kins2321@yahoo.com

Sean came home this weekend. Kiki's owner. Boy... was she happy. She flew in immediately, landed on his shoulder, and wouldn't move! Where he went, she went. When he went out with his friends, she wasn't happy and let him know it. It was so fun to watch. Nancy

NO WAY! I've had Sunny my rescue for 12 years! Have NEVER seen him do this.... but he LOVES bells. Has TONS of them. I find him inbetween Sophie and Kiki on his rope all the time. Are you saying they are having a threesome?????????? My girls are virgins!!!!!! Nancy

Having dogs as companions, should always be done when you are home. My dogs and birds are best friends. Always seperated when I go to work. When I am home... they are constantly together with me. All of them. NEVER EVER alone. Nancy

I trimmed my birds when they were younger.Mostly during the terrible two's. The biggest problem with trimming ( i don't believe in the word clipping), is finding the best trimmer. Birds should still be able to fly, at least eight feet in either direction, and be able to land safely.It should also be a gradual process. No bird should be flying one day, the next, not! How traumatic. I also believe birds need to learn to fly to develop chest muscles and the dynamics of flying. If they don't have this opportunity, they will never be able to fly when you gradually grow their wings back in.My birds are all fully flighted again. Trimming lasted at most, two years, but again, remember they had a fantastic trimmer that knew them from the moment they came to my home.Sophie who came home at age two was fully " clipped". Her wings grew in, we practiced flying with her.Clipping for her was minimal, as she already was not a great flyer. Kiki our Amazon, came home as a baby. To this day, she is an awesome flyer. Learned and practiced flight, trimmed at age two, full grown feathers again at age four. She is an amazing flyer. Nancy

The article was too funny! Don't worry Gilbert, mom's just kidding! LOL I spent so much time making sure kids didn't teach Sophie bad words. I told them to go into the garage to curse. We all ended up there. I left Sophie with Ryan's friend for a week once, walked in the door, said " Sophie we're home!" She yelled back " SHIT ROM!" I yelled RYAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It took her a couple of weeks to forget that word.Jeffrey was banished from bird sitting. Nancy

I know I'm the bad guy. I'm sticking to my guns. Too tall, birds should be equivalent to your height, and when they molt, you need to be taller. Nancy

monkey... my heart goes out to you! The odds are your bird most likely died from a congenital defect, or a virus.If you and family have not experienced any ill effects with your enviroment, the odds are, your bird didn't suffer from the same. Nancy

I;m still taking cages outside and using " dawn" dish detergeant to scrub them down outside. Hired my new friend Sean, to help. Nancy

Zoom... terrible two's. Comparable to a two year old. Just my suggestion... OFF the shoulder. When bitten, say NO! Return to cage, wait five minutes like a " timeout", go get baby and try again. WRIST status only. Sophie got shoulder status once she learned she couldn't bite, and that included the entire family. Kids also put her in timeout if she bit. It was hard on them as well, but the consistency paid off. Six months later, we experienced the positive effect of our consistency, patience and love. Ten years ago, and our last bite. Nancy

You will be surprised what birds work out. Sophie is the queen bee, but Sophie, Sunny and Kiki share their cages. I can find Sophie and Sunny together, or Kiki and Sunny together. I have found all three together sitting on Sunny's rope. I can travel to bird groomer with all three in one cage, no big deal. My groomer is amazed, asked me what I did for this to happen? I didn't do anything! They worked it out. Kiki and Sophie, do fight at times. Verbally. They never hurt each other physically. Sophie is more fond of the dogs than Kiki or Sunny. Sophie will sneak in my purse and steal chapstick or lipstick that Zoey loves. When I hear " here you go Zoey", I know Sophie has stolen chapstick or lipstick and given it to Zoey. I come running!I have found Zoey with a very pink face, way too many times too count! Nancy

It worked tonite! How adorable!Gracie has always been a favorite of mine. JEFFNOK has always shown her patience and love. Nancy

Good idea Jayd. Thought it was adorable of her to leave her regurg on my pillow... " in case I got hungry!" LOL Nancy

Okay... i'm rarely sick, so when I am, I make the worst patient. Have had a horrible cold since I got back from vacation. If I'm not working, I'm on the couch with a box of kleenex, Echinachea and Zinc. Sophie knows I'm not feeling well. She walks into family room, coughing and sneezing. Climbs on my shoulder, on Wednesday my day off. She regurg on my pillow, telling me " It's okay!" ( something I always tell her if she is ever scared!)She was with me for the next 12 hours. If I fell asleep, she dug her beak under my left eye, stuck her butt in the air, was quiet as a mouse.She was better than a bowl of chicken soup! She really made me feel better! I insisted she go to bed that evening. She was hesitant! It just got me thinking, has anyone had experience where their bird made you feel better whether you were sad, or sick? Nancy

Sheldon89 LOL about the election! I went to bed at 10 pm that night, my girlfriend texted me 10 times! She was biting her nails, planning to move to Canada ( asked me to move with her!) LOL! I didn't get any of her texts until the next day. You and my friend would have been GREAT friends that nite! ( she wanted Obama though!) I"ll say it.... YAY for OBAMA! Nancy

I use a real tree. All the trimmings! Kiki is the only one fascinated with the tree. She is always in it. Of course tree is rarely lit. Certainly not plugged in. All special ornaments that kids have made over the years, don't get put in the tree. I do enjoy looking at them when I go thru the box of ornaments. Kiki is never unsupervised, she just likes to hide in it. Nancy

Awwww! I was disappointed! Tried to pull it up... said web page expired. I'll try later. Nancy

Amazons are amazing! If anyone has any questions, I would be glad to tell you about Kiki. Nancy

We all have different beliefs.My groomer sees my birds every three months for feather and nail trimming. Weight is obtained. Any concerns he has, I go to the vet. Nancy

Sorry guys... I forget what might scare a bird. I am too spoiled! Nancy

FreyaRuRu Just a baby!So much fun!As baby trusts you better, practicing stepup and down, will be your responsibility. Move baby away from cage, transfer stepup to boyfriend. ( ALWAYS away from cage.) Have baby step backup to you after a few seconds. Hangout together, let baby see you bond.When baby is ever stressed, return to cage. Watch eye pinning. I'm a firm believer, any new baby should be allowed wrist status only, until they understand biting is not appreciated or tolerated. I stuck to my guns when Sophie came home here at age two. It took six months . It was worth all the work both the kids and myself exerted.She loves all of us. ( of course... she knows what she can get away with each individual!) LOL! After a decade of having Sophie, I will always get a kick out of her thinking she is a " queen". She is! She LOVES herself to death! She also is the leader of our flock, including dogs. What she says... goes. She also is very fair with her decisions. When it comes to new toys, she provides very little for herself. Sunny gets all bell toys, Kiki gets all large chewable toys. Nancy

DaniellaWellborn... I agree with aerial. Open the cage, let Jellbean climb out and sit on the door. Bond with her on the door.She is old enough to appreciate any attempt by you to develop " trust". The best advice I received when I was " picked" by Sophie to be her rehomed parent at age two... was " always listen to your bird!" Sophie taught me everything I needed to do. Nancy

Sheldon89.... so happy Dave and CLB were able to help you.Sophie won't let me shower her. Misting her... she is offended, but a necessity in life. They especially get dry in the winter. I can't imagine showering more than once a week as you are washing away natural oils.Sophie spends a great deal of time with me away from her cage especially in the evening. I LOVE watching her preen. She parts her feathers in one claw, like parents do with braiding hair. She seperates her feathers, cleans, adds another feather, cleans. What a process! When its my turn to get preened... I beg her to get rid of the greys only!LOL Nancy

I believe most grey babies should be around 16-20 weeks before they should be allowed to take a grey home. In think Dave can help you with the best advice. Nancy

Just keep an eye on Iggy. They tend to move their head around alot. Watch his intake. Nancy

I am a medical person, and am very paranoid! I unfortunately know too much! I rarely bring my birds to the vet, unless they are sick. Nancy