Rob's Birds
Chester, correspondence

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Thank you SO much for this update!!! I've been thinking about Chester a lot and wanted to call, but didn't want to infringe. It sounds like things are going very well! I'm very glad to hear that he was talking to you on the way home and letting you trust him...lets me know that he wasn't associating this experience with when he got his toe broken. That's great that he ate his banana...he only ate it some of the time here. And I love the musicbox idea...will be very similar to the lullabye that he's used to hearing.

I went to your website last night and really enjoyed reading it and seeing your other loved ones. I continue to feel truly blessed that you are Chester's new mom.

Did the cage go back together ok? Sorry about the hidden mess. That steam cleaner sounds like a wonderful thing to have.

Thanks for your kindness in letting me know how things are going.

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Yesterday, Alex and Chester spent most of the afternoon talking people-talk to each other, and laughing -- lots of laughing.

This morning, Chester said "I love you." He's eating more, and chewing up toys, and becoming more curious about Bert and less afraid of him. Pretty good for just a few days.

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Wow...This is great news! Thanks so much for letting me know...I'd been yearning for an update. Just when I start to get really worried, you send an e-mail. It's "above-and-beyond" on your part, and very much appreciated!

That's very dear about Chester and Alex talking people-talk to each other.
Chester never took to either of our foster birds...may have had something to do with them coming into HIS home, or the fact that they were extremely traumatized birds with behaviors that could be disturbing to another bird.
Also, the bird he was next to at the shelter was a very aggressive and dominant bird. So your home may be his first opportunity to bond with other birds and to restore his natural flock tendencies.

Also great to hear that he's talking sweet talk with you and chewing up toys and eating more. Does he pick at his foot or climb to the other side of the cage when you come in? I'm just really hoping that he doesn't associate you at all with past traumas, or at least that any negative association soon passes.

People keep asking how I'm doing with Chester leaving, and I always tell them that, as sad as I am, that he couldn't have gone to a better home...and that, even though he's probably very confused and sad in the short run, that in the long run your home will be better for him.

I remain extraordinarily grateful to you.

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I just read Chester's page...How delightful!!! Your love for him really comes through. That's so funny about a couple of the things he's said...either I never understood him when he said them here, or he didn't say them.

By the way, I watched "The Horse Whisperer" the other night and thought of you. :-)

How did he do with the carrier when going to the vet? Now I'm wondering if I should have tried to get his foot in a cast after his toe was broken. He was just so traumatized, that I didn't want to move him again. Poor little guy. The whole thing kind of reminds me of the Black Beauty story, with him coming to live at his dream home later down the line.

Also sounds like he's expanding what he eats. I tried peas several times, with no luck, and he rarely ate bananas. Perhaps that will help his blood levels, too.

And you're right about his voice...it's so sweet. As far as I know, he didn't live with children until his last home, which was his third or fourth home. So he is an "old dog that can learn new tricks."

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I added a photo last evening, it's kind of fuzzy, but at least it's Chester. There will be better pictures as time passes, I took this one from a distance when Chester still didn't want me getting too close.

You told me he was wild-caught, I thought? You were wondering how they could have a "birthdate" for him since they really wouldn't know with a wild-caught bird. Importing wild-caught birds was banned 18 years ago.
Chester strikes me as being somewhat older than Bert, but I really don't have anything specific to base it on. My vet thinks Chester's bones look pretty good, and there's no evidence of past damage apart from his toe.

Chester has calmed down quite a bit in the short time he's been here. I've found he'll talk to me the most if I sit on a low stool near his cage. And of course everybody else talks to me since I'm there.... Everybody's molting some, so I was talking to them about all the pretty feathers. Alex said, "pretty, pretty bird, pretty bird Alex, yes." I agreed with him, and Chester said, "pretty bird. Handsome." I told him, yes you are. Chester said,"I love pretty bird Chester." So of course I had to tell each of them I love them -- even Casey will fuss if she's not mentioned by name.

I was pleased to find Chester had eaten all the medium Roudybush pellets in his dish. He left a bunch of the other stuff. I'll keep giving him a variety of things.

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I forgot to mention the last time I wrote that Chester does that Ray Charles thing when he's really trying to impress someone. Sounds like he's already got quite the soft spot for you. :-)

You're right about me mentioning the possibility of Chester being wild caught. The shelter had told me that Chester was wild caught (based on his behavior), and it wasn't until I read the papers that I discovered that he's supposedly not wild caught. So it could be either way.

When [my daughter] gets home [from work], I'll have to tell her about that "handsome" comment. The interesting thing is, [she] was always trying to teach Chester to say "handsome bird" instead of pretty bird...she thought it was more becoming of a male. However, as far as we know, Chester never said "handsome" here. So that's really funny that he's remembered that and is saying it in his new home, especially in that he's using it in the right context.

It's so good to know that he's already pretty settled. I can't imagine him doing that anywhere else.

Thanks again for the wonderful updates.

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... yesterday morning I took Chester to the vet's and had his broken toe removed. I think using that foot was causing him pain.
Between the anesthetic and the pain meds, he was pretty much out all the day. This morning he was still groggy when I took him back to have his bandages removed. When we came back home, he climbed up the side of his cage to his long perch with no problems. By afternoon, I think the meds were out of his system. He was being more active, lots of stretching, and even hanging almost upside down from his perch! This evening, he was talking to me, and seemed pretty near his normal self. He has not fussed with his feet much at all -- not anywhere near as much as usual. He drank quite a bit of water, and ate some food and a couple grapes and a piece of apple.

When I first brought him home after his surgery, he was very drugged up, and I thought I'd keep him with me, keep an eye on him. So I left him in the travel cage (I'd taken out the perch, and put a bunch of towels in the bottom) with a blanket over it. As time passed, he seemed to be trying to wake up and move around -- so I thought I'd take him to his big cage. I just set the travel cage inside his big cage, and started taking out perches, and so on -- but he quieted down and went back to sleep, listening to the other birds. I think they are "his" flock now, and he felt more secure being with them. He was quiet the rest of the night. (He was so quiet, I went down once around midnight, just to check that he was okay.)

Loki is working on some new words. I can't tell what they are yet, but he says them very enthusiastically. Pretty soon, he should get them clear enough for me to recognise.

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Sounds like the operation on Chester was a great idea, and was a success. I hope that it continues to help. It's probably good for him to lose the reminder of that incident. I remember that I didn't notice his toe for a day or so after I got him home...though noticed him holding up that foot. I called the shelter because I didn't remember seeing a broken toe prior to the adoption...and they said that Chester didn't have a broken toe. It still makes me sick to think about how horrible all that must have been for him...and how unneccessary. I'm really glad to hear that he's doing better now.

Rob, thanks again so very much for your loving care of Chester.

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I've been thinking a lot about your offer to help with Chester's medical bills.
I know you have been very concerned about him, now and during the time he lived with you. And yet -- I feel that once I've taken in a bird, I've accepted responsibility for his health and well-being, and the costs those entail. So, thank you, but no.

Perhaps you could send a donation to the World Parrot Trust or one of our local animal shelters?

Today after their naptime, I found Chester hanging/climbing around upside down from the dome-top of his cage. He's also been talking more, and he said "hi, Alex" this morning when I took Alex out. (Does anyone at your house say "whoop-tee-doo"? I heard that over the monitor and I'm pretty sure it was Chester.)

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It is very heartening to hear that Chester is doing so well. I don't think that he picked up "whoop-dee-doo" at our home, unless it was on one of the children's shows. I love that he's already saying "hi, Alex." Now, if he starts exclaiming, "ALEC!!!", we'll know where that came from. :-) In all seriousness, I'm guessing that the "hi, Alex" is him imitating you, and also wanting to connect with Alex. It probably works out really well that Alex looks like Chester, but is smaller and less intimidating than the other Umbrellas...plus, he's a big talker!

I enjoyed reading the updates on Chester's page. That is a wonderful thing that you do.

In continued admiration and appreciation...

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Just thought you'd like to know that the other day, when Alex decided to "dance" and sing -- Alex' singing is mostly "doo-doo-doo-doot" -- pretty soon Chester joined in, bobbing his head and "doo-doo-doo"ing and then singing (well, kind of) the "I love you Chester" song and putting in his own words. Alex thought it was great, and so did I.

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Well, this is the best holiday greeting I could receive! How lovely...for both Alex and for Chester. Sounds like they're wonderful company for each other, and for you. It's very gratifying to know that Chester finally has bonded with another bird, and has recaptured his instinctual flock spirit. And I love knowing that he has company 24/7...I always felt bad when the girls would be at school, because Chester would be very lonely (he didn't seem to care that much about whether or not I was home). That's funny about his "kind of" singing...he usually sticks with that one note. I remember the first time he watched "Sound of Music." It was really funny because he kept trying to sing to the songs, but pretty much just used that one note. At least he's got good rythym!

Is his toe pretty much healed up? Does he still lift that foot and pick at it? Does he seem to have an easier time walking?

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Sorry, I should have told you more about Chester's toe earlier. He's doing great. The vet used that surgical glue that they use after declawing cats to seal the skin together after removing the toe, and wrapped up the whole foot for overnight. Since he was pretty much out of it, that worked out all right. When he started getting more active the next morning, I took him back to the vet to have the bandaging removed. Chester chomped the vet's thumb, but not bad. (:-)

Chester has been using that foot normally ever since. It took a very short time for him to get used to it. The first day or so he would still pick at BOTH feet now and then -- now he only does it when he feels nervous, and that is diminishing too.

Bert is starting a mild hormonal period -- he and Alex usually have a mild season in early winter, and a full-blown session in the spring -- so he's displaying more, crowing more, and doing his "war dance" a little. Chester and Loki give him "What's with you?" looks, and sometimes raise their crests briefly. Alex displays back at him.

Loki didn't display at all last year, he may still be too young, or he may just be a very [undemonstrative] male.

Chester is certainly old enough, but I don't expect anything right now -- we'll see come spring. Did you notice any seasonal behavior when he was with you?

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Sounds like the surgery was a great idea, and a big success. Also sounds like Chester has really found a buddy in Alex, and also in Loki. Chester definitely wasn't an alpha bird at the shelter, so probably won't be too threatening to Bert. Chester did get pretty hormonal in the spring, and a little in early fall. He wasn't more aggressive...just wanted to rub on the girls and his toys a lot. He spent a lot of time on top of his cage rubbing on the play gym up there (that little metal one that we sent with him). He seemed especially eager to get the girls' attention. He also pulled his feathers a little more, but didn't pull out his whole tail like he did at the shelter.

Thanks again for the wonderful updates. I absolutely love them!

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Hmmm. When Chester was rubbing on people and objects, was his tail up or down?

Oh, I meant to tell you -- I gave all the birds baths the other day. ALL the birds.
I started with the ones furthest away from Chester, and worked my way closer to him. Bert REALLY loves baths, he's quite enthusiastic while getting one -- he stretches his wings fully, turns so I can spray all sides of him, and even dives into his water bowl and splashes the water out. So I gave each of them about half a bath, and talked a lot about "bath" and praised each bird as I went along. When I got to Chester, I talked to him about "bath" and let him take a good look at the spray bottle. He seemed a little nervous, but not bad, so I raised the bottle up and sprayed above him. He squawked, and started to panic, so I put the bottle behind me, and told him he was all right, and he was a good bird, a very good bird to have such a nice bath. Then I started going around the "circle" again, giving each of the others the rest of their baths, and when I got back to Chester, I was able to give him a couple sprays without having him panic. Now that certainly isn't much of a bath, but it is a good start!

Chester said "apple" yesterday, while I was giving the birds their apple and grape. He's talking to me more, and is not so quick to tell me to go away ("good bye").

This morning, Alex said "hey, Chester!" And Chester tolerated my messing with his cage -- he'd chewed the end off his long wood perch, so I had to reposition it and make sure it was secure. He stayed away from my hands, but didn't panic.

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I think that his tail was up when he was rubbing. I know that his head was down.

Wow! That's amazing progress on the bath. Between your gentle touch and Chester's brothers modeling good bath behavior, Chester may finally get a good bath. :-)

I wanted to ask you about possibly giving you a certificate to spend on the birds...I could purchase it directly from your favorite bird supply store, and you could pick it up there (or just use the credit there to buy supplies). I had thought about making a donation to a bird shelter in your honor, but then realized that you're my favorite bird shelter! (I do realize that you're not a shelter, but a permanent home. Still, you take in birds in the same way a shelter does.) It would help me to feel better about the extra expense you've taken on to help Chester. You'll never know how much it means to me to know that he's happy and thriving.

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Thought you'd like to know that Chester tolerated four squirts from the sprayer today before protesting, and even then he didn't panic. Slowly we're getting closer to a real bath!

Chester cracked me up today. He was doing quite a bit of talking in that gravelly, mostly garbled voice when I brought Alex over on my arm to see him. Alex decided to "mouth" Chester's cage bars. Chester was watching from a safe distance, and said, clear as day, "Bound to happen." I repeated it back to him, adding "Alex touching your cage?" and he nodded twice and said, "Exactly."

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I love hearing how Chester and Alex are bonding. I don't remember anyone here muttering "Bound to happen" or "exactly"...so he either got those at your place, or from before, or from the television. Do Chester and Alex still sing to each other?

It's fun to tell friends and family about your website...for those of them that miss Chester, they enjoy getting to go read about him and see his picture. That Alex sure is a cutie, too!

Once again, many thanks for keeping me updated!

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Birds have great memories. Alex lived with his first family for about three years, then with my sister for one year. He heard a lot of English in that time, I know, because he frequently says things I know I never taught him! (One of the reasons I have the baby monitor in the bird room is so that I can eavesdrop when Alex is practicing new words.) Chester had [several] homes before you, and he's quite a bit older than Alex, so who knows how much he learned?

Chester and Alex talk a lot to each other, and Chester is starting to respond to the other birds, too. I've been sitting by his cage periodically and talking to him -- and he's started to tease/make jokes with me. After I've been sitting there a bit, some days he'll start his "good-bye" routine like he wants me to leave -- then he'll say "hello!" and laugh. That usually marks the start of a nice conversation.

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Today I sang "Elmo's Song" with Chester, and he was swaying and bobbing his head, and "doo-doo-doo-doot"-ing. Then he decided to practice his dog-panting, so we "panted" at each other for a bit. He's getting so silly sometimes, and that's a good thing.

Bert's a little hormonal, and a little jealous of Chester, I think. Bert kept honking while I was trying to talk to Chester. So I paid attention to Bert for a bit, and he settled down. So far, the only indications that Loki's getting hormonal are that he's destroying wood very quickly, and he wants to cuddle and be petted more than he wants to play/fight with toys. Alex goes down to the floor to look for nesting sites -- he always seems to think that under Casey's cage would be good, even though he can't fit there!
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I've found that Chester will talk up a storm when I'm on the phone in the bird room (:-) -- which is fun, he's not so loud as to interfere with the call, but I can't always pick up what he's saying while I'm trying to listen to the phone!

After breakfast today, I heard him over the monitor, going through a bunch of variations on "pretty bird" -- "you're a pretty bird, such a pretty bird, oh yes pretty bird, pretty bird Chester, I love pretty bird, Chester is pretty bird" -- and so on. I've got to give him a new rope toy, he's completely destroyed the first one I gave him. He's chewing up the wood pieces I give him, too, not as quickly as Bert and Loki do, but he's working on them.

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Chester used to do that mumbling when we were on the phone, too. Almost sounded like what a phone conversation would sound like through a wall or from another room. I think that he was a little neglected at his previous home after he charged the children and destroyed some of the furniture...from his paperwork, it sounded like he was locked in his cage much of the time. So I wonder if he learned a lot of noises from a distance. Just a guess.

Do the cats ever go in the bird room? Chester has meowed before...so it will be interesting to see if he does it again. Our current cats don't really meow... they both have strange vocalizations. But our old cat meowed a lot...and she was with Chester for a couple of months before she died (almost age 18).

Does Chester sing the "I Love You, Chester" song?... How did you get him in the carrier to go to the vet's?

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Last Saturday, Chester had a bath! I gave all the others half a bath, then tried Chester, then the others, then Chester again. The first time, he let me spritz him half a dozen times; the second time he let me spray him lots of times. He was kind of bouncing around his cage, but not in fear, more like he was trying to get sprayed on all sides, and at one point he actually sat on his topmost perch with his wings out about an inch from his body and was bobbing in place while I sprayed him. He was definitely excited, but didn't seem to be afraid. He didn't get soaked, but he did get damp all over. And he was pretty receptive to the blow-dryer.too.

Less than an hour later, he was talking and singing with Alex and me, and seemed pretty comfortable -- even happy. Gives me hope that it won't be too long before he'll be willing to get really soaked! Chester was singing the "I love you, Chester" song and "Elmo's Song" -- and I'm really impressed that he's using different pitches, not just one note. (Not exactly the right pitches, but he's trying.)

I've noticed Chester makes some wild bird sounds -- a few I can identify, others not.

Getting Chester in the travel cage for his surgery -- I put the travel cage inside his big cage with a towel over the top and back, held the big cage door shut, and waved a towel above the big cage which Chester immediately ran away from. When he got down to the bottom, he jumped into the travel cage to hide. I just opened the big cage door and closed the travel cage. Quick, easy. Wish I'd thought of using towels when I picked him up from you.

Alex and especially Bert are getting a little hormonal, mostly they're just displaying more and bigger. When they do, Chester will start saying/muttering "bad bird" -- he'll also say it when everybody's getting loud. Which tells me he was probably discouraged from doing those things. Loki was, and it took several months for him to realize that it's okay to make cockatoo sounds, it's okay to be loud sometimes. Once he did, I knew he was really comfortable here. Chester might take a bit longer since he's been in so many places before, he will be more cautious about trusting that this is really "home" -- but we'll get there.

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I can't help but compare [[this]] with how long it took Chester to start to feel comfortable here. Sounds like the combination of your instincts and Alex's influence is just what Chester needs.

We never called him "bad bird"...and I don't think we heard him say that...so I'm wondering if it came from a previous house.

As for the wild bird sounds, as you saw, we're right by a woods...and kept the windows in his room open during the summer months during the day. Either that, or maybe he really was wild caught.

I do know that he never had baths at his previous house...so the progress you're making is remarkable.

As for the singing, he has a much better chance of improving his pitch with you than with me...considering my lack of singing ability, I shouldn't be judging Chester!

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Chester cracks me up -- Today he said, "Alex talks. Good talker." I agreed.
Chester said "Chester talks not so good." I told him he talks good too.
Chester said, "Pretty good for a cockatoo!" and chuckled. He is such a character!

Either his speech is getting clearer, or I'm getting better at understanding him -- or both. I think his vocabulary is larger than Alex's -- stands to reason, he's older and has been exposed to many more people.

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Chester is a wise old soul in a relatively young body. [My daughter] was in the room when I received this, and our immediate response was that Chester has found his true home with you. Seems like he's more and more comfortable being himself. I absolutely love how sensitive to him you are all the time.

I'll be really excited to see Chester's revised page! With the progress that he's making, it shouldn't be long before he can revise it himself! :-)

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A few days ago, when I came back home from getting my shots, the birds were "welcoming" me enthusiastically -- and somebody, probably Alex, said "Robin"! Made the hair on the back on my neck stand up for a moment, wondering if someone was in the house... I shouldn't be surprised, since every now and then I go through "what name?" routines with the birds, and include my name. Really wowed me, though.

I have a revised version of Chester's page up, though it doesn't have any more pictures yet. I gave him a new "boing" a couple weeks ago, and he's already chewed it almost to the same point as his old one. He is such a character, so sweet and funny. He's coming a little closer everyday -- it's hard for me to wait but I know the results will be worth it. (A few months after Loki came here, we suffered a major setback -- but by letting him decide when and how much to trust me, we have a much stronger bond of trust than might otherwise have happened.)

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The "boys" are already starting to get a little hormonal -- except Chester, so far.
It's a little earlier than last year, but it's been an odd winter. Loki didn't, last year, but he was still feather-picking then, and I think his body was too stressed. This year, he's alternating between wanting to be cuddled, and getting nippy and fighting with his toys -- Alex used to do that. Last year, Alex got very affectionate instead. This year, so far, he's displaying more, and seems to have worked out a dance that he does very consistantly.

Chester is doing well with his baths, and. is eating his medium Roudybush pellets fairly regularly. I'm glad his cage has four bowls -- I use one for water, one for toys, one for his "old" type food, and one for the foods I'd prefer that he eat. Chester, Alex, and I do some bouncing and "doo-do-doo" singing pretty often. The other day when I told him I was going upstairs for a minute, Chester said "See you real soon." -- Do you suppose he's old enough to have watched the Mouseketeers?
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[Today] Loki displayed for probably the first time in his life!
I had Alex out, and he and Bert were displaying at each other, when suddenly there was a great flapping of wings and raucous screeching. Loki was hanging upside down from the top of his cage, beating his wings intermittantly, and yelling. At first I thought maybe he'd gotten a toe caught, but he was fine. Bert and Alex started displaying back at him, even Chester hollered a few times, and I decided it was safer all around to put Alex back in his cage. Everybody settled down shortly, though Alex and Bert were still excited, Chester was keeping an eye on everybody, and Loki was nearly panting. I told him he was a good bird, that it was okay. He seemed a little confused -- hey, adolesence is tough!

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I absolutely love these updates...and the ones on the website, as well The best part is how your love for your babies comes through (and theirs for you, as well).

I can't get over the change in Loki's appearance. He probably didn't even have the energy to display last year. He looks like a completely different bird.

I think that Chester displayed only a couple of times each year here. I'm not sure that he's very dominant as far as male cockatoos go. He also hasn't had much exposure to other birds.

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[Mom fell one evening, and I called for an ambulance...]

The birds were asleep, but of course woke up with all the people (EMTs and cops) coming in to the house -- Bert started honking and one of the cops asked, "Is that a bird? Is it being eaten alive?" Made me laugh.
I explained that 'yes it was a bird, and we'd woken him up, and he could hear me talking but [since] I wasn't talking to him [he was fussing]' So I called [down] to Bert and told him we were okay, and he stopped yelling.
[As it turned out, Mom was okay, too, after a night in the hospital.]

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[Her 80 year old dad has developed serious health problems.]
... Makes adolescence not look so tough, after all. (Though don't tell that to the young men in my group at work... who often do their own displaying!)

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I was so pleased with Chester yesterday. He was bouncing around inside his cage and got his toe caught in his boing (near the bottom), and started to panic. I talked to him and he quieted down some, then I opened his door -- which made him feel more panicky at first -- and held the boing down to the floor, and kept talking to him. Once he realized he could stand on the floor without the boing pulling or moving around, he settled down nicely and started working on chewing the boing to get his toe free, which he managed very quickly. I praised him and reassured him, and he climbed back up to his long perch, checked his feet, and shook out his feathers, and within a couple minutes was talking to me and eating. He did so well! And I was glad I didn't have to towel him, which would have really upset him. The whole thing only took a few minutes. and all in all was pretty positive.

The birds' hormones aren't on "full" yet. Bert and Loki and Alex are displaying, Jasmine "clucks" and sticks her tail in my face. Casey gets a little noisier. Chester isn't doing much yet.

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. It sure was a good thing that you were home when that happened...Very scary to think of what could have happened otherwise! Sounds like Chester's continuing to make good progress with your gentle and patient ways.

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Chester isn't acting hormonal yet, although he has started responding to the other guys displaying by putting his own crest up briefly. I moved the cages around, so Chester is now in the corner and flanked by the two big windows. I wanted to get some photos so you could see his windows, but found Chester dislikes cameras almost as much as Bert! I did manage to get a couple photos, and they're on his page now -- but the closest we get to seeing the windows is the light coming through the north window onto Chester.

Chester's toe has been completely healed for some time now. It was the other foot he caught in the boing, and it seems to be fine. His tail suffered a bit when he had his surgery and spent time in the travel cage when he was pretty uncoordinated Lately I've been finding bits of tail feathers on the floor of his cage, which I think means he's been grooming the broken ends out of his tail feathers. He doesn't seem to be deliberately destroying it. He's eating more of his "better" foods, hurray!

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Thanks for letting me know about the picture additions to the website...at least we can't accuse Chester of being vain and wanting his picture to be taken! (He didn't look too cooperative.) In the pictures, his chest feathers look a little funny...I'm guessing that's just the picture? On his papers, it said that he used to pluck his chest feathers...though he never did that here. I'm hoping that he hasn't picked it back up.

That's great news about Chester eating healthier foods. I worried about his heart when he was here. Does he still eat walnuts sometimes?

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Chester has not been picking his chest feathers, I think they were just disarrayed for some reason (maybe because he'd been trying to avoid my camera :-))

He and Alex and I were singing and bouncing and swaying yesterday, and Chester was putting in new names in the "I love Chester" song -- 'I love Ber-ert, I love Jas-m'n, I love Ah-ecks' -- he 's so funny.

When the pressure was dropping rapidly yesterday, and I'd gone down to see Bert, pretty soon Chester started talking in his gravelly voice about weather, rain, clouds, and TORNADO! Sounded like he was repeating a weather forecast. I told him we wouldn't have any tornadoes today, and he said "maybe later." The more I can understand of what he says, the more impressed I am.

Today, I was asking Alex if he wanted (this) or wanted (that) -- and Chester said, "Whatever!" -- guess he wanted Alex to make up his mind.

A bit later, Chester "kept his cool" when Loki decided to climb on the dome of Chester's cage -- I didn't let him do it much, but Chester seemed unperturbed.

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That's incredible! It's simply amazing that Chester is substituting in the names of his siblings for his name in the "I Love Chester" song. His meaningful use of speech is phenomenal! I'm so glad that he finally has other birds with which he can bond (and with whom he sees you bonding). I wonder if he picked up some of his knowledge about tornadoes when he lived in Missouri for eight years. Though I suppose that it also could have been when he was watching television in our house.
One of the shows that the girls used to watch was "Whatever!" on Saturday mornings...it's a teenager show. Not sure if that's where he got that, or not. Especially since he uses it in a meaningful fashion. I'm afraid that I missed a lot of what he said while here. I'm very grateful that he's truly understood, in so many ways!

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I'm enjoying all the new additions to Chester's website. I thought of yet another food that he ate before. When sugar snaps come into season, he likes the plump ones. He picks them apart and eats the peas (partially). I used to get them at the Farmer's Market. He wouldn't eat the frozen peas (although did eat frozen sweet corn and corn on the cob).

I visited a friend today who has a toddler. She said that she couldn't understand much of what he said, and a friend suggested that she listen closely for a word or two because he might be saying more than she knew.
Sure enough, she realized that he was saying several things, and she hadn't even known it. I told her that reminded me of Chester, and that you're now deciphering several things that he's been saying.

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I'll have to look for sugar snaps at the farmer's market this summer. Maybe part of their appeal is opening the pods? Part toy, part food!

Last week I had a mild cold and was coughing occasionally, and discovered Chester can do a really nasty sounding "smoker's cough" -- maybe that's where his gravelly voice comes from, too. A little bit more of his history?

I should keep a notebook by the birds, Chester has been saying so many new words, and sometimes I forget them by the time I find pen and paper. As the other birds are getting more hormonal - and active, and noisy! - Chester keeps telling them "bad bird, bad bird, you're in trouble, bad bird."
Somebody didn't let him be a bird, poor kid.

The foods he eats keep improving -- I haven't had to give him his "old" mixture at all lately, though I still have some left. He eats Harrison's, and Roudybush, and Zupreem fruity pellets, and Zupreem plain, and once-in-a-while Scenic (he tends to throw that on the floor). He eats peanuts, almonds, walnuts, and a seed mix with sunflower and safflower and a few others. He eats lots of fruits, but still isn't too keen on veggies -- we'll try more fresh stuff as it becomes available. I'm going to pick up some fresh corn on the cob, Cub has it on special.

Loki -- I'd picked up another rattle for the birds (baby rattles are made to be dropped and thrown :-) although they can only have rattles when they're out with me) and although Loki is okay with the other rattles I've got, he panicked at the sight of the new one. So I think his previous home had one like it for their little girl-baby, and made sure Loki knew he couldn't touch it, ever....

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Can you tell if Chester is using a man's or a woman's voice when he says "bad bird?" [[Definately a man's voice.]] I'm wondering if he might have picked it up from the man in the previous home since reportedly he didn't like Chester (and Chester reciprocated by chewing a hole in the man's spot on the couch and destroying the mantel he built). As you think of the new things he's saying, I'll be very interested to hear what they are. I don't think that they were smokers, but the home before them might have been (when I spoke on the phone with the woman from the previous home, she sounded as if she might be a smoker). Also, at least a couple of the volunteers at the shelter sounded like smokers, though Chester might have been too traumatized to pick up much language there.

That's wonderful about Chester's transition to healthy foods. We bought some of that corn on the cob at Cub, and I thought of the two of you. I think that he treated the cobbed corn and the sugar snaps mostly as toys, but at least they were positive vegetable experiences. :)