Gus, our lil baby.

[murfchck]

Hahaha, boredom is something that doesn't happen here. I can't remember the last time Pat and I wondered what we could do. Our day is full of what do we NEED to get accomplished today! Saturday use to be laundry and cleaning day, now if I do not put a load in at night and in the morning get it in the dryer, by Saturday we are out of undies! I will say yesterday I got a video of all the birds just on their stands playing, I actually was talking while taking it saying I am talking to myself because no one here will talk to me, not that I was complaining. Right when I finished saying that Gabby threw her box off the counter and scared everyone, Lily pulled Gus down, he hit the floor and took off flying to me while all the greys flew around the kitchen, Lily then decided she should fly after Gus, who was landing on my arm (my eyes were closed and I was ready for the landing bite) He landed perfectly and we had to take off running because Lily was hot on the trail of my feet. Koko just watched and then yelled something that stopped me in my tracks to try and figure it out, but then there was Lily again so we had to keep running. Koko then just laughed and said she likes broccoli and cheese. Bubba was saying No, stop and Oliver was just yelling Pat. So much for the peaceful moment I had. I knew better to say it outloud, I jinxed myself!

[Greywings]

I can just picture that episode, reality TV on steroids.

[murfchck]

So Pat had this great idea yesterday that had me laughing so hard. He had Lily and was singing the broccoli and cheese song to her and I mentioned he had the wrong bird for that. He said without thought that he was teaching Lily the song so when the time came for Tracy to get Koko we could do a little feather trim and give her Lily instead! I told him we would need to start stretching her feet too! I had hung a steel thing in her cage that has the ball in it (?) don't know what they are called but she dismantled it very quickly, she is a thoughtful puzzle girl. There is nothing challenging her so far. I will say that just since Sunday, she has come to enjoy the indoor life. We took her and Lily to the aviary yesterday and after about 5 minutes they both wanted back inside! We are still trying to figure out her scream though, nothing I have ever heard before coming from a U2 or any other bird I have heard! It is like some kind of horn sound. There is also peace in the Too room, I think 3 may be their flock number. LOL

[Greywings]

You can feel the sound wave coming off that Too scream I have been buffeted by that call. She sounds like a fun addition to your circus family. You may still be in the honey moon phase if all seems well and quiet right now, fingers crossed.

[murfchck]

Its the other two that got quiet. Dinner time use to be a screaming fest but they're quiet talking. Gotta stick with my 3 makes a flock theory, lol.

[murfchck]

So things have been going good here except for this one little thing...LILY WILL NOT STOP GETTING OFF HER STAND!!! I am at the point of getting another cage to replace her stand for the living room. That poor girl spends more time in her time out than she actually spends on the stand. It doesn't matter which stand either, we thought it may be the location but no. Clipping her wings won't help either because she isn't flying off, she jumps.

Koko has been doing wonderful. We got to really work on her cage yesterday by putting in what should be some indestructible toys, hahahaha, she is a toy killer! Adding some new perches and some puzzle toys for her. I had put this little toy in there when she first moved in, tongue depressors and straws kinda thing, I had to just run out front yesterday and when I walked by her the toy was there, gone no more that a minute and walked back in and she was hanging from the top of the cage where the toy had been with nothing but the wire the items use to be hanging on and I swear to you she was smiling. I told Pat we just need to hand a 2x4 in there for her since wood items last a day at most. I put in a metal bucket and filled it with foot toys, chunks of wood, a kong stuffed with almonds, baby keys and small pieces of her favorite thing, rope, tied with large beads. I figured she couldn't hurt herself with small pieces, but could still have the pleasure of picking at it! Her ever so much said "hello Koko" is now followed by "hi Lily" and her scream ( horn sounding ) is now that child scream that Bubba and Bongo do. So yesterday, we all took turns doing it and I would point to Koko and she would do the scream, point to myself and try to do the scream and then point to Bubba and he would do it. Bongo had no interest in playing with us. It was also bath day, Koko loves to shower! Yeah! We put a tabletop stand in the tub and put the shower on and she picked up her wings and turned in circles making sure every part of her got wet, and talked the entire time. I misted her with aloe, but she is not a fan of water bottles. She let me spray her but she acted so scared I didn't continue. I thought she made kissing sounds but we have found out that the kissing noise is her "i am going to freak out and bite you" warning. Oh the things we learn the hard way. Got to see though that Gus is actually bigger than Koko which is a shock since Koko looks so big, her feet still win out as the largest but size wise, Gus wins there.

Gus has finally gotten his face feathers back too, looking spiffy again but has now learned how to get off his stand in silence. He sneak attacks us by nipping our legs, his nails on the tile sound just like the dogs so there is nothing distinctive to hear to say that Gus got down. If Lily had not eaten all the harnesses, he would be in one too!

[Acappella]

There would be a lot of money in it for the person who found a less destructible material to make aviator harnesses in.

[Greywings]

Kevlar Harness? No I am certain they could destroy that too. Koko sounds very entertaining, has she sung her "Barney song" for you?

[murfchck]

Koko sings non stop, just hasn't hit a note yet! She sings the I love broccoli and cheese song mostly. AND barks like a wounded large dog. She started barking yesterday and Pat I both ran through the house looking for a dog in trouble, she got on the side of the stand, looked at us upside down and barked again, like "haha, made you look". She also took her first flight through the house, found me in the kitchen and did a smooth landing on my arm and Bongo was on my shoulder. I was all ready for the bite, but none came. She and Bubba chat back and forth a lot, and he has started making that horn sound she does so well, he will just stop whatever he is doing and tell her to stop it and then he will do it, it is the funniest thing. Here is a picture of Koko and Pat, he just loves that girl to pieces.

[Greywings]

She looks very happy, I see those love eyes she may be taking over your hubby.

[Timbersmom]

That is such a sweet pick! You can tell when a bird knows they are loved.

[murfchck]

I do think that Koko hates toys and the reason I think this is the stinker picks the clasps holding them together on the chain, they fall to the bottom of the cage then her fun can begin taking the chains that are left hanging from the top apart link by link! She has had 7 quality toys in less than 2 weeks and I really mean that they are all on the bottom of the cage and the chains are all that are left. She had a stainless bucket for foot toys, a large metal foraging basket thing, a metal thing with a ball to spin around and lots of large wood toys in all shapes, tongue depressors with straws, phone book and a cloth like swing and a large bell on metal rings. Because there is no chain on the bell or swing, they are still there but that's all there is left hanging. Then I find her on the bottom of the cage and panic like a dope, but really she is just there because she is hiding under all her loot! Having a little trouble getting her to eat also but we went through that with Lily also so as long as I know she is eating something at sometime she is okay. I made scrambled eggs and a little toast and she sure did eat that night and then in the morning when I woke them all she went to her water bowl and pulled out more toast and finished it up.

Ahh, we have started singing "the honeymoon's over" song too. She joined in with the chorus of other screaming Too's last night and we knew that now the "good" times were about to begin. lol However when the macaws started in she yelled at them to be quiet! Gotta say it stopped me in my tracks and I will admit I about peed my pants laughing at her, she was dead serious and getting her point across to them.

I finally have put a call out to a trainer about Lily. There is nothing working to keep her on her stand. We even moved it to the kitchen so she would be right there with us and not feel the need to jump and run in there, she jumped anyway. I have gone as far as to give her 3 chances to stay on her stand - first jump and we say 1 and put her back on her stand, no interaction, second time she jumps we say 2, put her back. Third time we say 3 and she goes into her cage for a time out. All that accomplished is she can now count to three. Again, if I thought clipping her wings would do anything I would do that, but she isn't flying off, she jumps. I can't keep her harnessed to it, first off I am out of harnesses and secondly, I hate seeing her tied to it.

Gus is also testing the boundaries again, lol. If it were not so hot out those guys would be outside in the big aviaries where they could jump and scream and play till they wore themselves out!

[Greywings]

Cockatoos should adjust to the heat as long as there is shade and water, mornings and evenings should be fine. I know one of your flock was living outside year round until you took them in.

[murfchck]

Lol. Yeah, she does fine out there. Lily not so much.

[Greywings]

She must have the same attitude as my Dad had, his version of roughing it was a Holiday Inn.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Greywings

[murfchck]

What has it been? 12 days now and Koko is pretty much done with the outside too. lol she was panting and screaming after 5 minutes yesterday, she wanted inside bad. lol Can we say spoiled? I think we may have figured out her being on the bottom of the cage though, the lighting. She had a bunch of shadows across the her cage so we turned the overhead lights down some and put in a lamp, she was up near the top of the cage last night playing with her bell and the skewer kabob I am trying. We also played on the bed, oh is she a good one to nap with, as long as there is no blanket around. I did have a blanket so spent a lot of time trying to cover me up, once she did she ran around looking for a way to get under it herself, then when she did she got under and pressed herself against my chest to take her nap. We groomed each other and she fell asleep with her foot holding her beak and my chin. What peace we had even if it was just for those few minutes!

[murfchck]

We went out and purchased a misting system for the aviaries yesterday. Installing as soon as the hubs wakes up.

Yesterday afternoon we spent with Lily trying hard to get her to stay on her stand. Took 4 hours of putting her back in her cage, in the dark for what started at 5 minutes at a time up to 10 minutes, each time she jumped off. Pockets full of treats as rewards when she stayed on. By dinner time she was able to fight the urge and was doing so good, but then Cotay decided to take her first "controlled" flight to me. (this is the bird that goes out of her way to bite me) She did a pretty good landing on my arm and the excitement we had was too much for Lily, couldn't blame her for that, but it was dinner time anyway so after praising Cotay it was off to the cages for dinner. Will start over today!

Koko was a hoot herself. Playful as could be, if the dogs barked, she barked, if we whistled for the dogs, she would whistle ( which is the saddest whistle I have ever heard, lol) Then he and Pat played ball. He would toss it up and she would follow it with her dramatic bouncing and when she knew she had our full attention, I don't know how but she made her jumps and head bobs even more dramatic. Even when Pat stopped tossing it up, she continued to follow the ball up and down which got us laughing pretty hard, then she realized the ball wasn't going up anymore and just started laughing with us. Pat decided she liked the ball so much he would try to toss it to her and i'll be dang, she caught it. If you have ever seen a bird clap for herself, Koko did. She spread her wings out and would bring them together in front of her just like a clapping motion. Besides Bubba, Koko is one of the smartest birds I have met. I just wish I had more training experience for them both. I have taught Bubba to wave hello and say hi when he waves, to open his food bowl door for me when my hands are full and just silly things like that, but I know he could learn so much more if I just knew what to do. Same with Koko. Lily is to thick headed and stubborn, Gus is to busy and Oliver just wants Bubba. The greys just wants to be with us and do "their" thing. Poor Bongo is my OCD boy so if his routine is altered, he freaks out. For example if he doesn't ring his bell when I put him in his cage for dinner, he doesn't eat it is like he is lost for what to do and he gets really grumpy by bedtime. lol What a mess we have going on here!

[Greywings]

My eyes teared up reading about how happy Koko sounds, this is what all captive birds should have a chance to feel, some exuberant joy! Bubba & Oliver have become such buddies (tag team), poor Bongo just stuck in his OCD rut and Lilly always testing her limits. Gus your first Too training you for the ones who have followed. I wonder if you ever thought even 5 years ago what a houseful of feathered fun and challenges you would be living with and loving all their chaos. (I should know)

[murfchck]

LOL, I can say that it is not something I had planned. I wouldn't change a thing though! ( Well, Lily and her not wanting to stay on the stand I would change but that will come in time.) I spoke with a friend who is a trainer and she said " Oh my, sounds like nesting behavior and this not something you can fix easy. Keep in mind it is seasonal and ride it out." Yeah, good times. It does kind of explain her being nippy. It was cage cleaning day last night so Lily had to help me out and she did really well but a 2 hour chore took almost 3 hours with her "help".

Koko scared the poo out of me yesterday too. We have 2 ceiling fans that run at the end of our hallway in our bedroom, the only bird free zone. I picked a pillow up from the floor to put back on the couch and I guess it scared her and she took off. A lap around the living room and then down the hall into the bedroom where she landed on the blinds on the top half of the window. I hate having to stay calm when my insides are in panic mode as I approach the room and slowly turn the fans off trying not to scare her anymore. She did just fine though and once I removed my heart from my throat, I took her back to her stand where she looked at me and asked "What cha doing, cockatoooo?" Needless to say, the door stays shut now. I don't know if I mentioned that she hated her cage placement in the room so we moved everyone around and she found her happy spot, no more bottom of the cage except to get to her toys where we assume that is where she likes to keep them since every time I hang them up, she takes them down. lol.

[murfchck]

And so it begins... Koko has found her voice and her wings. This goes out to all the people who think naked birds can't fly. HA! Lol

[murfchck]

So my brief moment of insanity has passed. lol We had 3 Too's flying at us yesterday, and we were at a loss what to do or where to run, lol. I guess it was more 1 flying at us, 1 was flying to the floor and 1 was just flying, and the screams were sooo loud. Poor Koko was just trying to sing but she had to get so loud to be heard over the others, even the macaws were screaming last night, she actually yelled at them "be quiet". What was funny about that is that we were not bothered by the screaming because it was getting close to dinner time and it is normal for them to do that at that time but Koko wanted to sing and be heard by gosh! Gus is flying again, his trim we did is now grown back in and man is he a great flyer, the change from before is he isn't biting us when he lands, he got his skill back. I just wish that when they flew they didn't have their beaks open cuz that is a scary site coming at you! All three fly like that so I guess it is how they do it. Koko and Pat played ball again and I was smart enough to grab the phone to take a video, just not smart enough to grab MY phone so I have to wait to get it to post it, she went into overtime excitement and it was so funny. Now Pat wants to find a ball for them to play with, he thinks she needs something she can grip better, what they have is just a whiffle ball.

Ah well, it is a beautiful day so they will get to be outside and soak up some sun!

[Greywings]

Try a fabric ball they can grab it easily and it is not so solid as to cause harm if they get hit.

[murfchck]

Let me say that Miss Koko is training me well. We all must sing and dance before bedtime. I was under the weather yesterday and Pat put the birds down himself. After 30 minutes of screaming I went in to say good night and see what was wrong. As soon as she saw me she started singing her I love broccoli and cheese song and dancing so I joined her. When we finished she went to her sleep perch and all was quiet. Lol. I am wrapped around their talons!

[murfchck]

Lily is really killing me! lol This not staying put thing is really driving me nuts. And she now has decided that Pat isn't good enough to hang out with. I had her on the counter yesterday as I prepped some potatoes to bake. He came home and I had to hold her ( and the potatoes because Gabby enjoys leaving her marks in them if left unattended ) until she settled down, but then she started biting Pat so she had to go back in time out. Time out isn't working, harnessing her isn't solving anything (she now bites when Pat tries to harness her anyway) and by late afternoon, I can't put her outside because of the heat and neighbors with her screaming.

[Greywings]

Try giving her a good run around flighted or on the floor then a thorugh soaking just prior to getting dinner started so she hopefully will work on preening dry while you "attempt" to get a start on dinner prep or other household chores.