Monday, April 25, 2011

Happy Easter!

To everyone that celebrates it, I hope you had a wonderful Easter! And hopefully neither you nor your birds got sick on either eggs or candy! Particularly the candy in the birds' case, as any candy is too much for a parrot. And for the egg issue, while I usually limit my birds' egg consumption to one or two appropriate-for-the-parrot-size servings a week, whether that is alone, or spread out in a treat like birdie bread, (see this Easter post from a few years ago) I think Easter is one time when a bit extra egg won't hurt! I keep thinking it would be a wonderful foraging experience to give the larger parrots a whole egg and let them crack it themselves, but I don't want to give them that much egg...

And just for the fun of it, go check out the American Bird Conservancy's bird of the week here!


A cute egg picture, one of Yo-yo and Patty's, from a few years ago.


And while everyone is thinking (if briefly) about eggs, a quick update on the Aussie hormones in this house: Miss Patty laid one egg a couple of weeks ago without too much trouble, and non since, and no effort to follow that lone egg with another in the foreseeable future! And to add that final wonderful cherry on top, all of my tiels have lost their hormones somewhere in the spring rains, and are back to their usual sweet, friendly, quiet (for a parrot) selves!! Yay! Even better, they are all best friends again, snuggling together, their brief rivalry a thing of the past.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

By Request: Miss Gwen

Who is not, and please don't even suggest such a thought in her hearing, a bird. No love lost between her and anything with feathers, far from it. Gwen is a dog, a large chihuahua or possible chihuahua mix, and she feels that anything other than herself or other small dogs is not worth the space it takes up on this Earth. Oh, except for any people that might want to give her attention, or even better, food. She doesn't mind that too terribly, either. She can be quite noisy, it is true, but aside from that and her bizarre love of clothing (you really have to see it to believe,as I certainly would never have) she doesn't fit too many of the many terrible chi stereotypes. As I said, she permits people to be in her presence, and will graciously make the rounds to accept praise from each in turn, as long as she is sure none of them poses any danger to me. Admittedly, she doesn't really care for people, other than myself, in that time-honored way of dogs, but she is quite polite, and extremely loyal to me, so really, what more could I ask?

Gwen's story, in brief, is that she is an ex-backyard breeder dropped off at the local animal control, where I adopted her. She was guessed to be around 6 years old at that time, but whether that age is really accurate is not known, and I can't say I care all that much. She is loud, sleeps all the time she is not loud, and is a (nearly) devout vegetarian (her own decision, not mine) with a voracious appetite which results in her frequently eating things that are better left outside the body. When not sleeping or eating things, but sometimes while she is loud, she is full of endless energy, is obsessed with springtime, and is extremely smart. She is also extremely protective of me, and while polite towards people, has no problem chasing off other creatures, like, say, rottweilers or very large lab/German shepherd mixes. Fortunately, she is very quick on her feet, and easily convinces the other animal she is clearly rabid, but I still disagree with her on the wisdom of these moves. And last, but not least, she is very bonded to me, and makes sure I am always ok, and so very sweet about it, too. Except, perhaps, when she is very tired and is pretty sure I am going to be fine soon.

And on the clothes issue, that is quite funny after you get used to it. I got her in the winter, and immediately noticed that she gets cold extremely easily, so of course I knitted her a wool sweater. It quickly became clear, though, that Gwen not only has nothing against clothes, but really loves them in a way prior to this I thought only existed in Disney movies. And to think at one time I questioned whether I would want to deal with suiting up a greyhound, my "dream" dog, in the winter!




 Gwen, the very wise business guru, will take your questions now.
(But she thinks you should already know the answers)



Gwen vs. Black Cup With Treat Under It

 I know it is in here!

 Just gotta get my mouth open a liiittle wider.....

'Nother one? Pretty Please?


P.S. This post is brought to you by me (and Gwen. Mostly Gwen), per request from Hungry Bird.