Gus, our lil baby.

[murfchck]

It is official, i have lost my mind! About two weeks ago i saw a U-2 i had met 2 years ago. When i first met her, she was beautiful and sweet as pie. 2 weeks ago i saw her, she was in a 17"x17" cage. Her feathers showed signs of chewing and her crown had only 2 maybe 3 long feathers, the rest were pins coming in. She came to me as if she remembered me, sticking her lil foot out and looking at me as if she were saying, please let me out of here. I started crying, of course, and had to walk away. Later when i was telling Pat about it he called the lady to see what she wanted for her as he is a bleeding heart also. She agreed to let us take her home and see how things would work with Gus, if any issues, we could bring her back. Her price is $700. I have never paid that much for one bird before but she can not go back there. The birds are very well taken care of but because there are so many, they don't really get the attention they need or deserve. We went and picked her up Monday night. We have kept them apart but last night Lilly went to Gus and gave him a kiss, then went right back to her perch. They mirror each other, if one flaps, the other flaps, if one cocks the head the other does. We were told she was one of the quietest U-2's she has had, ha, if she was they we broke her. Her screams are at a lower decible, but still a scream is a scream. Gus however, has all but stopped his loud screaming since she moved in. lol. We do hope this works and helps both of them to be apart of a flock of the same species. I am trying to find a front door mat that says, Noah's ark in progress. lol

[Greywings]

Agreed I would not have been able to leave her either, I think those unscrupulous people count on that part of our psyche. Wishing you the best and glad Gus has a friend. They do make us eat our words don't they?

[murfchck]

And yesterday was another day, Lilly looked at Gus as if he was her dinner. lol She has what Pat calls a fiestyness in her eyes. That sweet, begging bird has an evil side through and through. BUT, for a first, we had quiet in our home. Pat was at the kitchen table, i was cooking and all the birds were out on the stands or the table or the furniture, where ever they landed. We heard this noise, then realised it was the water filling the ice maker in our fridge, we have not heard that in a long time. The noise level in our house kept us from it, then we heard the heater kick on later and had to turn the tv volume down to figure it out. lol It is those little things that you don't notice missing until you are able to hear them again.

I saw an ad on Craigslist for a great cage so i called on it, a little out of our price range but after we started talking and i explained why i was in a rush to get a cage, she told me she use to be a animal cruelity officer and has many more cages and we could find one in the range we are looking. She said over the years had taken so many in that she finally had to turn to a sancutary for her big guys, so she has many cages to offer. We are meeting this Saturday. She was so nice, said she would really just give us one but this money is earmarked for buying food for her clan. ( from horses to little birds ) I can totally understand that!! I wish we could go tonight, but until Lilly gets into a bigger cage we want her out as much as possible. We are planning on Gus and Lilly moving into the double macaw cage then Bongo into Gus's old cage and Gabby will be getting the new one so we can fit it for her needs. She doesn't move around much in a cage and needs wider if not flat perches so her getting into a smaller one would be great for her. ( By smaller, it will still be at least 30 x 30 in that range for her to flap around ) We are such push overs!!!

[Greywings]

It is so wonderful to find someone with the same "saving graces" a new resource with experience and compassion. You can use untreated pine or oak planks as perches, cut to fit and use your scres and washers to secure. You can even cut a triangular piece for corners. I find that birds who have a little challenge getting around enjoy a corner perch for stability and comfort. Cheap and easily replaced after those good chew sessions.

[murfchck]

The last bird mart we went to, Pat found hollow logs that are pretty flat and just had to get them for her. They mount on the sides and she can rest in them or on them, they are pretty cool. Has she used them, heck no! She is so proud that she refuses to rest on anything but a very wide dragonwood prech. Pat is going to try the wood as you suggested in her new cage, maybe if it is in before she moves in she won't be so stubborn about it!

 

We took Lilly and Gus out for a walk yesterday. We were worried she may not like the harness as she is the first too i have met that does not like her head touched. Easy as pie, she slipped it right on and out we went. A neighbor drove by and we were just chatting with them when Lilly and Gus started their own chat session. They just talked back and forth, head bobbing and moving side to side almost upside down at times and we were all laughing so hard at them, other neighbors came out to watch. They want us to post it on you tube, wish we could but when the camera comes out they just stop in their tracks. Lilly also took her first flight yesterday, right at my face. I ducked just in time but it scared her so bad she ran and cowered under a pillow like she was in trouble for it. Poor thing, doesn't get that she can be a bird and fly inside her house when ever she wants to. Gus does, why not Lilly! lol

[birdhouse]

After your initial post, I think I'd have been more surprised if Lilly hadn't found her way home. Very glad to to hear she got so lucky! And happy this seems to be going so well. Where are the pictures, btw?

[murfchck]

For a change hubby has been taking all the pictures, i only have a few but this first one kinda shows how ratty she looked. She is the one closest, Gus is missing his chest feathers and she is a bit smaller than him. In the second picture, Pat is holding Lilly. A few showers later and its like a whole new bird. And she loves showers! Had an issue the night before last, somehow our cat got locked in their room over night, i got up at 5:30 and heard these God awful cries to find her at their door. Who knows how long she had been crying, musta been a good while, ALL the birds were grumpy yesterday and it was not a fun day here. Gus wouldn't let Lilly near him and every time i tried to put him on the stand, he would fly off, and she was screaming because he wasn't with her. (Again, not the loud screams yeah!!!) Then the macaws would scream because Gus flew over them and scared them. (Those were loud screams, lol)

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2013 by murfchck

[Timbersmom]

Beautiful pics!

[birdhouse]

Don't they look so sweet together!!

[murfchck]

In still shots they sure do. lol Things have taken a litlle change. Sweet Lilly has turned into a monster, Gus wants as far away as he can get from her. It isn't that she is mean or anything just needy. If she isn't touching us, she is pressed up against him to the point of pushing him off of the stand. I have a great video of him raising his foot and keeping her at a distance. They love each other from a far. She even bit me on my achillies night before last. That was a shock and the loud "owwww" i let out should have been heard around the world. She was just walking around and i was at the sink, Pat was keeping an eye on her, she was calm and not over stimulated but in the blink of an eye just got me. We did a little 5 minute time out and when i went in to get her out, she said she was sorry. She is by far our smartest bird, and picks up words quickly. Even knows when to use them. I love when i am talking to her and ask, "Ok?" she responds back with a "OK!" The phone rings and she says hello. Cotay does that too but her hello is quickly followed by "ahhh, weirdo". lol Everyone that has met her wants to take her home with them, i quickly say to them they need more than an hour with her or any bird to make a staement like that. Someone may take them up on it and then what?

[murfchck]

So it was a beautiful day yesterday and our neighbor, who seems to stop by every day to visit Lilly, was out doing his Christmas lights. We decided to harness up the two of them and take them out for a walk. Lilly just loves this guy and he had to hold her, i asked him to keep a good hold of her leash as she felt and acted like she wanted to fly, he did thank heavens! As we were walking back home she took to the air. The leash is just the short one that comes with the harness so i ran along side of her for a good ways, until she turned directions on me in an instant. People were driving by and i could her them laughing. Mind you this is a big white bird, one guy shouted out to me "they are beautiful, are they macaws?". I couldn't help but start laughing, i thought to myself that even if i had the macaws out, he wouldn't know what they were either, lol. I could hear that same guy now, "Those are some birds, are they partially plucked turkeys that escaped Thanksgiving?"

I do have to say that we still had an out to return Lilly if things did not work out with her here. That out is now gone as Pat's mother would NEVER allow it. She fell in love with the little bugger and held her like a baby while she was here. Lilly and Bongo were the only ones we took out of the cages that day and my neices son, 3 yrs old, held Bongo as if he had been around birds his entire life. (Bongo loves kids, weird for a grey but he does) Lilly was with my mother in law. Because they are flighted they had to stay in the room and our plans were to not let any of them out because we couldn't watch 100% of the time. All went well though and they will be happy when the holidays are over and they get their schedule back!!

[Timbersmom]

LOL! Never a dull moment

[birdhouse]

The day you picked Lilly up, she was coming Home. Nothing short of some truly major drama was going to change that. But, from now on, if it helps to blame this adventure on your mother in law, as supportive forum members we'll go along. :rolleyes:

 

How's Gus doing w/Lilly now? I'm kind of in awe of the way you continue to introduce fids into the flock so "easily" ( ...& yes, that's quote, unquote lol).

[murfchck]

Yes Birdhouse, its helps! Lol.

I think we are just to dumb to assume they wouldn't get along so we just do it. We don't give them much of a chance to argue! Lilly was our hardest because we were warned about introducing them a certain way. That seems to have backfired because it gave them time to decide if they liked each other! Those two, Gus and Lilly, are what we call daytime enemies and night time lovers. Lol

[murfchck]

So last night when all the birdie butts were having their dinner, i noticed i was one cotton ball short. I went to the main room to find Pat and Lilly cuddling in the kitchen. He had her cradled like a baby just cooing. She saw me and jumped up and stuck her foot up. I reached over and she stepped right up and ran up my arm to my chest and put her head against me. I started crying a bit when i realized that this was only the third or fouth time i had ever really held her. I carry her alot but hadn't just loved on her. Pat pointed out that i was holding back because she is "paid" for yet and i was just protecting myself if anything should happen. He assured me we would take care of it after the first of the year. We are one of the families who have no medical insurance because it is out of our reach $$$. Since we "have" to get it, it is setting us back $397 each paycheck and Pat has to get a second job just to pay for it. I have been clueless how we were going to pull this off. We made the decision to just pay the fine on our taxes and drop out of the insurance so we can still afford to give our family what they need and deserve! They just better not bite us too bad where we need stiches!!lol

[Timbersmom]

I sure feel for you on the health insurance thing! I have good, affordable care through my employer now, but back in the day, I bought major medical policies with very large deductibles to get by on insurance. That isn't an option under the new program. My dad and mom farmed, and didn't have medical insurance until they qualified for medicare. My brother is a farmer also, and he and his wife have never had medical insurance. I have to say that I really dislike government taking away our choices. Nough said about that though.

[murfchck]

So had a weird thing happen with Lilly yesterday and we are not sure how to take it. I was not in the kitchen and Pat had her with him and she was happily playing on the counter trying to get to the water coming from the faucet, just playing so nicely. I came in the room and she flipped out and got hyper active. Started grabbing at everything, tossing stuff and ran, i mean ran over to Pats drink and flung it off the counter, he had to do hold on her where he grabs behing the head to get her calmed down. I think i mentioned that when she is on her stand and i walk by she flips her wings out and pumps them at me, we always thought it was her trying to get attention, now i am wondering if thats it. She was really upset when i she saw me. Earlier, I had Gus on my shoulder and Pat had Lilly and she was flipping her wings and and trying to get to me, she finally flew off Pat and ran straight for me. Pat couldn't get to her fast enough and me and Gus had to run, normally he is hard to get off my shoulder but i went to his stand and he hopped right onto it as if he knew i had to make a quick get away. She is sweet as pie to me when i hold her and love on her but if i am not doing either of those things, she acts weird toward me and i am not sure how to take it. I mean does she hate me, or just acting that way to get more of my attention?

[murfchck]

Gotta love this Texas weather. Wednesday we were in shorts and 70 degrees. Thursday got chilly and by the evening it was sleeting. I woke up this morning and if our pond didn't have a waterfall, you would never know one was there, there is a good 4 inches of sleet piled up. Snow day!!! Minus the actual snow. Lucky hubby took yesterday off to get my car fixed and couldn't drive in to work this morning so he gets a 4 day weekend. Eh, i am sure i can find lots of things for him to do around the house!!

[Greywings]

I think she may have been on Too overload, "too"much excitement and "too" close to having to decide weather to protect your hubby or love on you. Bites can arise from this type of excitement and Too's thrive on all the drama, original drama queens.

Enjoy your enforces ice day and yes you know you live in Texas when you go from the 80's here in Houston to a high of 40 wet degrees this morning and temps falling through out the day. They say variety is the spice of life. I do remember those Dallas area ice storms from the 70's.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Greywings

[birdhouse]

:confused::confused::confused:Little hard to grasp 70 degree weather in December OR a long weekend because 4 whole inches equals a snow day... :confused::confused::confused: It all sounds pretty good from where I'm sitting.

 

 

Edited December 6, 2013 by birdhouse

[Timbersmom]

Weird here too. 70's on Tuesday, 21 and 6 inches of snow on the ground already today, headed for a low of 9 tonight...

[murfchck]

Murphy's law at work. Pat had my car fixed Thursday, alternator went out. When he picked me up that day my passenger door broke and now can't be opened from the outside. We have been iced in now since Thursday evening and we tried to get out yesterday because we were pretty close to being out of people food so we spent close to an hour scraping ice off my car only to discover the windshield cracked all the way across. Then after all that still couldn't get the car to move. We ended up walking to Walgreens and spent 40 bucks on crap food, chips, chocolate covered cherries and bacon, lol. We have spent the last two days cleaning out the attic, we brought everything down and cleaned it out, condensing everything down to just a few boxes so we had many extra containers and lids. I got his bright idea to take the lids and do some sleding out front. Pat finally got brave enough to give it a try too. He got on and i gave a push, and almost peed my pants as he went past our neighbors front window on all fours like a dog with no way to stop himself, then when he did stop, he couldn't get up so he was stuck there. He has this fear of ice since he slipped one year and dislocated his knee in the front driveway, so seeing him play in it was fun! The birdies though are less than thrilled with this weather, even though they don't go outside everyday, it is like they have cabin fever and they are getting nto everything. I use to have a beautiful palm tree that is now tatters of stalks as an example. Lilly and Gus have elevated the screams and Cotay keeps asking if we "want to go outside, gotta pee pee." Gabby is just bored and chewing up boxes, my couch and trying to eat an elf. The macaws are just sitting there looking at us, not even playing with the toys. My Bongo is just happy where ever he is! I did manage to get the mantle decorated, we hung 14 Christmas stockings on it, Pat told me it couldn't be done, HA! I will get a picture and show you how i pulled that off!

[birdhouse]

Sorry to hear all that! I may give you a hard time about a "little" snow. But ice is another thing by anyone's standards. It really does stink & causes a lot of problems. Hope it warms up, soon.

[murfchck]

Oh and the day just kept getting better... We had left the birds in their cages in the morning so Pat could get a bit of stuff back into the attic, we had all of the cage skirts we forgot to put up yesterday, and then we were going to try and venture to the grocery store. So Pat went up and i bent over to pick up a box and Pat came right back down thru he ceiling in the bird room. Legs just dangling with him sitting on a rafter stunned, i made sure he wasn't hurt then did an emergency evacuation of all the birds because of the insulation. Cotay was the worst hit, somehow didn't have any on her but it was covering one side of her cage, all over her boing and in her food bowls. Lilly also got some in her cage but her damage was from her freaking out when it happened and she broke some feathers. The others i just needed to get out because of the dust. My suprise, no issues from any of them to get out. Cotay will not step up for me but up she came, Gus will take forever to decide if it is safe to step, he came right out and Bongo likes to play chase me around before i will step up, he was at the door wainting. So our day was spent fixing the ceiling and them removing everything from the 7 cages and cleaning them completely top to bottom. And to top it off, now Pat's car wouldn't start. A neighbor came and helped him with that, fingers crossed it starts this morning! Gesh.

[birdhouse]

Wow! "Lucky" no one was hurt! Hope this streak ends real soon! Sending lots & lots of good thoughts your way.