A little bit of Bella

[texsize]

I have been wanting to write about Bella for a while now but.....
Bella is just so amazing I can't remember what all to put down.

She has an incredible sense of..... prediction......timing..... intuition.
She says bless you to my wife when she sneezes and does it so fast, I mean she doesn't even finish the sneeze and she says it.
My son and I don't get a bless you when WE sneeze.

She recently started saying my name Wes.
Ok, no surprise there. She hears it many times a day.
BUT she will say Wes once or twice and then say Wesley.
Nobody in the house calls me Wesley.
There is one bill I pay every month over the phone.
In that phone call to pay the bill I have to say my full name and "authorized"
That's it, the only time she hears my full name. Once a month.
That's a pretty good trick knowing Wes and Wesley are essentially the same.
Wish I could thing of some of the other stuff she does all the time that we find so amazing.
I can't take good pictures any longer. I am unable to hold my hands steady enough .
But here is a recent pic of Bella eating a piece of arapa (sort of a South American tortilla) next to my wife's feet.

 

[onamom]

Thank you for telling us about your beautiful Bella! She sounds so smart and incredible.

 

[LaManuka]

I have been wanting to write about Bella for a while now but.....
Bella is just so amazing I can't remember what all to put down.

She has an incredible sense of..... prediction......timing..... intuition.
She says bless you to my wife when she sneezes and does it so fast, I mean she doesn't even finish the sneeze and she says it.
My son and I don't get a bless you when WE sneeze.

She recently started saying my name Wes.
Ok, no surprise there. She hears it many times a day.
BUT she will say Wes once or twice and then say Wesley.
Nobody in the house calls me Wesley.
There is one bill I pay every month over the phone.
In that phone call to pay the bill I have to say my full name and "authorized"
That's it, the only time she hears my full name. Once a month.
That's a pretty good trick knowing Wes and Wesley are essentially the same.
Wish I could thing of some of the other stuff she does all the time that we find so amazing.
I can't take good pictures any longer. I am unable to hold my hands steady enough .
But here is a recent pic of Bella eating a piece of arapa (sort of a South American tortilla) next to my wife's feet.

View attachment 53932

A little bit of Bella brilliance never goes astray around here - she's such a little star!!

 

[Free as a bird]

Ohh African Grey... So cool
I notice it's using its left leg to eat.
They say all cockatoos use there left legs to eat, I wonder if its the same with African Greys

 

[SailBoat]

Bella joins the long list of brilliant Grey's!

As you have likely seen, she spends a great deal of time studying what is happening around her and continues to hour after hour, day after day and then seemingly out of nowhere they drop a word /sentence in full context.

Amazons are just as detailed, but seemingly more interested in other things. But are just as likely to drop those same in context words /sentence.

What we lonely humans come to understand that we are lucky they share their life with us!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Bella joins the long list of brilliant Grey's!

As you have likely seen, she spends a great deal of time studying what is happening around her and continues to hour after hour, day after day and then seemingly out of nowhere they drop a word /sentence in full context.

Amazons are just as detailed, but seemingly more interested in other things. But are just as likely to drop those same in context words /sentence.

What we lonely humans come to understand that we are lucky they share their life with us!

It's so heartwarming to see a parrot enjoying a full and happy life living in harmony with its humans. So many beautiful intellegent parrots live miserable lives with people who don't even seem to try to understand them and give them what they need to be happy and healthy.

 

[kme3388]

Bella is beautiful. How old is she? Have you had her for quite sometime? Does she step up, and like to be handled?

 

[texsize]

Bella is beautiful. How old is she? Have you had her for quite sometime? Does she step up, and like to be handled?

I got Bella in November of 2016.
We were told she was 8 months old. Didn’t believe it in the beginning but it was probably accurate.
She was super friendly with all three family members.
She chose my wife as her favorite person when she started going through puberty and only accepts scratches from her.
My son and I can pick her up and take her here/there but she won’t allow scratches.
here is a pic of how she looked when we first saw her.

 

[kme3388]

I got Bella in November of 2016.
We were told she was 8 months old. Didn’t believe it in the beginning but it was probably accurate.
She was super friendly with all three family members.
She chose my wife as her favorite person when she started going through puberty and only accepts scratches from her.
My son and I can pick her up and take her here/there but she won’t allow scratches.
here is a pic of how she looked when we first saw her.
View attachment 54359View attachment 54360

Bella looks great. She’s really grown in feathers sense you first got her. Does she have a large vocabulary? Does she speak on command? Nico does talk but he does it on his terms.

 

[texsize]

Bella looks great. She’s really grown in feathers sense you first got her. Does she have a large vocabulary? Does she speak on command? Nico does talk but he does it on his terms.

Bella doesn’t speak on command.
Iv tried “what sound” and hold up a can of soda.
She makes the sound perfectly and knows what causes it but won’t do it on command.
Closest she comes is dog and woof woof.
Sometimes I can say dog and she will go woof woof.

She has a huge list of things I have heard her say.
I am sure it’s over 100. I try to write everything new she says.
But that said just saying something once doesn’t mean she’s going to keep repeating it.
Most recent is my name Wes and Wesley.
And she recently started saying something less welcome.
She has learned to say Swell Old Boy if you get my drift.
and she makes up her own words.
Prella Pretty/Bella.
shella not sure of the meaning but it sounds pretty.
Red butt shower and what’s going on are her 2 most repeated phrases..

 

[texsize]

Bella in hiding.

I know this video is somewhat lacking in..... anything special really but I wanted to show Bella's hiding place.
I think it's important for some birds to have a place they can go to unwind/de-stress.
So I try to pretend I can't see her (and it doesn't take much pretend, she is near invisible).

 

[SailBoat]

When we upgraded the interior of Julio's cage we placed three difference hiding places using hanging toys.

I agree fully they do need a place to separate themselves, a bit of privacy.

Julio is Free Roaming and Free flighted though-out our home with his cage a place he chooses to visit from time to time each day..

 

[kme3388]

With Nico I have to give him more alone time then my other parrots. His cage is setup in a computer room that can be closed off. He has a tree stand in our main living area. When he gets overly stimulated he will start screaming, and then feather plucking. I feel like hiding spots are important! Usually when I get Nico to his cage (his hiding spot) he calms down immediately.

 

[texsize]

Speaking of cages.

The situation in Oregon is not real good.
Try not to go to much into it but we, wife and myself were supposed to have a separate housing by end of last September.
Contractor got cold feet and the project has been moving but at a crawl.

My father's health both mental and physical are not good and my stepmom will need help.

So all this leads me to the fact that I may have to move up here more/less permanently and that means birds to.


I have heard it said to involve your bird when putting together their new cage.
But I am not so sure about Bella.
Bella is a very nervous bird and startles easily.
If we have to bring in a box through the front door we have to cover her up or she gets scared.
I think it would be better to give her a cage move in ready (LOL) as near identical to her original cage as possible.

and how she's gona deal with a 12 hour drive

 

[SailBoat]

There is no question that every Parrot will react differently. But, one gets some kind of 'feel' for how they react to travel by how they react to moderate or shorter trips. We have been very luck over the years to have Amazon's that have owned us, also be true Road Warriors, loving to travel. But, I have friends that have to cover their Parrot's cage and as the rapid changing World around them is a bit too much. You have taken Bella to the Vets and with hope other short trips, that should be an indication.

As you know, I am a strong advocate of having the Parrot be part of putting the cage together and fitting it out. Here an existing event can foretell whether that is even possible. When, you complete a deep clean of Bella's cage, what kind of reaction do you get? Your idea of setting the new cage in place and duplicating the existing cage has strong merit. Once again, you knowing your Parrot wins.

Very sorry to hear about your parents! I can only say that I have been there and what you are doing speaks much of who you are. Knowing they will be helped and cared for by you will bring you comfort in your life!

Contractors can be such a pain. Likely time to look for someone to come in and takeover! Yes, it will likely cost you more, but you need to have a place to live.

You got this! As you know it is step by step! Consider it one of those lemonade moments: What to do with lemons?

 

[texsize]

There is no question that every Parrot will react differently. But, one gets some kind of 'feel' for how they react to travel by how they react to moderate or shorter trips. We have been very luck over the years to have Amazon's that have owned us, also be true Road Warriors, loving to travel. But, I have friends that have to cover their Parrot's cage and as the rapid changing World around them is a bit too much. You have taken Bella to the Vets and with hope other short trips, that should be an indication.

As you know, I am a strong advocate of having the Parrot be part of putting the cage together and fitting it out. Here an existing event can foretell whether that is even possible. When, you complete a deep clean of Bella's cage, what kind of reaction do you get? Your idea of setting the new cage in place and duplicating the existing cage has strong merit. Once again, you knowing your Parrot wins.

Very sorry to hear about your parents! I can only say that I have been there and what you are doing speaks much of who you are. Knowing they will be helped and cared for by you will bring you comfort in your life!

Contractors can be such a pain. Likely time to look for someone to come in and takeover! Yes, it will likely cost you more, but you need to have a place to live.

You got this! As you know it is step by step! Consider it one of those lemonade moments: What to do with lemons?

As far as cleaning Bella’s cage a “dry” cleaning (scraping off and brushing off) she doesn’t mind too much but she does not want to be in the cage.
for a full up cleaning she spends the the time shut up in the bathroom and the cage gets pressure washed outside.
Afterwords everything is fine.

 

[SailBoat]

Well, it appears that the set-up and layout of a duplicate cage is the answer!

 

[GaleriaGila]

I have been wanting to write about Bella for a while now but.....
Bella is just so amazing I can't remember what all to put down.

She has an incredible sense of..... prediction......timing..... intuition.
She says bless you to my wife when she sneezes and does it so fast, I mean she doesn't even finish the sneeze and she says it.
My son and I don't get a bless you when WE sneeze.

She recently started saying my name Wes.
Ok, no surprise there. She hears it many times a day.
BUT she will say Wes once or twice and then say Wesley.
Nobody in the house calls me Wesley.
There is one bill I pay every month over the phone.
In that phone call to pay the bill I have to say my full name and "authorized"
That's it, the only time she hears my full name. Once a month.
That's a pretty good trick knowing Wes and Wesley are essentially the same.
Wish I could thing of some of the other stuff she does all the time that we find so amazing.
I can't take good pictures any longer. I am unable to hold my hands steady enough .
But here is a recent pic of Bella eating a piece of arapa (sort of a South American tortilla) next to my wife's feet.

View attachment 53932

Well, the Rickeybird has a much more simplified response to the world. Everything makes him mad. Sneezing. Names. Phones. Cameras. He yells "NO!" and attacks whatever toy (or person) is nearest.
It must be difficult for you, with such an intuitive, intelligent bird... keeping up with all her accomplishments and abilities. Do you ever rent her out??

I found her a theme song!

mambo 5 - Google Search

 

[texsize]

I can’t imagine trusting her care to anyone else.
oddly enough as fearful as Bella is over new things strangers coming into the house doesn’t bother her.

 

[kme3388]

I can’t imagine trusting her care to anyone else.
oddly enough as fearful as Bella is over new things strangers coming into the house doesn’t bother her.

I understand exactly what you are talking about. My conures don’t really care if I change their cages. They are more accepting of change then my Ekkie. My Ekkie starts feather plucking, and getting overly sensitive over the smallest changes. When I adopted him years ago I was very overwhelmed because I’d never came across a parrot so sensitive to change, and diet.