murfchck

It is like she has always been with everyone. Since she came from a home that had several birds, she has been pretty laid back with my flock. And my guys are just saying, here comes another one. Lol

Happy very belated hatchday! I guess you will just have to have another party today for us slow pokes!

We went and got then fluorescent light fixtures, took the rattle away, well off the floor and put it in her bucket. Before bed last night I went to check on them and I'll be darned, she took her foam mat, the rattle and some nuts to the bottom and made a pallet and pulled the rattle under her and had the nuts within beaks reach, It was the cutest thing I have seen in a while. She was so proud!

My technique is so simple anyone can do it. What you do is stand very far away so not to scare the bird, use the zoom feature on your phone which makes every picture taken blurry and grainy, then crop it. lol Our brave little girl who normally slams the doors shut when I am changing waters or food decided this morning not to slam the door but exit thru it! It was so cute, she saw me come back in with the "fresh" bowl and ran back thru the door and waited for me to put it back in. lol She is a ham with a huge vocabulary.

You would never know she was a stripper from this picture! lol She came out again yesterday, no trouble at all. Pat said he would give it a try and had her out there in under a minute. I think she likes getting to come out!

Also stop the treated sprays for a while. As was said this could be irritating the skin. Aloe would be good if you can get it, otherwise just plain water.

Woo-Hoo!!!!! Ixta made it to the living room! She got a ride on Pats arm, was a little scared at first when she saw the stand but got on it and investigated everything she could. She was only there about 15 minutes, not sure if a dog barked or Cotay, on the stand next to her, decided to fly but the two of them took off. Cotay went to the top of Chacho's cage (bad idea) and Ixta to the floor. Pat went to Cotay first so I swooped in to "save" Ixta. I picked her up and we went back to the her cage since it was dinner time anyway. Pat was amazed at how well she rode on my hand. I lightly put my thumb on her foot, which she normally doesn't like her toes touched, and stayed right there until we got to her cage! She is missing a toe and is very protective, Pat hasn't got to touch her feet yet but every morning I make an effort to just touch them so she will get use to it. Looks like it is paying off! Sorry, I edited to resize the picture, not sure why it isn't letting me though. I have tried twice.

Wouldn't noticed until I saw the onion, then I would step back and say, "um, something is not right here." hahaha!

My little darlings, Thanksgiving is over and now there is Christmas to contend with. The tree(ish) thing is up and scaring the crap out of some of you. I am sorry about that but your stockings have to go somewhere, otherwise Santa has no where to put your presents! Ixta has moved in and you guys did great welcoming her to our home. Cotay, you need to watch your p's & q's, she is watching you and learning from you and since you nip at me when I put your food bowls in, so does she. You won't step up for me, you lure me in for the head scratch and then try and bite me, you make the kissing sound then try and bite me, I offer you an almond and you take it, toss it and come back to bite me. If she does these things to me too, I will totally blame it on you! :-) Now for more news, Old Man will be moving in soon. He is so old him mommy can't take him with her when they move, she is afraid the drive and then the new climate will not be good for him. She said last week it is about time for her to let him go so we will be working on his cage so you guys can get use to it. He will be in the living room with Chacho, so Chacho, it is up to you my boy to show him the ropes. That doesn't mean for you to show him Pat is the enemy, cuz he isn't. One day you will see this! Bongo, not sure but it looks like you are letting you feathers come back in. One day there was one full feather on your chest, now there are many, you still have feathers at the bottom of your cage but I don't see where they are from. Just remember the lie I told you, err.. I mean, remember what I told you, you can't fly without your feathers so choose smart! I love! Lisa PS. Ixta, who is Jack? You talk a lot and follow up with "Jack" like Lets go - Jack. Or Go home - Jack. Is that just your slang or was there a real Jack in your life?

Ahh, Koko did get an early Christmas present but now I am worried a bit. She is on the bottom sitting on a rattle, her a Gus have "done it" so many times now I can't count. If she lays an egg I will totally freak out! The pinecone is right beside her to, I can not get near either of them, and she actually came at me when I opened her door to bring her out to the stand so I could clean her cage. Needless to say her cage did not get cleaned. It has to be season for these 3. They are rowdy, loud and seem unsettled. They are demons when they are out of their cages. Gus is screaming like he was when he first moved in. We are going to try this weekend to change things up in their cages, switch around toys and stuff, make it new again and see if that helps any.

With more than one I have found that doing things with or for them should be done in the order they were brought into your home. I really don't know if means anything to them, but it seems to keep anxiety down. So many times I have found myself standing in their room with food bowls in my hands, looking around stumped asking them who is next as I go over the order in my head. Bongo, Oliver, Bubba, Gabby, Gus, Cotay, Lily, Koko, Chacho and Ixta. However since the Too's are in a different and Chacho is in a different room the order gets confusing in my head!

It took an extra bottle this year, wonder why...lol

Ahhh, I remember the days when we could get out Lily's harness and take her outside. She would willingly put her head through for us. I guess she has decided that she, under no circumstance, will ever wear it again. Pat was going to take her outside so he got the thing and she bit him and bit him bad. Through the fingernail with the top beak and the underside with her bottom. Nasty bite, on the bright side, he did mop my floors last night because he bled all through it! lol This was the first bite she has even given us that we could recall, normally she is pretty docile when being handled but that harness set her off.

She pushed my hand away with her beak yesterday, so gently. Pat on the other hand got to give her a ride on his arm, that is twice now but he doesn't count the first time because she only stepped up out of necessity. She is also talking a lot, couldn't hear her from where I standing was by the macaws (go figure) but Pat could and tried to repeat it to me but heck, I couldn't hear him either. They were weird things though and even Cotays, "Come on". She is really a smart girl and picks things up quickly.

That's it but with much more speed! lol

Miss Ixta is coming around a lot quicker than we expected, in no time she will be out with the others! I got to rub her beak last night but Pat got to get kisses! He has been working with her by just opening the cage door and putting his hand out to her, she no longer runs and hides behind toys but comes to his hand and touches him with her beak very gently. She has put one foot on him like she was going to step up, but only for a second. She doesn't bite, but will softly grab your finger with her beak. Gotta be quick though because she loves to chew and if she gets a hold of your shirt sleeve there will be a hole in it before you even see her with it. Her old home had sheets covering the top so if another bird landed on it no damage could be done, so now she loves chewing material.

lol. No new pictures, sorry. We were wrapping a flight and feeding everyone before the really cold weather hit. I did hold that cute little grey though while the dinners were being readied. She is such a cuddler right now. I see a mean, head strong bird though, she fought and fought me not wanting me to touch her. She went to the center so I couldn't reach, but I managed to lure her out and she was striking at me but then I picked her up and she went right to my neck and got about 20 minutes of head rubs then cried and growled when I tried to put her back in the play pen. Her new family has named her, but I can not remember what. The scarlet is Arson, that name fits him well too. He is so sweet, but turn you head or look at another bird and his jealously comes out. I was holding him and he wandered up my arm to my shoulder, I figured he is a baby, what harm is there in that, ha! He hated the red framed glasses I have, as long as he didn't see them we were fine but when he did he struck at me and baby or not those are some strong jaws! lol She actually had to rescue me and get him off of my arm. He is starting to fly now and he is so big he is knocking everything down, it is a sight.

Did you get it???? You should, really! Those cockatoo's sure need good homes. People just don't know what they are getting into with a cockatoo. Ahh, they are sweet and loving then one day when you don't give them the attention you did the day before, those lovely screams begin, you go to them and try and explain and all they understand is "hey, that screaming brought them right to me just as I planned, I shall scream now every time I need something" lol. Velcro bird or hemorrhoid? lol I love my guys! Just a side note, I went back and looked at the pictures of the red front and blue throats to see how much they have grown and I noticed that there was a picture posted of an adult red front to show what a red front "should" look like and I just wanted to say that the baby red front doesn't get the red on their head until they are a little old, the babies only have the red cheeks to begin with. That is a red front baby I posted. They are so cute and so much smaller than a blue and gold. Only 2 blue throats left, I want one so bad but maybe in another life, this one is full of greys and blue and golds and amazons, lol. ( and one red front in a few weeks, heehee)

Oh joy, oh joy. Ixta has a new sound. Had the Too's outside yesterday so we could get the Christmas stuff out of the attic, Gus and Lily were screaming, of course. I went to the back door to try and get them quiet and Pat was in their room and we heard it, the every so ear drum blowing scream of an umbrella cockatoo. Pat came out of the bird room with a pale face as it was dawning on me that that scream had not come from the too's. Pat and I looked at each other in silence, shook our heads and went back to working. Heard it about 3 more times in an hours time. Really, even she won't say my name but learns that in a 2 week time and it is a perfect match? lol Oh boy.

We have found out that Ixta is 12, born 2002. She is coming around slowly to us, of course more so with Pat but I will take what she is ready to give. I did get to rub her beak a little and the top of her head through the bars, oh and play with her foot some (she didn't like that as much as the head rub). I also have been able to put my arm inside her cage with out her running off to hide behind a toy, she just sat on the perch and quietly growled but then saw what I was doing and ran over to check it out. I put another bowl in there for pellets. I was mixing the pellets with a little seed until she got use to it, but she loves her pellets so it was time! She also slams her food door closed on me if I am not quick enough putting the bowl in, which is pretty funny because I need it open because my hands are full of bowls. She slams it shut, I have to put the bowls down to open it again. Bubba opens his door for me, she needs to watch him and not Cotay. Since Cotay doesn't like me to much, I get finger nipped when I put her bowl in and Ixta has started doing this also, good times, lol.

Yesterday was a day of firsts here with Chacho. Pat was able to touch his belly and give him three quick rubs. And he took a bath, like nothing I have ever seen before. I laughed so hard, his technique was something I have not seen before. I was misting him, aiming over him so it would come down like rain. He ran to the top of the cage so his belly was getting soaked then came to the side, spread out his wings and leaned back as far as he could, wrapped his wings around his head and rubbed his head back and forth on his belly. He would come back wanting sprayed more and kept repeating this. I have a bottle I put the aloe in and he just about used the whole bottle. He was really a wet noodle. I have not laughed this hard in a very long time, even Pat had to watch this and he was laughing at it. Boy, there is zero doubt he loved his bath. I have misted him before but never gotten that reaction, I guess he thought he wasn't dirty enough yet.

Happy belated birthday! Hope you had a fun filled day!

This afternoon and tomorrow will be the big rush to get things done. Poor Pat got home yesterday and just looked tired but he still asked me what we had to do to get ready. I opened the fridge, handed him a beer and said, "tonight we do nothing but play with the fids!" He melted. So today I clean the house, change and clean 11 cages, make the ham, make the stuffing, make the cranberry mold and get the turkey prepped. It is a 24lb one that has been thawing since Saturday, still 3/4 frozen so he will be getting a long bath in some cold water and lemon juice today! Then I am up at 5 am to get the turkey in the oven, basting ever 30 minutes for the first 2-3 hours then every hour after that while also making the gravy, potatoes, beans and yams. Did I mention I drink a lot both Wednesday and Thursday? lol (Pat brought me my traditional 2 bottles of wine last night!)

I know, doesn't seem right, lol. Huge score yesterday! Both Pat and I were able to rub her beak a bit. Pat left Cotay in the room with her and he stayed in there and played with Cotay so Ixta could watch. I peeked through the window to watch this and boy did Ixta pay attention. She has a tick where she rocks herself back and forth when she is nervous, she did this for a bit when Pat was getting Cotay out and moving the stand to the center of the room, but then once Cotay was out, she stopped rocking a watched. It was cute and sad at the same time. Like she was thinking, I want to do that too, I want to have raspberries blown on my belly and laugh, I want to be close to your chest and be hugged too. It was so heart jerking but one day, I can see it in her eyes, she will be able to trust in our love for her!

Congrats to you both! Finally home with you and right before Thanksgiving, that is truly something to be thankful for!