Black and blue

[Elaine]

Thats the colour of my forefinger and thumb after some rigerous training form Nadia and her birds
She was trying to help me get more confident in handling the birds. Seems silly really as its the same principle with any animal really, be calm, confident and just do it, dont think just act kind of thing.
But these birdies know I am not confident. I guess its only gonna come the more i do it but man alive my hand hurts
Toots (african grey) loves to lie on my chest and be cuddled and stroked but she doesnt like being put back into her cage, she has to be placed in the cage if you are not around though because she is young and quite destructive.
The other difficulty is Joseph (african grey also). He likes to sit on the door of the cage and is not handleable to strangers but very well behaved and non destructive. Once i get Toots to step up ad get her over to the cage, Joseph tries to nail me with his beak as I try to place her inside. Oh the fun and games i am going to have on this house sit
We then went to the coach house where the macaws and all the other birds are. On entering the macaws room, one (Yasmin) had managed to escape her cage, open all the other bird cages in the room and eat all their food

[angieh]

OMG - Is Yasmin a reincarnation of the birdgirl of Alcatraz?

Sorry about your finger - could you wear those gauntlets that falconers wear?

[Phoenix]

Sorry to hear about your finger! If Dylan was with you he'd be trying to groom it better for you (he's tried to groom people before, namely me so far!)

[Elaine]

Originally Posted by angieh

OMG - Is Yasmin a reincarnation of the birdgirl of Alcatraz?

Sorry about your finger - could you wear those gauntlets that falconers wear?

No, gloves tend to frighten the birds so I just have to get over it and get on with it. The confidence will come and better to be starting the handling with Toots as she is a handrear rather than a rescue. If it had been any of the others my finger would be broken rather than bruised, so for that i am very thankful

[dandysmom]

Ouch! That must be really painful. My mom's budgie was a biter and it hurt, but he was only a small bird, not with a powerful beak like a parrot. Fingers crossed all goes well for the house-sit!

[Mags]

Poor you Elaine I would imagine it would be difficult to dismiss the fact that the parrots are likely to peck ......... would it be possible for you to put a couple of plasters on your forefingers to 'soften' the bites?

[Elaine]

I'm not sure plasters would help tbh. She hasnt broken the skin, just bruised it. My knuckle feels very stiff and sore but maybe thats just my age catching up with me eh Moli?

[Moli]

Originally Posted by Elaine

I'm not sure plasters would help tbh. She hasnt broken the skin, just bruised it. My knuckle feels very stiff and sore but maybe thats just my age catching up with me eh Moli?

You do bruise more easily as you get older Elaine!

[dandysmom]

Originally Posted by Moli

You do bruise more easily as you get older Elaine!

[Elaine]

Hiya folks. Well the house sit is going quite well so far. The Macaws escaped their cage, opened all the other bird cages and threw their food around, all in all they had a merry old time. I managed to entice them back into their cage with some treats. Hope they dont escape again coz i am not sure that trick will work a second time
This morning the amazon had escaped his cage but he was easy enough to get back in as it was breakfast time and he does like his food.
Toots is very demanding but also very entertaining and she does love her cuddles. She now says hello and cookoo, although not as well as the other african grey. The other is a very good talker. I find myself answering him as you would a child when he says things like "whats that?"