neoow

Haha that's hilarious!

It does look a little long- but it looks like it is being worn down to me. I wouldn't worry too much so long as Alex has no problems eating, drinking or getting around. With the pumice style perches and lots of things to chew he should be able to look after it himself for the most part. Just keep and eye on it and see how it goes. If he ever looks like he's struggling to eat, drink or get around, then you'll need to take him to the vet.

Whit woo! Check you out, Isaac! Looking good

I don't think samansad was suggesting to deliberatly walk fast towards a parrot- I think he was saying that he learned that if he moved too quickly around Alex, he got freaked out. So now he is aware that Alex will freak out if he suddenly moves too quickly towards him, he announces his movements before they happen so Alex knows what's going on. Not sure if I'm right, it's just how I read it

Aw yay! Rikki is a very lucky parrot.

In the past Alfie has nipped me and immediately said "ouch!" before I had chance to react. I had to laugh recently because Alfie is forever telling the cats off. He'll say "oi!", "No!" and "Off!" when he thinks they're up to no good or if he thinks they should get down from somewhere. I went to visit my sister and my nephew and my nephew (just shy of 2 years old) kept running around after the dog shouting his name and telling him "no" and "away!" if he thought he was being naughty.

That's great news, Samansad. Thank you for the update! Sounds like things are going so well for you! Alex is a fantastic bird and lucky to have you!

Thank you for all you do Talon, it is very much appreciated! Hopefully the bug with the logins will be sorted soon. Sometimes it can take a while to fix problems. I've stuck around because there's still a lot of interesting posts and I'm learning new information all the time. As an aside: I'm also a member of a bengal cat forum because I own two bengals (or rather, they own me!). However, I have stopped posting there because many members moved on and no longer post. Now all you see are loads of "Is my cat a bengal?!?!?" posts because people aren't sure if they've been scammed or not. So I don't frequent those forums much any more because there's nothing of interest for me there.

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind!

Haha yes, his flying is quite cartoonish!!

No, I could not free fly Alfie. He sometimes spooks and just flies off in any which direction- so this would be particularly hazardous outside. He could be helped by a gust of wind which would carry him further away, he could get hit by a car or injured by an animal... it's just not worth the risk. Plus, he's not very good at recalling. If he doesn't want to fly to me, he won't. I can get as excited about it as I like, I can offer treats, toys and fuss... but if he's got something else on his mind, he will NOT come to me. So he's not a particularly good candidate for free flying. If I was going to take him outside to fly, I'd have him on a harness. But I'd have to get over several hurdles to harness train him. (He's not fond of having his back touched and wings are a total no go area unless you want a bite). Some people have trained parrots to free fly and it looks like an incredible experience- check out the "BirdTricks" channel on youtube, for example- they free fly a lot of their birds and post videos about it. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1BpMn4ErGPo8XB3Rzltojg?&ab_channel=BirdTricks However, I don't think I could ever get to that stage with Alfie.

Thanks for the insightful post, Ray.

That's awesome! It's possible that it will be a regular thing. Alfie quite often babbles away to himself, testing out all sorts of different noises with the odd word or phrase thrown in. He likes to contact call as well- if he knows I'm upstairs and can hear me moving around then he'll start whistling to get my attention. Him and my housemate quite often have "whistle-offs" from opposite ends of the house haha. It can go on for quite a while!

From my point of view as an outsider who isn't experiencing the problem, it's quite funny. ...Sorry! However, I appreciate that it must be get very irritating very quickly every time it happens! Hopefully your fabric and magnet idea will help though.

I agree with the advice from Acappella. It's very tricky to know what's going on in those little grey heads sometimes. For now, I'd back off a bit and let her get used to you being around again. She may need some time to get used to the fact that you're back home and therefore you may need to gain her trust again.

That's awesome! Go Mimi!!

Happy 4th July to all American members

Hello and welcome to the forums! What an awesome intro! And some lovely photos too!

Hah, my housemate pointed this out to me the other week. I was very careful as to how much I played as I didn't want Alfie getting any ideas! Not my cup of tea, to be honest. But amusing, nonetheless.

Alfie has been a busy boy lately. He's slowly redecorating my lounge. I have some lovely beak marks in the wallpaper near the fireplace. He also decided that I should let some more light in (even though it was dark outside) and put some holes in the curtains for me! Got to love them and their mischievous ways!

Congratulations on the new job!

Aw, well I'm glad it made you happy! Do you think Miss Gilbert will ever find her wings? I'd like to hope so!

Keep going Samansad- you WILL be rewarded eventually! You're doing a fantastic job with Alex and you've already come such a long way. You will learn over time what he does like and doesn't like and you'll soon find your way of working with and around Alex's quirks and traits. It's clear that Alex wants to work with you too. He's learning as much about you as you are about him!

Yes the vet I take him to is very good. So glad I take him there because he always does a good job. I was surprised when he said he'd only be ten minutes as he was taking Alfie away.. but he was right and it didn't take very long at all. Alfie was a little bit damp and a little wide-eyed. But he soon settled on the way back and he was fine at home too. He just wanted to sit and relax in his travel cage- which I don't mind- I'm glad he finds it comfortable!

Alfie is now micro-chipped and has had his ID ring removed... which I was allowed to keep.