Shade turns 3 today.
I first laid my eyes on her on April 30th, 2006. Brought her home in August of that year.
She's my little girl, no doubts about it :)
Monday, March 30, 2009
Shade turns 3 today!
Shade turns 3 today.
I first laid my eyes on her on April 30th, 2006. Brought her home in August of that year.
She's my little girl, no doubts about it :)
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Learning to talk
I think the number one question I get when I tell people I have parrots is
"Do they talk?".
Trying to explain that not all parrots talk and that there is indeed many type of parrots (if it's not a Macaw or an Amazon, it appears it's not a parrot in most people's minds) isn't always the easiest thing. In fact, when I say that not all my parrots talk, they seem to loose interest.
Frankly, I couldn't care less if a parrot talks or not. If it does learn to, then it's an added bonus (until they start repeating those words over and over and over...).
Petey came to me with a large vocabulary but has not said most of the words she knows in the last few months. No big deal.
Joey came to me not really speaking any clear words, but mumbling a lot (and Red-bellies have the best talking reputation amongst small Poicephalus). He has learned to say "Hey Joey" when we come in the appartment, since I always great my birds when I come in. He has also started imitating the few words Shade knows.
Shade has a very limited repertoire but she does use the words when appropriate. Since I spoke to her mostly in French, she mostly says French words.
Piper doesn't talk. But gosh she knows how to make herself understood.
We are left with Zuri. Zuri did not talk when I got her in January. Still hasn't spoken in front of me. However, when I got up this morning I could hear her practicing to talk in her still covered cage. Something that sounded like "Hi Zuri" was being repeated several times. Can't wait to see if she'll say that when she knows I'm around.
Here is a video of Shade talking. Repeating the few words she knows.
"Do they talk?".
Trying to explain that not all parrots talk and that there is indeed many type of parrots (if it's not a Macaw or an Amazon, it appears it's not a parrot in most people's minds) isn't always the easiest thing. In fact, when I say that not all my parrots talk, they seem to loose interest.
Frankly, I couldn't care less if a parrot talks or not. If it does learn to, then it's an added bonus (until they start repeating those words over and over and over...).
Petey came to me with a large vocabulary but has not said most of the words she knows in the last few months. No big deal.
Joey came to me not really speaking any clear words, but mumbling a lot (and Red-bellies have the best talking reputation amongst small Poicephalus). He has learned to say "Hey Joey" when we come in the appartment, since I always great my birds when I come in. He has also started imitating the few words Shade knows.
Shade has a very limited repertoire but she does use the words when appropriate. Since I spoke to her mostly in French, she mostly says French words.
Piper doesn't talk. But gosh she knows how to make herself understood.
We are left with Zuri. Zuri did not talk when I got her in January. Still hasn't spoken in front of me. However, when I got up this morning I could hear her practicing to talk in her still covered cage. Something that sounded like "Hi Zuri" was being repeated several times. Can't wait to see if she'll say that when she knows I'm around.
Here is a video of Shade talking. Repeating the few words she knows.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
My little piggie likes the most expensive granule better
When it comes to my parrots diet, I believe in variety.
They get plenty of veggies and fruit. They get some nuts. They get some "healthy" table food. They do get some granules (seemingly pellet is not the proper term for this kind of food..), but they also get a little seed. They eat some of everything and the vet has declared them to be in very good health and having beautiful plumage. So I'm guessing I'm doing something right, even if they get some seed.
When it came time to choosing granules..they get some Hagen Tropican in their seed mix, but they don't seem too keen on it (I did use to buy bags of only Tropican but they didn't really eat it). Over a year ago, I started giving them some Zupreem Avian Entrées, alternating between the "Hot and Spicy" and the "Garden Goodness", since both had less artificial colouring than the "Harvest" Entrée and the Fruit blend. These proved to be more successful than the Hagen kind, they would readily eat it.
However, wanting to introduce more variety into the granule portion of their diet, I've recently bought a 1lb bag of Harrison's High Potency. Wanting to slowly introduce it, I've been mixing it up with some Zupreem. Well, I just saw Shade picking out the Harrison from the Zupreem and eating them first. Shade will eat anything, it makes me laugh that she is showing such a preference for one granule diet over the other. I could imagine any of the other birds doing this, not her. As a matter of fact, she's never shown any preference for "colour" such as Piper who will NOT eat any green granule. However, since the cost of Harrison bird food is what it is, I'll keep on getting it, but it will be mixed with other food.
I might try introducing some Roudybush next and see what happens...
They get plenty of veggies and fruit. They get some nuts. They get some "healthy" table food. They do get some granules (seemingly pellet is not the proper term for this kind of food..), but they also get a little seed. They eat some of everything and the vet has declared them to be in very good health and having beautiful plumage. So I'm guessing I'm doing something right, even if they get some seed.
When it came time to choosing granules..they get some Hagen Tropican in their seed mix, but they don't seem too keen on it (I did use to buy bags of only Tropican but they didn't really eat it). Over a year ago, I started giving them some Zupreem Avian Entrées, alternating between the "Hot and Spicy" and the "Garden Goodness", since both had less artificial colouring than the "Harvest" Entrée and the Fruit blend. These proved to be more successful than the Hagen kind, they would readily eat it.
However, wanting to introduce more variety into the granule portion of their diet, I've recently bought a 1lb bag of Harrison's High Potency. Wanting to slowly introduce it, I've been mixing it up with some Zupreem. Well, I just saw Shade picking out the Harrison from the Zupreem and eating them first. Shade will eat anything, it makes me laugh that she is showing such a preference for one granule diet over the other. I could imagine any of the other birds doing this, not her. As a matter of fact, she's never shown any preference for "colour" such as Piper who will NOT eat any green granule. However, since the cost of Harrison bird food is what it is, I'll keep on getting it, but it will be mixed with other food.
I might try introducing some Roudybush next and see what happens...
The Parrot Club
I'm lucky enough to have a Parrot Club in this city.
I've been a member since 2006.
I do bring my birds to the meetings; I do take the risk of another bird possibly being sick, but I do want to trust that people won't bring a sick bird to the meeting.
I do find those meetings to be an incredible socializing experience for my parrots; I've been bringing Shade since I first got her and I do think she's a well rounded bird - she doesn't mind car rides (car rides don't equal going to the vet in her head), she doesn't mind when other birds are around and she is not scared of strangers - and I think that bringing her in the club's environment might have helped. It's the only place she's been around lots of "strangers", the club also provides a lot of one on one time with me and I think is a good experience and there is always a chance that a car rid will end with that.
I also use the Parrot Club meetings as opportunities to handle Petey a bit more; in that entirely different setting, she is better behaved with me and will allow me to have her on my hand without trying to bite.
At the last meeting, I had brought Zuri (I have to alternate which bird I bring because beyond having 2, it's a little hectic). She did fairly well, albeit a little nervous in the beginning since we got a smaller room than the usual and everyone was pretty packed together. But overall I do think she liked her experience.
Here's a video of her when she started relaxing a bit.
(The person you hear talking in the back is Mark Hagen, one of two guest speakers that night.)
I've been a member since 2006.
I do bring my birds to the meetings; I do take the risk of another bird possibly being sick, but I do want to trust that people won't bring a sick bird to the meeting.
I do find those meetings to be an incredible socializing experience for my parrots; I've been bringing Shade since I first got her and I do think she's a well rounded bird - she doesn't mind car rides (car rides don't equal going to the vet in her head), she doesn't mind when other birds are around and she is not scared of strangers - and I think that bringing her in the club's environment might have helped. It's the only place she's been around lots of "strangers", the club also provides a lot of one on one time with me and I think is a good experience and there is always a chance that a car rid will end with that.
I also use the Parrot Club meetings as opportunities to handle Petey a bit more; in that entirely different setting, she is better behaved with me and will allow me to have her on my hand without trying to bite.
At the last meeting, I had brought Zuri (I have to alternate which bird I bring because beyond having 2, it's a little hectic). She did fairly well, albeit a little nervous in the beginning since we got a smaller room than the usual and everyone was pretty packed together. But overall I do think she liked her experience.
Here's a video of her when she started relaxing a bit.
(The person you hear talking in the back is Mark Hagen, one of two guest speakers that night.)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Oh my, another bird turns 4!
Joey's hatch day was last Saturday, March 14th.
Little bugger turned 4.
Somehow bittersweet having him age like this, not having owned him as a baby.
Oh well, I wouldn't trade Joey for anything in the world :)
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The ducky walk
I love the way Zuri walks, or at least how she walks on the back of our couch. That "walk" has earned her the nickname "little ducky". She also does the cutest jumps.
Here's a video of her walking.
Here's a video of her walking.
Monday, March 2, 2009
One year
Yesterday marked the one year "anniversary" (for lack of a better word) that I first got Joey.
He's done a lot of progress since then..he used to be a lot more neurotic (i.e. those Red-bellied frights I've read about after getting him), now he doesn't have those anymore. He showed a preference for men at the beginning, now he'll come see me on his own as much as he'll go see my SO and he is really good with strangers of both genders (which wasn't the case before). He's less nippy than he was (although still occasionally nips if spooked or when hormones are out of control). He's getting better with being pet all over too.
I'm really proud of him and his progress :)
Oh and he'll be four very very soon.
He's done a lot of progress since then..he used to be a lot more neurotic (i.e. those Red-bellied frights I've read about after getting him), now he doesn't have those anymore. He showed a preference for men at the beginning, now he'll come see me on his own as much as he'll go see my SO and he is really good with strangers of both genders (which wasn't the case before). He's less nippy than he was (although still occasionally nips if spooked or when hormones are out of control). He's getting better with being pet all over too.
I'm really proud of him and his progress :)
Oh and he'll be four very very soon.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Little Zuri
Newest little foster bird.
Who am I kidding, she'll probably end up staying. Of course it all depends on how she'll act with my other birds but somehow, I don't think she'll be as difficult as Petey.
Her story.
She was hatched in 2007, not sure what month but I'm trying to figure it out (I find it great that I can actually go back as far as knowing her breeder and who had her in between). So, there's a very good chance she's not even 2. Her first owner had to giver her up because he got diagnosed with cancer and has since passed. Because of his illness, little Zuri probably didn't have all the attention she deserved as a baby, but it is somewhat understandable. Although she was a little skittish when she first arrived at my friends who run the "rescue", she's seems to have gotten over her fears. I've had her since yesterday and she's starting to want to explore and play around. She's curious. She's trying different toys and food. She does occasionally pinch, but I'm working with her on that.
She came with the name Oscar (and the belief that she was a male). Honestly, my gut feeling tells me she's a female, but I could be wrong. In any case, I will refer to her as a female. I didn't really like the name Oscar; when I think of Oscar, I think grouchy old man (sorry to anyone out there named Oscar). Zuri, according to a translation website, means "beautiful" in Swahili, which I find suits her better. I did want to look up "mischievous", but nothing came up.
Here's are some pictures of Zuri.
Zuri and I
Who am I kidding, she'll probably end up staying. Of course it all depends on how she'll act with my other birds but somehow, I don't think she'll be as difficult as Petey.
Her story.
She was hatched in 2007, not sure what month but I'm trying to figure it out (I find it great that I can actually go back as far as knowing her breeder and who had her in between). So, there's a very good chance she's not even 2. Her first owner had to giver her up because he got diagnosed with cancer and has since passed. Because of his illness, little Zuri probably didn't have all the attention she deserved as a baby, but it is somewhat understandable. Although she was a little skittish when she first arrived at my friends who run the "rescue", she's seems to have gotten over her fears. I've had her since yesterday and she's starting to want to explore and play around. She's curious. She's trying different toys and food. She does occasionally pinch, but I'm working with her on that.
She came with the name Oscar (and the belief that she was a male). Honestly, my gut feeling tells me she's a female, but I could be wrong. In any case, I will refer to her as a female. I didn't really like the name Oscar; when I think of Oscar, I think grouchy old man (sorry to anyone out there named Oscar). Zuri, according to a translation website, means "beautiful" in Swahili, which I find suits her better. I did want to look up "mischievous", but nothing came up.
Here's are some pictures of Zuri.
Zuri and I
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Hormone season - Maybe coming to an end..
I've shared more about Petey and her issues since, well, she's the one with the worst issues and needing more work.
But these last few weeks, my other two Pois have also acted a little strange, no doubt because of hormones (I've read that declining day light brings on breeding season in Poicephalus).
I've been talking about hormones and Petey because she was the worst.
In Joey, it resulted in him trying to nip (yes trying because, poor him, he's very predictable when he wants to nip and hence, hasn't managed to do it properly ). He doesn't try it as much lately.
With Shade, it resulted in her being more independent. I guess most people will see nothing wrong with this, and compared to other behaviors she could have adopted I guess it's ok, but it felt weird not having little baby Shade want as much attention. Mind you, she was never the cuddliest bird (which I did not want hence why I chose Poicephalus in the first place), but having her be even less so made me a little sad. (Oh and seeing her level of activity and her (very) healthy appetite made me rule out her being sick.) But for a couple of days now, she's reverted to her old self, coming to me more often to either sleep on a shoulder or knee or ask for head scritches before going back to play with something. Her being her old self again made me happy.
But these last few weeks, my other two Pois have also acted a little strange, no doubt because of hormones (I've read that declining day light brings on breeding season in Poicephalus).
I've been talking about hormones and Petey because she was the worst.
In Joey, it resulted in him trying to nip (yes trying because, poor him, he's very predictable when he wants to nip and hence, hasn't managed to do it properly ). He doesn't try it as much lately.
With Shade, it resulted in her being more independent. I guess most people will see nothing wrong with this, and compared to other behaviors she could have adopted I guess it's ok, but it felt weird not having little baby Shade want as much attention. Mind you, she was never the cuddliest bird (which I did not want hence why I chose Poicephalus in the first place), but having her be even less so made me a little sad. (Oh and seeing her level of activity and her (very) healthy appetite made me rule out her being sick.) But for a couple of days now, she's reverted to her old self, coming to me more often to either sleep on a shoulder or knee or ask for head scritches before going back to play with something. Her being her old self again made me happy.
Another Petey update
This was written a while ago on a parrot forum and for some reason, I didn't think of also sharing it here. So, with a little delay, here is another Petey update.
----
(December 3rd, 2008)
I've been talking about hormones and Petey because she was the worst.
But my other two Pois got slightly affected by hormones too these last few weeks.
In Joey, it resulted in him trying to nip (yes trying because, poor him, he's very predictable when he wants to nip and hence, hasn't managed to do it properly ). He doesn't try it as much lately.
With Shade, it resulted in her being more independent. I guess most people will see nothing wrong with this, and compared to other behaviors she could have adopted I guess it's ok, but it felt weird not having little baby Shade want as much attention. Mind you, she was never the cuddliest bird (which I did not want hence why I chose Poicephalus in the first place), but having her be even less so made me a little sad. (Oh and seeing her level of activity and her (very) healthy appetite made me rule out her being sick.) But for a couple of days now, she's reverted to her old self, coming to me more often to either sleep on a shoulder or knee or ask for head scritches before going back to play with something. Her being her old self again made me happy.
---
(December 4th, 2008)
Today..
I was sitting on the ground trying to make transport cage covers with fleece blankets. Petey was on the hanging gym above Shade's and Piper's cages. She slowly came down, climbed down Shade's cage until she was about a foot and a half from the ground and jumped. She slowly approached me, eyes pinning like crazy in the beginning and bobbing her head at times. She stopped. She then proceeded to come closer, always stopping after making a couple of steps. We observed each other for a while. I was the one who put an end to it (I needed to keep a closer eye on Shade who was starting to bother Nemo and I'm not sure giving half my attention to Petey right there would of been a wise choice) and picked her up with a perch (that eye pinning made me wary to try with my hand straight away and she stepped up without a fuss) and put her back on the play gym. She did not seem insulted about being put back there (got off without any trouble, which isn't always the case) and she's currently grooming herself up there.
Not entirely sure she meant to be aggressive. I've had her go on the floor faster and immediately run for my feet. Or maybe she figured out that that tactic didn't work and is now trying something else
She's an enigma for sure. I really wonder what happened to her earlier in life to make her wary of women.
(and 5 minutes later)
Well. She just tried it again but this time, it was an attack. The moment she hit the ground, she ran towards me, eyes pinning. Picked her up with the perch and had to put the perch in her cage with her because she was not stepping down. I'm just happy my hand is not the perch right now, it's getting a severe beating.
I'll let her out in 5-10 minutes.
----
(December 3rd, 2008)
I've been talking about hormones and Petey because she was the worst.
But my other two Pois got slightly affected by hormones too these last few weeks.
In Joey, it resulted in him trying to nip (yes trying because, poor him, he's very predictable when he wants to nip and hence, hasn't managed to do it properly ). He doesn't try it as much lately.
With Shade, it resulted in her being more independent. I guess most people will see nothing wrong with this, and compared to other behaviors she could have adopted I guess it's ok, but it felt weird not having little baby Shade want as much attention. Mind you, she was never the cuddliest bird (which I did not want hence why I chose Poicephalus in the first place), but having her be even less so made me a little sad. (Oh and seeing her level of activity and her (very) healthy appetite made me rule out her being sick.) But for a couple of days now, she's reverted to her old self, coming to me more often to either sleep on a shoulder or knee or ask for head scritches before going back to play with something. Her being her old self again made me happy.
---
(December 4th, 2008)
Today..
I was sitting on the ground trying to make transport cage covers with fleece blankets. Petey was on the hanging gym above Shade's and Piper's cages. She slowly came down, climbed down Shade's cage until she was about a foot and a half from the ground and jumped. She slowly approached me, eyes pinning like crazy in the beginning and bobbing her head at times. She stopped. She then proceeded to come closer, always stopping after making a couple of steps. We observed each other for a while. I was the one who put an end to it (I needed to keep a closer eye on Shade who was starting to bother Nemo and I'm not sure giving half my attention to Petey right there would of been a wise choice) and picked her up with a perch (that eye pinning made me wary to try with my hand straight away and she stepped up without a fuss) and put her back on the play gym. She did not seem insulted about being put back there (got off without any trouble, which isn't always the case) and she's currently grooming herself up there.
Not entirely sure she meant to be aggressive. I've had her go on the floor faster and immediately run for my feet. Or maybe she figured out that that tactic didn't work and is now trying something else
She's an enigma for sure. I really wonder what happened to her earlier in life to make her wary of women.
(and 5 minutes later)
Well. She just tried it again but this time, it was an attack. The moment she hit the ground, she ran towards me, eyes pinning. Picked her up with the perch and had to put the perch in her cage with her because she was not stepping down. I'm just happy my hand is not the perch right now, it's getting a severe beating.
I'll let her out in 5-10 minutes.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Petey's obsession with hand towels
Petey has been going through a hormonal phase these last few months. Although her attitude has been getting better these last few days/week, she still goes a little crazy when she's around blankets or hand towels. It's automatic, the hormones kick in stronger when she hides in their folds.
I caught a video or her playing around with the hand towels near the sink in the kitchen.
I caught a video or her playing around with the hand towels near the sink in the kitchen.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Follow-up on Petey's progress
Well it seems I spoke too fast. Today, I tried to get her to step up on my finger without my significant other around and using a Nutri-berry as a treat. Didn't work. She chomped down on my index finger and did not let get until I wrapped her in a blanket to pry her off.
I'm actually amazed with myself that I did not react at all to the bite. Usually I let out a gasp or a groan, nothing this time...and it was a pretty bad bite, I'll be sporting the marks for it for a while, I wouldn't be surprised if I'll get a nice scar there.
Eh, at least I'm proud of one of the two of us; I made progress.
Now to let my finger believe that...
I'm actually amazed with myself that I did not react at all to the bite. Usually I let out a gasp or a groan, nothing this time...and it was a pretty bad bite, I'll be sporting the marks for it for a while, I wouldn't be surprised if I'll get a nice scar there.
Eh, at least I'm proud of one of the two of us; I made progress.
Now to let my finger believe that...
Monday, November 17, 2008
Petey's progress
This week-end I went to the Canadian Parrot Conference, which means my parrots were being birdsat by my parents. Before I left, I was perch handling Petey as she would always lunge and try to bite me. Yesterday, when we came back home, I managed to get her to step up on my hand without biting for me to transfer her from her cage to my significant other (who she loves). Considerable progress. I just hope this continues to get better rather than having her return to wanting to bite my hand.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Clowning around
Red-bellies are known to be the clown of the Poicephalus family. After owning one for a couple of months and being able to compare it to other two different Pois, I can say it seems true.
I've started taking videos of my birds and lately, Joey has been featuring more and more in them. I'm not trying to be partial towards him, but he's the one bird that keeps doing things which makes me laugh.
Poicephalus are also known to love playing on their backs and although I've seen all three of mine do it, I was only able to capture Joey doing it on video. Shade sees the camera and stops whatever she is doing to pose and when Petey sees it, she just freezes up.
Therefore, here are a couple videos of Joey clowning around.
Playing on his back (he does mumble quite a bit in the video so it's worth listening with the volume up)
Playing with a bell
Playing with multiple bells
I've started taking videos of my birds and lately, Joey has been featuring more and more in them. I'm not trying to be partial towards him, but he's the one bird that keeps doing things which makes me laugh.
Poicephalus are also known to love playing on their backs and although I've seen all three of mine do it, I was only able to capture Joey doing it on video. Shade sees the camera and stops whatever she is doing to pose and when Petey sees it, she just freezes up.
Therefore, here are a couple videos of Joey clowning around.
Playing on his back (he does mumble quite a bit in the video so it's worth listening with the volume up)
Playing with a bell
Playing with multiple bells
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