Gilbert is home

[katana600]

Thanks Dan, our other parrot Java is also prone to give a little startle and give me a smack with her beak if a pinfeather is ruffled. Gilda isn't quite there yet. Her sessions where she permits a touch have very specific "rules". I can only get my fingers throught the bars just right to reach her chosen position. She holds the bars with one talon and bows her head and says "hey" and that is my signal she is asking for me to come rub her head. I am only permitted to touch with two fingers and only gentle strokes from the top of her head to her neck, more like petting. If I touch her neck or shoulder she will tense and swing her head, but not bite. It is a very delicate operation and we have come such a long way but I guess I am a bit on the slow side because she says until I get it right, she will hold her boundary firm. LOL. Of course I dream of possibilities and think how great it would feel for her to sit on my knee instead of the awkward contortions I have to stand in while getting in my "place" which she has dictated. I also dream of her flying and even though her vet says it is not going to be possible, I just "know" that she is going farther, her angle to the floor is getting greater and she is getting stronger. She may not fly the same way as other birds, but to her, she is flying. Every day I tell myself if this is "it" if this is her best, that is okay with me. But, I don't want to limit her potential by cutting short our hopes and drawing inward. Her happiness is my measure of success. For her to finally be able to express herself, albeit at the expense of a tender finger, and then tuck and relax again is awe inspiring. A year ago that would have been a two week setback and those two weeks were hell to her. Now it is kind of like the reflex I have at the orthodontist when I can't resist the "swallow and clamp" every now and then. I react exactly as Gilda has coached me... "oh! sorry." No wonder she finds it so amusing.... it's kinda fun.

[danmcq]

In my opinion, your vet cannot possible know Gilda's flight abilities until she works at it (which she is) and through her efforts, building strength and sheer will power can make that vet eat their words. Just by reading of Gilda's determination to move forward, overcome and embrace the world outside her cage. Her limits are only those she chooses, not anyone elses.

 

Her control and preciseness of exactly how the scratches must take place is amazing. It would take me a gazillion bites and years to figure out that combination of Gilda's idea of the perfect scratch.

Edited November 20, 2013 by danmcq

[katana600]

She can improve her strength and is determined and getting stronger all the time. As I think back on it, the vet was speaking more of her missing feathers and that after this much time it is evident that she pulled out the follicles. You make a good point. We just don't know if she can fly, just that she hasn't in six years. Never say never where Gilda is concerned. She sees me packing and knows a change is coming. I am looking forward to seeing how she gets along this time. We will be away for about a month. This is a happy visit and our girls are flying in for both holidays while we see extended family and friends she has met and enjoyed. For a girl who doesn't fly she has accumulated over ten thousand miles of travel and she has an adoring audience wherever we go.

[kittykittykitty]

I wondered about the missing feathers and possible destroyed follicles. But Gilda is Gilda! She very well may pull off another miracle with fight. Yes she is a very well travelled little girl. I am sure she will enjoy every bit of the attention wherever she goes.

[danmcq]

I am looking forward to updates if you have a chance during that prolonged holiday visit.

[katana600]

Our car trip was Gilda's best ever. She was chatty in the car and asking to eat, snacking the whole way. She did have a "moment" when one of our small dogs burrowed under his blanket between two travel cages. She had forgotten he was under there and when we prepared to stop he came out suddenly and startled her when the blanket moved. She is terrified of blankets, towels etc. When he came back she was still edgy and tried to nip his backside. I had to put a plastic bin lid against her cage to protect them both. At our home away from home she settled right in and is relaxed and happy. We have four big dogs here so last time while I was away a lot she and Java stayed upstairs in my room and only came down while the dogs were out. This time my brother in law created a custom dog barrier with stair bannister spindles so they are in the breakfast nook right in the center of an open floor plan. She is happy, talking and making us laugh. I am staying in my home away from home making my Christmas goodies. I feel so blessed to have family welcome me with open arms and how nicely all our dogs and my parrots get along. It nearly made me cry that they worked to provide safety and comfort for Gilda girl.

[birdhouse]

Awww So nice for all of you! How long did they take to get used to Gilda's new identity?

[Ray P]

It just keeps getting better and better with Gilda and we are all so happy for you.

[Acappella]

It nearly made me cry that they worked to provide safety and comfort for Gilda girl.

Nearly made me cry as well. Your little girl has everyone wrapped around her talons.

[kittykittykitty]

I am another who was moved by the thoughtfulness and loving care for Gila. My guess is it didn't require any adjustment to knowing she is a girl. She is the same darling as before.

[katana600]

Everyone here in the country is still calling her Gilbert and nearly have me confused. I am not going to correct them or push for changing a good thing. She is right in the hub of the home and everyone who walks past is solicited for a head scratch except me. She is a little put off by me and even postures for a confrontation when I feed her. I thought it was a cage thing but this morning my sister fed her, reached in her cage and there was nothing. I will watch to see if its familiarity and she just is having a honeymoon period with our hosts. She is just taking changes in stride. We can't let her have the freedom out of her cage as we would at home because the one German shepherd is too interested and too young and quick to take any chances. Gilda seems in agreement that inside her cage is best. We did bring a big cage to leave here and she is playing with toys

[Ray P]

Gilda just wants you to be jealous.

[katana600]

Yes I believe she is determined to keep me on my toes. We had a lot of travel to and from the Buffalo airport and today when I came home she was ready for some attention. She was happy to take tiny little pine nuts from my fingers and to let me scratch her head through the bars. She leaves us in awe asking us to let the dogs out before they even go to the door and telling us good night before we stand up to head upstairs. Maybe she isn't cued in to us as much as directing us when we need to be supervised. She is gaining quite the fan club.

[Ray P]

Gilda sounds like she is becoming a real heart stealer.

[katana600]

She is stealing hearts one minute and stealing the show the next. She is very relaxed here, we all settled in as if we had never been apart. We are right on the border of NY and PA and today was the first day of hunting season. We heard muffled sounds of gunfire miles away and all the dogs were in the house and distressed. First Gilda mocked their barking and chided them to be quiet. A while later we heard much louder, much closer gunfire and she called out "Who dat dere?" In her first male Cajun voice she used to use when she first came to us. Two more times as sporadic shots rang out she startled, jumped and asked the same question. Later I was on the phone telling my husband about her bringing out a phrase from her past and she laughed and said it again. She can be so funny and charming. I am so glad she is happy and has taken this travel and change in stride. I have been gone a lot seeing extended family and Gilda has gotten along splendidly with everyone in my sister's family.

[birdhouse]

I am so glad she is happy and has taken this travel and change in stride. I have been gone a lot seeing extended family and Gilda has gotten along splendidly with everyone in my sister's family.

 

 

No question you really lucked out there!! Also greyt that people who might not have gotten to spend real time w/a fid got an opportunity to see what awesome little creatures they really are. Adding "Gilda the Parrot Ambassador" to her lengthy list of accomplishments. :cool:

[Ray P]

Looking at Gilda today, and thinking back to the early days with you and Gilda, It must be as great for you as it is for us.

To see how far she has come tells us what awesome companions they are, no mater what their past.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Ray P

[katana600]

I like that. Gilda the ambassador. It not only makes people appreciate the uniqueness of an exquisite companion but also they see the time commitment and responsibility that is required. Early on when I made the choice to bring her into the family, I read other accounts of life with a "parrot with a past". I really thought that three years in we probably had heard all her phrases but she certainly did awaken her Cajun side. Today I was making hard candy just out of her sight when I banged the mold on the metal try trying to break loose a stubborn piece. She shouted "Who dat dere kitchen?" And "who dat be" She knows its funny and the goes on and on with something I can't quite make out. She is soliciting scratches from everyone. She seems to like the activity around here. She does tell the dogs "shut up" and that is one she hasn't said since the beginning, but five or six dogs in the house are a lot more than we are generally enjoying. She has new whistles and beeps and now that I have gone through three digital thermometers, she is tricking me often.

[kittykittykitty]

What an adventure for you, for us!

[Acappella]

She knows its funny and the goes on and on with something I can't quite make out. She is soliciting scratches from everyone. She seems to like the activity around here. She does tell the dogs "shut up" and that is one she hasn't said since the beginning, but five or six dogs in the house are a lot more than we are generally enjoying.

 

They do love it when they figure out something that makes us laugh. Dorian has finally mastered my cat Jacs meow. Jac has given him plenty to listen to, as I'm trying to change his food, and he spends the day following me around the house telling me how inedible the contents of his dish are. Anyway, now Jac meows, Dorian meows, and then, in my voice, tells himself and the cat "Oh stop it". Then he laughs like me, if I don't beat him to the punch. I love how this thread has shown people exactly how much a fid with baggage can turn around if you let them unpack at their leisure, and show them understanding, love and consistancy.

 

I was wondering, with people there calling her Gilbert, what is she calling herself these days? Is it confusing her, or just her humans?

[katana600]

Mostly the humans call her Gilbert in conversations about her. We follow her lead, if she is upset and says her usual "Gilbert's okay" we just say your are okay and reassure her. Every night when she used to say "time to go night Gilbert" now she says "Night night Gil girl". I am watching out for confusion and often just call her Gil as a transition. On her part though she still calls me LuLu most of the time, yet every time my daughter has been around Gil also calls out to "Maaaa" continuously. This funny Cajun thing is playing out all sorts of ways. She is changing it up a bit. Here she can't see one side of the kitchen and when I work on that side, any unusual sounds prompt her to say "who dat be kitchen?" She certainly ups her game for an audience, she is way more active, happy and chatty here. She seems to be having long garbled monologues in the evenings. We can make out a few words. Last night my sister asked "What was that?" And Gil sounded like she said the same thing again ending with an emphatic THAT and big laughs, hoots and cackling. I can not believe my good fortune to watch this little girl's reawakening. Every small triumph is magnified like the first ray of sunshine after a scary storm. She is worth the wait.

[Greywings]

What joy she is bringing to your visit and the family Christmas celebrations! I love the Cajun lingo there is something so funny about a Grey bird Swamp bird.

[katana600]

As I awakened this morning to her admonishing the dogs to be quiet and then doing her Cajun speak, hooting, laughing, making every siren and beep she has ever heard, I realized she is over the top happy to be on a road trip. It doesn't make sense that she has less freedom. When my sister gets up, or gets home from work, or gets ready to leave the room Gil always pulls her heartstrings and asks plaintively and politely for a cracker. When she is offered a her very favorite pine nut, instead as she is approached, she tucks her head and begs for a scratch. Gil seems so happy and outgoing and even boisterous. I guess, like me, she is a country girl at heart. She is feeling so secure that she is using her boing for the first time. When we get back home, I may have to rethink the whole big cage thing. Gil has shown me over and over she is secure and happy in a travel or mid size cage than in the Taj Mahal. I think I will order a smaller, tall cage and try that at home. I know most of the behavior is familiarity and her growth and also family has remarked how much she has changed in the past few months. I also bought her new toys since we arrived and she tore right into them and destroyed two in two days. Every day she shows me she is a normal happy grey. I love the "Swamp girl" nickname, we will have to try Biscotti's red booty swamp chicken phrase and see if that is Gil's alter ego.

[Ray P]

Dee, I have followed Gils thread from the start and it so reminds me of Cricket when she first came to us. We were given little hope that Cricket would never be more than a pretty green bird kept in a cage that had lost the will to enjoy life, to step out of the shadows and into the sunlight is a reward beyond expectation.

Some take longer than others, but when it comes the joy is not measurable.

I think all new parrot care givers should read this thread so they all know what it`s really like to live with these awesome birds.

Edited December 5, 2013 by Ray P

[katana600]

Thanks Ray. I knew there was a chance that "what you see is what you get" when we were introduced. I admit there were times when I thought "is this the best we are going to see with her?" There were even moments when I thought I could still get a baby to retry what I missed when we lost Juno and Kopi. Through it all, I knew she needed a chance and I wouldn't see her true self if I interrupted her with another grey. It's all starting to come together for Gil. She is saying such funny new things. Tonight when I was cleaning muddy dog tracks on my hands and knees, my sister was helping. Gil first asked if there was s&@t on the floor and asked "who dat Marilyn". She said my sister's name last time we were here and knows but mixes in that distinctive Southern accent and swamp queen thang. We just laughed in spite of not wanting to encourage that one naughty word she has. She got so excited she was climbing, hanging upside down and swinging wildly, gleefully.