well, we are coming up on the 6-week mark of Herk being in our home, which means he will technically be out of quarantine. yay! what we won't do, however, is move him into the living room. i think that he will become really close to my amazon and attack both my husband and i (i've had this happen with another amazon that i fostered).

from what i have learned from Herk, he is VERY intelligent (heck, what bird isn't?!). I am training him to do things, stuff that he normally does, on command. for example, he LOVES ringing his bell. i give him the command "ring your bell". when he does it, i reward him with a piece of walnut (loves walnuts, doesn't like almonds). i am also training to wave (say "hi" with a raised foot) on command. and i am continuing my training with a target. he seems to learn really quickly. he knows what "bell" means. the wave thing...not sure if its just coincidence, but i think with enough repetition of using the command, him doing the motion and me giving him a treat, will help fuse the whole process together.

i may teach him to tell the difference between colors. on one playstand he has a green wiffle ball and a yellow one. that may be once i feel he has the first few tricks down. :-) Herk really offers a lot of great behaviors that you can try to put on cue. i am trying to work on each one. he has a cute stretch-wings gesture that i may be able to get with a command. he also has a weird head flip that he does some times.

i don't think he and i are on touching basis just yet. i havent even tried...well, i have touched his feet, but even then he kinda looks at me with a wish to bite me. but sometimes he just stands there and takes it. i have not asked him to step up on my hand nor do i usually offer treats to him by hand (not unless he is in his cage). when i do offer treats, i do it in a cup. once he sees the cup and hears the rattling of a piece of nut inside, he gets really excited and wants to start training. our training usually goes on for a few minutes (mainly because i don't want to give him too many nuts), twice a day. i enjoy seeing that he is excited to start. its a great step in the right direction. the power of positive reinforcement!

Herkimer has something against my husband. I don't think it is what he has done, but more like what he hasn't done. My husband doesn't really interact with Herk. Ever since Herk realized that there was a bond forming between his buddy (Ellis) and my husband, Herk has tried to attack my husband. Right now, its not too bad (mostly because my husband greets Herk from afar).

Well, the following movies show his behavior after my husband comes into sight. (I am in the room with Herk). I was talking to Herk atop is cage, but once he saw my husband, he raced down his cage and came rushing towards the entrance of his room. We have put up a barricade which Herk doesn't try to get over. This is Herk after running down is cage...

Herkimer again talking to his bell...



Herki and I doing some targeting practice...

Herkimer talking and laughing to his bell...

it has been a little over two weeks since Herk came into our home. he has been quite a handful at times, but i think it has mostly to do with my decision to separate him from his friend, Ellis.

i decided to split them because 1) Ellis was not into Herk as Herk was into him, 2) Herk always seemed to be be preoccupied with protecting Ellis and it hindered my interaction with Herk himself, and 3) if these two ever become adopted, i don't want them to be very bonded with eachother. it will make finding an adoptive home for both birds quite difficult.

since moving Ellis (this was done last weekend), Herk was mostly calm and quiet. i did think he would start screeching for Ellis, but that wasn't the case. Herk has, however shown a dislike towards my husband, because Herk saw a bond forming between my husband and Ellis. my husband has been having a harder time approaching Herk to give him food in his cage - Herk will climb onto the side of his cage closest to my husband and try to lunge for his fingers. it could also be the level of energy emanating from my husband. he just needs to calm down a bit.

Herk has also tried to do a few fly-attacks at me and has bitten me on the outer edge of my right hand. not the worst bite i have ever received, but it did draw some blood. i have realized that now that Herk is alone (he is still in quarantine!) he may feel a little more exposed and unsure. i am pulling back and approaching him slower and offering more ambient attention from afar, working my way slowly nearer to him and his cage when he starts exhibiting calm behavior.

Tonight, no attacks or bites. i spent an hour just reading a magazine near the door to his room and occasionally talking/mumbling to him. he would return the favor some times and discuss the day's events (see the movie my husband made below - unfortunately he had the camera flipped on its side....grrr!). once he started to preen himself, i placed a piece of almond into a container and offered it to him. he took it happily and i praised him for being a good bird. no aggression at all. im glad....one good step towards gaining trust. i may start doing some target training with him. not sure if he is ready yet for this, but i will try.

Here is Herk mumbling and talking with me as I mumble back to him. I'm thinking he is telling me about his day and all the things he has done. Since Herk only has one working eye, he turns his head upside down some times to get a better view of something.

Herkimer is excited at seeing my husband, who is holding the camera.

Herk seems to be a great bird. Loves to talk and babble. So far, I've heard him say wwwhhhooooooaaaa, okay, hi, hello, what's up, ooohhhhh. he also does a lot of mumbling that i cannot identify. he LOVES broccoli. so far, i have given it to him uncooked. he enjoys starting from the stem and work his way up to the top. Herk also loves corn, banana and apple juice.

Herk doesn't seem to be phased by the damaged eye. when he feels he needs a better view of you, he turns his head upside-down and stares at you. i wonder if this gives him a better spatial view of what he is viewing.

he is very curious and likes to explore. it didn't take him long to decide he wants to travel down his cage, on to the ground and take a look around. he has shown no interest in hunting down toes. he usually just walks right past me (toes showing) and goes either over to Ellis' cage (his roommate and friend) or somewhere else. Herk has shown more interest in my husband (i will put up the movie that shows it) but so far, he doesn't really want to have any physical contact from either of us.

Herk has stepped up onto my husband's arm that was padded with a sweatshirt sleeve, but lunged out when my husband asked him to step up on to his hand. a week has barely passed, so it could definitely be a matter of trust and time. we have not pressed anything on them - everything has happened at their own pace.

as with his roommate and buddy, Herk eats parrot mix - which is seed, nuts and dried fruit. i have been mixing in some zupreem fruit blend pellets in with this parrot mix and i've seen Herk nibbling on them. this is a good sign. maybe in a couple months, we can wean him onto pellets and use the nuts for treats and training.

below are some pictures we took of herk. i gave him a bath today and it seemed that he actually started to like it. under the water, he puffed up, opened his wings a few times and rolled his head on his back.

Herkimer arrived at our home yesterday evening, and has traveled quite a bit to get here. The background story for him is that he was hit by a truck before being taken in to Mickaboo. From that he lost use of one eye and a wing.

Although he has been through a lot in his life, he is a very active, talkative and playful bird. Below, we have pictures, movies and sound files of Herk, either from myself or from his previous foster parents.

Herkimer, so far, has not shown any aggression or anxiety around either my husband or myself. He eats like a pig! and he talks, mumbles and makes other funny noises a lot. It's like he is carrying a conversation with himself.

I will add more as days follow.