murfchck Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 I spoke with his previous owner yesterday. She sent me a list of words they say he says. Thank heavens he has only said the good ones. Wow, if he really says these things... She said he got it from HBO but i am not to sure about that,lol. I went outside with him yesterday and he was so excited. We do this thing where i hold him up and he spreads his wings and tries to flap while i walk fast or trot. I really think if he lets his wing feathers grow he could catch some wind! He can't fly because of the joint thing but if he keeps practicing he may go a little distance with a smoother landing. I was trying to bring him back inside and when i would get near the door, he would open his wings up where we didn't fit thru! Lil stinker, i loved it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Good for him even if cannot ever achieve flight I think strengthening his muscles and skills will be a very good thing. His balance and confidence will both blossom with your helpful exercise program. do be extra cautious outside though as even wing damaged birds have been caught in a gust of wind and lost or taken by a Hawk off some ones shoulder. Harness with a light leash are a handy security device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 Oh yeah, all the fids will be getting harnesses when we go the the bird show on the 20th! ( our first one in over 20 yrs, i am so excited ) The run that bubba and i do is from their aviary to the door or from his stand to their bedroom! ( with a wide berth from point a to point b! Lol but yes, we are very watchful! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I know what you mean and am always afraid of tripping while making that run. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted September 29, 2012 Author Share Posted September 29, 2012 Yup, and i am a clutz! I gotta tell you guys about Oliver. I have not been talking much about him because Bubba issues came up but tonight he got so excited about his dinner, he leapt from his stand to my arm for it! His weight keeps going up each week too! He is now almost 1000 grams! PDD my butt! Now we gotta get Bubba back up, his last weigh in was 830. He is a smaller macaw, but thats a big loss since his butt issue started up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Hopefully Bubba's weight will come right back up now that his "issue" is gone. Timber was up another gram today (every other week weighing)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 His weight yesterday was 812. That is only 3 grams less than it was Sept. 2, about one week after this all began. He seems to be feeling okay, still strains when he poops but nothing like he use to. He was supposed to go back to the vet today but we have to wait till next Monday. He is really talking up a storm lately. It was major clean cages day yesterday so while the vaccuum was on he was yelling "help, ouch". That got hubby running to him only to have him say "pretty bird, hello" when he got to him! It is so funny to have him just talking all the time now. When i put them to bed last night he said "bye" 4 times to me. Gotta work on getting him to say good night cuz i don't like hearing bye at night! We got our books Friday, Parrot Problem Solver, and Clicker Training as suggested. It rained all weekend here so we got to read them. Hubby wanted to start the problem one so i read the clicker book. Great book, gave so many suggestions that really seem like they will help us out. What is sticking out most right now is the hint on stick training your bird, since he was on a stick when i got one of my bad bites from him. It said to use a 2 liter soda bottle and cut off the bottom and slip it on the stick, like a fencing sword, to protect your hand. Thats a winning idea to me so off I went and got ice cream and rootbeer to make floats so i would have a bottle! Lol oh what we do for our birds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 So sorry you had to suffer through that rootbeer float for your bird's sake... Funny about what they will do to get your attention! Help, ouch indeed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 Oh the suffering, night after night now. Ice cream and rootbeer, not... sure... i can... drink... one... more.. Eh, who am i kidding, bring em on! I was pleasantly surprised today to get a call from our vet. I had to reschedule Bubbas appointment to next Monday and all he knew was that Bubba didn't come in today. It is refreshing to know that he thinks beyond an appointment. Bubba is doing great though and i can't wait to ask him when he had time to put a voice box in Bubba. Today instead of barking, he actually said arf arf, not the sound, just said arf! Since last Wednesday, i have been working full time, just thru this week so the owner could take a vacation. It is killing me being away from the kiddos like this! I am in bed with my 7 yr old puppy trying to figure out how to bring them all in here with us to cuddle. I feel guilty, like i am not spending enough time with them. Bongo wouldn't come out of his cage tonight for over an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 LOL to the arf, arf. Guess the real bark wasn't provoking the response he wanted! I know what you mean about guilt, but I have to work full-time. Especially now that I have this bird with expensive habits I just do what I did when my children were small, try to make the time we do have quality time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Excellent advice, quality time is a Greyt solution! Dr.Pepper floats are tasty too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarasota Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I don't want to throw another book at you...but, if you aren't getting what you need out of the current ones, I think Ann Castro's books provide a solid base for training. If you have a book reader, they are inexpensive too. http://www.amazon.com/bird-school-Clicker-training-parrots/dp/3939770035/ref=la_B004T066TQ_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349292315&sr=1-2 Diet Coke floats rule!!! I am a bona fide DC addict. I have three addictions: birds, theater and Diet Coke. Life is good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted October 4, 2012 Author Share Posted October 4, 2012 All books and learning are always welcome! I will check it out. I found out i was being emotional past few days cuz i was sick, doh! Ya think i would know better but, it wasn't till the fever hit hard that my light bulb came on! 90 degrees outside and i was in a jacket, hubby asked if i was ok and i looked at him and started laughing and said, now that you mention it no. After choking down dinner, and that is literal ( poor hubby had to heimlich me last night ), i went to bed. Today was much better, not beating myself up today! Pity party is over, watch out birdies! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 LOL Isn't it funny how illness can sneak up on you like that? Blessings for a speedy recovery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarasota Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I found out i was being emotional past few days cuz i was sick, doh! Take care of yourself, Sweetie! The kids need you. I swear my birds can sense my, ahem (sorry lads), my cycle. Luckily, I'm heading into an early end (I'm only 43, but I welcome it for sure!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I think all animals can sense that. Pheromones perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted October 5, 2012 Author Share Posted October 5, 2012 Been a few years for me, spaying is a wonderful thing! Bubba yelled at me yesterday! I was cleaning the stands while they were on them, had the vaccuum going and he went off on me yelling. I over cleaned because i couldn't stop laughing. His sweet little hellos turned into a very sarcastic helllloooo. The parrot garble in angry loud tones, full running statements. Then when i did stop, i turned to get the newspaper to line with and he went right to his food bowl and shoved it all out to the floor. I guess he wasn't done yelling at me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Maybe you can write a paper and get a degree in Interspecies Communications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 He would have to tell me what he is saying first! When i steam mop, he is just fine, even likes to learn words. Regular mop and his wings go up, vaccuum and he yells! I mean, i know its loud but gesh! Lol I gotta suck the stuff up first before i can mop! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingy Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Bubba is just determined to be louder than the vacuum. Jake loves to try and out shout the vacuum. Some critters love the sound and others don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Some go into bath mode when you run a vacuum cleaner, Whisper cAG and Fred Fred E@ both have this response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 Well after one week of no bites, from any of them, Bubba goes back to the vet tomorrow. So much for my record of being bandaide free for a week. All the kids love orange juice, Oliver makes his own by squeezing them in his water. I decided to try and make them some oj popsicals. They came out great, went and bought some cute little molds and the sticks, too bad the hate them! Bubba flipped his over and chewed the stick while the oj melted making a sticky mess, Oliver gave me the foot chop, Bongo ran to the other side of his stand and Gabby just looked at me like," really? ". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 LOL to the Popsicle debacle! We just never know until we try though. I get the "seriously?" look from Timber all the time as I try to "enrich" his life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I got some organic ice cream cones and filled them with a mix of chopped veggies mixed with almond butter, plain yogurt and sprouted seeds they were a hit with my U2. Oops sideways pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 You are giving us great new things to try. What creative minds you have, thanks for the ideas. Hope the vet trip goes well and is the beginning of Bubba's less invasive check ups. It would be great for him to have a memory of a visit where you could say "there, that wasn't so bad" for your sake as well as his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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