Gilbert is home

[katana600]

We have more up days than down days and I can see clear progress with her now. Yesterday went down the tubes in a hurry and I am pretty sure it was partly due to her waking up cold and grumpy. Then I spent way too much time away with sewing and although she could call out to me she was annoyed with that. I try to take her down with me and she has a big cage down there and can climb all over outside of it just like upstairs but she isn't happy outside her comfort zone yet. She told me to get out a few times, but I think she was determined for me to get out of the basement and get up here and make her a sammich. LOL. She has learned to slam her door so much harder now, with authority. She will slam it from the outside and make it latch now. I worry if she might get a toe caught but cage manufacturers seem to have planned for that with the gap in the door frame. She can also get inside the cage and slam it so hard it makes me jump and it latches now when she does that too. I think the funniest thing is when she closes her own door and then tries to figure out how to get back in. It won't be long before she figures that one out, and then I am going to be seriously outmaneuvered. Once yesterday in her antics, she had the door partially closed, it looked like it was only open an inch. She climbed up the outside of the door, grabbed the frame and swung inside through that gap and astonished me. I swear, she was like a shape shifter, out one second and in the next and that door didn't move. I know she is only perfecting her craft and analyzing that door system so there will never be another time that I can lock her inside unless she wants to be in there. For weeks now she has been asking for really long sessions of head rubs through the bars of her cage. Soon, I am going to start offering her a wooden perch to step up and just sit next to me on my chair. In the past when we have done this, she has been so scared and nervous and just wants to go back but I am seeing a window of opportunity to meet her half way. The day she sits on me all warm and relaxed and lets me touch her head while she is outside the bars of her cage is a milestone marker of trust. I won't push it too hard, but its coming.

[judygram]

Miss Gilgirl is turning into the grey of your dreams, I am still amazed at the progress you have made with her and you are to be commended for your patience and perseverance in working with her to get her where she is today and who knows what the future will bring, good things I am sure.

[kittykittykitty]

You put a smile on my face and a song in my heart.

[katana600]

If not for all of you believing in Gilbert and offering encouragement I wouldn't have been able to see her potential and take that leap of faith to bring her home and commit to forever and hope for the best. It would have been very quiet in my home. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. As small chains fall away from her locked in heart, it is almost so hard to see but it all adds up to something special. It has been too long to remember her chest trembling. Its one of those things that happens less frequently and then suddenly there is a realization that "hey, she isn't shaking any more". She is having a small bit of confusion or indecision of her name. She starts saying "Night night Gilbert" and stops short, chats a bit more and says "ready to go night night Gilgirl". Its hard to know what is right for her so I just reinforce her in letting her figure it out and work through it. I don't have an issue with a girl named Gilbert. I do like the Miss Gilbert too, or Gilgirl or Silly Gilly. It just thrills me to no end to see her working through it and changing her ideas about things. She is also becoming so much more affectionate and asks for head rubs every time she sees either of us come through the room. For days now she will initiate the bomb drop and watch for me to clap my hands. She has an obsession with the floor. If I sweep near her cage she has from the beginning asked "What are you doing?" When I lean over to get the dustpan she says "Whatter ya doin' down there on the floor?" If anyone drops something or tips over something or makes a sound she declares "sh*t on the floor" I usually name what it is on the floor. But she and hubby both get a pretty big kick out of making me uncomfortable with that one. I may decided to use it for every sentence for about a week and see if they don't lose the power of it. Holiday visit with mother in law might be a good time. That would take the secret funny right out of it for both of them.

[katana600]

In the past couple of days I have been observing the playfulness of Gilgirl. She is just getting to the stage of a four month old baby grey with exploration and openly playing for the sake of play. Yesterday she went on a housecleaning binge and flung out every toy from her cage that wasn't locked down. I picked the toys up from the floor and placed them on the top of her "basement apartment" which is her travel cage placed below the door of the big cage. She was annoyed at my interference and I am absolutely certain she can either read on my computer what I am writing on the forum, or she is reading my mind. She went right down there and flung off every foot toy I had picked up and returned without permission and she flung them to the floor and cussed to punctuate every piece of you-know-what on the floor. Then she started dismantling the porch perches on the outside of the cage and lifted off the corner of one that she was holding onto. When it crashed to the floor with the empty pringles can I had put there with some shredded paper and there was a great commotion and she fell a short distance to the floor and carried on quite a big fuss. I told her it served her right for that potty language. Interesting that she seems not to want me to pick her up but when she has a big scare she runs right to me and wants me to hold her and reassure her. Today she has been climbing all over the outside of her cage and swinging on some of her toys. As I got ready to put her to bed, I noticed she had opened three food doors and the upper door that is probably there for a nest box. I had not noticed but once she learned to lift the latch and open these doors she opened all of them. She is starting to show me just how clever she is. I think its also interesting that she opened each latch, but then as has been her custom with the big door, she closed all the doors again. Now when I go to bed or if I leave the house, I will have to remember to check all her escape routes. Her feathers seem much more disheveled than usual. I think it is just from her increased activity level. She has been getting under the sofa or an end table and then beating her wings wildly. At first I thought it was a panic reaction, but she seems to be purposely going back and also she has been standing on the top of her door and just pounding her wings. I think she is just feeling full of herself. We are really seeing a new persona emerge for Miss Gilly girl. My favorite thing of all is that she is so sweet at night to get a scratch and then turns to me and looks right in my face and says "night night Gilgirl" in the softest quiet voice. But when I turn off the light, she still says "hey"... and then barks and hoots for ten to fifteen minutes in the dark. It is just so unusual to me for her to be talking in the dark. Of course, she is right outside my bedroom door and she hears me in there laughing and she can't help herself but to continue her comedy routine.

[kittykittykitty]

Are you sure this is a bird, not a very intelligent child or Houdini masquerading as a grey???

[birdhouse]

While you're checking latches, you might want to start inspecting nuts & bolts on a regular basis, if you don't already. Phenix current cage has fancy spring loaded latches that aren't even a challenge from the outside. One of the first things he does when he comes out is open all the doors. But he can't get at them from the inside. So he took to taking the screws apart instead. He was so very proud the couple of times he got a door to crash to the floor! I was so scared he'd hurt himself if one slid in the wrong direction. But I finally outsmarted him by threading them upside down. He can't reach the nut now which really annoys him. lol

[katana600]

I have a feeling I am only seeing the tip of the iceberg where the intelligence, playfulness and mischievious nature of a grey is concerned. I had forgotten about Juno removing the screw from his cage door. The first time, I was sure I was negligent in my assembly skills. The second time, I was certain it was no accident. What a clever way to outsmart Phenix. I may need a lot more pointers in the months to come. Even when my hair stands right on end at the rush of very vivid castastrophe scenarios Gilgirl's cleverness evokes, I am elated that she is coming to this place in her life that she feels free enough to work out ways to escape her cage. For so many months when she sat silently, stoically like a sentry in one spot I could predict where she would be at any given moment of our day. Now I have to be on my toes and I have to think of creative ways to protect her and keep up with her. She is a precocious little Houdini all right and I know right where she will head if she knows she has five interrupted minutes alone outside her cage. I have the splinters from my china cabinet to remind me of what it could be like. As much as I have anguished over her lack of flight, I only have about a foot from the floor to protect one room and that is going to be challenging. Since she has a blanket aversion, I am going to make a ribbon of fleece around the hutch and china cabinet and a sock for each leg of the table. I can turn the chairs upside down and my new decorating scheme will be lovely. I think I will use different bright colors to make me smile when I walk through there. Lately at the end of my day, there is a huge mess flung far and wide from her cage. I used to feel so sad when I changed her cage liner and there was only poo under one spot where she marked time sitting there all day. I fretted and wondered how to engage her and whether I was doing her a great disservice by bringing her to my home. I wondered if it was something about me or my home or my approach that had her shut down. Even when she vexes me, I sing a song and do a happy dance that she is finding her mojo. It feels like my life is a fairy tale, that Rip Van Winkle awakened from his long slumber only Gilgirl has gotten younger, more carefree and more relaxed from her long fallow period of torpor. She wasn't sleeping though, she was aware of everything as she studied me intently. She knows more about me and my habits than any other living creature. Lucky for me she seems to have the intent to make me laugh because otherwise I would be sleeping under a net with one eye open. LOL.

[birdhouse]

Yeah, that was one of those little victories. lol It took me a little while to figure it out because this arrangement seems wrong. Both bolts are supposed to point at the ground so they'll make a hinge even w/o the nut. But I realized it was always the bottom nut Phenix would really get after when I saw the crazy angle the door got caught at a couple of times. He had to loosen the bottom before he could reach in to loosen the top nut. W/the help of my tiny needle nosed pliers, they're now both out of reach.

 

I do admire how clever he is! But not when he's literally being too smart for his own good. And I admire his persistence right to the point where it becomes stubborn as a mule. lol Until I put a stop to it, working on those bolts was his favorite pastime. He was so determined to beat the new set up that his beak was a total mess for a while (see avatar). When he'd fail, he'd smash the door up & down in place. Very loudly!! It took him at least a month to admit defeat. Sometimes I still find him spinning the head on the bottom bolts. Never say die, that one!

 

Your new home decor plan sounds like it's going to be pretty cute. Just thinking w/the holidays coming, you could really play it up. Have you thought about making little elf boots & reindeer hoofs for the chair legs? With a little imagination you could outfit the whole dining room for Xmas. If you're lucky Miss G will have gotten over her obsession by the end of the season. If not, it could still be a great conversation peice.

[VStar Mama]

Sewing party at Katana's house!!

[kittykittykitty]

Precious took off acorn nuts faster than I could replace them. It didn't matter what I did. I was terrified she had swallowed some when they disappeared. She opens doors on her cage as if they were never fastened. We have had to improvise locks for them, especially the food doors. Otherwise food and water are in the bottom of the cage or on the floor or both.

 

I would love to join you in a sewing party!

[Ray P]

We were on the PA turnpike in our motor home when Corky removed the top of her travel cage as we came to a toll plaza and she flew and landed on my shoulder.

We held up traffic as the wife had to get her and take her to the back of the motor home before I could roll down the window to pay the toll.

She took the cage apart and I mean disassembled it and removed the top with out destroying it and we did not know it.

[katana600]

Sewing party indeed, I am to think Gil reads these posts and it makes me very very nervous. I have actually been in the basement having a sewing party all by my little lonesome and she would very much like to be down there in the thick of things. So far, I am trying to catch up on my old projects, but you are giving me some great ideas. My house will never be the same. LOL. For her part Gilgirl is taking five or six "flights" a day off her cage. I have tempered my enthusiasm for her to have real flight, but gosh she seems to be going farther from her cage and at a more graceful angle as she progresses. She may not gain lift but she can reach a chair nearly twenty feet from her cage now. She stands on her open door and flaps so hard that it will make the door swing. I'm sure her plan is to get to my computer and read all these delicious techniques her friends in the forum have to offer. Ray, I almost forgot how she flung open her cage on the nine hour ride home the day I met her. She didn't dismantle it though, just flipped the clip and came right out to the top of her travel cage. I am beginning to rethink that thousand mile journey to be with family for the holidays. I usually drive up by myself and my husband and girls fly in just for the few days they have off. I may have to get a warden to ride along to keep Gil confined for the distance.

[kittykittykitty]

Yes, you just might need someone to ride "shot gun!" What a privilege to read the escapades of Gilgirl and all the parrots!

Edited October 24, 2013 by kittykittykitty

[katana600]

The privilege is mine to have found a group of people who know just what it means to live with an exquisite feathered creature. To think it took me five months of analyzing to consider if I was willing to take on the unknown bird with known issues and a bit of a bad attitude. She showed me a little of that bad attitude last night and part of today. She seems out of sorts and I think it is because I have been on a two week quest to finish a baby nursery set and hardly come upstairs in time for bed. I have offered to take Gilgirl down with me but she doesn't want to go and if I get her to go she doesn't want to stay and she darn well doesn't want me down there. Last night at bedtime she took a swipe and me and I felt that sharp beak on my fingers and barely was able to escape. She gives no notice, and just as quickly as she tried to bite me with a breathtaking fury, she was tucking her head and saying sweet things. I know darn well she was trying to lure me in so I bid her good night and she had nary a peep or a hey after that. This morning when I fed her she went into another tailspin and ripped out all three of her dishes from the holders. I had not gotten two feet from her cage. The water dish went first and it splashed all over me. I said nothing and just watched to see if it was an accident... maybe I forgot to put it in the holder tight. Sometimes I set it down on the porch perch while I get the dirty dishes out. Nope. She threw her beans and then her pellets. She was in quite a rage. She went outside the cage to the top and ripped up the adding machine tape. It has been up there for six months and she barely will touch it. Well, she was fearless today and ripped up enough to mound on the floor beside her cage. It was kind of amusing to watch her snatch off a piece, carry it to the edge of her cage and fling it over. Then she would lean and watch it waft to the top of her shredded paper mound. After a couple of hours, I refreshed her food and she seemed to be in less of a frenzy, but she was real quiet today, broody. We are having a bit of a cold spell and I had a big adjustment on my braces that left me unable to chew, so I decided to have a warm treat. I made steamed milk with raspberry syrup and put a bit of whipped cream on top. Gilgirl was out on top her cage and I took it to offer her a taste first. Its the first time I made it and first time she has had any. Well.... not only are we friends, but I do believe I may have seen her eyes pin for the first time. They didn't get pinpoint but they flashed. I'm not sure why she has to go to such extremes before a breakthough like this, but maybe the frustration is unlocking some of the doors of the walls she put up and has been determined not to let me past. Whatever it is, I am sure happy to see a change in her attitude tonight. That steamed milk might have to become a regular habit. She barely tasted it, I think the offer of a warm beverage may be a clue to a better social interaction. She must like the Big Bang Theory as much as I do.

[kittykittykitty]

I understand the need to think long and hard about taking on the responsibility of this challenging little girl. I remember you lost not one, but two very precious babies not long before.

[katana600]

Thanks Howardine, there was a lot of pressure back then. The emotional part of grieving and of not wanting to jump into a new situation was huge. The specter of illness and concern for Gilbert's health was monumental. We also spent more on vet bills than for a car and I was concerned if we were ready to take on that responsibility. The biggest hurdle to overcome though was that she had already been rehomed and I knew that with each subsequent change it would be harder on her. The pressure of feeling like I was a last resort was probably the most overwhelming because she had already been through so much. I knew I had to be ready to accept and love her on her terms and have little expectation beyond that. On the day I met her and saw the look in her eyes and the damage she had done to herself in panic and frustration, I was committed. The other members who have been there before me were forthright and honest that it would be a long road to gain her trust and that it would be worth every minute if I could be patient and understanding and wait for her to find her way. Its really uncharted territory for a parrot with a past because they are so incredibly intelligent, unique and individual. The one thing I could always hold onto was the advice that if we could just love her and meet her right where she was there was a chance that once she made up her mind to trust, the results would be profound. Even now, we are only just beginning to be on the cusp of her evolution from a "boarder" to a leading lady in her own beautiful autobiography. I wonder what she will say about me ten years from now. Shudder to think what she would have said three years ago. LOL.

[kittykittykitty]

Dee, I am forever grateful you took Gilbert and are now giving Gilgirl a forever loving home. You continue to make my days with your reports.

[katana600]

I am also grateful that I took the plunge and went to get her. When I read about her need, I approached with a healthy dose of skepticism based on doing something that big over the internet and as I drove to get her, I was a little apprehensive about what I would find. When I saw that she was a real TAG and in a real need, I was in such a hurry to get her home, I drove more than eighteen hours round trip in one day. She really settled in quick those first few days and then she unpacked her real baggage. We are still learning about her and I couldn't be more sure she came to us for a reason. She has been possessed with the tearing of paper. It is too funny. She gets a pile of paper shreds built up at the base of her cage then she climbs down and hangs off the lowest bars of her cage to get a close look at her handiwork and climbs back up to fling down a few more pieces. I don't know what she is building, but I resist the urge to clean it up because she is working so hard and seems to be intent on creating "something". She was ornery earlier today. I had to get parts and replace a pump on the washing machine. It was not easy to get the darn clamps on and I was grumbling and well.. ornery myself. She started making some of the most obnoxious and abrasive sounds. Perhaps that is how I sounded to her too. She cut loose with one from her old days "shut up idiot"... and I know darn well she was talking to me. She continues calling herself Gilgirl. I am amazed at how she picked it up and sticks to it.

[kittykittykitty]

I wonder if she is wanting to nest.

[katana600]

That was the first thing to cross my mind. Then I thought it wasn't logical because it is getting colder and we have longer nights than days so hormonally, it wouldn't be the right time of year. Also, seeing that she is also moving all day and playing with other toys, I am thinking she has just broadened her horizons some more. She is like the energizer bunny with constant motion, big flapping and getting more curious every day. I have read so many articles about the difficult cases and how a shut down grey may suddenly have exponential growth once they get started out of the block. No one is happier to report that this seems to be the case with her. She is starting to do the grumbly kind of calibration and after calling herself Gilgirl to much fanfare and adoration, she is starting to say some things that I have never heard but just can't quite make out the words. We had a surprise visitor in the house this morning. I was getting up early and making coffee in the dark so as not to bring the whole household awake at once. When I put the water in the coffee pot, something jumped out of the sink, across my hand and I heard a flutter to the floor. Being fall and having a cold snap, I was sure it was a mutant gigantic outdoor roach. I flipped on the light and grabbed the Camacide and started uprooting rugs and looking under the range when I kneeled down and saw bird droppings. It took me an hour and a half to get the poor scared little creature out the door. In the meantime, so much for the rest of the crew sleeping in. Gil was sounding all the alarms she knows and when the little bird flew into the living room and was fluttering against the windows she said "Get Out". Obviously she wasn't feeling like the little bird was a friend. LOL.

[kittykittykitty]

What a morning!

[Ray P]

I was in Florida and the first time I saw palmetto bug I almost ---- myself.

That's why I will never live in the south.

[kittykittykitty]

You should have seen the 'roaches we had on the Amazon!

[katana600]

The scorpions are worse than the palmetto bugs Ray, I got my first sting last year. And then there are the brown recluse spiders, copperhead snakes and other horrors that I had never given a thought to in my idyllic years growing up in the frozen tundra. LOL. I felt bad for the little house wren, she was much more frightened than I was. She slept in my kitchen sink hiding out all night. Gil has been very very quiet today. I had to smile when I tucked her into bed tonight. Where I usually put pine nuts and other treats in her acrylic puzzle box to give her a challenge she has filled it up with some surprises for me. She painstakingly ripped tiny pieces of the paper tape and then crumpled them up and opened all the compartments, filled them and closed them again. It looks like a collection of spitballs.