This was just too funny to miss, and since I did actually catch it on "tape", I decided it was time to post my first video, dark and of poor quality though it may be. It was a cloudy winter day, after all.
I was vacuuming the room, which I usually do with all the birds locked up, just to make it easier. However, this time, Claudia and Chester were out. When they are inside their cage, they always take a bath in their water bowl during the "thunder storm". As they did not have a water bowl on their playgym, they had to make do without, and I think they did quite well, don't you?
I was vacuuming the room, which I usually do with all the birds locked up, just to make it easier. However, this time, Claudia and Chester were out. When they are inside their cage, they always take a bath in their water bowl during the "thunder storm". As they did not have a water bowl on their playgym, they had to make do without, and I think they did quite well, don't you?
If you notice, Claudia spends quite a bit of time with her head or tail on a wooden bucket. I believe she is imagining that it contains water, but it is actually her foraging bucket, and the most that could have been in there was a few treat remnants and some small foot toys deemed unworthy for play.
After I was done vacuuming, and videoing, of course, I did give them a nice spray bath, which they appreciated. And since my video was unable to show you Claudia's beautiful feathers, and the ever improving feathers of Chester (Please tell me you noticed he had an entire tail, and most of his wing feathers!!) I did take two pics of that.
And since neither the video or the pics (Claudia, you are a real camera hog!) were able to show you Chester's improving feathers, I have a few shots to show here. I would love to show you some from when I got him, for comparison, but he was NOT fond of people, and cameras were placed under the people, or odd people appendages, category. So, it will have to suffice to say that his feathers looked much worse then, all but his head feathers, which were very dark and ratty, being very, very dark green, yellow, brown, or black. Or at least, that was the colors of the feathers he had. He did not have most of his wing feathers, or anything but a few (three) completely stripped tail feathers.He did not have most of his chest feathers, only grey fuzz, and did not have leg feathers. I am not sure he was really plucking his back as well, but due to the poor quality of feathers, he did not have very many at all there, either.
In the photos, please note his beautiful tail, and that he has some lovely new feathers on his back, which have really improved his overall appearance! His head has actually been through a complete molt, and is looking much better.
The last picture is simply to show you what color I hope his feathers will someday be. As feathers are very reflective, they come out much brighter on the camera than they look in person, even in direct sunlight. So, when I take a picture of his head, it often looks very bright green! I was unable to get a pic of his chest, but he does have some new feathers there, which you can almost see in the last pic, as well.
6 comments:
Very funny bath! Harley almost does that!
That was a great video! I can definitely see how his flight feathers are coming in nicely -- isn't that a great feeling?
We're going through feather destructive issues with Stella now and I try to not take it personally when she pulls out a few more.
They are so beautiful and iridescent!
The sound triggers the bathing activity? Like a thunderstorm or heavy rain? Animal behavior can be so amazing! I love how you take such good care of your babies.
Truthfully, his feathers looks a whole lot better on camera than in person (something about the flash, I suppose) but I will take what I can get!
I do get annoyed with the camera, sometimes, though, as it always makes my ekkies look different than they actually are. For instance, Claudia has a deep lavendar/purple chest, especially when in the sun. However, on camera it always looks royal blue, which I don't really get. Chester almost always appears bright green, though in person (again in the sun) he is very dark.
I hope Stella improves soon. It is hard to not take it personally, but then, I always remind myself, it must be hard for them to not take it personally whenever we do something, unknowingly or on purpose (vet visit, anyone?), they dislike, too.
Yes, it is almost universal with pet parrots, turning on a vacume starts bathing! Even Yaz, who hates baths of any kind, will start "pretend" bathing, as Claudia and Chester are doing in the video. Of course, try spraying him gently, and all he will do is yell and run to hide!
Beautiful pictures! My amazon likes to talk with the vacuum. He even started joining in when I played your video and he heard the vacuum sounds.
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