The egg is still good!
I am hoping she will continue laying...would love for her to have 2-3 eggs!!
It is not a lot more work to care for 2-3 than it is just one.

I think it is such an advantage for the babies to have the interaction with one another. When you can get one to do something the others copy that one. Java and Kiwi seemed to gain a lot of boldness from each other. Java was the adventurer when it came to toys and new things, and Kiwi was the one who would first try any new food. Plus I feel that the babies learn a lot of social skills from playing with one another. Puppies that are all alone are usually rougher in their play than puppies in a litter. The litter teaches one another to be gentle and what is not accepted better than we can!

Coco has an egg!

Coco has an egg! It is in the appropriate part of the nest box!!

They know our names!

Java has just started saying his name. I don't know at what age Coco and Charlie began to use people's names, but they seemed to be more interested in knowing names than Java and Kiwi do. They called my parents by name, and in the morning, would greet them appropriately with "Good morning, Nila!" and "Good morning, Al" when either of my parents came down in the a.m. At night, they would say, "Good night, Nila," or "Good night, Al" They never mixed up the names or the appropriate greeting for the time of day! Sometimes when Charlie is getting tired, he will not so politely start saying, "Good night!" and it is clear that his is hinting strongly that it is time for everyone to go to bed and let him sleep. This summer when we were showing the house, he always said, "Good bye!" when people were leaving the room where Coco and Charlie live. Of course, they all love to greet people with Hello! I got such a kick out of little Sunny, when she would fly to me, she always had the brightest, "Hello, there!" by way of greeting when she landed on my arm! Sometimes she would praise herself for a particularly stunning landing in her eyes, with an "Oh, GOOOD BIRD!!"

Eggs....maybe!

Coco is in the nest box and hasn't come out at all today. Charlie is super protective so I haven't tried to open the nest box door. I usually wait for Coco to come out to eat before I take a peek, but she is staying put. Good sign!!

My biggest concern is that if she waits too long, and the house gets sold we would be moving while she is on the eggs. But they only need 28-29 days for the eggs to hatch and if we sold it today we'd get at least 30 so this would be a perfect time. Getting the house sold that quickly is probably wishful thinking!

This a.m. Java started saying his name, and he has been practicing using in in all different phrases. "Come here, Java!" Good bird, Java! Java, are you a good bird? He reminds me of a 3 year old child in the way he is saying his name. Even his vocal inflections sound like a child.

Jolly, Coco and Charlies oldest parrot, who lives with my brother, Todd, knows Mary Had a Little Lamb but very rarely sings it. When I come to see Jolly, she will say, "Mary..." like she is prompting me to sing. Todd says that Jolly just loves to hear him sing, but only sings when she thinks no one is listening. She must have the same self-consciousness that I do! Her mother on the other hand has a wonderful voice, with excellent vocal quality. She doesn't sound like a parrot! She can sing Mary had a little Lamb all the way through the second verse perfectly!

I played a game with Java one day, where I would imitate what he said. He had great fun with it and came up with all kinds of sounds as well as words for me to try to say. You could see he was really thinking of what else he could try with me. I wondered if maybe he would understand to start imitating me, as well... I used to do that with my therapy patients, see if they would reverse the roles.

Either that or he is teaching me to talk....

Happy 4th of July No more eggs yet...

Coco must be getting ready to lay another egg! She and Charlie were both very hyper tonight and Charlie kept grabbing the spoon as I was putting the food in the dish like he was trying to pull it in so he could get my hand. They did not even talk to me, just made noise like they were trying to get me to leave. It is amazing how clearly they can communicate "Leave us alone!!"

Broken egg

When I went down to say good night to Coco and Charlie tonight, I found that Coco had laid an egg today but it was on the floor of the cage broken. When my folk's had Charlie and Coco, Charlie seemed to get upset if there was company, and the eggs that they were sitting on would end up on the bottom of the cage broken. We did not have any company today and they had a quiet day, but I wonder if Coco might have laid it on the wrong side of the partition in their nest box which would have allowed it to roll out. I examined the egg and other than being broken, it looked very healthy, shell is in excellent condition and the yoke was very healthy colored.

If they follow the normal pattern, Coco should lay another egg in another day or two.