Gilbert is home

[Sarasota]

I'm new to the board....and I'm really enjoying reading about Gilbert. He's quite the looker. Reminds me of my little guy!

[katana600]

Thanks. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wonder what to do next with him and at the same time feel so blessed to have the lil "cussin' cajun" in my life. We had a bad turn with his little buddy Java last night and I have been gone half the day to the vet. Gilbert will go for his own vet check Monday morning just to be on top of things and check his annual progress. Funny how even when he is grumpy with me, a minute later and he is calling her and telling her she is a pretty bird. While I was gone, he also spontaneously offered my daughter a step up and when I came home they were sitting together for the very first time. We all come together as a family through thick and thin. To add just a little levity to our day, when Java was at the vet, he was toweling her gently to examine her crop etc. and she fought like a demon. She escaped his grasp and put a wicked bite on him. There was a lot of screaming... mostly on her part. Then she got a toenail under his cuticle and the vet was the one loudly protesting. When he was all finished and I asked to bring Gilbert in Monday, I warned him that Java was the easy one. He looked very apprehensive for a moment. God bless the vets and techs who see our little angels at their worst and still dedicate their lives to caring for our flock. It is one thing to be beaned on the head with an empty almond shell, entirely less cute when a bite can be really serious.

[oblivion]

Truth. Bless the vets and techs. I hope everyone is well soon enough!

[katana600]

Well after the day we have had, I am repeating your words Mark. Bless those techs and vets. Today was Gilbert's turn to make the trip to the vet. He is so much more nervous and harder to handle than Java. But, it is time for his annual and no better time to have him checked since we aren't sure about what caused Java's illness. I put a couple of almonds in my pocket, got lots of paper towels and even thought ahead to pack a couple of bandaids. Would you believe, Gilbert was a prince? He talked to everyone in the waiting room even though he was tense and nervous. He stepped up to me from his travel cage and he stepped up to the vet from me. There was no screaming, no fuss at all. He had blood drawn and came back to me to step up again and I was totally speechless. He told everyone "bye bye" as we were leaving but he didn't say "come back soon" as he usually does when someone is leaving our house. Our vet did say that he could tell by looking at him in his travel cage that he is hypervigilant and extremely nervous and high strung but he believes that a year in our home is a blink of an eye for Gilbert and he has had a history but at his age, he is still considered a juvenile and he thinks that if we keep up the way we handle him he will turn around and become less fearful and more active. He also had some suggestions to try to get him out of his shell a little at a time and to help encourage him not to become a "perch potato" or cagebound. Even though Gilbert was a really good boy, he is exhausted this afternoon, he came into his cage and put himself right to bed and has been sleeping since he got settled. I just still can not believe he was ten times more cooperative than my expectations and Java my sweet has a worst reputation with the techs now.

[oblivion]

THAT is a great vet visit. I hope the test results are ate least as well-behaved. Those blood draws really seem to take it out of them. Every month when Anya would get hers, she'd be done for the day - just hunker down on her perch and wait it out. Whether it was annual time or not, I think it's a very good idea for you to have taken Gilbert in given Java's mystery illness. Way to be, bird mamma!

[chelseaB]

Way to go Gilbert! Katana all your love & patience with him is being returned in his will to cooperate! I'm sure your remaining calm during the visit helped immensely. What a sweet, sweet boy. Extra almond for him tonight! Hope he passes his vet check with flying colors!

[Sarasota]

Good luck with your vet check! Mine are due and I'm not looking forward to it. Both are terrified of being toweled (they had an AWFUL grooming experience) - and the vet usually does.

[katana600]

This day is just getting better. Sarasota, I have to tell you that this vet visit was hard to work myself up to considering Gilbert's history and how long it has taken to gain his trust. He had a visit early on but the vet and I agreed not to poke and prod him so he could calm down and he was in good health but this time we had to make sure because Java was sick. Gilbert was toweled and I know he must have been terrified, but it was over so quickly he didn't have time to get too upset. He was just charming. After a quiet afternoon Gilbert was soliciting to our daughter to come give him a scratch. Much to our surprise, he offered her a step up. He has been sitting on her lap on the sofa for the past half hour. He is talking softly to her and not shivering or looking one bit nervous. I usually can only get him to sit next to me on the arm of the sofa before he is asking to go back to his cage. He is having a mumbling, long running conversation with Rachel and she is beaming just as much as I am. This is unprecedented. I am as delighted with her bravery as I am by his acceptance of her all of the sudden. I think he might be telling her about his day at the vet. It reminds me of when our girls were young, if they were fighting I would give one of them a hard time and they immediately banded together and talked smack about me. LOL. I am totally in awe of the progress Gilbert made today and then to have him sitting a few feet away like he has been on her hand all his life. As I typed, he came off her hand, over her lap and ventured a trek across the sofa onto my lap. This is one of the most awesome days he has had with us. He is like a totally different boy tonight. I am going to savor some time with him.

[Greywings]

That is an AWWW moment, just when you think you know what they will do next they change it up and surprise you. I am fairly certain he was so good at the Vet's because you predicted he would be a challenge, no really I think he is learning trust and familiarity with his surroundings helps as well.

[katana600]

Last night just seemed like a miracle. Gilbert was incredible and we saw things that we had not even begun to hope for in our time together. Rachel sat on one end of the sofa and I was on the other. I was on the computer trying not to get too excited (or envious, maybe). Just today the vet said it would not be altogether bad to give him pine nuts or other favorites to help extend his time off the cage. He gave me a wink and said the occasional dorito would be okay too. When Gilbert went to Rachel I went to the kitchen and got a handful of the cheese nip crackers. He didn't seem to be eating them as much as crunching them up and getting them all over. I just was so caught up in the activity that I didn't even care about the mess being strewn about. He walked from her to me across the sofa, then from my legs to the ottoman and back a few times. I am guessing he was out with us for more than an hour. His previous record was less than fifteen minutes. Then this morning, he surprised me again. While I was getting all the food dishes from the cages in preparation for breakfast, he launched himself off the cage top came right up to me and asked to step up. Then he rode around on my shoulder the whole time I fixed their breakfast and stepped up on my hand to transfer to his cage top when he got all excited for his warm beans. In all our excitement lately, I realized just as I awakened this morning, I forgot to ask the vet do do a DNA check for gender while they had his blood drawn. I am going to call this morning to see if they could still do it. Otherwise I will ask them to put it in his chart so we can check it another time. Who would have thought that a day I was dreading would completely turn around and give me such a little miracle. Thanks Gilbert, I needed that.

[katana600]

And one more little tidbit of happiness when I called the vet to ask if it was too late to get the DNA they told me that was already included in the lab panel they requested. Now I will be on pins and needles waiting for the call with results.

[chelseaB]

Oh how exciting! Can't wait to hear if Gilbert is a Mr or Ms !!

[oblivion]

I literally have sweet tears in my eyes. You may be a self-described curmudgeon, but I'm a softy and not afraid to admit it. WAY TO GO, GILBERT (and Dee and Rachel)!!!

[oblivion]

Also, if a she, just think of her as "Melissa Gilbert" from Little House on the Prairie.

[birdhouse]

Here again, Gilbert's progress sounds just like Phenix. Only more like 3 yrs out. So here again, I'm impressed. I remember that first "happy" vet visit so well because it was such a huge mile marker. In fact it was the "What!" episode I posted on Susan's thread. After that day, Phenix hit a new high in confidence that was pure joy!

 

And I admit that I'm a purist. I know it. I do! lol But I cringe a little every time I think about fids eating junk food. So I thought I'd just throw a possible healthy alternative out here. Sweet potato chips? Maybe sprinkled w/cinnamon or sprinkle cheese?

 

http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=50409

[Greywings]

I am a moderation thinker, once in a while a forbidden treat makes us happy can strengthen a building bond and does little if any damage. Just never a daily routine food or treat. There are some examples of birds giving up feather shredding after adding salt to their water so you just never know. Each one must make their own choices for their own flocks. We can only provide our own views and experiences as well as all the information available from research.

[katana600]

I think the vet recommended an occasional taste of junk food because I am a "follow the rules" kind of gal. He has known us for about three years now. So definitely it won't be a regular routine. I think his point was now that Gilbert is showing a little progress in coming off his cage, try to extend that by five minutes at a time and not to get stressed if he wants an occasional bite of something that is not in his food dish at specified times of the day. Wonder of wonders, Rachel walked up to Gilbert's cage last night and said want to step up? I was incredulous to watch him reach out a foot and come to the sofa again. While she was here with us, once again he was walking back and forth between us and enjoyed a really long visit. Afterwards, when I took him back to his cage I asked him to step up and he went into his defensive position and took a swipe at me. He has taken such a shine to Rachel that it is a big surprise to all of us. She just finished her final year of college in May. She has been coming and going from our house since Gilbert came and he will take an almond from her at bed time and accept her watching him for a weekend when I am away but this has just been a dramatic turn on his part. Once he steps up to her he is equally at ease with me or with her and will also go to my husband. She is the only one right now he will graciously step up and come to so I am going to reinforce his time off the cage with pine nuts, pistachios and maye a little taste of limeade again. I can't even describe the dramatic change in his body language in the past few days. He is incredibly smitten with Rachel but he is not doing the wing droop or gurging as a love gesture. I can hardly wait for evening to come when he is so happy to be off his cage. Odd that it came about right when Java was having vet issues and Gilbert went to the vet too. He has been saying "sorry" to her and it just seems so focused and intuitive on his part. They talk to each other occasionally, but it never seemed like they liked each other one little bit over the past year.

[katana600]

Greywings, you were posting while I was typing. I agree with the moderation. I tend to be a little more rigid and have to work to lighten up a bit sometimes. Did you ever read the book Give a Mouse a Cookie? Sometimes I get the notion that if I let the dogs have a tablescrap it will snowball and they will be begging and cajoling at our dinner time and soon be too fat to waddle. LOL. I learn from everyone here and I like the idea of moderation and occasional surprises for the purpose of eliciting change. Isn't it an interesting study in our personalities and how we all learn from one another. My husband is in human relations and has advocated "bonus incentives" particularly with our kids. I was of the mind, there are things they should do just because they are members of the family and we shouldn't bribe them to do their chores. LOL. There is a happy little place somewhere in the middle, moderation, you are so right about that. Oh and another one my husband says "You never have any fun unless you write it down on a piece of paper first." LOL, I beg to differ, but I do love those lists and planning and I guarantee he would go hungry and not have any food in his backpack if I didn't make that list before we went camping. Somewhere there is a happy little place in the middle. The middle is out of my comfort zone, but if Gilbert can do it, so can I. LOL.

[Greywings]

Good for you Katana we all have a little something that may not quite jive with the rest of the pack, thank heavens we are all different or there would be a fight for the pencil and too much competition as to who had the most comprehensive list. I feel that if I cannot remember it all in my head then my brain is broken-sad but true. It may relate to my Mom having Dementia.

[katana600]

Oh, this iPhone has been a wonderful invention. I can save my lists, categorize my lists, write down my parking spot at the airport so I have a hope of finding my car less than an hour after parking it. LOL. Actually, I am picking up and dropping off at the airport at least four trips in as many days so it is all a blur to me. I used to park in the spot closest to my age when we went to Six Flags or any other place with a huge parking lot and everyone was impressed at how quickly I could find the car when it was time to leave. LOL. I may be a tricky ole broad, but that doesn't work for me any more because it is too far to walk. LOL. Hahahaha. I keep telling my husband that someday when I lose my list I will be spontaneous and I will guarantee he isn't going to like what that means. LOL. We have been having some company again. Gilbert met our friend Coulter. He was polite and took treats from Coulter but they became buddies when Coulter gave him a spoon full of his warm oatmeal. Not friends as in "you can scratch my head" or a step up, but it is nice to see that he takes new people in stride since it seems our house has a lot of folks coming and going.

[katana600]

With a weekend of travel, vet visits, company coming and going Gilbert has been a little more standoffish than his usual. He was incredibly loving and attention seeking toward my daughter at the same time. We used that to our advantage and when he would spontaneously ask her for a step up, she would bring him to a neutral zone. Then he was doubly affectionate and outgoing toward me as well as toward her. He has been doing some things I have not witnessed since his arrival. He has stayed away from his cage for up to an hour at a time when his previous limit was five minutes or less before he was shaking and asking to go back, pleading to go back. Now, Rachel went away for the weekend. She arrived back home about two am and Gilbert went into a chorus of happy tweets, whistles, good-night-sweethearts and other sweet nothings to her. The dogs woke up and needed to go outside. When I came back in Gilbert postured for the first head rub he has solicited from me in a very long time. I stayed next to him for almost twenty minutes because it was so sweet. The scent of his head, the warmth of touching his head and neck is simply too much for me to walk away when the opportunity presents itself. This morning, it is the same thing. He is coaxing me over and quickly bowing his head. He closes his eyes and just melts my heart. He has a way of stopping and turning toward me to make what I can only describe as a human baby crying. He looks up, softly does his "waaah" and then tucks again for more contact. He seems to be a man of extremes. Either he will bite his bars and fling his pellets at the mere sight of me a foot from his cage, or he will be a cuddle muffin. There is no mistaking his body language when he is grumpy and he seldom breaks up a grump fest with a surprise of gentleness except the occasion when he will feign a solicitous posture just to get me lured in close enough for a bite. He is pretty subtle about it too. If his eye is looking up, he is waiting for me to get close to spin around and try to bite. With just the slightest change of posture and his eye looking down, or closed he is genuinely soliciting and embracing my touch. It is magical when he goes into a more relaxed and accepting spirit. After he has had a long, five to ten minute session of closeness, he seems to celebrate with a flurry of activity. He is happily climbing around inside and out of his cage. He hangs upside down and swings his head and cheers himself on. I love those days!

[Timbersmom]

I always enjoy the Gilbert updates! I've noticed the same thing with Timber. After a pet-fest, he seems pretty pleased with himself and gets active too. With my son (college age), Timber has a love/hate relationship. He seems to have more interest in him than anyone else in the house, but he is very temperamental in his interaction with him. He is always excited to see him, but you can never tell if he wants a scratch or a bite with him. I think he is angry because Dakota isn't always around, but wants his attention anyway.

[Sarasota]

Did I miss the DNA results?? I'm so curious!

[danmcq]

GreYt update on Gilbert. It is wonderful to hear of the progress he is making in your relationship. Do you think it is spossible on those days that he wants nothing to do with you, that their is something different about you, like nail color, certain clothes you wear, perfumes etc.? It could just be as most adult greys though, sometimes they feel like some loving and other times they just want to chill and reflect upon things.

[chelseaB]

I was wondering the same thing Sarasota!! Been checking every day for Gilberts DNA results.