Gilbert is home

[katana600]

In another thread, I saw someone wondering if the curled tips of feathers was an indication of a dietary deficiency. Gil's feathers have been curly and she has so many follicles missing she looks disheveled since she has been here. Gradually, she quit most of the shearing/barbering of her chest and legs. That post made me think about it and take a second look and sure enough, some of the replacement feathers are starting to lie a little more flat, a little less bowed and curled. Progress is so slow at times I let these things slip past me nearly unrecognized, but I do believe we are onto something here. She is more willing to try new foods and although her offerings have been well balanced, she was eating selectively. More and more she is eating veggies and grains and she is looking better. I am guessing that is part of why she is feeling so frisky. We are home alone this week and I vaccuumed two days ago, and when I was cleaning today I have found evidence she has been off her cage and behind the sofa unnoticed. It couldn't have been for long but I will have to put a bell on her or something pretty soon to keep track of her. What a wonderful "problem" to consider. There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment I am getting when she now runs to get to me when I bring her some warm oatmeal. The added benefit from that one change she has chosen is that when I walk past her cage other times she is no longer flinching, ducking and scurrying to get inside to her safety zone. One tiny little grey talon step at a time.

[Ray P]

Those tiny little steps are not so tiny and little any more. It`s like leaps and bounds and getting bigger all the time.

Its like when the door opened it was a rush to get out.

[katana600]

This relatively new acceptance of oatmeal is leading to better and better days. She is letting me stand closer and closer to her. She is letting me speak softly when I am near her. She may stop and look at me but soon her eyes are pinning again and she can't resist the lure of another warm gulp. Last night she stopped in the middle and looked up under the bowl and then touched my fingers. Then she touched my fingers on the spoon. I held real still and she went back to eating like it was nothing. It was a big something to me. She gets excited when she hears me preparing the oatmeal. She comes out to meet me or she might be inside her cage and decide to stay there and invite me in with her. That has been unheard of in the past three years. Tonight she leaned way over, touched the handle of the spoon, touched my fingers and her face is just pink with anticipation to share this warm treat. Whatever caused her to decide the time was right to give this another try, I am so pleased with every turn with her. Today she got on the floor and walked right up to me and not only let me lift her up, she was in no hurry to leave my knee when I sat for a couple of minutes with her. When she started looking a little anxious I asked if she wanted to go back and she immediately put her foot up in a wave for her step up. I am tickled just as pink as her cheeks. If she is approached she always pulls away, but more and more she is the one approaching me. Its kind of hard to keep a poker face and just act as calm as if she does this all the time. I just know we are going to get to the place where this feels like we have been together since her beginning.

[Ray P]

The rescue queen and the swamp queen have come to terms.

Your goal is in sight.

[Acappella]

I know how much it means when a bird who has been resistant to physical contact lifts that little grey foot to willingly come with you. It just steals your heart. I know how hard it is to stay calm and steady on the outside when you're doing the dance of joy on the inside. I see lots of quiet dancing in your future!

[Greywings]

Gil girl is becoming that brave butterfly readily emerging from that dark chrysalis of her past spreading those wings and taking on her new brighter world. You have helped her florish and become who she is working to be. Hate to tell you this but she is our eSwamp Queen too.

[katana600]

Speaking of a beautiful little butterfly emerging from a transformation, my what big wings she has! I was out of the room and heard a great ruckus. What I had anticipated was that she had been startled off her perch, but as I was coming back, I heard it again and knew she was not on the floor. Slowly, I moved and watched from a distance. She was on the outside of her cage and flapping just for the fun of it. The noise was unbelievable. The amount of energy she was putting into it was greater than I have seen yet and I keep hoping and wishing this could be the beginning of building strength to fly again some day. There is no limit to the dreams we can attain together. It means so much when I read all your encouragement. This little swamp queen has the best village to keep her moving toward bigger and better things. While hubby has had a grueling week of travel, he stops and calls and the first thing he asks is how Miss Gilbert is doing. It is heartwarming to see us reach a milestone and have faith that its getting better every passing month. There is something magical about seeing her face when she is outside her cage when I approach now she doesn't look frantic and make a panicked dash to the safety inside. She is still wary, but not prone to act on it. When she is inside and actively is leaning and posturing to invite me in with a warm bowl of oatmeal, there is no description of the progress she is making. What a joyride this has been and still the best is yet to come.

[katana600]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. David has been gone for almost two weeks. Last night he was home at our normal dinner time. Miss Gilbert was just beside herself with rambling incoherently with a few words tossed in with great emphasis that we did understand. It sounded every bit like a fishwife giving him the "what for" about being gone so long. She was really wound up like I have never seen her. He came in to talk to her and she rushed to the edge of her cage as she does for oatmeal but she was begging him to scratch her head. When he went around the corner she hung off the side of her cage to lean far around the corner. When he came back she insisted on a scratch, on the outside of her cage yet. He sat down while she was out and when I stood up, she scurried inside. I sat down, he stood up and she came out of the cage. We did this from across the living room three or four times to see if maybe it was a coincidence. She definitely was coming out for him to touch her. Going in when she saw me could be conditioning. When I feed her, she hurries to get inside and sit next to the food doors to supervise me properly. While she is totally against me touching her outside the cage, she generally will not run away from me, so I don't think that was what she was doing. It was just funny to hear her giving him the business with a few choice words for being gone so long this time.

[kittykittykitty]

This is priceless!

[Ray P]

Reading about Miss Gilbert always gives me complete joy.

I know how proud you must be.

[danmcq]

Loved this story of Dave's homecoming and Miss Gilberts actions. But, you left one sentence out that begs the question "Did she ever get a good scratching from Dave"?

[katana600]

She did get a good scratching, every half hour from her dreamboat. I am beginning to believe she is ripping up that paper and creating her "love nest" just for the two of them. He was home all day yesterday and while I was in the basement doing some serious spring cleaning, every time I came up, she was down on the floor to get closer to him. When she would see me coming, she would quickly go back to her cage and climb high. Today he was mentioning how she will move toward him and away from me. He said he was getting concerned about the way she was rubbing her beak on him and then as if on a cue, she started regurging for him. He told her thank you and went about his way. When he came back she leaned over for a scratch but when he got close she bit him. Three times she lured him with posturing and sweet words and bit him every time. I have to admit to my dark side... somewhere deep down inside I was happy that it isn't just me. Not that I want anyone to be bitten, nor Gil to be frustrated, just not always with me.

[danmcq]

Ah, I do believe Dave is her Love Muffin from your description. She is definately displaying sexual behaviors. LOL at your "Dark Side".

[katana600]

We had the best of days/worst of days all rolled into a six hour session yesterday. Upon returning home after a couple of hours of errands, I met with a houseful of feathers. It was shocking, there were downy feathers all the way to the back door and more and more as I came around the corner to Gilbert's cage. On the floor right beside her cage was such a pile that my heart was in my throat thinking a weasel got in her cage or something horrid. Strangely, she didn't look much worse for the wear. There there two or three tail feathers, a couple of flight feathers, grey chewed feathers, white chewed feathers, but nothing of the molting type. The only thing I can think of is maybe someone came to the door and rang the doorbell. If she was startled she may have fallen off a perch and then gotten upset. There is only one tiny little patch the size of my fingertip where she is missing some feathers she barbered off. With the flapping of her wings, she might have made the dust and chewed feathers scatter over a large surface area of freshly cleaned hardwoods and that might have magnified how much it "looked" like. She didn't seem distressed or grumpy at all. She came out on the door and I asked her what happened and she put her foot right out for a step up from her cage. That was a big surprise to me, but I just went with it. As we walked away from her cage, she started looking frazzled and she jumped off my hand to the back of the sofa. When she started pacing and her eyes were pinning and she was getting breathless, I offered her a step up to go back. She stepped up willingly and pleasantly, but then launched in a flight attempt. She landed on the rug with a more graceful landing than she has previously achieved. Then in a surprise move rather than her cautious, slow, fearful motions she ran like the cartoon roadrunner in a beeline for the ladder of her cage and climbed right up all by herself. She spent the rest of the day shredding the biggest sisal, birdie bagel and shredded paper toy that has been sitting new on her cage for more than two months. Later she asked for oatmeal and spontaneously offered me another step up. She sat again on the back of the sofa and once again when she was finished she attempted flight in the direction away from her cage, and then ran back to climb up on her own. She is calm and settled today, all the feathers were cleaned up and there have been no more. Surely something frightened her and she was coming to me looking for safety and comfort. But.. not too much, too close or too soon. At bed time she stood for what seemed like hours to have her head scratched and was sweet and calm. Very seldom has she rested her head in my fingers as I hold them through the bars but she fell asleep leaning into my hand. I may not understand her or know what happened, but I let her lead the way and she surprised me with some great strides forward.

[katana600]

Miss Gilbert's "new" interest in shredding everything when she barely played before coupled with the recent confirmation of her gender may have me a little more sensitive to her changes. With "her" first spring and what appears to be nesting behavior, we are making a conscious effort to keep her daylight to darkness ratio about fifty percent. Although her activity and exercise plus her renewed interest in her love muffin is endearing, I wouldn't want her to start laying eggs. I am cutting back on the oatmeal offering because I have the idea that is not only a way for the babies to bond with the parent, it is also something I have observed with the breeding pair when the hen is sitting and the male feeds her. I'm not going to stop altogether because it has had a remarkable effect on her affection towards us as well as motivating her to try new things. She has been especially sweet and engaged in asking for lots of head scratches, step ups and is more calm and stable in general. Every part of me wants to take advantage of her progress but a little wet blanket on the party and seeking a level of moderation so it doesn't escalate into mating expectations might be healthier for her in the long term.

[danmcq]

It certainly does sound like an event took place that severely frightened Miss Gilbert. I have seen this happen to Dayo when were home one time and a delivery truck pulled up right next to the window his cage was about 10 feet from. He beat his wings and flapped around in his cage for what seemed like days, but was probably in reality about 30 seconds. There were tail feathers and other various feathers all over the place. The was the first and only time I have ever seen him do this thank god. It is alarming and it does blow every feather in the cage/tray all over the room. He was very spooky as well the rest of the day and evening. Poor Miss Gilbert, it's good to hear she recovered though settled down though. With hormones flowing, some molting going on, previous abuse etc. Her physical and mental state right now, if you could view inside her brain would probably look like a horrific lightening display.

[katana600]

Something is going on with Miss Gilbert. Last night she was still so rattled she fell right off her perch three times. I was sitting right there where I could see her and she went from calmly sitting at rest to hitting the deck like a PTSD survivor. Her mind is probably in a chaotic state but she isn't reverting to any more feather damage or other stress behaviors. In fact, she is coming to me for comfort. Three nights in a row I have approached her and asked for a step up from her cage and she has obliged without hesitation. I usually pick her up and talk to her and she is wild-eyed and looking for her escape back to her comfort zone. Tonight, once I gave her a moment on the back of the sofa, I asked if she wanted to go back and she certainly did. But, as soon as I put her on the cage top, she launched off and hit the windows clear out to the front door. I gave her the chance to compose herself and go back to her cage but she ran to me instead. I sat down and put her on my shoulder and she made a few sirens and warning tones but then talked and asked me to go night night. I got a chance photo on my cell phone and she is a little wired, but she had about ten minutes on my shoulder like we have done this all her life. When I stood up she attempted to fly off my hand and she is getting more controlled and graceful on landings and walked right back to me to pick her up again. She is undergoing some changes but its having advantages to her too. Look at this beautiful little face.

 

[Ray P]

Miss Gilbert looks awesome, very content and loved.

[katana600]

It has taken a great sensitivity to Gilbert's state of mind to first reach a point where we could approach her cage without her shaking, fluttering and looking for an escape. For a long while, she would accept us only when her door was closed and locked tight. To this day she will only relax and allow a scratch on her head from me if it it through the bars of her cage. If she is outside the cage, I can put my hand inside and she will lean close to the bars to allow a brief touch. She reached a point with David that she will stand in a certain spot on her playtop and lean to him and allow him to scratch her head but about two out of three times she will suddenly get nervous and bite him. She doesn't draw blood but its not just the brush off either. For six months or so she has been coming off the laddder to the floor and from there will offer her foot for a step up. As soon as she is on our hand, she is leaning toward her cage and it is very clear she is distraught. She will shake, breathe hard and flip her wings nervously all the while her eyes are darting, looking for a way out. As soon as we walk toward her cage she is frantic to get away from our hands and she will hurry inside. The past three nights have been different. She is still visibly stressed at being out of her comfort zone, but is starting to let down her vigilance. I am so happy to report that she sat on me long enough and relaxed enough to poop on me last night! Whoo hoo, that is progress.

[danmcq]

What a nice photo of her. She is looking good and fairly comfortable in that photo. She is indeed going through positive changes it seems to me.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

katana600... Time for Miss Gilbert to get away from the cage. Of course, it is a " safety zone", and thats why I don't believe in " closed cages". Its a place to eat and sleep and thats all it is. Life is all around you. Introduce every room in the house, go on tours.Sophie LOVES our entire home and is comfortable in all rooms. When it is bedtime, she goes to bed in her cage. Its a place to sleep and she can eat to her hearts content! Thats all it is. She has a ton of jungle gyms and perches. The only perch she treasures,is on my shoulder or kids. Nancy

[birdhouse]

She looks so-o sweet in that pic. Who'd ever suspect there was such a ragin Cajun behind such an adorable little face?!

 

Thought I'd share our latest addiction as a potential replacement since you said you were a little leery about the oatmeal feeding. Liberte coconut yogurt. Absolutely everyone in the house is full on crazy for this stuff for about the last month. 5 out of 5 stars, as compared to the Simply Limeade which got 6 out of 5 stars. lol

 

Still haven't seen anything have quite that effect! But this is running a pretty close a second.

[Talon]

This is such an incredible journey, Gilbert is Home thread. It is a must for all of us and I know I speak for others when I say we have all learned something from following this thread. We look forward to the updates and I am so glad that we are kept up thanks to Katana600.

 

Wow, 123 pages! 1223 replie!. This deserves a STICKY status as I feel it is an important thread that should never get lost.

[katana600]

It seems sometimes that time passes so slowly and things remain the same. I started the Miss Gilbert thread so I would have a way to "measure" progress. I really appreciate how many people are encouraging us and telling us it will get better and better it becomes. In all the experiences, I have learned there is no typical rehome, nor typical rescue and its a blend of creating a safety zone and rehabilitation. We had an incredible day yesterday. I have been working to get her away from her cage in a way that doesn't leave her panicked, frantic and closed down for days after the experience. Yesterday was epic! She splashed in her water dish, so I got out the mist bottle and she played with the nozzle and was biting the water droplets. She not only had no issue with the shower but also was at ease with me nearly being inside the cage with her. She spread her wings and ducked and swayed as she really enjoyed the shower for the first time. Usually she growls and flaps and tries to escape so I get a couple quick squirts in and back off. I actually had to refill her small spray bottle and we had water running down the walls, puddling on the floor and Gil was glorious. Then she stayed wet for so long, I turned the heat up. When I fed her some warm oatmeal to help keep her warm from the inside, she offered me a step up and came to the back of the sofa for over an hour. Instead of asking to go back she actually retreated from me and curled up for a nap. She is quieter today as is her pattern. Its a slow step forward and then a couple of days to back off and let her process it. She definitely is gaining steam and it has taken this forum village to give us ideas, help us avoid setbacks and just be the wind beneath her wings. Thank you all for helping her find her safe place to land and for helping cheer her on to reach her potential.

[katana600]

You all are not going to believe this, I hardly believe it myself and I saw it with my own eyes. No sooner did you honor Miss Gilbert with making her journey into a sticky, she truly rose to the occasion. I was in the kitchen making strawberry shortcake when I heard the flutter of wings. I thought it was Java on her way out to me, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw that it was Miss Gilbert. She flew. She really did. She launched off the top of her cage, over the stair banister about twenty feet to land on an ottoman in the living room. It wasn't controlled and it wasn't graceful but she put everything she has into it. She stood tall and made big chirping sounds and David picked her up and held her for a while. It makes me choke up to think she could make it that far. This is a new beginning for her. I can not believe I wrote that you all are the wind beneath her wings and she took off. I just know all your happy thoughts and good energy was picked up by Gil girl.