Pre-Sidewlk Sale Things for Wings order

I placed this order with Things for Wings because our supply of TOP pellets was starting to get low and I wanted to ensure I received it before I ran out. Therefore, even though I was made aware of the dates for the Sidewalk Sale over at Avian Avenue, I didn't wait. In fact, the sale might have prompted me to actually go forward with the order there and then, as I knew the volume of orders made during the sale would make the wait longer. And because I was going to pay the ridiculous Canada Post shipping charges anyway, I thought I may as well add toys - I did still have a 15% off T4W toys coupon, which I got at a previous sale, so why not use it?

The box showed up earlier this week, but given it was a rather crazy time at work, I didn't get around to taking pictures until today.

When I opened the box, there were a few items I didn't recognize - more so, because it I apparently had no recollection of what I ordered, other than for five items (and two of those were food related and one was some cleaning solution we were in need of).

So with the help of my invoice, here is what was in the box!

Watermelon Picnic basket

This is the toy that puzzled me the most. I absolutely had no recollection of having ordered something with a basket. To be fair, I thought I might as well try some toys that I hadn't ordered before and this one would be appreciated by a number of the birds so it made sense that I added it to my shopping basket. But makes no sense that I couldn't even remember that.


Catching Flies

While I didn't remember that I had ordered it, I wasn't nearly as surprised to see this in the box. I had an "oh yeah" moment when I saw it. Léa will also be very happy.


Léa's toy

I had to take all the other toys out before being 100% convinced of what this toy was. I remembered I had ordered one, but it never looks exactly the same from one order to the next, which I have no problem with, as it always looks awesome and always includes materials that fit the requirements I had given when I first ordered the custom made toy. This is one of my favourite renditions of it, and I'm sure Ms. Big Beak will love it too.


Sunflower Woods

Another toy I didn't remember ordering, one that didn't leave me as puzzled as the Watermelon Picnic Basket but more so than the Catching Flies. Again, a toy that quite a few birds will enjoy, and might actually be shared by one of the smaller Pois (for initial destruction) and Léa (for the harder pieces of wood). I believe this also fell under the "let's try a toy I haven't ordered before" category, although I'm not sure I didn't get it once before...


Cork Barkunkle

I remember looking at these and debating about possibly ordering some, but didn't remember if I had gone through with it. Apparently I did! And I'm happy I did!


Cork Pick and Chip Stack

I knew I ordered these, as they were a success with all of the smaller Pois. They don't last too long, but the toy is very reasonably priced, if you consider the cork and the time it takes to cut the wood, so well worth it.


Wild Tulips

This is another one that falls clearly under the category of toys I thought I should give a try...then to forget about ordering it. This toy has Shade written all over it!


Just a Watermelon Toy

I look at this, and it makes sense that I ordered it. But like it's fellow watermelon toy, I don't recall having done so. I apparently loved the watermelon collection (I will have one or two more items coming thanks to the Sidewalk Sale) but I'm bad at remembering them. And I don't know why, some of these are so well suited for my guys!

That was it for the toys. Here is the "miscellaneous" stuff -

Mango Ginger Minis

Yes, that is some Avian Organics food! While T4W has been carrying some AO products for some time, I believe for the most part, they were products that were designed solely to be distributed by T4W (I could be wrong). However, as earlier this month, AO is no longer handling retails sails and T4W is now carrying a larger selection of the AO products, including a flock favourite, Mango Ginger Minis! While I was sad to see one of my favourite parrot-related business "close" in a way, I'm happy that I can still get AO food from T4W, which also will allow me to maximize shipping (include the food with a toy order and just have the one shipment coming my way!)


TOPs (10lbs bag)

Given the size of my flock, it makes sense to buy the largest bag available, and the only place I've seen it in Canada is at T4W. It lasts about three months (we replace pellets in the cages every second day) and keep the rest in the freezer.

Finally, the last thing that was part of this order was some AviClean concentrate solution. I didn't take a picture, as I had taken it out of the box when I opened it and asked the Boy to put it away before I took pictures.

And that is it!

The Red bellies enjoying the basket of goodies

To which basket am I referring to?

The lovely basket we got as a draw prize during Avian Organic's anniversary sale back in April.

I'm fully aware that we are now in July and that it seems like it's been a while since April. Oddly enough, this wasn't an occasion where I was hoarding toys away, but rather it was kept in a box in the basement and I had more or less forgot about it after initially wondering how I was going to give it to the birds.

In the end, while looking for foot toys to provide on the computer desk in the orange room, I remembered the basket and it seemed to fit the requirements of what I was looking for.

It's been on the desk for a few days now, and while some of the birds are still unsure about it, the Red bellies, especially Joey, have sorted through it on a few occasions (and made a mess every time, throwing out what was less appealing at the time, while digging for preferred goodies).

Oh, it's been a while since I had a basket to chew!

Hmm...out this goes!

Oh I like these!

*crazy "I love these" eyes*

So much fun to tear apart!

What else is there to play with?

King of the pile!

Pixel mostly enjoyed a dried piece of corn cob and husk (minus the niblets) - can you see her reflection in both pictures?

There is still plenty of goodies to play with, including the basket, although the pile of natural pieces has gone done a bit. The best part is that everything keeps those beaks busy!

I'll end with one last picture of Joey, diving into the basket.

Avian Organics Anniversary Sale Order

This is an overdue post, since I received my box over a week ago!

Recently Avian Organics had a week long celebration to commemorate their 8th Anniversary, which meant sales and draws for prizes! My "reserve" of mash was dwindling quickly so I took the opportunity to order a few more bags.

I got the Pineapple Pudding, Mayan Gourmet Mash and Hemp Berry Pudding (all pictured above). Those are favourites with my flock.

I also stocked up on some treats, namely the Veggie Berry Bars and the all time favourite Mango Ginger Minis.

Every order placed during the Anniversary week meant you got your name placed in a daily draw, and your name would remain in the pot until everything was all done. While I generally am not very lucky, I ended up winning the day after I ordered so that was pretty exciting! Gifts varied and I won a large all natural basket with a bag filled with natural parts.

Many thanks to Doris!

My first Avian Stainless order

To be honest, I wasn't planning to put an order with Avian Stainless before I needed some more Avian Organics (as both online stores are owned by the wonderful Doris) so I could combine shipping. However, last week she had a special on her Facebook page on her version of the skewer - the "Classic Canadian Skewer". I believe it was 30% off and I really couldn't pass that up!

Well my package arrived today (which really was incredibly fast shipping!) and although I knew the skewer was "large", I was still surprised by how wide it was when I saw it in person!



It was suggested that the skewer gets hung outside the cage, unless you have a very large cage with plenty of space and I agree - but it was always my intention of having out in a common area for all to enjoy (once I decide what I'll put on it..)

Along with the skewer came a little surprise, also from Avian Stainless. It was very neatly packaged.





The toy is named "Rising Stars" and I'm thinking I'll also hang it on the common play area - after all, some of the smaller guys have been missing a toy I removed after doubting if it was entirely safe and I think this will be a nice substitute!

Since I was running low on Cazuela, I asked Doris if I could order a bag and get it included in the box and she happily oblidged. Imagine my surprise when I saw two bags of Avian Organics goodies in the box, one being a free bag of Cajun Berry Minis, which is a great thing since the birds love these (well any of the "minis") and we are about at the half mark point of the Mango Ginger Minis bag I have open right now.



Thank you so much Doris!!!

Avian Stainless

There is a new parrot toy website that has "opened" recently - Avian Stainless!

The store is managed by the fabulous Doris who is also the person behind one of my favorite parrot food stores, Avian Organics.

The website, which catalogue will still be growing, specializes in stainless steel toys, which are made by Doris' husband who has been a certified welder for over 40 years.

I haven't yet ordered, as I have met my allotted "bird supply" budget this month, but will probably indulge in February - there are a few toys which I think might be to Petey's liking (he likes to beat up his toys and make noise) and I also have my eye on something for Léa, as she is quite meticulous and I think she will like of these items too!

Avian Stainless - http://www.avianstainless.com/index.php

Avian Organics - http://www.avianorganics.com/

SWS 2012 - First of two orders that arrived today!

I had two boxes waiting for me today when I arrived home - which is always a nice feeling.

And what is best, is that one had food, the other had toys and perches!

I was running low on Avian Organics mashes before the Sidewalk Sale started so I was happy to see that Doris had them on sale!

It was a relatively small order, but one that should keep me covered for a while.





What I got -

Mango Medley
Hemp Berry Pudding
Bolivian Blast
Pineapple Pudding
Mayan Gourmet Mash

Those are all favorites of my flock, I'm sure they'll be happy to get them more regularly once again!

(And lucky me, computer has been mostly behaving today, I might get to post about the second order later tonight!)

Breakfast was a success!

At least for two of them, if I judge by how messy their beaks got!







On the menu was fruit (apple and grape), a small piece of multigrain toast and Muesli from Avian Organics.

Long overdue Avian Organics order

The title says it all really.

The last order I put in was some time before the move as I didn't want to have to bring over too much stuff if I could avoid it and I had a pretty large inventory of Avian Organics goodies left at the time.

However, that inventory lessened as the weeks went by and soon enough I needed some more of the dry treats.


2 bags of Rustic Ribbons & Twisted Treasures


Sweet Potato Sticks, Blueberry Mini Sticks & Cajun Berry Minis


2 bags of Cauli Crisps & Pear'ngs

As always, Doris was VERY generous. She included an extra bag of Cauli Crisps (which are delicious by the way!) and Twisted Treasures. The latter was a big surprise as I had wanted to order them but on the website it said that they were out of stock.

Thank you so much Doris!

The birds enjoying Avian Organics goodies!

Avian Organics is currently holding a picture contest - birds enjoying Avian Organics treats. Winners will receive free shipping on their next order. Details were available in Avian Organics' Newsletter (I suggest people subscribe to it to also get insider special on Avian Organics products), on their Facebook page as well as on the Avian Avenue forum. Essentially, participants are allowed to send two pictures each before May 30th (or until the secret number of submissions has been reached) to be eligible.

So of course I staged a photo shoot with some AO goodies with a few of my guys - Shade, Pixel and Joey. Zuri with the collar is unable to hold food to his beak making the whole thing rather awkward (but without the collar he would have been included!), Piper generally goes for crumbs the other leave behind rather than a complete item and Petey is just a picky eater. Since I don't have Léa out with the others and that I had more pictures than I knew what to do with them from the first photo shoot, I didn't think it was necessary to start over with her.

In the end, I did submit one picture from that shoot and one older picture that I really liked depicting one of the birds eating AO product. These I might share later on, but for the time being, here are some of the pictures that didn't make the cut although I do like them quite a bit as well - it was hard picking one picture from all of them!

Starting with some Mango Ginger Minis..







..we then moved onto Truffles...








You can see a blurry Pixel in the back with her own Truffle


Always meticulous Shade - taking small piece by small piece, not wasting anything.


*Total Truffle annihilation!*

..and finished with some very coveted Veggie Bars!









At one point, I had the set-up that would have been the *perfect* product shot - as Shade was finishing her Truffle, I handed her a piece of Veggie Bar, which meant she was holding the Truffle with one foot and had the Veggie Bar in her beak. She remained that way for a few seconds, unfortunately by the time I got proper focus with my camera, she let go of the Truffle.

All three items were gobbled up by the birds (Shade eventually finished the Truffle she let go of). AO items are really loved by most of my flock - Petey being more of a fan of the soft mashes.

Talking about soft mashes, here is an older video of their messy beaks after having eaten some AO Andean Ambrosia mash (please excuse my voice..)!

More delectable Avian Organics food!

This wasn't part of my Sidewalk Sale order.

At first I had intended to wait for that sale to get some more Avian Organics food but two reasons pushed me to order ahead.

First, well I was running out fast of the Mayan Gourmet Mash, a staple around here as it is possibly the favorite AO mash, one that is good enough for the birds to lick their bowls clean. In fact, by the time I got my order yesterday, I had been out of the mash for a few days, having cooked what I had left the day after I ordered. I didn't want to wait to be stuck in the middle of a massive pile of orders and have to wait too long to get the my order.

Mind you, the birds did not have to wait too long to get their Mayan Gourmet Mash fix - the shipping with this order has got to be the fastest I've ever seen from BC to Ontario; it was shipped on the 30th and arrived yesterday (the 5th)! Less than a week and there was a week-end in between somewhere!

Here is what I ordered -


Pineapple Pudding, Mayan Gourmet Mash x2


Hemp Berry Pudding x 2, Cazuela

I had mentioned above that there were two reasons as to why I ordered right away - well reason #2 has got to do with the fact that I jumped on another sale Doris was having, this time on Facebook. The first 5 customers to order at the time were each going to get a package of one of her new products, Parrot Pals.


Parrot Pals

Doris also was very generous and included one of the above Hemp Berry Puddings for free.

Hopefully this order will help tide their big appetites for a little while longer!