Caleb

[steptoe91(tozie)]

okay, well, i know most of ya'll know bout him but thought i'd put the details in the new parrot part of the forum.        

i will put up some pics tomorrow. my darn internet was down all evening. 

okay, Caleb is a 10 yr old Mollucaan Cockatoo. He spent 2 months in his last home and two years in the home before that. I'm planning on being the last in the list of his homes.    He is a real cuddle bug. he and i hit it off immediately. the lady selling him was quite happy with the match he and i made. He has a spot on his chest, bout the size of a silver dollar that is bare and it actually has a sore where the meat has been compromised.    The feathers round the area is rather chewed, as well as his flight feathers. poor baby only has a couple flight feathers. He drops like a stone when he falls. When i checked his breast bone after his fall, i noticed he's quite thin. his sternum protrudes much too far. He will be going to the vet asap for a full blood panel and basic checkup. i want to see what's causing this plucking. But my best guess is understimulated, frustration, and lack of bathing. He's got that smelly sock smell to his head. <wrinkles nose> He's quite the ham and loves attention. (DUH! i just described 90% of cockatoos! lol!) my friend jimmy and i were trying to decode his vocalizations tonite and we determined he is quite the mimic. He can do the sound of a car trying to start, a starter being ground, maybe a bad power steering, fire alarm, baby crying, dog crying, human crying, he yells at  some unknown person and is quite animated about it. we heard "slap you...put the dog out....*&^%$#%$@$....  :oopse5:  ... bad bird..." umm there was more but i forgot what. of course he also says sweet things like "pretty pretty pretty bird!" and "hey caleb"  I think it will take some time but i believe he will calm down and be a wonderful sweet guy. He's a bit neurotic, i think at some point he was locked behind a door cause some of his mimicry is muffled. he is QUITE loud... <note to self: buy ear plugs> but learns quickly. since i only respond to quiet noise and talking, he tries the alarm sound and quickly switches to talking to get my attention. Its taking all my self control to resist the urge to cuddle him constantly, tho.    i know its not practical and hope to set a standard for him that he and i can both live with. I work tomorrow, i'm hoping the calm of the house will give him some time to settle down a bit. and then i'm off on friday so we can spend a bit of time getting to know each other. more as i learn about him, but i am NOT sorry i got him. I think it will be a challenge, but well worth it if i can give him happiness and satisfaction. 

[BuffaloParrot]

I refuse to reply until I get to see some photos 

[BPMar]

  Can't wait for pics and updates...well I got some updates from Patti already   Glad he is safe and sound and I am sure you will really help with his issues

[Debz]

oh wow. well congratz then. Cant wait to here the stories. 

[Sondra]

There is no other bird like a M2, you are in for some great times! Congratulations! 

Learn to read his body language quickly because you can't see if his eyes are pinning. Males have almost black eyes, females have brown eyes & you can see their pupils. Also start to pay attention to the shape of his eyes, you'll learn alot. LOL!!

[wishforabird]

I love this pic, thanks TOzie and Patti :)

I am dying to know how Day #1 went!! (also night!)

[BPMar]

I lightened and brightened up a bit...I wanted to see if it would bring his colors up more.....

[Ditty]

I call dibs on the 3rd crest feather molted.   
I have always loved the toos but no way he would fit with our family.     Too loud for the others here.

I adore how they snuggle I am soooo jealous ...an M2! 

Knew you were not gonna pass it up...no way no how.  Your heart was already there even though your mind was second guessing. 

[BrilliantFids]

Wow is he ever pretty. Congrats!

[wishforabird]

I am glad you did all the hemming and hawing and questioning and reasearch and played devil's advocate BEFORE you went, because after you saw him, you would have taken him no matter what!! your brains oozed out your ear!! LOL!!

I want more pics!
 :bruce:

[patti3birds]

We need a Melted Puddle for an Icon.!!!!!!!!!

Im so Thrilled and Happy for you,. but of course...Y'all already know that. I too am VERY curious to how much sleep you all got last night and how your curiosity level is today, being away from him.

I cant wait to hear all of the stories and live vicariously through you.....

He is Smashingly Handsome!

Um, and we are going to neeeeeeeeed updates on his progression/ and Your's ...the More the Mary-er.

[steptoe91(tozie)]

well, i was up late again last nite, not cause of Caleb, he went to bed easily and slept the night through. Marley on the other hand.    Drew was taking a shower at about 12:30 in the morning (dont ask, i dont.  :silence: )  and woke marley up, who alarmed. so i'm in the living room trying to calm him and he woke everyone else up, who had to let loose with a little squawking. So i spent most of the day          and finally begged my boss to let me go home a bit early. I was useless anyway, not getting nearly as much done as usual. As i left i was trying to tell him about some things that happened during the day and got 'em all mixed up. He said "geeeze girl! what IS WRONG with you?? I hope you get some rest tonight and tomorrow. You're supposed to be helping me this weekend!    "  Of course he was just playing around, the big boss (store manager) is off for 5 days and the EXA (second in command) really counts on my support. Anyway, i'm rambling.
back to Caleb... this morning he was quite happy to eat breakfast. made some neat new (loud) noises. i did worry bout him all day, wondering if he was okay, wondering if he was picking at that spot since he was in that much too small cage, and generally still beating myself up wondering if i made the right decision. as i was getting off work drew sent me a text saying "uhh, your new bird just made a sound like a tea kettle."    i was dying laughing. and of course when i got home i spoke to him but gave everyone else the majority of my attention.  trying to keep everyone happy, ya know? as i sit here Caleb has told me "bad bird!" a few times and i tell him "GOOOOOOD BIRD!" so he's had some rough times in his life, i think. he's a heck of a wood chipper, i think i need to invest in more 2 x 4's    But that's it for now. i'm sure there will be more.

i'm sooo content.    i finally got my 'brownie' and i'm good. <insert puddle icon here>

[Sondra]

I've never told any of the birds they are bad, not nice maybe, but never bad.
Don't worry about him being caged while you are working, but make sure he's out about 3 hours (more if you can) and given hands on attention a minimum of two hours a day. Hands on does not mean holding,  it means working on step-ups, step down, getting into a harness, walking around the house or yard, playing, learning to be toweled by playing peek-a-boo, getting him to let you examine his entire body, touching. If he is on you, cuddling, the whole time when it's his turn to have your undivided attention he'll demand more and more of your time.  The goal with all birds is to have them be as independent as possible, yet accept your touch and let you handle them. Oh, and cuddle time is a good thing for both of you. 

Forgot to mention, it's better to have 2 Toos, rather than one. 

[steptoe91(tozie)]

Forgot to mention, it's better to have 2 Toos, rather than one. 

      oooohhhh NO! that's IT! i got my 'brownie' i'm DONE. 

 

[Sondra]

LOL!   
We have fostered a couple of U2s and we couldn't believe what a huge difference it made in Powder. Toos are truly flock birds, and having another U2 in the house made us believers. Both were older, one in his late teens, the other in his mid-late 20s, so they were settled (not as flighty as our Toos are) and they taught Powder how to start using words correctly, new sounds, to sing, try new foods, just a whole bunch of stuff. Powder could talk before, but not like when they were here! It was fun to watch them interact, and they were less demanding of our attention.