Formally introducing: Pascal!

[Sterling1113]

I was gonna wait until his quarantine was over to officially introduce him(To the forum, he's still away from my other birds!), but I'm pretty excited.
We've named him Pascal(His previous owners called him Whitey.) because of his lovely iridescent feathers.
He does great with both of us, though it's obvious that he's "chosen" Brad as his favorite.
(I know! it's almost unfair. Brad isn't even a bird person, yet they keep choosing him..)
He checked out good with a vet, though I'm trying to change his diet. She had him on seeds because he won't eat pellets, and he still won't eat them for me. He hasn't tried any fresh foods I've offered either but I'm gonna keep trying!!
His previous owner told me that he's a boy, but he's never been DNA'd, so I'm probably gonna have him(and Kiwi) DNA'd sometime. I'm starting to think that Pascal is a girl.. but I could be wrong. I'm no expert.
He's such a sweetie. He hasn't met somebody he doesn't like(He's met a couple of our friends) and he puts his head down for scratches from anyone. He sort of mumbles, I swear he said "you're a good boy" the second day here, while I was praising him for stepping up, but I haven't heard him say it again since. The lady told me he doesn't talk, but I'm sure he's got a few tricks up his wing.
He lets us put our hands over him, lift his wings, mess with his feet, etc, so we're excited to harness train him over the summer! He even will lay on his back for Brad. (Of course we aren't scratching him anywhere but his head, since it is still mating season.)
I'm just really happy(and so is Brad) with this fellow. He's the oldest bird in our flock(6 y/o) but he still has a long life ahead of him. Especially with the recent decision to re-home our eclectus since we won't be able to move somewhere big enough to accommodate him.. he sort of helps take some of the stress away.

Loving some scratches.. (excuse the grainy picture. Gotta love camera phones.)


Edit: The first picture was taken before he had his first shower here... He now takes them every other day(sometimes daily) and his feathers are wonderful! He does such a good job at preening himself. I love his flight feathers and tail feathers.

 

[witchbaby]

Oh my goodness, he's gorgeous! You must be SO excited! Congratulations! I'm glad that situation worked out and I'm looking forward to hearing all about Pascal's new adventures.

 

[Sterling1113]

Oh my goodness, he's gorgeous! You must be SO excited! Congratulations! I'm glad that situation worked out and I'm looking forward to hearing all about Pascal's new adventures.

Thank you! We were both very excited. As soon as we met him his eyes lit up and he started chirping at us, he wanted us to rub his feet through his carrier!! Plus we could tell the woman really loved her birds, she just didn't have time with her new job. So he's never been without love, just needs a few modification to his diet.
He chatted with us the whole way home in the car, and only took a couple of hours to settle in and start exploring. He's even already started chewing on one of his wooden toys!

 

[jenphilly]

Ash, I am so happy he wanted to come home with you guys!! He is beautiful. And for a bird 6 is not much more then a toddler!!! Happy for both you and Brad... and don't be discouraged, Ivory selected Byron initially but she's my baby girl these days !! We can see in a few months how much he loves his mom good luck, so happy for you.

Don't forget pics of you and Brad dressed up for your friends wedding

 

[Sterling1113]

Ash, I am so happy he wanted to come home with you guys!! He is beautiful. And for a bird 6 is not much more then a toddler!!! Happy for both you and Brad... and don't be discouraged, Ivory selected Byron initially but she's my baby girl these days !! We can see in a few months how much he loves his mom good luck, so happy for you.

Don't forget pics of you and Brad dressed up for your friends wedding

I haven't given up. I still love him to bits whether he wants to learn toward me or Brad, as long as he's happy.
We haven't gone yet- we should be leaving around 4-4:30 so we have a couple hours. Once I have them I'll post them, though!
(P.S it's Brad's sister's wedding. Now Brad is the only child that isn't married yet. Hmmm... )

 

[jenphilly]

Oh I know you won't give up... just meant their affections for their favorite can change

 

[jenphilly]

Back home and settled... was just looking over threads to see if you have posted pics from wedding!! Where are they, dying to see you and Brad all prettied up!? How was the wedding? Beautiful service? Weather hold out? We ran into rain driving down to Bethesda.

Anyway, so pics!!! And how is Pascal settling in? Should we just call him Brad's baby boy?

 

[TessieB]

What a neat looking parrot!

 

[Sterling1113]

Welcome home! Shame about the rain, hopefully it didn't ruin the concert. I personally HATE driving in the rain!! Even being a passenger.. makes me so nervous!
I haven't posted pictures, they've yet to pop up on facebook where I can grab them, so I'm waiting just as patiently as you are. I didn't do too much prettying-up as I was a guest, but Brad being a groomsman was quite spiffy! The weather and the setting was gorgeous. It was quite simple, really, but very very lovely. Lots of sunshine but plenty of trees for shade/wind block! And of course the bride was lovely..
Brad's baby boy(AKA Pascal) is still doing wonderful. Brad started calling himself "daddy" with him, which I find adorable. Still hasn't met anyone he doesn't like(except tennis balls.) and loves to shower with us.(Sorry if it's TMI but hey, I'm sure we aren't the only ones who shower with our fids!!)
How about your newest member? Did Max do just fine while you were out? Maybe fiddle with a toy or two.

 

[jenphilly]

that's not TMI, that just your suggestion for helping to save the planet... save water, shower with a friend!

Max did so, so... don't think he ate much and his cage does not looked even a tad bit destroyed. He has been half up my butt since we got home.. walk into the bathroom and hear him scrambling to get closer, then crying. Came back to find him with Byron shaking and all worked up.

He ate some with me when I sat down, but turd kept trying to steal my spoon. He does the coolest thing, when he does not want something to eat, he very gentlemanly drops it into one of his play buckets... kinda like a kid hiding the peas under the mashed potatoes and pretending he ate them!!

I'll keep looking for pics!!

Off topic for Pascal, but how you feeling? Any firm word on the real due date?

 

[Sterling1113]

Aww. Poor Max. Sounds like Folger when Tori leaves!! (Only less destructive, just really really clingy.) Maybe he's already learned that throwing food he doesn't want is a no-no? So he just hides it.. I know my dad's dog, if you give her something she doesn't want, she'll go hide it somewhere just to keep the other dog from having it!!
I've been feeling much better, actually! I found a chamomile blend of tea after the 5th night of 2~ hours of sleep, so I feel less zombie-like. I'm actually sleeping close to 5-6 hours before waking up! And even still, I fall back to sleep rather easily. So that's quite a nice change.
I've been told two due dates. :I June 29th and July 9th. I think my doctor is leaning toward July 9th, since they're putting me in a room two weeks prior, that's the date they'll use.
I feel like this boy is gonna be out before June is over though. Call me crazy, but it's what I feel. I was measuring 30wks at 28wks so either he's big, or they really are just wrong about my due date. But I suppose it doesn't matter. He'll come out when he's ready haha.
I'm 29wks now and going back on Monday for a check up.(Probably gonna do the blood glucose again.. urrgh) but now that I've been sleeping more I'm much less stressed/anxious about EVERYTHING.
Also, back to Pascal, he makes the sweetest cooing noise around 11-12. We've decided that it means he's sleepy, so we all need to go to bed so he can sleep. So when he starts cooing(whether he's in his cage or with us) the birds go to bed and we quiet down. He's so cute.

 

[RavensGryf]

I like the name Pascal (even if female, doesn't matter), especially since he's a South American. Just know how lucky you are to get a Pi who likes that much touching, and isn't weary of strangers! Even if socialized well from a baby, USUALLY that is just not in Pionus nature, so Pascal is pretty cool I'll say!

 

[jenphilly]

Remember this time when you go, don't drink anything sweet or have many carbs, turns to sugar and makes your reading seem higher. Did they suggest a fasting this time or just another check to be safe? But still bet that soft drink you grabbed the morning of your last test thru things off kilter a bit

Good luck and keep us posted about how you are doing and feeling!!!

 

[Sterling1113]

Thanks, Raven! I didn't know that Pi's weren't typically social(or good with being touched by strangers)! I'd read that most of their hands-on interaction would be head scritches, but that's all most Pi's allow, but he's just a cuddle butt. Especially with Brad.
His temperament and hormonal behavior(clucking, rocking back and forth, tail flicking, backing up into things..) leads me to think he may be a SHE, but until we do DNA testing there's no way to know.

Jen: They didn't tell me to do any fasting, but I'll definitely eat/drink less sugar tomorrow and then Monday morning, just in case they do the test again. But if anything new comes up(they re-do the test, etc) then I'll definitely let you know!

 

[RavensGryf]

Thanks, Raven! I didn't know that Pi's weren't typically social(or good with being touched by strangers)! I'd read that most of their hands-on interaction would be head scritches, but that's all most Pi's allow, but he's just a cuddle butt. Especially with Brad.
His temperament and hormonal behavior(clucking, rocking back and forth, tail flicking, backing up into things..) leads me to think he may be a SHE, but until we do DNA testing there's no way to know

Yes, you got an EXTRA social Pionus trust me! Raven's my second Pi, and I'm also on a Pi group, so I know they usually just like to limit their cuddliness to head scritches, and only when THEY want it. Kind of like an Amazon in temperament.
Pionus males when mature and hormonal, can be Amazon-like in that they posture and can be more aggressive. From what I've heard of the females, they tend to do what Pascal is doing... Hmm. I'd get the DNA test out of curiosity!

 

[Sterling1113]

That's what I'm saying! (About the DNA test.) And we can get Kiwi DNA'd too, so we can know for sure if she is a she. I feel like we have a couple of gender confused birdies...
I'm glad he's extra social! He's a joy. I'm surprised really, he used to share a cage with a sun conure but he has yet to be loud. Plus, his previous owner didn't handle him much and said he didn't like to step up, but after the first 24 hours he would pace back and forth until we got him! I guess he just needed the right home to give him the attention he needs, THEN his social side came out. Plus we've all seen some miraculous things when a bird finds "their" person. (Folger, for example.) So maybe he was meant to be with Brad and I. He also loves his showers I make sure to stand back so he doesn't smack me with his wings! Haha.

 

[RavensGryf]

This Pascal does sound like an extra special guy (or gal). I think this was honestly a much better fit it sounds like than Yoshi. Don't worry though, many of us have gotten what wasn't the best fit for our lifestyle in the past too. I think you'll be happy. A Pionus in general is much less maintenance than an Eclectus. Not to say Pionus don't need anything, but you know what I mean. Pi's don't have the specific strict diet requirements as ekkies - not too much of 'this' while getting enough of 'that'. Just not too high protein on a regular basis or they can get Gout. Pi's are also more resilient to environment stressors and not a species known for plucking. Pretty easy going, independent, and undemanding. They're not known as screamers. Some people will say Pi's are loud, but no way as compared to an Eclectus. No where near the power in the voice as an Ekkie. Probably closer to your smaller conures. Raven talks and makes "noises", but is otherwise a super quiet parrot.

 

[Sterling1113]

Yeah, so far he just has one squawk that I call his "Default" sound that he makes throughout the day, and then as a flock call. It does become slightly louder/ more enthusiastic when one of us gets home, but nothing shrill.
I understand what you mean about Yoshi. And that's why we're trying to find his perfect home. We're 'livable' but he deserves better and we understand that.
Pascal has definitely become a good 'family' bird for us. Maybe one day we'll get a larger bird again, but not until we have a house, for sure.

 

[RavensGryf]

Raven doesn't even do a 'flock call'. He's SUPER quiet. He only talks and mumbles and makes Pionus specific low level sounds, but that's about it. Unless you touch him where he doesn't want, only then he'll do his loudest scream, but like I say it's nothing compared to most medium or large birds.

As far as a larger bird, I've been there done that, and as for me PERSONALLY, it is just not for me. I've been extremely happy with Pi's and Poi's... over the years I've realized they are my personal favorites and "perfect parrots" for me and my household.

 

[Sterling1113]

Raven: I'm totally smitten by the Pi's. However learning that they normally aren't overly social/touchy(cuddliness isn't a big factor for me, but it helps with harness training.) it makes me want to get a baby if I ever get another Pi, so I can do all the socializing and whatnot from the get-go!
However, I'm a long ways away from looking at other birds, so that's a conversation for a later date.

A couple of new pictures:

Getting some scratches from me.. I like this picture because it really shows how blue his chest feathers are. Such a cool color.


And some shoulder cuddles with Brad! (He matches his shirt.. hehe)

(The open beak wasn't a bite-in-progress.. I just snapped the picture as he chirped back to Brad. They 'talk' back and forth when he's on his shoulder!)