Changing My Grey's Name

[aerial.2000]

I was assured that Gilbert was a he and after two and a half years have discovered he is a she. When we got her, she already knew her name and would say "Gilbert okay" when she was scared or "Time to go night night Gilbert". It is still fresh to find that Gilbert is a girl, just one week today. For now we call her Miss Gilbert, and we have considered renaming her. The thing is, every situation, like every parrot, is unique. You will know if Imara fits and she/he accepts that identity. And as far as letting the bird choose, well Miss Gilbert chose to start calling me LuLu more than six months ago and that stuck, so if she can rename me, I can rename her. LOL. You are going to spend the rest of your life with this beautiful grey, let it work itself out naturally. If you think of her as Imara and want that to be her name, she will understand that and will respond to it.

I was assured too by the petstore that Marco was a "male" well 85% sure is what they said famous last words "Im almost never wrong" is what the kid said lol ..."hes got a flat head must be a boy" :rolleyes: Anyways we did the same thing and started calling her Miss Marco and Im totally ok with it. Boy name or not, she knows it and we've called her that since day one so Marco it is, heck we even got her saying POLO !!!!!!!! so I cant hardly change it now lololol

Imara means strong or resolute. I think Marco is a realllly cute name... Especially for a girl I'm going to try out Imara for a while... and really just see what happens. If it sticks, great. If not, either on to the next one. I'm sure we'll get it down soon enough. And I like the idea that if your bird can rename you, then you can rename the bird. Cute

Thank you and good luck with your name change.

[Cosmos_Friend]

Rick... You have a great relationship with Cosmo. Why are you " self doubting", what has worked for you and your baby? This site only offers suggestions, but you are trying them when they " will NOT work", for you and your bird.YOU... are a GREAT parent! Nancy

 

Nancy,

 

Yeah, I do second guess myself when I shouldn't. Cosmo is special (To me, anyway) When I went to get him from his breeder, he got on my hand and looked at me sideways, then lowered his wings offering me his back. I've had parrots since I was 10 years old and never had experienced anything like that as first contact. Thanks for the reply.

 

~Rick

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Rick... you are doing great with your bird. You guys have a great relationship. Keep doing what you are doing.DON'T change a thing with your bird. I would suggest focusing on educating others, that need your help. " how did your relationship, get where it is"? Sometimes, we self doubt, where our other relationships failed, but our bird relationships thrived. We get confused. Nancy

[Inara]

Name changing is such an individual thing. I've changed the names of each companion that has come to live with me, with little fuss and much success. If (just my opinion) your new companion is healthy, happy, and much older and it is apparent that s/he truly does associate the name with herself, then that would give me pause for consideration about not making a change. Given the loooooooooong lives of parrots, to change the name of a two year old is barely a blink in the eye of their lifespan. I have had my new 2yo Timneh for less than a week and within just a couple of days she was saying her new name "Inara" (meaning: Persian for 'from the heavens' and the name of one of my favorite scifi characters). Does she associate it with herself yet? Likely not, but she will in time. For now, she likely just associates it with pleasurable experiences and interactions. I've also chosen not to use her old name to her nor in conversation where she can overhear it.

 

Names are one way that we bond with one another as humans, and with our non-human companions. Having a name for a companion that is pleasing and meaningful to us, allows us to speak it in ways and with body language that conveys that pleasure and warmth and can't help but increase the likelihood of an accepting response.

 

Again, it's a personal and individual decision, a lot like a tattoo -- choose carefully, because once chosen, it should be permanent.