Hello from Alaska!

[LSH101315]

I want to make it clear that even if he never becomes "trained" that my main goal will always be for him to feel safe and at home, and to be well cared for.

[Wolf]

No, don't let it bother you that what you may have meant in a humorous manner was not understood, I do it all the time and it is not always received as I intended. It takes time to develop any relationship and it is even harder to convey humor through the written word than it is in person as it does not convey emotion as well. We can offset this by making sure to mark it as humor or write as we talk and make a few apologies when it is misunderstood until people begin to understand how you are. I mostly do the latter as I am terrible at making something as humor. We will never develop as good of a relationship as we can if you quit trying to convey what you want the way you want and we learn this about you so that we can better understand, it is a normal process, it is just a little harder to develop when the only contact that we have is the written word.

[liz]

You enjoy watching you daughter and her bird. Any thing that can give you joy is therapy.

[LSH101315]

Bandit is getting more comfortable! I've started feeding him breakfast and dinner on top of his home instead of inside. He prefers it that way. I offered it in both spots and even if it's next to him, inside the cage, he still climbs out and up the ladder to eat. He spends most of the day out at this point, either on the perch, or flying a few laps before going back to the perch.

[Pajarita]

Sounds like everything is going great! But, be careful about leaving him unsupervised and not only because of any potential danger to him but also because they chew furniture, moldings, curtains, pillows, picture frames, etc

[Kakariki]

pajarita said:

I put a lot of time and work into it and have NO expectations of anything but their wellbeing.

I have only been having and loving parrots for a bit over 2 years, even though I was thinking of them for a long time. There was a time that my life was not conducive for it.
I have had a multitude of other pets in my life, but also had a large family to help out with the emotional needs of the pet. I was pretty much the 'caretaker' for daily needs but of course interacted whenever possible. The others of my family were the ones who gained the most free interactions and all the emotional gratification that came with it. I was the one though, who cared for there daily well being and researched and taught the others whatever knowledge I had gleaned, ALWAYS about respecting the animal. Learning from the animal what IT needs and wants, and through this empathy, TRULY given, getting back from the animal (whatever it may be) the gratification of it trusting. ( over a long span we have had dogs, cats, 2 types of lizards, gerbils, guinea pig, a rabbit, a couple of snakes and a variety of birds)

It sounds like your guy is a gem. Do not give up. Just LOVE him, like a child. Give to him and he will give back.

[Pajarita]

All those birds in only a bit over two years?! Please stop taking in birds for a couple of years, at the very least. I know it's very tempting when things seem to be working out well but it takes about two years for a captive bird to find its place in a mixed flock and that is only after the bird is sexually mature so, if you got babies two years ago, you still don't know how things are going to turn out. I know it sounds a bit harsh and please understand that I don't mean it as a criticism but, in my personal experience, a single sexually mature bird which becomes overly hormonal or for some other reason is no longer happy (sharing their human can do it, too) can upset the dynamics so badly that you end up completely overwhelmed and all the birdies stressed out. Don't forget they are all different species and live under hugely unnatural conditions... Dogs are all the same species and you still cannot have above a certain number or add too many in a short period of time or some individuals get all stressed out and the pack becomes completely unmanageable.

[Kakariki]

I am for sure done acquiring birds now.