Yes folks, we are nearing that time of year again, a time when life as we know it is turned on its end and we feel our sanity seeping away, as eggs, frustration, and unbelievable volume mesh into one chaotic color wheel. Or that is what I was thinking this morning in bed, as Linus started his day-long deluge just moments before the sun came up. I am not talking a bit of happy-to-see-the-day singing, no, that is usual, and consists of a few loud calls, some beeps and tweets, and lots of (very pleasant) whistling. Who could complain about that? No, this is different- just one loud, high pitched call that will continue intermittently (but seemingly non-stop) throughout the day. This, my friends, is Spring.
Please, though, do not get the wrong idea- Linus is perhaps the best prepared, but he is certainly not the only one getting ready for the 20th. Frank and Lola are louder, more exuberant, seemingly bursting with joy, even if their expression of said joy doesn't always give me the same warm fuzzy feeling inside. Yo-yo and Miss Patty are clearly thinking nest-wise, although no sign of serious egg production quite yet. It was only about a month ago Miss Patty laid an egg (just one, she doesn't often lay more now as they tire her so) so I am hoping they will see the food abundance and decide to be fashionably late. I will take any time I can get before more egg stress! After the calling comes the aggression. Yo-yo is already started to get riled up with Linus, and, a true first, I noticed him picking on Miss Patty yesterday in a most un-pleasant manner. As of yet, they are still mostly friends, but the beginnings of another serious family feud are clearly underfoot. I can hardly wait.
Still, there is always the positive in a flock as large as mine- Claudia and Chester get hormonal in the fall instead of the Spring, as they are driven more by their inner calendar to give them the time of year to breed (fall is spring in Indonesia) rather than the changing of the season here, as is common with ekkies more so than many other species. And while that does mean I get hormone surges twice a year instead of once, I find it easier to deal with the hormones of part of my flock if the other part is still same-old same-old. Plus, Chester and Claudia are, in parrot terms, fairly mild hormones-wise. Chester is louder, Claudia starts digging on her cage floor considering the feasibility of laying a clutch, and both want more food and a bit more time alone in their cage destroying every toy in sight. Oddly enough, they also get along a lot less, so play-dates are shorter. That is really about it, though, so I don't know how I got so incredibly lucky!
For those of you that have been keeping tally, you might have noticed I have yet to mention one parrot: little Ava, the queen bee. Her "Spring Fling" is marked by a lot of napping. She is right in the middle of hormone heaven, where everything is a constant contest and every move is watched for hidden meaning. She really doesn't get into all this stress, and even if the very early morning until late at night scream fest didn't disrupt her beauty sleep, there really is only way one to get through it- sleep!
Showing posts with label egg laying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label egg laying. Show all posts
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Reasoning with Cockatiels
It is practically impossible. Miss Patty and Yo-yo finally decided the floor of their cage was the best place to start a family, as that was the one place I could not keep them from.
Miss Patty laid the first egg without much trouble. The second one, however, was another story. She was two days late laying, during which time she got plenty of steam baths. After the last one, she did finally lay it, but not without great difficulty. I was worried that the strain had been too much for her- for the next day she did nothing but lay on the floor of the cage. However, she has since improved, and now, a week later, seems as good as she was before. The experience, though, seems to have cooled her urge to raise a family.
After she laid the first one,I was surprised to see that she really seemed serious about raising a family. Both she and Yo-yo took very good care of that egg. She not only sat on it,but turned it regularly, and even seemed to check it with her beak for temperature. She would then stand beside it for several minutes before resuming her position on top. She also got up quite often, wet her stomach in the water dish and then went back to sitting, though now with proper egg hatching humidity.
Yo-yo would take over sitting on the egg whenever she left to eat, or just took a break. He was ever so dedicated a father, but I must say, he was not very good at it. He would spend the entire time he was supposed to be sitting on the egg, often half an hour or more, simply trying to adjust it beneath himself. Instead of watching Miss Patty, and placing the egg between his leg and breast bone as she had done, he continually tried to place it directly beneath his breast bone. Obviously, this did not work, for once it was there, his feet could no longer touch the ground, and Yo-yo would fall forward while the egg rolled backward. Needless to say,Yo-yo took the egg on some very long walks across the bottom of the cage!
For a day or so after the second egg was laid, they continued sitting. Actually Miss Patty was too tired to get up, so she sat on the eggs while Yo-yo preened and fed her. After a bit, Yo-yo even took one of the eggs to "sit" on, so she only had to sit on one. Very adorable to watch, but I am only too glad to say that a week later, there have been no more eggs, and the two that were laid are totally abandoned on the bottom of the cage. Miss Patty hopefully has laid her last, so I do not have to worry about her anymore, or replacing the eggs, as I would have had to do if she had kept up her dedication. I certainly don't need to add to the thousands of cockatiels already needing homes!
Miss Patty laid the first egg without much trouble. The second one, however, was another story. She was two days late laying, during which time she got plenty of steam baths. After the last one, she did finally lay it, but not without great difficulty. I was worried that the strain had been too much for her- for the next day she did nothing but lay on the floor of the cage. However, she has since improved, and now, a week later, seems as good as she was before. The experience, though, seems to have cooled her urge to raise a family.
After she laid the first one,I was surprised to see that she really seemed serious about raising a family. Both she and Yo-yo took very good care of that egg. She not only sat on it,but turned it regularly, and even seemed to check it with her beak for temperature. She would then stand beside it for several minutes before resuming her position on top. She also got up quite often, wet her stomach in the water dish and then went back to sitting, though now with proper egg hatching humidity.
Yo-yo would take over sitting on the egg whenever she left to eat, or just took a break. He was ever so dedicated a father, but I must say, he was not very good at it. He would spend the entire time he was supposed to be sitting on the egg, often half an hour or more, simply trying to adjust it beneath himself. Instead of watching Miss Patty, and placing the egg between his leg and breast bone as she had done, he continually tried to place it directly beneath his breast bone. Obviously, this did not work, for once it was there, his feet could no longer touch the ground, and Yo-yo would fall forward while the egg rolled backward. Needless to say,Yo-yo took the egg on some very long walks across the bottom of the cage!
For a day or so after the second egg was laid, they continued sitting. Actually Miss Patty was too tired to get up, so she sat on the eggs while Yo-yo preened and fed her. After a bit, Yo-yo even took one of the eggs to "sit" on, so she only had to sit on one. Very adorable to watch, but I am only too glad to say that a week later, there have been no more eggs, and the two that were laid are totally abandoned on the bottom of the cage. Miss Patty hopefully has laid her last, so I do not have to worry about her anymore, or replacing the eggs, as I would have had to do if she had kept up her dedication. I certainly don't need to add to the thousands of cockatiels already needing homes!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
And we have arrived!
The travel day was, in general, rather uneventful. Everyone got here fine, and was very happy to be set up in their cages. Although they were all a bit stressed for a few days, and unanimously decided becoming very picky eaters was only thing worth doing, they soon got over that. Not surprisingly, separating birds like Yo-yo and Miss Patty from their food is extremely difficult!
Speaking of Yo-yo and Miss Patty, they have decided to be quite contrary to all commonly accepted rules of breeding, and in just the few days since arriving, and even fewer since settling in, have come to the decision that this is the perfect place to start a family. Again. A completely new place, and no "obvious" nesting sites available, and yet this is the time they chose. So far, they have tried the top of a picture frame, behind their cage (which is on a table, not set against the wall and beside a window) under a chair, under the dresser, and under the bed. So far, the dresser seems to be winning. Yo-yo spent over half an hour under there yesterday, whistling, talking, and calling to Miss Patty to come. She declined stubbornly, and stayed on top of the cage. As she did not seem interested in the dresser then, I was happy to let Yo-yo entertain himself under there - at least it meant I did not have to stand in front of the picture frame (the previous favorite spot) the entire time they were out of the cage! However, today he managed to convince Miss Patty to join him, so I now have another place from which to keep them. It is not easy, though. As soon as I let them out of their cage in the morning, they start flying from one "nest spot" to another, and it is all I can do to protect the furniture from being chewed or them killing themselves, let alone stop their building a nest at all! If you add that to the fact Yo-yo has morphed, seemingly overnight, into to something not unlike a ferocious 9 inch dragon...... well, you see my point.
On a different note, I just came back from taking Ava on a walk, which both of us greatly enjoyed. It is odd, though, ever since I got her, she has been extremely sensitive to heat and/or the sun. She starts panting and holding her wings out almost immediately, and if you don't get her to a cooler place or spray her with some cool water, she quickly looks like she is about to pass out. It has always bothered me, none of my other birds do this. Because of this, though, when I take her out, I cover the top of the carrier, and take a spray bottle with me. I also try to take her out on cooler days, or when there is a breeze, of course, as there was today. As I said, despite her heat issues, she did really enjoy the walk and the fresh air, studying all there was to see outside. When she came in, I gave her a spray bath, which she also loved. After all that excursion, along with the effect of a couple of her favorite treat, sunflower seeds, she is now taking a nice long nap.
Claudia is gaining surprising new knowledge already from this trip - she has been practicing all day the frog calls she hears outside. It is quite funny, actually, watching her while she works so hard to perfect it. Although it is an adorable sound, I don't think she quite has it yet - her voice is too high!
Frank and Lola are simply loving the fact that they have an entire new backyard to yell at out. I take them out on the porch, and they stay happy all day, chattering with each other, playing, and telling the local squirrels and birds exactly what is up and what is not!
And, for those MCS readers, the air is so much better here off the Potomac in the woods, I am really enjoying being able to go outside! Combine that with the fact that the air in the house is so much better, too, and it is a win-win situation. Being able to take deep breaths is simply wonderful!
Speaking of Yo-yo and Miss Patty, they have decided to be quite contrary to all commonly accepted rules of breeding, and in just the few days since arriving, and even fewer since settling in, have come to the decision that this is the perfect place to start a family. Again. A completely new place, and no "obvious" nesting sites available, and yet this is the time they chose. So far, they have tried the top of a picture frame, behind their cage (which is on a table, not set against the wall and beside a window) under a chair, under the dresser, and under the bed. So far, the dresser seems to be winning. Yo-yo spent over half an hour under there yesterday, whistling, talking, and calling to Miss Patty to come. She declined stubbornly, and stayed on top of the cage. As she did not seem interested in the dresser then, I was happy to let Yo-yo entertain himself under there - at least it meant I did not have to stand in front of the picture frame (the previous favorite spot) the entire time they were out of the cage! However, today he managed to convince Miss Patty to join him, so I now have another place from which to keep them. It is not easy, though. As soon as I let them out of their cage in the morning, they start flying from one "nest spot" to another, and it is all I can do to protect the furniture from being chewed or them killing themselves, let alone stop their building a nest at all! If you add that to the fact Yo-yo has morphed, seemingly overnight, into to something not unlike a ferocious 9 inch dragon...... well, you see my point.
On a different note, I just came back from taking Ava on a walk, which both of us greatly enjoyed. It is odd, though, ever since I got her, she has been extremely sensitive to heat and/or the sun. She starts panting and holding her wings out almost immediately, and if you don't get her to a cooler place or spray her with some cool water, she quickly looks like she is about to pass out. It has always bothered me, none of my other birds do this. Because of this, though, when I take her out, I cover the top of the carrier, and take a spray bottle with me. I also try to take her out on cooler days, or when there is a breeze, of course, as there was today. As I said, despite her heat issues, she did really enjoy the walk and the fresh air, studying all there was to see outside. When she came in, I gave her a spray bath, which she also loved. After all that excursion, along with the effect of a couple of her favorite treat, sunflower seeds, she is now taking a nice long nap.
Claudia is gaining surprising new knowledge already from this trip - she has been practicing all day the frog calls she hears outside. It is quite funny, actually, watching her while she works so hard to perfect it. Although it is an adorable sound, I don't think she quite has it yet - her voice is too high!
Frank and Lola are simply loving the fact that they have an entire new backyard to yell at out. I take them out on the porch, and they stay happy all day, chattering with each other, playing, and telling the local squirrels and birds exactly what is up and what is not!
And, for those MCS readers, the air is so much better here off the Potomac in the woods, I am really enjoying being able to go outside! Combine that with the fact that the air in the house is so much better, too, and it is a win-win situation. Being able to take deep breaths is simply wonderful!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Replay call on egg laying and PDD
Having had trouble recently with so much egg laying this winter (over now, knock on wood!) I thought this would be an important talk for anyone going through, or trying to avoid, the same problem. It is a replay 0f Dr. Greg Rich, and will probably be up until Wednesday or Thursday. He really goes into fairly well how to avoid egg laying, or how to deal with it once they have started laying. He even brought up the diet issue, discussing how females being fed high energy (carbs, sugars, and fats) diets, are much more likely to think it is a great time to lay! He did not mention pellets, though. Pellets can really support hormones and egg laying, as they have very high (many say way too high) protein levels, and are full of simple carbs, as well as soy, which can mess with the hormone levels and really aggravate things. I have frequently read about, and have had pretty good success, switching hormonal birds to a high fiber, low protein and low fat diet. Any pellets fed the rest of the year should be natural ones, like TOPS. Very healthy (many, including myself, consider it to be the best, certainly one of the best, pellets!) and less likely to cause problems (not only hormones, but the multitude of other issues associated with pellets, like kidney and liver failure, vitamin toxicities, etc.)
He also talks extensively about PDD, something that is important for everyone with birds to know about. He really explains what it is, what the symptoms are, diagnostics, etc.
He also talks extensively about PDD, something that is important for everyone with birds to know about. He really explains what it is, what the symptoms are, diagnostics, etc.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Eggs
Yes, I know you are bored of that title, but apparently Miss Patty doesn't know that. Two days after the last post stating I thought she was done with eggs, she laid another one, and yesterday she decided to lay one in the food dish of their playgym, while they were watching tv with me in the evening. She is laying them just fine, and that is wonderful!, but I wonder how long her body can hold this up. She is fairly old, I believe, and she does have many health problems. I am not sure what else I can do to encourage her to stop, since she doesn't care to sit on the eggs, and her diet/environment is already not conducive for egg laying. Lupron is the only other thing I know, but her egg laying is not bad enough for that, and I hope it doesn't get bad enough!
On a funny end note, I know you all having been worrying about this, my camera is still acting up. Obviously, as is evident by the photos in a few recent posts, it does allow me to put new photos on the computer. However, it still is refusing to upload the pictures I took before, that are new photos, whatever the fancy pop-up sign says!
On a funny end note, I know you all having been worrying about this, my camera is still acting up. Obviously, as is evident by the photos in a few recent posts, it does allow me to put new photos on the computer. However, it still is refusing to upload the pictures I took before, that are new photos, whatever the fancy pop-up sign says!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Update on Miss Patty's clutch, and a budgie injury
Miss Patty has laid four more eggs, one the day after the first one, and the rest a day apart. None of the later eggs received any more attention than the first! After replacing the first two, and having her ignore the fake eggs, I decided to leave in the real ones, just to see if she liked them any better. And it turns out that she doesn't! She sits on them dutifully from when she lays them until breakfast arrives, but after that...... they are left to fend for themselves! Usually the tiels go out to the sun porch to their flight cage for the day, but a few days were just too cold, even on the sun porch, for them, so they stayed inside. On the days she can go out there, she jumps off the egg and runs out of the cage so I can take them out. And on the days it is too cold for them to go out, she still jumps off the egg for breakfast, and then proceeds to completely ignore it, even at night. It has been a few days since the last egg, so I am hoping five was all she was planning on laying.
On top of this, a few days ago, I had Ava out in the bird room. She was the only bird out, and it is usually very safe to leave her out alone, as she is a very good bird, and does not get into trouble. That was not the case this time. I came into the bird room to find her sleeping on the playgym, and did not think anything of it. After I had been in there a bit, she did remove her head from her wing, which is when I saw the blood caked on the tip. Needless to say, that really gave me a start! My first thought was that she had stuck her beak in the quakers cage, and gotten it bitten. However, I decided that was most likely not the case, as the quakers have been very friendly to her lately, and did not even seem to mind her sitting on their playgym when I was in there. On top of that, I have seen what Frank will do to a bird he is mad at, and if he had attacked Ava, he would have removed her beak. After studying Ava, I noticed she also had a line of blood where her beak meet her cere. She also was acting a lot like she had had a minor concussion, as she was sleeping a lot, and acting very quiet.
I finally decided she must have flown into one of the windows. This is not a characteristic behavior of hers at all, she is a wonderful flier, and knows perfectly well what windows are. All I can figure is that a hawk or something at one window must have scared her into flying into the other, or some other similar scenario.
She did not eat for a day after this, even though I offered her plenty of wet, mushy food. She did go down to the dish a few times, but after dipping her beak in, would shake her head, and go back up onto her perch to sleep. Just when I was getting desperate, and planning on feeding her some baby food with a syringe, she started eating. Yay! She is now much better, and is sleeping less, and playing more. She is eating plenty now, and her beak looks much better! I would have taken a picture to post here, but as I suspect she had had a minor concussion, I did not want to stress her with a flash.
On top of this, a few days ago, I had Ava out in the bird room. She was the only bird out, and it is usually very safe to leave her out alone, as she is a very good bird, and does not get into trouble. That was not the case this time. I came into the bird room to find her sleeping on the playgym, and did not think anything of it. After I had been in there a bit, she did remove her head from her wing, which is when I saw the blood caked on the tip. Needless to say, that really gave me a start! My first thought was that she had stuck her beak in the quakers cage, and gotten it bitten. However, I decided that was most likely not the case, as the quakers have been very friendly to her lately, and did not even seem to mind her sitting on their playgym when I was in there. On top of that, I have seen what Frank will do to a bird he is mad at, and if he had attacked Ava, he would have removed her beak. After studying Ava, I noticed she also had a line of blood where her beak meet her cere. She also was acting a lot like she had had a minor concussion, as she was sleeping a lot, and acting very quiet.
I finally decided she must have flown into one of the windows. This is not a characteristic behavior of hers at all, she is a wonderful flier, and knows perfectly well what windows are. All I can figure is that a hawk or something at one window must have scared her into flying into the other, or some other similar scenario.
She did not eat for a day after this, even though I offered her plenty of wet, mushy food. She did go down to the dish a few times, but after dipping her beak in, would shake her head, and go back up onto her perch to sleep. Just when I was getting desperate, and planning on feeding her some baby food with a syringe, she started eating. Yay! She is now much better, and is sleeping less, and playing more. She is eating plenty now, and her beak looks much better! I would have taken a picture to post here, but as I suspect she had had a minor concussion, I did not want to stress her with a flash.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Miss Patty laid an egg!
Talk about something in the air....... it is not like it is particularly warm here in the winter, rather, it is much colder than in the summer, even inside. I do put a heater in their room when I know they are about to lay an egg, but still.
I have known for about three days she was probably going to lay en egg. And this is with their going outside to their flight cage all day, and just coming into to a little sleep cage at night, and of course no nest box anywhere. So not exactly optimum conditions for egg laying! Still, Miss Patty has always had a haphazard quality to life, you might say. I believe she was a breeder bird in some previous life, so she is probably used to continually laying eggs in less than desirable conditions.
The last egg she laid with me, she ate shortly after laying. As horrible as that sounds, birds do eat their own eggs if the egg is not fertile, the conditions are not those which would allow the chick to flourish, or the mother is not healthy enough to take care of them after depleting her system of those nutrients. As she laid that egg after I had her only a few months, she was still not very healthy, and did have a lot of trouble laying it. So, overall, I think it was very wise of her to eat it.
I am very happy that she laid this one with no problem, though. Pearl mutation tiels are known for having more trouble laying eggs, plus my first tiel was a pearl. Obviously, just because she had trouble does not mean every pearl does, but it is still very worrying for me. And fortunately, tiels do not take nearly as long to develop their eggs as ekkies do, so a lot less worry time for me!
This egg she laid last night, and when I went in there this morning to take them all out to their flight cage, she happily jumped off it to go outside. Apparently, the lure of motherhood is not there for her! I do have fake eggs for tiels, so I have already replaced it, just in case she does become interested in sitting on it.
I have known for about three days she was probably going to lay en egg. And this is with their going outside to their flight cage all day, and just coming into to a little sleep cage at night, and of course no nest box anywhere. So not exactly optimum conditions for egg laying! Still, Miss Patty has always had a haphazard quality to life, you might say. I believe she was a breeder bird in some previous life, so she is probably used to continually laying eggs in less than desirable conditions.
The last egg she laid with me, she ate shortly after laying. As horrible as that sounds, birds do eat their own eggs if the egg is not fertile, the conditions are not those which would allow the chick to flourish, or the mother is not healthy enough to take care of them after depleting her system of those nutrients. As she laid that egg after I had her only a few months, she was still not very healthy, and did have a lot of trouble laying it. So, overall, I think it was very wise of her to eat it.
I am very happy that she laid this one with no problem, though. Pearl mutation tiels are known for having more trouble laying eggs, plus my first tiel was a pearl. Obviously, just because she had trouble does not mean every pearl does, but it is still very worrying for me. And fortunately, tiels do not take nearly as long to develop their eggs as ekkies do, so a lot less worry time for me!
This egg she laid last night, and when I went in there this morning to take them all out to their flight cage, she happily jumped off it to go outside. Apparently, the lure of motherhood is not there for her! I do have fake eggs for tiels, so I have already replaced it, just in case she does become interested in sitting on it.
It has very interesting stripes in the shell,not sure if you can see them.
And the egg in the cage, where she was sitting on it(before happily hopping off). I change the paper every
evening before they come back in,
but by morning it always looks like this.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
My camera still isn't letting me have my pictures
And although that piece of news is not really related to anything, it annoys me no end!
So instead of going on for hours about my evil camera (which I could, at this point, believe me!) I thought perhaps I would give some updates.
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Claudia, after laying her third egg, sat on the two she still had for several days, and then rolled one out to the middle of the cage, left the other in the nest, and proceeded to almost (emphasis on that word) totally ignore them. I tried moving the one egg still in the "nest" out a few inches from it, just to see if she would then leave it alone, but no. She rolled it back into the nest, and began sitting on it dutifully. A few days later, she rolled the egg in the middle of the cage back into her nest and began sitting on that one as well! I have candled them all by now, and none are fertile, so I am safe there. I just now have to wait until she is done. Since the last egg was laid on Dec. 29, counting 30 days or so from there would give us all about two more weeks to go. I know Chester can't wait for that day to come!
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The two budgies I am fostering are doing amazing. They both are taming up wonderfully!
Oscar, the yellow one, though he is still easily frightened, and still has a lingering fear of hands, has come to love head scritches and back rubs. Really! He is such a sweet little budgie.
Luna, the blue one, is also doing really well. One night, I accidentally left the cage door improperly latched, so when Luna jumped on it sometime between when I put them to bed and when I fed them, it swung open and presumably flung her into the room. By the next morning, she had crawled out of the room into the hallway, where I found her sitting on the floor. Surprisingly, with a little coaxing, she got up on my covered hand, and stayed on it for a while, before climbing up to my shoulder and snuggling in my hair. Since then, she will happily jump out onto my hand and go riding around the house, either on my arm or shoulder.
I hope to list them soon, to find them a wonderful permanent home. The one thing they are still having trouble with is switching their diet, stubborn little guys. For a week or so, they were actually eating my mash, but then, when I ran out of that mash and mixed up a new one, they refused it. I am not sure what about the new one they greatly dislike, but it is certainly something! The only other things I have had luck with so far are grits (but not the shredded veggies in them) and sprouts. I really like to switch the diet before rehoming them, so that is really all I am waiting for.
So instead of going on for hours about my evil camera (which I could, at this point, believe me!) I thought perhaps I would give some updates.
------------------------------
Claudia, after laying her third egg, sat on the two she still had for several days, and then rolled one out to the middle of the cage, left the other in the nest, and proceeded to almost (emphasis on that word) totally ignore them. I tried moving the one egg still in the "nest" out a few inches from it, just to see if she would then leave it alone, but no. She rolled it back into the nest, and began sitting on it dutifully. A few days later, she rolled the egg in the middle of the cage back into her nest and began sitting on that one as well! I have candled them all by now, and none are fertile, so I am safe there. I just now have to wait until she is done. Since the last egg was laid on Dec. 29, counting 30 days or so from there would give us all about two more weeks to go. I know Chester can't wait for that day to come!
---------------------------------
The two budgies I am fostering are doing amazing. They both are taming up wonderfully!
Oscar, the yellow one, though he is still easily frightened, and still has a lingering fear of hands, has come to love head scritches and back rubs. Really! He is such a sweet little budgie.
Luna, the blue one, is also doing really well. One night, I accidentally left the cage door improperly latched, so when Luna jumped on it sometime between when I put them to bed and when I fed them, it swung open and presumably flung her into the room. By the next morning, she had crawled out of the room into the hallway, where I found her sitting on the floor. Surprisingly, with a little coaxing, she got up on my covered hand, and stayed on it for a while, before climbing up to my shoulder and snuggling in my hair. Since then, she will happily jump out onto my hand and go riding around the house, either on my arm or shoulder.
I hope to list them soon, to find them a wonderful permanent home. The one thing they are still having trouble with is switching their diet, stubborn little guys. For a week or so, they were actually eating my mash, but then, when I ran out of that mash and mixed up a new one, they refused it. I am not sure what about the new one they greatly dislike, but it is certainly something! The only other things I have had luck with so far are grits (but not the shredded veggies in them) and sprouts. I really like to switch the diet before rehoming them, so that is really all I am waiting for.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Post without much point
Previously, I was planning to do this post on the budgie/tiel flight cage move and renovation, complete with pictures. I could still do that, minus the pictures. However, being a stubborn person, I am going to refuse to do that post until the camera decides to start working again, and finally puts the pictures on the computer instead of pretending they have disappeared. I am not fooled at all by that sly little message that pops up, "No pictures/videos found." They are still on there, who does this camera think it is kidding?!
Anyway, the Aussie birds recently had their flight cage moved from the bird room to the sun porch. I still have a sleep cage for them in the bird room, so they can come in at night. They really seem to enjoy the new space, especially with all the (bird safe) plants around!
I did have the sliding glass door behind the cage open yesterday (it has a screen), which was a big mistake, as I had known deep down it likely was. The fumes outside may be barely noticeable to others, but they are very bad for me. I think the horrible reaction I had will keep those doors closed for a while!
Also, to give this post some point, despite the title, Claudia laid yet another egg yesterday afternoon! She was a day late on this, and had a bit more trouble with this one. After over an hour of her straining and moaning, I put her in a warm water bath. That seemed to help some, and two hours later she laid it! Still, after three eggs, she has another one in her. When is she planning to stop?
Anyway, the Aussie birds recently had their flight cage moved from the bird room to the sun porch. I still have a sleep cage for them in the bird room, so they can come in at night. They really seem to enjoy the new space, especially with all the (bird safe) plants around!
I did have the sliding glass door behind the cage open yesterday (it has a screen), which was a big mistake, as I had known deep down it likely was. The fumes outside may be barely noticeable to others, but they are very bad for me. I think the horrible reaction I had will keep those doors closed for a while!
Also, to give this post some point, despite the title, Claudia laid yet another egg yesterday afternoon! She was a day late on this, and had a bit more trouble with this one. After over an hour of her straining and moaning, I put her in a warm water bath. That seemed to help some, and two hours later she laid it! Still, after three eggs, she has another one in her. When is she planning to stop?
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas, with another egg laid!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, or any other holiday they celebrate at this time of year.
And as the title implies, Claudia laid her second egg this evening. I was worried she was going to have trouble with this one, since I thought she should have laid it yesterday, and she was very swollen today, and acting very sick. But after several warm "tail end" soaks, she laid it safely this evening, at about the same time as the first one. Hopefully, this is the last egg, and her interest in parenthood soon passes.
And as the title implies, Claudia laid her second egg this evening. I was worried she was going to have trouble with this one, since I thought she should have laid it yesterday, and she was very swollen today, and acting very sick. But after several warm "tail end" soaks, she laid it safely this evening, at about the same time as the first one. Hopefully, this is the last egg, and her interest in parenthood soon passes.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Claudia's egg!
Claudia laid her egg last night, around 8:30. I am certainly very, very, happy, every egg laid with no complications makes me feel a little better.
Claudia slept with her egg all night, and was still sitting on it this morning. She seemed so proud of her egg. She did not like the cardboard box I gave her, except to chew it to pieces. She has never been very nesty, even throughout this. She does seem to like her little fleece blanket hut, though. I have a towel going down the side of the cage I am taking the pics from, so it is fairly private.
Poor little Chester, he is very nervous about all this
egg laying business his girlfriend is busy with!
Claudia slept with her egg all night, and was still sitting on it this morning. She seemed so proud of her egg. She did not like the cardboard box I gave her, except to chew it to pieces. She has never been very nesty, even throughout this. She does seem to like her little fleece blanket hut, though. I have a towel going down the side of the cage I am taking the pics from, so it is fairly private.
Poor little Chester, he is very nervous about all this
egg laying business his girlfriend is busy with!
This morning, when I fed the birds breakfast, Claudia was still sitting on her egg. However, when I went back into the room several hours later, she was up on the door perch, playing, and had kicked the egg across the cage, and flung mash all over it! She is still very swollen, so there is at least one more egg coming. I don't think ekkies usually lay much more than two eggs, perhaps three, so that should be about it. Hopefully they are laid just as easily!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Claudia is "with egg"!
I noticed 3 days ago that she seemed heavier and a bit swollen. She is very obviously about ready to lay an egg! I was slightly worried that she had not laid it already, but I asked the ekkie list I am on this morning, and was told that 7-8 days between when you notice an egg forming and when it is laid is normal. I suppose I am too used to teils, that lay in shorter intervals! I also was directed to this great article, which I thought was really interesting.
I am rather paranoid about egg laying complications, thanks to my experience with my dear Cone, so I admit I am prone to worrying there is a problem before there actual is. I do try to stay calm around the birds, since they would not understand at all why I was wringing my hands and frowning! I can just imagine Claudia, giving me her, "Ok, what is wrong? You humans really involve so much care, your brains just aren't so big," look.
Hopefully, she will lay this egg just fine, and any others she may be planning to lay afterwards. I gave her a cardboard box on the floor of her cage yesterday, just in case she might have felt like holding the egg in until she found a place to lay it. She has been very busy in there, tearing it up to her satisfaction. She is such a motherly bird (or you could just say she knows she is a bird), I think she is very excited about starting a family. Unfortunately for that ambition, mean old me is going to take the eggs away and replace them with wooden ones. Nothing against breeders, but I know of enough rescue birds that need homes, without letting my birds breed. Plus, Claudia is a hybrid, RS/Vos, and Chester is a SI, so any baby of theirs would be a real mix! And I really can not support breeding in any way of hybrids. Nothing personal, Claudia, really!
I am rather paranoid about egg laying complications, thanks to my experience with my dear Cone, so I admit I am prone to worrying there is a problem before there actual is. I do try to stay calm around the birds, since they would not understand at all why I was wringing my hands and frowning! I can just imagine Claudia, giving me her, "Ok, what is wrong? You humans really involve so much care, your brains just aren't so big," look.
Hopefully, she will lay this egg just fine, and any others she may be planning to lay afterwards. I gave her a cardboard box on the floor of her cage yesterday, just in case she might have felt like holding the egg in until she found a place to lay it. She has been very busy in there, tearing it up to her satisfaction. She is such a motherly bird (or you could just say she knows she is a bird), I think she is very excited about starting a family. Unfortunately for that ambition, mean old me is going to take the eggs away and replace them with wooden ones. Nothing against breeders, but I know of enough rescue birds that need homes, without letting my birds breed. Plus, Claudia is a hybrid, RS/Vos, and Chester is a SI, so any baby of theirs would be a real mix! And I really can not support breeding in any way of hybrids. Nothing personal, Claudia, really!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
A Short Memorial
My first cockatiel, Cone, a beautiful, and very large, pearl female, was only 4 years old when she died. I had had her for only a year, when she started getting nesty, and looking for a mate. Unfortunately, though her previous owner said she had layed eggs many times with no problem, that was not the case this time. She became eggbound, and when she finally layed her egg, due to its huge size and soft shell, she had a complete prolapse. Despite our best efforts, she died 4 days later. My budgies morned for a very long time, as did I. She was such a friendly, albeit bossy and demanding, little girl. Since then, I have made sure I know as much as I can about eggbinding, other egg complications, and what to do in an emergency.
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