This is a growing list of observations, facts, and quirks about Fig the injured "captive" Japanese Jungle Crow (below). While the list is written with some humor added at times, it is an earnest attempt to accurately describe, and record everything possible about Fig from an ornithological, animal behavior, and animal care/welfare perspective.
The title of this post is tongue in cheek sarcasm about the fact that the rules and regulations, laws and treaties of the human world failed this bird, and in fact criminalize what I am doing for her. The law is nice, you know, I respect it, but I cannot let it stamp out the embers of my innate ability and instinct to care at a time when the earth and indeed all of her living inhabitants are at the merciless mercy of humanity. Especially, we need to respect our wild birds who are facing mass extinction.
Please note: My lists are upside-down, so chronologically the earliest entry is at the bottom as number 1, and the most recent are up top. Enjoy!
Rule 163: Funny Bird
It is late afternoon. The sun is threatening to set. Purple shadows loom. Someone has had her early dinner and feels sleepy. The balcony door is open. There are no mosquitoes yet. Come on in Fig. Come on. You can make it to the bathroom on your own. You are a big girl now. Make a dash across the bed. Take a hard left.
Nope. Not gonna do it. She is going to jump from her perch to her sleeping box, and back again, staring deeply into the house over and over. She is going to peck the roof of her sleeping box angrily, jabbing holes in the foam insulation with a loud pop. She is going to pry the latch of the sleeping box door open, and shove open the door, as if to say, I want to go to bed! Now!!! Come and bring me into the house, you moron! Where is my chauffeur? I do not have the courage to come in by myself today. Too many people about. Too much electronic noise!
So I go out, Fig leaps on my arm, I hold her up to the door, and there she goes, across the bed, making a slippery hard left, bounding over the cat, and up onto the safety of her high perch in the shower. Good night, sweet dreams!
Rule 162: I'm Hard to Photograph
I have a big nose too, so I understand what it is like, being unphotogenic, but I really cannot complain. Taking a good photo of Fig is extremely difficult by comparison. When she is not moving, or blinking, her mouth is open because the camera is making her nervous, or she's unable to sit still, or the light is hiding her in shadow, and on and on, but by far, the biggest complaint I have about photographing Fig close up, is that cameras make her nose look so big. Her beak looks massive and imposing in pictures, but it really is not that big. In fact it is quite cute, and softly tapered, but capturing her true cuteness on film is really proving quite a trick. If she is looking away, it is no problem, but if she is facing the camera, the shot inevitably ends up being all beak. It is because the modern camera is not equipped with binocular vision which is ludicrous. Cameras are these stupid little cycloptic contraptions that make everyone with a big nose and a small face look even bigger-nosed in close up. It is very annoying, and unfair, and proves that technology is no artist.
One good thing though is that by trying so hard to capture Fig's natural beauty, of which she is blessed abundantly, I have stumbled clumsily upon tons of tiny details about her lovely visage which I might otherwise never have noticed. She possesses hues, and patterns, textures, and designs, and plethora fabulous fashion all hiding in the dull and monotone retina of my inadequate perception. Alas, I have not succeeded in taking a satisfactory photo of her yet. I must consult an expert.
Rule 161: Don't Tie Me Down
I decided I would try and get Fig to wear ankle bracelets, to make tethering her easier, and less traumatizing for her. So I got some double thick, and ultra soft deer skin leather, and a grommet, and I stuck the thing on her leg. The grommet was a screw together type because I was not sure if I could get her to accept an ankle bracelet, and I fully anticipated that I would be taking it off shortly after having put it on. I used soft deer leather because I knew she was going to peck at it relentlessly, and I did not want her damaging her beak. If she accepted it, I was going to replace it with a sturdier leather in a couple of days. Anyway, she let me put it on, that was not a problem. Then she yelled at me really loudly for about ten minutes, so I picked her up to calm her down and reassure her that it was not the end of the world and she bit the hell out of me, well, actually, she was giving me feedback, it was not aggression, Fig has never expressed any aggression, it is not part of her make up. You have to ask yourself, what would you do if I walked up and put a big leather bracelet on your ankle, and you couldn't speak English. Anyway, I gave her some hugs and kisses, and reassurance, and she decided it made more sense to peck the heck out of the bracelet instead of me, so she did that for about 30minutes under my supervision; I had to keep her calm by picking her up intermittently. I tried to play a game. I tried studying. I tried food. Nothing, except the food, distracted her from her effort to exorcise herself from the satanic demon attached to her leg, and then only momentarily. Eventually, after about an hour she gave up on it and decided to preen herself, and go to sleep with the bracelet on. I put it on an hour before bedtime intentionally so she would run out of steam, and she did. So that was that. Success! Off to bed with her. I let her sleep inside so I could check on her. An hour later the naughty little thing had quietly figured out how to unscrew the grommet, and take off her torture device. Voila. Crowdini the Great wins again. The amazing thing though, after all that screaming, and fussing, and complaining, and pecking, and panicking, and torture, Fig has only decided to untrust me a very reasonable amount this time around. The only indication I get that she is still holding on to the whole awful experience is when I pass the entry way desk which is where I place the device onto her leg (don't tell my wife). When we go by the desk now, she turns her head to look directly into my eyes as if to ask, you are not going to put that thing on my leg again are you? Or is she telling me, are you! Other than that, she has been very forgiving of my pathetic sadistic digressions this time around, in fact, she could not be in a more cheerful or social mood. That is a pleasant and welcome surprise since I had huge misgivings about the whole charade before I jumped in with both feet. I think, perhaps, her family outside is also in a good mood, having successfully hatched a new brood somewhere about on a rooftop, and they are setting the mood. Whatever the reason, I am glad Fig is less anxious about my evil side these days; it is a sign of real progress in the bonding and taming department. As to weather I will have another go at clapping her in irons...it's tough. We'll see. Gah!
Rule 160: Odds and Ends
Fig continues to get better and better at talking. If I had the time to spend with her, I get the feeling the sky might just be the limit. And it is not just her vocalizations which are becoming bolder, it is her personality. Today, in fact, my son, and his cousin went to the balcony door with some food for Fig, jumping and pushing, and being the little boy rascals that they are, and she pranced right over and took it right from their hands. She sits boldly with the cat. She jumps all over me while I clean up. She even ducks under my arms or between my legs to get in the way, or have a look at what I'm doing. She comes in for hugs and buries her face in my shirt. She runs into the house to get to her perch in the bathroom. She chats with my wife at the door. She really has relaxed, and filled with a lot of new confidence; I would almost say she is self-assured, but in reality, that distinction remains another year or two off if I look at the charts with honest eyes. The Crow is a tremendously wary soul. I never cease to marvel at the level to which this is true. I feel like a happy go lucky dolt bouncing my way through evolution by comparison. How ever did we humans take over the earth first?
Rule 159: Crows Have Respect
Fig's Dad has been visiting her on the balcony for quick chats in the mornings this spring. He and the mother and some of Fig's siblings had chances to interact with Fig during the previous year, and they do remember her, but Fig's Dad had time to be with her when she was untethered, and freely prancing around the neighborhood on multiple occasions, so, perhaps, they have the strongest bond. It is hard to say, but I did witness them conversing at close range, once, shortly after Fig came under my care, and the gentle intimacy her Dad displayed in his body language, and his low, soft voice is something I can simply never forget. You do not get a second chance to see that sort of thing in nature, in one lifetime.
In any case, he comes around when he has a bit of time. Sometimes he sits above Fig on the balcony fence for a short chat. Other times they'll have a noisier, and more extended conversation with Fig's Pop perched on the TV antennae, atop the adjacent building. The interesting thing though, is that even though Fig is much smaller than him, and has her food visibly spread out in three bowls like a church potluck, with all sorts of attractive goodies ranging from meats, carbs, fruits, nuts, and the whole nine yards, NEVER, never has Fig's Dad ever come down onto the balcony, and taken any of Fig's food. Neither have any of her siblings.
Take a moment and try and grasp that. I have got upwards of 50 starving Crows swooping the skies around my building like it's WWI each morning and afternoon, and not a grape, nor a raisin, nor so much as a crumb goes missing. It's my blog, and I can cry if I want to. Hey, look, you're right, maybe the wild Crows are just too cautious, and jittery to jump down and scarf down Fig's grub. Lord knows the one thing I have learned is that Crows are the most cautious and jittery critter ever to inhabit the earth. Maybe they don't want to risk a fight. All I know is that many of them are bigger, and fitter, and together they out number her, heck, they could eat Fig if they wanted to. So call me crazy, but I believe they know Fig's plight in life, and they sympathize with her, and they simply wouldn't dare.
Rule 158: On Taming:
Fig has become consistently tamer. She comes beside me when I clean her living space, and even sits under my arm when I brace it on the wall, peeking at me to observe what I am up to. She will bound about on my shoulder, or knee without leaving the balcony while I go about washing up, though she very easily could dash over the fence for a romp in the tree like she used to. She seems to have decided she prefers the certainty, and safety of our balcony, where her bath, and her food, and toys, and perches are, where she knows she'll be allowed to come in from the cold for the evening. She will even come in and go out by herself if permitted now, right past the hunting cat, who will chase her around a bit. Fig growls at the cat. Nothing, save a lion's roar is quite as convincing as a Crow's growl. She only growls softly under her breath though, because she understands now that the cat is a can-fed princess with the spine of a jellyfish.
Rule 157: On Molting:
Feathers appear to molt in rows. I observed this on Fig's injured wing, which has a droop. See the post in March, 2014 about this, and the photo.
Rule 156: Fig is a Musical Tallont:
Fig is listening to more and more music. She really likes it. Sometimes she sings along. She watches music videos intently whether they feature Crows, or anything else. Her favorite is the Blue Danube. She always chimes in with a few hardy AW AWs at exactly the same place in the waltz. I think she thinks the violins are some sort of an odd bird with a featherless wing. Her dancing skills need work though.
Rule 155: Speaking, Step 2:
I plan to mine the entire Alphabet, both Japanese and English for sounds Fig can quickly mimic. I need to gather about twenty phonic sounds to have a rough working alphabet. She has successfully learned that speaking practice is a fun activity, so we will explore a wider range of sounds to see which she takes to most easily/quickly/naturally. There will be no connection to any meaning like a color, as before, it will simply be playing with sounds, and speech. My son is looking forward to helping with this. Fig likes talking to him the most, perhaps because his voice is high and crisp.
Rule 154: Meet the Family:
Fig's family is back for Spring nesting. I need to get out and count them. Seems like the ladies have picked up some new male mates, so I expect more than one nest this season. Someone, IOW some idiot. put out a bag of garbage across the street before garbage night, in broad daylight. Two dozen FBI Crows were going through the trash for hours, with another two dozen taking notes. And everyone was sitting on the buildings surrounding Fig's balcony having a cawing festival. For the first time ever, Fig had a visitor on our balcony. It was very cordial. No one even tried to take Fig's gourmet food. Crow's are so civil. I think they remember Fig, and visa versa, but who knows? My wife witnessed the whole thing; she said Fig wanted to fly off with them. When I put Fig in her bed box for the night, unaware of the day's events, Fig eyeballed the top of the balcony fence, which is unusual, so I knew she was thinking about her family. Sure enough. We'll get out on a tether to say hello to everyone and get reacquainted tomorrow. Fig will enjoy that.
Rule 153: Update to Fig's Speaking:
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-Fig has learned when speaking practice time is each day, and she looks forward to it. She even tries to come into the house on her own at that time to get into the shower room.
- I am using three techniques to encourage her participation. 1. I run the hairdryer. This excites her and improves her listening and speaking. 2. I am offering her treats for all attempts to speak. This has gotten her a bit more interested in trying her best. I do NOT let her get hungry though. She always has food available. Instead, there are certain foods she only gets during speaking practice, and she gets the treat from a special cup. 3. I give her alone time between words to practice without pressure, and return to her if she speaks. This seems to get her going too.
I have given her 13 "words" for colors which I devised based on wild Crows' utterances I observed, and on sounds I thought might be easiest for her to produce, and I wanted to try certain sounds. You can see most of the sounds are based on Ah and Oh vowels, with the exception of Ki. Only Aka is a true bisyllabic word, but Ao, and Oa are also two syllables. Fig can choose all the colors correctly from pairs, but her accuracy goes down as more colors are added. She can say 9 of the 13 color words , an assortment of phrases such as Hello, and I love you, and takes a stab at words and phrases she hears in various videos off YouTube. She also has a repertoire of sounds she has picked up from local Crows which are her immediate family. They sometimes sit nearby and chat with Fig. And Fig has a collection of sounds she has invented.
I want to meet Fig half way. Our communication is unique to the two of us. There is no need for me to assume the role of teacher and parent exclusively, though I am aware Fig is the definite baby, while I am the adult. I don't want to change the words I have taught her, and risk confusing her, but I also want to find more sounds she can easily utter. So, the plan is to spend more time playing with sounds without asigning meaning to them, yet. And I will be more patient about her ability with Ki, Do, No, and Aka for the timebeing. Fig is obviously very motivated, and enjoys chat practice. I will try to learn some of the sounds she is trying to teach me, some of which elude or perhaps transcend the English alphabet, and probably my mimicking ability.
I have no idea why but her favorite color is purple, or Oa!
Rule 152: March 24: The Molt is On:
Fig loses half a dozen feathers daily now.
Rule 151: I'm a Blowdryer Blowhard:
I do 10-30 minutes per day of focused speaking practice with Fig. It's just supposed to be fun, and it is. I mostly use it to help her learn to pronounce various sounds, play with vocalizing, and connect with me. I noticed if I turn on the blowdryer in the background, and just leave the cool air running, Fig becomes significantly more interested in chatting with me. I wonder if Crows in a circling flock are all communicating pairs??? Now that is a very interesting question if I do say so myself.
Rule 150: Eggshells Update:
Yes, Fig does indeed "eat" the eggshells. She even folds them up neatly, and stashes them into her most convenient stash area near her favorite perch. So, either she likes eating them, or they are handy grit for her gullet. Anyway, they are on the menu. I also notice she likes to peel the membranes out.
Rule 149: Box Transportation Update:
Put Fig into her sleeper box at 7:00. What, she said, in the box an hour early!? Usually, I let her go to sleep indoors, put her in her box around 8:00, then set her outside for the night so she can emerge when she chooses the next morning which she usually does when I come out to clean up and feed her breakfast. Today though, I took her out front to my bicycle; no filthy car here. Her expression was very much along the lines of, Stop! Kidnapper!! But I reassured her. Her feedback pecks were lower end moderate. I strapped the special box to my bike rack and rode around with her outside for about seven minutes, brought her back in, and let her out again. She was stressed a little, with her beak open. She pooped in her box which she never does usually. But she is showing more and more maturity. Ten seconds out of the box and she fluffed up and mellowed out. An hour later she jumped right back in the box for bedtime without any hangups. We'll do short practices until she can anticipate what's going on. When she stops pooping in the box, I'll take her for a look around at the training grounds I have selected for freeflight perch training, so she can get familiar with the grounds there before going free.
Rule 148: Weighing In:
Fig is still a bit skinny, like a juvenile, but she is also quite heavy. Now that she is turning one, I think I had better weigh her regularly to try and consistently maintain her proper adult weight and avoid overfeeding her. Need a new scale.
Rule 147: March is for Molting:
The spring molt has begun, she drops a flight feather or a tail feather everyday. She likes to pull the feathers to bits one tiny strand at a time. I bet she'd like to play with dandy lions or cattails, or some other fibery plants, I digress. I decided to add boiled and mashed carrots into her usual pancakes, so she can be sure to get some extra beta carotine while her new set of feathers gears up to emerge. She is not the biggest carrot fan, and she still manages to peck some of it out of the pancakes, but definitely she is eating most of it. She is going to look like a porcupine again soon, but I cannot wait to see how her new feathers look, because if they look shiny, and pretty, that is a good indication that I have been properly feeding her.
Rule 147: Playing with Water or Cleaning?
Fig sometimes plays with water by bringing it to her favorite perch again and again in her beak. I often wash the concrete under her perch to clean up her toilet spot. It dawned on me that she may be attempting to clean up after herself! Can it be so?
Rule 146: Feeding Time is a Chance to Learn:
Feeding time is an opportunity to find out what your bird likes. I try to take every opportunity to present Fig with two kinds of food so I can see which she likes more. For example, plain bread, or plain bread spread with a bit of olive oil. She'll choose the olive oil every time, and not only that, she'll pick all the oily bit off very carefully. I need to make a chart about this.
Rule 145: Egg Shells:
I have no idea if Fig is eating them, using them as grit, or just playing but she loves to have our eggshell halves. They end up pulverized, so at least she enjoys playing with them. I usually give them a boil first to sterilize them.
Rule 144: Nutrition Update:
On the advice of the experts I have added pea gravel to Fig's grit. Also she will be trying earthworms, and mealworms in her diet very soon, as soon as I do a bit more reading. I figure she can enjoy the hunt in a tray of clean soil, or among some damp papertowels, or maybe in a tray of popsicle sticks; something the worms can hide in.
Rule 143: Notes on Handling:
I have established several kinds of touch with Fig over the last year. The following ramblings are more for my own review than anything else, as I want to try hard to be consistent with Fig. Making mistakes, and being inconsistent sets back training progress days and weeks. Fig is more and more forgiving of my clumsy humanity, but I cannot claim her personal growth as my own, it isn't. If you are not interested in bird handling you might want to skip Rule 143.
1. Greeting and Praise. I announce that I am going to touch her. Why? As a greeting. To set the mood. To demonstrate my good intentions. As praise. This is what humans do. We say Hello. How are you? We shake hands. We touch a shoulder. It starts our interactions, and sets the tone for what follows. It opens the conversation, and assures both parties that things are amicable. With Fig, I often announce petpet to tell her, I am going to touch you. It opens most interactions, and I use it as a type of praise. It is a formality, and a ritual. I don't think Crows have a touch greeting, or formality, but Fig is all too aware that she is living in my world, the world of scary hands, so I figure it is best to have a way to talk about the elephant in the room right from the start and get it off the table. Also, I need to reinforce that touch is good, not bad, so using a very fleeting, soft touch as praise accomplishes that. She may not like the touch, but she knows she is being praised when I do it, so over time I hope she will come to associate touch with all things good. For now it remains, in her mind, that being touched is invasive, even an attack. That is just the Crow's natural perspective. That's why I keep the touch for praise, very fleeting, almost a wisp of nothing, real quick, with loads of nice vocal praise heaped in along with.
2. Affection. Crows are not super affectionate with eachother in nature, not in quantity anyway, as far as I have observed. They do spend time being affectionate, but it is only for an hour a day at most. In the afternoon, the pairs sit close, coming in face to face with one another, they chatter, maybe they preen eachother a bit, then they sit a bit aloof, but still "together" like British parents in their livingroom. So when I touch Fig affectionately on her face or neck, I only do it if she touches me first. She has to come and sit on my knee if she wants affection. Sometimes she will ask for affection from her perch, in which case I'll give her a massage, or gentle touches too, but generally, I wait for her to come sit on my knee on her own, because then she is clearly requesting affectionate touching. Actually, I end up getting twice the love from her by doing this, so the system works out. Now there are times when I will request, or even command her to come to my knee, but at those times affectionate touch is not permitted. I have to use the greeting or praise type touch which means I have to request it, and she can decline it, and if she says okay to it, I have to keep it very brief. Basically, the meaning is praise, thanks for coming to my knee when I asked! Affection is only given when the bird specifically requests it. Keeping affection and greeting/praise touch unconflated is key.
5. Hugs: A hug is a very claustrophobic thing for a Crow. Technically, hugging feels like catching. It requires a lot of trust. And what could possibly be the reasons for hugging a bird anyway? Fig will get on my lalp already, for affection. Hugging is not something we practice for affection. She enjoys the warmth, but she is easily spooked by noisy clothing. I usually give her a lot of soft words, and reassuring soft touches when she comes "in" for a hug, and the length of time of the hug is entirely up to her. She will come in close to my body and allow me to embrace her fully with my arms, a blanket, or my hands, and my chin. It is not a natural thing to do with a bird, so it is very important to use the practice as a practice for the human to listen to what the bird is communicating. I practice it with her as an emergency control, and a general handling control for times when I need to move her away from danger, or protect her. She has gotten more and more comfortable with being "hugged" and she stuffs her face in my jacket or looks up into my eyes without stress because if she says she wants out, the arms open. If a dog comes, or a hawk, or a door opens, I need to know that Fig will come close on command and be constrained for her own safety. We practice by starting with very short hugs, and working up to longer times. Recently, Fig can go for a hug for 30 minutes. Again, I am not making her stay, she just settles in, and does the hug position until her anxiety overflows, and she says, I gotta get outa here. Then she starts fidgeting, and I open my arms, and say you can go, and maybe she goes, and maybe she settles back in. The key is if I end the hug, I must let her know when the hug practice is about to finish so she can calmly exit the hug. She has gotten very good at this too.
6. Feet: Because Fig is injured, I need to regularly inspect her feet. I do this by initiating a hug which she feels comfortable with. Then her feet are inspected one at a time by moving the foot backwards. This way Fig can stand while getting a check-up and I do not need to manhandle her. I simply support her while she stands on one leg, having her lean against my belly supported by my hand on her other side. I have her turn around the other way to inspect the opposite foot. For some reason, inspecting one side is more touchy than the other. Touching a bird's feet is a big no no. They don't like it. By doing the inspection with the bird standing, or in a nested position on your lap the bird feels much more comfortable than if you were to hold the bird in both hands say, or grab both legs or some more manhandlingish technique which creates resentment, and damages trust. Fig also practices nestling down in my lap so I can reach under and inspect her feet. You just need to practice this a lot so the bird understands exactly what to expect. If the bird remains panicy, you need more practice, and more time. Don't over practice a bird. 10 times doing one "hold" is tons for one day. Give it time. Be regular and consistent.
7. Holding: Holding Fig is something we practice to build her confidence. It is dangerous, and should be done very carefully in an open space with no obstructions. There are various ways to go into a hold: from a hug, from a nestle, from perched on an arm, to a feet on your shirt position. Being held is something she needs to be familiar with for safe handling when we are outside. Practice is a very slow progression, and a little consistent daily repetition. She gets lots of praise, and confidence from working together. None of what we do together is designed to be a performance or a circus act. She does not do stupid things like lie on her back, hang upside down, or other dumb ideas, or "tricks". Fig is not a performer, and I have no intentions of ever being a bird act. The simple fact is that Fig is a fast, powerful animal, and the only way to responsibly handle her is to train her and practice handling her, and controling her for her own safety. The information written here is intended solely for other people who are caring for permanently injured wildlife which cannot otherwise survive without a human caretaker, and for my own review to self evalutate. Continually evaluating my own actions with Fig is very important because Fig cannot evaluate me, and one mistake can mean the end, or injury. It is easy to trick oneself into thinking one is doing the right thing. Hopefully, the few successes , and many failures I have with Fig will be provide some helpful information for others, but basically, I am looking out for Fig. I am her only...
Perched on Arm/Quiz: Okay, so these things being said, what is the proper protocol when Fig is perched on my arm? Here is a situation where I have asked her to get on my arm, but she has also voluntarily complied. So, under the guidelines above, can I give her affectionate touches, or do I stick with the praise touch? This is a tough question to answer, but when in doubt, I go with the praise touch. The reason is that the arm is a place I need to know that Fig feels very comfortable being. It is a mistake to think that a Crow is always receptive to "affectionate" touches. It might take your touches that way, but it might not want affection. Because the goal is to get the bird very comfortable on your arm. Giving affection on the arm creates the possibility that the bird might decide it wants more personal space, hence, the chance that it might fly off. For this reason, I keep the touches when Fig is perched on my arm of the praise variety. It is better to hold her very close, and use your voice when perched on your arm. This creates focus on vocal communication, and makes the bird feel safe when intimately close to you. The other thing to consider is that the right arm, the arm with the feedback hand is unavailable. If you are going to give affection, you need to follow that experience up by asking for feedback, and you can't do that while the bird is standing on your feedback hand.
Kisses: Kisses are touch too. Do Crows like kisses? It's something to evaluate. For now, it is clear that Fig enjoys being touched or nuzzled by warm lips. She does not, however, like the sound of a kiss, especially near her sensitive ears. Crows startle remarkably easily. So, kisses are okay, but mute them, or find a purr or murmer which is very very soft. The question is, is a kiss praise, or affection? People are very touchy feely. We are overbearing. We must be consistent, and very careful with our manhandly natures. We think every touch, every kiss is affectionate. The birds may enjoy those things sometimes, and be not in the mood at others. You can gage this with judgement, but I feel it is best to restrict affection to those moments when the bird volunteers to come for it, and take judgement out of the equation. For this reason, I have filed kisses under praise. A warm touch with lips is comforting. It is like a reward. Still, it is not natural for birds, who have no lips. So, when is a kiss best used? I use a kiss to follow up a petpet touch, as praise. It is a level up of praise. I do not use kisskiss off arm, or off lap. If you kiss a bird on a perch, that feels like attack, or invasion into personal space. So kisses are used as special praise, when the bird is in a good mood, a relaxed state, when it is receptive, and when it is hugging, or perching on the hand, the two closest places. Kissing the bird on the knee is mixing distance, and intimacy. The knee is the place to affectionately touch, but it is too distant to have the right feel for a kiss. So yes to kisses during hugs, and hand perching, no to kisses on the knee, or the perch. Kisses definitely are between praise and affection, but try and keep them filed under the correct column. Here is an anaology:
At times, you are the bird's parent. We expect our parents to be affectionate.
At times, you are the bird's teacher. We do not expect our teachers to be affectionate. They get arrested for that.
Note to self: Sometimes Fig gives feedback to my left hand when she is perched on my right hand. I did not necessarily ask for it. It is consistently softer, and gentler than the feedback I get to my right hand. It's like she is saying, I like you. This seems to make sense since my left hand is the hand that gives her so much praise. While the right hand is the hand that she steps up onto to be controlled. While I would love to have her give me soft, loving feedback to both hands, I do not think there is anyway around the fact that things are what they are. The best I can do is to give her a chance, via the right hand, to say Fuck The World! and listen to those feelings. She obviously has those feelings. Anyone in her situation naturally would, I think. The best I can hope for, over time, is that she will grow more confident and happy, and less anxious and stressed, that has certainly been the trend so far, I just don't want her progress to plateau.
Rule 142: Spring Training Update:
I took Fig to the park for the first time in some months. The aim was to get a reading on our bond. I also was hoping to have a chance to get her up on her new training perch. Getting to the park was fine. I took her in my jacket, which she loves because it's warm. All indications were good; she was very calm and relaxed up to the moment I released her on the grass. She remembered the park well enough. She did her usual cawing to announce her presence, and find out if any other Crows were about. I spent a few minutes coralling her to the usual "safe spot" marker ontop of the low wall. She coraled just fine. It was a half moon night, and all the park lights were on for an event at the school next to the park, so Fig's visibility was significantly better than previous visits to the park. As a result of the good lighting, she ran about in a much wider area, and I had to focus on coralling her more than I anticipated. But, she came to her wall marker spot okay, so I left her in my peripheral vision to go and set up her perch. It was then that a dog walker passed by, and Fig decided on her own that jumping into a tree would be well advised. I immediately went to her, thinking she would climb higher in the tree, which could mean hours of waiting for her to come down for me, and a long night. She did not run away up the tree though, instead she let me pet her. I made the mistake of attempting to grab her tail, wanting to get her down immediately, but she jumped out of the tree leaving a tail feather in my hand. Man, she was really not happy about that. She ran across the park and back, and came and gave me a serious earful. I should have trusted her more. I guess the dog spooked us both. Anyway, she went back to her marker and calmed down, but she had had a taste of that tree. When I went back to assembling her perch, she made another dash for the tree, and this time she was up it quick. I climbed up to get her, and she jumped into the next tree. So we had a bit of back and forth, until I got tired and decided to let her have her fun. She only wanted to climb about and enjoy being a bird for a couple hours which is pretty reasonable in my book. I could be out for hours waiting for her to come down though so after a couple hours I decided it was time to call it quits. Fig eventually got her eye on a telephone cable, which would be like a freeway to anywhere in Japan, so I went back into action. I told her to stay off the cable, and she listened pretty well. Then I told her to come down, which she wanted to, but she couldn't find a soft place for a landing. I could see she was looking for a somewhere to go to. Usually when she finally decides to give in and come down, she looks for a low bush. The only bush around was across the street. Fig could easily fly across the street from high in the tree, as she can manage level flight for a few meters before going into a 40 degree downward glideslope. So she gave up on the telephone wire and made sights for the bush across the street, off she went, down she came. There is something she loves about walking around atop a soft bush, she is in her element with her long legs. She waded around on the bush for a while, high out of reach of me. I kept asking her to come down. I was talking to her, saying the words we practice, so she could know for sure it was me she was dealing with. Then she ambled down from the bush and jumped up on my hand. I put her back in my jacket and she squawked at me, and started preening the turkey skin on my neck.
Conclusions: 1. I need to transport her in her box, so I can set up her perch before releasing her; she just gets up to too much monkey business unsupervised. She is a rascally one year old. 2. I need to practice in a smaller, secure area before attempting the park again. I think she will learn her perch marker, and learn to go to it, and rely on it instead of trees as her safe spot. 3. She is smart enough to avoid dogs, cats, and other people well enough on her own, but unfortunately she has lost a little bit of what little flying ability she had. Perhaps with more regular exercise that can be regained. 4. Our bond is good, definitely better than a couple months back. She was not afraid of me when I was being strict and coming close, or shaking her off a tree branch. She came directly to me without needing to be grabbed, or told to submit by smooshing herself down. That is the real evidence of progress. And she didn't bite me in anger after being reunited/recaptured, in fact she seemed relieved. The next day she was full of love and cuddles never ending which I took as a sign that she did not want to go to the park again. So, 5. Being free is as stressful, and challenging for her, as it is for me. I can see she worries about the exact same things that I worry about: Am I going to lose track of my human? Is my human going to follow my instructions? Is my human going to trust me? 6. She is going to succeed at learning to be an outdoors, free bird, this is very clear to me. The risks are reduced, but they remain. Cats, dogs, people, cars, she is keenly aware of them all. If her flight ability remains diminished her freetime will not get to an unsupervised stage, but at least she will be able to enjoy going to the park, the beach, and other outdoor spots and trusted to behave. 7. There is a lot of work still to do.
Rule 141: Don't Wash My Pals
I was doing some laundry the other day. Specifically, I was washing black pants in a bucket in the shower room with Fig on her usual perch. She got extremely freaked out about what I was up to. I think she thought I was drowning one of her friends. Even after I took the pants out and unravelled them, she still seemed to think I might have murdered a Crow for a little bit. She screamed at me in a way I have not heard before. It sounded like she was yelling, Stop! Whatcha doing?! Murderer!!!! She finally came around to common sense but it sure took her by surprise. Usually she likes it when I splash about doing laundry with her.
Rule 140: Wash My Face and I'll Chat
The best thing you can do to befriend your Crow is to wash her face. Wet your hands in warm 42 degree water, and gently touch around the eyes, the beak, the cheeks. A Crow will forget her fears, and inhibitions, and become putty in your hands. They like to have their bristly nostrils, and neck washed too. Usually I miss Fig's naturally vocal time in the late afternoon, but if I wash her face when I come home she becomes so happy, she starts chattering away very cheerfully. Most birds enjoy being preened and washed but Crows seem to especially forget their worries when they are given a bit of loving affection with warm, wetted hands.
Rule 139: iLove an iPhone
Fig is so into sound files, and video. She gawks at video like she just cannot believe there is a tiny Crow in this little box. She stares with the intensity of a bewildered human child, in utter disbelief. Then she pecks at my iPhone screen. I want to show her more videos; she absolutely loves watching anything and everything. Maybe a phone company will sponsor Fig's blog and give her her own iPhone in the future. She is watching a video of herself preening after a shower. She just cannot believe her eyes, and is marveling at the tiny Crow in front of her. Her expression reminds me of the expression you see the kids make in Our Gang (The Little Rascals) tv show when they express surprise. I tried my best to capture her awe in the photos below. In the second one she is cawing at it.
Rule 138: Little Known Crow Play Fact?
When Crows go to sleep on a round perch they do something which is very interesting which I have not observed in other birds (doesn't mean they don't do it, just that I have never seen it), anyway, they balance on the balls of their feet, and curl their toes up backwards. It is like they are stretching, or cracking their knuckles, or perhaps they are playing by literally rocking themselves to sleep. Whatever is going on, it gets filed under cute as hell. Just look at the pictures.
(above It's like sleepwalking zombie bird.
(above) Can you stand the cuteness?
(above) Here we see the cuteness just beginning.
(above) It is a miracle that Fig has gotten tame enough with the limited amount of contact and interaction she gets, to fall asleep while I am noisily cleaning the bathroom right under her nose.
Rule 137: Outdoor Training
Fig will start untethered, outdoor perch training again at night at the park. She will hopefully learn to go to, on and up her new perch ladder, and hopefully she will want to play. She could easily run away. It's a risky thing. It worries me a lot, but I think she's bonding, trusting, and submitting to instruction well. I plan to transport her in her box, not tethered, so she can feel safe, and warm, and a bit surprised to be free suddenly, so she'll look to me for answers and guidance after the initial panic wanes.
Rule 136: Fig is much more comfortable these days. She jumps all around me, on my knee, on my hand, on my shoulder, by the scary door. She has almost lost her paranoia completely. She used to stay on her safe spot much more. Now she seems less and less to have one. She has also lost her paranoia about the "hospital" room finally. She lets me hold her tightly, or with her legs back without a panic for foot check-ups. I even kissed her chest while she hung upside down from my shirt, usually a sure invitation to feasting paranoia, and loud bossy Grawww!!! and a hard peck. To put your mouth on a bird's neck, the underside where a predator would latch, requires some serious trust; I am proud of Fig's progress. She has improved constantly day to day with very little time to interact considering that she entertains herself from 8-5 most days. She is quite a survivor. An amazing spirit.
Rule 136: Outdoor Training
Fig will start untethered, outdoor perch training again at night at the park. She will hopefully learn to go to, on and up her new perch ladder, and hopefully she will want to play. She could easily run away. It's a risky thing. It worries me a lot, but I think she's bonding, trusting, and submitting to instruction well. I plan to transport her in her box, not tethered, so she can feel safe, and warm, and a bit surprised to be free suddenly, so she'll look to me for answers and guidance after the initial panic wanes.
Rule 135: Fig is much more comfortable these days. She jumps all around me, on my knee, on my hand, on my shoulder, by the scary door. She has almost lost her paranoia completely. She used to stay on her safe spot much more. Now she seems less and less to have one. She has also lost her paranoia about the "hospital" room finally. She lets me hold her tightly, or with her legs back without a panic for foot check-ups. I even kissed her chest while she hung upside down from my shirt, usually a sure invitation to feasting paranoia, and loud bossy Grawww!!! and a hard peck. To put your mouth on a bird's neck, the underside where a predator would latch, requires some serious trust; I am proud of Fig's progress. She has improved constantly day to day with very little time to interact considering that she entertains herself from 8-5 most days. She is quite a survivor. An amazing spirit.
Rule 135: Rainy Day Blues
On a rainy day, Fig goes into energy conservation mode. She is very quiet, and much calmer than in good weather. Even though she is not getting wet in her living space, she still goes into energy conservation mode typical of the wild Crows on a rainy day.
Rule 134: Color Update:
Fig will now correctly fetch a color string from three colors, and bring it to me. She told me, I want to play the game where I jump under the bar then up on it after choosing a string. She is highly distractable, so I have taken to issuing instructions while she sits on my hand. She is particular to thick string, so I mix up thick and thin to make sure she's following my request, not just getting the string she is partial to. She loves the clear "string" the most. It's fishtank tubing. Her knowledge of 13 colors is still iffy. I don't push her. It's just one thing we do, once per day, usually, unfortunately, not at her most naturally vocal time. Dayjob blues.
Rule 133: I Am Not Afraid...of Everything!
Fig is now totally unafraid of our seven year old son who loves to do his best to startle the daylights out of her. Loud Boos, arms raised, sudden zomby Raaas! All go ignored. She preens right through his best attempts at obnoxious.
Rule 132: Color Update
Fig suddenly started chattering English more after a week of being mute. She's trying to say anything and everything but her words are like baby talk chatter. She has a ways to go with controling her enunciation. Hello sounds like Haroooo. I love you turns into alarooo. She jumps back and forth from loud Crow cawing, clicking, gurgling, croaking, and such to quieter human language attempts. She seems markedly happier suddenly; is this due to her new found communication ability? I think so. She seems thrilled to actually be connecting.
Rule 131: Color Update
Fig is doing well, but has not spoken again since her first time. My wife said she was chattering something new outside today though, perhaps trying to speak on her own. I have tried up close, far away, revealing a flashcard from around a corner which totally gets her excited and curious, and calling the colors to her from far away. I have tried whispering, chatting up close, and saying them repeatedly really loud and obnoxious. Hmmm. Still experimenting.
Rule 130: I Am Not a Dog
I started trying to teach Fig to fetch. She is actually doing alright so far. She'll go get a string, or a stick, and bring it to me, but she does not yet fully understand the series of tasks is what I am asking her to do. I'll pursue it if she continues to enjoy the communication, which she seems to so far. She pays very good attention when I am trying hard to communicate something.
Rule129: I'm Not Feeling Friskies
Sometimes I give fig a bit of our cat's dry food as a snack. She seems to like it alright, but there is one piece she refuses to eat. Can you guess which it is? I tasted them to see if I could figure out why, and it seems to me that the one she hates has a slight amount of pepper in it.
Rule 128: Here is a picture of Fig's new training stand! She has to practice on it at night first, hence the white tape, and the bright rungs. It is not quite as steep as it looks, only about 40 degrees, with 60cm between rungs, easy for her to jump. The height puts her eyelevel just above mine so she will feel safe at the top, and want to go there from the ground during training.
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Rule 127: I Talk!
Happy Valentine's Day 2014!
After only a couple weeks of study Fig spoke! Well, she imitated what I said. She said three of the 13 color names she is learning. She said Ha once, that's brown. She said Ko twice, that's black. And she said Ahrrr three times; that's silver, her favorite because she enjoys looking at her distorted reflection (note to Matt, more shiny toys). It is also the most hilarious because she sounds like a pirate impersonator. She also mouthed several of the other color names. It's amazing considering how we only practice the colors once or twice per day for five minutes. I had her on my hand this time around, so that may have increased her attention, interest, happiness, connection with me? She was really trying hard. I'm very proud of her.
Rule 126: I Love My Alone Time
Fig is always happy to have a visitor, but she really likes to be alone too. She plays jumping games. Does a bit of flying acrobatics doing turns in the air, jumping into corners, bounding off the walls, chattering, preening, bathing, hiding things. I thought she'd get depressed but she is surprisingly self stabilizing. She does rely on the few times I visit, and interact with her each day, and she enjoys showering together, studying, and PE time. I give her boxes, cartons, acorns, peanuts in the shell, assorted colorful toys, paper, aluminum wire, and many other things to play with, but her own imagination seems to be the most powerful life tool in her mental health arsenal. I need to seriously think about what will happen to her if I die. My consistent attention is the one thing she counts on.
Rule 125: I Bathe Twice A Day, or Thrice, even if it's freezing outside. I'm a bathing maniac.
I thought maybe Fig had itchy lice or something, but she isn't itching n scratching. She just loves making a tsunami. She is a kid.
Rule 126: Chirping Cat Ball Toy Is SCARY!
You've seen these if you have a cat. Cat toys that chirp when touched or rolled. I think the company unwittingly used a distressed bird call, or maybe it was intentional. In any case it frightens Fig a lot. She actually ran
Rule 126: I Communicate With My Head
Fig is learning 12 colors. To read about this please visit the Study Ideas Page.
Rule 125: String Is The Thing
Perhaps a string with a knot or two, or three in the end presents a similar challenge to snapping flies out of the air for a Crow. Whatever the reason, snapping at a string with knots remains Figs most exciting game aside from tag.
Rule 124: I Have No Manners
If you are holding grub, it's up for grabs. It's every man for himself at Fig's dining table. And don't expect an apology.
Rule 123: Training Update
I have built an outdoor training perch. It is a "ladder" 180 X 60cm with four perches/rungs spaced 60cm apart, supported on a large pair of 180cm legs in a sturdy X. It was a challenge to design something so large but light weight, sturdy, and disassembleable in a few minutes. I need to train Fig to get on it now. But where? She has to try it at least a couple of times before I have a hope of coaxing her onto it outside.
Rule 122: Peanuts In The Shell Please
I have no idea why, perhaps it is the challenge and fun of pecking them open, or maybe they just taste better but dry roasted peanuts in the shell are delicious, while shelled peanuts are a major bore. Hmm.
Rule 121: No Sugars and Salts
Do not give Fig any salt or sugar, or very very very little. Fruit, and other natural food sugars are okay. As a non flying bird, these two things raise her energy level to highly anxious states which are off the charts, and hard to bring back down to normal levels. If she was flying around all day, it would make little difference, but she is not, so she does not need her batteries to be overcharged.
Rule 120: Crows are a Nervous Wreck
Fig needs to always have water, or food present. She dissipates anxiety which accumulates at a tremendous rate but giving food or water a peck, or just going near it. Humans have a very similar relationship with beer, and refrigerators
As a matter of course a Crow will not sit still, they will jump back and forth, turning at angles. It is important NOT to sit them on a single perch; they are NOT parrots. You need two parallel perches, but two perches set at a T are better. On a T the bird can jump turn, jump side to side, right and left. If you can make a + and raise one arm at a 45 degree that is great. Triangles and Squares are also good.
Fig can also dissipate that energy by communicating her stress level via an approved peck to my hand, but she seems to get two different sorts of dissipation satisfaction from those two sources. In one case she is deciding to do it herself by jumping to her water bowl. In the other case, I am asking her, tell me how you feel. Both are a good idea to have available constantly. Without at least one stress release available, pecking or plucking behavior sets in rapidly. With nothing else to peck, wood, a toy, some fabric, a string, a Crow would probably pluck all it's feathers out in a matter of minutes. Fig has a tiny bald spot on her knee. When she feels particularly stressed, she touches that spot to remind me. Hey buddy, are you sure you want to ask me to do that, because I'm feeling rather stressed about it. She'll even grab onto a feather and toy around with it, as if to say, if you push me on this matter, I am going to yank this sucker out. She knows how I feel about plucking.
Rule 119: Speak My Language
Crow Language is still very new to me, but I am trying to identify, and make use of sounds which are natural and easy for Fig to say, in hopes that we can one day communicate both ways vocally (using the same words, she will already "converse", but also so that she can easily hear, and remember the names of colors, objects, or commands. I figure it might be a good idea to meet her half way in the language department.
I decided I would just jump ahead and start teaching her 12 colors, since she seems to be such a fast learner, and frankly, she seemed bored with just four colors. I realize that is a big jump from 4 which she knows already, but what the heck. I figure it is better to overestimate her abilities than to underestimate them. We started drilling yesterday, and we started using cards instead of objects in my hands, which meant that I had to teach her to peck the card to choose it, which was new. She did okay with choosing a card, deciding to peck it on her own. She is a little wary of the cards because I laminated them so they are a bit glossy, and reflective. She is very sentisitve to any light flashing around on walls behind or around her. I'll probably go back to objects, but for now it is cards because I myself am trying to remember the language I assigned to the twelve colors in sounds which I have decided are easy for a Crow to hear, and maybe speak. As far as speaking, there really are not many natural vowels or consonants they make use of. Humans use the tongue, and our lips a lot in speech. Crows obviously don't have much in the way of lips, and I am not sure how useful their long tongues are in speech. Anyway, here are the colors as I have named them. Many of the sounds are taken from Japanese.
Red (aka)
Orange (o, oh)
Yellow (ki)
Green (do)
Blue (ao)
Purple (oa)
Black (ko)
White (a, ah) (I elected to change this from Shiro)
Grey/Silver (Arrr, like a pirate)
Brown (ha)
Gold (Raaa, like a parrot)
Clear (no, as in no color)
She was clearly happy to have a bit more of a challenge, and more audio-visual information to review. Once she gets comfortable with pecking the cards consistently, I will try show and hide, so she can try the additional challenge of remembering where a certain color was. I want to try and get her to go and retrieve a card, or object of a certain color from where I hid it while she was observing. Not sure if that will ever happen.
I briefly tried getting Fig to select a color from two different color dots on a black card last night. She was baffled at the task. I think in her mind she saw one card, so there was nothing to peck at since both dots were on one page. Will keep at it. It's not like I have 8 hours a day to teach a Crow colors. Usually, give her a minute of focused time between washing the dishes, and other household tasks. I figure many short high energy focus times are better than one long boring, repetetive lesson.
It is fun when Fig shows some enthusiasm. She will quickly choose the red card because that is the one she learned first, so she has this Oh, I know that one! energy that comes out.
Rule 118: I Just Get It/I Remember Instantly
If I show Fig two things, or two quantities, and I drill the laguage for a minute. Then mix the things up in my hands. Show her the things in my open hands to remember for a second. Close my hands, and ask her where one of them is, she gets it right, just like that. Red is in this hand. Two are in that hand. The thing I can't quite get over is that she intuitively knows I am asking her Where? Which?
I am starting to think I am a real dumby. Here's this amazing creature in my life, and I can barely comprehend her. Further, if I give her two arms and a knee, and say jump across using this knee, and the arm but skip the second knee, she does it. Obviously, I have no idea what this animal is. I have no idea what I am doing. Wow, just wow! She's really something.
I am going to try:
- Giving her three or four choices to choose from. I only have two hands though! It's a bit of a problem.
-Hiding things while she watches or doesn't watch, and ask her to get from, or look in the red box, or the blue bag, or bring a specific item. She has to be capable of two word instructions.
- Asking her to identify our family members in photographs. I suspect she knows! Cue the Twilight Zone music.
- What else? Just a quick note for now.
Note: I ceased giving food rewards ages ago. The only rewards she gets are praise, affection, and interaction. It seems sufficient, but she always gets special favorite foods when I'm home in the evening.
Rule 117: Multi-person Training is Exciting and Fun for All
Fig agreed to jump from me, to my son, to the bath the other day. She was shy, and wary about it and jumped off to the side, and right over my son's arm a couple times but she eventually trusted me to direct her via my son's arm to the bath tub. That was a massive leap forward in my eyes (pun intended).. My son was excited about having overcome his fear of Fig too. She had jumped on his head a couple months back, rather putting him off Crows for a good while. Now he is interested again.
Rule 116: Talk To Me
Fig will talk to my young son in Crow. She will imitate his cawing. And he will imitate hers. They enjoy a good chat at high volume. Fig and I are more likely to speak to eachother very softly though. I think this development is a sign that she is connecting with our son more.
115: Crows are Part Woodpecker, Pelican, Seagull, Duck, Squirrel, and Spy.
Crows carry food in the sack under their beak.
They talk constantly like Gulls,
They like to wet their food like Ducks. Figs favorite treat is sugary cornflakes floating in water. I only give her a few as a treat. Most of the sugar rinses off.
Fig is excellent at hiding food. She'll create a fold in a towel, and even cram food up inside a hollow plastic tap/ucet knob.
Crows are very secretive. If you watch them from a distance, they will pick up on it, and move off. They think you are after their food.
Rule 114: (Perch Update)
I built an outside training perch for Fig. It is a 1mX180cm rectangle with four perches spaced at 60cm apart. I can tip it at an angle to make a 45 degree ladder, or put it up on 4 legs like a big table. Fig is going to love it because she will be able to go to the ground, run over and leap three steps up to above my eye level. Cannot wait to have a try at the park.
Rule 113: "Hot" Bird Training Tip
If you are training a bird, you will more than likely be familiar with food, clicks, vocal and facial praise, good times to train, and other familiar training techniques, but one thing I have never seen in any bird book or video is the hot water bottle or electric blanket as a training tool. I have seen blankets recommended for cuddling and playing, but this is a bit different. Letting your bird sit on a fleece wrapped hot water bottle or electric blanket on your knee while doing affection time, talking practice, bonding, or just as a reward for trick training performance is a brilliant tool for winter time training. Making yourself warm with your words, your face, your touches, and as a place to sit will make you a much more appealing cuddle partner.
Rule 112: Remember Your Child Development!
Fig is ever more affectionate. Hugs are longer. She likes to be kissed on her head. Generally she is much softer with her stress feedback when she pecks my hand, and she is happier over all, fluffing more often, jumping on my arm enthusiastically, initiating her favorite activities, calling more, asking for more together time, and attention, coming closer to me, even in her living space where she had been more independent before. She is very engaged now, very attentive. I have to remind myself that she is only a toddler, that her mental development is happening, because to look at her you see a full grown bird, and that is not the case at all. I want her to survive her first year of life, but I also must make sure I teach her about the environment, and survival.
Rule 111: Information Carries Over
I was worried because the commands Fig was learning indoors were not translating to the park environment. Even the basic commands went out the window, so I have recently limited time outside to help her focus. But recently Fig on her own, initiated games that we usually only play indoors, outside in her living area. She also took commands that I had only used indoors outside. So I am very excited that this development will play out next time we go to the park. I have made her a new training structure for the park. We will see, come February. It is doubly nice because it is a sign that she is more deeply trusting and bonding which means I can trust her outside, with a bit more freedom hopefully.
Rule 110: Studying Colors
Fig has gotten better at colors. She can identify red, blue, white, and yellow with near 100% accuracy when asked to choose between any two. It remains an uninteresting task for her to do however. I am only doing it to lead to a more interesting activity in the future. We only practice a little, between more physical activities to have a rest. Sometimes she shows me her boredom over the question by deliberately giving me all wrong answers. She'll hang her head, and very melodramatically choose the wrong object. It is exactly like teaching math to a first grader. She would much rather play, be spontaneous, active, and a little silly than focused and cranial. I am going to start her on 1-4 and maybe shapes, or objects like stick, ball, cup, wire, string, box, and some other simple things. I want to give her more puzzles. Recently I have given her 20cm pieces of aluminum wire wrapped on her perches, and sticking up obstructively to see if she would play with them in some way, but she only bends them out of her way, and ignores the ones wrapped around perches. Anyway, it is important to introduce things to her environment, and give her a chance to explore them on her own before we interact with them together. She is familiar with string (her favorite), cups which she still thinks have food in them though I only put it in there once, and boxes with lids, and drawers. Onward...
Rule 109: What Do I Eat?
Fig's favorites are beef, chicken, fish, and eggs. Bread, tangerines, apples, tofu. Cooked grains.
But the rule is pancakes. A simple milk, egg, flour pancake is her favorite texture. It is also an easy thing to make, store, and include small chopped greens and other veggies in which she might otherwise object to. She can wait for a very long time for something better if she does not like her food. Pancakes also prevent her from splashing and scattering sloppy food everywhich way when she cleans her beak. I include tofu, greens, nuts, and meat in her pancakes to round out her diet. If I like it, she likes it, generally speaking.
Rule 108: How Much Can I Eat?
Just so you know, Fig will eat about 2.5 semi heaping tablespoons of food if she is rather hungry.
That's it. That will be a big morning meal. In the course of a day however, she will eat 2-4 times that much depending on the type of food, and the weather/temperature.
Rule 107: I Am Highly Spontaneous by Myself Too
Fig invents all sorts of games on her own. I really need to get a webcam on the balcony to catch what all she is up to. The other day she carried water across the balcony in her beak over and over and spat it all out on the dry concrete at the other end of the balcony; just for fun. Just like a human kid.
Rule 106: I Am Highly Spontaneous and Create My Own Games
This is a very important rule. It cannot be overstated. Fig can be played with in ways that I have never experienced, save for with human children. She will invent a game at times, asking me to chase, or entertain her with some activity. Likewise if I start a game, she gets it right away, and is into it, and interactive. For example, if I stick my arm out and say to her jump across, or go under, or go here, here, then here, she will follow those commands for praise, and for the sheer pleasure of playing with me. She is indeed like a human child. She looks right into my eyes, and there is a very discernible, concrete connection, and I can see clearly via her eyes, her face, and her body language if she is into the suggested silliness, or if she's not.
Rule 105: I Like a High Voice
Fig does not know my wife well, or interact with her much, but it is immediately obvious to me that Fig likes my wife's high voice, and is very favorably responsive to it.
Rule 104: I Can Get Into My Bed Box On My Own
Fig has done this a few times now, but is inconsistent. She obviously likes her sleeper box though because she has been hiding food in it.
Rule 103: New Things are VERY Exciting!
I invented a couple of new toys for Fig to discover. I drilled a hole through her flat perches and hung a heavy washer on a bit of cord with knots tied in it. She can pull it up, then it goes back down on its own. So she can pull the cord up about ten centimeters again and again. And I drilled holes horizontally too so she can pull a cord through, turn around and pull it back through the other side. She got so excited she wore her feet out a bit jumping around the first day, so I had to massage them with Nivea. New things just make her so so excited. The fleece padded perches are doing an excellent job of protecting the pads on her feet, but yesterday she just got too hyper and jumped back and forth all day on clean perches in a new configuration with new toys. I should introduce new things one at a time really.
Rule 102: (Heater Box)
I have designed a nice fleece covered heater box with a light bulb inside for Fig to sit on. So far, she has rejected it in her outside space. She'll put one foot on it to reach food, but she won't be commanded to go onto it, and she won't jump on it voluntarily. That is actually a lot of very fast progress after practicing and familiarizing together in the bathroom. I think she will accept it, and start sitting on it within a week. Hopefully she can sleep on it instead of going into her sleeper box, but I may decide to keep the sleeper box weather she takes to the heater platform or not. Hmm?
Rule 101: Put Me To Bed!
If you keep me up past bedtime, I become excitable, erratic, impulsive, and hyper. Gosh, that sounds exactly like my seven year old son! Do not miss my bedtime. Put me in my sleeping box before symptoms of over-stayed-awake syndrome start to display! I need my sleep. Fig can stay up until 8ish, but she ought to get to bed by 7. She will stay up no later than 11 if given an hour in a dimmed room to nap. She is not a late night animal. She is not an early bird either. She will stay in her sleeping box until 8-10am. The sun is up at 7am these days, but not Fig, no way, she likes her warm box. If she is kept up past the hyperactive phase, she will experience an anxiety phase. Crows run on a very strict natural clock, and it is important to know it, respect it, and honor it. Anxiety in birds can lead to hyper breathing, increased heart rate, perhaps heart attack? I don't know, and I don't plan to find out.
Rule100: I'm Moody, but Timely
Fig is a very predictable bird. In fact, I think I should make a mood clock which displays her moods throughout the day. Bird moods and human moods have interesting similarities and differences but I will need to pay more careful attention and take better notes before I can make an accurate mood clock. In the morning Fig is very definitely soft, loving, and social. At noon she wants a bath. In the evening she becomes highly energetic, excited, and playful. That's a general idea.
Rule 99: Fig is Loves Her Sleeper Box
Fig leaps into her sleeper box very enthusiastically, and gives me very soft pecks once inside, to indicate extreme happiness, and relaxation. I think she may finally have started to go into it during the day, as I found she had torn off the door flaps today. I am not sure if I will continue to use it after winter. I am building her a heated box to sit on too since the dead of winter is upon us. So far we have had mostly 9degree Centigrade days, but January and February will surely have some colder days and nights.
Rule 98: Perch System Update:
Fig is happy with her perch systems inside and outside. The outside system is based on a rectangle. The inside one is based on a triangle. It is good to split perches in half, by which I mean to have a flat side, and a round perch side. One side should be higher than the other. Perches should be turned 180 twice weekly. In the middle of the perch it is a good idea to put an obstacle such as a short vertical post to jump around, a "wall" from a short piece of flat perch mounted on it's edge so the bird has to leap over it, or land on it causing a 90 turn, and there should be some 90 degree vertical perches, and 45 degree or sharper perches. Crows like to jump and turn 90, 180, and even 360 degrees when playing, and they like to cling to vertical posts, and angles.
I am experimenting with a new type of horizontal perch which is a round perch going through a thick walled tube of polyethylene. It is easy to wash, dries quickly, and is soft and warm for an injured Crow's hard working feet in the chill of winter. I am wondering if Fig will take to picking the polyethylene foam off the wooden perch. We shall see. It's one of three perches she has this week, and the others have wood and fabric to chew, so she may leave it alone.
Rule 97: Fig is Like a Puppy
Fig is very happy with her perch system outdoors, and indoors, and with her training routine which she now vocally demands, and enthusiastically jumps into literally. She leaps into my lap and says Let's go buddy! Time for some "training"! That is so nice to see. She is like a puppy. She cannot wait until I get home.
Rule 96: Fig Makes Up Her Own Games
I spied on her in her outside area. She was jumping up into the corner of the roofed area of her balcony space just for fun. She would jump up on one wall, push to the other in the corner, and tap the roof with her beak in midair while traversing the corner just as you have seen Jackie Chan do, then she'd land and do it again. She is very athletic and she could easily fly out of her area and run away, but so far she has stayed home. Anyway, I was wondering why she was doing this. I had hung an elastic cord for her to pull or peck at from the edge of the roof. It was hanging down in the middle of her perch system, obstructing her leaping and bounding playtime. She was leaping up into the corner, grabbing the string, and trying her best to toss the elastic cord up onto the roof. Eventually she succeeded. I took the cord down because it occurred to me that she might accidentally hang herself on it or otherwise entangle herself in it while jumping about.
Rule 95: Training Update
Fig will now walk hand to hand across my shoulders.
Fig will now jump down to the floor, that's a big trust hurdle overcome.
She has improved at color recognition. She passed a ten question test in which I asked her which color is white, yellow, blue, red in Japanese, with flying colors, though she only knows red and blue. A red cup or a blue cup was always included so she was able to deduce the correct cup by elimination. It is hard to get he to pay attention to this task because recently I am only giving praise for doing it correctly. Oh well. It's just one small part of her daily routine.
Rule 95: Outdoor Training Update
I have decided to try using a laundry hanger stand. It makes an X and as such has three horizontal perches of increasing height so Fig can jump up from the ground one, two, three. I will try it indoors and see if it is stable enough to use. She must have a stable perch system for training outdoors, otherwise she'll be spooked, and she could dash off. If it is stable enough in indoors trials I will either use it, or build something similar for the planned outdoor training sessions in mid-February, early March. The plan is to practice transporting her in a basket or cozy box like her sleeper box, and when she is released to coax her onto a familiar training-perch system as her target at a park area. The whole routine will be rehearsed extensively indoors for a month to six weeks before Fig has a go of it outdoors.
Rule 94: Food Update
Fig l ikes tomatoes, apples (minus seeds which I read are potentially poisonous), and I have been giving her boiled carrots which she nibbles on, but is yet to be thrilled about. Maybe raw carrot would be more appealing as a chew toy. She likes to chew apple, carrot, and orange slices to just get the juice sometimes without eating it per se. Nothing will ever beat bread, but a bit of greasy ground beef comes close.
Rule 93: Talking to The Birds
There are some basic rules I try to follow when talking to Fig. I am sure they will change over time; it has been a good long while since I have had a bird in my life daily, so I have forgotten a lot. Having a bird that lives outside, not inside, at least most of the time, makes it more difficult to have constant communication, but my sense for bird communication is emerging again slowly. If anyone has any comments on the topic, I'd love to hear them. Here are the general rules I try to apply when talking to Fig:
1. There are times to talk and touch, and times when just talking is appropriate. I try to distinguish the two. This is very important as I do not want the bird to fully associate talk with touch. Talk is a very special thing. Adding touch can be appropriate, but it can also ruin otherwise important and meaningful talk, and detract from communication. I put my hands away if they are not needed, and I keep touches very short during training sessions.
2. When I am far away, I use a big voice. Birds like that. I work on using a big voice from a certain distance on up, and below that distance I switch to the soft voice. Usually, I am either giving the bird attention, or not. Same goes between two birds, so the big voice, and the small voice are the most useful. The usual human volume voice is like background noise to a bird.
3. When I am close up I use a very small voice. Close up time is intimate. Birds naturally chatter, and whisper to one another in their pairs. It is almost inaudible. They are more responsive to soft talk up close than chatting them up at your natural volume from arms length. If what you are saying is praise, affection, associated with gentle touch, or you are instructing them for speech, or your are trying to bond, or you are trying to control them for safety reasons (depends), these are times when I use a soft voice. It is the same thing with children. Get in their face, get eye contact, and speak to them tenderly, and softly, and seriously. You don't want kids or a bird that say, Yeah Yeah everytime you open your mouth, do you? Shorten the distance, soften your voice.
4. I use gestures with voice commands. Having a double or triple, or quadruple communication ensures good communication. And I can rely on one or the other then when talking or gesturing may be inappropriate. Ideally for commands you will use your body, your face, arms, hands, posture, eyes, everything you've got, in addition to voice commands. I look at birds talking to each other in nature, they are very animated; it is not passive communication. My wife laughs at me a lot. Birds are much better communicators than us: I think having no hands or arms to gesture with makes them need to be more expressive in other ways. Actors ought to study them.
5. Try to make commands distinct, and try to keep them as similar to the bird's natural language, movement and vocal tones as you can.
6. Talk constantly if that is what your bird does with other birds in nature. If not, don't. Fig is a Crow, so when I talk to her it is never ending. Good girl. Good girl. There there. Yeahhhhh. Okay okay. Mm hmm Mm hmm. and on and on. I demand her attention non stop when I am training her, it is very intense, high energy, and active. I try and get the eyes on me as much as possible. A bird will think you are worth listening to if you mean business about paying attention.
7. When I am finished talking during training, affection, praise, a short interaction, whatever it was, always 100% of the time I check Fig's stress level. I do this by inviting Fig to peck my hand. She knows this is her chance to express how she feels presently, or about what was just practiced. A hard peck means she was scared or upset, confused, or over challenged. Repeated pecks means she really did not like the activity at all. A soft peck means she is feeling relaxed, and good about the activity. Usually during training I am aiming for a mix of all of those pecks. I try to minimize the hard and repeated pecks, but there are opportunities there to bond, too.
8. Talk should precede, happen during, and conclude whatever activity.
9. Sometimes gestures are better than talk. Never communicate by striking or touching out of anger. If you want a bird to go to a marker, touch the marker, but as far as the bird is concerned just gesture an encouraging push for directional purposes only, you should never actually push, pull, or strike a bird as communication. Not on the rump, not on the beak, not on the head, not on the feet, nowhere, period. It is not necessary to punish physically, or even to tease. Birds can be rascally, but if they do not follow commands, you have not earned their respect. Work harder at the soft talk, praise. When you start an activity, lift the bird above you. Humans naturally do the same thing with babies, right? We lift them up. They feel safe, admired, and a bit breathless, and excited. Start out that way.
10. Many repeated short visits to your bird will help train it faster. During training, come and go frequently. Keep the thing your are training short. Announce your intention to "arrive", big voice. Give lots of praise and excitement, big voice, greeting and raising the bird up above you. Do the training activity briefly. Giver more praise and excitement in a soft voice. Announce you are finished, get feedback, soft voice, blow kisses. Leave. Use this pattern.
Rule 92: Training Update
Fig now insists on training time, calling to me each evening. There is a bit of a conflict with getting my son to bed. Fig has learned all the commands well, but there is still work to do, trust to build, and a bond to solidify. We have added a few props to help further her understanding of commands, and build trust and confidence. Soon I will move training time outside, hopefully untethered. I need to introduce what her outside training perches will be first for at least a couple of good weeks. Also, I am going to scrap tethers since she resents them and transport her in a nice box so she feels a bit more relaxed and secure. I know she'll bolt initially out of the box, to call for family backup, but I am confident I can direct her onto a familiar training target after her initial excitement wanes. I want to aim one month down the road for a first attempt which will happen at night in a large open park. The goal will be control, and hopefully a training routine outside untethered.
Rule 91: I Need A Shoulder To Lean On, I mean sit on, oh forget it, can I just admire your shoulder from afar?
Many birds love sitting up on a human shoulder. Fig is no different, except that while she is up there she must look me in the eye. Crows have a bigger personal space than most birds. Fig is most comfortable sitting at about 50cm facing me. Sitting on the shoulder, and the knee raises stress over time. The hand is a close second, she can sit there for extended periods without raising stress. Recently she elects to sit with me, coming closer, nestling, puffing, and sitting like a pair might sit. Obviously she likes me more than she used to, which is very rewarding considering how hard I have worked to gain her confidence.
Rule 90: Crinkles and Crackle for this Grackle
left a plastic bag out. Usually Fig leaves new things alone. This day she tore the bag into a hundred tiny pieces. This plastic bag was a particularly brittle for a bag. I'll have to find more, she seemed to really enjoy destroying that.
Rule 89: To What Degree Am I Neurotic You Ask?
Fig's indoor perch where she trains and sleeps in the winter was moved 90 degrees. It was in the same place, just rotated. For her it was as if the Universe had shifted. She was not going to have it. She refused to sleep on it.
Rule 88: If My Beak is Open, that Means I Am Stressing
Fig gets stressed more easily than any animal I have ever known. She trusts me, and I will go so far as to say that she really likes me, but I can ask her to do things that stress her. For example, walking up to my left shoulder. Why that is stressful, I do not know, but she thinks it is, so that is all that matters. I still train her to do it, but I am giving her more time to lose the fear she has about it, so we practice it less. Fig will stand on my knee for a few minutes, but eventually, she gets anxious and has to jump off to reset herself. I let her set her own limits. As a result of her nature, I have learned to talk very quietly to her, and to move very slowly, and keep my hands out of sight when I am not planning to use them. She is not the least afraid of my hands, but out of respect for the fact that she is an extremely delicate soul, I just tuck my hands away unless they are going to be in use. People might be inclined to think that Crows are "manly" rugged critters; they are not; they are dainty, big canaries. I have had to nurture my inner angel something fierce handling this bird. Outside, she will play, and chase, and tease. She goes into wild animal mode just like a dog at the park. Inside, however, she wants tender affection, and calm, soft, whispery wooing and cooing. She is improving everyday, but more importantly, I am improving everyday too. Humans are utterly useless listeners, and clumsy man-handlers. We are still very Neanderthalish. Fig is tuned in to facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, the energy in my voice and breathing, and movements, and the flow of things within a context. She appreciates if I tell her what I intend to do, and ask her how she feels about that beforehand, then do exactly what is agreed upon, then ask her how things went, if it stressed her out, and how much. There is a constant need for communication in both directions; it isn't about just me. You cannot simple do something with a Crow. I mean, you can, but you will generate a stressed outcome, a stressful memory, and the opposite of progress. Fig wants to trust me. She gives herself to me completely. The question really is, am I trustworthy. That is a hard question to ask myself. I have a ways to go to rid myself of my inner jerk, but if anything will make an honest man of me, Fig will, because she is so honest, so fully responsive and so dear, so delicate and soft. She is after all a little girl. Well, I think she is. In any case, Fig is a bird, that cannot fly, and the sight of her drooping wing, breaks my heart every time I look at her, and whatever vial, rough, stinky macho lurks within me instantly bleeds away. It must. Fig requires a nice guy. This is the pleasure of coming to know a wild animal. One rediscovers the senses and sensitivities we too once relied upon for life and death survival. Domesticated man is more beast than the wild things that lurk about untamed. That's a sobering truth to unearth.
Rule 87: I Puff to Express Happiness
Fig is puffing up to express happiness more. She is becoming more comfortable in the dreaded "hospital" space, forgetting the awful memories of several months ago very gradually, and reluctantly. She enjoys sleeping in her sleeping box more than sleeping in the bathroom. I think she feels safer in the small box, than the large bath room. She gets excited when she sees me getting her sleeping box prepared.
Rule 86: My Gullet Makes Pellets for Just About Everything
Fig's gullet seems to produce a pellet for everything. I gave her some peeled, cored, sliced apple, and sure enough she produced a pellet of apple fiber. I would have thought the whole thing would be digested, but not the case.
Rule 85: I Can Ask
Fig asks for what she wants specifically. Water, food, or Affection. She will indicate the faucet if she wants a drink. She will tug at or tap in her bowl if she wants food. She will put her head down if she wants affection. If she wants to play, she will jump around excitedly. If she does not want to play, she will jump down from her perch and refuse interaction, as if to say, no thanks. She enjoys being interacted with, but she also seems to really enjoy her alone time in which she plays jumping games, flying games, bathing, vocalizing or calling, destructive pecking, playing with "toys", hiding things during which time she is very careful to be secretive, untying strings, moving her food bowls around, sometimes she puts things in her bath (this is new), and she seems to have several spots where she engages in her own sort of "teatime" fantasy where she brings some food, quietly chatters to herself, and has, for lack of a better word, a tea party.
Rule 84: I Am Affectionate
Fig is becoming more affectionate everyday. She really enjoys being petted, and she asks to be petted more and more in a variety of ways. Usually she puts her head down, and looks up at me. She is most affectionate after her training routine, when she is tired, before going to sleep. Petting a bird is very different from petting a cat or a dog, you have to really try hard to figure out where the bird's favorite places to be preened, scratched, and softly petted are. The feathers are a veritable forest of nooks, crannies, and feather stalks to explore.
Rule 83: I Know the Routine, and What Time It Is
Fig talks to me more and more. By which I mean, she now caws just as much as she used to, only she no longer caws much during the day, since her family has migrated off for the winter months. Now she mostly caws in the late afternoon, and she is talking directly to me. Come on, lets do our training routine! I want some of your dinner, I can hear you eating dinner! I want some more water! I want you to scratch me! She is getting very demanding, but her demanding time is limited to the time I have allotted to her in the afternoon, so thus far she is not being demanding all day long. She still has, and enjoys a bit of independence and alone time. She is less demanding than the cat by far. She will not let me skip her routine though.
Rule 82: Fig Invented a New Game During Commands Practice
She jumps on my knee and gestures to me with her beak, okay, now tell me to jump onto your other knee. She wanted me to tell her to go there, then there, then there, back and forth from knee to knee. It's a mini game of tag, her favorite. Too cute.
Rule 81: I'm Smart
I recently gave Fig all new perches, and I raised all the perch heights by a centimeter or two. Usually she drags her food bowl over to her favorite perch to dine at leisure, but the new perch height made it harder to reach her food comfortably. So what did Fig do? She brings two food bowls and puts the bowl with her preferred food into the bowl with the second favorite food to raise it up a centimeter or two. I was just blown away.
Rule 80: Update to Fig's Training Commands:
Fig is technically doubling her commands list because I am asking her to practice all commands on both left and right sides of my body now which pushes her out of her usual comfort zone as she is prefers one side or another, even one hand or another. These commands are rehearsed at least once per day, and the usual rewards used are praise and affection. The routine is practiced indoors, and in Fig's outdoors living area, and eventually at the park untethered. The commands are not intended to train Fig as a pet, but to increase our bond, our communication and understanding of one another, and to allow Fig to keep safe by understanding basic instructions. The goal is not to turn her into an act, but to give her mental and physical exercise and to build confidence and trust between us so she can enjoy more freedom, be happy and thrive physically and spiritually. The basic command routine is designed to expand over time, but for the first year or two of Fig's life these commands will be practiced and rehearsed until they are ingrained in our vocal, body, and facial language. Some commands are in English, but many are in Japanese because the Japanese sound is closer to a Crow's vocalization in those instances. or easier to hear, or shorter. They are as follows:
1. Upup: Jump up on my hand.
1. Upup: Jump up on my hand.
2. Down: Jump down from my hand to the target.
3. Jumpjump: Jump hand, to arm, to where I am telling you. Two jumps.
3. Jumpjump: Jump hand, to arm, to where I am telling you. Two jumps.
4. Petpet: Stay still for a pet.
5. Kisskiss: Stay still for a kiss.
6. Peckpeck: Peck Matt's hand to communicate your stress level.
7. Katakata (Shoulder): Walk up to my shoulder from my hand.
8. Tete (hand): Walk to my hand from my shoulder.
9. Hiza (Knee): Jump to my knee from my hand.
10. Hughug: Jump to my lap for a hug.
11. Downdown: Squat down. I am going to push you down in a somewhat dominating manner, please submit.
12. Koko (here): Go here, where I am pointing.
13. Push: This is a pushing gesture. It means go there. The is no touching, just the hand gently moves in a little to say go, or hurry up, or move over there.
14. Relax: This is a vocal command meaning we finished for now, take a break. I have no idea how Fig came to understand this command but she does. She flattens her feet, relaxes her posture, fluffs, and starts preening.
15. Mattematte (wait): This is a vocal and hand gesture, a flat open hand in front of Fig.
16. Go: Go here now! The flat hand becomes a pistol, pointer finger and thumb gesture, then directs where to go.
Fig can tell me which object is red or blue with a high level of accuracy, but she does not see the point to the question, or the activity. It is something I am using to strengthen our eye contact, and communication. Getting Fig to pay attention to something abstract is similar to doing math homework with my six year old son. The activity itself is not fun, or the point, but listening, paying attention, directing attention, giving a response, communication, bonding, praising, are. Fig completely understands that I am asking her to choose one of two things, and she comes to me and makes a choice, I just cannot always get her to commit to the task successfully because she is not very enthralled. This is the only activity I do where she is given a food reward. She would probably do better if I let her get a bit hungrier, but I am not willing to do that. Fig always has food to eat as she wishes. I will try to expand this to basic numbers, materials, or some other things if the results prove positive and her listening and attention improve.
Fig can tell me which object is red or blue with a high level of accuracy, but she does not see the point to the question, or the activity. It is something I am using to strengthen our eye contact, and communication. Getting Fig to pay attention to something abstract is similar to doing math homework with my six year old son. The activity itself is not fun, or the point, but listening, paying attention, directing attention, giving a response, communication, bonding, praising, are. Fig completely understands that I am asking her to choose one of two things, and she comes to me and makes a choice, I just cannot always get her to commit to the task successfully because she is not very enthralled. This is the only activity I do where she is given a food reward. She would probably do better if I let her get a bit hungrier, but I am not willing to do that. Fig always has food to eat as she wishes. I will try to expand this to basic numbers, materials, or some other things if the results prove positive and her listening and attention improve.
17. Aka (Red): Show me the red one
18. Ao (Blue): Show me the blue one.
Rule 79: I Love a Good Looooong Game of Tag!I took Fig to the park this evening, as my son was out with his friends. I have been testing a new longer tether which allows Fig to run further, and faster with more freedom of movement. It passed three or four tests close to home, so I decided to take Fig to a big park outside her territory to get a real run for her money. Unfortunately she apparently figured out how to unlatch the tether in the few days of testing we did, and after 30 minutes of tethered activity at the park, I suddenly realized she was standing there playing with the latch which once attached her leather strap to her leg. She did not immediately realize that she had freed herself from her tether, so she stood there on the grass for some time, lashing it back and forth like an angry pitbull, when suddenly, like an astonished kid realizing that she's solved her Rubic's cube, she cawed loudly, Ah ha, or Aw Aw, rather, I've done it! I was screwed, there was no way she was going to come
to me. Freedom was just too sweet. Especially having spent the day contained, and then suffering the indignity of being tethered. Fortunately, I have a few tricks up my sleeve which give me some reassurance when these situations come about.
First, I took Fig out at night as is our current training habit. Being afraid of the dark, I knew she would stay within the light of the park lamps we were under if she came untethered. Venturing into the shadows causes sudden night blindness for her in contrast to the brightly lit area. She trusts me much more than whatever might be lurking out in dark shadows. In fact she will even avoid going up into dark trees at night in favor of brightly lit flat ground. Crows have active, paranoid imaginations, and the dark is their absolute worst enemy. I call this the spotlight rule.
Second, I have done enough outside practice with Fig to know that she trusts and respects me, to a degree. She trusts me enough not to fear me, so she won't run away from me exactly. I am sort of like her older, rather tiresome disciplinarian cousin in her eyes. Sometimes she leads me on quite a journey, but I discovered that by simply ceasing to follow, she would stop running. So actually, she is not running away from me, she is playing chase and catch, and maybe teasing me a bit. And she respects me enough, that if I pick an object, like a wall, or a stump, or a fence, I can quickly get Fig to understand by pointing, and touching that I have selected that place as a target, or a safe zone, which if she goes to it, I will just let her be, so she can catch her breath, and I can also stand within a meter of her, and she will just relax. It is very important that I respect the rules and boundaries I draw, or Fig will leave the game area.
Third, I have watched wild Crows play enough to understand their preferred game, which is tag. Crows like to chase each other, and be chased, and Fig is no different. She delights in being chased around trees, bushes, and all around the place. This is exactly the same game that human children play on the playground. It is unsophisticated to adult eyes, but actually it follows some complex principals of fairness, sportsmanship, and socializing. And you'd better make it a good believable chase, not some wussy trot if you want to maintain her interest. She understands when I tell her, no, no, no, you have gone too far from the established markers, so she will return to them again and again, provided I give her a wide enough berth, and praise her each time she does so. She fluffs up and looks very accomplished when I praise her for getting back to a safe zone. She understands the words Good Girl, Good Bird, Yes, Yes. There There, Okay, and much other
positive feedback baby babble. The game of tag, and safe zones, is all very natural for a Crow. If you know this, you can quickly play with them in a way that builds trust, and mutual understanding, expectations, and a relationship where you become their respected playmate, rather than a feared predator.
Fourth, I have already established with Fig a training routine where I tell her the command PetPet which means I am going to pet your head, every time I touch her affectionately. And the command DownDown, which means, I am going to squash you down a bit in a somewhat dominating manner, but very gently, please submit. When Fig gets tired of playing tag, or thirsty, or sleepy, or cold, which she will sooner or later, these commands are how I catch her in a safe zone. I will never catch her outside of a safe zone right now. Perhaps that will change with time; I suspect so. Our communication is very personal, and complex. It is not something I have experienced with a dog or a cat at a similar level, or developed in such a rapid time-frame. It is a very interesting phenomenon to me, and a privilege and a delight to experience this relationship with a wild Crow in my life. I try to respect and honor Fig as a wild, intelligent, fellow living creature as much
as I am able to get myself to do so.
This is not a perfect system. The risks are there. Fig is a free, wild bird when we are doing this. But that is what she needs. Nothing could be more clear. She led me on an hour long game of tag before giving in the first time, today. Then I let her go again, and she went for another hour which I did not expect. It is great exercise, for both of us, a little too great really. It is winter now, and usually when I catch her, when she lets me catch her rather, her reward is a long cuddle in my warm jacket on the way home, with lots of loving whispers in her ear while she nibbles on my jacket's zipper. Will I be able to ply her with warm cuddles come Spring? Will she continue to let me catch her?
Another cool thing is she is starting to chatter back to me, and show some signs of wanting to speak English words. It is all very scary, because I love her more and more each day, and I never know for sure if she is going to come back home with me, or stay out with the stray cats, and other hungry predators. I'm leaving that up to her though, because she is wild, not a pet; I do not want her to be a pet, because she does not want to be a pet. She is teaching me something about being wild, and I am teaching her something about being domesticated, it is 51/49. I only have the 51 because I'm a bit older and wiser. It is all very humbling to foster parent this poor injured bird, but it comes with all the parental anxiety in the package deal.
Back in the Spring, I saw a baby Crow, squashed in the road. A pack of elementary school kids had seen the whole thing just moments before I hit the scene, and were laughing and joking, which seemed heartless, cruel, and unsympathetic, but is in fact a very natural way for young children to dismiss the heavy, grim, grotesque reality they witnessed. When they get older, they will feel very differently, and more maturely reflecting back on it. What none of them saw, however, was the mother Crow, above on the wire, upset, shocked, and deeply grieved. I watched that mother bird for a long time. I never suspected that I would be a mother bird like her, and I never want to experience her grief. But like a good mother, I know, I must let Fig reach for the sky, and achieve her potential, even if the stars are not to be hers.
Rule 78: Where Do I Sleep? (update)Sleeping in the shower room is not an ideal arrangement for Fig or for us, so I've made her a sleeper box. It should keep out mosquitos in warmer months, and keep Fig warm in the winter. Fig loves sleeping in her box, because she feels safe, and warm. Those are everyone's two favorite things along side full in the tummy, and clean, right?. Her new box features a square floorplan so she can rotate 360 degrees, a low height to keep retained heat low in the airspace, insulated walls, and two special doors. The first door is one full side of the box. Fig will not willingly enter a box unless she can see where she is going. It's a visual thing: Crow's are afraid of the dark. The second door is a saloon style swing door designed to let the box ventilate sufficiently, while retaining heat, and to allow Fig to exit at will anytime, night or day. She could go back in too, but I doubt she ever would. Crows are not natural cavity inhabitors. She seems to enjoy the box a lot, and she sleeps well in it. Her daytime mood is noticeably up a few notches. She goes to bed between 6-7pm, and gets up between 8-11. She is quite the sleeper, and not a morning person. She has a layer of wool sweater, and a thick fleece blanket to snuggle down on. She does not go to the bathroom inside the box, which is interesting since Crows are not natural cavity sleepers supposedly, though they do tend to toilet very litte at night even when perching. Anyway, Fig seems to enjoy her big, warm, soft, safe box, and it makes me happy to know she can get a quiet nights sleep, uninterupted, and can wake up when she's ready.
Rule77: I'm Not Lost Until I Can't See You
Fig knows where her neighborhood is and will keep to it. If she can see me that means she can go where ever she wants and continue adventuring. If she can't see me she gets worried, and stays put until I find her. She'll wait in the same spot for a whole day. She thinks that's normal. So the best strategy to catch a Crow is to stay out of sight and caw. I think one caw is a question, You there? More caws means communication is established, carry on. Hence the name Carry on Crows. Haw haw! Crows don't have a word for Get your butt down out of that tree right now or you are in big trouble Missy!
Rule 76: I'm a Terrible Listener
If I really want Fig to obey when she is excited, I have to clap before instructing her or speak in Crow. Aw! Aw! Her face is like, Uh oh, he's serious now! She may be as disobedient as a dachschund.
Rule 75: My Tether Is Fun
Fig likes her tethers which attach to her ankles. She likes to jump and hang from them. She did not used to do this but recently it's her game to jump, hang, and climb back up them. She intentionally jumps, turns in midair, and tries to grab onto the tether straps. She has the same playful, reckless abandon as my six year old son.
Rule 74: What Do You Mean You're Bushed?
If I tell Fig it is time to go home before she is ready to go she will run into a hedge, roll on her back and latch onto the branches with her feet. Her feet are bionic.
Rule 73: Hold Me!
Fig loves to bury her face in my jacket. In fact she'll get into my jacket. Once she's in she starts nibbling me. I think I'm being preened, but it kind of hurts when you have no feathers. Fig seems to be softening her touch over time.
Rule 72: Holy Night
Fig will sleep all night in an outdoor sleeper box on cold nights, but only if I put her into it and read her a story. Crows are just too spooked by anything unknown to volunteer to venture into a box with a warm blanket inside and a round door. They would rather freeze to death.
Rule: 71: Tofu Is On The Menu!
Enough said? She likes to gorge on it, go to a favorite spot, chuck it up from her crop, then renibble it down taking her time; hold the soy sauce! I will have to ask if she likes soft or firm.
Rule 70: I Love a Windy Day
Fig loves nothing better than gale force winds. She can fly 30-40 meters by heading herself into the wind, usually about 50 centimeters up from the ground, but still, she loves the rough weather. I cannot get her to agree to come home if it's windy, she enjoys it so much. Must find some windy mountain tops or beaches for her.
Rule 69: Pulling Rocks!
Fig enjoys anything she can pull or tear. Papertowels, Bath Towels, Rope, Cord, Knots, a box of Tissues. These are her favorite toys. She is high strung (pun intended) and full of extra energy. Pulling fibers out of rope or terry towels, shredding paper towels, or emptying a box of tissues is her endless obsession, as is untying knots.
Rule 68: I Like to Run
Running seems to give Fig almost the same level of exercise as flying would. She likes to sprint about 50 meters to jump up on a bench (which she thinks is a comfortable height from the ground due to growing up in a cage). I am a little worried about her bad wing, as she does like to flap a bit while she runs. Hmm. It is touch and go.
Rule 67: Love a Warm Blankie
If I wrap Fig up in a warm blankie she feels safe, and she gently looks up and nibbles my jacket zipper. I think I discovered that hugs without hands, you know, all arms, like you've got bread dough all over your hands or something...she likes that style of embrace. I guess it feels like wings. Maybe it reminds her of Momma.
Rule 66: I am no Banana Fanana
I will do a post on what Fig eat. Obviously it's a big topic. She does not like bananas but she is humoring me by bringing banana bits to her perch and nibbling them into big goobery blobs. I think she is playing with her food.
Rule 65: I Like Kids
Your six year old son scares me a bit, but I get it. He's six, and he wants to play. Understood. No biggie.
Rule 64: I Am Not Needy
Rule 79: I Love a Good Looooong Game of Tag!I took Fig to the park this evening, as my son was out with his friends. I have been testing a new longer tether which allows Fig to run further, and faster with more freedom of movement. It passed three or four tests close to home, so I decided to take Fig to a big park outside her territory to get a real run for her money. Unfortunately she apparently figured out how to unlatch the tether in the few days of testing we did, and after 30 minutes of tethered activity at the park, I suddenly realized she was standing there playing with the latch which once attached her leather strap to her leg. She did not immediately realize that she had freed herself from her tether, so she stood there on the grass for some time, lashing it back and forth like an angry pitbull, when suddenly, like an astonished kid realizing that she's solved her Rubic's cube, she cawed loudly, Ah ha, or Aw Aw, rather, I've done it! I was screwed, there was no way she was going to come
to me. Freedom was just too sweet. Especially having spent the day contained, and then suffering the indignity of being tethered. Fortunately, I have a few tricks up my sleeve which give me some reassurance when these situations come about.
First, I took Fig out at night as is our current training habit. Being afraid of the dark, I knew she would stay within the light of the park lamps we were under if she came untethered. Venturing into the shadows causes sudden night blindness for her in contrast to the brightly lit area. She trusts me much more than whatever might be lurking out in dark shadows. In fact she will even avoid going up into dark trees at night in favor of brightly lit flat ground. Crows have active, paranoid imaginations, and the dark is their absolute worst enemy. I call this the spotlight rule.
Second, I have done enough outside practice with Fig to know that she trusts and respects me, to a degree. She trusts me enough not to fear me, so she won't run away from me exactly. I am sort of like her older, rather tiresome disciplinarian cousin in her eyes. Sometimes she leads me on quite a journey, but I discovered that by simply ceasing to follow, she would stop running. So actually, she is not running away from me, she is playing chase and catch, and maybe teasing me a bit. And she respects me enough, that if I pick an object, like a wall, or a stump, or a fence, I can quickly get Fig to understand by pointing, and touching that I have selected that place as a target, or a safe zone, which if she goes to it, I will just let her be, so she can catch her breath, and I can also stand within a meter of her, and she will just relax. It is very important that I respect the rules and boundaries I draw, or Fig will leave the game area.
Third, I have watched wild Crows play enough to understand their preferred game, which is tag. Crows like to chase each other, and be chased, and Fig is no different. She delights in being chased around trees, bushes, and all around the place. This is exactly the same game that human children play on the playground. It is unsophisticated to adult eyes, but actually it follows some complex principals of fairness, sportsmanship, and socializing. And you'd better make it a good believable chase, not some wussy trot if you want to maintain her interest. She understands when I tell her, no, no, no, you have gone too far from the established markers, so she will return to them again and again, provided I give her a wide enough berth, and praise her each time she does so. She fluffs up and looks very accomplished when I praise her for getting back to a safe zone. She understands the words Good Girl, Good Bird, Yes, Yes. There There, Okay, and much other
positive feedback baby babble. The game of tag, and safe zones, is all very natural for a Crow. If you know this, you can quickly play with them in a way that builds trust, and mutual understanding, expectations, and a relationship where you become their respected playmate, rather than a feared predator.
Fourth, I have already established with Fig a training routine where I tell her the command PetPet which means I am going to pet your head, every time I touch her affectionately. And the command DownDown, which means, I am going to squash you down a bit in a somewhat dominating manner, but very gently, please submit. When Fig gets tired of playing tag, or thirsty, or sleepy, or cold, which she will sooner or later, these commands are how I catch her in a safe zone. I will never catch her outside of a safe zone right now. Perhaps that will change with time; I suspect so. Our communication is very personal, and complex. It is not something I have experienced with a dog or a cat at a similar level, or developed in such a rapid time-frame. It is a very interesting phenomenon to me, and a privilege and a delight to experience this relationship with a wild Crow in my life. I try to respect and honor Fig as a wild, intelligent, fellow living creature as much
as I am able to get myself to do so.
This is not a perfect system. The risks are there. Fig is a free, wild bird when we are doing this. But that is what she needs. Nothing could be more clear. She led me on an hour long game of tag before giving in the first time, today. Then I let her go again, and she went for another hour which I did not expect. It is great exercise, for both of us, a little too great really. It is winter now, and usually when I catch her, when she lets me catch her rather, her reward is a long cuddle in my warm jacket on the way home, with lots of loving whispers in her ear while she nibbles on my jacket's zipper. Will I be able to ply her with warm cuddles come Spring? Will she continue to let me catch her?
Another cool thing is she is starting to chatter back to me, and show some signs of wanting to speak English words. It is all very scary, because I love her more and more each day, and I never know for sure if she is going to come back home with me, or stay out with the stray cats, and other hungry predators. I'm leaving that up to her though, because she is wild, not a pet; I do not want her to be a pet, because she does not want to be a pet. She is teaching me something about being wild, and I am teaching her something about being domesticated, it is 51/49. I only have the 51 because I'm a bit older and wiser. It is all very humbling to foster parent this poor injured bird, but it comes with all the parental anxiety in the package deal.
Back in the Spring, I saw a baby Crow, squashed in the road. A pack of elementary school kids had seen the whole thing just moments before I hit the scene, and were laughing and joking, which seemed heartless, cruel, and unsympathetic, but is in fact a very natural way for young children to dismiss the heavy, grim, grotesque reality they witnessed. When they get older, they will feel very differently, and more maturely reflecting back on it. What none of them saw, however, was the mother Crow, above on the wire, upset, shocked, and deeply grieved. I watched that mother bird for a long time. I never suspected that I would be a mother bird like her, and I never want to experience her grief. But like a good mother, I know, I must let Fig reach for the sky, and achieve her potential, even if the stars are not to be hers.
Rule 78: Where Do I Sleep? (update)Sleeping in the shower room is not an ideal arrangement for Fig or for us, so I've made her a sleeper box. It should keep out mosquitos in warmer months, and keep Fig warm in the winter. Fig loves sleeping in her box, because she feels safe, and warm. Those are everyone's two favorite things along side full in the tummy, and clean, right?. Her new box features a square floorplan so she can rotate 360 degrees, a low height to keep retained heat low in the airspace, insulated walls, and two special doors. The first door is one full side of the box. Fig will not willingly enter a box unless she can see where she is going. It's a visual thing: Crow's are afraid of the dark. The second door is a saloon style swing door designed to let the box ventilate sufficiently, while retaining heat, and to allow Fig to exit at will anytime, night or day. She could go back in too, but I doubt she ever would. Crows are not natural cavity inhabitors. She seems to enjoy the box a lot, and she sleeps well in it. Her daytime mood is noticeably up a few notches. She goes to bed between 6-7pm, and gets up between 8-11. She is quite the sleeper, and not a morning person. She has a layer of wool sweater, and a thick fleece blanket to snuggle down on. She does not go to the bathroom inside the box, which is interesting since Crows are not natural cavity sleepers supposedly, though they do tend to toilet very litte at night even when perching. Anyway, Fig seems to enjoy her big, warm, soft, safe box, and it makes me happy to know she can get a quiet nights sleep, uninterupted, and can wake up when she's ready.
Rule77: I'm Not Lost Until I Can't See You
Fig knows where her neighborhood is and will keep to it. If she can see me that means she can go where ever she wants and continue adventuring. If she can't see me she gets worried, and stays put until I find her. She'll wait in the same spot for a whole day. She thinks that's normal. So the best strategy to catch a Crow is to stay out of sight and caw. I think one caw is a question, You there? More caws means communication is established, carry on. Hence the name Carry on Crows. Haw haw! Crows don't have a word for Get your butt down out of that tree right now or you are in big trouble Missy!
Rule 76: I'm a Terrible Listener
If I really want Fig to obey when she is excited, I have to clap before instructing her or speak in Crow. Aw! Aw! Her face is like, Uh oh, he's serious now! She may be as disobedient as a dachschund.
Rule 75: My Tether Is Fun
Fig likes her tethers which attach to her ankles. She likes to jump and hang from them. She did not used to do this but recently it's her game to jump, hang, and climb back up them. She intentionally jumps, turns in midair, and tries to grab onto the tether straps. She has the same playful, reckless abandon as my six year old son.
Rule 74: What Do You Mean You're Bushed?
If I tell Fig it is time to go home before she is ready to go she will run into a hedge, roll on her back and latch onto the branches with her feet. Her feet are bionic.
Rule 73: Hold Me!
Fig loves to bury her face in my jacket. In fact she'll get into my jacket. Once she's in she starts nibbling me. I think I'm being preened, but it kind of hurts when you have no feathers. Fig seems to be softening her touch over time.
Rule 72: Holy Night
Fig will sleep all night in an outdoor sleeper box on cold nights, but only if I put her into it and read her a story. Crows are just too spooked by anything unknown to volunteer to venture into a box with a warm blanket inside and a round door. They would rather freeze to death.
Rule: 71: Tofu Is On The Menu!
Enough said? She likes to gorge on it, go to a favorite spot, chuck it up from her crop, then renibble it down taking her time; hold the soy sauce! I will have to ask if she likes soft or firm.
Rule 70: I Love a Windy Day
Fig loves nothing better than gale force winds. She can fly 30-40 meters by heading herself into the wind, usually about 50 centimeters up from the ground, but still, she loves the rough weather. I cannot get her to agree to come home if it's windy, she enjoys it so much. Must find some windy mountain tops or beaches for her.
Rule 69: Pulling Rocks!
Fig enjoys anything she can pull or tear. Papertowels, Bath Towels, Rope, Cord, Knots, a box of Tissues. These are her favorite toys. She is high strung (pun intended) and full of extra energy. Pulling fibers out of rope or terry towels, shredding paper towels, or emptying a box of tissues is her endless obsession, as is untying knots.
Rule 68: I Like to Run
Running seems to give Fig almost the same level of exercise as flying would. She likes to sprint about 50 meters to jump up on a bench (which she thinks is a comfortable height from the ground due to growing up in a cage). I am a little worried about her bad wing, as she does like to flap a bit while she runs. Hmm. It is touch and go.
Rule 67: Love a Warm Blankie
If I wrap Fig up in a warm blankie she feels safe, and she gently looks up and nibbles my jacket zipper. I think I discovered that hugs without hands, you know, all arms, like you've got bread dough all over your hands or something...she likes that style of embrace. I guess it feels like wings. Maybe it reminds her of Momma.
Rule 66: I am no Banana Fanana
I will do a post on what Fig eat. Obviously it's a big topic. She does not like bananas but she is humoring me by bringing banana bits to her perch and nibbling them into big goobery blobs. I think she is playing with her food.
Rule 65: I Like Kids
Your six year old son scares me a bit, but I get it. He's six, and he wants to play. Understood. No biggie.
Rule 64: I Am Not Needy
If I want you to come play, or feed me, or bring me in, or come sit with me, I will ask once. Then I will wait for a very, very long time before I ask you again. Crows are not demanding of your attention.
Rule 63: I Am Way Way Way More Patient Than You
If you leave me outside all night, I will wait somewhere visible for you starting around 4:30am. See you tomorow.
Also, if you leave me while I am running around town, I will wait patiently in the same spot for hours until you come back to get me. I understand that you have a day job.
Rule 62: I Am Way More Patient Than You
If we are outside, and I am untethered, I have all day to sit around doing nothing in particular. You apparently only have a couple of hours to hang out. Some friend you are running off for coffee.
Rule 61:The Mirror Make New Crows
I have no idea who the Crow in the mirror is, but she's cute, and unthreatening. I like caw caw cawing 3-5 times, awa awa awaing, and chattering quietly with her up close. We even touch beaks, no problem.
Rule 60: The Mirror Make New People
Matt in the Mirror is someone else, it is not Matt. I do not want him kissing me, petting me, or coming close to me. Matt is the guy who's arm I am standing on. I don't know who that guy in the mirror is, but it can't be Matt because he is right here next to me.
Rule 59: I Love to Untie Knots
I especially want to untie knots if they are on tethers attached to my legs. The knots may be in the middle of the tether, and have nothing whatever to do with attaching me to the string, or leather strap, but if a tether has a knot in it, I seem to understand that the knot is something which can be untied, that it is directly related to my control, and that I can and will, and want to untie the darn thing. Matt has divised two ingenius kinds of leg tethers which I am unable to untie or loosen. Matt will post about them later, but so far, Matt has not wanted to give me permanent ankle bracelets...this may change. We'll see.
Rule 58: I Am Pretty Smart
If you leave me outside all night, I will wait somewhere visible for you starting around 4:30am. See you tomorow.
Also, if you leave me while I am running around town, I will wait patiently in the same spot for hours until you come back to get me. I understand that you have a day job.
Rule 62: I Am Way More Patient Than You
If we are outside, and I am untethered, I have all day to sit around doing nothing in particular. You apparently only have a couple of hours to hang out. Some friend you are running off for coffee.
Rule 61:The Mirror Make New Crows
I have no idea who the Crow in the mirror is, but she's cute, and unthreatening. I like caw caw cawing 3-5 times, awa awa awaing, and chattering quietly with her up close. We even touch beaks, no problem.
Rule 60: The Mirror Make New People
Matt in the Mirror is someone else, it is not Matt. I do not want him kissing me, petting me, or coming close to me. Matt is the guy who's arm I am standing on. I don't know who that guy in the mirror is, but it can't be Matt because he is right here next to me.
Rule 59: I Love to Untie Knots
I especially want to untie knots if they are on tethers attached to my legs. The knots may be in the middle of the tether, and have nothing whatever to do with attaching me to the string, or leather strap, but if a tether has a knot in it, I seem to understand that the knot is something which can be untied, that it is directly related to my control, and that I can and will, and want to untie the darn thing. Matt has divised two ingenius kinds of leg tethers which I am unable to untie or loosen. Matt will post about them later, but so far, Matt has not wanted to give me permanent ankle bracelets...this may change. We'll see.
Rule 58: I Am Pretty Smart
The very first time I wrapped a peanut in a papertowel, tied it up with twine, put it in a box, wrapped that with paper and tape, tied that with twine, and gave it to Fig, she took about ten seconds to unwrap the peanut.
The very first time I gave her a lidded box with a snack in it, she lifted the lid.
The very first time I gave her a drawer box, she pulled the drawer open.
The very first time I gave her a lidded box with a snack in it, she lifted the lid.
The very first time I gave her a drawer box, she pulled the drawer open.
Rule 57: I Am Not As Smart As You've Been Told
I gave Fig a clear plastic tube (it was soft plastic) glued to a plank. I put peanuts in the tube. I gave Fig a couple of sticks. I even demonstrated how to get the peanuts out of the tube by using the stick. She pecked the tube alllllllllll day long, making a hole, managing to extract one peanut. Bother.
Rule 56: Crows Are Flea Hotels
Crows have a whole host of interesting parasites. This is why Fig gets a shower or bath twice a day. She loves taking a bath. She loves being clean. And she hates parasites. If she stands on your hand, and you pet her, you are not likely to pick one up. If you hug her you probably will, but far as I can tell, bird parasites have no appetite for human flesh. I have not looked into it, but I am going to, I suspect that bird fleas, and cat/dog fleas are different species. I know cat fleas, and they bite. Bird fleas climb around in your hair, but never bite. Summer is the worst for parasites. Fortunately, Fig lives on a balcony and exercises on fences and walls mostly. Trees and grassy areas are chock-a-block full of fleas, flies, and other little free loaders. After a bit more extensive research I may or may not decide to experiment with flea medications, but for now, it is not a bothersome problem.
Rule 55: Like All Birds I Have a Feathery Aroma.
Crow feathers are a bit more aromatic than your average parrot. If you don't like it. That's too bad for you.
Rule 54: Paper Towels are Fun!
One reason papertowels are fun for a Crow is because they love to stand on things and rip them to pieces. The average papertowel tears easily in one direction, but not in the other. In other words it can be torn into strips. This quality is confounding to Fig, which simply adds to the joy of destroying them. Darn these darn papertowels!!! What do they want?!!!!??Rule 53: Don't Hug Me Too Long
One reason papertowels are fun for a Crow is because they love to stand on things and rip them to pieces. The average papertowel tears easily in one direction, but not in the other. In other words it can be torn into strips. This quality is confounding to Fig, which simply adds to the joy of destroying them. Darn these darn papertowels!!! What do they want?!!!!??Rule 53: Don't Hug Me Too Long
Rule 52: I make Owl pellets.
If Fig eats an orange, about 30 minutes later, she will cough up a mini football made of the skin from the orange segments. If she drinks loads of milk, out will come a white football made of thick milk solids. Meat will get you a football of vein, gristle, and other indigestibles. Seeds get you a ball of hulls. I really need to take some photos. They are rather arty.
Rule: 51: Don't move my favorite stuff.
I moved Fig's favorite perch forward about an inch from the usual placement, trying to gradually expand her comfort zone in the world. In protest, she slept on the ground behind the perch, until I moved it back. She must have built-in GPS. Maybe a centimeter will be acceptable to her. Anyway, I put a nice hot water bottle under her perch last night to apologize for the stress I caused her. She did not seem to object to that, because it was warm, and she could not see it underneath her perch, but in the morning when I came out to get her for her morning shower time, she pointed the bottle out to me in the light of day by giving the label a peck, a bit miffed, as if to say, you are getting rid of this thing before you head off the work, right!?
Rule 50: I like to hide stuff.
Fig hid dry cat food in various places around her balcony. Bits were behind bricks, in cracks, and under things. Pretty clever. I didn't find them for days. I was wondering what she was up to running back and forth. Maybe I should get her a fridge.
Rule 49: If I didn't do it, it ain't done yet.
I often give Fig showers. Sometimes twice a day. She likes to have her face washed and massaged. Usually, I will get her really drenched, which takes some time. But even after an extensive shower, if I put her back outside, Fig will proceed to take an extended bath, happily splashing liters of water all over the balcony.
Rule 48: My breath is sthtinky...sometimes.
Depends what I eat, but red meat, and liver are definitely the worst.
Rule 47: I don't at all mind being on my back
Cradle me like a baby. Put me on the ground upside down. Whatever...I must have been a cat in another life.
Cradle me like a baby. Put me on the ground upside down. Whatever...I must have been a cat in another life.
Rule 46: I can climb stuff like Spiderman.
This needs a whole post.
Rule 45 : I run fast.
You cannot catch a Crow if it wants to run. You can run psat it, but running and reaching down is impossible. Crows are naughty, and like to play and be chased. If you put a small chair or blanket on the ground you can chase the Crow to that safe place, then work on retrieval training from that market. They enjoy this trust and bonding play. It is just like human tag.
Rule 44: I like mirror time.
Fig has a mirror, but she really enjoys looking in the mirror together with me. She talks to herself. I am studying this more. I feel like she is asking me what's going on during this daily activity.
Fig has a mirror, but she really enjoys looking in the mirror together with me. She talks to herself. I am studying this more. I feel like she is asking me what's going on during this daily activity.
Rule 43: I started speaking Crow after I got well.
When Fig was injured she almost. didn't utter a word/caw. She talks more anc more Crow which she learns from her local family, and she is showing signs of beginning to say English words.
Rule 42: I am not afraid of the cat. The cat is afraid of me, but she is obsessed with visiting me, mostly so she can play in my bath water, and smiff me. We are very cordial to one another.
Rule 41: I use a litter tray on my own.
Rule 40: I never poo in the bath.
Rule 39: I cough up pellets.
Rule 38: I only drink water.
I like milk but it has to be cooked.
Rule 37: My favorite foods are...
British Pancakes (flour, eggs, and milk with honey or jam)
Bread, Tangerines, Omelets
Rule 36: I cannot eat...
- Onions
- Garlic
- Chocolate
Rule 35: I have a feathery smell about me which some people object to.
Rule 34: I like it if you read to me.
Rule 33: I can go back outside by myself. I know where the door is. Just open it, and get out of the way.
Rule 32: I love sitting on your shoulder, but...
When I am happy, I fluff out all my feathers and thrash my head from side to side. If I am on your shoulder when I fluff out my feathers, and you are looking my way, I could put your eye out with my thrashing beak. So, maybe it is best just to have me sit on your hand. Then I don't have to smell your breath. G
Rule 31: Stress shows in my feet.
You can tell exactly how stressed I am by the amount of tension in my feet. If I am terrified, I will unleash a painful iron grip, or stand on my toenail points.
Rule 30: My eyes are sensitive.
I am extremely sensitive to sudden changes in light.
Noises from light switches too might cause me to jump straight up a meter or more, and injure myself. Recently though, I seem to have gotten used to house lighting.
Rule 29: I hate electronic noise..
- from Cel Phones
-electronic toys with sound effects or music.
Rule 28: My beak sheds from time to time. Long symmetrical, black fingernail looking shards slough off every now an then. Don't worry. My beak constantly grows.
Rule 27: Stick to the schedule
Don't leave me alone too long. Don't ignore me. Don't leave me in unfamiliar places alone. I can, and I will pull all my feather out in 15 minutes once paranoia takes hold, and they won't grow back for months.
Rule 26: I have to protect my feet.
I cannot fly so I am perched all the time. I can get sore, swollen, or bleedy feet from moving too much on bare wood. This condition is called bumble foot. Fortunately, Matt gives me a system of perches with fabric zip-tied on to ensure my toes, feet, and legs get lots of exercise on soft varied surfaces and angles.
Rule 25: I love pulling.
Tearing fibers out of towels, yanking fibers out of ropes, pulling paper towels to bits...this my friends is fun stuff!
Rule 24: I love pecking.
Pecking wood is fun. I can peck through a pine 2x4 in a week or so if I feel like it.
Rule 23: I can be directed by pointing.
Go this way. Go here. Look at this.
Rule 22: I like to drink running water.
Please turn on the faucet.
Rule 21: I never bite.
I might peck you a bit too hard if you don't announce your intention to pet me by saying petpet first. I never refuse a pet.
Rule 20: I do get angry, but only if...
- you grab my tail
Rule 19: I only caw loudly to...
- communicate with my local family. My mother, father, sisters and brothers all live near by
- usually I talk to Matt with a very quiet penguin like chatter which you almost can't hear
Rule 18: I like toys.
Usually, I keep my favorite toy, which is a sky blue toothbrush, right in front of me so I can brush my teeth whenever I need to.
Rule 17: I sleep on two feet, not one.
Usually compress my self as small as possible when I sleep. I do not put my head under my wing. That stuf is for the birds.
Rule 16: My favorite thing in the world is having my face washed with warm water. I close my eyes and find myself in heaven. I like being touched around my eyes, over my ears, on my beak, and all over my neck. Just wet your hands with warm water and go to town. You can do this for as long as you like.
Rule 15: I enjoy being chased.
Recently I have had enough confidence to try doing the chasing from time to time.
Rule14: I like puzzles
(much more on this later)
Rule13: I like games.
I like catching food, paperballs, anything safe.
I like playing tug with string.
I like to untie knots.
I like to open presents.
Rule 12: I'm naughty.
I do not always want to obey commands. I know what you said, but it just didn't seem fun at the time.
Rule 11: I understand you.
Up, Down, Stay, Wait, Jump, Go, Come, Relax...
Petpet means stand still and get petted.
Kisskiss with a hand means I can peck your hand.
Kisskiss with a face means someone is gonna smooch me.
Hughug means jump in your lap for hugs.
I can follow hand gestures or voice commands.
I will maintain eye contact if instructed, but it is not my goal to be a trained circus bird, I just want to communicate with Matt to stay safe. Sometimes, I will follow a list of commands in succession, like jump down to the ground, run over here, jump up on this, then go here, and here.
Rule 10: You can tell when I'm worried.
When I am hot, or nervous my beak is open, and I pant.
If I am really worried, I pant audibly.
When I am cool, or relaxed, my beak is shut.
Rule 9: I like take-out.
I usually go to my food bowl, and either take larger pieces of food back to my favorite perch, where I stand on them to pick them to bits, or I stuff my neck full of food, go back to my perch where I "throw it all up" and then eat it peacefully in my own space.
Rule 8: I like to take a bath.
Once per day, usually in the afternoon. I splash more than half the water out of my ten litter bath.
Rule 7: I eat a big breakfast, small dinner, and nibble between those two meals.
Usual breakfast in winter: boiled chicken meat, or a one egg omlette, cooked mixed grains, an orange or other fruit.
Usual nibblers: Dry cat food, boiled veggies, peanuts, and other nuts, pasta, cooked rice soaked in milk, a little yogurt.
Usual dinner: Wheat bread, fruit
Rule 6: I drink a lot of water. Thankfully I have a ten liter birdbath.
Rule 5: I like to use a litter tray.
People think a Crow makes a lot of manure, and they do, but Fig likes go to the bathroom in the same spot. About 98% of the time she uses her toilet tray which rinses into a rain gutter, so she makes very little mess with her poop.
Rule 4: I am not demanding.
Fig is the most forgiving bird I ever met. If breakfast is later than usual, she may toss, or bang her food bowl once or twice, or caw a little to get my attention.. If I am later than usual home, same deal. If she did not get her favorite food, she shows her disappointment quietly, but that is about it. Fig is not demanding.
Rule 3: I am totally suspicious of anything unfamiliar.
Fig does not like anything new. She does not like to have new items show up suddenly in her space. If I put anything new in her space it acquires an invisible circle around it into which Fig will not venture. If I want to introduce new things into her space, I have to introduce them to Fig first as a toy, or a game before I can just leave them there with her. I once wore a bandaid while doing handling practice with Fig. She refused to do any practice until I took off the bandaid. She relies on me as her foster family, to teach her about the dangerousu world. This has gotten better with time too.
Rule 2: I do not like change.
Fig does not like anything familiar to be changed. I once left a box near her favorite perch. She could not sleep, she could not relax, she started moving about nervously doing repetitive stress motions, and she did them all night, until her foot bled. She pulled a patch of feathers out of her leg too. She gets stressed that easily. So, if I want to rearrange something I have to move it a little bit each day over time, and I have to introduce her to it with a lot of reassurances, and I must monitor her reaction. This is getting better over time. Once I moved her bath a couple of inches further away, and she refused to drink or take a bath. It is not just the bath that moved for her, but in her eyes the entire environment shifts...at her level of awareness, that means danger may be present.
Rule 2: I am naturally aware.
Fig pays attention to everything. I know this because I doctored her up for two months before she was out of danger. Months later, if I make the same face or hand gesture, or voice tone that I made while nursing her wounds, she notices that, and thinks, Uh oh! You are not thinking about looking at my wing again right now are you? She has about had it with rehab, so she'll jump, or avoid me if she thinks I've suddenly decided I want to give her a check up, all because of a look.
Rule 1: I am naturally wary.
Crows may be the most wary animal on the planet, ever. Due to her severe injury, lengthy rehabilitation, and resulting disability, Fig may be five times more wary than a wild Crow would naturally be. She is certainly the most delicate character I have encountered in my life. As a passage bird she is aware of the difference between freedom and confinement, but a longing for freedom is not a big issue for her. Her biggest issue is her insecurity. She needs to feel safe. A bird without the ability to fly, has lost all their defenses. Helping Fig feel safe is my biggest daily challenge.
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