Something is Wrong with Bixby.

[Terry57]

The Phloque is very pleased to hear the good news as well: they're sending various uplifting shrieks and squawks to their friend, Bixby.

Trish, I absolutely LOVE that spelling of flock!!! May I steal that and use your beautiful accent as well?

 

[GW.Joe]

That's Just GREAT Stephen :jumping40
Things will just get exponentially better from this day forward!!

BTW, don't think you are exempt from our addicted need to see pictures and video of all these awesome things you're describing (hint hint)

All the BEST

Joe

Hey, Everyone!

Just wanted to give you all an update. Tonight (Weii, last night. I fell asleep before pressing the post tab. Lol) is the first that Bixby has seemed more or less himself. He even flew for the first time since the accident! He seemed nervous about it. Understandably hesitant. But you could tell that he really wanted to try it. You know the body language, when they crouch in preparation to spring?

So I made sure to get closer, since I didn't want him pushing too hard, and watched him fly from my wife's arm to my own. From only 10 feet away, granted, but we celebrated like he'd just crossed the Grand Canyon! Whoo-hoo!!!

Bixby's flight confidence has taken a bit of a hit, but we have all of the time in the world to work on that. I'm still watching him, but I'm cautiously optimistic that he's finally turned a corner.

Thanks again to everyone for all of the support. You all helped keep me (relatively) sane.

 

[Betrisher]

The Phloque is very pleased to hear the good news as well: they're sending various uplifting shrieks and squawks to their friend, Bixby.

Trish, I absolutely LOVE that spelling of flock!!! May I steal that and use your beautiful accent as well?

ROTFL! Of course you may, Terry m'dear. Simply send me a cheque for $1million every time you use it and we'll be apples. LOLOLOLOL! (Joking, just in case you wondered).

I have a 'thing' about making up ph-words. Dunno why... like 'phart' and 'phather' (only, my darling Dad has passed on these sixteen years) and 'phloque' and 'pherret' and 'pharmaceutical benefits'.

Oh. Hang on. 'Pharmaceutical benefits' is a real ph-word! Oh well, I include it here because it makes a terrific substitute swear-word. Next time you stub your toe or get bitten by a rude birdie, just say 'pharmaceutical benefits' in your swearing voice. You'll feel so much better!

 

[Anansi]

Thanks, everyone! Bixby continues to improve. At this point his pain appears to be down to a slight discomfort. He's eating heartily and his appetite is going through another quantum increase.
Also, I've officially resumed his flight training, though we're taking things VERY slowly. Nothing difficult just yet. Had him fly straight drills back and forth from me to the training stand, last night. And I kept the distance a conservative 12 feet or so at a time. It's going well. We'll be back to out-of-sight recall training soon enough, I believe. But first, baby steps.

Oh! And I've begun giving him a small portion of Harrison Adult Coarse pellets. Not on the advice of the infamous "jerk" vet, but just as a supplement to his 85% fresh diet. No more than 6-8 pellets a day. Turns out he LOVES them! Does a little happy dance whenever he sees me reach into the bag! Hahaha!

That's Just GREAT Stephen :jumping40
Things will just get exponentially better from this day forward!!

BTW, don't think you are exempt from our addicted need to see pictures and video of all these awesome things you're describing (hint hint)

All the BEST

Joe

Thanks, Joe. I'll get around to shooting videos, but here's a pic for now. You can also see that he's slowly growing some feathers back in from his suspected case of Mojo molt.
Whoo-hoo!!!

 

[95talongirl]

Awwww!! Look at that little cutie!! Glad he is feeling better!!

 

[Terry57]

Stephen, GREAT news about Bixby, and I am so glad that feathers are finally coming in that spot!

Oh, and Trish? Your cheque is in the mail, my phriend

 

[GW.Joe]

Aww Stephen, Thank You So Much for the pic!!

So cute !!

Joe

 

[RavensGryf]

Great to hear he is getting better Stephen, and his appetite has increased again. Bixby sure is a cute young man. I'm glad he loves the Harrison's too!

 

[Dinosrawr]

That's so great to hear! And my goodness, I'll never get over how handsome those eyes are. I fall in love with him all over again every time I see him. I'm glad to hear that he's improving, and you'll have to snatch a video of him doing his happy dance for sure!

 

[Anansi]

Hello, all!
Just wanted to give another update on Bixby. I took him to a new vet, today. One nearby, recommended by Wendy. And he was every bit as amazing as she had claimed! (You rock, Wendy!!!!)
He impressed me almost immediately with his obvious love of birds. He practically used Bixby as a loofah for his face upon meeting him! Hahaha! The man is either VERY brave, or an amazing judge of avian body language!

Anyhow, he said that everything looks good from the physical examination. He also checked Bixby's droppings and said all checked out in his GI tract as well. So now I'm just waiting on the results of his blood test.

All in all, this experience was night and day from the last one with that nightmare vet from 2 weeks ago!

 

[getwozzy]

LOL!! How did Bixby react to being used as a snuggle-loofa??

Glad to hear you had a MUCH better experience!

 

[Allee]

A snuggle-loofa! I love it and I'm glad Bixby wasn't offended by his new, much more appropriate, av vet. So happy to hear Bixby is feeling so much better. After seeing his photos it's easy to understand his new doctor's need to snuggle him.

 

[Anansi]

And snuggle him he did! And kissed. And hugged. Lol! Snuggle-loofa indeed! Hahaha!

But Bixby took it all in stride. I was so proud of him! We've been working hard on his socialization and beak pressure training, and I feel like it's paying off. He was a dream, no matter how much he was hugged and jostled about! Sweet!

 

[labell]

Bixby sounds like my sweet Jolly, just a total cuddle bug!!

I am so glad you had a great new vet experience and that Mr Bixby is on the mend!

 

[Terry57]

Awesome news, Stephen, what a great start to Father's Day for you!!!
Snuggle loofa, LOVE that!

 

[RavensGryf]

Great news Stephen! I'm so glad you found a wonderful new (and knowledgable) vet! Bixby seems like such a sweetheart. Good to hear the rapport was good too, after all we want the complete experience to be good not only because our babies deserve it, but because it costs so darn much that I figure they'd better be competent

 

[getwozzy]

Hahha so glad Bixby went with it and let the vet snuggle him! I'm sure the vet would've been sorely disappointed if he hadn't lol

(Bixby probably *knew* this new guy wasn't a jerk like the last one [emoji6])

 

[GW.Joe]

Hello, all!
Just wanted to give another update on Bixby. I took him to a new vet, today. One nearby, recommended by Wendy. And he was every bit as amazing as she had claimed! (You rock, Wendy!!!!)
He impressed me almost immediately with his obvious love of birds. He practically used Bixby as a loofah for his face upon meeting him! Hahaha! The man is either VERY brave, or an amazing judge of avian body language!

Anyhow, he said that everything looks good from the physical examination. He also checked Bixby's droppings and said all checked out in his GI tract as well. So now I'm just waiting on the results of his blood test.

All in all, this experience was night and day from the last one with that nightmare vet from 2 weeks ago!

Aww Stephen that is SO GREAT, Wendy does "kinda" :smile015: Rock huh!!
(definitely want her on my side, wouldn't want to have her on the "other" team)

"practically used Bixby as a loofah for his face upon meeting him!"
(getting a mental picture of this encounter, almost sounds like a Monty Python skit)
Ha Ha Ha.... Good one, ROFL Very Very Funny Stephen

The guy MUST have the parrot gene Huh?

What town is he in? I may be driving to NJ from PA for a Doc

Joe

 

[Anansi]

Bixby sounds like my sweet Jolly, just a total cuddle bug!!

I am so glad you had a great new vet experience and that Mr Bixby is on the mend!

Funny enough, before this whole "beak sprain incident", he wasn't really much of a cuddler. He'd allow it, from time to time, and then remove your hand, gently but unmistakably, with his beak when he was done. Lol! But it seems as though Bixby feels even closer to us, now! I guess he could pick up on how worried we were for him. And maybe the hand-feeding when he couldn't open his beak showed him that we would take care of him?

Awesome news, Stephen, what a great start to Father's Day for you!!!
Snuggle loofa, LOVE that!

Definitely put a smile on my face, Terry! It was a great start, indeed! And yes, I think the "Snuggle Loofah term is going to stick. Lol!

Great news Stephen! I'm so glad you found a wonderful new (and knowledgable) vet! Bixby seems like such a sweetheart. Good to hear the rapport was good too, after all we want the complete experience to be good not only because our babies deserve it, but because it costs so darn much that I figure they'd better be competent

I am pretty much ecstatic about it myself, Julie! Felt like quite the journey getting to this point. And as for your point about getting the complete experience given the astronomical costs? AMEN!

Hahha so glad Bixby went with it and let the vet snuggle him! I'm sure the vet would've been sorely disappointed if he hadn't lol

(Bixby probably *knew* this new guy wasn't a jerk like the last one [emoji6])

I'm glad he went with it, too! And relieved! Can't say I didn't hold my breath for a few moments there when the doc decided to go all Snuggle Loofah on him! Lol!
And yeah, he probably did sense this guy wasn't a jerk like the last one. After all, that guy probably helped things along for this visit by setting the bar so darn low! Ha!

Aww Stephen that is SO GREAT, Wendy does "kinda" :smile015: Rock huh!!
(definitely want her on my side, wouldn't want to have her on the "other" team)

"practically used Bixby as a loofah for his face upon meeting him!"
(getting a mental picture of this encounter, almost sounds like a Monty Python skit)
Ha Ha Ha.... Good one, ROFL Very Very Funny Stephen

The guy MUST have the parrot gene Huh?

What town is he in? I may be driving to NJ from PA for a Doc

Joe

Yep, definite Wendy fan here!
And thanks, Joe. But believe me, the mental picture is likely falling short of the reality. It was high comedy over there! But in a good natured way, you know? Seeing his obvious love for parrots was actually rather touching. He MOST DEFINITELY has that parrot gene!

 

[Anansi]

Oh, I think the town was called Robbinsville, Joe. I'll check for sure and get back to you.