Popeye is still making wonderful progress. He is still the sunshine in my day. I do have to continue to be careful with him around other humans and or birds. If I am not right on top of things I can get nailed. I have learned to respect his dis-trust of others and do not handle him unless the situation is absolute comfortable for me and for him. Around other birds he seems to want to protect them. I have a very difficult time removing him from the top of a bird cage if another bird is in the cage. I eventually can get him to come to me but I have to really wait the situation out. At this time in his life I do not think it would be a good idea to add another bird, if ever. I feel he would rather be with the birds than with the humans and I wonder if the original owners had additional parrots or birds in the home with Popeye. I always wonder just what his life really was like before I took him in.  

He recently went on two long trips with me from Virginia to Michigan. Was about a 15 hour trip. He did fantastic as always and didnt seem to mind the car or the dis-placement at all. It did seem as though his feet or legs got tired on the drive. After several hours of being perched in the carrier he would manage to get to the sides or top of his carrier. This wingabago is plexiglass so I immediately assumed his legs or feet were tired and would take him out and allow him to sit with me for a time.  There were times when I actually slept with him perched on my shoulder while my husband drove. 

 This is an example of when the time is right for me to know his comfort level and mine. He loves getting on the shoulder and I allow it very very seldom. I can not stress enough the risks involved when allowing a parrot  his size to perch on the shoulder. The damage to the face or eyes and even your neck could be severe. That entire area at beak level is soft tissue and easily damaged by a beak of his size and strength.

Any way... after an hour or so on my shoulder or forarm he would happily get back in his carrier and do the last few hours of the drive. This was the case on both trips. I really do think that his legs got tired of balancing from the motions of the car as it was moving.

Popeye is more and more comfortable around my dog and my cat. I really get nervous with him around the cat because I see him wanting to go play, "bite the tail and run game."  I worry that the cat would nail him just playing and break the skin with her sharp claws. I have been told that a cat scratch and or saliva is very dangerous. I do not know if this is true or false but when in doubt go the safe route. I watch very closely, get a few chuckles and then make sure Popeye leaves the cat alone. He loves to yell.. "Here.. kitty, kitty, kitty.  (meow sound). I kid u not. He calls the cat. Thank goodness the cat doesnt seem to care and ignores him.

He seems to get excited when the grandchildren get too loud or active and He will start yelling loud or talking loud. I usually tell the boys to calm down because they are gettin Popeye riled up. They calm right down and so does Popeye. I couldnt ask for better behaved grandchildren or Parrot.

I still cover his cage for 10-12 hours a day. I find to keep the days the same seems to keep his hormonal levels in control. I seldom, if ever see any sexual behaviour from him, and I also think that it helps with his mood swings. I think because they are so hormonal the are very moody. This is only an observation on my part but It seems to be working for us.

I also continue to play with his beak and make sure I can control his beak gently with my fingers. I massage his beak quite often and kind of scratch it for him along where it peels. I also will flake off any lose beak flakes if it looks like something that will flick off easily. I think he likes the beak and finger action. I also massage his feet and toes regularly. Often at night just before I cover him, I reach in and play with his beak gently and scritch is face and under his neck. I also do his feet and toes and let him nibble gently on my fingers the entire time. This is kind of a bed time ritual. I think he loves every minute of it.

I do still believe to break the routine is a good thing to do. I can change my schedule to suit my needs and he seems to manage wonderfully. I just keep the cover on his cage like I said for at least 10-12 hours. I believe bedtime for Popeye is the cover on his cage. That is his night time.  It also means his meals are not at the same time every day but are consistantly freshened at some point in the day and water is kept clean at all times. As soon as I notice his water has anything in it, I immediately freshen it. I worry about bacteria getting in the water and transferring to him somehow. Not sure that it is a medical concern but for me... I again will say... When in doubt go the safest route.

I always look forward to the spring when I can take him outside for fresh air and sunshine. Spring is just around the corner as this is already the beginning of February. I know Popeye enjoys that. It gives me great pleasure to watch him in the outdoors.

I will be getting his wings and toenails trimmed before I ever step out the door with him. He is pretty healthy and heavy. He is probably to heavy to fly, but anything could happen.  If Popeye can fly, I dont think he knows it. To me, a fresh clip and a wonderful few minutes in the fresh air are the closest he can get to nature. I watch him carefully and only have him out 15-30 minutes at a time with my constant attention focused completely on him. I watch him and talk to him the entire time. This is his trip to the park so to speak.

I have not heard any new words and he does not say all the phrases I have heard him say at one time or another on any regular basis. He continues to say ' "hello..  Pretty bird... Good boy... Here kitty kitty.. .(meow) I think he may say Grandma or Paula ...Can't make it out..So I won't count that until I feel more certain.

He will now at leasty, "try" any foods I put in his cage. He doesnt necessarily eat it but he does taste it. I try to offer him any kind of healthy food I think he  might eat. He will eat just about any regular fruit and has no use for the more expensive , Mango's, Papaya's, Pineapple. etc .  he will eat grapes of any kind, apples of any kind, Carrots, the occasional tomato, Just about any kind of Pasta.. I try not to give him too much of that.. He loves peanutes...also only occasional treat, the unsalted ones and I prefer the dry roasted. Of course the ones in the shell too. He will eat Walnuts and Pecans. Any kind of bread.. I offer only occasional breads.. and prefer them to be of whole grain rather than white. I could go on and on.. but I think you get the idea.

I guess that about covers it for now. I believe he is still bonding and growing in his life wth me. I love him with all my heart and am thrilled that I am able to have him in my life. He truly is a true companion. One I hope to have for many, many years to come.

Keep coming back to my site... I do try to continue the posts. I dont write as often because the progress now is noticed more gradually. We took such giant steps in the beginning and now we are just continuing our relationship and continuing to learn each other. He teaches me ... I teach him.

Paula and Popeye