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For past three days, Sophie is whistling " take me out to the ballgame", like crazy! She will only add " playball" at the end if she thinks she has done a good job. LOL! I give her a B minus.... she obviously gives herself an A plus! Now something new.... she immediately dials her imaginary phone and has her imaginary conversation. I'm thinking she is calling her agent for the Yankees, telling him she is ready for the National Anthem! What does YOUR bird do, that cracks you up every time? Nancy

Sophie has never been a screamer, or extra loud. ( unless she was imitating our Amazon!) She just talks alot! Whether imitating me or the kids, imitating the other birds, practicing her sounds, or just doing her favorite thing! THE PHONE! She dials her imaginary phone... has a two minute conversation.... laughs and gossips, then says " okay... alright... bye." CLICK! Sometimes she forgets to say bye... I remind her she didn't say bye...she calls her imaginary friend again and repeats it....I LOVE it! Nancy

I agree with Greywings...keep a close eye on activity of preening. Sophie is almost sixteen, has lost her last birdy companion a month ago.Now its just Ollie ( dog), and her. I have been watching her like a hawk ! ( she needed to sleep in my room a few nites, but recovered quickly!) I'm seeing TONS of down past few weeks, one major feather, but everything else is normal.She is much closer to Ollie now. I know her feathers well, and am watching for plucking. Nancy

JeffNOK...How lucky you are that Gracie is giving you a warning! I can't believe she is almost four! ( my favorite year!) Sophie also would warn me of " incoming trouble" at Gracie's age. Once she turned four.... it was just amazing. Her comprehension grew in " leaps and bounds". She still can get into almost everything....but I really do think she doesn't try to destroy things that are important. Nancy

Yay to Dorian and mama! Nancy

Alfie... Happy Birthday!!!! Kisses and hugs.... Nancy, Sophie and Ollie

Ray... LOL! Sully is truly ready for the taxi service! My kids always wondered why I wasn't the parent to argue on getting their license at age 16! Football, wrestling, ski club AND..... Sophie! Nancy

We can't wait to hear more about Lucy! We truly do feel like aunts and uncles... our feelings get hurt when we don't see pictures and new tales! ( we are a crazy bunch of parents!). LOL! This is just the beginning of your journey, and as Ray said, its just going to get more amazing! Nancy

They rub it in THICK! LOL! It will be good for Echo to have some " socializing" time, it is soooo important! Sorry mama.... not as much fun for you! Have fun with your dog as I'm sure your pup will LOVE the one on one time.Its GREAT that you have someone you can trust to take care of your baby. Nancy

I agree Ray. Even though Sophie has her own birdroom, and it is closed, the moment I get home, she is on me. She doesn't fly every where, nor do I have to close the entire house... she has no interest, as we aren't there! Sophie isn't afraid of ANYTHING in our house ( outside of the shower). She doesn't have a closed cage, even though her room is closed for a few hours. She has two windows she is fascinated with, and enjoys " knocking", at the window and doesn't destroy the woodwork anymore. I enjoy her company, and we have worked out the boundaries. Greys can be taught. Nancy

Open the cage! Start working with your bird off the door. Make it fun and interesting to come out and see you. While my bird has a cage, she has no idea what it is like to be inside one with the door closed...kids knew from day one, we couldn't have birds with a door closed, and they soooo wanted birds! Noone wants to be in a cage.. including you and me! Sophie has a cage, but she has jungle gyms that are fun. Sometimes I go to pick her up, find her in her cage...I can pick her up... put my fingers inside her home and she is fine with that. I always wait for the invite. Nancy

aerial.. that means the amount of points people send you, for what you have posted! ( I think!) nancy I know that means people appreciate you!

Lucy... your parent is a keeper! LOL Nancy

Well let's go! LOL! I LOVE how Sophie always has that foot up and ready! Lets go! Many times I have to getup at 430 am... she has that foot up and ready, but she is half asleep! I give her a big kiss... tell her I'm gonna shower, and get you up when I am done. ( I am sure she appreciates another half hour, and never argues!) LOL Nancy

The goal for all parents, is of course, to have a flighted bird. " How you get there", requires lots of investigation on the parents part. While I can't say " stay" to Sophie, and expect her to listen to me, I can certainly say " no", to Sophie, and she backs up three steps and goes off to find something else she can get into! The only " regret" I have, is not knowing Sophie, before the age of two. Things would have been different. She would have learned how to fly, develop her chest muscles. I'm sure I would have still trimmed her back, developed mine and Sophie's relationship with Paul, her secondary care giver.It took us awhile to get where we want to be.... but we are here. A beautiful bird, my best friend, my child,, a best friend to my kids, and spoiled rotten as she should be. Nancy

adorable! Nancy

I can tell from your conversations, how much you love your baby! Welcome... I'm jealous about the shower! Sophie gives more than an " annoyed look!" LOL She acts like I'm killing her everytime and its been more than a decade! " tough love I guess. Nancy

Faris54... If this was Sophie, my grey, an intervention, would happen. Not everyone can do this! She would be outside her cage, 24/7, monitored, and chewing feathers, would be a NOOOO! We have been lucky that Sophie learned " noone appreciates you chewing your feathers, got returned to her cage". While she loves everyone in the family, thru consistency, she knows noone appreciates feather plucking, and it is less than desirable. When she " preens", we tell her how beautiful she is...when she ever "over preened"... we told her okay... thats enough! If she ignored us, she got returned to her cage, door was closed. She didn't like that! She stopped nancy

SOMETHING... has changed! Think back! Just changing their cage by a few degrees, intro to a new pet, a raise, a job promotion, they don't miss a thing. Nancy

I appreciate you Greywings for your nutrient nerdiness! LOL Sophie appreciates me for my grilling....she is the first one at the table! The only thing I deprive her of... is spaghetti sauce. Other than that, she eats, what we eat. She always compliments me, and carries on and on how happy she is! LOL! ( kids should learn how to be so appreciative!) I'm not a big spice cooker, but I am sure Sophie would eat almost anything. She cares more for the " family dynamics!" Nancy

Don't forget to child proof home. Electrical plugs, safety locks on kitchen cabinets... go thru each room and really look closely! We've been in " lock down for 15 years"... LOL! No big deal... that just makes me a " safety expert", for any two year old! Any plants? GONE! Any gemstones in moms ears? GONE!( Sophie is gemstone fascinated, and she can steal any earring without u knowing!) LOL. We all make sacrifices, but sooo worth it! SAFETY, is very important, and each room bird will be in, needs to be child proofed. Nancy

EXCELLENT posts by everyone! Of course, this opens up a sensitive discussion " To trim, or not to trim"... I'm a firm believer in letting babies learn to fly, develop chest muscles. I am also supportive in " trimming back SLOWLY", during terrible twos that usually extends thru the threes.THIS requires finding the BEST trimmer... a trimmer that knows your bird from the beginning! I can't tell you how many horror stories I have heard from people, unable to find that perfect trimmer! ( I have one that has known Sophie from the beginning!). Sophie was " clipped", when I first adopted her. Since she was already two, she was quite easy to train, and our open cage concept was successful. It wouldn't have been, if she was free flighted! In retrospect... it took her a decade to learn how to fly, and thats not a good thing! We want them to fly... we want them to learn... I believe we need to find a " balance". You can't unless you have an amazing trimmer that knows your amazing bird! Nancy

I LOVE to see a picture of a grey with " beautiful feathers", with not a care in the world! Nancy

neoow... My comment, was not meant to make you feel like you needed to read it " literally"... it was meant to be " teasing you", and just fun! I can see, you don't know me, but I promise you... it was just meant in " fun!" Nancy

Sophie eats nuts of all kinds! I buy them at my pet store. Of course, I worry about many diseases including aspergillosis, but for the past 15 years, I have worried about every disease she can have. I am quite aware! I practice " safe handling". If you want to pickup my bird, wash your hands! My kids get it! Noone picksup Sophie, until they have washed their hands with soap and water. Its been sucessful Nancy