reading the same book!) LOL! As I know it by heart, she notices when I don't turn the pages correctly! You guys are doing just GREAT! We are always here to help and support. Nancy

DANG Sterling... you scared me! I'll make sure its just a matter of the circuit breaker. I am NOT losing this battle! I don't usually sweat about the " small stuff", and Sophie KNOWS this! ( so do my kids!). BUT, if it is important to me, to battle it out, kids are voting " Rom will win." Why yes she will! ( of course, Sophie's safety is first.) Soooo... where do you live Sterling SL? I am a GREAT birdsitter! Hint hint! LOL Nancy

We were lucky, that Sophie"s dad, was just giving her up, due to his very busy work schedule. He called her weekly on the phone, and stayed part of her life for several months.Do you have that opportunity? It was very important for Sophie. He would call... I would yell for Sophie " dad's on the phone!" She would come running! Nancy

You should DEFINITELY be reading about biting, diet, stepup training.We adopted a grey, that was entering terrible twos, had a private nanny, and we had no Grey experience! Can you imagine? LOL.... Six months later...I knew, when she finally understood. She had been living on " wrist status only", family always involved. She never had an opportunity to accept just one of us, to be her favorite. The day she was on my wrist, biting the air, saying " NO BITE", I knew she finally understood.. I went crazy! I called the kids, told them Sophie finally understands! We had a celebration! Sophie, thought we were crazy! That was the last day, any of us were ever bit. More than a decade later, we don't have to ask for stepup or step down. She just does it! Kids off at college, they all skype. Sophie sees Ryan once a year, and she will " knock you down", to greet him. They never forget those that have been involved in their lives. Nancy

My handyman is coming Monday to close my pool. I have decided to have him shut down power to the light fixture, but treat her like the power source is active, ( have him teach me how to reactivate the power). She is getting better and better everytime she lands on the light fixture when I tell her NO! Nancy

Beautiful choice... HOWEVER... bigger, is not always better.A Grey's home, is so very important to them. Changing to a new cage, is a lot of work. You have to slowly introduce new cage, give them a choice. We would leave new cage door open, let Sophie checkout new cage. Put her to bed in old cage ( which was big enough actually). She now has two cages. Her older one, and new " grand palace", that she has had for a few years. She goes to the " palace", maybe twice a week. Just like a new play gym, Sophie has been introduced new gyms, but prefers her old metal one that my son has repaired over and over. Its hanging by a thread, but she watches him repair it, supervises... once its fixed, Sean tells her she is " good to go"... She is thrilled and tests it out! Off she goes sliding down the sides 90 miles an hour.I have tried to replace the same gym... she wants nothing to do with that plan! We've kept her gym since I adopted her, and trusts Sean to fix it! Nancy

Two year olds rock! We got Sophie at age two as well THE most important age, as well as entering the " terrible two's" Their brain is just ready and willing... teach me! I also had a baby Amazon, but nothing compared to a grey's development at age two. You are gonna need us to help you, for the most amazing ride of your life! Start reading anything and everything on " stepup, step down." ( yes... this is a MUST in bird development). I did this with all my birds. Eventually, you never have to ask again to " stepup", they just have one foot ready and waiting! Nancy

I LOVED this chandalier! Sigh! Just one more thing that I have to get rid of. I am noticing a pattern of give and take, that I just give! I am gonna talk to my handyman, see if he has any other ideas. I would rather disconnect from the power source and just continue to teach her " MINE, not yours!" She usually does respect me, when we have a disagreement about ownership. If I disconnect the power, and we develop an agreement, that the chandalier is mine... she will back off.Of course she will test me, but if the power is off, her tests won't threaten her safety. A battle of the wills. Nancy

Welcome to you and your new baby! Nancy

Great advice by Dave! He is awesome! When I got my girl Sophie, at age two, I didn't wait even 48 hours to get her into my avian specialist! Sophie was coughing and sneezing! I had an appointment a week later for First vet visit. I insisted on being seen right away...my vet knows I don't freak out easily! Sophie went in right away. She was coughing and sneezing, because my son was sick! My vet knew me very well, so he was happy to have a good laugh! He knew I was clueless... and directed me where I needed to learn... He did a complete physical, did the bloodwork, and told me, I had a very happy, feisty, grey, entering the terrible twos. Nancy

I've got nothing! We made a point thru all the time we have had Sophie, to introduce our entire house. Our goal was always to make her comfortable, whenever she was afraid, we worked together, to make her comfortable! We would meet once a week to discuss her fears when she was younger, and make a plan for the next week to work together, and help her with any fears she had! Discuss her progress the next week we met as a family. ( she sounds like a science project!) I guess we did a good job...I am proud that we helped Sophie to be a very confident bird, but now it is biting us all in the butt! She thinks the world revolves around her, and doesn't understand, there are things in this world, that can hurt you! She has so many positive traits. Be strong, confident and be a leader that you were meant to be! I have always said this to her, and I believe she understood as she got older. She has been the flock leader of dogs, different birds of different origins. The most empathetic bird, you could ever meet. Now... her safety is threatened, and I am not sure what to do. I am thinking of duct taping the electrical wire.I am also considering have my handyman, remove the light fixture.Its not worth her safety. Nancy

neeow... It is an amazing experience! Amazon's wear their heart on their sleeve. They are very emotional, and let you know how they are feeling! We lost our Kiki... but even Sophie, who rules her kingdom with an iron fist, always was very empathetic to Kiki with her high emotions! When Kiki was molting, Sophie kept everyone quiet... In return, Kiki taught Sophie how to fly, and try new foods, They were a perfect balance! Nancy

I have always believed, a bird chooses you, rather than how most people think. Sophie chose me, when I adopted her at age two. I had no experience with a grey, when I intervewed to adopt Sophie, who came from a great home. She chose me, even though several other families were more experienced. She came from a fantastic home. I asked her owner, why he chose us during second interview. He explained to me... it wasn't up to him...it was up to Sophie! You have been chosen! Now you need to develop that trust, introduce the rest of the family, and NEVER allow your grey to love just you! Sophie LOVES all of us. ( it is alot of work, but very important!) She may love us for different reasons, but she loves all of us for our different talents, ability to play, keeping her safe. Nancy