[jodeg]

Hi Everyone -

I check in here every day, but have been lazy about updates.

Libby, my Pineapple GC, and Angelina, my Parrotlet, are doing really well.

Angelina will be 3 next month. I adopted her from a friend about a year and a half ago, and it was only this spring -- took a whole year! -- that she finally decided I wasn't going to kill her! We are great buddies now, thankfully. She runs toward me now, not to bite the c--p out of me, but to jump into my hand! I've even started a little clicker training with her, using hemp seeds as the reward, and she's doing pretty well. I had tried before we bonded, but she just looked at me like I was nuts! She's gone from being a hard biting diva to a little sweetie pie -- boy am I happy!

Libby is wonderful and I love her to pieces! She'll be 9 months old the end of November. She's starting to talk, not picking up what I'm trying to teach her (hello, Libby, what's up, etc.), but the stuff SHE wants to say that she hears me say -- "make a poopie", "poopie", "come 'ere!", "step up", "step down", "baby", and some other stuff I can't quite make out. When she goes into her sleep cage at night (in Angelina's room), I can hear her in there, softly mumbling her words and making kiss sounds -- so cute!

I also started clicker training with Libby a couple of weeks ago. The first time I held the target stick up next to her beak, she acted like I was going to beat :yikes: her with it and she almost fell off her perch! She got the idea fairly quickly though, and now she readily "beaks" the target stick wherever I place it. She also rings a little bell I hold up by banging the clapper against the side of the bell. After a long process, she now will pick things up out of a small tin cup and place them on the table. I can't quite get her to "put it back", but we're working on it. Also in progress are "shake foot", and "big bird" (wings out). It's fun to do and adds another dimension to our relationship. I keep the sessions with both birds pretty short, about 5 minutes, to keep it fun for all 3 of us.

Thanks, Nannay, for urging me to post! Sorry I've been lazy!

Here's a picture I took of them this morning. This is about as close as they can get before Angelina will try to attack Libby! Silly little blue birdy!

 

[nanay]

Wonderful update. Thanks for posting.

That is interesting how Angelina wasn't interested in the clicker training until she trusted you. I suppose that makes a lot of sense, although it is touted as a good method of bonding with a bird.

I enjoy clicker training, when I am in the mood, but I haven't been in the mood much recently.

Libby seems very smart. She is a green cheek, so what else can you say.

Thanks again for posting. The picture is great. They are beautiful, and that playstand looks great, too.

 

[Jenny]

Thanks for the update!! They are both adorable, and I'm glad to hear they're making such good progress

 

[jodeg]

Thanks! The Java wood playstand is their latest acquisition. I also have a small one in the computer room (2 computers and wall to wall desks), and multiple playstands in Angelina's room. Since both birds have clipped wings, I've "linked" all the different stands in Angelina's room together with ladders and "bridges", so they can climb from stand to stand, and also get to the climbing net over Angelina's cage. They have fun climbing all over the place!

I seem to have playstands all over the house! I use the excuse that it's easier than moving one playstand from room to room -- well it works on my husband anyway!

Anything for the birdies, right?