Its all fun and games until the line breaks.

[tab_xo]

Believe it or not, Boo is my first large parrot! Much like you mentioned we didnt have that bond at first. We do now! I do need to spend more time with him and Rivor though... I'd love to learn how you taught Fargo those tricks! He has beautiful feathers too... how often does he get a bath?

Thats great!!! I dont believe in that whole 'let the bird choose you', the bird will bond to you, when it learns to trust you and love you!
Fargo wanted nothing to do with me when i visited him, flew as far away as possible and wouldnt let me touch him

I actually think people saying looking after a big bird is a hard job, and shouldnt be for beginners, is very exaggerated, Fargo was my first big bird, and ALOT of people didnt agree with my age," I might lose interest, i wont be able to handle him when he gets hormonal"!
But people say that their big beaks are intimidating which is why alot of people cant handle them when they get older, but i honestly cant be scared of Fargos beak at all, and everyone thinks he is a 'big bird', but to me he is just tiny He is the size of my horses nose hahahaha

Although i am not as knowledgeable in everything about macaws, i DO know alot about training, Fargo and i make a great little trick training team! :22:
If there are any tricks you need help with i would be glad to assist!
When i first got him, for a few months we basically did training every day... Now i do it like once every 2 weeks unless we are learning a new trick :54:
If its a new trick, we just concentrate on that, 5-10 minutes a day for a training session! They are very short, and just do each thing in segments, so like with somersaulting, first day i helped him over each time, second day he was learning to put his head between his leg by himself, third and fourth day he was putting his head between his legs, but i still had to tip him over, then the fifth day he did it all by himself!

He hasnt had a bath for 4 days, thats why his yellow chest is a bit scruffy.. In summer its every day, in winter its maybe once or twice a week?

 

[Chesphoto]

Thats great!!! I dont believe in that whole 'let the bird choose you', the bird will bond to you, when it learns to trust you and love you!
Fargo wanted nothing to do with me when i visited him, flew as far away as possible and wouldnt let me touch him

Great post! I have been one of those that have said "let the bird choose you" and reading your post and looking back at how I met Skittles, I can easily see where I didn't choose my words very well.

With Skittles, it wasn't love at first sight, at least for her... It took over a month of weekend visits before she would even take a treat from me. Eventually she choose me and would have little to do with any of the other volunteers, but that is not helpful for anyone buying a baby or a rehome bird from someone else. In that case, you get the bird and you take the time to develop the trust like Tab talks about.

Thanks for pointing that out!

 

[Mama4life]

Awesome! Yeah if u go in my gallery I have a registered paint quarter horse mare age 5 hehe maybe u can teach me in that area too! LoL

 

[MikeyTN]

Tab,

Yes the bird can learn to bond and trust you over time, that is true! BUT if a bird chooses you from the very beginning, you develop a special bond from early on. I have that special bond with two of my birds when they both choose me from day one when they wouldn't go to anyone else but me. I just met them at the time! Willie is one of them, I was in their house for less then a minute when I held my arm to him, he came right to me and the owners were in shock as he's never done that with anyone else before. From day one when I brought him home I could do all kinds of stuffs with him that you usually wouldn't be able to do with a new bird. He wouldn't go to anyone else but me still til this very day and we've had him for 10 years.

We saw Malachai the black lory at the bird fair, for someone who NEVER buys birds from bird fair. The lady had to grab a towel to try to get him out of the cage. I told her to let me try it. I open the cage and he came right to me, hop on my finger and went straight for my shoulder. When he got on my shoulder, he lay his head on my shoulder and everyone around me go awwwwww....The lady told me I was the only person who he did that with and I believe her as there was other people trying to get him to step up and he wouldn't. He is very mean to strangers, he doesn't hesitate to fly to attack. I walked away as my partner and I discussed about him, so we went to get the money and came back for him, he came to me again without hesitation. I believe I posted a picture of him while we were on the way back that day of him sitting on my finger. He loved me ever since.

Of course I have other birds that didn't have that kind of bond with me to begin with that I had to train and later on being bonded to them. Lola did great with me from day one as well when I brought her home. But the other two still have the unique bond with me that none can compete.

 

[tab_xo]

That is all very true Mikey!! and so sweet!

I think everyone can agree that Fargo and I have an incredibly special and unique bond, even though he didnt pick me, so its just i dont like how alot of people say 'oh you should only let the bird should choose you' because thats not always the case!

But, i am one of those people that like having to work for something, like with horses, i prefer a horse with an attitude who is going to be worth it in the end!

When i went to the breeders for the first time, there was a female macaw who really liked me, she sat with me giving me kisses.. Maybe she was like that with everyone? I am not sure..

But i still wanted Fargo, even though he wasn't friendly, but i think i made the greatest decision of my life, and that he was the macaw for me


I think Fargo and i have one of the most unique bonds ever, he trusts me with his whole life, which i think you can agree to, so i dont think a bird has to choose you to have a special bond.... Fargo and I have that special bond like you say you and Willie have, even though he didn't choose me!

 

[Ravennessa]

Well Tab since you are into training I can relate.. You work with horses, and horses as well as dogs if handled right will bond with you. However I do not think bird are always that case, they are a bit more instinctual I would say as opposed to our more domesticated animals that will eventually respond on cue. So I think we think from that point of view. This now saying its not like it can't be done, but you likely need a more of training experience and passion for these animals as opposed to someone who may not done as much research and don't have as much training experience. Then if the bird chooses them it makes things a whole lot easier..

Now Jacob chose me, or if I was the only one who understood his distress call, he will regurgitate (or try to) with everyone, and he will snuggle everyone, but he will only talk to me and with me. He starts to be comfortable with my bf too now and talks around him as well, but that took a while. However I am grateful cause if I had been at loss and he would have been a really hard to handle bird who'd been loud, I would have had to put him in the rescue as per the new landlords request. So the fact that he instantly let me do everything with him and was willing to work with me was a saving grace in his case and I can see that being so for others as well. Most people who wants a bird dont have the experience, so if they choose a bird who don't choose them they will likely encounter more problems and humans like instant gratifications (unless they are experienced and are trainers who like the challenge ) and a problematic bird who is not comfortable with them are more likely to end up in the rescue chain..

This is atleast how it looks like to me, I may be wrong, Im not too experienced in the bird world yet, just a thought.. (If I even made sense)

 

[JerseyWendy]

Oh what pity! We definitely have a hater on here, ...probably more than just one. Whoever it is has nothing better to do than give 1 star ratings to those he/she doesn't like.

Well boo-hoo.....whoever it is "knock yourself out". Hope you feel you've accomplished something. And whoever you are, THIS is for you.

 

[noblemacaw]

Are those butt cheeks in that emotioncon Wendy? I am dying here. I can't stop laughing and watching it. OMG. I can't breath!....

I have not read though this whole thread except for your account of what happened with Fargo's harness/line breaking. I was very shocked it broke the way it did and studied your pictures of the break. I went and examined mine and all I could think of for mine to snap the sharp edges of the black metal part would have to work at the elastic bungie part for it to finally go. I wonder if that is what happened to yours?

I also thought about all the training you have done with Fargo and he is very responsive to your methods and how far you have come with him and how wonderfully he is trained so I don't know if this has been already addressed or mentioned but with your recall training of Fargo have you taught him to fly DOWN to you from a high spot? Until I taught this to Valentino I didn't realize this is a skill the parrot has to learn and doesn't know from instinct. It took me two days to teach Valentino to fly down to me from my second story in my home. I practice the flying skills every day just in case he ever escapes to the outdoors.

You did a excellent wonderful job recovering him from that freakin' high ass tree! I was very gobsmacked when I saw the picture of where he was..how high you climbed picture. I can't help but to think if you were able to have Fargo fly back down to you after the line snapped and he landed in the tree it would of saved you from having to risk yourself with the climbing.

In hindsight with the parrot getting loose and flying away from you who know what I would of done myself. Scrambled up a tree to get my baby seems so logical an action during the time of great stress. I have a vivid image of myself in your situation and my Monkey Parrot hanging from my long ponytail laughing as I am climbing back down the tree. *sigh*

I am very very thankful that you were able to retreive Fargo back to safety. I might of missed this but have you figured out how to fly Fargo a different way?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Are those butt cheeks in that emotioncon Wendy? I am dying here. I can't stop laughing and watching it. OMG. I can't breath!....

Yessery bob....they sure are butt cheeks. I was going to use the emoticon that involves a hand with only one finger sticking straight up, but that would have been against the rules.

 

[tab_xo]

HAHAHAHAA Wendy!!!

Someone definitely does not like me or Fargo

But. "Love us or hate us, either way its still an obsession"

Someone is obsessed with rating Fargos threads bad..

But i guess this is what happens when you get famous

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hey, some people just can't let go. I truly pity them, what a boring existence they have.

You go girl with your Fargo. We NEVER get tired of seeing or hearing of your AWESOME adventures. Ok..so the line breaking wasn't so awesome, but it had a happy ending.

 

[tab_xo]

Are those butt cheeks in that emotioncon Wendy? I am dying here. I can't stop laughing and watching it. OMG. I can't breath!....

I have not read though this whole thread except for your account of what happened with Fargo's harness/line breaking. I was very shocked it broke the way it did and studied your pictures of the break. I went and examined mine and all I could think of for mine to snap the sharp edges of the black metal part would have to work at the elastic bungie part for it to finally go. I wonder if that is what happened to yours?

I also thought about all the training you have done with Fargo and he is very responsive to your methods and how far you have come with him and how wonderfully he is trained so I don't know if this has been already addressed or mentioned but with your recall training of Fargo have you taught him to fly DOWN to you from a high spot? Until I taught this to Valentino I didn't realize this is a skill the parrot has to learn and doesn't know from instinct. It took me two days to teach Valentino to fly down to me from my second story in my home. I practice the flying skills every day just in case he ever escapes to the outdoors.

You did a excellent wonderful job recovering him from that freakin' high ass tree! I was very gobsmacked when I saw the picture of where he was..how high you climbed picture. I can't help but to think if you were able to have Fargo fly back down to you after the line snapped and he landed in the tree it would of saved you from having to risk yourself with the climbing.

In hindsight with the parrot getting loose and flying away from you who know what I would of done myself. Scrambled up a tree to get my baby seems so logical an action during the time of great stress. I have a vivid image of myself in your situation and my Monkey Parrot hanging from my long ponytail laughing as I am climbing back down the tree. *sigh*

I am very very thanhis but have you figured out how to fly Fargo a different way?

Thank you!!

Yes, that is what the company thinks, this was one of their emails:

[FONT=&quot]We have done a few different tests and believe we have found out what happened.[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Two months ago we change suppliers for the shock cord. We did the usual stretch and breakage test but today we checked the nylon for sheer strength.[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]It appears to us that the nylon sheath on the outside of cord is a bit brittle so when the cord is stretched and the nylon makes contact with the edge of the clasp the nylon can slowly break down. [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Eventually there were enough scratches on the pieces of nylon that it was able to break.[/FONT]



Today they sent the refund and organised to send back the piece and light leash as well, so they can do testing and figure out what has happened.

They are taking it very seriously and want to get to the bottom of it! Which is great

and that is EXACTLY what i will be teaching him, to fly down! He flies down to my from the curtain rods in the house, but thats it, so i will start putting him on the verandah and getting him to fly down to me from there, then work it up higher... Definitely something that needs to be taught to parrots! Cause he honestly had NO idea what to do!

HAHA it seems like the safe and best thing to do at the time.. and then looking back i was like oh god that branch could of easily snapped and i would of just fell down and broken some bones The worst thing was, it was in the creek bed, so underneath was all just rocks and logs haha

Well the company is sending a replacement, and has put it through lots of tests to make sure its safe haha so hopefully it will all be ok now!

 

[dulphinz]

You are too funny Wendy! Only someone jealous with no life would take the time to be mean like that! But as you said Tab love you or hate you... The person is obviously interested if they take the time to read the the threads and then rate them right????

 

[Chesphoto]

I never paid attention to the ratings, I just read all the threads, but if someone is trying to say this is a bad thread, they really must be jealous of the relationship that Tab has been able to build with Fargo.

For me, Tab's writings are inspirational. Something that I can look forward to do with Skittles. I loved reading about the adventures of Fargo even before I adopted my parrot.

 

[Chesphoto]

I have to say, that I am pretty impressed with how this company has responded.

They were honest in that they admitted they changed suppliers and didn't try to cover up and blame Tab.

They refunded the money and sent out a new replacement.

It is terrible that the chord broke and we almost lost Fargo, but this is a case where the company is trying to make good on a really bad situation.

 

[tab_xo]

Thank you guys! Yes 3 of Fargos new threads have all been badly rated haha

This was another email i got this morning:

[FONT=&quot]It is a good thing this situation happened with you and you took the time to let us know. We have done quite a few test in the last 10 days and order another 25K yards of this 3/32 shock cord.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Hopefully I am correct about the nylon having less sheer strength. If so the problem is solved with only a little risk.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]It would be nice if we could make everything perfect from the start 10 years ago, but there always seems to be something more to learn.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I will let you know as soon as we have time to examine the evidence.[/FONT]


So they are an excellent company!

Atleast Fargo can get some new presents with the money hahaha

Its almost our one year anniversary since i got him!! So will have to get him something special for then :09:

 

[Featheredsamurai]

That's so scary! I'm soooo happy you got Fargo back, what a terrible experience!

What type of line are you using? I always use a nylon rope for Rosie and I make a bazillion knots. I'm not sure of the thickness of the rope I use, I'd say it's about as thick, maybe a little thicker, than Rosie's leg and really lightweight. This rope will not snap unless it is greatly worn, or under great pressure and weight (100+ pounds)

 

[tab_xo]

See i was just going to buy a rope like that Ashley, but then i was like well the flight line is meant to be sooo safe, so better safe than sorry haha

The flight line is this orange string rope stuff, very thin, but that is all fine, the elastic leash which is connected to that is the thing that broke!

So the harness had the leash, the leash then attached to an elastic rope, then to the orange rope... So it had a double elastic leash!

Rosie is fine with just the harness elastic leash, like when she reaches the end of the line its not a sudden pull back?

I think now that Fargo can fly in circles, and isnt just flying straight to the end then getting pulled back, that just having a safe rope attached to the harness leash would be ok ?

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Wow, thank god you are both safe! I'm so sorry--you must have been scared! Was it the flight line with the aviator harness? I know when I had a pull in my leash on my aviator, they had me send it to them and fixed it free of charge (Gilbert now has the reinforced elastic for the wrist strap on his leash--not the 'little bird' elastic--to make sure he stays safe too.)

 

[haleybird]

Tab, you and Fargo are a complete inspiration to the avian community. I'm glad you have the attitude you do about it (the negative rater)... its definitely the right way to handle a situation like that, not just on a forum, but in life in general! And its important to realize...haters gonna hate, and in the end, they are the ones who have to live with themselves. And aside from that, for every negative, you and Fargo get about a thousand positives. You and Fargo's stories are loved 'round the world, and always will be!! FIVE STARS FOR TAB AND FARGO!