Will you preen me?

Last bit of hope this time around.

It turns out that the two babies I posted about previously are two males.

But..they happen to have a sibling. This little one is not with it's brothers since the dad injured it; some cuts on one side of it's face and a dented beak from what I can see. This little one got to stay with the breeder whilst the other two ended up at a local pet store.

I am hoping this little one turns out to be a female. Both Shade and Piper, the two birds I did get as babies, had issues with their legs (splayed leg for Piper and broken leg which wasn't healing right for Shade) so I don't have issues with getting birds that aren't the "perfect" image of health. Mind you, from what I could gather, this little one will most likely only have aesthetic issues; the dented beak doesn't prevent it from eating and playing. While I had kept my fingers crossed one of the other two would be a female (I was hoping to actually, for once, get one bird from the baby stage that wouldn't have any issues) this little injured one had always kept pulling my heartstrings so if it turns out to be a female, I'll put it on the case of fate.

Here is a picture.

March 15, 2010

Birthday Boy

Joey turns 5 today!
March 1st also was marked the two years point of him entering my life.

Ninja bird

I can has Ninja Pwerz.

Travel cage shopping

The prospect of possibly getting a baby bird from a place which is several hours away has forced me to look into alternative travel cages which could also double up as temporary cage. Why? The Red-bellied breeder is in Guelph, which is roughly 6 hours away from Ottawa and we would most likely stop and visit the boy's parents who are near Toronto for a few days while we are down there. Hence, the normal carrier I use for my Pois, which is a small cat/dog carrier, wouldn't cut it; while this carrier is great for small trips to the vet, parrot club meetings or for going anywhere close by, I would like something that would allow the bird to view it's surroundings more if it'll be stuck in it for a couple of hours and it's really not ideal for a temporary cage while visiting someone and would require of me to bring another cage for that purpose.

So Saturday I started doing some online shopping for a cage which would act as a travel cage as well as a temporary home to whichever bird will find itself in it for a small period of time. For a while, I've been eying the King's Cage Aluminum Travel Cage, particularly the small model.


Picture from the King's Cage website

However, up until recently, I didn't really have a valid excuse for the purchase of one of these cages; the ones I have do what I want well and I didn't need to spend the extra money on something more fancy. The fact that this would replace two cages if I will get the baby makes the purchase much more reasonable. So, with no intention on purchasing anything now, I started browsing around, seeing which online bird stores I knew carried the cage and at what price so to be ready when I decided to take the plunge. I found it on several online stores but couldn't find it on Les Jouets Rosie. Knowing Jacqueline would try to find it for me if I asked her, I made a mental note to send her an email later on. For whatever reason, later that evening I went back on her website to see if she had posted her new weekly savings, as she sometimes does it on Saturday evening..and she did. Lo and behold, the Kings Cage travel cage was there on sale! Her regular price were already low compared to others, it was now also on sale! Well, new bird or not, I couldn't pass this offer and am now, although it's still in the mail (should get here tomorrow!) the proud owner of a new travel cage! I can't wait to get it! I swear, I think she read my mind that day....

Turning 5!

Piper turned 5 yesterday.
Can't believe she's already 5 years old, it seems that I only first got her yesterday!

She got some extra attention (if at all possible as she's pretty much getting every ounce of attention she wants anyways) and some extra Nutriberries (I ran out this past week-end but am making up for it today). She'll get a new toy as well, not that I think she'll care...

Some more toys

I had ordered some toys from "Les Jouets Rosie" the last few couple of weeks and have delayed shipment until last Friday. Feeling very much under the weather today, I came back home from work. One thing that came and brightened up my day was the delivery of those toys; being able to get them in person on delivery rather than having to go and get them at the post office made me feel better if only for a second.

The following toy I had first seen at last year's Canadian Parrot Conference in Guelph. It was rather on the pricey side and I had only bought one for Joey, since I figured he would be the one to enjoy it the most...and he does love it. Luckily, Jaqueline at "Les Jouets Rosie" found some and got some for her store and I bought 3 more.

Here is one of those toys


I also got the following:

"Sliders", which will go to Petey as she likes these type of toys


I already had a bigger version of this toy and thought I would get the same thing, these are about half the size of what I had, but I'm sure they'll be appreciated nonetheless


Piper and Joey will love these


Finally, I also received two bags of Nutriberries in this order and it's a good thing since I gave out the last ones yesterday morning!

Death of a Nutriberry

Baby pictures

Here are some pictures I got from the Red-bellied breeder. I got her permission to share them.

They are so cute, tiny white balls of fluff :D


March 6, 2010


March 6, 2010


March 6, 2010

Another Petey update

Wow.

I just sat down next to Petey without her going after me.
She then allowed me to scratch her head and just sat there nicely.

This has never happened since the "Honeymoon" period after I first got her.

She's been a bit lonely these past two weeks. My boyfriend, her favorite person, is in St-Lucia for work (coming back tonight; she's probably going to be thrilled to see him tomorrow) and I've let her have her space. I brought her close to me, as she seemed to want to be around the others and myself, but I still kept my distance.

As I took her out of her cage when I came back home from work, on a perch as one of my fingers still bears the scars of the last time I tried to take her out on my hand and I don't think we are quite there yet, I decided to try and scratch her head. She let me. I was rather impressed. This is what let me to sitting next to her and to scratch her head.

I'm thrilled by this.

And the eggs have become squeaks!

I got an email yesterday from the Red-bellied breeder.

She heard tiny squeaks coming from the breeding box, meaning that one or more of the eggs have hatched! She isn't sure of the numbers since she hasn't had a chance to peak in the box; mom is still in there most of the time and she does not want to bother her. Quite frankly, I do prefer that the parents are left alone to do their things, as they have proven in the past that they are very capable of taking care of the babies.

I can't wait for them to be old enough that the parents will be ok with leaving them for longer periods of time and that the breeder will be able to start taking pictures :)

They are so very cute in their fuzzy stage.

A good Petey moment

As I was putting my birds to "bed" earlier this evening, I was saying good night to each one individually.

Petey was last, she is always the last one covered.
Well, she allowed me to scratch her head for a long time. To reward her, I offered her a piece of dried papaya, a favorite treat. She didn't want it. Instead, she bowed her head down as if to say "keep scratching", which I did. What a difference from having her wanting to take chunks out of my hands...it was a proud moment for me.

I'll win her over one day..slowly but surely!

Mr. Floofyhead

I love putting those stray fluffy feathers on his head and see how long it takes him to notice it.

Petey and the new swing

Well new is relative.
I had already posted about receiving this swing back in January. But up until now, it was nicely folded and put away in a closet since I had nowhere to hang it given all the hooks in the birdroom had enough hanging on them (the swing weighs quite a bit).

Today my dad came and helped me put a new hook up (my drill doesn't like the concrete ceilings). Since the birdroom was rather full, I decided to have the swing in the living room.

Here are some pictures with Petey on the swing.

Preening




Oh that feels good - Apparently the cotton rope is nice for rubbing itchy parts.


Overall view

The Joey Chronicles

What's that??


Must get it!


Grr..missed!


Try again


Just..a...little..more...


Got it!



(On a side note, it seems I have taken a slow start to blogging in February..)