Gilbert is home

[katana600]

I do give Gilbert whole almonds in the shell. With both our parrots, I started out using a pair of needle nosed pliers with the wire cutter part to snip off the tip of the almond so they could have something to get a hold on. Gilbert did the same thing as Spencer just checking it out. At the time, he loved pine nuts, so I would stuff a little pine nut in the opening to encourage him further. Now, I just hand him an almond in the shell and he has it gone in under a minute. It just took some time and practice. I do have to sort through the nuts and some are really hard and "sealed" on the edges. If I find one with a rough cracked edge, they can get into those ones better. For the water bottle, he has been getting almonds out of it when I am out of the room, I try to keep three in it all the time so I can tell if he has been playing with it. Now I have to admit I wanted him to play with it more, so I broke off a white cheddar cheetos and put a piece of that in the bottle. I swear I heard him make a soft "whoo" when he found that and then I imagined him making yummy sounds as he munched on it. I don't often feed my birds junk food, but considering that he is coming into a new phase that is positive, I want to find anything I can to encourage him. It is kind of like the limeade, it is not something he gets even once a month or in any more than just a sip or two, but it is a real special treat and he comes running. At some point the risk of developing bad habits is overcome just a little by the need to find anything that will get him out of his tight little huddle.

[oblivion]

Thanks for the tips. I don't know if he eats them at all or not, but I have found that if I give Spencer cracked walnuts, he is fond of digging the nut out. I'm sure he'll get there with the almonds, too.

[katana600]

The day Spencer gets the idea he can get into a whole almond, it will surprise you just how quickly he can tear that shell off. I like to think it dulls the tip of their beaks just a little so I am greatly encouraged to give them whole almonds. You might even try to cut off the tip of the almond and put just a little dab of peanut butter in there to see if that piques his interest.

[oblivion]

Oooh, that's a GREAT idea - he LOVES peanut butter. I'll try that this evening.

[katana600]

Yesterday was our one year anniversary of sharing our lives with Gilbert. I learned something new about him today. Often he will make a sound that I have likened to a ZZ Tops tune, Lagrange. He sounds like he is doing a "uh how how how". Well, my girls were home for a visit and I took advantage to have them help move a couple of bookshelves down to my sewing area. My daughter pinched her finger and when she said "Ow!" we heard a voice from upstairs "Ow, ow ow", then he laughed and laughed and continued to say it and by golly that is what he has been saying all along. He has such a southern accent and drawl from a former home that I hadn't recognized what he was saying. He was so pleased with himself that even when we came upstairs he kept saying it, laughing and flapping his wings excitely. Now I am just going to have to pay close attention to see if he is saying "ow, ow, ow" right when he is about to put a clamp down on me. I can only imagine what goes on his head about his dense companions who can't even figure out what OW means. He certainly can't be faulted for lack of trying all sorts of ways for me to make the connection. Silly boy.

[katana600]

When I posted before about Gilbert speaking clearly and appropriately for comic relief, yesterday was another example of that. One daughter had a bridal shower this weekend. The other traveled from afar and brought her dog Bella. Bella had been with me most of her eight years before the two moved out on their own last September. It was surprising how our two little dogs who were Bella's understudies changed the dynamics this weekend. There was a lot of posturing and although they were loving to one another, I was keeping Gilbert's cage door closed out of an abundance of caution. In front of his cage are a soft mat in case he jumps off the door. I also put a puppy pad on the hardwood under his door to catch his droppings. Last night one of our little dogs walked right over in front of us and piddled on the pad. This little guy never goes inside, his brother doesn't care where he does it, but Mick is steadfast in holding it until he goes outside. Needless to say, we were shocked and my husband said "Mick! What are you doing?" He hurried and got him outside, cleaned up and then Gilbert leaned over, looked down and said very clearly in his southern accent and a man's voice "Shee-iiiitt" I could not control my husband and daughter to go laugh in another room. I am just grateful he didn't use my voice and terse syllable from when he bit me that one time and broke my resolve to keep him a southern gentleman.

[judygram]

OMG Dee that was so funny and I would not have been able to control my laughter after that utterance of "Shee-iiiitt" gosh I can't wait to hear what else may escape his beak in the coming months. I love these updates Dee so keep em coming.

[katana600]

Judy, I am a southern transplant, most of my friends and neighbors are as well. Maybe Gilbert is saying a lot more than I can decipher. I may need someone to come stay for a week and translate for him. I am thinking of putting a jar next to his cage for us to deposit a quarter every time one of us asks "What did he say?" Sometimes it is because he is muttering and we can only get one word out of the jabbering, but sometimes it is just from awe that he repeats something we just said.

[katana600]

So. Now that Gilbert has rediscovered some salty language, he is saying it every day. I do not react, generally it will happen when I am in another room but he is very loud about it. When I have been keeping late nights and getting up in the wee hours this week to scramble for planning my daughter's May wedding, I will turn on the dining room light and hear many many forms and inflections of his naughty word. He knows exactly what he is doing. My husband has been traveling so no one else is here to encourage him. He is just having a big time with it. I can hear him thinking as he tilts his head and glares at me balefully... "there, that shut her up, didn't it?" He has really been feeling his oats too. He has been climbing, getting on the floor to explore and playing with hanging toys. He has also been making adolescent body sounds and laughing. I am not getting too riled about it, but it ain't funny right about now Gilbert. Actually, it is kind of funny in that he is telling me about a chapter in his history. It does leave me wondering what else is in there? Something tells me we are just now opening Pandora's box.

[katana600]

Yesterday I heard serious flapping so I came back into the room to look for Gilbert on the floor. In recent days he has taken to exploring a little and is walking about with a lot more confidence and an adventurous spirit. I couldn't find him right away and sat waiting for him to come out from under the ottoman when I heard him laughing. Instead of coming down, he went up for the first time! His play stand has a tall "loop" for hanging toys. Just in the past week he has been playing with the leather toy hanging there, but he had somehow propelled himself up to perch on top of the metal pole. He was so proud of himself. Later in the evening, I heard him say something in an entirely new voice. He said "What are you doing Lou?" It sounds like a ladies voice without the lovely southern accent. I have never heard him say Lou before, but he repeated it over and over again. He also has suddenly taken a liking to pine nuts. I have offered them to him before and he would take it and sometimes eat it but never seemed too interested. This week when I offered them, he gobbled them up, took them gently from my fingers and when I get the bag down he runs and gets really excited. This is such a breakthrough for him.

[chelseaB]

I am really enjoying hearing what Gilbert is coming up with! It is amazing how these words & phrases keep popping up, it's like he came to you "layered" and is removing one layer at a time. Such a complex little brain, the memory is incredible! So glad to hear he is beginning to enjoy playing and has discovered pine nuts are good!

Keep the wonderful updates coming.

[katana600]

Thanks Chelsea, that peeling back the layers is a good analogy with our complex issues of dealing with a rehomed bird with issues unpacking his baggage. It is a little like peeling back an onion, at times it can make us cry. Yesterday he took another leap off the cage door to the floor. As always, I come sit and let him walk over to me for a step up to give him a lift back to his cage when he is ready. Like usual, he leans over to make a kiss sound and then nudges his head toward me for a kiss on the head or upper beak. This time he was doing the same thing and decided instead to pinch my lip hard enough to make it bleed. He has moments like this, but the other ninety percent of the time he is chatty and sweet. All the evidence I have is that he was in caring, loving homes and I know of no abuse. His issues seem to stem from breaking the trust bond and losing the predictability of being with the person he bonded with. He turns that destruction on himself when his frustration reaches the point beyond which he can maintain his sanity. I have the deepest graditude that he has not plucked any flight feathers since he has been here. I do feel sad that he still has missing wing feathers and may never fly. Then, in the middle of all this tightly wound apprehension and fear comes the opening of a little flower of hope for him to interact with his little world and play and find interesting things to do with his time. For all the rescuers or potential rescuers, this is a long slow process but I am seeing the fruits of our labor. I see him tentatively, slowly sneaking up on a toy that has been on his cage top for a year. Then every day he goes back to touch it, and a week later he is flapping and shaking it, not as an enemy but in expending playful energy. Following that little breakthrough, it has been something new and exciting every day. I have read the experiences of many others who say that once the dam breaks, he will amaze us with new things and we will begin to see his true nature. I am thinking the lip bite was a mistake, not his true nature. LOL.... perhaps though it would be worth thinking (?)... maybe that was a reflection of my true nature. LOL hahahahaa Seriously, I couldn't love this little guy more and I am elated to see him begin to open up and enjoy his life.

[katana600]

Ah, and I forgot to mention when I got the lip pinch, I just moved him away from my face and told him, don't bite and walked toward his cage. When we were six feet away he launched himself off my hand and flapped furiously and managed to make it to the side of his cage. I know it isn't really flying, but it isn't dropping like a stone any more either. It was only a few feet and he was losing altitude the whole time, but he is getting to manage greater distances as he thrusts himself off the top of his cage. He has been a regular comedian lately. He has been mocking the sound of my husband blowing his nose when he gets out of the shower every morning. From the bathroom, I heard David say "that's not funny Gilbert" to which Gilbert regaled him with laughter and many more renditions of nose blowing and as Dean Koontz once phrased it "the flatulent squawk of a butt trumpet". Now THAT was funny.

[chelseaB]

Way to go Gilbert!! Biscotti is particularly fond of "butt trumpeting" and also "ahoo chooo" followed by loud laughter. Gotta love these boys! Katana, Biscotti will sucker me in for a pet and then turn it into a bite fairly often- I think this is just the way they are. He has drawn blood many times and has become a non-shoulder bird since he was about 13 mo old. Just can't help himself from reaching around for an ear or cheek pinch. I am becoming much more attuned to his body language to avoid the biting, he is very, very subtle and you really have to learn to see some of his warnings of being in a bitey mood. Or maybe I am not very intuned, I have spent my life dealing with much larger animals & I believe they are much easier to read!

[Luvparrots]

Too cute Dee. Gilbert is becoming a real comedian. I luv it!!!!

[katana600]

I second the "way to go Gilbert!" and he is a well-practiced comedian. The little pinch didn't get me too rattled, although he has totally stopped saying he is sorry afterward. LOL. There is an added dimension to the new love of pine nuts and that is that now that he has shown such a preference for them, it is possible that his mood is darker when he would like to have one and I didn't read his mind and give it to him before he asks. I have to say that his newfound cuss word is getting a workout. My kids did the same thing when they were about four and I am handling him the same way. I just divert his attention and don't reward that kind of thing. But I go to the basement behind closed doors and laugh myself silly. What is going through his mind? Today he rummaged in his pellets and didn't find his favorite one, so I hear a long drawn out disgusted tone and he says sheee-it. He jumped off the door of his cage, scampered to a hiding place under the sofa and said it three times, short and terse with much passion and very loud. More like a "how am I going to get out of this one". Just like when he asks "what are you doing" in many inflections, he has found his power word and he is using it until he grows tired of it. Cussing must give him some confidence because I am seeing some remarkable strides of him moving out of his tiny little comfort zone and trying some new things. Small price to pay to see him open up a little. But I promise, I am not giving him encouragement to have a naughty repertoire.

[katana600]

We seldom cuss either, this reminds me of when my kids were little and heard a word on television and learned the power of saying it. That's probably why it is so funny because it is shocking, and he knows it. Gilbert is definitely opening up in many ways in just the past couple of weeks. He is playing with a toy that hangs on his cage play top. There is a tall metal pole in a loop up there to hang toys. Several times now he has managed to flap and propel himself to the top. I have only heard him and by the time I come in to see him, he is up there. I think he climbs part way then flaps hard to get the "oomph" to get up there and perch. He seems so pleased with himself. Tonight I watched him come back down and he flips and swings round and round on his way back to the ladder. Then he pulls at the leather laces and other acrylic toys. It amazes me that all this has been there for a year and he has acted like he thought it might eat him if he touches it. He is still very jumpy and cautious, but I am seeing little spurts of real playfulness. It is just awesome to see him opening up. He is apparently just now getting comfortable in his surroundings. Not that long ago, he acted like the pine nuts were poison, but now he has decided to not only accept them, but he takes them gently from my fingers. I can feel the warmth of his breath on my fingers and it seems like the beginnings of trust and bonding are taking place. He is saying some new things, it sounds like he is singing. He is saying a long drawn out "hello" in a sing song female voice that I have never heard before. I am just enthralled with his new outlook on life.

Edited April 6, 2012 by katana600
typo

[katana600]

We are having fewer outbursts of the naughty word and Gilbert suddenly has taken to want to have more scratches. He still likes it best when he is inside the cage, but he has asked "want a tickle" and when I say "Sure" he runs quick to get off the cage top, swings into the cage to his favorite spot and tucks his head and waits for a scratch. I think it has to do with the pine nuts. He is wild for them. I am giving him a few at a time, mostly at bedtime and he is so gentle and tender taking them from my fingers. In fact, the realization just hit me that he takes them from me on the cage top with nothing "guarding" him from being too close to me. When he first came, anything he wanted to eat was a cracker. Now he asks "wanna treat?' He was quite funny tonight while my husband and I were sitting on the screen porch. Gilbert was in the house barking and calling the dogs. I guess he thought if the dogs came in, we would come with them. Maybe he is getting closer to wanting to come out there with us. His forays from the comfort zone of his cage top are few and far between. I came into this knowing he had issues and believing I would love him no matter what. Lately I have seen some hopeful signs that he will eventually relax and trust and play and have a much more fulfilling life. I am grateful to Sarah for trusting us to take care of him when she couldn't do it any longer. I am blessed with the companionship of a little comedian.

[Greywings]

I love following his progress it is like unwrapping a surprise every day when you take in a bird with history.

[katana600]

Thanks. I gave it a lot of thought before deciding I could handle anything he brings to our lives. We have seen change come so slowly but I am seeing the signs that his true personality is about to come forward. For everyone out there thinking about bringing home a parrot with issues, there are hard times to overcome, but every little bit of subtle progress are cause for celebration. i don't think they every stop learning and Gilbert definitely is a comedian and he knows what he is doing. On the very first day when he cussed, my husband and daughter were chastised right out of the room. Now when he is home all day with me, he doesn't say it but if my husband is here he says it and looks at him intently and repeats it up to six times trying to get a reaction. Even when my daughter called on the phone last week, he was trying to draw her in. He has just started taking pine nuts gently from my fingers and over the weekend, for the first time ever, he allowed my husband to feed him pine nuts out of his hand too. This is monumental. Gilbert enjoys almonds but for the better part of a year, if David hands him and almond, he flings it to the floor. If David is standing in the room when I hand him an almond, he flings the almond. So, to watch my dear husband just keep trying and coming back for rejection after rejection and then to hear the pleasure of the exchange when Gilbert asked him for a treat and was sweet about taking it was the highlight of my year with Gilbert.

[katana600]

Last night after weeks of pulling back, Gilbert offered me a step up just out of the blue. I brought him over to the sofa and he offered me his head to scratch and then he did that thing again where he "felt" all over my face and hands, just gently touching. Then when he went to his cage at bedtime he was all sweet with offering more scratches and then again this morning. I am going to take those happy moments and his overtures and not read too much into it, just accept what he is willing to give and not have expectations of him that he can't sustain. But let me tell you, I am on the top of the world, he asked me to pick him up! He does step up when he is on the cage top when I ask him. He also will step up when he goes to the floor and wants up in a hurry, he comes running for my offer then. But for him to offer a step up from a perch inside his cage with no request is just enthralling. It was also fraught with uncertainty on my part, is he just luring me closer to get a chomp on me? Have to say that wasn't my first thought because I just accepted his offer without even thinking. My hands were steady and calm and he came through on his gentle offer of closeness. We have had lots of closeness before, but only on his terms when I ask and he accepts. This one was special because he just offered on his own. It was just for a few minutes before I asked if he wanted to go back and he hopped right on my hand so we ended on a positive beat. He is just such an awesome, complicated, exquisite little character and today moreso than most, I am feeling somewhat successful in understanding him better and meeting his needs.

[Ray P]

When a rehome opens the door to come out of the closet, it`s with a bang. Sounds like Gilbert is at the door. You are doing a great job with Gilbert and HE knows it.

[katana600]

Thanks Ray, it means a lot for me to have your support and cheers for Gilbert. He came downstairs today to join the quilt group. He was on a table top perch and was very quiet, watching, taking it all in. His little chest feathers were quivering and I asked if he wanted to go back. Usually he will jump at the offer because he really likes the comfort zone of his own cage. Then he was talking a little. After about a half hour, I took him upstairs and he was whistling to us and telling us "come on" and then "quiet" and admonishing the dogs... or us. Hahaha. He was so exhausted from his little adventure that he curled up and napped the rest of the afternoon. He would shout to us and we would answer and laugh, then he would laugh back at us.. or mock us maybe. I was happy that he was willing to come out of the living room for a while.

[katana600]

Litttle by little on a daily basis I am enamored with watching Gilbert get more interactive with toys. Yesterday was the first time ever he sustained a period of real playing with a "busy box". He was moving beads and twirling the acrylic spinners. He has gone from tentative touching the toy and jumping back to getting boisterous and curious to make things move on his own accord. I am just elated that he is less fearful and mover involved with his environment. We have a cupboard filled with foraging toys and I am looking forward to when we can introduce him to more playthings. It has been slow going and has taken a lot of patience to wait until he is ready, but I have a joyous feeling that time is just around the corner now. He is also getting more affectionate and asking for scratches. He is so subtle, he will just go to this favorite perch and hold the bars of the cage and tuck his head up to his chest and stand there waiting for me to notice and stop what I am doing to come to him. This morning he held his pose for twenty minutes in the wee hours of the morning while I scratched his head and rubbed the back of his neck. This has been his longest tolerance to touch and not once did he spin around and try to nip. There were other noises and "goings on" with the dogs and outside noises and David even walked by and Gilbert never startled or reacted. I can just see a difference in the way he holds his wings and am watching his little "shoulders" relax and his eyes become less hypervigilant in recent days. At the end of our encounter this morning, he flung some of his pellets and got grumpy. This is the first time he has done that and it seemed to indicate that he didn't want to stop rather than before when he would do that out of frustration because he wanted "something" he couldn't quite convey to me. I look forward to every day with him and love to spend as much closeness as he is comfortable to give me.

[Greywings]

Wonderful, he is blooming.