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All looks good. Nancy

MUSE... OMG! I LOVE you, but trimming a bird is NOT a restraint!I don't want a battle to happen " clipped or free flighted." I don't like the word clipped! Its simple... develop chest muscles, encourage flying between two members of the family and praise. Provide " decals", in the window, as baby's struggle with perception. As babies mature, and they are flying everywhere, they enter terrible two's, don't listen, fly off. TRIM them so they can fly between two rooms, but need to land. " Clipping", is NOT a word I understand, nor would NEVER do! Do I trim? HELL yeah! I tell my trimmer I want my birds to fly two rooms he delivers! I am soooo tired of parrents attacking owners that trim, but yet, their birds have pulled out their feathers! I am just supporting bird owners that trim... I don't see them here. Sophie can fly every where and anywhere. It did take her a decade.Its not my battle, as I am not suffering it. Nancy

It is indeed, possible, that Poet said " I don't want to". I am partially deaf in my right ear, and thats a good thing when it comes to birds! LOL! Being partially deaf, I have heard things at an early age, that I just suspected! IF... Poet said " I don't want to", that would mean, Poet understands what the wording means.You don't need to test a second time... you just have to be " taller" the next time! I am only 5'3. My birds take " height" seriously! Many do not. Next time you want Poet to come down, be on a step stool and be taller. THEN say come down. See if there is a difference. Nancy

Open the door!Time to get to know each other on a neutral gym! TRUE love. Nancy

I laughed when I read this post! Timbersmom is right remembering my Sophie having a foot fetish! She LOVES Ryan's feet the most. He has the ugliest feet. Seriously! He has " hammer toes," and I see surgery in his future... but, getting past that, Sophie kisses, regurgis on his toes.When he is home and falls asleep in the living room which I know he will do, I leave Sophie's birdroom open, as I know she will sleep near his feet and be absolutely thrilled!( she will actually sleep on his feet!). This has been going on for years! She also loves to play " tag", with Sean and his feet. He lives in Crocs, so one of her favorite games, is to put her beak in one of the holes, and run off like they are playing tag. She " hides", in plainsight with her beak down and butt in the air! LOL! Sean pretends he cant see her. Runs around to tag her back.I am truly delighted to watch their game of tag! Obviously, I have BEAUTIFUL feet, as Sophie prefers ugly or smelly! Sophie has no interest in my feet. Nancy

Shower from the start. Warm temp and inviting! Sophie HATES the shower. but I got her at age two. She still hates the shower, says " no thank you!" She gets showered, and warned. She understands that I HAVE to do it, for health reasons! She doesnt know what that means, but it is important, and she needs to " bite the bullet!" I shower her, Sean is on the other side to receive her.She trusts us and knows we do this for a reason! ( still hates us what we are doing!) Nancy

I can take my bird to trimmer...he weighs her, checks out her nails and beak and generalized health. I don;t need to go to a vet yearly, have my girl exposed to diseases, in the waiting room! I am just as obsessive with my kids. Both have asthma, and will most likely get sick, sitting in the waiting room! I send them yearly, for a physical, but tell them " don't touch anything"!Get in, and get out! Nancy

I disagree. My dogs learned pretty quickly, Sophie was the leader of the pack. She is a bird. She has lead the pack for past decade. Max my senior Lhasa Apso, age 18, ruled the animals. Once Sophie came here, he decided " Sophie would do!" He trained new pups to " NEVER" attack birds." Sophie was to be respected! Listen to her! Once new puppies were respectful, Max decided his time was done.Its still very hard for me... I miss Max so much. Nancy

Eleven, is still a youngster! Think about how long they live? I personally think this is the time to really educate, watch them reason, associate words with meaning. Its amazing. Sophie at age 14, is the funnest time I have ever associated with. She gets it, but can now empathize, and has a personality! Nancy

Muse.... Sigh! I can't help you! This site already sticks with " birds need to fly". I get it. Probably 99% ( probably more than that!) I also think, that owners that decide to trim, don't tell what they do! I am sure statistics will tell you, birds that are " free-flighted", on average, disappear, when they escape. My trimmer, a bird store owner tells me the statistics all the time. Personally, any bird going outside needs harness training. NEVER count on the trim! As an owner that adopted Sophie age two, trimmed, and worked with my trimmer to grow her feathers back,he could trim her perfectly, to slowly learn how to fly.She got there after many years, because she didn't have the opportunity to learn to fly as a baby. I learned several things. Having a two year old that is a real " brat", having her trimmed made her take time to learn some rules and expectations! She took time to meet and learned to love our family. she socialized! I see birds that have been fully flighted from the start, never learn to socialize and understand rules and expectations! Nancy

All with such excellent posts! What a relief your baby is home and safe. We are all missing our Kiki, who pulled out the cardboard next to air conditioner and flew off! Sean still hasn't forgiven me. Nancy

aww...don't cry! Ryan first off, asked me how Sophie would do, with Sean dating. I told him she would do the same thing. Sitting between them! Ryans girlfriend is more outgoing, will tell Sophie that she loves him and will share. This girl is shy. Sophie is NOT shy...so it may be a little more difficult! I told Sean, bring her home, we can do dinner. I can close Sophie's cage for a few hours. Eventually, it will be up to him to introduce Sophie. She is important to him, as well as he is important to her. Nancy

I felt bad, that I was too harsh on GlennMarsh. Glad to know he is a spammer. Nancy

Poor Ryan has been dating the same girl for six years. Sophie still sits between them! NOT going to happen! If Sean brings this girl home...she will go crazy! We will have to talk about it. Nancy

neoow.. Always watch out for those " closet talkers!" They tend to be very smart. Busy learning... don't need to talk alot. Continue to expect language, and train. NEVER give up on your bird. Of course, I know you will love your bird if not verbal. EXPECT language and train. Nancy

Absolutely adorable! BEAUTIFUL feathers! Nancy

If you have three behaved dogs, you can have a well behaved bird. You will make LOTS of mistakes! LOL! We all have done so, and continue. You are capable! Don't be afraid of your bird, and don't let baby make decisions. As a baby, satisfy the oral needs and socialize. Enjoy this stage. Develop the trust and create goals you want for your baby. I would suggest first goal... learning " stepup." Its very important. We taught off the door. Eventually, involve other family or friends to practice " stepup" away from cage, maybe a game! We no longer have to ask Sophie to stepup! She is UP and ready.... 24/7 Nancy

2birds... Thanks alot! Now I have to play that butterfly song over and over, until Sophie has her " clicks", just perfect. I WILL pay you back! LOL! Nancy

Greytness... Sophie was going crazy for me to turn it off! LOL! I didn't know how.It was funny hearing her shouting at me! I enjoyed it and found it relaxing. She never shutup until it was done! I am sorry my bird doesn't respect great music! Nancy

GlennMarsh... NEVER suggest for an owner to hesitate for medical care, when they are NOT breathing well. A Grey, tends to follow pediatric guidelines. Once in respiratory failure, they will arrest.ANY bird struggling to breathe, needs to be addressed IMMEDIATELY! Nancy

Go to local vet! Mine have an avian vet, have been there once for " wellness" check. Less exposure to other birds and animals, is good, is my motto! My birds have been to Avian vet once for wellness check, a decade ago. Healthy, don't need to go back.I get " reminders", that my birds are do for a " healthy visit!" NOT going to happen, if they are acting healthy. They get weighed and trimmed by my trimmer. He knows I am obsessive regarding " hand cleaning". I want them in, and out! Kids know I am obsessive about " clean hands". I am not obsessive about birds being exposed to natural germs. Just wash your hands, before handling birds. I don't think I ask for much! Soap and water goes a long way. Nancy

I LOVED the pictures! What a happy family! Take time to grieve.I am crying thru the pictures. Don't close your heart to a new grey. They are amazing! Take your time. Nancy

If taking your bird to work will be a regular thing, then they need a regular sized cage at work. Checkout used cage sites! Just my opinion, but many feel differently, I don't allow any of my birds until fully trained on the shoulder. That should include you! I know all is good now... I'm telling you this for a reason. Life will be good right now, but your baby WILL enter the terrible twos. 12 months until .......thats when most parents are so upset. Their baby becomes "INSANE!" If you prepare for the terrible two's and have taught your bird from the beginning... its much easier!I'll take six months of hell as opposed to three or four years of hell. It wasn't easy vacumning with a bird on my wrist, or cleaning with her there. I suffered thru it. I wouldn't do anything different. Nancy

Sunny, my rescue sunconure is very old. Noone knows how old, but he can't speak. He was our first bird, and out of forever homes. He bonded to Kiki our Amazon( God rest her soul), and had to suffer the indignity of sitting between Kiki and Sophie on his rope. He walked out to me one day and carried on for five minutes in his own language. I could tell he was annoyed that girls kept climbing into his cage, sinking his rope! He gets his point across. Nancy

I felt bad for sean, as I think his feelings were hurt. I explained to him, that Sophie acts like a child, and will always be one.Its like a kid on the playground! One leaves...the kid scrambles to find another playmate! "Can't wait for that first playmate to come back!", I told him. He liked that comparison. He will be back in three weeks.He has a fourth date with a girl I set him up on! LOL I know, I know, mothers should never setup their kids on a date. She is the sister of a co-worker, adorable, and he was interested! Of course, she can't come here for some time as I would have to lock Sophie up. She will sit between them as she did with Ryan and not tolerate hand holding or kisses! On the other hand... Sophie can always help me to NOT be a grandmother prematurely! Nancy