You can be mentally young and stay vibrant, some parts of the physical condition can NOT be changed by anything. Your joints will wear down due to age, period.
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This is certainly true. But since the mind is the leader in many cases, we are often told (by well-intended loved ones) to slow down at a particular point in life, or at some activity that they feel could be damaging to us.
This kind of thinking could certainly hasten the aging process, as the “use it or lose it” mantra tells us.
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With out a doubt, but most of the guys on here are not in that category, most on here are fighting the reaper every step of the way. If you spoke to all the guys in over 35, you would really see that. But to also delude yourself to think you can perform certain things a 20 year old can do is also foolish.
We lose that ability to recover is what we lose with age. Again on a bell curve there are always exceptions and I hate those fuckers.
After I spent hundreds on bird toys, it turned out that Charlie’s favorite objects are boxes, toilet paper rolls, and backpacks (I have no idea why on that last one. He just likes standing on them and peering in the nooks and crannies. He’ll do that for hours.)
[quote]Oleena wrote:
After I spent hundreds on bird toys, it turned out that Charlie’s favorite objects are boxes, toilet paper rolls, and backpacks (I have no idea why on that last one. He just likes standing on them and peering in the nooks and crannies. He’ll do that for hours.)[/quote]
I had always read that they have the mentality of a 2 year old child, so it would make sense.
The wife had a Conur she loved that little bird, it passed from Pneumonia, $600 for ICU for a bird. The crazy things we do for our pets.
[quote]Oleena wrote:
After I spent hundreds on bird toys, it turned out that Charlie’s favorite objects are boxes, toilet paper rolls, and backpacks (I have no idea why on that last one. He just likes standing on them and peering in the nooks and crannies. He’ll do that for hours.)[/quote]
I had always read that they have the mentality of a 2 year old child, so it would make sense.
The wife had a Conur she loved that little bird, it passed from Pneumonia, $600 for ICU for a bird. The crazy things we do for our pets.[/quote]
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Also, about age: it is a mind thing! I’ll turn 50 in less than a year, yet people who meet me for the first time cannot believe I’m that old. I do look young for my age and I believe it is no coincidence that my youthful view of life (playful, positive attitude, lusty, active) has had an impact on my appearance.
Think young, stay young.[/quote]
A lot of people deal in excess; excess drink, excess smoking, excess food, excess stress, excess suntanning, excess pot, etc. When someone comes along who takes care of themselves and generally has a positive outlook on life then of course they’re going to look and seem younger than what their actual chronological age is, especially when comparing them to ol’ bag o bones over there. And there. And over there. In fact everywhere. But it’s about lifestyle, not just thought, and you don’t have to discount birthdays or refuse to divulge your age to feel young.
I have a Gran who goes line-dancing and up until a couple of years ago moved around on the dancefloor, at 80, better than some folk at 50.
However I also had an uncle who was incredibly young at heart; had all the qualities you described in yourself but unfortunately was also a drunk (the proverbial ‘good’ drunk - life of the party, always greeting you with a smile, always a funny army story to recount). But eventually the attractive laugh lines became premature aging and before we knew it he looked 75 at age 50. Despite mental protest, he didn’t live much longer than that.
I don’t disagree that having a positive and youthful outlook on life encourages the body to respond better, but it’s far more about the physical care that person takes rather than just trying to consciously refute the aging process by ‘feeling’ young. In fact, in my opinion, worrying about how you look can often have the exact opposite effect.
This is Kiwi. I got him because my boyfriend thought it would be be cute if we “both had a bird on our shoulder”. I bought him on craigslist for $150 from a woman who was trying to get rid of him because he was “bad with children” (and also wouldn’t let anyone else touch him when she was in the room).
I touched him just fine the when I first met him (I’d get him to step up on me from his cage, hold him for a second, and then pass him to her as a reward. After a couple times of this, he realized that it wasn’t all bad when someone else picked him up; he’d eventually get to go where he wanted, and calmed down).
Unfortunately, I was working as a trainer at the time, and he would scream all day long regardless of being covered, while I was trying to take naps between the am and pm rushes. After a month of this, I tried to give him back to his original owner. When I finally got a hold of her, she said “Sorry, we can’t take him back. We got a cat.” Sure you did.
Today, he’s a little better. He warms up to people pretty fast, hasn’t bit any strangers that weren’t asking for it (if you poke your finger in my bird’s face, I am going to laugh when he bites you), and his screaming has been reduced by about 50%.
[quote]Oleena wrote:
After I spent hundreds on bird toys, it turned out that Charlie’s favorite objects are boxes, toilet paper rolls, and backpacks (I have no idea why on that last one. He just likes standing on them and peering in the nooks and crannies. He’ll do that for hours.)[/quote]
I had always read that they have the mentality of a 2 year old child, so it would make sense.
The wife had a Conur she loved that little bird, it passed from Pneumonia, $600 for ICU for a bird. The crazy things we do for our pets.[/quote]
That’s too bad. Was it pretty young?[/quote]
Yes about 2 years old, my wife took it hard. That bird was hers and would not have anything to do with the rest of the house. She would be cooking dinner with it on her shoulder. She cried for days.
Don’t own prey animals. At some point, your birds will be terrorized or hurt.
Let their wings grow out. I followed the “good bird owner” recommendations and kept Charlie’s wings clipped for the first three years I owned him. One winter, I slacked (as less people were going in and out of the house) and he started flying. At this point, his entire personality changed! It was like flying was necessary for some sort of psychological development to occur.
He became much more confident, screamed less (probably because he could now fly to whatever he wanted) and was even more social with strangers. Yes, it’s more dangerous than clipped wings, but I feel that the quality of life improvement is worth it.
Consistent positive reinforcement for doing what you want. If you walk into the room everytime the bird screams, he will scream forever. If you always wait for that quiet moment, pretty soon he’ll start quieting down faster. If you break this pattern even one time, game over.
If he only likes one person, have that person reward him with praise every time he lets another person handle time. Then have that person hold and praise him after a few seconds to minutes of handling by the other person. I really think that this “one person bird” thing is created by owners who ignore their bird while someone else is touching it. Both of my birds love both my boyfriend and I and warm up to strangers quickly.
[quote]Stern wrote:
And oh yea meant to say earlier - nice bird. =)
I’m not really one for keeping birds but I’ve met a few now that have been surprisingly affectionate![/quote]
(Kiwi after a bath)
Thanks I’ve never met a bird who didn’t eventually want to snuggle with their favorite person. Their definitely social animals and thrive on social facilitation.
Let their wings grow out. I followed the “good bird owner” recommendations and kept Charlie’s wings clipped for the first three years I owned him. One winter, I slacked (as less people were going in and out of the house) and he started flying. At this point, his entire personality changed! It was like flying was necessary for some sort of psychological development to occur.
He became much more confident, screamed less (probably because he could now fly to whatever he wanted) and was even more social with strangers. Yes, it’s more dangerous than clipped wings, but I feel that the quality of life improvement is worth it.
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Flying is very stimulating for them and more stimulation reduces neurotic behaviors like screaming and plucking.
I kept an African Grey for several years and that bird was hilarious.
Let their wings grow out. I followed the “good bird owner” recommendations and kept Charlie’s wings clipped for the first three years I owned him. One winter, I slacked (as less people were going in and out of the house) and he started flying. At this point, his entire personality changed! It was like flying was necessary for some sort of psychological development to occur.
He became much more confident, screamed less (probably because he could now fly to whatever he wanted) and was even more social with strangers. Yes, it’s more dangerous than clipped wings, but I feel that the quality of life improvement is worth it.
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Flying is very stimulating for them and more stimulation reduces neurotic behaviors like screaming and plucking.
I kept an African Grey for several years and that bird was hilarious.
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What would he do?
I plan to eventually own one when I retire. Those birds are like having a 6 year old kid for life.
My birds are also hilarious, but I think capturing them on video would be more fun than boring everyone with the stories. (I do want to hear about your grey, though
