As of October 1, 2007, Cookie has been moved to another foster family.

we will miss him!

okay, so i finally got cookie doing this on camera...my usual routine before putting cookie back into her cage at night is to put her down on the opposite side of the bed, run to the other side with a sliver of almond, and call cookie to me. at that point she usually comes RUNNING to me, steps up on to my arm and gets the almond prize. this is a great practice for her, i think, to step up - almost without thinking - nicely onto my arm. no bites as of yet. *knock on wood* :-D

here are some pictures of cookie hanging out on the new playstand. if you want to see some videos, see below...

breaking in the new playstand! we ordered this a few months ago and now its finally finished. i challenge you to guess what we paid for it - it probably won't be close! email me if you want to guess.

**The playstand was created by Frank Barrozo. His company is called Cimarron's Loma Rica Birds & Crafts. It is a WONDERFUL playstand and I recommend his craftsmanship highly! You can contact him at CLRBirdsnCrafts@aol.com . Tell him that the woman who special-ordered the 3-layer playstand sent you. ;-) **

Cookie finished up her 2 weeks of Cipro meds this morning - YAY! we have a recheck visit at the vet on friday of this week. *crossing fingers on no more meds!*. because i have had to towel her to administer the meds, she hasn't really looked forward to my presence lately. she doesn't want to play with me as much. but i do make it a point that after being released from the towel, i lure her with a piece of almond onto my arm. she almost runs to my hand (probably because she is a little disoriented but sees the nut and goes for it) to step up and get the nut. then i take her out of our bedroom (quaratine time is over) and mingle for a bit with my birds.

i did allow cookie and my amazon, pico, on the same playstand with a very watchful eye and a handheld perch at the ready. pico seemed a little over anxious to get to cookie so i reminded him, in a stern voice, to "be a good boy" he looked at me and slowed down a bit. but once i saw pico regurgitate a little, i knew he meant no harm. he approached cookie and showed her that he was regurgitating but she was uninterested. then pico moved a little closer and tried to slightly preen her shoulder - cookie didn't want it at all and side-stepped away from pico. pico decided to give cookie some room, so he went to another area on the play stand but kept returning to cookie and see if he could start up a friendship - so far, cookie would rather keep her distance. but was very polite with pico - no fighting or biting...just kinda backing away from pico.

cookie also went on an outing with us last sunday. my husband had to step in to umpire a few tournament softball games so we took cookie along to enjoy some fresh air. overall i think she liked it. she made some noise with the crowd when they became loud, and happily munched on some goodies i brought along with me.

Cookie on an outing this past weekend...

cookie has been taking her meds like a champ...i do have to towel her, but once done i lure her onto my arm with a sliver of almond and she walks right on. so far (knock on wood) her trust in me hasn't been affected too much.

Cookie does do things on her terms tho...i can't just put my hand in front of her yet and say "step up". if she doesn't want to, she will just put out a foot toward my hand and clamp down. i have to let her come to me to step up. i do this with a little piece of almond. so i usually give her, her space and if she wants to come to me, i treat her with a treat.

Cookie LOVES to chew and shred wood. i have placed 2 small vine-woven wreath thingies i bought at a bird store and she has chewed both up in two days. i attach them inside and outside her cage and for her, it doesn't matter.

I have been slowly introducing her to the world outside of our bedroom (quarantine room) since her q-time is over. i think she is feeling more comfortable each day and i think she wants to interact with my amazon, pico. when she saw the big "mansion" that pico lives in, she REALLY wanted to go inside. i thought she wanted to go into the cage, but when i put pico on to a nearby playstand, she wanted to follow to where pico was. I am a little hesitant of doing this yet. i think a week more and then maybe i will (under the most STRICT supervision) put them both on the same playstand and see what happens.

my amazon has been very nice to the foster amazons that we have had in our care. all he wants to do with them is to preen them. so im thinking it would be okay, but pico, i believe, needs to be slowly introduced to the new birds. so having them see eachother daily will be a good "introduction" time before actually placing them together in an area where they can actually interact with eachother directly. i'll let you know how that one goes.

this morning's cipro dose marked the first week of meds have passed. yay!

the above picture is of cookie eating some rice and wheat bread on her special plate. (she actually was surrendered with this plate, since her first owner used to give her table food on this plate. isn't that great?)

well, some bad news...at the last vet visit, the vet found higher levels of white blood cells than she would have liked - which could be a sign of some kind of infection. because of this, we are treating her with twice a day dose of .17 of Cipro for 14 day. i started the first dose wednesday night (8/29). morning of 9/12 will be her last dose and then a recheck is in order.

this week i found out she likes jalapenos!

week #5 had its ups and downs...

first, the down. on tuesday, as i was putting cookie to bed, i suddenly heard her breathing raspily. she stood extremely still, eyes looking straight in one direction (not pinned), chest pumping faster than normal - a stance that i understand as "fearful". when i moved, her breathing again became audible. i talked to her calmly and tried to reassure her. i tried giving her a sliver of almond, but she was completely not interested - she didn't even look at it. the weird thing was that nothing in the room had changed - i didn't add anything to the room nor did i remove anything. no knew smells, colors, etc. i thought she was having a heart attack or something.

i stayed with her and she calmed down about a half an hour later. she started moving and climed to her sleep perch. she also started to clean her beak, so i thought it was okay to cover her up for the night and i would make a vet appointment in the morning.

next morning, she looked okay - as if nothing happened. i packed her in a carrier and whisked her away to the vet. long story short - the vet found nothing wrong with her from xrays, blood test, and physical exam. she actually looks a lot better than from the first time she was at that vet. (thanks to her former owner/foster home!)

we are still waiting on the results of the culture test.

since then, she has been her good self. maybe the tennant upstairs made some weird noise that scared her - not sure. at least it doesn't seem to be anything physical.

Cookie continues to be more outgoing! yay! she unhesitatingly steps up on to my arm when she sees me holding a sliver of almond for her. i talk to her and carry her around on my arm in the room, showing her different views of her cage, the bed, etc. this weekend, i carried her on my arm into the shower. we enjoyed taking a lukewarm shower together - she occasionally "talked" to me as i spoke and whistled to her.

she also responds to our other foster bird when that one starts attacking her bells. cookie seems to like the ringing of bells and calls to it. very cute! cookie has also been responding to the calls of my own amazon. (maybe it has something to do with him being a male and cookie "possibly" being female?) - by the way, i have to see if results of cookie's dna test is in (i asked that one be done for cookie during the last vet visit).

cookie still doesn't show any interest in being scritched anywhere. the most i can do so far is tickle her toe(s). that is okay with me. i don't want to force something on her because this could break any trust that i have worked for from her up to this point. she interacts with me, she is calm around me, she eats, she plays, she vocalizes happily and plays with her bell (which means she is happy!). i can't be more happy for her. if she decides to one day honor me with scritching her head, then that will be a definite BREAKTHROUGH day. :-)

Cookie will be a great bird for someone who has a calm and friendly personality. she finds that high energy (anxiousness, peppiness, high-strung, nervousness) makes her fearful and she will defend herself. she needs someone who will respect her needs to take things slow. (she probably has about 30 - 40 years left in her, so there is no need to rush things). i have not yet tested her around children, dogs and cats. her former owner did own cats and a dog, however, and i believe things were going along okay. if she finds someone like this, she will really bloom for you and be a wonderful, calm companion.

*reminder to myself - put up more pictures/movies of cookie.

a month has past since cookie has come to live with us. 2 more weeks of quarantine left!

cookie continues to show no interest in allowing me to scratch her head or touch her anywhere on her body. she sometimes allows some feet tickles, but not too much of that either.

she does, however, seem very comfortable to be around me. she still is okay with sharing her favorite toy with me, she takes nuts from me nicely (usually - i have to watch my energy levels when i approach her - the calmer the better!).

one thing that has changed a little is that cookie has become a little more vocal with me...which is great! usually she only makes noises when i jingle her favorite toy. now, when she feels like it, she will "talk" with me with her trills and funny calls.

i dont know if she likes her baths, but she just stands there with partly closed eyes and takes it. i use a mister that i pump and let it mist away on her. i give her a mist bath once a week on the weekend.

cookie likes apple juice - she will drink from a cup! (i give her the first sips). she loves to bite up the birdie kabob - made up of soft balsa or yucca wood. cookie loves pretty much any kind of nut or seed, although her least favorite so far are pumpkin seeds - maybe because they more healthy?

today was her first day out of the house. this weekend offered GREAT weather so we decided to make the most of it. i took cookie to her first softball game. it was at one of the parks that my husband used to umpire at. (he had to stay home this time due to the mounds of homework he has to go through). i think she had a great time. when the fans started to make a lot of noise, cookie joined in with her own noises. she watched intently to the activity going on, on the field, she perched on one foot as time went on, and then when she got enough sun, she moved closer to me, where my shadow overhung a corner of her cage.

a few minutes later we returned back home and i gave her a mist bath. i think it was a great cool down after a wonderful day at the park.

this is the end of week two with Cookie in our home. she continues to be very calm with me, i can get very close to her and can even play with her favorite toy (a bell on a green and white toy) while she plays with other parts of the same toy. she has shown no aggression since that one bite in the shower.

she eats her fresh food well - loves corn and beans. and she really likes her harrisons pellets.

she has some reservations with my husband tho. she has snapped at him a couple times while he tried to offer some treats. i think it is just something she needs time with. he has been able to calmly sit next to her while she plays on the bed with her toys, and has at other times been able to feed treats to her, so all she needs is more time and patience.

Cookie has not yet deemed me as someone who is allowed to scratch her head. i don't push her to allow me...if i extend a finger near her head and she moves a little backward, that is enough for me to back off and do something else, like play with one of her toys. she has allowed me to touch her toes though. i would touch her toes and then offer her a reward for allowing me to touch them.

i am just happy that she as allowed me to be so close to her and allows to to clean her cage every evening without a fuss. early this evening, as she was playing with her toys, i laid nearby on the bed. i fell asleep for a few minutes and when i woke up, she was standing near me and dosing a little herself. i thought that was a cute gesture. she had to walk a bit away from her toys to get to the spot where she stood when i awoke.

pictures of Cookie playing on the bed with her toys...

some pictures of Cookie on the bed playing with her toys...

As the first week with Cookie came to an end, I see that she is a really great bird. Cookie is very calm, quiet and not really spooked by movements toward or near her cage. I have been able to touch her toes without her moving away from me, I have once been able to get her on to a stick (i hope to work on that a lot more, as well as getting her on my arm), and I have had a few "conversations" with her (with her talking to me as I make noises).

Her former owner said that she usually rings her bell when she is happy, and I am happy (myself) to say that she does this quite often. this morning, when my husband and i were about to leave the house, she started ringing her bell and making cute noises along with it. its wonderful! im honored to get such feedback from her within the first two weeks.

She has been happily coming out of her cage and perching on her door.

She allows me to come into her cage (while she is sitting inside of the cage on the top) with a scrubber to clean her cage every night.

Whenever my husband or i talk to her, she constantly seems to try to speak along with us. when i say "hi", she opens her beak just slightly and distends the bottom of her chin, as if she is blowing air through her mouth. its interesting to see. not sure if this will lead to humanspeak, but i don't really care about that. (speaking ability is not what makes a parrot a good companion - its just a bonus with their happiness and friendship).

she still has her pin feathers on the top of her head, but it seems to have soften a bit. Cookie won't allow me to preen her yet, so i can't break them.

with fresh food, Cookie likes to eat the green beans, lima beans, edamame and corn. Cookie is also DEFINITELY a Harrison's pellet bird.

and the ultimate honor so far she has graced me with? (besides stepping up on the perch and allowing me to give her a bath) last night as I cleaned her cage, she sat on her cage door and did a body shake (something like what a dog does after a bath, but much shorter - this loosens any stiff joints and realigns feathers) and a tail wag (a show of happiness and contentment)!

i cant wait to see what her time with us brings!

Cookie's First Small Outing

it seems that cookie favors me a little more than my husband so far. she has lunged at his hand as he was offering her corn once and another time, i think she was confused at what he wanted from her (he had his palm open in front of her with some white seeds) and she put one foot on his hand and then bit down...not as hard as she could have done so it was probably a warning.

Cookie seems to looooovvveee safflower seeds. she takes them very nicely from my hand. i have to make sure that i don't give her too much since they are seeds afterall. she also takes Harrison's pellets from my fingers greedily as if they were also treats...that was really cute!

oh, so what about the outing, you ask? well, we opened her cage door and stepped out for a few seconds...when we came back in, she was crawling on the bed to an area where i had placed a few safflower seeds for safe-keeping...well, she decided she wanted some of that so she started munching away. my husband and i were wondering how to get her away from there and so we decided to use a stick. i approached her slowly and although she didn't seem phased by it (she kept on chomping on the seeds in front of her) she didn't really care for it, but when i insisted, she eventually stepped up (yes, there were a few safflower seeds still left on the headboard..:-) ).

anyways, since she has a WHOLE BUNCH of pin feathers on the top of her head and around her neck, i decided to take this opportunity to take her into the shower with me and get her wet. this will help break those pin feathers on the top of her head, as well as put a shine on her feathers. well, she allowed me to take her into get a shower as my husband filmed a little of it. at the end of the second film, she decides that my husband's nosy camera was a little too scary and bit the top of my right index finger knuckle. i think it was to move me away from the weird camera. it wasn't terrible tho.

i dont think it was a scary situation for her...hearing the sounds that she made, she might have been a little excited and intrigued. she is sure a character! the other films are of her finding the mirror next to our bed as well as her ringing and making noise with her favorite bell. we also have some pictures of her to show off. :-)

cookie with her favorite bell...




cookie enjoying her reflection...




cookie in the shower part #1...




cookie in the shower part #2...




cookie enjoying her reflection in a mirror...




pictures of cookie on a stick...



cookie on the stick and i am rewarding her with a safflower seed...



cookie on my arm (she walked up the stick and on to my arm)...



cookie in the shower...

Building Trust in Cookie

Pictures of the beautiful Cookie...









So far, I think things are going well with Cookie. She (we actually don't know her real gender, but I think Cookie has a different "feel" than the other guys in my home, so I will say Cookie is a she until we have evidence to prove otherwise) is not afraid of my husband or I very much. On alert a little, but does come out to sit atop the cage door to see us. She takes small safflower seeds very gently from both my husband and myself as we hold them between our fingertips and hardly makes a sound, unless you rattle her favorite bell.

Cookie makes such a cute sound...I have mentioned earlier that it is a trill...but its more of a gutteral sound, something similar to a short purr. Ever saw Jurassic Park? it sounds similar to a veloceraptor's "purr". ;-) another evidence of a bird-dinosaur relationship?

Right now, its all about building trust. I read to Cookie, sing to her, talk to her and just next to her cage as I do my own thing. every once in a while i will give her pieces of nut or seed. I am very encouraged to see that she is so gentle when taking these pieces out of my fingers. She also loves her pellets and does pick out her favorite things from her morning and evening fresh mixture of some fruits, veggies, beans and rice. I think her most favorite ones are lima and edamame beans.

till next time...

Cookie comes to our home...

Yesterday, we picked up Cookie...a beautiful 42-year-old blue front amazon. He went straight into his quarantine room (our bedroom) and once in, he went to his food bowl and dove right in!

First impressions show that Cookie doesn't seem to be afraid of us. He sits quietly and intently looks at us with big orang eyes. No eye-pinning, no tail flayed, no aggression. Very curious. He has numerous pin feathers all over his head which gives Cookie a comical look - as if someone put gel in his feathers and a few got clumped together.

Cookie has made a few cute noises as he calmed down in our bedroom. My husband sat with him a while and I also sat with him later on, reading to him from a book I am currently engrossed in. He has made some light grunting noises and a few soft, low trills.

We will see what the next few days bring as he gets used to us and his surroundings...