Greetings!

[oblivion]

Thanks so much, Ray. My previous pics were with a good camera. The most recent ones were just from my cell phone. Use what's handy, I guess.

[aerial.2000]

Well hey there and welcome back what a GREAT great update and I have to say that pic of you giving him the scritches is just heart warming!!!!!!!! your pics are just beautiful ty so much for sharing. I just love hearing all these stories and cant wait to experience them for myself soon! s'gonna be so awesome!

[oblivion]

Thanks, Aerial! Prepare for your mind to be blown. I, honestly, never much 'wanted' a Grey. I was interested in them, but well-discouraged by reading about how much attention they need - not a knock on them, being respectful of them. I have to say taking him was a leap of faith, as I'm sure it is for all (though I think easier to take for those who DON'T do research first, ironically). Honestly, had I not had nearly 4 years of experience raising my daughter, I would not have had the confidence to take him even for that first 'weekend sleepover.' My previous bird experience really offered little in the ways of preparing for him. That all said, I haven't regretted it a day and I can only hope he feels the same way.

 

And I think my wife only regrets it on the days she works from home, with lots of phone work, and he wants to chime in continuously.

 

Best of luck!

[aerial.2000]

Thanks, Aerial! Prepare for your mind to be blown. I, honestly, never much 'wanted' a Grey. I was interested in them, but well-discouraged by reading about how much attention they need - not a knock on them, being respectful of them. I have to say taking him was a leap of faith, as I'm sure it is for all (though I think easier to take for those who DON'T do research first, ironically). Honestly, had I not had nearly 4 years of experience raising my daughter, I would not have had the confidence to take him even for that first 'weekend sleepover.' My previous bird experience really offered little in the ways of preparing for him. That all said, I haven't regretted it a day and I can only hope he feels the same way.

 

And I think my wife only regrets it on the days she works from home, with lots of phone work, and he wants to chime in continuously.

 

Best of luck!

LOL ...

Well, what is left of my mind is eagerly awaiting to be blown!!!!!! *laffs*

I have been doing research for months now and I have read some books and watched alot of videos. I don't know that its ever going to be "enough" but perhaps I will be head of the game then your average joe. I want to try while he is being weened at the petstore soak up as much knowledge as I can before I bring him home. But Im sure all of that will fly out the window once hes home kinda like it did when my kids were born! lol But still there has been so much I have learned and so many precautions I have already put into play around my house so we are ready for his homecoming.

The thing I think I'll struggle with is the patience. I can only hope that the visits I will have with him over the next several weeks will help form the start of an amazing bond :D

[oblivion]

So, last night I had Spencer out of his cage w/ the gates to the pet room open. FYI, the gates are there to keep the bunny in and cat out at times we can't pay full attention to what's going on. Anyway, Anya was downstairs on a play gym with me and my daughter, Em. I'd left Spencer's travel cage (how I get him around the house) open on the floor - the idea being that he goes in if he wants to explore and ignores it if he doesn't. He seemed content hanging out on his main cage, so I gave him his evening snacks there and left him to it.

 

Em and I started watching YouTube vids of parrots on the TV/PS3. The commotion had the effect I'd hoped for. After some calling back and forth, I looked up and saw him at the top of the stairs trying to spy on what was going on downstairs. It was the first time he's come out of the room on his own. He's climbed up on the gates before, but always retreated if I'd take the gates away. He didn't attempt to climb down the steps and couldn't see the TV from where he was, so he seemed like he was getting a bit frustrated/agitated. I went up there to interact with him a bit - there were some cat toys around I threw for him. He was a bit standoffish and it was getting to be bed time, so I eventually lead him back to his cage with an empty plastic bottle - never fails (I can't tell if he LOVES them or HATES them, honestly, but they certainly attract him). In leading him to the cage, I heard his first use of one of my phrases. Approximating my voice, he said, "C'mere." He also repeated it this morning getting even closer to my voice. We wrapped up with a pumpkin seed, a beak shake, his cover, and a "Goodnight, Spencer. Go to bed!"

 

Baby steps. It's AMAZING how sensitive they are. As much as I'd read that before, it's REALLY something to see/navigate. That said, other than handling, he's really a pretty easy-going guy. He does great traveling the 6 hours up to my folks and seems to enjoy the constant chaos of their house and also well-tolerates being watched by my aunt - he's been there all the way up to 10 days. It's clear to me he was loved at his previous house, which I'm sure is helping me/us immensely.

[oblivion]

I have been doing research for months now and I have read some books and watched alot of videos. I don't know that its ever going to be "enough"

 

That statement right there assures me you've got the right stuff. Those who think they know it all are in for a rude surprise, I feel.

 

And yeah, that first time you get nipped, or even just growled at, all of the prep will probably fly out the window. But you'll do great.

 

As for patience, I have to say that Spencer has helped/forced me to be more patient than ever and I swear I feel it spilling into other parts of my live. If you feel like you're starting to lose it, walk away and collect yourself. You'll be fine.

[aerial.2000]

*smiles big*

 

If I can raise 2 boys to teenagers (18 & 17), I think Im ready for the next challenge of a parrot!

 

I can see the changes already being made spilling over into my life right now and Marco isnt even home for another few months! Hubby and I have both quit smoking and turned the house into a total no smoking zone . I will be learning to cook on stainless steal cookware and even cleaning things with environmentally safe substances (vinegar and baking soda and such) Things that I would normally throw away, I have now began to save and recycle for the use with the bird like newspapers and papertowel holders.

 

We are attempting to have a "quiet" room (or I should say quiet'er room) for the birds sake. I dont want it to be freightened. Everyone in the family needed this lesson of not yelling at each other and this opportunity has really helped everyone learn to communicate better.

 

We have some small dogs that we are also working on quieting them down as well. They bark at their own shadows! So the last thing I want is Marco to start barking too once I get him home !! So everyone is in training at my house for the next 2 months while we wait!

 

As a family they are all willingly making these changes with me which makes me happy. As much as they all thought I flipped my lid for wanting a bird, they have all started to rally round me and help me to achieve my dreams which is a great feeling!

[oblivion]

Amen to that, Aerial!

 

With Spencer's new-found confidence, I almost feel like he's a new-to-us bird all over again. Also, I've noticed the last few evenings that he seems to have a bit of a thing for my wife. His low, manly, 'Hullo?' seems to be reserved for when she gets home from work. Another thing I noticed last night was that Anya, the 'tiel, a sweet, timid, demure little thing, seemed to be getting a little jealous of the attention paid Spencer. It was just about going-to-bed time and he had a second wind and was bouncing around his little cage trying to decide if he wanted to come out, so I was talking to him, trying to coax him to step onto the door. Anya climbed down from her play gym and stood at the edge of the table eyeing up his cage. If I could read her mind, I'd think her intention was to fly up and stand on top of his cage - whether for dominance (I know that concept's been debated out of favor) or just to check him out closer. That wasn't a chance i wanted to take, though, so I intervened with head-scratches for her and he settled down a bit and we soon went to bed without incident. I always feed her first, and she gets more contact since she's shoulder-tame and loves to be pet, but I'll have to be more aware of how she might be feeling. Not only was she the first bird, but she's at such a size disadvantage that I absolutely will not take any chances letting them work out any differences on their own. BTW, up until that near-face-off, they've pretty much ignored each other aside from the occasional chatter back and forth.

[aerial.2000]

LMAO at the lowly manly hullo to your wife that is just amazing !!!!!!! that made me giggle! I will be going up next weekend (ugh i have nother week to wait :() to go see my baby but Im afraid he'll still be too small to do much with other then a few scritches ... but my heart swells just to do THAT much and it makes the over hour drive to get there worth while :D

[oblivion]

This weekend was more casual hangouts - he seems to have regressed in large part back to where we'd been for the last year or so. I'm hoping I didn't push him too hard. The encouraging thing is that even though not engaging, he seems more interested in what's going on around him than he used to. So maybe after a little more soul-searching he'll 'peek out' of his shell again sooner rather than later. I've also heard some new-to-me sounds/mumblings from him even while being more reserved, so that's good, too.

[oblivion]

FYI, I posted my latest update over yonder--> http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?194948-The-fun-but-frustrating-dance-with-Spencer. I will probably continue Spencer's story over there.