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View Full Version : Hello, everybody! Welcome home!


Evelyn
12-15-2007, 02:21 PM
It's wonderful to be back together with our old friends from TT, and to be making new friends.

I know we have profiles, but they don't really say all that much. I suggest those of us who have not already done so, introduce ourselves and our flock.

I'm from Virginia. I'm married--no kids at home. Hubby is retired, but I'm still working. I'm a lawyer--trying to cut back so I can spend more time with the birds.

I have a female LSC, about 5-6 years old. She was very plucked and very timid when I bought her, but she is now fully feathered and has turned into a bossy little brat. But she can be so sweet. She likes to cuddle on my neck. She doesn't talk much. She insists on eating at the table with us. We tried giving her her own little plate, but she thinks it tastes better if it comes off our plates.

Plato is a male, 19-month old Eleanora cockatoo. I suppose he will change as he approaches sexual maturity, but right now he is all cuddles and snuggling and kisses. He has never bitten anybody. He has a deformed beak resulting from his parents pushing him out of the nest and biting his beak off. It isn't pretty, but it functions; and he is otherwise beautiful. He said several things when I bought him, and he has learned new words since. He imitates my CAG.

Tamar is a 10-month old CAG. I got her as a 4-month old baby. She cuddles llike a too. For the longest time we didn't think she was going to talk, and then she started learning words and phrases very quickly. We aren't training her. It's just stuff she picks up.

I'm a little concerned about Tamar because she can't fly. The breeder did let the babies fly twice before clipping their wings, and Tamar flew then. But now, altho she flaps her wings like crazy, she just plops. It would seem to me that 6 months is long enough to grow out her flight feathers, but maybe not. Does anybody know?

I also have a male 8-year old U-2 named Gyro who is my heart-bird. I've never seen a more beautiful, more confident, more intelligent U2 (and of course, that is an objective opinion :) He doesn't live with me, though, because he would like to kill me. Not really (I hope), but he was my first cockatoo. We had a few honeymoon days, and then he started chasing me, pecking at me, and one day he flew into my face, bit a chunk out of my face and gave me a black eye. After that, I was afraid of him; and he knew it; and he started bullying me. It got so I couldn't let him out of the cage, and that was no life for him. A friend of mine who has a large indoor aviary agreed to keep him for me. Every once in a while I take him home to try again, but it's always the same. He's happy there because he gets to fly free. And he loves my friend who also loves him.

When I first went to see Gyro, his owner took him out of his cage and he stepped up onto my hand. He walked up my arm to my shoulder and put his face against mine, and I was a goner! But he's a Dr. Jekly-Mr. Hyde character.

He came in an old cage; and I bought him a new one right away. The former owner said he was an escape artist, so I put locks on all of the doors. He took the top of his cage off to get out!

He talks very plainly. I kept him at my office, and clients would have to pass by his cage to get to my private office. He would say, "Hi" and "Hello" when they came in. He would wolf-whistle at the women. He would say "Bye-bye" when they left.

When I decided he should live with my friend, she came to the office to pick him up. As she was carrying the cage out of the office, Gyro was looking at me throught the wire front and saying "Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye" over and over again in such a plaintive voice. It broke my heart.

A few days after he moved to Lois' house, it was raining, and a neighbor called her to say there was a white bird on her roof. She got a stepladder and was climbing up to get him. Gyro was climbing down towards her, saying "Poor Gyro, poor Gyro." He had chewed enough of a wooden window frame to push a frame out and escape.

Lois had workmen at her house working on the aviary, and Gyro would take their tools and hide them.

I have many Gyro stories, but won't bore you with any more now.

Besides the parrots, I have two standard poodles, a 3-legged American Pit Bull Terrier I rescued after he was hit by a bus, 4 horses and 4 cats. Then there are various rescue/fosters that come and go--birds, cats, dogs.

That's me. Let's hear all about you!

Evelyn

Julie
12-15-2007, 06:32 PM
Evelyn,

I remember you from TT, but thank you for the wonderful "intro" back into your flock. I do know from our buddy Larry that MANY GRACIOUS THANKS are in order as I see you are a Sentinal!

I am very thankfull to have everyone here to support each other through the good and bad times, we have a wonderful family here!

How are your standard poodles with the birds? I have wanted a dog for ages but am so concerned about the birds that we have never entertained the idea. The standard poodle or lab poodle mix would probably be my first choice!

Thanks again, and its wonderful to see you again!

Julie

FoxersArtist
12-15-2007, 08:24 PM
Hi Evelyn!
Thanks for sharing about yourself! It was really neat to hear about you and your flock (never a bore!) and I was amazed that you were able to have Gyro with you at the office! Neat! I'm sorry you ended up having to place him with someone else, but sometimes it just wasn't meant to be...and other times birds just need some time. I adopted our red lory Orbit as a baby and after about a month of having him home, both him and our other lory Mars turned on both Andy and I and were horribly miserable. Mars chose to stay and went back to her sweet self once things changed, but orbit wanted nothing to do with us so we adopted him to a good friend of mine. Once orbit hit maturity, he pulled another jekle-hyde and turned on her. After months of work, she gave up on him and brough him back to me. He fell in love with me all over again and has been a doll ever since. He still wants nothing to do with her though. It's amazing and odd how our birds can change their minds about things.

Anyway, Thanks for sharing about your birds. you asked me how I keep up with things. How do you keep up?! A job, more than one cockatoo, and 4 horses! What an exciting, but very busy life! I can't wait to hear more about your wonderful flock. Thanks for helping make happy birdy possible!
-Anna

Birdlover
12-15-2007, 11:20 PM
What a wonderful group of birds Evelyn! I too have a special E2. She is blind in one eye (result of an abscess when she was a baby and the eye never fully formed). I havent heard of many people with E2s so Im excited to know you have one! My girl is 11 years old. And a fellow horse lover! What horses do you have? I have two (a swedish warmblood and a quarter horse).

Birds that dont fly - I seem to have several. Some of which I raised and did allow them to fledge. Thy were clipped for several years but arent now... they still dont fly. It seems that they just become accustomed to moving without flight. I have been workin with Cyan (BFA) and she has become better. Lots of flapping exercises and asking her to hop/fly short distances for a favorite treat. It has taken a lot of time for her to make small steps. It seemed like when I decided to let everyone stay full-flight it took up to a year for some of them to molt out their clipped feathers, others in just a month or two. i would suspect it just has to do with when they are clipped in relation to their individual molting cycle.

Evelyn
12-19-2007, 04:19 PM
How are your standard poodles with the birds? I have wanted a dog for ages but am so concerned about the birds that we have never entertained the idea. The standard poodle or lab poodle mix would probably be my first choice!


Julie -

The dogs don't pay much attention to the birds and vice versa. I don't let them any closer to each other, though, than I am to the birds. IOW, just in case one of them should decide the bird would make a good snack, I want to be close enough to stop it.

I have a pit bull terrier, too; and one of the birds landed on his head the other day. Red just looked up with the most disgusted look on his face ad then laid his head back down again, with the bird still there.

Of course, all of the dogs have some age on them. The youngest one is 8, and the other two are 10; but they have all always been very laid back.

Evelyn

Evelyn
12-19-2007, 04:25 PM
I was amazed that you were able to have Gyro with you at the office!

Actually, I had five parrots there; and it was possible because it was my office. They were in a very large "middle room." They weren't particularly noisy because they were out of their cages most of the time. We did have a CAG who would "answer the phone" when it rang.



How do you keep up?! A job, more than one cockatoo, and 4 horses!

One horse is with a trainer and my husband pretty much takes care of the three at home. Believe it or not, they are far less trouble than the birds.


Thanks for helping make happy birdy possible!

I did very little other than nag Larry to do it. He and Jill did the work.

Evelyn


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Evelyn
12-19-2007, 04:29 PM
I havent heard of many people with E2s so Im excited to know you have one! My girl is 11 years old. And a fellow horse lover! What horses do you have? I have two (a swedish warmblood and a quarter horse).

I had never seen and E2 until I came across mine. Now they're everywhere. I've been asked to foster one. He is male and 13 years old. He is supposed to be a biter, but when I visited him he was very sweet. Of course, that could change!

I have Tennessee Walking Horses. I've always wondered what a "warmblood" was. Can you explain it to me?

Birds that dont fly .


Tamar hasn't gone through a molt yet. I hope that will make a difference. She does flap her wings a lot and will sometimes try to fly, but as I said, she just goes plop.


Evelyn

too&me
12-19-2007, 04:31 PM
Evelyn thank you for sharing! For those who need to hear more feedback on dogs & cats with birds, we have all the above. The dogs think the birds are there to rain down food upon them, i find nut shells & banana peels in the most interesting places. The bigger dog Zoe an Aussie/Border collie cross has little interest, the smaller dog looks like a Pappilion/Corgi cross is sooo jealous. Don't allow them to play together but often have Harry the U2 or Buzbee the quaker out & supervised watchfully when the dogs are in. Dogs are responsive to commands except the stop barking one! lol The cats for the most part pretend to ignore those heathen bird things, Captain my rescue Angora (Dumpster cat) will allow Harry to pet him when they are both in my lap. Harry is dominant when he wants the cat gone the cat takes the hint. >:}

Evelyn
12-20-2007, 05:01 PM
Isn't Buzbee your son's rescue Quaker?

Sounds like he's making great progress.

Evelyn

too&me
12-20-2007, 07:19 PM
Yes Buzbie is my son's Quaker, he is progressing well but only likes Tyler & my Husband. A warm blood horse has cold (Draft horse) blood as well as Hot blood like a Thoroughbred or Arab. Hense warm blood. What fun to be able to explain horse on a bird board with out a painful correction. The Quaker is now sharing dialog with Harry Too & I have some new bites every few days. The little green booger will launch across the room & fly beak open & ready to bite, little ingrate!