Emmi update, Kimberly update, and trouble on the floor.

[KimberlyAnn]

Hi everyone!

It's been awhile since I have been here and I have a very important question for my health and sanity.

First off, Emmi is doing awesome! She's quite the flyer and has a funny habit of flying away with foot toys so she can drop them off a shelf. She loves to fly low around objects and has an obsession with the floor. :/ (Yes it's clean! Lol) I've tried to make the floor a "scary" place with "scary" colored towels, but it's not working. More on that in a moment.

In other news, this happened...



And wow, what a surprise! But we could not be happier (doctors told me years ago, I had a very slim chance of getting pregnant) and are having a healthy boy. That 3D ultrasound was taken at 12 weeks, I'm 7 months now. January baby, won't be long!

The issue is, Emmi now thinks it's funny to fly to the floor or couch and bite my feet. She dances afterwards. Thinks it's really funny to see me react. I can't just not react. Is there any training I can do to get her off the floor? Or should I just buy boot slippers and let her have fun? The third trimester is hard enough without having to deal with anything having to do with the floor.

[marie83]

Omg welcome back and massive congratulations.

Glad emmi is ok and still being her cheeky self

ollies the same, loves the floor, nothing scares him etc etc and my boyfriend taught him chasing feet is an amazing game
I think you already have the best idea and that is to buy something to protect your feet and hope she gets bored. No chance ollie will stop trying though cuz bf wont stop reacting to him and forgets to put shoes on.

[marie83]

You could always try diverting her attention by making higher up places more interesting too if you havent already tried this. Set things up before she has chance to attack your feet though

[Pajarita]

O M G CONGRATS CONGRATS CONGRATS!!!!

I agree with Marie, just protect your feet. I have four birds that drive me crazy with their walking on the floor. Only two of them would nip my feet but that's not what worries me, it's the danger of my stepping on three of them (the fourth is a big cockatoo so it's unlikely I would step on him but I could still trip on him and hurt him!) And, although they all know the command for getting off the floor (I go SCHUP SCHUP! to them), they just fly off, make a U turn and come right back, the rascals!

[KimberlyAnn]

Thank-you both so much! I'm ready for the little guy to get here....stuff wise anyway. Lol I'm trying to be ready for the rest...trying!

I wish there was a way to get her ready for the baby. I played some baby crying videos for her and she either freaks out or thinks it's something to dance too. I did put one of her cages near where I would be feeding the baby just in case we run into bad birdie habits while nursing. Instead of knitting baby clothes, I've been making bird toys. Lol A new toy equals a happy Emmi for at least 20 minutes or more at a time.

I guess I will buy the boot slippers to fix the current problem. She always goes in the shower with us because she likes the humidity. Tonight she flew down to the floor immediately after I turned off the water. She just walked around in circles hitting her beak on the floor only stopping to look at me to see my reaction...VERY threatening! Lol

I just bent down and told her to step up. She didn't want to (Normally, she'd step up right away) so I just waited and repeated myself several times as she's stepping just out of my reach, while the baby is kicking and rolling because I'm drastically diminishing his space the further I reach for her. I'm gasping for air too because this is such a chore now days to do any bending or reaching. But there was NO WAY OUT! No one was home and the bird was between me and the door and she totally knew it. It's a no win situation for me and it happens a lot. Lol

[marie83]

Well it sounds to me like your doing all you can to prepare, including prep for problems that don't yet exist. Your such an amazing owner.

Regarding the foot thing again ollie is very menacing too, he does the strutting, the beak bashing but your a braver person than me by putting your hand down, once ollies in that frame of mind he will attack anything that moves. He doesnt go for my feet very often as I can withstand him when he is being gentle and I do try to ignore it when he is a bit less subtle but even my feet have their limits.

I have an idea for you though- get a long bit of sisal rope and teach her to climb it, hopefully that might make it easier for you to retrieve her from the floor as you can stand upright and dangle it and eventually you might be able to get her to climb on it before she goes too near your feet. If you get several lengths of sisal you can leave them in various places so she cant trap you anywhere.

[Pajarita]

Or a cane, it's a perfect perch if you offer the 'handle' part down and you won't have to bend!

[Harpmaker]

Congratulations! And best of luck getting Emmi to accept your new flock member!

[Lizz]

Congradulations

Since I don't train I have to tell you a story. When Rambo came to me he hated men. He flogged any man who came in the house. He would even call my son, Chuck, to flog him. I had an old veteran buddy from the VFW. When I became house bound with my mother, he came over every day for coffee but really to check on me in case I needed help with something. Harold always wore long pants and heavy shoes for balance but still had an awful time walking because he had no feeling in his legs. As soon as he came through the door Rambo would lay into him. Harold had no idea that he did. Rambo claimed him and learned his name and would announce "Harold's here" when he heard his truck. When Harold passed on and left me, Ron started coming to check on me. Ron has the same problem and walks with a cane. Rambo loved him immediately. Rambo also does not react to other men now. When he hears Chuck he yells a hello.
Protect yourself and don't react.

[KimberlyAnn]

That's a sweet story about Rambo.

I've actually found the solution...a crumpled piece of paper. It's working so far! Lol The cane or rope is a great idea too since I'm constantly picking her up from the floor. She loves the floor. I don't get it at all.

I'm trying to prepare everything, but the more I prepare, the more there is to do. Or it just seems that way since I'm so tired. I've totally slowed down by a lot. I can't be on my feet for more then 30 minutes at a time now. Really sucks! LOL I sleep a lot. Maternity leave can't come soon enough! Lol

But we did get 3D pictures of the baby a few weeks ago! So amazing seeing his little face!