Shower Curtain

Manzi follows me around the house all day and won't let me out of his sight. Today, while getting ready I was in the bathroom. Manzi usually hangs out on the rug or plays with the inside of toilet paper rolls. (I have something in every room for him to play with instead of getting into trouble although he often still gets into trouble) Anyway, today Manzi went for the door handle. He tried landing on it and slipped off and made it to the top of the shower curtain rod. He has rarely been up there before. He was interested in the shower curtain hooks and saw that with one swift motion he can unhook them. Within 10 seconds he had half the shower curtain hooks off with the curtain hanging down. By this point I stopped him, much to his disappointment. Sometimes I try and figure out what is going through Manzi's head. Often I come to the conclusion that he is thinking, "What can I do to cause the most amount of trouble and make Adele work hard to repair, replace or clean?"

On another note, I have been selling lots of belongings on Ebay in preparation for my big move this summer. Due to that, I have items strewn about the house in boxes ready to be shipped as soon as I have a buyer. Manzi can barely contain his curiosity. About once per an hour he goes to the ground and starts walking around. I keep a good eye on him. As he begins to eye an item, he will step closer and closer to it while continuing to glance in my direction as if asking me, "Can I please chew and destroy this?" The answer is nearly always, "No." Manzi will get close enough to touch it and then I tell him, "No," after which he will, with much disappointment, fly back to his play stand or cage.

Sickness Delay

I got back from L.A. on Monday night. Manzi greeted me with regurgitated food. (He really knows how to woo a woman) Anyway, I am still sick (going on three weeks) but will hopefully be better soon. I took Manzi on a walk outside today, but didn't venture too far. I will wait to fly him in the gym until my health is improved. Today I did do indoor recalls with Manzi. This time, the first flight from me, Manzi at first headed to his cage, but changed course mid flight and landed on his perch. This was from all the way across the room. All subsequent flights were between me and the perch. I am very happy about how fast Manzi is catching on.

While outside, Manzi is so eager to fly. He holds his wings out nearly the whole time ready to take off. I did let him climb on some branches of a tree. Once I put him on he was very happy and didn't want to come off. Today Manzi has been a sweetheart. It is nice that when I am sick or down for any reason, Manzi can sense that and is much more affectionate and cuddly.

Recalls using Perch

Today we did recall training again. Last time Manzi returned to the perch from four feet away. Today Manzi returned from ten feet away. Another thing I am doing is not holding out my arm when I call him. I heard that if you hold out your arm, they might be paying attention to that cue and not the voice command. Then, if they are high up in a tree and can't see your arm, they might not recall. Anyway, when I don't hold up my arm Manzi showed some hesitation at first, but now he sees that I put my hand up as soon as he gets close to me. He did fly back to his cage twice instead of the perch, but I immediately picked up up from his cage and he then flew to his perch. He is realizing that when he flies to his perch, he gets to eat the treat. Also, Manzi's motivation is very high. He is not doing any refusals and he is coming immediately when I call him. I am excited about doing outdoor flying again.

Next week we're going to fly in a gym (we found one) so that should be fun. I am leaving town for the weekend, but I will post updates again next week on the progress.

Big Show Off

Today a good friend of mine, Ixchelle, came over with her four children to eat lunch and see Manzi. I warned them that Manzi might not talk for them, but in less than 10 seconds he began chatting away. He started off with a repeating "hello" a couple of times. Then he went right into laughing, saying "okay" and "I love you." It was really cute. Manzi is often very quiet with strangers, but he just loved the attention from Ixchelle and her children. He also did all of his tricks and even did his tricks on the command of some of the children. Needless to say, he was a big hit.

Update on flight training: I set up the perch and have begun indoor recall. While Manzi is accustomed to coming to me, taking the treat and then returning to his cage to eat it, he is not used to returning to the perch. He flew back to the perch when I was about four feet away, but further than that he would return to his cage to eat the treat. I am going to continue doing the recall and sending him back to the perch at a distance where I know he will make it. I am also using the words "perch" and "cage" for their respective locations.

Cuddles: Today was extraordinary in how cuddly Manzi was. He usually doesn't want scratches midday as he gets bored and would rather get into trouble. Today though, he flew to me as I was working on the computer and he napped on my arm with his beak tucked under his wing. After a while, he decided that my hands (which were busy typing on the computer) would better serve him by scratching his head. Since it was unusual, I indulged in a love fest and spent 45 minutes scratching his head. While scratching his head, he is constantly turning and moving so my fingers get just the right spot, much like a dog or cat. Manzi did get bored eventually and went back to getting into trouble. When he gets cuddly like that he is such a little darling! Completely irresistible!

Manzi attacking blue lid

Here is a new video of Manzi. After making it, I thought it would be funny to post in the following form.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgnQjm62_H4