kins2321@yahoo.com

Sophie my grey, is not BIG into toys. She LOVES pinatas anything paper she can destroy. She LOVES games.After getting her... having open cage belief, she climbed down to us while playing the game " trouble". She SOOO wanted to pop the bubble! In order to pop the bubble, she had to stepup to the next person in our family. Only then, could she " pop the bubble". Of course we helped her. She was thrilled, and was interested in the rules quickly. Sophie learned how to stepup quickly, because she liked the game. Within 72 hours of getting her, a simple game of trouble, helped define her. She now steps up to the entire family. Believe me, Sophie plays all sorts of games with us. She LOVES monopaly, and will quickly choose the winning team when we play pictionary. She will defect in a heartbeat! My friends that come over for game night, know, Sophie is my baby. She is allowed to play with us. Bedtime gets extended by two hours. Kids at college coming home,for Christmas. She will be so excited! I know I will have to adapt to " Rom" mode. mom. I'm okay with that. BEST Christmas gift for Sophie, is seeing her best friends Nancy

LOL katana600! All I know... is they make messes that are beyond our control! Or is it? I got smart, bought painters plastic ( sheet rolls), that I could spread 16 by 20 feet. Moved their cages away from the walls as raspberries, blueberries really takes the paint off. Put the painters plastic underneath ( walmart), and for a moment... I was one step ahead! Nancy

Okay... NOW I am upset talking about Max. He was such an AWESOME dog! Blind as a bat, but when Sophie first came home, so did Ollie our pup. Max would charge Ollie if he was too rough getting to know Sophie. It was just a few weeks difference when Sophie came to live here. It amazed me that Max loved her the moment he sniffed her. Max hung on to life several months until he felt comfortable that Ollie understood Sophie was now going to rule our animal kingdom. Of course, I always monitored dogs interaction with Sophie. Sophie, now rules our kingdom. She still mentions max, and imitates his bark. I LOVE her for that. Nancy

All beautiful names! If I EVER get another bird, I will name it Lola! ( If it was a girl!) An ongoing joke. A physician from China couldn't say Laura. He called her Lola! I LOVED it and started calling her Lola. Now everyone calls her Lola! She has a cockatoo, so we talk about our birds all the time. I told her " I really LIKE the name Lola". She likes it too. If I had a boy, I would name him Maxamillian, Max for short. Named after my best friend " Max", my 18 year old Lhasa Apso, who taught my Zoey and Ollie, present pups, all he knew. ESPECIALLY... Sophie is special... always listen to her. Max fell in love with Sophie within a day. Max is gone now... but his legacy continues. Nancy

I agree this is a trip to the RV. Think of it as a " grand sleepover!" Even though it may take five days, anticiptate a 10 day stay. Birds are very susceptable to fumes. They can't even handle " Yankee candles." Nancy

Sophie is 13 now. She won't chew her feathers ever. It is NOT a behavior that is acceptable, or tolerated. If she is dry... itchy... she will let me know. During the spring or summer, she can dry naturally. In the winter, I am concerned about warmth. Blowed dryed. She never seems itchy. If her beak is cold... temperature goes up. Sophie dictates my electrical bill! LOL Nancy

Sooo happy for you guys! She was beggin for the relationship to evolve.She has sooo much to offer... now it is up to you. Don't wait for her to give you the sign, she is ready. Practice stepup, stepdown. Wrist status only. Practice daily. It is also important to establish bedtime. 0800 is a common time for greys to go to bed. Sophie has got that all down! I hurt her feelings tonite, when I was stressed to study quickly. I usually have more time to study, and include her. I don't have the extra time, and put her back in bird room with door closed. I know she was upset. She LOVES to study with me, but I am on a time restriction! I feel so bad that I have hurt her feelings! She IS my baby.... I will have to make it up to her. Nancy

Interesting! Any hiss from Sophie, was always a " warning!" We had to figure it out. She would hiss over the most mudane things. Let her know, she was being way too fussy! ( always listen to your bird!) Nancy

Not all greys like toys. Sophie is one of them. She likes pinatas, anything paper she can destroy. While studying for an important test, Sophie likes to help me study. I am low on time, and had to put her back in her room. She wasn't happy. I usually have more time to study, but didn't this time. I am sure she feels insulted. I promised to " make it up to her." I know she is insulted and hurt. I just have to get thru the test.... then I can thank her for her help Nancy

I believe in full moons! As a nurse, I see it daily. I am sure it affects our birds as well! Nancy

Turn up the heat! When my birds feet are cold, I turn up the heat. 68 degrees, may not be warm enough. Check beaks... I bet it is cold as well. My heat adjustment, is always based on my birds needs. Nancy

I don't blowdry during nice weather, but it is cold right now.I blowdry now, because I don't want her to be wet. I don't want her to be cold. Nancy

Sophie has been exposed to many words!She has " sold her best friends out", when kids as teenagers had a party. While being out of town, Sophie " imitated the party", even though she was sworn to secrecy. I learned quickly, what transpired! LOL. The worse word she ever said, was "Asshole!" It landed her in timeout immediately! My kids felt terrible, when she learned a bad word, that was their fault! She never learned a bad word again. They NEVER tolerated their friends to say a bad word ever again! Nancy

When they hiss or growl, let baby know, you " don't appreciate the behavior!" I personally put my baby back in the cage and walked away. It only works if baby loves you, and wants to be with you. Sophie LOVED us within a week of being adopted. She was two. Nancy

YIKES! Fifty shades of grey, which I of course read...Sophie will NEVER be allowed to hear any part of those books!! LOL Nancy

It is important to practice flying with baby birds. One to " send off", one parent to receive. They struggle with " perception" of space. Putting anything in the window was quite helpful, for them to learn where their space begins, and where their space ends. Nancy

I believe in NEVER putting my hand inside a birds cage. When I clean cages, they are put on their jungle gyms. If they want to stepup, its always off their cage door, or gym. Nancy

shane... she has already established " contact calls" to you. Repeat what she whistles in another room. Spend a few days playing this game with her.She is ready to go! Now... are YOU ready? Make sure you are comfortable...If she bites you, its no big deal. I don't think she will bite you.If she does... it won't be a bad bite. I feel strongly, that she wants to develop a relationship. Make sure you are taller than her, and only pick her up off the door. Put your pointer finger of your dominant hand, put it behind her feet and tell her to " stepup!" I am sure she will. Once she does, make sure she stays on wrist, and give her a tour of your home. If she acts nervous or stressed, return her to the door of her cage. Thank her for her time, and let her know how much fun you had. Your bird is ready! Nancy

Sophie came with her name when we adopted her at age two. I LOVED it! Occasionally, I mix up Sophie with Zoey, my pup when saying NO! Nancy

Hissing or a growl is NOT good! It is a symptom of distrust. It is up to the owner, to prove they have the birds best interest. Nancy

Develop some kind of " sticky" in the window, so baby can develop an understanding of boundaries. It is important to practice " safe flying". Two family members.It is important to involve the family, in practicing flying. Nancy

There have been times, when I was going to a party, and Sophie KNEW I would NOT tolerate being pooped on! We talked about it... she knew I was serious... she was an angel! She was an angel on my shoulder... Nancy

Shane... she is a beauty! Now... start practicing " stepup" off the door. Stepup, step down. You don't need to go anywhere. Once she gets interested in her surroundings, eventually explore the home. The stepup and down, are vital Nancy

Inara... you are a GREAT parent! Many birds get rough and injured slightly with toys. We learn what toys work, and those that don't. Its a learning process for parrents and birds. I am always focused more on choking toys, toys that a bird can hang themselves. I no longer have blinds in any room.Sophie only likes to destroy. The quicker she can destroy a toy, the better. She likes pinatas, any paper toy. Block toys... she has no interest. Give her a registrar for doing a checkbook... she is into it! When I do my bills and am writing checks... so is Sophie! She LOVES bill paying! I sit on one end of the table paying bills, she sits on the opposite end of the table. I talk aloud to myself, so does Sophie! While I write a check... Sophie counts One, two, three and scrutinizes her registrar. Amazingly, she doesn't chew her registrar.. Repeating... one, two, three.I always ask her, " do you have any money left over?" LOL Nancy

Our babies... ARE great assistants! Might as well stock up on keyboards now! LOL! Sophie our grey, is a drama queen. I'm pretty tough when my birds are naughty and don't let them give me the " guilt trip!" Comes from raising boys. But Sophie.... knows how to get to me. I " suck" when it comes to being tough with her. Ryan my oldest son, makes fun of me.He is off at college in North Carolina, but skypes with Sophie every week. They have a special bond. Ryan will be home for Christmas... Sophie will go crazy with happiness. I of course will be an " afterthought", I am soooo excited for her. He got a dog though.... and I told him the dog needs to stay at his dads. I won't compromise Sophie's safety or feelings. He is okay with that. Nancy 't