Parrot Training, an adult flock

Wow!  Time flies when you're summer-busy!  The grey parrots are all doing fine and remembering their training in spite of lapses in training because of summer activities like travel and company visiting us. 

Gracie (TAG) has almost completely stopped biting Peter when he puts her back into the cage.  She is somewhat non-compliant when he wishes to take her OUT of the cage, though.  He's working on that behavior with her.  She is whistling more tunes, making fewer annoying sounds, and even talking more than ever before.  For a 12 year old bird, I think it's super cool that she's learning new stuff! 

Bobby (TAG) is still neurotic as ever, but his chest feathers are growing back in after a nervous hormonal "season."  He is 7 now and maybe the hormones will back off a little bit next year.  He rarely comes out of his new dome top cage, but he's very happy on the corner cage stand we bought for him.  I roll him... cage and all... into the kitchen when the girls come out on the play stand.  He is distraught without his flock and I want him to be with us.

Lucy (CAG) is a nut case.  She picked up my visiting son's whistle and uses it all the time.  Also, she's been talking in Peter's deep voice.  He mutters and you can't understand him... and so she mutters and you can't understand her either.  :D  Peter reached down too quickly to retrieve her from the floor yesterday and she bit him.  Lucy only bites when she's scared, so I know she was spooked by him.  But, then she bit him a second time when he tried to pick her up.  Fear?  I think she was spooked that she'd bitten him the first time.  She planted a beaky kiss on him for "sorry" a few minutes after.

Coco, the lesser sulfur crested cockatoo has moved to the most fabulous birdy camp EVER!!!  For years I've felt guilty that I couldn't give this lovely boy the attention he needed and now he's getting mono-a-mono attention, all day every day.  A friend's wife lost her little dog a while back and her heart was broken.  Since the man had an amazon (24 years or so), they were familiar with birds and bird needs.  The man had met Coco many times and loved him... so Coco went to their house a month ago.  He has the run of the "garden room" and is out of his cage all day long!!!  OMG!  Could we ask for more for a Cockatoo?  His new mom asked me for my very special recipe for birdy bread, which I happily supplied.  I understand that when Coco is extra "good boy," he gets a piece of the birdy bread I sent home with him.

So, that's the update for the summer.  We're an all-grey-flock at our house now and Coco is living in birdy paradise.  I'm designing a new "bird stand" on paper and in my head.  After the summer's business, I'll get out the tools and head to the hardware store.

Happy Summer!