Maui update!

[lisamarie973]

Hey guys!!!



UPDATE in general - I know, I know I need to get some recent photo's of him up here, especially since he is now FULLY feathered!!! Here is one my daughter took of him today though. He is SO smart, as I've already taught him to step up, he perches like a champ and is climbing all over his cage now, flapping, flapping, flapping, I'm surprised he hasn't offered to take off yet. He will, however, when he's climbing up on the cushions on the back of the couch, use his wings to keep him up while he climbs instead of using his beak and feet. If I walk out of the room and he's not totally enthralled in playing, so realizes it, he starts calling for me, which I think is so cute, I just say "Maui, Mommy's in the kitchen, I'll be right back, baby", and if he continues to call, I just simply call back by saying "Mauiiiiii!!!"

Another things he's started to do, is associate certain things, like, I'll ask him if he wants to go outside (lanai) and if he DOES want to, he walks up to me, gets right in my face and starts doing these little squeaking whistle type noises, so then I'll step him up and as we're walking outside, tell him the entire time, "Here we go, we're going outside" and "Here we are, YAY, we're outside Maui". AMAZING what he's learned to understand in human language ALREADY!!! Of COURSE, I'm biast, but, I do believe that I've got one smart cookie on my hands, he's such a pleasure, I'm having so much fun with him, even though it IS MUCH more work than I had anticipated, I'm loving EVERY minute of teaching him and spending time with him.

Thanks for letting me babble about my baby, guys, seems it's the only place I can do it that TOTALLY understands my undying love for this parrot!! LOL

 

[nofearengineer]

Maui is a very cute, beautiful little guy. He sounds like a real prodigy too. Always remember and cherish this special time, lisamarie.

 

[Bobby34231]

It's really great to see Maui thriving and developing so well Lisa, and I think alot of that has to do with the amount of time and close interaction your able to give him, the only downside that I see, at least for us anyway, is it takes away from time you spend here on the forum :09:, keep up the great work!

 

[lisamarie973]

Maui is a very cute, beautiful little guy. He sounds like a real prodigy too. Always remember and cherish this special time, lisamarie.

Oh thank you so much! I am just so in love with him!!! I do take time every single day to cherish all the special cuddles, love and attention he is giving me, and am not really looking forward to him finding independence enough to not want to be snuggled as much anymore! But AM looking forward to watching him develop into a secure and happy chatter box (if he decides he wants to talk)

 

[lisamarie973]

It's really great to see Maui thriving and developing so well Lisa, and I think alot of that has to do with the amount of time and close interaction your able to give him, the only downside that I see, at least for us anyway, is it takes away from time you spend here on the forum :09:, keep up the great work!

LOL!! Aww, thats so sweet to say. Life in general has been a little out of whack :22: but things have settled down now, so I'll be back a little more often. I don't know what these little guys are even supposed to have accomplished by his age, so he may be a little slow for all I know, LOL But, regardless, I'm impressed by him, and he knows I am too. When he gets praised, he lets out the sweetest, cutest little noises and shakes his tail feathers and stands up so tall and proud. I'm so lucky that I don't HAVE to go to work any time soon so that I DO have lots of time to give my undivided attention.

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Awwwww what a cutie he is
I just brought my 5 week old Alex baby home and i'm having an absolute blast with him ( pics and post tomorrow )

Don't mean to be the bad guy as it sounds like you are doing a fantastic job and you and Maui will have a great bond but please remember these 2 things

Just cause he's not flying don't mean he can't. Be very careful when taking him outside and perhaps think about harness training him while he's still young

Also just remember even though you don't have to go back to work yet it will one day happen and you don't want Maui turning into a problem bird because she's not getting thr attention he's used to while you were home

Otherwise your doing awesome and we look forward to more pics soon

 

[lisamarie973]

Awwwww what a cutie he is
I just brought my 5 week old Alex baby home and i'm having an absolute blast with him ( pics and post tomorrow )

Don't mean to be the bad guy as it sounds like you are doing a fantastic job and you and Maui will have a great bond but please remember these 2 things

Just cause he's not flying don't mean he can't. Be very careful when taking him outside and perhaps think about harness training him while he's still young

Also just remember even though you don't have to go back to work yet it will one day happen and you don't want Maui turning into a problem bird because she's not getting thr attention he's used to while you were home

Otherwise your doing awesome and we look forward to more pics soon

Thank you so much for the advice, I do make sure to limit my one on one undivided attention time to about 30 minutes at a time, because I'm home, I'm able to do that more than only once or twice per day, however, I do put Maui in his cage when he's sleepy or if I leave the house and I do leave the house daily for whatever reasons, shopping, errands, etc... I just simply tell him it's time to go home for a little while and that I'll be back a little later. I have 5 other people that live in my household, so there is always some kind of racket going on, Maui actually enjoys to play independently more and more each day. He wants to be held close and snuggled and his head rubbed once he's a little sleepy, so I will usually hold him for a few minutes then before putting him in his cage. I know I won't be able to be available for Maui the way that I am now some day and I do plan to eventually limit the amount of time he gets with me, but I just feel like because he's so young still, I can sort of do this in small increments until it's a reasonable load for me to handle and for him to still feel loved and secure, if I do go back to work and he does have to be alone for a good portion of the day.

As far as outside, I have a pool and it is all screened in, however, I think harness training is a fabulous idea, because I'd love to be able to let Maui fly outside some day. I have never taken him outside, outside, just on my covered lanai area by the pool which, like I said, is completely screened in, I do this primarily to get Maui some direct sunlight, but, it's where my other birds are and to Maui, it's a playground and he loves to watch and listen to the other birds out there. I would be scared to death to take him outside, even if he hasn't taken flight yet, I agree, I'm sure he can and would if he were spooked or even maybe just felt like it.

CONGRATS on your new baby!! I can't wait to see pictures of him/her!!! That's how old Maui was when I brought him home too!!! It's AMAZING to me how fast they grow, learn and get their feathers!! I bet you are having a blast with Alex. They are just so precious, unless you've experienced what we're experiencing with our babies, there's just no describing the feeling you get when those lil ones bond with you and just love you SO much and Vice Versa!!!

Thank you again for the advice, I'm ALWAYS up for some good advice and thank you for the compliment as well. Do you guys think he looks healthy?

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Definatly ! Healthy and handsome

I have just orders the harness for pheonix now it may be to small once he's fully grown but it will fit my old barraband x so I win both ways

For now I'm using thin scrunchy type hair bands or strips of polar fleece and wraping them into his wings and neck so hr gets used to the felling of something being there
I touch him head feet wings and back every time I handle him also
I know he's only young but the sooner I start the more natural it will be to him and the less stress it will cause

Right now he's spending the 1st day in his cage ( it's very large ) so he's just waddling around the bottom pecking at everything and chewing on the branchs ( mr destructo beak already )
I've only had him for 4 days and already he'd brought me so much joy I couldn't imagine life without him

 

[lisamarie973]

Definatly ! Healthy and handsome

I have just orders the harness for pheonix now it may be to small once he's fully grown but it will fit my old barraband x so I win both ways

For now I'm using thin scrunchy type hair bands or strips of polar fleece and wraping them into his wings and neck so hr gets used to the felling of something being there
I touch him head feet wings and back every time I handle him also
I know he's only young but the sooner I start the more natural it will be to him and the less stress it will cause

Right now he's spending the 1st day in his cage ( it's very large ) so he's just waddling around the bottom pecking at everything and chewing on the branchs ( mr destructo beak already )
I've only had him for 4 days and already he'd brought me so much joy I couldn't imagine life without him

OH I believe that!! They're so darn CUTE! Can't wait to see pictures of him, I may do the same thing with the harness idea, I've actually already been thinking about it, so have been working with Maui to let me lift up his wings and stroke gently underneath, little by little, touching him everywhere on his body and for longer periods of time so that I could manage getting one on him without him freaking out. He gets a little nervous still when I lift up one of his feet to clean poop off of it occasionally, but mostly just because it throws his balance off, so I've learned to hold him against my chest to do that now.

 

[CrypticDelirium]

AHH! The cuteness is absolutely painful! I demand more picture!! Congrats on your little fluffbutt, he does sound to be quite the smartie! ^___^

 

[antoinette]

Maui sounds so cute and adorable, he sure is a quick learner as well.
You doing the correct thing, by talking to him whenever he is nearby. He may not be talking now, but believe me he is talking in every single word.
You doing a wonderful job Lisa, keep it up.

 

[lisamarie973]

Maui sounds so cute and adorable, he sure is a quick learner as well.
You doing the correct thing, by talking to him whenever he is nearby. He may not be talking now, but believe me he is talking in every single word.
You doing a wonderful job Lisa, keep it up.

WOW, that is surely a compliment from you Ant! Especially seeing how so very smart Mishka is. I LOVE seeing her in the vids you post. I'm trying to read and learn as much as I can from all of you veterans of CAGS, TAGS, or any other "bird brained" feathery friends. There is so much to learn about them, their behaviors, learned and instinctual, how to handle both in order to have a happy, healthy, confident, stress free bird. I find myself second guessing myself sometimes, and then I remember the number 1 rule "RELAX" and keep a calm demeanor as much as possible. So, even when he thinks my fingers are chunks of wood to "teethe" on, I have been just gently pressing my thumb against his top beak and saying... "Owee, Mauiii, that hurts Mama, be gentle" He responds well, looks up at me and lets up, then usually squeaks a little, drops his head all the way down and begs for head scratches, LOL. It reminds me of a 2 yr old manipulating a punishment situation, kinda like, "look at me, look at me, I'm Soooo cute, you can't be upset with me!" Even though I'm not upset at all, I'm used to holes in my fingers and hands, It doesn't even phase me anymore, really, but, I don't want him to think it's ok and hurt someone else. He rarely ever bites too hard anymore, usually only when he's really excited and playful, never ever out of fear, anger or frustration.

I really appreciate everyones input, I'm going to start potty training him, I was thinking it would be a little easier if he were flighted, but then realized there's no harm in trying now, besides, I'm just waitin' for him to take off any day now!!!

I will get some photo's of him tomorrow and post them, I may even try to get a vid of him playing!!

 

[Cowtown]

Great job Lisa... keep up the good work with Maui.. before long he will be talking and doing silly things just to please you..

 

[lisamarie973]

Great job Lisa... keep up the good work with Maui.. before long he will be talking and doing silly things just to please you..

Ahh, Gosh, I can hardly wait for that!! He's already starting to get quite the personality, he can be such a little clown sometimes already, he really gives me a chuckle sometimes!! He's been an awesome stress reliever as I have got so many things going on in my personal life that's got me a little blue, but as soon as I pick that baby up, the whole world stops spinning, while we just enjoy each other! Thank you, Cowtown for the compliment, it's nice to hear I'm doing ok by Maui, that I'm on the right track anyways!!!