murfchck

I read that post, and laughed till i cried. The mashed potato tracks killed me, they have all done that a time or two! ( and one chihuahua has left her tracks ) Pretty sure though i will be using wine in lue of coffee!

And so it begins... Bongo dang near ended up in my cranberry mold tonight. I got my arm up just in time to catch him. I can't wait to see how cooking a turkey will be accomplished! Yikes!

I could see my guys ignoring the good food and trying to get the lady bug!

That would be nice, but i will take what i can get now a days! Lol But with my moley crew, the vet bills are killing us. I feel like just making payments to our vet so we have credit there!

Oliver is getting a new cage for Christmas! The cage he has now is really big, but it is old and missing parts. (food doors) We got Bubba a double macaw cage at the bird show because his was not as big as we would like. Then yesterday we found another one on craigslist, almost the same, just the door shape is different. It is 3 hrs away but worth the drive, going to get it Saturday!

Feeling a bit bad. I got my flyers mixed up yesterday. When they are in the air i can't tell them apart and one was heading for me like they were going to land on my shoulder, as Gabby does. I turned my head so she could land, being that she has that bumm leg she sometimes grabs my glasses so i turn my head to protect them. When she did a fly by though and landed on the floor in shock, i noticed it was Bongo. Poor guy was looking at me as if he was thinking, "lady, you taught me to fly to you so why did you turn your head and let me crash?" It amazes me how you can sometimes look at their faces and know exactly what they are thinking! (I cleaned up his thoughts for the forum, his look to me really started with "dumb ass...")

I am sure mine would if they were not so busy chewing them!

He is a beauty!

I am so very sorry. You are both in my thoughts.

They just grow up so fast ( i say with a tear running down my cheek ) then i think, he is never going to grow up! Yeah, he will always need me to an extent!

We both handle him, he just uses me though as his food source and his personal transporter. He yelled at me the other day which still has me laughing. Up until his change of heart towards me every morning he would tell me bye. One morning he wouldn't answer me so i just called his name... No reply, did it again, nothing. Couple more times i called "Bubba?", he finally yelled " What?" Still wouldn't tell me bye though!

I am pretty sure he cracked a bone in my hand on his last bite so this better calm down soon! He wants me to pick him up all the time but then his feathers are puffed at me 98% of the time so i don't. I will stay and talk with him but not willing to lose a finger for him. This is pretty hard since i am the last to leave the house and the first to come home and get them out of their cages. He lets me bring him out to his stand most of the time, but i have to wait for him to calm down. I am wondering if this change happened when Pat let me sleep in last weekend and he got everyone out, but in a different order. I get Oliver out before Bubba, he takes Bubba first. It sounds like a small thing but who knows, thats really the only thing that has changed. On a happy note, his breast feathers are starting to come back in, but he has started chewing his other wing now. I have figured out photo bucket to share one of his flight sessions, now i just have to figure out how to post the link for it! Lol

I just get a quick whistle from him so he knows i am paying attention, i whistle back and say come on! Tonight was special, just me and him while i put dinner together and then while cleaning the dishes i heard the whistle said come on and turned just in time to catch him landing! Heehee!

Welpers, Bubba hates me. I can't even walk past him without him fluffing up, spreading his wings and lunging towards me. Got another nasty bite just bringing him out of the cage the other morning. Pat on the other hand can play and play with him, even grab his beak and slide him around, turn him upside down. Oliver however, lunges at Pat now and tries beaking him everytime he comes near him. I am hoping it is a phase because there is just no peace in this house right now! They must be getting cabin fever already and if so, heaven help because winter hasn't even begun!

I guess this is what people feel like when their child takes their first step. I am beside myself with joy and pride!

Lol, i am just glad the macaws can't fly. I see where territory is going to be an issue though.

After months of flying lessons, Bongo is flying! Even making turns to get to me. We started with just close flights, we all stunk at this in the begining and he crashed every time. Last week started the longer flights and always from my husbands arm with him having to drop his arm to start him off. This week he started just flying off his arm to me with no prompting and would even take off from him when he was walking from me to to have him fly again, so his back was to me and he would have to turn around in air to come back to me. Two days ago he started taking off from his stand with perfect landings on my arm every time! Yeah, now we have 2 flying around the house!

Lol, sounds about right.

I am glad everyone is safe, and all the birds. That being the case, on the bright side, maybe they will have a scratch and dent sale on the cages!

Oh boy, i want to go get that 2 yr old and show her what life could be like! But alas, i can't. Who is close??? Go get her! Please! Lol. Those are the ones that tug my heart strings.

Welcome! I am far from an expert and each bird is unique so i will tell you my experience for what it is worth! In the parrot world, 8 is still very young. I rehomed a 5 yr old and then a 20 yr old. Patience required for both. My 20 yr old seemed like she had an easier transition than the younger one but both still have a long way to go to completly trust us. Bongo (5yr) we have had since Jan., Gabby (20) just since Aug. I have no doubt they both will come out of their shell, you just can not expect instant anything with a grey. They have their own time line and it is up to us to respect it. I really believe that how they respond and grow comes from how we interact with them. Long story short, age shouldn't be a factor. Birds bite for many reasons, the question is why does it bite? I have found that i was being bit by my macaw because i was mis reading his signs of "please stop or i will bite you to make you stop". Now i know and don't get bit (as hard) lol

Always a plus when no new holes are made! Good job to you both!

I will give that a try, winter is going to be fun if she keeps it up! I worked on and off with Bubba and my name yesterday, each time he made that noise. Whats really sad is smarty pants Gabby makes it to when she looks at me now or if she wants something. We had bird mania last night! Pat and Bubba were playing hard with a towel, he was running to Pat who would take his head and push him back, he would run right back to him for more. He was rolling him over, just typical ruff house boy playing. The noises that boy was making i couldn't even try to copy. While they were doing that, Oliver was playing in the kitchen. I opened drawers to make steps for him and he went right to it. When i would turn my back he would grab stuff out and toss them to the floor. Then Bongo took flight, he can now fly to my and land on my arm without a problem. He seems to be moving his beak now when we talk, like he is trying to practice the words i am saying but without volume. I may just be dreaming but i want him to talk again!

Wits end today! Caught Oliver trying to climb the wall from his stand. He loves trying to climb flat walls. Gabby is everywhere, had to put her in the safe cage so i could have some peace of mind for a few minutes. Bubba has been yelling and Bongo keeps trying to fly. Oh yeah and my cat is using the plants i had brought in as her litterbox. I went to flatten the dirt in one and pulled my hand back with poop on it. So yes, i am having a beer and i am proud of myself for waiting till afternoon to start drinking!

That does look like a sharp beak! Coconut shells and wooden toys will help dull it some in a natural way. I had that with one of mine and someone on here suggested that to me and it really helped. Those macaws do give a mean bite, and they nip when they play. Salty is so beautiful, you guys are so lucky to have found each other!