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bluedawg... Sophie also communicates with her mouth. Kisses with her beak...rubbing my hand with her beak.... trying to regurg on an especially funday. I let her in my hand and thank her. Bad bites only, for timeout. When you feel his beak is too hard, give Dayo warning... " NO DAYO!" After six months of being consistent with " NO BITE" and timeout...if Sophie ran across the room with her beak opened ready to take a chunk out of coffee table, I can say " NO SOPHIE!" You should see her take a right or left turn! She knows what no means. Have I trained Sophie with behavior modification? I suspect I did. I'm okay with that! Remember all... timeout may not work for everyone! It certainly won't work for a bird that has not established a relationship with you.It certainly should never be in their home or somewhere they are happy to be. Their homes are to be respected, and they will only be confused.Timeout worked for us as a family, as Sophie desired to be with all of us for certain reasons. We all had something Sophie desired. Nancy

Muse... I would suggest a separate cage from sleeping cage. That cage is for sleeping and should be welcoming and comforting.Get a cage off of Craigs list for timeout. Remember, one year for every minute. Sophie averaged five. ALWAYS discuss after. I'm sure Sophie didn't understand what I was saying, but she knew I wasn't upset anymore.It can never be about being angry or upset. As far as her falling off daddy... you did what we all would do. You were trying to keep her safe. Unfortunately, you had a panicking bird and you got the shortend of the stick! How is your lip? Nancy

Thanks all for all your thoughts and prayers. Today, was the day. I made the appointment for euthanasia on Saturday for today. When I wokeup this morning she was sleeping on my head. She had to walk up onto all my pillows (like five). Her favorite spot but has been to sick to get there. Then she ran down and started barking out the window wagging her tail. Hmmmmm....I decided to start observing her like a nurse and not a mama. Her eyes were clear, her urine was yellow not brown tinged.She ate was I gave her ( just 1/4 of her normal proportions). Wanted to see if she could keep it down.She did. I called the vet... said I wanted to change the " euthanasia appointment to a vet visit." They didn't have a record of an appointment for euthanasia!!!! LOL! Well then.... if you don't have an appointment, neither does Zoey! Went into vet we did another liver panel and drained another 500 cc from her belly. Her Bilirubin level went down from 9 to 3. Her albumin level went up an entire point! YAHOOOOOOOOOOO!NOT out of the woods yet...cautiously optimistic! Poor girl is on sixteen pills a day, but she had a wonderful day! Nancy

Mazi is absolutely gorgeous! Perfect feathers, everything about your bird looks amazing. Nancy

I'm following her lead. She needs to tell me what I need to do. financially it sucks... at 2700 dollars. Not that I have a ton of money to spend....but I am more than happy to invest in her recovery. As of this moment... she has no interest in giving up. Thats not from me. I learned along time ago to listen to my birds and dogs. Zoey wants time to recover. I'm going to give her that time nancy

LOL! They are all spoiled! Sophie likes anything cheese. Nancy

They nap.Sophie goes to bed at 8pm. Up at 5-6 am.. So on average nine hours. She has gone to bed at 8pm for years. On weekends she likes to take a nap with me when I'm on the couch. Even if I am watching TV she will plop herself on my shoulder and start snoring. Certainly imitating my boys! Nancy

Shara62... Katana600 said it best. I apologize for not discussing furthur with you my thoughts.Willie is liking the new baby. Sometimes it takes something new in their life, to make a life altering change to the family dynamics. While all my birds and dogs have a favorite within our family... this always created the development of each one of our animals to feel like we were all a pack, and they all learned to love the entire family.If Willie is loving the new baby, encourage the interaction. The common denominator is YOU!You win by having a new relationship with baby, and Willie sharing the bonding experiences as well. It is a chain reaction. Next family member bonds with new baby, Willie will observe and decide " well I guess they are not so bad!" Your new baby is Willie's " achilles heel!" African Greys are such complex creatures. They absolutely don't think like us, or should I say, WE don't think like them. Once we got Sophie to stop biting after six months of adopting her at age two, I decided to " listen" to her. Of course I always listened to her, but I mean really listen. Analyze her behavior. I discovered it didn't take much to upset her, but I also discovered it didn't take much to make her happy. We found the balance. Nancy

Thank you everyone! The support is so amazing and comforting! Zoey's lab test showed some worsening liver failure and she stopped eating and drinking last nite.I was in a dilemma today, wanted to make the right decision for her. Did ask the vet..." If this was your dog, what would you do?" I'm sure they hear that alot. She was honest....didn't know, but felt I could give her another 48 hours. I was only concerned that I wasn't being selfish, and she wasn't in pain. We decided that I would evaluate her when I got there. Zoey walked out to me wagging her tail expecting me to pick her up. Decision made. NOT time.I also had promised her when we first arrived at the hospital Wednesday " You're going to walk in... and you're going to walk out!" Deal? She pranced out of there!!!! Stopped at petsmart to pick her up pepperoni sticks, her favorite. I sent her to the hospital with a 50 pack... but they were all gone. I think I fed the entire hospital!!! LOL...happy to do so.She wanted to come in. It was puppy day... tons of babies she was walking around barking and wagging her tail.She has drank sufficient amount of water and ate three pieces of roastbeef. I cut her off.She has an appointment Monday for euthanasia...but I may change that to one more blood test. If liver values go down just 1/10th of a point...game changer.IV fluids and albumin transfusions.I will ask vet to let me do these at home.We took a nap on couch together this afternoon...phone woke me up. I missed the call but didn't miss the look of " total adoration" in her eyes...it was priceless! Nancy

I'm thinking different.I think Willie is definitely interested in the baby! Encourage that... safely. Let willie see you care for baby in front of his cage. Let him know what you are doing for baby. I just have a feeling, Willie is NOT jealous, but curious. Nancy

bluedawg... good job! Be tough and firm and CONSISTENT! It in the long run, is harder on us then them. Every bite.... timeout! Sophie was doing five or six timeouts a day. As far as Dayo saying OW OW!... thats what Sophie did when she started to connect her bite hurt! For me... thats progress. I don't think your bird is mimicking... but connecting the dots! After this exhausting consistency, six months later, Sophie was sitting on my wrist, starting biting the air, saying " NO NO bite! No bite to me. I did a celebration dance, yelled for kids to come down to tell them...they all thought I was crazy.I praised Sophie like crazy told her how happy she just made me. I'm sure SHE thought I was crazy, but that was her last bite. I KNEW it! Since then.... I am proud to say, I have the bird I always desired. Does she chew things I don't want her too? Of course. BUT... I can pick her up off of inside, outside of her cage. I don't have to ask her to stepup... her foot is always up and ready. She will hang upside down off my hand, will interupt my nap on the couch with her own snoring... I could go on and on. Sophie is amazing, and more than I could ever expect! Nancy

Thanks all. Zoey still in the hospital. I visit her everyday. I was suppose to work until 9 tonite but it was quiet so I left early to go visit with her. She doesn't look good, but would perk up at times. Ryan spent 20 minutes on the phone with her and she listened intently. He is my " bird whisperer", so I hoped he could " whisper" some encouragement to her. I did tell her if she " was too tired, and was holding on for me"...not to. I want her to do what is best for her and I will be there. Going to start steroids tonite. Last ditch effort. She will eat some, but only if I'm there to feed her. So of course, if I'm not working, I'm at the animal hospital.Her lab values are worse. I'm taking her home tomorrow oneway or another. I have three days off, and as she is drinking and eating some, we have time to be together.I just want to make sure she is not in pain. Nancy

JeffNOK... it may take sometime to heal from your juror experience. It is shocking.... what jurors go through! What concerned me most with my case, was their was a " divorce" going on. I'm certainly not stupid, and understand the " divorce" dynamics. I'm a nurse that works in radiology and deals with child abuse cases daily, I was shocked that they approved me to be on jury. The whole process was very emotional, and after we said guilty, it was a tough call. It sucked even more that we learned of his past after the guilty verdict. He had done it before. It was a close call....and we didn't learn of his past until after our verdict. It made me realize our judicial system that we truly believe in, is NOT written in stone! Nancy

JeffNOK... Greys are extremely empathetic! Its OKAY to let Gracie know you need her support! You can't always be her " rock!" She sometimes needs to be your " rock", and boy, can she deliver! While Zoey my pup is in the hospital, I got home at eleven this eve. I soooo wanted to wake Sophie up as I need her support. She will flipout tomorrow when she sees Zoey is missing and she is going to FREAK! I will become emotional, and I know Sophie will understand. I don't hide my emotions, nor does she. I can already see what is going to happen. All birds and Ollie are going to get quiet. Noone is going to eat, sing or talk, until I give them a happy update. I hope I can give them that Nancy

Depends on the age. Older than one, less than two, welcome to the terrible twos. They suck! BUT if a molting issue, ask dave, dan and Judy. They are experts. Terrible two's, I'm good at. If your bird desires your company and wants to hang with you, I believe in timeout. A bite... timeout! NOT in their cage where they have toys to play with, but a " timeout cage". No toys... life stinks in their opinion. ( must be large enough for bird). One minute for every year. Discuss after, makeup time with snuggles usually on birds part. Also important for other family members that bird likes to be onboard with the punishment. Consistensy is key. Sophie always tried to get other family members to " take pity!". They would call me at work declaring an " emergency!" No emergency.... they just didn't want to put her in timeout. It took six months for Sophie to stop her biting issue, but it wasn't molting. Sophie has never been in timeout since she was 2.5. We dealt with it aggressively and effectively. Nancy

I know Zoey my pup is not a bird, but you guys are like family, and have always supported me. Zoey got admitted to the animal hospital tonite in liver failure and pancreatitis. I'm a wreck.I can barely type thru my tears. I KNEW she didn't feel well for past two days. Not eating well abdomen looked a little distended, her pee was dark even though she was drinking well. I should have recognized her symptoms! Ollie my other pup is wondering where she is, why I haven't gone crazy telling him how beautiful he looks after his haircut! ( Zoey at the vet, Ollie at groomers the same time). Sophie is going to " flip" tomorrow when she finds out Zoey isn't here. She certainly had to put herself to bed tonite as my vet appointment was at five, and I quickly dropped Ollie off from his haircut and took Zoey to the hospital. Nancy

I would take one step back! Have your friend get tested for " bird allergies". Those more sensitive to mold and mildew, tend to have allergies to other animal dander.When asked to rescue our first bird that LOVED ryan, I got both my kids tested for bird dander. Negative. Positive to cat dander and specific dogs. Birds were okay. Hense... Sunny came home. It was so important to Ryan for Sunny to come home, I got tested as well. Negative. I feel strongly, that people can't adopt any animal they are allergic too.I was allergic to my cat while growing up, and have NEVER forgot the asthma attacks I experienced. Your friend should get tested... then approach the other families to see if they are interested in letting birds come home. Odds are not, and if birds are settled, that is what is important. Nancy

If puppies aren't expected to be fully weaned before 12-16 weeks,what is the difference for birds? I think all birds need 16 weeks. I am no expert.... Nancy

Go Dorian!!!!! A little self confidence goes a LONG way! I think Dorian has alot more opinions as bird gets comfortable. I can't wait to watch the show. Nancy

Jeff... I feel your pain! I was a juror for a " rape of a child!" It sucked! I didn't have Sophie back then. I wish I did! Sophie knows when I have had a bad day. I get " extra preened", and she gives me a ton of comforting measures. My favorite is " awwww" with kisses. I don't need to tell Sophie about my bad day, because she wouldn't understand what I was telling her. I've learned I don't need to tell her anything....she knows when I need her emotionally, as I know when she needs me Nancy

I wish, Sophie would whisper! She does so, for about five minutes! If I am quiet, she is also. After that....... Nancy

LOVED it! Nancy

THATS a timeout! I am a firm believer in timeout, and its NOT in their cage. A " timeout" cage devoid of toys. Many don't believe in timeout cage, that is their choice.One minute per year. A room away from comfort. After timeout, a discussion about the bad behavior.It took six months for Sophie to truly understand what timeout meant. Kids would call me at work... it was a big deal! We always had to be on the same page. Within six months, she stopped biting, was more interested in what made us happy. Nancy

It's a boy! Congrads! My sunconure has not been DNA sexed. The only one. I KNOW he is a boy. Our little senior sunconure was our first bird and a rescue. A far cry from when he first came home and would fly out and attack people's jugular!!! While he couldn't talk, he was quite good at presenting his complaints to me. After adjusting to Sophie and Kiki coming home, I always found them in one cage together with Sunny snuggled in the middle. Sunny our sunconure, HATED that they would " sink his rope". A reasonable complaint. Put in a second rope for Sunny to escape the girls. He was happy.He didn't speak a word...but I knew from witnessing daily events, what Sunny was complaining about. I would have complained too! Nancy

It would be GREAT to hear from some owners of senior greys. I can't imagine Sophie NEVER talking! She has too much to say and attitude to express! Keep in mind she came here at the age of two, talked very little, but had an excellent home with a famous race car driver. Obviously he didn't have enough time to spend with her, but she was treated like a queen. She came here with no issues. While her vocabulary was limited, she would breakout into baby talk to convey her message. To this day, if she runs out of words, she breaks out into baby talk. I LOVE her babbling to this day. Nancy